The Ditch He Filled Drowned Him

Neighbor Zhang Mancang reported Chen Geng for illegally building a drainage ditch on his field ridge over trivial matters. Chen Geng cooperated with law enforcement and filled the ditch overnight. Torrential rains soon struck, and without the drainage channel, rainwater backflowed, flooding the crops of Zhang Mancang and multiple downstream households. Suffering the consequences of his own actions, Zhang Mancang teamed up with villagers to ask for the ditch’s restoration but failed. In the end, he applied to the land institute per regulations and got approval to rebuild the new ditch. This incident pushed the village to upgrade its overall drainage system, turning hostile neighborhood relations into harmonious ones.