Chapter 36 (Supplementary Chapter): The Secret of the Two Words

Chapter Thirty-Six

"What kind of situation is this?" Hua Fangling's face was full of displeasure. So, this is going to leave both of their families out of the picture?

"Shall we go and add a water pipe to get running water?" Lu Yuanqing asked his wife for her opinion. If they added a water pipe, they wouldn't need to pump water anymore, and Lu Yuanqing actually wanted to add one.

“No, we’ve already set up the well. It’s been a lot of time and effort, and adding tap water will only increase our electricity bill.” Yao Anhui refused without hesitation. The hand pump well was right in their yard, so there was no need to add tap water.

“Yes, why add tap water? If we wanted tap water, we could just buy a water pump ourselves. Why do we have to go with everyone else?” Hua Fangling disagreed.

"Actually, this is good, then we don't have to worry about not having enough water in the well." Shen Wenkang said, taking a practical approach.

"Forget it, let's not worry about it. At most, people will say a few things, it's not like we'll lose a piece of our flesh." It's obvious that there are a few people laughing behind their backs at them for wasting time, effort, and money digging a well, only to make things easier for others.

"Let them talk, it's not like we're the ones who have to pay the electricity bill anyway."

That's what everyone says, but they're not really angry about it. In fact, they're mostly relieved, since nobody likes sharing a well with others.

It wasn't because they were stingy, but more because they were afraid of the trouble. There was only so much well water, and there were quite a few families in the nine households. Even though their two families only had five people, the other seven families had quite a few people, with at least three or four children in each family. It was definitely not enough for so many people to use the water, especially since every household also grew vegetables in their yards.

Aunt Li said she would charge a fee, and it wouldn't be right for them not to. Aunt Li was trying to help them out, and they couldn't hold her back. But if they took the money and didn't use the water, there would definitely be some disputes.

So it's better this way. Even if people gossip behind their backs about how unlucky they are, who cares? Neither Yao Anhui nor Hua Fangling are the type to get angry over a few words of gossip.

However, Yao Anhui remembered her spell magic, glanced at the well outside the door, and had a plan in mind.

Yao Anhui got up early that day. The first thing she did was to check if the well water had become clear. She had already pumped water several times, and as long as the water became clear, the well water would be usable.

Just as she was about to move the well cover, Yao Anhui suddenly clasped her hands together and silently prayed in her heart: I hope that the well water in our house will taste good, be healthy, and never run out of water.

Yao Anhui hadn't used her Word of Power for a long time, because recently she had vaguely sensed that the amount of Word of Power she possessed was also limited.

It was as if there was a transparent bottle in her mind, filled with golden liquid. What was that golden liquid? She didn't know, but every time she looked at Yao Anhui, she felt very calm and peaceful. In short, it must be a good thing.

Furthermore, Yao Anhui could sense that after each use of the Word of Power, the amount of golden liquid inside would decrease, but it was different each time, with varying amounts. Therefore, Yao Anhui could only record it after each use, attempting to find a pattern.

However, because the specific values ​​were unknown, they had to experiment again and again. And because they didn't know, they were very careful and dared not do anything reckless.

The reason she used the Word Magic this time was because she had at least grasped the basics, and this was a kind of experiment.

After praying, Yao Anhui removed the well cover and looked down. In less than twenty hours since noon yesterday, the well was already full of water. There were thirteen well rings in total, and only three of them were dry. It seemed that the water output was indeed good.

And the water quality looked quite good, clear and transparent, with no odor, so Yao Anhui moved the manhole cover back.

She went to the hand pump well to draw water. She could easily draw water without using much force, which made it convenient for Yao Anhui to use water at home by herself.

She took a sip, unafraid of death. The well water was sweet and refreshing, even better than the spring water from Longquan Mountain that she drank in her previous life. It seemed that the power of her words had worked.

Yao Anhui beamed and said it was well worth it.

"How is it? How is the well water?" It was Hua Fangling who spoke. She had arrived at some point and was just coming in through the main gate.

"It's very sweet, come and try it." Yao Anhui beckoned Hua Fangling over, eager to know how she would feel after tasting it.

Hua Fangling was also quite bold. Seeing that Yao Anhui was no longer afraid, she also took a gourd ladle to press water and drink it.

"Wow, it tastes even better than some expensive bottled water!" Hua Fangling was immediately amazed and gulped down the water from the gourd ladle.

"Oh dear, just take a sip. Didn't you say drinking raw water is unhygienic? We can boil it and use it to make tea." Yao Anhui snatched the gourd ladle from Hua Fangling's hand.

Yao Anhui was frightened by her. She remembered that Hua Fangling had told her a story about a girl who swallowed a leech while drinking water in the wild and ended up with a belly full of leeches.

After that, Yao Anhui, who was not used to drinking tap water, dared not drink water unless it was boiled until it was scalding hot.

She had just tasted a sip of well water, but only took a small sip. Who would have thought that Hua Fangling would be so vigorous, picking up the gourd ladle and gulping it down.

"Hehe, I forgot for a second, this water is too sweet. I'm going to make a big pot of tea later. No, this water would be even better for making milk tea."

Hua Fangling, who suddenly had a craving for milk tea, said to Yao Anhui, "I'm not talking to you now. I'm going home to try out my family's hand pump. Save some room for later, we can have milk tea and fries together."

After Hua Fangling finished speaking, she ran off again, not giving Yao Anhui a chance to reply.

Yao Anhui chuckled, but she was also busy and didn't have time to accompany Hua Fangling. After washing her face and brushing her teeth in the yard, she had to go back to continue working on her Word of Power.

But this time, there was finally good news.

Just now, Yao Anhui used three words to pray for the water from her own well: delicious, healthy, and never short of water. She didn't know if it counted as one time or three times, but the liquid used was not much. If the golden liquid in the bottle was divided into 100 portions, this time she used about 3%, so let's just count it as three times.

Yao Anhui was in a good mood. In her opinion, her Word Magic was already incredibly powerful, but the number of times it could be used was even greater. According to her previous calculations, this Word Magic was equivalent to her being able to use it a hundred times.

Furthermore, the energy used up is not gone after 100 uses, because through Yao Anhui's numerous experiments, the used energy can be replenished.

Since Yao Anhui was able to sense these golden liquids, there have only been two instances of increased energy: once when she discovered Guan Xier in the bathhouse, and once recently, after Qi Mingzhe arrived.

Yao Anhui first sensed the golden liquid not long ago, right after she captured the spy last time.

Yao Anhui was certainly not stupid. Otherwise, no matter how powerful her advantages were, she would not have been able to defeat the Empress in the hellish palace intrigue and become a Noble Consort under the combined attack of the dog Emperor and his white moonlight.

Yao Anhui was undoubtedly clever. She guessed the key point. Combining what she had done in her previous life with the golden color, Yao Anhui guessed that it was merit.

Merit can not only greatly increase her power of words, but it is also very likely related to her coming to this world.

In her past life, although she had taken lives, they were all people who had wronged her. She never killed innocent people indiscriminately. Later, when she gained power, Yao Anhui opened a charity to help the widowed, orphaned, and lonely. The higher her rank, the more people she helped.

If it's true, as Buddhism says, that "saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda," then it seems plausible that she possesses so much merit.

The two times the price recovered were when she and Hua Fangling saved Guan Xier and when she took in Qi Mingzhe. These three times together seem to confirm the story.

However, Yao Anhui could not guarantee that her guess was true.

So just try a few more times next time.

When Yao Anhui was in a good mood, she got hungry and wanted to eat something delicious.

Yao Anhui is indeed not very good at cooking. The recipes she used to collect were all famous ones from the imperial kitchen. In their previous life, good recipes were a treasure trove, something to be kept as part of one's dowry.

As for those elaborate dishes, Yao Anhui only had recipes but didn't know how to cook them. She didn't even have the opportunity to cook meat dishes when she was young, and it was even more out of the question after she entered the palace. It took a lot of effort to get her hands on some imperial recipes. Yao Anhui could only make some small snacks at most.

Yao Anhui originally wanted to make ice cream cheese, but unfortunately she didn't have any milk or rice wine at home.

But it doesn't matter. Yao Anhui brought local specialties from the original owner's hometown: jelly seeds and dried jelly grass. She was in such a good mood, it would be a shame not to have something sweet.

So, when Lu Yuanqing returned with Qi Mingzhe after their morning practice, he saw Yao Anhui sitting in the courtyard rubbing a cloth.

"Auntie, I'm back." Qi Mingzhe ran over to Yao Anhui as soon as he saw her, as if he wasn't the one who had just said he couldn't walk anymore.

"You're back! How was morning exercise today? Are you keeping up?" Yao Anhui asked with a smile.

"I can keep up, Auntie, I will study hard," Qi Mingzhe said happily, squatting down next to Yao Anhui.

"Okay, then go wash your hands and get ready to eat."

"Auntie, what are you doing? This cloth is so dirty, you're rubbing it and it's filthy."

"Huihui, I'll wash this."

Lu Yuanqing and Qi Mingzhe spoke at the same time, clearly both believing that Yao Anhui was washing something.

"This isn't dirty stuff. These are the seeds of the jelly fruit. You can rub them out to make jelly, which is a specialty from my hometown. I'll make it in a bit, and we can eat it around noon," Yao Anhui said with a smile, still in a good mood.

"Huihui, you seem to be in a great mood today. What good news do you have to share with me?" Lu Yuanqing saw that Yao Anhui was happy and wanted to share in her joy.

"Why is the water from our well so sweet? I just boiled a big pot of water, it should be cool by now, why don't you go and try some?" Of course, I couldn't tell him the real reason.

But happy feelings and delicious food can be shared: "Want me to cook something delicious for you all to celebrate lunch?"

"Wow, what delicious food is it?" Qi Mingzhe's expression of surprise was evident, but he felt he was overdoing it and Yao Anhui saw through his act.

But it doesn't matter, she had already guessed some of it anyway.