Chapter 37 The whole village worked together to dig a ditch

There are about 400 able-bodied men in Dahe Village. A large group of them carried shovels, hoes and other tools up the mountain.

Construction began three zhang away from the water source. The route had been planned in advance. Fifty people were assigned to cut down trees and level the ground. Large trees were cut down, and large rocks were moved away. The planned road was cleared clean.

The remaining 300-plus people were divided into two groups to take turns digging ditches, with two people working together to cover one zhang (approximately 3.3 meters) of land, and slowly moved down the mountain.

They rotate every hour to prevent those digging the ditch from becoming exhausted.

The women and old women in the village would carry buckets up the mountain to fetch water, carrying two buckets back at a time. If they were careful with their water usage, it wouldn't be a problem to use it for a day.

Zhao Dashan and Zhao Ergou were also among the working crowd. The women passing by Zhao Ergou couldn't help but stop and chat for a few words.

"I watched Er Gouzi grow up. He was so sloppy when he was little, with such a long snot running down his nose. How come he's so smart now? He'll definitely amount to something in the future."

Zhao Ergou: "..."

Let's not bring up his messy childhood anymore, okay? Doesn't he have any pride?

"Er Gouzi, are you fifteen or sixteen this year? Have you found a wife yet? Do you want your aunt to be your matchmaker?"

Zhao Ergou: "...No, no need."

"Er Gouzi, my family has a niece who is fifteen years old this year. She is incredibly beautiful. I'll bring her over tomorrow so you can take a look."

“Your niece on your mother’s side is no good, she’s too lazy. My daughter is diligent, Er Gouzi. You know my daughter, her name is Cuihua. I’ll have her come over right now…”

Zhao Ergou was taken aback by the woman's enthusiasm. All he had done was say a few words in front of the whole village, so why was he so popular?

He said dryly, "My family is poor. If I get married, I'll only be able to sleep on the floor. I'm afraid of making the girl feel uncomfortable, so I'm not considering that for now. Thank you all for thinking of me..."

His words finally brought the confused aunties back to reality. No matter how clever or promising Er Gouzi was, it wouldn't matter because his mother was Zhao Chengshi! Although Zhao Chengshi seemed different now, everyone in the village knew about her mistreatment of her daughter-in-law. They still didn't want their nieces and daughters to suffer after marrying her off...

Several aunts went up the mountain with buckets to fetch water. Just after they took a few steps, they suddenly saw a few people acting suspiciously in the woods ahead.

"Those people over there look like they're from Guihua Village!"

"Why are people from Guihua Village here again? What do they want? Are they trying to steal water from Dahe Village?"

"Whoever runs the fastest, hurry back and inform the village head!"

Down the mountain, the village head and Cheng Wanwan were talking under the big locust tree in the middle of the village.

A winding path was drawn on the sandy ground, which was a schematic diagram of a ditch, and the diagram was marked in four places.

Cheng Wanwan drew a line at the top with a twig: "Make an opening here. Once there's enough water in the paddy field, fill the ditch with stones to block it. When needed, move this big stone away..."

The village head nodded repeatedly: "I just don't know how many years this ditch will last after it's dug."

Cheng Wanwan tried hard to recall what she had seen and heard in her previous life, and slowly said, "When soil is soaked in water, it becomes soft. Over time, the ditch will be full of mud, and the ditch will naturally become unusable. Could we put stones in the ditch so that the mud on the sides won't be washed away and bury the ditch..."

The village head's eyes lit up: "Big Mountain Mother, that's a great idea! I'll go up the mountain right now."

"No rush," Cheng Wanwan said hurriedly. "The most important thing right now is to get the water down. We can arrange for people to put stones in the ditches during the winter off-season..."

"That's right, that's right." The village head sat down again and asked curiously, "Grandma Dashan, how do you know so much?"

Cheng Wanwan coughed dryly: "When I was little, I lived at my maternal grandparents' house. My maternal grandfather was an old-fashioned farmer. Once, during a heavy rain, my grandfather would dig ditches to divert the water. I just copied him..."

The original owner's biological mother, Old Mrs. Cheng, married into Chengjia Village from another town, while she married into Dahe Village from Chengjia Village. Her maternal grandparents had all passed away many years ago. With so many connections, no matter what happened, she could always blame it on her maternal grandparents without worrying about being exposed.

As the two were talking, Zhao Shagen ran over quickly, panting, and said, "Uncle Village Head, something bad has happened! The people from Guihua Village are here again!"

The village head frowned, then sneered: "This hill belongs to Dahe Village, and the water on the hill naturally belongs to us. Besides, this hill is closer to Dahe Village. It took us four or five hundred people to get started. The village head of Guihua Village has done a lot of things that everyone hates over the years. The villagers will not willingly go up the mountain to dig ditches and do the work."

Despite saying that, the village head still decided to go up the mountain.

When Cheng Wanwan returned home, Wu Huiniang had made many wild vegetable buckwheat pancakes and placed them on the table, secretly stuffing half an egg into the middle of each pancake.

She took two pancakes with her on the mountain. After walking two-thirds of the way, she saw her two sons digging a hole with farm tools. They were sweating profusely but didn't even have time to wipe their sweat. They didn't even notice her coming.

Cheng Wanwan didn't disturb them. She sat on the side and waited for a while. Then it was time for the shift change. Zhao Dashan and Zhao Ergou were relieved to rest.

"Mom, what brings you here!" Zhao Dashan wiped his sweat. "The sun's gone, why is it still so hot?"

Zhao Ergou glanced at the sky: "I wonder if we should continue working tonight or go back to rest..."

Before he could finish speaking, several men in their forties beside him shouted:

"Of course, we should keep digging!"

"The village head said it would take two and a half days, so let's work through the night and we'll reach the foot of the mountain by tomorrow night at the latest!"

"The rice in the fields can't wait, hurry up and get it done, no one slacking off!"

The village head walked over with his hands behind his back: "Working for a whole day and night like this won't do, don't exhaust people. But since there's no sun at night, it's more comfortable and cooler to work. So let's work through the night tonight, and everyone get a good rest tomorrow morning, then come back in the afternoon to continue..."

The crowd worked with great enthusiasm, and in no time they had moved down several meters.

Cheng Wanwan pulled her two sons to sit down on a large rock nearby, took two pieces of bread from her basket and handed them to them: "Eat your fill before you start working."

The wild vegetable buckwheat pancakes didn't taste very good, but with an egg in the middle, they were like a delicacy. Zhao Dashan and Zhao Ergou ate them with their eyes squinted, looking very satisfied.

The people working nearby watched with immense envy.

They worked here for most of the day, and their wives and mothers didn't even bring them a drop of water!

Everyone says that Sister-in-law Zhao often abuses her son. Look at this, does it look like abuse? It makes them all want to be Sister-in-law Zhao's son!