Chapter 22: An Unexpected

Just as Qin Ying had guessed, Zhou Yu was up early as usual, leading a group to dig the canal. He also sent others to the nearest village to call for help.

It wasn’t until nearly noon that the first skeletal-looking villagers began arriving, listless and weak.

But the moment they caught the long-missed aroma of cooked food, they instantly unleashed strength beyond their physical limits and sprinted forward.

Aunt Zhong had set up her stove at the end of the water channel.

She had cooked three big pots using various dried and fresh vegetables along with a small amount of grains. Two buckets of warm water were also prepared.

The villagers held bowls of vegetable porridge, mixing it with their tears as they devoured the food ravenously.

After eating and drinking, Zhou Yu had someone lead them to a well that now had abundant water.

All of them knelt in unison, kowtowing heavily to Zhou Yu and the others, overwhelmed with gratitude.

Zhou Yu ordered them to stand. “Hurry back and call more people. Let’s finish digging the canal and bring the water down the mountain so it’s easier to access.”

“The county will be distributing a batch of food in the coming days. Set aside some for seeds. With a steady water supply, your fields won’t go barren next year. Life will slowly get better.”

Once again, the villagers kowtowed in thanks and hurried down the mountain to inform their neighbors and bring back buckets to fetch water.

Though the lord spoke generously, no one knew when the well might run dry again. Whether food or water, it was safest to hold onto it personally.

Zhou Yu watched but didn’t stop them.

Once each villager had fetched one load of water, he stationed guards at the well and announced: only those who helped dig the canal could fetch water. If you didn’t dig, you couldn’t fetch any more.

As for food, it was strictly limited to one bowl per person. Those who had already eaten couldn’t get seconds.

Some people tried to argue for more, but with just one glance from Zhou Yu and the gleam of blades from his men, their courage vanished. They obediently went to dig.

Zhou Yu said coldly, “Those who know only to take but not to give will end up with nothing.”

He later disciplined a few troublemakers: they were assigned double the work but still received only one bowl of water each day.

Kill the chicken to scare the monkeys—as the saying goes. No one dared cause trouble after that.

In comparison, Zhou Yu couldn’t help but sigh, “Tongshu Tun really is a village of simple, honest folk.”

In truth, most of the villagers were willing to work. In times of drought, having water meant having hope to survive.

So they buried their heads in digging. When hungry, they drank water to fill their stomachs and didn’t stop to rest until deep into the night.

At the end of the workday, they received a few walnut kernels and a small pouch of vegetable seeds as a reward.

The next morning, An An woke up to find her energy value had increased by 1. She couldn’t help but smile happily.

Opening the monitoring system, she exclaimed, “Oh wow!” Indeed, there was power in numbers. In just half a day and one night, the villagers had already dug a canal ten li (around 5 km) long, and quite deep too.

Let’s help them a little more.

She released several waves of lucky koi blessings. Though most of the energy dissipated, the portion that remained still greatly benefited the villagers.

By noon, they had reached the designated location for the water reservoir.

Most people were left to dig the reservoir, while the rest worked on refining and improving the canal.

They continued like this for three days straight. The canal connecting the well and the reservoir was finally completed—seventeen li (about 8.5 km) long.

The reservoir was ten zhang square and nearly two zhang deep, built with a sloped design to prevent drowning.

Only then did Zhou Yu order the breakthrough between the well and canal.

Water gurgled out from the outlet below the wellhead, flowing steadily into the canal.

Because of the prolonged drought, a large portion of the water seeped into the canal bed. It took an entire day before it finally began to flow into the reservoir.

There was nothing to be done about that.

But even this was enough to make the people cheer with joy. They all knelt to thank Zhou Yu again.

Zhou Yu then lifted all water restrictions.

At the same time, a convoy from the county office delivering food arrived at the village down the mountain.

Zhou Yu approached Qin Ying and said somewhat apologetically, “Because Tongshu Tun already resolved its food and water issues, no share of this food distribution was allocated to your village. The supplies went to those on the verge of starvation.”

Qin Ying was startled. “You don’t need to tell me that!”

“I do,” Zhou Yu replied sincerely. “Strictly speaking, your village contributed the most. I should be rewarding you more…”

“We completely understand!” Qin Ying waved her hands quickly. “I believe, if our village had been like the others, you wouldn’t have overlooked us.”

“As for helping, it’s an act of virtue and goodwill for us. It’s something we should do.”

Zhou Yu looked at An An’s fair, adorable little face and said gently, “There’s no such thing as what should or shouldn’t be done in this world.”

“The fact that you were willing to step up in times like these speaks volumes about your character.”

“It’s just that during hard times like these, I don’t have anything substantial to give in thanks.”

“But… I can still spare some fine grains for An An.”

Ding! Energy +0.02!

An An’s eyes widened suddenly. She understood!

Normally, receiving personal affection would only give her +0.01 energy. Her mother hadn’t shown any special affection lately, so she hadn’t gained any extra points.

But she got +0.02! And it all came from the handsome uncle!

That meant, when her mom and the handsome uncle were together, she could gain more energy!

Wow! This was great, this was really great!

Her eyes darted about mischievously. She needed to find a way to lock these two together!

As far as she knew, the handsome uncle was unmarried, and her mother was a widow. So they could totally be a couple, right?

Suddenly, Qin Ying felt a chill on her back, as if something was staring at her. She turned around but saw only barren hills and withered trees—nothing unusual.

Meanwhile, An An once again stretched out her chubby little arms to Zhou Yu, smiling sweetly as she asked for a hug.

Of course, Zhou Yu couldn’t bear to refuse. After getting Qin Ying’s permission, he lifted An An into his arms.

The nearby village now had water and food, and the previously restless people calmed down. They voluntarily selected new leaders, and production and life slowly stabilized.

Zhou Yu, reassured, began preparing to take his men in search of the next water source.

Qin Ying and Zhao Hu, however, requested to return to their village, as it was time for the autumn harvest.

Naturally, Zhou Yu had no objections and accompanied them back to Tongshu Tun.

The drying field in Tongshu Tun had already been cleaned up. Tasks were assigned to each household: the less physically strong would shell corn and cut down stalks, the able-bodied would harvest grains and beans, and carry the corn to the drying field in baskets. Those unable to labor much would gather loose grain and beans from the ground and bundle the cut corn stalks.

Zhou Yu and his men immediately joined in.

With their help, Tongshu Tun completed the transfer of all harvested grains to the drying field in just three days. What remained was threshing, drying, and distribution.

Zhou Yu and his team didn’t rest and went to help other villages nearby.

By the time they returned, the work in Tongshu Tun had already been divided and distributed.

Each person received over 120 jin (about 60 kg) of grain—not including the unharvested cabbages and radishes in the fields.

Joy filled the entire village.

Uncle Chen Jiu even boldly offered to treat Zhou Yu and his team to a meal.

Zhou Yu declined, but he carefully inspected the grains collected in Tongshu Tun. Though they weren’t quite as good as the high-quality ones Qin Ying and the others had acquired unexpectedly, they were far superior compared to what other villages had managed.