Utter Exhaustion.

Extreme Anger.

At the same time, an overwhelming sense of powerlessness filled everyone’s hearts.

They had worked so hard for so long, holding onto such great hopes, yet in an instant, everything turned into nothing but a fleeting illusion.

“What’s with the despair?!” The village chief scolded with a stern face. “You are the pillars of your families. If you collapse, who will your families rely on? Who will our Dahe Village rely on? When faced with difficulties, we find ways to solve them! We can’t do anything about the boulder, but can’t we do something about the trees over there? Tomorrow, everyone will come together to cut down the trees. It may take three to five days, but I refuse to believe we can’t clear a path!”

The villagers turned their gaze toward the ancient forest.

The wind blew through the night, casting flickering shadows under the torchlight.

Those already towering trees appeared even more imposing, their tops piercing into the pitch-black sky.

Everyone fell silent. It wasn’t that they had lost hope—it was that the task seemed nearly impossible. Cutting down trees?

That was doable. But in just three to five days?

No way. It would take at least half a month, and by then, the rice fields would likely have dried up completely. What would be the point of digging irrigation channels then?

Standing beside the massive boulder, Cheng Wanwan’s mind suddenly recalled an ancient story—Yu the Great controlling the floods.

Drought was their problem now, yet she somehow thought of flood control?

She remembered that Chinese class where the teacher had vividly told them the story of Yu the Great, who dug channels to redirect water. It was exactly what they were trying to do now.

Yu the Great had also encountered obstacles—something about rocks, if she remembered correctly.

Cheng Wanwan tried hard to recall the details.

As she paced back and forth, her foot stepped onto a rock, and her eyes caught sight of the flickering torches.

Some women had casually tossed their torches onto the ground while chatting with the village chief. One torch had landed right next to a rock, heating it until it glowed red-hot.

Her eyes suddenly lit up.

“Uncle Lizheng, I know what to do!”

Everyone turned to look at her in unison—some with doubt, some with ridicule. But they were all too exhausted to speak.

The village chief clung to hope like a drowning man grabbing onto straw. “Da Shan’s wife, tell us quickly!”

“Nuiqui’s dad, Tie Zhu’s dad, bring all the torches over and heat the boulder until it turns red,” Cheng Wanwan instructed steadily. “Then, send four people to fetch several buckets of water from the mountain spring.”

The men were too exhausted to move, so the women stepped up to carry the water.

Five or six women hiked up the mountain.

Half an hour later, they returned with ten buckets of water.

By then, the boulder was glowing red-hot, radiating an intense heat that made everyone nearby break into a sweat.

Cheng Wanwan tested the water temperature with her hand. The spring water was icy cold, just perfect for what they needed.

She gave the command, “Everyone, pour the water onto the rock at the same time and then back away—fast!”

With a loud splash, ten buckets of water were dumped onto the scorching boulder.

Crack!

A loud snapping sound echoed through the air.

The massive boulder, once immovable, suddenly split with four or five visible cracks.

Shock spread across everyone’s faces.

The exhausted men felt a surge of energy. Without hesitation, they grabbed more firewood.

“Let’s do it again!”

Burning the rock, pouring water—repeating the process four times.

Under the continuous cycle of heating and rapid cooling, the enormous boulder shattered into smaller pieces. The irrigation channel was finally open.

By then, it was nearly the end of the second night watch. In just two more hours, dawn would break.

“Everyone, go home and rest!” the village chief announced excitedly. “Come back here at midday tomorrow!”

That night, the exhausted men fell into a deep sleep, only waking when the sun was already high in the sky.

Cheng Wanwan and Wu Huiniang sat in the courtyard, preparing shihuazi seeds.

They peeled open the lantern-shaped husks, carefully extracting the seeds inside and placing them into a basket.

Wu Huiniang was curious. “Mother, can we really make desserts with this?”

Cheng Wanwan glanced at the basket.

Two pounds of lantern fruits yielded about half a pound of seeds. Altogether, they had around five pounds.

She paused her work. “Soak these peeled seeds in boiled, cooled water for a while.”

Wu Huiniang immediately got up to boil water.

Once it had cooled, she soaked a small bowl of shihuazi seeds.

They needed a long soaking time to be easier to process later.

Cheng Wanwan set the seeds aside and got up to prepare lunch for the family.

After lunch, they would return to the mountain to continue digging the channel.

As she was busy, a sudden shriek came from behind.

“Stupid Da Hong, why are you bullying Er Huang?!”

Zhao Sidaan charged forward and grabbed the big rooster that had been riding on the hen, causing the rooster to squawk angrily.

Cheng Wanwan: “…”

Great, you just ruined the chance for the eggs to hatch into chicks.

She put down her work and rescued the big red rooster.

Speaking earnestly, she said, “Sidaan, didn’t you say you wanted baby chicks?”

Zhao Sidaan blinked and nodded. “Grandmother said we just need a rooster! But Da Hong keeps bullying Da Huang and Er Huang. Mother, let’s just kill Da Hong and make soup…”

He drooled at the thought.

The big red rooster flapped its wings in terror and quickly ran away.

Cheng Wanwan was speechless.

She had bought the rooster specifically to hatch chicks.

If it was just for food, why would she spend eighty wen on it?

No, one hundred sixty wen!

She patiently explained, “Da Hong isn’t bullying the hens—he’s just making friends with them. Just like how your second and third brothers always pick on you, but you still have a good relationship with them, right?”

Zhao Sidaan tilted his little head, thinking. Then he nodded. “That makes sense. So I should leave him alone?”

Cheng Wanwan nodded. “Yes, let’s just wait for the eggs to hatch.”

Just as she finished speaking, she looked up and noticed four small children standing hesitantly at the courtyard gate.

They were about seven or eight years old, shuffling back and forth, afraid to come in.

Zhao Sidaan’s mother, Zhao Dazhen, had a terrible reputation—she even mistreated her own son.

These kids were probably scared they’d get beaten for asking for eggs.

Cheng Wanwan spoke up. “Sidaan, go check the chicken coop. How many eggs do we have today?”

This was his favorite task.

He ran off excitedly and soon shouted, “Mother! We have four eggs today!”

Cheng Wanwan handed the eggs to the four children. “Here, take them, and be careful not to drop them.”

The little ones beamed with joy. “Thank you, Auntie Zhao!”

Cheng Wanwan’s mood lifted. Children were the purest beings in the world—so easy to get along with.

Meanwhile, Wu Huiniang was kneading dough, rolling it out to make dumpling wrappers.

Last night, Zhao Sidaan had gathered a lot of wild shepherd’s purse, so today, the whole family would have shepherd’s purse dumplings.

The only pity was that they had no pork.

A little bit of pork would make the dumplings truly delicious.

Her desire to earn money grew stronger. Bingfen (a traditional Chinese dessert) had to be made as soon as possible. Once it was ready, she could sell it openly, make good silver, and buy whatever she wanted—without anyone saying a word.

That afternoon, the village chief led a large group up the mountain.

Even the women joined in, helping scout out large rocks so they could be shattered using last night’s method.

Even the children were eager to help—gathering firewood, carrying water—boosting their progress significantly.

In the crowd of kids, Cheng Wanwan spotted Zhang Dagang, the boy who had tried to steal Sidaan’s rabbit.

His father, Zhang Wulai, was the only able-bodied man in the village who had refused to help. Yet, strangely, his son had come to work voluntarily.