The village chief shouted, tilting his head back.
"Lanzhen, don't move. I'll get a few men to go up and move the rocks. They're so big, you'll get hurt again!"
Li Lanzhen waved her hand and shouted loudly.
“Village chief, you don’t need to come up. I can pry the stone open with a crowbar.”
There's really no need for a crowbar. Just put the stone into your spatial storage and then throw it out.
Because Li Lanzhen was eager to verify whether her guess was correct.
Therefore, she didn't want the old village chief to send people up with crowbars, which would be a hassle and a waste of time.
"Old village chief, please move a little further away and be careful!"
Li Lanzhen shouted, and seeing that they had all retreated more than ten meters away, she prepared to use a trick to move the large stones away.
Two or three loud rumbling sounds!
The stone blocking the culvert rolled more than ten meters down the hillside and came to a stop.
Li Lanzhen stood there, observing the water in the culvert.
In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the water gathers here, and then, like a wild horse breaking free, rushes down the mountain, forming a waterfall.
The waterfall plunged straight down into the dried-up pool below.
When the old village chief and his companions saw the water descending from the sky like a silver chain, cheers resounded throughout the Valley of Forgetfulness.
Li Lanzhen observed for a while, then pried open the three bluestone slabs behind to see where the water flowed after it was blocked.
We should block that spot; that would probably increase the water flow.
Just as she expected, when Li Lanzhen pried open the fourth bluestone slab, she discovered that the water in the canal had split into more than a dozen thin streams, flowing out through the cracks in the rocks next to it.
Li Lanzhen used the space to collect many stones of various sizes and used them to seal up the gaps one by one.
After finishing these tasks, Li Lanzhen wanted to check if there had been any changes in the water level of the lake on the mountain.
So, leaning on her stick, she went back up the mountain to the lakeside.
I stood there for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, and the lake remained as calm as a mirror.
The water level line she drew did not move down.
She clapped her hands and prepared to return to the village to tell the old village chief about the culvert, so that they could discuss whether it was necessary to clear away all the stone slabs to expose the culvert, or whether it was necessary to clean the channel.
When she came down the mountain and arrived in front of the cave of the Wangyou Valley Village Committee, she looked up and saw a sign hanging on the cave that read "Village Committee".
Li Lanzhen smiled. It looked like it was written by Han Shunde, and the handwriting was quite beautiful.
When the old village chief saw Li Lanzhen arrive, he laughed and went to greet her, shouting loudly.
"Lanzhen, you really are..."
Before he could finish speaking, Li Lanzhen stopped him.
"Old village chief, stop! Stop! You can't say I'm a lucky star anymore."
You keep shouting "Lucky Star, Lucky Star" all day long, and you've ruined all my good fortune.
The old village chief was taken aback, then laughed loudly and said, "Alright, alright, I won't shout anymore."
Thank you for discovering the river; we observed the waterfall.
The water flowed more and more, and you know, there are irrigation canals along the foot of the mountains on three sides of this area of Forget-Worry Valley.
However, over the years, wind, sand, weeds, and tree branches have buried the canal so completely that it was no longer visible, which is why it went unnoticed.
Now, once the waterfall fills the pool below, we can clear the irrigation canals and use the water to irrigate the fields.
Han Shunde smiled and said, "Thank you so much, in-law. You're so thoughtful."
These past few days, every household has been carrying water from the lake to irrigate the sweet potatoes and vegetables they've planted.
"I was exhausted, but this will solve the watering problem."
Li Lanzhen said, "Old village chief, let's call that lake Forget-Worries Lake, it sounds so nice."
The old village chief waved his hand and said, "Alright, River of Forgetfulness, Valley of Forgetfulness, then let's call that great river River of Forgetfulness."
The village committee members applauded!
Li Lanzhen then told them her thoughts about the underground river.
Watching the old village chief and the others start sharing their opinions on the topic, she said goodbye and went home.
From a great distance, Li Lanzhen could smell the aroma of lard, and she knew it must be from her own home.
They're probably using pork fat to render oil!
Now we have pork cracklings to eat and lard to cook with. Life is getting better and better!
Sure enough, when they got home, they saw several small jars in front of Ye Shi, who was sitting on a small tree stump, happily pickling a basin of eggs.
Li Lanzhen looked at all the different sizes and guessed that she wanted to pickle chicken eggs, duck eggs, and goose eggs.
They didn't stop him from going forward and speaking.
"Mom, are you pickling eggs?"
"Yes, Minghai and Mingjiang collected so many eggs from the mountains. I thought we should get up first. Luckily, we have some large salt at home, and the yolks are so oily from pickling them. They're so delicious with porridge!"
Li Lanzhong's mouth watered at the thought, and he couldn't wait to eat salted eggs tomorrow.
All five small jars were pickled, sealed with yellow mud, and then moved to shelves inside the cave.
In the kitchen at midnight, Xue Nizi, Tonghua, Li Sanya, and a few others were indeed rendering lard.
A bowl of golden-yellow pork cracklings sat on the wooden table beside it, its color and aroma both incredibly tempting.
The pot was still sizzling and emitting a delicious aroma.
All the children sat in a row, each holding their own bowl with two or three pieces of pork cracklings in it.
Their little mouths were greasy from eating, their eyes were squinted, and their faces were tilted up. The bright sunlight shone on their slightly chubby little faces, and they looked happy, content, and blissful!
When Linglong saw her come in, she quickly grabbed a piece of fried pork fat from the bowl, ran over, and stood on tiptoe to feed it to her.
"Grandma eats it, the pork cracklings are so fragrant, they crunch and sizzle in your mouth, and your mouth is full of oil."
Seeing how delicious it was, everyone burst into laughter.
Su Chen held his own bowl in his hand, slowly and carefully biting into the pork cracklings, savoring this unique delicacy.
Watching his younger sister's happy figure, and seeing Li Lanzhen lovingly holding her in her arms, he felt a mix of sadness, happiness, and above all, a sense of good fortune.
When Ms. Xue saw him come in, she waved the large rice ladle in her hand and shouted loudly.
"Mom, let's use these pork cracklings and wild vegetables to make dumplings today!"
Li Lanzhen said, "Okay, you can arrange the meals. We'll all listen to you. You can say what we want to eat!"
Everyone chuckled.
"Tonghua, when you're making dumpling dough, scoop a bowl of white flour and mix it into the black flour. Since we're eating dumplings, let's make everyone happy."
With a piece of fried pork fat in her mouth, Wu said to Li Lanzhen.
“My dear in-laws, I think there’s too much meat. Why don’t we take advantage of the oil being rendered and make it into jarred meat? That way we can eat it all winter.”
Li Lanzhen thought about it and agreed, saying, "Okay, you guys handle it as you see fit, just don't waste anything."
Zhang Yueniang watched them chatting and laughing, finished the last piece of fried pork fat in her hand, and washed her hands.
He picked up a vest from the winnowing basket next to him.
"Mom, I made you a thin cotton vest. You've been busy working from dawn till dusk, so you can wear it these mornings and evenings."
Li Lanzhen took a look and immediately recognized it as the cloth she had given Zhang Yueniang to make clothes and a swaddle for the baby in her womb.
It's probably made from leftover scraps, cut into squares, some round, some triangular, and some polygonal. In short, it makes full use of colors and patterns, and is pieced together very beautifully.
It's not very thick, just right for wearing these days. Even in winter, it doesn't feel bulky when worn under a cotton-padded coat.
He praised her, saying, "Eldest daughter-in-law, you are so skillful; this vest is really beautiful."
"Here's what we'll do. I'll give you some more fabric later. What do you think you should make for the children? Make one for each of your in-laws and your maternal grandmother, so they can wear it underneath their clothes."
Zhang Yueniang nodded and said, "Mother, my maternal grandmother's will be ready soon."
After I finish making it, I'll make some for my Aunt Xue and my mother.
Han Yuemei also moved closer to Li Lanzhen, "Mother, my sister-in-law taught me how to make clothes, and I made a little outfit for my sister-in-law's unborn nephew."
My sister-in-law said I did a great job!
Zhang Yueniang chuckled and said, "My little sister is very skillful. She learned it after I taught her only once, and her needlework is even."
Han Yuemei, who had been praised, lowered her head shyly.
Li Lanzhen patted her on the back and said, "Okay, learn well. When you go to your wife's house, you should do things yourself. You can't rely on your mother-in-law to do everything. If she brings you to my house to settle accounts, that will be troublesome!"
The people around him burst into laughter.
Mrs. Wu looked at Han Yuemei with loving eyes, thinking to herself, "I'm not that kind of terrible mother-in-law. I've taken a liking to this girl, and I'll treat her like my own daughter once I marry her."
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