Chapter 35: Blessed by Fortune

“Hah, do you really think you’re blessed by fate? Yun Tong County has over a dozen villages without water. Why should a savior come to you alone?”

Aunt Li Zheng couldn’t resist a jab.

Li Zheng, however, remained unbothered. “What? A man can’t even dream a little?”

Seeing the couple engaged in a serious discussion, Ye Xin Ran decided not to interrupt for now.

Once Li Zheng had successfully placated his wife, he turned to Ye Xin Ran and asked, “Huai’an’s wife, what brings you here? Did you find something edible on the mountain again?”

At the mention of this, a glimmer of excitement flashed in Li Zheng’s eyes.

Ye Xin Ran couldn’t help but chuckle. “Li Zheng Uncle, do you really think I’m a bringer of good fortune, finding food every time I go up the mountain?”

“Of course!” Li Zheng’s expression didn’t waver as he reassured her, “It’s fine if you didn’t find anything. The arrow roots you brought back last time can still last us a while. So, tell me, what’s on your mind?”

Straightening her posture, Ye Xin Ran replied, “Although I didn’t find food, I did discover a water source on the mountain. Li Zheng Uncle, I think there might be a spring in Mi Lu Mountain!”

Hearing this, Li Zheng jumped out of bed. “Are you serious?”

Ye Xin Ran was startled.

Aunt Li Zheng gave Li Zheng a firm pat on the back, scolding him, “Why are you so jumpy? Look, you’ve scared Lady Ye!”

Li Zheng immediately apologized, “Huai’an’s wife, don’t be afraid. This is just my nature. Please tell me more, how big is the spring? Is it enough for our entire village?”

Ye Xin Ran gave an apologetic smile. “I can’t say for sure how large it is since the water source is hidden behind a rock. We’d have to dig it out to see.

But Li Zheng Uncle, you’ve seen it yourself, Mi Lu Mountain is shrouded in mist year round, especially in the mornings and evenings.

That’s a sign of abundant underground water sources.”

“There’s such a theory?” Li Zheng rubbed his hands together in excitement.

“I told you, our village was bound to have a savior, but you didn’t believe me,” he said to his wife. “And look, our savior is right in front of us!”

Aunt Li Zheng, too, was overjoyed but found it hard to believe.

“Lady Ye, are you certain about this?”

“Whether it’s true or not, Li Zheng Uncle can send someone to dig and find out,” Ye Xin Ran replied.

“Ah, this is great news! If we can dig water from the mountain, we won’t need to fight East Gully Village for water anymore, nor will we have to worry about the river running dry,” Aunt Li Zheng said, her eyes filled with hope as she looked at Li Zheng.

“That’s a given! No time to waste, I’ll take a group up the mountain right away,” Li Zheng declared.

After a quick round outside, Li Zheng returned with seven or eight young men, all armed with hoes and pick axes, dressed just as they were in the morning.

“Li Zheng Uncle, if there’s any fighting this time, you’d better stay back and let us handle it.”

“Exactly! If you get hurt again, we’ll have to kneel in the ancestral hall.”

“What nonsense! What nonsense!” Li Zheng puffed out his chest. “I, Zhang Ya Suo, have always been a man of virtue, solving problems with reason, not violence.”

Ha!

The young men were skeptical but held their tongues.

Had he already forgotten about his threats to fight earlier that morning?

The group quickly made their way toward the mountain.

By the afternoon, the mist in Mi Lu Mountain had significantly cleared.

Ye Xin Ran led the way, with the group of sturdy young men following behind. As they walked deeper into the forest, the young men grew increasingly uneasy.

“Li Zheng Uncle, weren’t we going to look for the water source? Why are we heading into the mountain?”

“The tigers on this mountain don’t listen to reason, Li Zheng Uncle. If we really run into one, you better not rush forward, I’ll carry you and run.”

“My mom always told me not to come up this mountain. Li Zheng Uncle, if I get beaten when I get home, you have to help me plead my case.”

Seeing the young men hesitate, Li Zheng couldn’t help but tease them. “You big guys are just useless. Look at Lady Ye, this delicate woman dares to go up the mountain alone, and here you are, following me and getting scared.”

“It’s not the same, Li Zheng Uncle. Xiao’s wife must have never heard the legends about Mi Lu Mountain. After hearing them, she definitely wouldn’t dare to come up.”

“That’s what I’ve been saying! People need to read more, the more you read, the more you understand things. Lady Ye must have read a lot at home, otherwise, how would she know that the mist on the mountain is a sign of an underground water source?”

Ye Xin Ran, who had been walking ahead, heard Li Zheng mention her name and quickly explained, “Li Zheng Uncle, actually, I haven’t read much.”

“Look at you, you’ve read only a little and you’re already so impressive. Imagine if you’d read even more!” Li Zheng grinned.

The young men, unable to resist, retorted, “We would love to go study, but Li Zheng Uncle, the school is so far away, and when we get there, we get bullied. It’s hard to even learn properly!”

Li Zheng was left speechless.

The kids had a point.

The village had never had a proper teacher, and the children had to go to East Gully Village to study.

Over the years, Li Zheng had been sending gifts to the East Gully Village head in hopes of getting permission for the children of his village to attend their school.

That old man had agreed on the surface, but in reality, he always treated them differently.

In the first couple of years, many children had gone, but this year, only Chang Sheng and Er Dan remained.

“Alright, no need to rush. Once Er Dan and Chang Sheng finish their studies, I’ll have them teach you all in the village. Everything they’ve learned, they’ll pass on to you!”

“You really have a plan, Li Zheng Uncle. I heard Er Dan has learned quite a lot already.”

As they spoke, they had reached the rocky spot where water was flowing.

Ye Xin Ran pointed to the crack in the rock. “If we break it open here, there’s definitely a water source inside.”

The young men, still feeling stung from Li Zheng’s earlier teasing, were eager to prove themselves.

Upon hearing Ye Xin Ran’s words, they quickly seized the opportunity and stepped forward, saying, “Li Zheng Uncle, Xiao’s wife, you two stay back. We’ll take care of this!”

The young men were full of energy, especially since they had eaten well recently. They worked with even more strength.

The huge boulders, bigger than two millstones, soon had their cracks widening under their efforts.

As the debris was cleared, everyone saw the water rushing out even faster from below.

“It really is a water source!”

“This is fantastic, there’s spring water on the mountain!”

“Quick, quick, let’s clear this area and dig a little deeper.”

Ye Xin Ran watched as the five young men worked together to move the large boulder, and soon, a strong flow of water began gushing out, heading downhill.

“This is great, the pit is deep and the water looks plentiful!”

“With this water, we won’t have to fight East Gully Village for water anymore, right?”

“If they dare to show off in front of us again, I’ll go up and smash their heads open.”

“But this is still far from our village. How are we going to transport the water? We can’t carry it in buckets, can we?”

“Of course not! We’ll need to figure out a way to make the water flow down on its own!”

At this point, everyone stopped and began discussing ways to dig a channel to redirect the water.

The smallest of the group, Er Wang, scratched his nose and said, “Hold on, didn’t you guys forget?

This mountain isn’t even part of our village. Now that we’ve found this water source, East Gully Village will probably come and try to take it from us!”