"What's going on in the village? Could it be that a flood is really coming?" Liang Shuyan thought for a moment, then quickly went to Li Zheng's house.
Li Zheng sat in a chair smoking with a sullen face, looking very worried. When Jiao saw Liang Shuyan come in, she asked Jin Xia to bring out some flatbread and pickled vegetables from the kitchen.
"Auntie, have something to eat first, then we can discuss the ditch digging. My husband has been worried sick all night and hasn't been able to sleep. That's why I'm asking you for advice."
Liang Shuyan smiled slightly: "No need, I'm not hungry right now. Is there really a flood?"
Li Zheng pondered for a moment, put his pipe aside, and said, "It's true, the people in several villages have been flooded. I heard that the grain was washed away before it could be harvested, and now there's no harvest at all. Fortunately, our village had you in charge, and we harvested it a long time ago. In any case, we are not worried about the grain being washed away by the flood now. However, given the terrain of our Daling Village, I'm afraid that when the flood comes, it will still affect many people."
Liang Shuyan glanced at Li Zheng and said, "Li Zheng, do you have paper and a pen? I want to draw a diagram for you so we can talk more easily. Otherwise, no one will know where anyone is talking about."
Jiao was truly a virtuous wife. She quickly handed over paper and pen, smiling as she said, "Auntie, are you going to draw a picture?"
Li Zheng was getting a little annoyed and waved his hand: "Just sit to the side and listen, don't interfere. This is no small matter."
Jiao stuck out her tongue, pulled Jinxia to sit on the kang (a heated brick bed), and Qiudong also came in. He politely asked Liang Shuyan a question, and then sat down next to Jinxia.
Liang Shuyan drew a mountain on the paper, labeled it Daling, and then drew the approximate locations of dozens of households in each village, marking dangerous areas. She then drew a winding irrigation canal from one side of Daling before putting down her pen and slowly saying, "Look, if the canal is dug down from here, each of our village's 20-odd households would need at least two strong laborers to dig it. It would take about four or five days to extend the canal to Yanghe. Our Daling Village is located at a relatively high altitude, which is a natural advantage, so we don't need to worry."
Originally, Li Zheng planned to dig a ditch along the roadside in the village to drain the floodwaters, but when the flood actually occurred, even the road surface was submerged, so the ditch was completely useless.
After thinking for a moment, Li Zheng pointed to the irrigation canal drawn by Liang Shuyan and said, "Isn't this irrigation canal project a bit too much? The key is that time is tight. Tuanyuan Town has been flooded, and I'm worried that the flood will reach our town soon."
The weather has been unstable these past few days, and since there were no weather forecasts in ancient times, if a flood really happened, there would be absolutely no way of knowing.
Fortunately, Liang Shuyan's system had a weather forecast. Knowing that the weather was abnormal in the past few days, she would receive occasional reminders from the system, as well as some precautions for when floods were coming.
Liang Shuyan coughed lightly twice, unsure how to explain the matter to Li Zheng, so she made up a reason: "Don't worry, my second uncle studied celestial observation for a while. Although he's not an expert, he has a basic grasp of weather conditions. If we gather everyone now to discuss this matter and start construction, we'll have almost finished digging by the time the flood comes. At that time, we can divert the floodwaters to the Yanghe River, and the people won't suffer."
Sitting to the side, Qiu Dong stood up after hearing this: "Dad, Aunt, I think we should all work together on this. Everyone who is capable should get involved, regardless of age. We should all participate in digging the irrigation ditch. This is a matter of life and property for the whole village. Aunt's suggestion is good. I think it would be best to lay a layer of fine sand in the dug ditch to prevent the road surface from collapsing!"
Liang Shuyan's eyes widened as she looked at Qiu Dong: "Qiu Dong, your method is good, very meticulous, and very crucial. The canal covered with fine sand will not be destroyed by the flood, and it is more secure and tight."
Li Zheng never expected that his precious son would come up with such a solution. He stared at Qiu Dong and said, "Qiu Dong, start digging according to your aunt's method!"
Jiao's eyes were filled with ecstasy. She grabbed Qiu Dong's arm and said, "Qiu Dong, where did you learn all these methods? It seems your illness is completely cured!"
"Yes, Mother, I learned all of this from Dashan and Zhao Heng. I occasionally heard the teacher say this."
Li Zheng stood up: "Auntie, let's do it this way. I'll gather everyone together now, and we'll meet at the threshing ground at the village entrance later. Everyone get ready to go, and put down what you're doing."
The teahouse was still busy when Liang Shuyan said, "Okay, I'll go back first. I'll call everyone out of the teahouse. Oh, and I'd like Qiudong to go with Dashan to supervise the work. Those two kids are more careful."
Li Zheng nodded emphatically: "Okay."
The Jin Family Compound.
Liang Shuyan said, "Mother, please call everyone out of the teahouse. I have something important to tell you all."
Mr. Su, the teacher at the school, had known about this for a long time. He gathered all the children together and said, “Listen to me, all of you. The flood has submerged Qianjin Village, so we need to prepare to dig irrigation ditches. For the sake of the lives and property of all the people in our village, we need to go too!”
Liang Shuyan's voice rang out as she clapped her hands: "Listen up, everyone! Although we've harvested the wheat, we still can't save our grain if we don't find a way to deal with the flood. So, we're all going to the drying ground now to gather everyone together to work on digging irrigation ditches. Everyone in the village who can work will go. The tea shop business is on hold for now!"
Zhang, wearing an apron, rushed over: "Mother, let Dashan bring all the people from the martial arts school up here. Many hands make light work, and the irrigation ditch will be dug soon."
Ruyan and the old lady of the Liu family nodded. The old lady said, "Yes, this is a good idea. If we can divert the floodwaters from the mountain, then we won't be in so much danger."
However, Liang Shuyan suddenly remembered something. Her home was located at the foot of Daling Mountain, and the most dangerous place was her home. She needed to make preparations for moving and temporarily relocate her entire family to a safe place.
The only safe place in the village now is the cave in the Stone Mountain. For so many years, no matter what kind of disaster occurs, as long as they hide in the cave, everything will pass. This is why the villagers have always felt that the Stone Mountain is sacred and inviolable. There is a reason for this.
"Why don't we hide in that cave for a while?"
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