Chapter 393 Letting Go
Hu Zi couldn't guess what Gu Jiayue was up to so late at night. But he didn't dare show any hesitation. He just lowered his head and said "yes", then turned around and led the shiny black horse in the corner of the yard.
The night wind made the branches of the peach trees rustle. The cicadas on the old locust tree at the entrance of the village had stopped chirping long ago, and only a few fireflies were flickering in the grass.
He helped Gu Jiayue climb onto the horse. The horse's hooves made a light "clacking" sound as they stepped on the bluestone road, for fear of disturbing the sleeping people in the village.
Running all the way to the county town, the night wind made Gu Jiayue's clothes rustle, but she straightened her back, her eyes bright in the dim light.
Hu Zi looked at her profile and felt even more puzzled, but he didn't dare to ask any more questions.
When we arrived at the county town, the city wall showed a gray outline in the moonlight, and the soldiers guarding the city walked back and forth, yawning.
Hu Zi walked around to the west wall as if he was familiar with the route. There was a low slope there. He first carried Gu Jiayue to the ground steadily, and then he jumped down lightly. The two of them walked along the wall with their backs bent, and soon they arrived at the reservoir.
The three reservoirs here stand side by side, all made of bluestone, with the edges polished smooth.
A while ago, when the pool was full, I could see my own shadow when standing by it, and the wind created ripples.
The siphon principle provided by Gu Jiayue came in handy. Three bamboo tubes connected the three pools, and the water flowed slowly along the tubes, circulating between them. The result was that the water did not smell at all and could be drunk as soon as it was boiled.
The weather has been very dry recently, and the water in the pond is getting shallower day by day. Most of the moss at the bottom of the pond is exposed, clinging to the rocks in a wrinkled state.
Hu Zi squatted by the pool and looked down. He could see his own reflection in the water. It was very blurry and it looked like there was not much water left.
"If it doesn't rain again, I'm afraid the water will run dry in four or five days." Hu Zi sighed in his heart.
People in the county town are fine. Basically every household has dug a small water reservoir for themselves, and as long as they use it sparingly, it is barely enough.
But it is difficult for those residents who are disobedient and do not dig reservoirs. They have to queue up before dawn every day to fetch water, with anxious looks in their eyes, and sometimes they even quarrel over half a bucket of water.
As for the refugees outside the city, Zheng Qinghe was very merciful if they could get half a bowl of water and half a bowl of porridge every day.
Gu Jiayue pinched her fingers until her knuckles turned white.
She knew she had to hurry up. If she was caught by someone at this moment, not only would she not be able to explain herself, but it might also bring disaster upon her.
She listened carefully and found that everything was very quiet, with only the humming sound of the wind blowing through the bamboo tube and the occasional barking of dogs in the distance.
"Huzi, go stand under that old elm tree over there and keep an eye on it," she lowered her voice, speaking quickly and urgently. "No matter who comes over, even if it's a wild cat, you have to pass a message to me."
Hu Zi nodded in agreement.
He knew that in order to protect the water, County Magistrate Zheng had specially sent yamen runners to patrol. Those people wore black clothes and held sticks in their hands, and walked around the pond every half an hour.
But how can they be as smart as I am?
When he came in just now, he had already calculated the patrol time and pulled Gu Jiayue to hide behind the firewood pile twice, and the yamen runners didn't see it.
He moved a few steps toward the old elm tree and squatted down on a slope completely shaded by the tree's shadow. His eyes widened, not daring to blink. His ears pricked up, listening to the surrounding sounds, even the rustling of grass leaves as insects crawled over them.
He stared into the distance, wondering, "What is the young lady doing? Is she putting something in the pool?"
But the lady came empty-handed, what could she bring into the inner room?
Never mind, no matter what he puts in there, just do as he's told. Don't ask questions you shouldn't ask. This is the rule of working for the Gu family, and he remembers it well.
Seeing that Hu Zi was hiding, Gu Jiayue looked left and right three times, making sure there was no ghost at all, then she quickly walked to the nearest pond.
The stones by the pool were hot from the sun. She put her hand on them and then quickly pulled it back.
"System, buy 150 tons of water and put 50 tons in each of the three pools." Her lips moved quickly, and her voice was as soft as a mosquito's hum.
The system's voice immediately echoed in my mind: "Deducting 1,500 education points, 150 tons of water have been released."
Gu Jiayue's heart ached.
One ton of water costs ten education points, and one hundred and fifty tons costs fifteen hundred. It took her several days to save up that much.
She stared at the water in the pond, watching it slowly creep up like a snail.
Is this amount of water enough for the county and refugees to drink for three days?
I'm afraid it's uncertain.
"System, can I buy water and you just release it remotely?" she asked tentatively, glancing at Hu Zi, afraid that he would hear it.
"Yes," the system replied simply, "but there will be a delivery fee. 150 tons will cost 20 education points."
"Twenty?" Gu Jiayue almost cried out and quickly covered her mouth. "That can buy two tons of water!"
She was so distressed that she smacked her lips in amazement. Twenty education values? How many lives could be saved if it was converted into water?
"Then I'll go by myself." She gritted her teeth. "At worst, I can come every other day. It's better to work harder than to waste education points."
Education is extremely valuable nowadays. It affects the livelihood of so many people, so every penny counts.
She checked her balance and calculated it over and over again in her mind.
Even if you save as much as possible, it will only be enough to buy water ten times at most.
What will we do then? Her brows furrowed even more.
"System, is there any other way to earn educational value?" She said with a hint of anxiety in her voice.
"No," the system's voice paused, "but at the rate you're earning now, if you use it sparingly, it should be fine for now."
As the system spoke, its "sight" swept across the three pools, and it internally wondered: Fifty tons of water poured in, and not even a splash. Water is used like water every day. If this happens a few more times, the host's education value will be depleted.
With her personality, she will definitely intervene when she encounters difficulties, and then the education value will be even less than enough.
But then I thought, now that I'm disconnected from the main system and the mission can't proceed, how to distribute the education points is still up to me? When the time comes to settle accounts, I can just say the code is messed up and play dumb.
Yes, that’s it!
"But host, I have a little trick, do you want to hear it?" There was a hint of excitement in the system's voice.
Gu Jiayue's eyes lit up, "You say!"
"I'll give you a temporary task. Every time you educate one person, you'll get some education points. In this way, as long as more people continue to receive education, you'll continue to earn education points. The more people there are, the more education points you'll earn. Isn't this an endless supply?" The system thought this was a great idea and waited for Gu Jiayue to praise it.
Gu Jiayue also thought this method was feasible, but she was a little worried. "You won't be punished for doing this, right?"
"What punishment?" the system's voice said nonchalantly. "I can't even contact the team leader. He can't find me even if he wants to punish me. Besides, if the world continues to be so dry, it's uncertain whether we can get out. Why think so far ahead? If we can really get out, the worst that can happen is that we can just go back to the training ground and start over!"
Gu Jiayue felt it made sense, and her heart warmed. "Don't worry, if they get in touch later and really want to blame you, I'll bear the responsibility with you!"
The system felt very relieved and was more motivated to work. "Okay, I'll issue the task now!"
"Ding, temporary mission: spread educational ideas. For every additional person educated, the education value will increase by one per day. The more people, the higher the value. Please work hard, host!"
Gu Jiayue accepted without a second thought, her mind already starting to think about what to do. She had originally planned to return to Taohua Village after draining the water, but now she changed her mind.
She walked over to Hu Zi and patted his arm. "I'm not going back tonight. Stay in the county town. I have something to do tomorrow."
Da Huzi immediately stood up: "Okay, Miss, I'll go arrange accommodation right away!"
It was already the middle of the night and the inn in the county town had closed long ago.
Fortunately, when he first arrived in Annan County, Gu Jiayue bought a small courtyard at the west end of the county town.
Two faded red lanterns hung at the gate. Da Huzi stepped forward and rapped on the knocker. Footsteps soon echoed from inside, and an old voice asked, "Who's there?"
"Uncle Zhou, it's me, Huzi."
The door creaked open. Uncle Zhou held up an oil lamp and squinted his eyes. He saw that it was Hu Zi, and then he saw Gu Jiayue behind him. He quickly raised the lamp higher and smiled, "It's Hu Zi, and Miss. Come in quickly."
Entering the courtyard, there was a pomegranate tree. Most of its leaves had fallen, and its bare branches pointed toward the sky. Uncle Zhou led them to the main house. "My wife cleans the young lady's room every day. You can just spread out your bedding and sleep there."
I pushed open the door and found it was spotless. The tables and chairs were polished to a shine, not a speck of dust on them. I took the quilt out of the closet, and it still had a warm, sun-kissed smell.
Gu Jiayue touched it and found it soft, which made her feel comfortable.
"I'm confident you can handle this." She said with a smile, "I don't come to this yard often, so you can just stay here and keep the door closed and the room clean."
She saw a little head popping out from behind Uncle Zhou. It was Uncle Zhou's four-year-old son, with a high pigtail and his eyes rolling around.
"Isn't it time for your boy to start learning?" Gu Jiayue bent down and smiled at the child. "In a few days, send him to Taohua Village to study with the children in the village."
When the boy heard this, his eyes lit up and he turned around and ran to the backyard.
After a while, his mother came over with a tray.
There were two bowls of shredded chicken noodles on the tray in Aunt Zhou's hand. They were steaming hot and the aroma filled the air.
The boy hid behind his mother, only showing his little head. He looked at Gu Jiayue timidly, his hand still clutching the corner of his mother's clothes.
Gu Jiayue waved at him: "Come here."
The boy hesitated for a moment, then slowly moved over. His little face flushed red as he grinned at Gu Jiayue with a silly smile.
Gu Jiayue took out two candies from her cloth bag. They were wrapped in red paper and were still a little warm. "Here, you can have them tomorrow. It's too late now. Your teeth will hurt if you eat them."
The boy stretched out his hand to take it, then suddenly pulled his hand back, craning his neck to look at his mother.
Aunt Zhou smiled and touched his head: "This is given by the young lady, take it."
The boy then stretched out his little hand, carefully took it, held it in his palm, bowed to Gu Jiayue, and said in a baby voice, "Thank you, Miss."
After the Zhou family left, Hu Zi also stood up and left, wanting to guard outside the door.
"Huzi, wait a moment." Gu Jiayue stopped him. "Tomorrow morning, go tell County Magistrate Zheng that I have something important to discuss with him, and it's about the resettlement of refugees."
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