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Chapter 27: The Second Well

Uncle Chen Jiu saw that the crowd was about to become restless again, and suddenly let out a cold snort.

The villagers immediately grew cautious and fearful.

He swept a glance over them and said coldly, “You must understand—if Lord Zhou were to forcibly conscript us to do hard labor, we’d have no right to refuse!

“It’s only because the gentleman has a kind heart that he’s thinking of helping us as much as he can.”

The villagers hurriedly responded, “Yes, yes, you’re right! We understand now.”

“If we dare to harbor such wicked thoughts again, may we not die peacefully!”

“Yes, yes! A good person shouldn’t act like a beast!”

“Ninth Uncle!”

“Ninth Master!”

“You pick the people. Those selected will go work with Lord Zhou, and the rest will stay behind to guard our village!”

Only then did Uncle Chen Jiu reveal a faint smile. “What I said today—you’d all better remember it well. Don’t go forgetting everything after one night’s sleep!”

“Don’t worry, sir! We won’t! Absolutely not!”

Chen Jiu actually had candidates in mind already, but he still made a show of walking through the crowd before finally picking five people.

The rest gradually dispersed.

—

At the Zhao family household.

Since the whole family was preparing to go out, they needed to pack more provisions.

Now that the weather was cooler, food wouldn’t spoil as easily after a few days.

Qin Ying went to steam buns. Aunt Zhao began packing dried and fresh vegetables. Zhao Hu used a small stone mill to grind walnut paste.

Previously, Zhou Yu had secretly told him that soaking walnut kernels in boiling water would allow the skin to be peeled off. This way, the walnut paste wouldn’t taste bitter.

Today, Zhao Hu picked a big bowl full of large, plump walnuts and followed Zhou Yu’s method, peeling out the clean white kernels.

The cooked walnut paste could be stored in jars and would last a whole day.

An’an had been asleep while eating earlier. Now she woke up and called out sweetly, “Mama.”

Qin Ying’s face immediately lit up with a smile. She hurried over, picked up the child, helped her pee first, then added an extra layer of clothing before carrying her into the courtyard.

On the small stove, a pot of millet porridge was still being kept warm, with soft-cooked pumpkin added inside—fresh and sweet to the taste.

Qin Ying had only fed her a small bowl when she noticed vague shadows moving outside the courtyard wall. Her heart tightened, and she quickly alerted Aunt Zhao.

Aunt Zhao immediately grabbed a hoe.

Zhao Hu raised the hatchet he used for chopping firewood, eyes wide in alert.

“Food… food…” The calmest of them all was An’an, who opened her mouth and waited to be fed.

She had already sensed the visitors coming, but since they meant no harm, she focused on eating.

“Zhao sister-in-law, Huzi, it’s us!” came familiar voices from beyond the courtyard.

Aunt Zhao still gripped the hoe as she cautiously approached the low wall and asked coldly, “What’s going on? Why are you visiting after dark instead of in the daytime?”

“Don’t misunderstand, sister-in-law,” a neighbor chuckled awkwardly, “We knew you were leaving tomorrow, so we brought you some potatoes.”

“I don’t have much, just some pickled vegetables I made…”

“I brought some dried greens…”

“We left them by your door. We’ll be going now!”

After saying that, the group ran off in an instant.

Aunt Zhao looked suspicious as she slowly opened the door. Sure enough, outside were small piles of food stacked neatly: all kinds of provisions.

Zhao Hu, who came up to look, was also baffled. “Mom, what’s going on with them?”

“I know,” Qin Ying said as she walked over slowly holding An’an. “These past few days when I’ve gone into town, I often heard unpleasant gossip.

“I’m guessing that Uncle Chen Jiu did something—so they came to apologize.”

Aunt Zhao’s eyebrows immediately furrowed, and her voice tensed. “What kind of unpleasant talk? How come I haven’t heard anything?”

“I’ll go find them and settle this! I know exactly who was just here!” Zhao Hu was about to dash out.

Aunt Zhao grabbed him hard and scolded, “Where are you going? Stay put at home!”

Qin Ying added, “Huzi, they already came to apologize. What more do you want? Listen to your mother!”

Then she said to Aunt Zhao, “Mom, don’t ask anymore. It’s all over now. They’ve admitted their fault. I doubt they’ll say anything like that again.”

As for why no one dared to speak those shameful things in front of the Zhao mother and son—it was simply because Aunt Zhao had always been sharp-tongued and fierce, and Zhao Hu was like a little bull calf—neither of them was easy to provoke.

But as for her—she was young, tender-faced, and didn’t know how to argue.

However, recalling what Granny Wang had said before, Qin Ying looked down at the soft, adorable little girl in her arms and silently made up her mind: If anyone bullies them again in the future, she wouldn’t just scold them—she’d be willing to fight back, too!

Ding! Energy +0.5!

Energy +0.02

An’an’s big eyes blinked—what just happened? Why did so much energy suddenly get added?

She couldn’t help but scan the whole village, and suddenly understood—ah, so the villagers’ guilt could increase her energy!

She wrapped her arms tightly around Qin Ying. Though this gained her energy too, it didn’t sit right with her that her mother had been wronged.

—

What happened in Tongshu Village didn’t escape Zhou Yu’s notice. He nodded slightly and said, “With someone like Uncle Chen Jiu maintaining order, better days are ahead for Tongshu Village.”

This time, Zhang Jinzhi was more tactful. He smiled and said, “I really did underestimate Miss Qin before. For someone so young to have such tolerance—it’s truly admirable.”

They had also finished preparing their portable provisions.

This time, the destination was even farther away. Without horses or carts, they had to walk the whole way, which meant the journey would take longer and required more dry rations and water.

Moreover, the ground would soon freeze, which would make well-digging much more difficult.

Just thinking about it gave Zhou Yu a headache.

Zhang Jinzhi tried to comfort him. “Young Master, heaven never seals all exits. We already have a good start, so things will only get smoother from here.”

Hopefully.

Because the next day was the Cold Clothes Festival (October 1st), the departure was postponed by a day.

But they didn’t find the next viable well site until October 12th. The weather had already turned cold, and the frozen ground made digging especially hard. It took seven full days to complete the well.

Digging the water channels took almost half a month more.

By the time they returned to Tongshu Village, it was already November 9th.

With freezing winds and frosted earth, and none of them having brought thick clothing when they left, they all looked quite miserable upon return.

But their faces were filled with excitement.

Especially the villagers of Tongshu Village—before going out, they hadn’t realized how difficult it was to find a water source, or how laborious it was to dig a well!

And it had still been the Zhao family who helped locate the drilling site.

Huzi, being a half-grown boy, spared no effort. Aunt Zhao was the same.

Qin Ying cooked and took care of the child—it was truly exhausting. But thanks to her, their meals included mushrooms, black fungus, dried fruits, and other nutritious ingredients…

As for An’an—ah, they had never seen such a sweet, obedient little child! Just one look at her chubby little face, and the fatigue of a whole day’s work seemed to melt away.