There is another reason why production cannot be increased.
Xu Gensheng and his team brought back a batch of medicinal herbs from the mountains, which temporarily solved the problem of raw material shortage.
However, Pingchuan County has experienced little rain since June, and there has been no effective rainfall for more than half a month now, so the waterwheels at the mill have been shut down.
The mill waterwheel uses mountain stream water from the two mountains. There has been no rain for more than half a month, and the stream water has become scarce.
Even if you store water for three days, you can only operate the mill for two hours before it has to be shut down.
Fortunately, the Dragon Cave behind it was filled with water, which was even overflowing.
The pharmacy has enough water for everything and doesn't worry about water shortages, but it doesn't dare to release water trucks for large-scale use.
Now, Xu Genqing and Wu Yang can only rely on manpower to push the stone mill, which greatly increases the consumption of labor. Without grinding medicine at night, the efficiency of medicine making is also low.
For now, let's maintain this level of production efficiency and get through this period first.
When Jiang Zhi returned, she also met with Madam Tan and Da Xiang and Xiao Xiang.
Ms. Tan was in low spirits, much like the day she signed both a divorce agreement and a contract of servitude.
According to Qin, Tan stabbed Yang Laosan.
This is probably the first time this woman has acted in defiance against the Yang family.
I've done it, but I still can't accept it psychologically.
Seeing her like this, Jiang Zhi frowned slightly: "Mrs. Tan, you've done a great job protecting Da Xiang and Xiao Xiang!"
Upon hearing that, Madam Tan couldn't help but shudder: "Madam, I...Is Yang Laosan going to jail?"
Jiang Zhi glanced at her and said sternly, "You must remember that you are now a slave I bought, no longer a daughter-in-law of the Yang family. If Yang Laosan dares to come and take you away, he should think of the crime of abduction and going to jail is certain."
She didn't mention that Yang Laosan was also thrown into the latrine.
Tan is weak-willed by nature. Although she is now resisting, she will not forget that she was once husband and wife.
With tears in her eyes, Madam Tan bit her lip and nodded: "It's good that you've suffered a bit. Don't come looking for me and the children again. If I want to hurt him, it's because he forced me to."
Jiang Zhi didn't care whether Tan Shi still cherished their marriage; she only cared that Tan Shi still cared about the children.
In the mosquito coil workshop, Jiang Zhi saw Da Xiang and Xiao Xiang working.
Compared to the little girl from half a month ago, Da Xiang and Xiao Xiang are now clean and tidy. Although they are still pitifully thin, their faces have lost the weariness that is not appropriate for their age and gained more innocent charm.
"Da Xiang, do you like it here?" Jiang Zhi asked.
I had heard Qin Shi say that Wang Xiaoju told Da Xiang to do it, and Da Xiang did it.
Da Xiang nodded without hesitation: "I like it!"
Jiang Zhi patted her head and said with a smile, "From now on, Da Xiangxiang will stay here forever!"
Jiang Zhi didn't mention a word about Da Xiang almost killing her father with her own hands.
Da Xiang is still young. Living in a dark family environment can easily distort her mind and make her unable to distinguish right from wrong.
Children's feelings for their parents are the most complex.
Not only do they have to endure the harm from their parents, but every time they resist, the knife will eventually pierce their own hearts twice as deeply.
When she grows up healthier, more able to distinguish right from wrong, and feels safer, Jiang Zhi will then tell her what true filial piety to parents is and how to view a vicious father.
Jiang Zhi also examined Xiao Xiangxiang's dermatitis.
Dermatitis is not simply caused by fungal infection; malnutrition and mental stress can also cause it.
These days, the children have been staying with Mr. Pi. Mr. Pi has been urging the children to bathe in water boiled with some herbs every day. In addition, without too much psychological pressure, the dermatitis has begun to change color, which is a sign of recovery.
After finishing up the village affairs, Jiang Zhi returned to the mountain.
Village affairs are handled by others, but she also needs to take care of her own family members.
Everything on the mountain was the same as before, yet there were subtle differences.
After the wild boar grew into adulthood, Jiang Zhi would either encounter Peiqi on her way home or not see the boar for several days.
When I came back this time, I saw Peppa at home, and she was lying quietly in her little wooden house, fast asleep.
It was rare to see it so well-behaved, and Jiang Zhi was about to praise it.
Qiaoyun said, "Peppa doesn't want to stay home and sleep; she's guarding the cow. As soon as the cow appears, Peppa has to take him out!"
What does that mean? Who's taking whom out? Jiang Zhi thought she had misheard.
Qiaoyun explained, "These days, Peiqi has been taking Qianniu to pick fruit and mushrooms on the mountain, and they're out and about every day."
Even if you want to take the cow to work at home, you need Peppa's permission.
At this time, Qianniu and Sister-in-law Chunfeng were cleaning the spring and hadn't gone out.
Jiang Zhi was both amused and exasperated. This wild boar spirit was really going too far. She had bought Qian Niu and the others not to be errand boys for the wild boar.
At this moment, Chunfeng was cleaning the spring, which meant expanding the pool around the spring in hopes of producing more water.
There are two springs belonging to the two families of Laoyun Cliff, one of which is next to the old shed of Jiangzhi's family on the cliff.
One of them is located under the stone wall behind Xiaoman's house.
The spring on the cliff is small, and the water flowing out is barely enough for a family of three.
The spring water under the cliff of Xiaoman's house is large enough for two families to drink from, but they need to go up the cliff to use the small spring water to wash clothes.
As the sun grew stronger day by day, and with no rain coming from the scorching heat, Chunfeng decided to enlarge the spring's outlet to store more water, so that it could last for a while if the water level dropped.
Jiang Zhi climbed the cliff and indeed saw Chunfeng and Qianniu digging a pit and moving soil.
Xu Dazhu sat in the muddy water, using a chisel to knock on the rocks around the spring, trying to find another place where water could flow.
Errui had previously enlarged the spring pit, and now it seems that Chunfeng and the others have doubled it in the past few days, exposing the underlying rocks, and several water lines can be clearly seen flowing out from the cracks in the rocks.
When Dazhu saw Jiang Zhi return, he immediately said, "Auntie, the spring here was blocked, but we cleared another water source, so there will be enough water from now on."
Dazhu and Chunfeng were still undecided about whether to move down the mountain to live in the future.
When the village was building houses, Xiaoman strongly urged her brother and sister-in-law to move down the mountain.
He also mentioned the thugs who came up the mountain a while ago. There are few people on the mountain, and if it weren't for Peiqi's help, something terrible would have happened.
But Chunfeng and Dazhu were reluctant to leave, for every brick, tile, blade of grass, and tree here represented their new beginning.
"Alright, let's see how things go first!" Jiang Zhi said. No one can predict the future, so let's focus on the present.
The spring water at Laoyun Cliff hasn't decreased, but after more than half a month of scorching sun, the peanuts on the slope can't withstand it.
The peanut plants started to wilt in the midday sun, but could be replanted in the morning and evening. There has been no dew for the past two nights, and the edges of the peanut vines' leaves have begun to dry and turn black.
If it doesn't rain in the next few days, these peanuts and cotton plants won't survive.
Seeing this, Jiang Zhi could only shake her head.
Before I went to the county town, I brought an ox with me to weed, but only four days later, the seedlings look like they've been scorched by fire.
If it rains within three days, half of them can be saved; otherwise, we can only watch helplessly as they all dry into withered grass.
Farmers rely on the weather for their livelihood, and mountain dwellers depend on it even more for survival.
During the war, the villagers all fled to the prefectural city and were unwilling to seek refuge in the mountains because it was difficult to survive there.
Living in the mountains means there's little arable land, making land reclamation difficult. Wild animals ravage crops, and there are also various disasters.
Flash floods and landslides can destroy crops, while droughts can lead to total crop failure.
The crops in the villages at the foot of the mountain can withstand this relatively mild drought.
Not only because of the thick soil layer, but also because the water in the ditches and ponds can save the seedlings.
The soil on the mountain slopes is shallow and least resistant to drought. Without irrigation ditches or canals, it is basically beyond saving.
This year, no rice seedlings were planted on the terraced fields, but there is still water for irrigation, so the vegetables and beans planted there are fine.
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