Chapter 62: Wanwan Offers Ideas
The sun was setting in the west.
The air was very hot and dry. There was shade under the big locust tree, but no wind. You would break out in a sweat after walking for a while.
Cheng Wanwan looked at the village head and said, "There's a severe drought right now. Apart from Dahe Village, all the other villages will have no harvest. Then Dahe Village will become the target of everyone's criticism..."
The village head asked, "What is the target of everyone's criticism?"
Cheng Wanwan: "..."
Is now the time to humbly ask questions of those less knowledgeable?
“The target of everyone’s criticism is someone who is envied by everyone.” She continued, “The magistrate’s promotion of digging ditches is a good thing. There are still half a month until the harvest. The sooner we bring water into the fields, the sooner the crops can be revived and we can harvest some grain. However, not every village can find a water source, and finding a water source is not an easy task.”
"I just want to ask you, Aunt Dashan, how did you find the water on the mountain?" The village head asked eagerly. "The magistrate said he hopes Dahe Village can send some people to help. First, to help find the water source; second, to help plan the route for digging the canal; and third, they also need people to help dig the canal."
Cheng Wanwan changed the subject: "There's been nothing unusual in the village these past few days, but the village patrol team seems to have relaxed their guard a bit."
The village head didn't know why she suddenly brought this up, but he still chimed in, "After the rice grows in the fields, there are more weeds and a lot of insects. Not only do we have to pull weeds and remove insects, but we also have to fertilize. The more fertilizer we fertilize, the plumper the rice will grow. With the fields busy, people really don't pay as much attention to patrolling."
Cheng Wanwan said in a heavy tone, "Because there are no obvious benefits to patrolling, once people feel there is no danger, they will naturally be unwilling to work. Village head, you can't be too careful. I think we can't slack off on the patrol team for even a day. We should set up a special patrol team and pay them wages."
People in ancient times had a weak sense of law, and she hoped to live in a village where she could feel relatively safe.
The village head sighed, "Where in the village can we find the extra money to support a patrol team?"
The village's income comes from selling barren land. Decades ago, refugees came and reclaimed the wasteland, and the village had some income. But in recent years, there have been no outsiders in Dahe Village, and every household has land. Who would buy barren land to reclaim? The income from decades ago was used to dig public wells and support some families who had died out. It was all spent long ago.
Cheng Wanwan smiled and said, "This ditch digging is an opportunity. Dahe Village has solved the county magistrate's urgent problem. Shouldn't the county magistrate give some funds? How much silver can be applied for depends entirely on the village head's ability. This money can be used as the initial funding for maintaining the patrol team."
The village head's jaw nearly dropped in astonishment.
How did Aunt Dashan come up with such a clever idea to get money from the county magistrate in a legitimate way?
He was planning to take Er Gouzi and his two good-for-nothing sons to see the magistrate tomorrow and go with him to the villages below to find a water source. He was indeed prepared to help the magistrate solve his big problem free of charge... But now he had a change of heart. Going to help would be considered flattery and ingratiation. If the magistrate needed him, he would go, which would be like sending charcoal in snowy weather.
Moreover, what Dashan's mother said is right. As Dahe Village gets better and better, it is easy to attract envy. The patrol team's work cannot be relaxed.
After the county magistrate allocated funds, the patrol team was officially established, and every household in Dahe Village no longer had to worry about their grain being stolen.
When Cheng Wanwan started her business, she had a technical team. These people would write a proposal for any project they wanted to undertake. If she thought it was feasible, she would ask the finance department to allocate funds. If ten projects were successfully developed, the company would make a huge profit. This was an upfront investment.
Now, Dahe Village has a successful example: the magistrate's investment will definitely yield a return. As long as the village head mentions it, the magistrate will most likely not refuse.
After talking with the village head, Cheng Wanwan turned and went home.
When she got to her doorstep, she saw that the fields in the yard were sprouting lush green shoots. The vegetables were growing really well.
Once the vegetables grow in front of and behind the house, we won't have wild vegetables on our table every day anymore.
Two hens with twenty ducklings were wandering around foraging for food near the vegetable garden, while a rooster stood on a pile of firewood and crowed.
Zhao Dashan went to the fields, and from his doorstep he could see his eldest son working in the fields.
Zhao Ergou is watering his family's vegetable garden. The weather is hot, and the garden needs to be constantly watered so that the vegetables can sprout, grow leaves, and grow.
Zhao Sanniu went up the mountain to chop firewood.
Zhao Sidan went to the fields to dig up wild vegetables to feed the chickens and ducks.
As the sun began to set, wisps of smoke rose from the village chimneys into the sky, and the golden rice stalks swayed in the wind, creating a scene as beautiful as an oil painting.
At this moment, Cheng Wanwan was in a very good mood.
In my past life, I struggled and worked hard to build my company; that's one way of life.
In this life, working hard with your family to gradually build a better life is also a kind of life.
She walked into the house and saw Wu Huiniang sitting at the table chopping vegetables. As soon as she saw her mother-in-law come in, Wu Huiniang instinctively tried to get up.
Cheng Wanwan pressed her back down: "Go and cut the clothes, I'll cook tonight."
Wu Huiniang quickly replied, "Mother, I feel much better today. I'll definitely be fine standing for a while."
"Alright, stop pushing yourself. If something else happens, we won't have the money to hire a doctor for you. Once you're better, you'll have plenty of opportunities to cook for us."
Cheng Wanwan left after saying that.
Wu Huiniang eats lunch alone, and can eat whatever she wants; it's quite simple. But in the evening, she has to cook for six people, which takes time and effort.
From as far back as she can remember, she ate at the orphanage cafeteria, then at the school cafeteria, and later ordered takeout every day after starting work, rarely cooking for herself. Her cooking skills were limited to making fried rice.
However, in her spare time, she watches short cooking videos, learning about the order in which ingredients should be added and what to pay attention to. She has a wealth of theoretical knowledge about cooking.
Having been in ancient times for almost half a month, she knew how to start a fire in an earthen stove: use dry grass to start the fire, then add firewood, and the fire will slowly burn.
First, she steamed the millet in a broken pot. Then, she put oil in another pot, poured in the chopped bamboo shoots, and stir-fried them. The moment she poured them in, oil splattered onto her hands. Cheng Wanwan didn't care about the pain on the back of her hand at all. She quickly stirred the vegetables in the pot, afraid that they would burn...
Half an hour later, dinner was finally ready: a stir-fried bamboo shoot, a wild vegetable omelet, and six bowls of millet rice.
The bamboo shoots were burnt, and the wild vegetable omelet had too much salt. Cheng Wanwan took one bite and then drank a whole bowl of water.
However, the four young men and their daughter-in-law showed no unusual expression, and they ate the two bowls of not-so-delicious dishes clean.
After finishing her meal, Wu Huiniang cautiously said, "Mother, I'll cook from now on. I'll sit on a higher stool in front of the stove and have Sidan help watch the fire. There shouldn't be any problem."
It wasn't because the food was bad; these days, as long as it's edible, no one will complain. The main problem was that Mom put at least two spoonfuls of salt in this wild vegetable and egg pancake. Such precious food shouldn't be wasted.
Cheng Wanwan shook her head: "I'll leave the cooking to you after you finish your pregnancy-preserving medication in two days."
You can't expect someone who's still on medication to cook; she's not good at making her daughter-in-law suffer.
However, the eldest daughter-in-law did nothing, which made her feel guilty and uneasy, and was actually not good for her pregnancy.
After the family finished their meal, it was Zhao Ergou's turn to wash the dishes, while the rest of the family quickly prepared to make ice jelly while it was still light.
Six hundred bowls of ice jelly, which is about six buckets, require about three kilograms of agar seeds. That's quite a lot of work.
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