Chapter 64 Chapter 64 Digging a Well.
I saw a group of people coming in from the direction of Woshe Valley. They were all young and strong boys. They walked in pairs and carried the pottery well ring together, which bent the shoulder pole.
"Go this way, my home is over there."
The first one waiting at the valley entrance, leading the way, was a little girl wearing a green jacket, with her hair tied in twin buns, and smiling. She was none other than Ji Feng from the second branch of the Ji family.
"Fengnu, what are these people doing?"
As the group approached the ridge, a woman on the roadside saw the excitement and asked from a distance from home.
"They were sent from the kiln. My sister was selling tofu and wasn't home, so she asked me to bring them in from the intersection."
Ji Feng walked in front, like a big rooster with its head held high, feeling extremely happy.
"Your family is amazing. They even have a well for drinking water!"
My goodness, when the pedestrians passed by in such a large crowd, the creaking sound of their shoulder poles swinging made the people passing by on the roadside envious.
"When will we be able to dig a well at home? We won't have to go so far to fetch water. When there are too many people, there's no room to pound clothes by the well."
"Where can we get that kind of money? Wells are very expensive, and hiring a well digger is also very expensive. Look, in this village, only the Feng family has their own well. Now, there's finally a second family with one!"
A woman had a plan in mind and said with a smile: "Fengnu, I will come to your house to fetch water from now on! Our two houses are close, so I can walk less. My legs hurt."
Ji Fengnian was a little thick-skinned but not shy, and said:
"Auntie, give me five hundred coins, and we can share a well. This is just the well fee. Since you call me auntie, you don't have to pay for the well man. Is that okay?"
The woman's expression changed and she said, "That's all. My legs don't hurt anymore."
After breakfast, the children all played outside. Seeing so many well circles, they felt both curious and lively.
The kiln boys who were carrying the well ring at both ends sang a nursery rhyme:
"The well overflows, extinguishing the stove smoke. It floods the Jade Hall and flows through the Golden Gate!"
"Oh, dig a well, dig a well!"
"Let's go and see Miss Xu digging a well!"
At the end of the song, everyone followed Ji Feng home with a lot of noise.
"Come, have some glutinous rice dumplings. My sister made them. They're delicious."
Ji Feng brought out a plate from the kitchen and gave it to each of the people who came from the kiln. This was the food Ji Xu had prepared last night to entertain today's helpers.
I saw that the dough beans were covered with a layer of dark red icing, which was made by frying brown sugar. Inside was fried dry and fragrant beans, each one distinct, and tasted crispy and fragrant.
"We love to come and do your house work. We are all rushing to come."
The boys held the food in both hands and ate it happily, finding it sweet on the outside and fragrant on the inside.
"Yes, there is something delicious to eat. We in the kiln are well aware of Ms. Xu's craftsmanship."
The last time I came here to deliver tiles, a boy told me that Xu Nu was very polite. When they went to deliver goods to other employers, they couldn't even get a drink of cold water, let alone food. That's why they all liked to come here.
"I want one too! Sister Feng, I want one too!"
The group of children who came with the group also wanted to eat something when they saw it. They only knew that when there was a wedding, there would be delicious food distributed outside, but they didn't expect that there would be some food at the well, so they all came over.
"Come on! Today is a good day, let's all come and share in the joy."
Ji Feng was generous for once and also captured a small group of them.
The child ate it with great delight, and word spread from one to ten. Soon, most of the children in Bengu Village came to watch the fun and eat the glutinous beans.
"Sister Xu's glutinous rice dumplings are delicious!"
He extended his hand to Ji Feng, who smiled and said:
"Luckily my sister did a lot, otherwise she would have kicked you out."
Among these dark little hands, there is also Ji Huhai's.
There were so many people, and when Ji Feng saw clearly, he raised his eyebrows and shouted:
"Ji Hu Hai!"
Ji Huhai had already taken advantage of the chaos to get a handful of food and ran away, hiding behind the gate of his own courtyard like a little mouse, sneaking food away from Jin Shi, nodding and saying:
"The glutinous rice beans are so sweet and fragrant."
"Look, here comes another one."
At Woshe Valley, Lady Lu brought in a group of men. Some of them were carrying bundles of hemp ropes on their backs, some were carrying winches, and some were carrying earthen baskets. There were four of them in total.
"Wu Jingren, this way, I am Xu Nu's eldest mother. Her work delivering tofu cannot be delayed. She told me to wait for you at the intersection and help lead the way."
Lu Ai was talking to the Wujing people who were in the lead.
This Wujing man had a square face and a strong build. In the middle of winter he wore a thin short brown shirt and a crimson scarf wrapped around his hair. He carried a large shovel, chisel and other tools for digging wells.
This person was introduced by Luo Shuangniang. He also lives in Xinghua Lane in Xicheng District. Although he is not as old as Li Jingren and does not have as much experience as him, he has a good reputation and works efficiently and solidly. No one has said anything bad about the wells he has dug.
Those following behind him were servants he had found, familiar with, to do work for him.
When the man from Wujing arrived, he first surveyed the terrain and said to Lady Lu:
"I have to tell the landlord that her house is on a ridge, which is relatively high. It is best to dig a deeper well to ensure that there is still water in the well when there is less rain in autumn and winter. Ten well rings are not enough. One should be exposed on the surface as a well fence, and eleven should be buried underground.
It would be best if the owner could buy two more well rings. Don't worry, the wages we agreed on will remain the same, a total of 600 coins, and we will make sure this well is dug perfectly."
In the evening, Lü Ai relayed this to Ji Xu.
"I think this Wujing man is a real man. He dug a deep well and didn't ask for a high price."
The next morning, Ji Xu pushed a cart to sell tofu. When he passed by Shengchangli, he went to the kiln first and bought two well rings. That day, Wang Dianji processed some and baked them, and sent someone to deliver them.
"Oh my, it's so deep."
In the morning, a neighbor with a bowl of rice in his hand came to look at the well and pointed and gestured.
"Don't fall in! Be careful not to end up like her daughter Xu, who fell into the well and hit her head, and then lost her mind."
Anyone who is a little older will remember this. At that time, the shared drinking water well in Zibenguli was being dredged. The water had been drained out, and the bare well wall needed to be cleaned. The worker who was dredging the well left for a while due to something.
At that time, Ji Xu was four or five years old. She slipped and fell in. Fortunately, she was lucky enough not to die. But after being rescued, she could not remember anything. She didn't even know who she was, where her home was, or her parents and relatives. Later, Tian slowly taught her to recognize herself, and she was able to remember everything again.
Since then, the village has added a well guard on the well to prevent children from falling in.
"I can only see the depth, but why can't I see the soil that was dug out?"
"Feng, my family wants to build a vegetable patch to grow mustard greens, and we'd also like to take the silt from your well back to grow vegetables."
Another man who was watching the fun said, "Mr. Chen carried the vegetables back yesterday. I'm afraid the vegetable plots have been set up. The two families are doing well. It's not your turn to worry about them."
The woman curled her lips, looking regretful. She saw that Wu Jingren's group had already rushed over from the county early in the morning. The villagers were talking in a flurry, chatting about this and that:
"When will it be finished?"
"How much does this well cost?"
"You guys also took over the well shed?"
"It's better for you to make money if you have skills!"
As he spoke, he stepped on the large number of pottery well rings placed in front of the house.
Ji Feng squatted in front of the kitchen, shoveling rice into his mouth, and saw this and shouted:
"Uncle has so many legs! What if one gets stepped on and broken? They cost a hundred coins each!"
The man smiled bitterly and said, "Little girl, let me check if it's strong enough for you."
"You seem to want to stand on it. If there is one more person, you will have to pay for it if it breaks!" Ji Feng said without mercy.
The man held the bowl and went to watch the well being dug, and never stepped on it again.
In the evening, a four-roofed well shed with a wooden winch underneath was erected in front of the kitchen.
When Ji Xu came back, he gave six hundred coins to the people of Wujing.
Because the other party were all men, and it was late, they had to return to the county town before the curfew, so it was inconvenient to leave them food.
While they were cleaning the house, Ji Xu skillfully made a stack of scallion pancakes in the pot.
The four hens had been well-fed recently, and they could lay four eggs every day. After thinking about it, Ji Xu cracked two more eggs into the broiler, making sure they were full of ingredients. He gave each of them a handful before leaving.
"Take it and eat it on the way. I've been away from home for the past two days and I'm very tired."
"Thank you, sir. The water in this well is muddy now, but it will be clear tomorrow and can be drawn for drinking. If you need to dredge the well and clean the water every year at the beginning of autumn, just come to me. It won't cost you anything."
Wu Jingren took the hot pancake and said with a warm heart.
I took people there and took a bite of the scallion pancake. It was soft and fragrant. I didn't feel tired after a busy day.
"We have a well at home! It's right in front of the kitchen, just a few steps away. It will be very convenient for us in the future!"
Ji Feng clapped his hands and smiled, but only his teeth were visible, not his eyes.
Ji Xu was the same. The more he looked at the well, the more happy he was. In the future, he could draw water for cooking and washing clothes right in front of the house, without having to go far to the fields.
"This new bucket is specifically used to draw water."
This time, she also bought a wooden barrel from the county town. It was slightly smaller than the barrel she usually used to fetch water. It was used specifically for fetching water from the well to avoid mixing it with other barrels and polluting the well water.
"Sister, what is this word?"
Ji Zhu pointed at the line of Han Li script outside the well wall and asked.
When kilns burn well rings, they know that a well ring will be exposed on the ground, so they will burn inscriptions with good intentions. A good well can be used for generations, so this good meaning can also accompany people for a long time.
At that time, Wang Dianji mentioned many inscriptions that had been engraved in the past for her to choose from, such as: "Descendants will prosper" and "Changyi descendants" and so on.
The shared well in the field has an inscription on its curb that reads "For thousands of years, for the benefit of future generations."
Ji Xu replied, "May peace and prosperity last forever."
When Ji Zhu heard this, she squatted down beside the well, grasped the outer fence with her small hands, pointed out each word, and said in a tender voice:
"Eternal peace, prosperity, and happiness!"
The next day, at cockcrow, Ji Xu was making tofu in the kitchen.
Seeing that the water jar was half full, Ji Feng immediately went to fetch water, looking very curious.
I saw her turning the wooden handle, twisting the hemp rope around and around, bringing the bucket of water in with both hands, taking a look at it in the light of the fire, and saying:
"It's Qing!"
He scooped up a ladle and took a sip, "Sweet!"
Ji Xu said angrily, "Drinking raw water again."
She smiled and walked over, pouring water into the jar. Since she was close, it was not difficult for her to come back, and soon the jar was full.
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