She slapped her forehead. "Oh dear, I'm so stupid, how could I forget something so important?"
Han Yinan quickly pulled her hand down and breathed on her forehead twice.
"Grandma isn't stupid! Grandma is the smartest!"
This little sycophant's words made everyone burst into laughter.
Li Lanzhen patted his head and said, "My eldest grandson is the smartest."
Then, looking at everyone, he said, "The lake and river are too far away. Everyone has to carry water on their shoulders and pull carts to irrigate their fields. It's too much trouble!"
Han Minghai looked at Li Lanzhen and said, "Mother, in the village, the land is far from the river, so we have to carry water to irrigate it. Otherwise, what would we do?"
Li Lanzhen then realized why no one had raised the issue of watering the plants.
She waved her hand and said, "Let's plant these sweet potato vines in the soil before it gets dark."
Tomorrow, eldest brother, you and I will go to the mountains together to see how we can dig a canal to bring water down from the river or lake, which will make things easier for us.
Zhang Deshui also said, "My dear in-law, I'll be going with you tomorrow too."
Li Lanzhen nodded and agreed, knowing that he had many ideas about farming.
And so, with torches in hand, they planted all the sweet potato vines and potato chunks that Li Lanzhen had given them in the village into the ground overnight.
They also planted a lot of Chinese cabbage and radishes, which are vegetables that can be pickled into sauerkraut and salted vegetables.
Li Lanzhen's supplies included a lot of salt, although it was all large-grained, it was much whiter than the salt they had bought here.
Each family received a large bowl of salt, and everyone was very happy, especially the women in the family.
Whenever salt is used, or when people want to pickle vegetables or make sauerkraut, everyone will mention it.
"Thanks to Aunt Lanzhen, look at this salt, it's so good, so white, and the grains are big and whole."
"Exactly, wow, rich people always have such good stuff!"
Li Lanzhen touched her nose once she heard that the grains were large because it was salt specifically used for pickling vegetables and sauerkraut.
The salt used by her relatives, in-laws, and parents was all fine white salt taken from her spatial storage.
These families were used to Li Lanzhen sometimes taking out things they had never seen before from her basket or the cave, and they remained very calm, including the children.
With many hands making light work, the families helped each other and quickly planted the sweet potato vines and potato chunks in the ground. As for the vegetables that still needed to be planted, those who stayed in the valley the next day would plant them.
The next day, after breakfast, Li Lanzhen took Han Minghai and Zhang Deshui up the mountain.
Li Lanzhen and her group chose to climb the mountain from the side of the reclaimed farmland.
When they reached the middle of the mountain, Li Lanzhen discovered a dried-up riverbed that had come down from the mountain.
Perhaps it was rainwater or the river water that used to flow through this area that washed away the dried-up riverbed.
"Boss, in-laws, look, didn't water used to flow here?"
Zhang Deshui squatted down, carefully examined the area, stood up, clapped his hands, and said...
"Water did flow here before, but it shouldn't have been river water. It was probably formed by a flash flood after a heavy rain."
Han Minghai looked down the mountain.
"Mother, I don't see where this eroded riverbed turns and disappears."
Li Lanzhen said, "Let's go down and look for it."
The three of them turned down from above and walked downstream along the riverbed that had been washed by the water.
After walking about one or two hundred meters, I found that it had actually turned a corner.
Zhang Deshui had walked along the river for a while, then turned back and said.
"No wonder it turned. There were big rocks blocking the way ahead, and the trees were dense and the soil and rocks were quite hard. It couldn't go down there, so it had to turn around here. The soil on that side was softer, so there must have been a lot of water that gathered there and couldn't be washed down, so it turned around."
Li Lanzhen looked at the bend in the river and then at the farmland in the valley.
Han Minghai said, "Mother, are you planning to dig a river directly down from here?"
Zhang Deshui shook his head and said, "This is probably quite difficult. You see, the trees here are quite tall with intertwined roots, and the bushes under the trees are also lush and green. So the soil here is quite hard and dense. Even digging a canal will not be easy, and the amount of work is quite large."
Li Lanzhen wholeheartedly agreed. She admired Zhang Deshui for his insightful analysis of soil quality and soil erosion.
“My dear in-law, you’re right. Let’s go uphill from here to the lake or the river, and then see how best to divert water downstream.”
They continued walking upstream along the dried-up riverbed, and after walking about 100 meters, Han Minghai called out to Li Lanzhen.
"Mother, the lake is just a little further to the side."
Li Lanzhen stopped and looked around. It was indeed true. There was a lake on the left, and less than 100 meters above the lake, there was a river. However, the river was not visible from here.
Li Lanzhen had also seen that river. The river flowed down to the other side of the mountain, and it was quite deep, as if it were embedded in the mountain. It would be quite difficult to bring the river water up.
Therefore, they should focus their attention on the lake and see how to divert the lake water into the valley.
At this point, Zhang Deshui also said, "My dear in-law, the river water is not suitable for being diverted into the valley."
The river's surface is quite high above the ground, making excavation very difficult. Let's go check out the lake instead.
The group turned left and arrived at the lakeside.
I looked around the lake from the side closest to the foot of the mountain.
Zhang Deshui then discovered a suitable route.
He waved excitedly and called out to them.
"My dear in-laws, you two come and take a look."
Li Lanzhen and her son Han Minghai walked over to Zhang Deshui.
He pointed to one side and said, “Look, let’s dig a ditch down to this side of the lake and connect it to the waterway that has dried up.”
Then, we'll find the closest point in the valley where the dried-up waterway is located, and we can dig a canal there. That would be much easier and less labor-intensive.
Li Lanzhen nodded. "That is indeed a good idea."
Zhang Deshui continued, "Look at this place, it's easier to excavate and build a canal on both sides. You can either build it with stones or dig out a canal."
Li Lanzhen stepped on it, then squatted down and grabbed a handful of sand and stones. Indeed, both methods worked here.
Han Minghai said excitedly, "Then let's go down and look for the dried-up waterway. What's the closest point to the Valley of Forgetfulness? Is it suitable to modify the waterway to go into the valley?"
Li Lanzhen looked up at the sky, clapped her hands and said, "No rush, let's eat something before we go down."
She washed her hands in the lake, then took out wild vegetable cakes and a water bag filled with the spiritual spring water from the courtyard well from her basket.
The three of them ate wild vegetable cakes and drank water, then walked down the dried-up waterway.
They reached the bend in the dry waterway and went down a little further, but still couldn't find a suitable place to dig a canal.
The three people sat under a big tree, looking at the valley. They were very close to the valley, only a little high, but the slope was gentle.
Li Lanzhen couldn't think of any other solutions, so she grabbed a handful of grass from under the tree and started tearing at the stalks in her hand.
Suddenly, she looked down and saw the hollow straw in her hand.
Suddenly, a brilliant idea struck him, and he exclaimed excitedly, "I've found a way!"
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