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Chapter 232 Thinking about the pond, Hua Pozi

The weather was getting hotter day by day, but there was still no rain. The paddy fields needed more and more water, but the water level of the river was getting lower and lower. If it continued like this, it would soon be insufficient. The people in the village began to get anxious.

Since ancient times, it will rain when spring comes, usually around the Qingming Festival. During the Grain Rain season, it will rain even more.

As the saying goes, 'around the time of Grain Rain, plant melons and beans', which means that the temperature and moisture are the best at this time. However, this year, no matter it was Qingming or Grain Rain, not a drop of water fell from the sky.

There is still a group of women washing clothes by the river today, and they are all talking about the rain. They are all worried. Not to mention that they are all farmers and rely on farming for a living. Even if they don't farm and it doesn't rain, the food harvest will be poor, and the money spent on buying things will be more than usual. How can they not worry?

"It's really hot today, but there's not even a drop of rain. Is this going to be a drought year? What will happen to our crops?"

A daughter-in-law said this as she rubbed her face with her wet hands to make it feel a little cooler, but her brows were still wrinkled, and it was obvious that she was still anxious.

Another woman said, "Yes, it's too hot today. It's never been this hot at this time of year. It hasn't rained at all. Look, the river water has dropped."

Everyone was looking at the river in front of them. This was a river they saw often, and they could tell the water level if they looked carefully.

"Oh my! The river has dropped so much that even that rock over there is visible. It wasn't visible last year!"

Another woman pointed to a stone nearby and said, "That stone is farther from the river and has just emerged from the water recently. It is covered with gray-green things. You can tell it has been in the water for many years." Others nodded as they all washed clothes here all the time, so they knew that the stone was newly exposed.

Sister Shugen and Sister Li were also washing clothes nearby. When they heard what they said, they looked at each other and sighed. They were also anxious, but they also knew that it was useless to be anxious. This was what Zhao said. The more anxious they were, the more anxious they were.

Wang Huazhi was also washing clothes here today. She asked with some concern, "Is it really not going to rain all day? My family depends on those two acres of land."

Wang Huazhi was a woman living alone with her son. She was an orphan and a widow, with only two acres of land at home, and that land was also on the east side of the river. The yield was pitifully low to begin with, and if it was not irrigated, there would definitely not be much harvest. Other families with men could go out to work, but her family could not do that, so she was naturally more anxious.

Mrs. Li said, "Don't worry. Your field is planted with wheat, not rice. If it were rice, it would be really pitiful. Hey, I have three acres of rice at home, and I'm worried now."

"That's right. I also have three acres of rice at home. There are many families in our village who grow this kind of rice. If it doesn't rain, the river water will continue to decrease, and it will definitely not be enough to supply water to all of our families' paddy fields."

Sister Shugen was hitting the clothes vigorously with a stick, as if she was trying to get rid of the anger in her heart.

Wang Huazhi thought the same thing. Her family had wheat, and as long as they could hold on for another month, they would be able to harvest some food. This was much better than the rice that could not grow because it could not find water.

As soon as they talked about the paddy fields, the women next to them also started talking about it.

Sister Shugen saw that they were getting more and more anxious. Although she was also anxious, she still said, "Don't be anxious, everyone. It's only a short time now. The time when it rained all over the country in previous years hasn't come yet. We can't be anxious. Maybe it will rain in a few days, and then one rain will be equivalent to three rains."

Many people felt relieved because of what Sister Shugen said, but there were still some people who were not so optimistic. The newly arrived Mrs. Hua was one of them.

"One rain equals three rains? How can it be that easy? I think there might be a severe drought this year. Look at how little water there is in the river. I have lived for so many years, but I have only seen the river water so low once since I married into this riverside village. That year was a year of severe drought. That year, people in the village starved to death, and many sold their children."

As soon as Mrs. Hua said this, some of the older women showed expressions of lingering fear on their faces. It was obvious that they also remembered what happened that year.

Wives of Li's age, although not too old at the time, still have memories. They didn't know what to say after hearing it, thinking that if the drought was really that severe, it would be bad.

Seeing that her words frightened these people, Mrs. Hua showed a smug smile on her face. She liked it when others changed their expressions because of her words, as if that made her look more important.

"But don't worry too much. I don't think this year will be the same as that year. You see, a few days ago, the fourth son of the Shen family dug a water hole in his garden, which shows that we still have enough water here. Are you still worried about running out of water?"

As soon as Mrs. Hua said this, the women felt as if they were fed a sip of cool water when they were thirsty, and they felt that the situation was not as bad as they had imagined.

"Yes, there is water underground. If it doesn't rain, we can dig a well and get water. What are you afraid of?"

"That's right. Even though the river water has dropped now, isn't it still not the hottest yet?"

"Even if the water in this river is not enough, won't there still be water in Fuyuan?"

"Yes, I went to see it the other day. The pond in the garden of the fourth son of the Shen family was so full that the water was about to overflow. But the water was even more than that in the river."

"That water hole is really great, maybe it's connected to the water hole in Daqing Mountain!"

"Zi'an and his wife are both kind-hearted. They will definitely let us use the water when the time comes."

"No need to worry now!"

Everyone was talking one after another, and they all thought of the pool of water in Shen Zian's house. They felt that there seemed to be much more water than the water in the river. At least the water there did not fall down like the river water.

Sister Shugen listened to what these people said and thought to herself that these people were really unreserved. The pond belonged to Shen Zian and Su Zhi. It was in someone else's garden, and they just said they could use it whenever they wanted. But they also thought that if there was a severe drought, someone would definitely want to use the pond in Fuyuan, and Shen Zian and Su Zhi really couldn't stand it, otherwise they would definitely offend everyone.

Of course, they all felt that Shen Zian and his wife were definitely not the kind of people who would not let others use the water even though they had it.

"Hey, look, isn't that Zi'an's wife? She's coming over. Let's ask her if the water level in her pond has dropped in the past few days."

These people were talking excitedly, and Hua Pozi, with her sharp eyes, saw Su Zhi coming over and immediately spoke loudly.

Su Zhi was wearing a light green shirt that went up to a little above her knees, and blue loose trousers underneath. The trousers covered half of her feet, and underneath were a pair of dark blue cloth shoes with green patterns embroidered on them. This kind of dress was common among country women, and some people also wore skirts. However, it was too wasteful of fabric, and it was also inconvenient to work with, so few people wore it that way.

Su Zhi wore this outfit because she felt hot. This outfit made her look cooler. You have to know that you have to wear a pair of pants under the skirt at that time. It was like wearing an extra layer. Su Zhi thought that in this ancient time, you can't show your legs, and you can't wear an extra layer just to look good. She didn't want to suffer that.

However, Su Zhi was dressed like this, and walked so gracefully. In the eyes of a group of women, she was still considered to be both well-looking and decent.

"Hello, sisters-in-law and aunts. It's really hot today. Are you cool by the water? I can hear you talking and laughing from a distance."

Su Zhi smiled and waved, wiping her forehead with the handkerchief in her hand. She wet the handkerchief with water when she came out, and used it to wipe her face, which could also cool her down. She felt that the day was too hot. Looking at these women washing clothes by the river, although the willow leaves did not block much sunlight, they still felt cool.

Everyone quickly greeted Su Zhi and asked her to come over and sit down.

Su Zhi is very popular now. Her idea of ​​a kang was not in vain, because everyone is having a warmer winter than in previous years. At least they can sleep warmly and have a warm place during the day. This warmth was given by Su Zhi. Everyone appreciates her kindness and thinks that Su Zhi is a good person. Moreover, Su Zhi is a person who is easy to get along with. She always smiles when she sees people. Although her smile is not so crooked, just a slight raise of the corners of her mouth makes people feel that she is really affectionate to you, so everyone likes to be with her.

Seeing that Sister Shugen and a few others were there, Su Zhi walked down the river bank and found an empty stone to sit on. Unfortunately, Hua Pozi was sitting next to this stone.

"Hello, Auntie Hua."

Su Zhi smiled and greeted Hua Pozi. She didn't like Hua Pozi, who was a gossip. But she didn't hate her too much, because that was a common problem among women. As long as they didn't have bad intentions, Su Zhi wouldn't hate them. She greeted Hua Pozi just for fun, and there was no loss. But if she didn't greet her and offended such a gossipy woman, who knows what she would say to her.

It is better to offend a gentleman than to offend a villain.

This is what Su Zhi thought. Especially when this villain might be an old woman who likes to gossip about others, it is better not to provoke him if possible. Time should not be wasted on such a person.

"Hey, good, good, good, hello to you too, Zi'an's wife."

But Hua Pozi was very happy because of Su Zhi's greeting. Now everyone knows that Shen Zi'an's wife is a blessed and capable person. It is a pleasant thing to talk to her. Hua Pozi's relationship with the Shen family is not very good, because she leaked the matter of Shen Yu, the eldest daughter of the Shen family. The people of the Shen family were not happy to see her, and she often used this matter to bully the Shen family, especially when she quarreled with Sun, she would shout as loudly as possible, and seven or eight times out of ten she would win because of this. But this also caused her and the Shen family to lose their harmony.

Now when Su Zhi saw her, she greeted her with a smile. She thought to herself that Su Zhi was very sensible.

To put it bluntly, Hua Pozi is just a chattering old woman who wants to save face. If others treat her well, she will also treat them well.

"Zi'an, did you make this dress yourself? The stitching is really good. Look at the flowers embroidered on it, they look like real ones. You are so skillful, no wonder you live such a good life."

The flower lady praised Su Zhi, and she was not exaggerating. Su Zhi was really good at sewing, and her embroidery was even better. Whenever she had time, she would embroider her and Yueyue's clothes. Although they were not big flowers or plants, just embroidering a little on the edges of the lapels and cuffs would make them look very nice. With these clothes, not only would they attract everyone's attention in the village, but they would also not be embarrassing when they entered the town.

Su Zhi smiled and said, "Auntie Hua, please stop praising me. All the aunties and sisters-in-law in our village are skilled. What's the big deal? As long as you are diligent, you can live a good life. I think your family lives a good life. Brother Dabao is going to get married soon, right? Then he will definitely be able to find a skilled daughter-in-law. Then, Auntie Hua, you can just wait to enjoy the happiness. Your life will definitely be even better."

"Hey! Go up a level, that's a really nice thing to say!"

After hearing what Su Zhi said, Hua Pozi happily took Su Zhi's hand and clapped it. Su Zhi's words really touched her heart, and she immediately felt that Su Zhi was a better person.

Su Zhi was held by the old woman Hua, and she felt embarrassed. She thought it was just a common remark to deal with people, but the old woman really took it seriously. However, the old woman remembered her kindness, so she clapped her hands. It was better to have more friends than more enemies.

When others saw that Su Zhi made Mrs. Hua so happy with just a few words, they thought that this boy, Mrs. An, was good at talking and was really likable. If anyone could marry such a little girl, they would be very lucky.

At this time, people seemed to have forgotten that they had once regarded Su Zhi as a jinx.

Su Zhi skillfully pulled her hand back and asked what they were talking about just now.

Everyone immediately rushed to speak, talking about their concerns about the weather, and finally talked about the pond at Su Zhi's house. Everyone looked at Su Zhi's face, wanting to see if she was unwilling to let them use the pond when the time came. As a result, they were happy to see that Su Zhi did not show any dissatisfaction.

Su Zhi was actually a little upset. She thought that if there was a severe drought, her home would become a water source. Unfortunately, she was happy that there was enough water at home, but it seemed that her joy was in vain. Moreover, she didn't want to add spiritual spring water to the pond to raise fish and grow lotus this year.

"If there is a real drought, we can go there to get water. But I hope that day doesn't come. I hope it will rain soon. I've already prayed to the Rain Goddess. It must be useful."

Su Zhi said that if there was a severe drought, she would naturally not stop people from using water.

As soon as Su Zhi said this, everyone was happy, thinking that Su Zhi was indeed a kind-hearted person. However, some people showed anger on their faces.