Although the officialdom of Dai Viet was corrupt and the court was in chaos, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Works, and the military still had some merit.
For example, the thunderbolt bomb that the Ministry of War produced last year was supposedly based on the story of a Taoist priest's alchemy furnace exploding.
Unfortunately, the thunderbolt bomb only deals slightly more damage than fireworks, so it's not particularly useful on the battlefield. Nobody in the border town uses it on the battlefield.
Wang Bo overheard the discussion among the people of Dingshui Village and was astonished that Jiang Qinyu could actually make something with the same effect as a thunderbolt, and even with different uses.
Is there anything this woman can't do?
He suddenly felt a pang of envy for Lu Yanzheng, who was able to marry such a woman. If only he had such a virtuous wife…
Wang Bo's gaze towards Jiang Qinyu suddenly changed, but there were too many people present, and everyone was excited about their own things, so no one noticed.
After determining the direction of the underground river, Village Chief Li decided to go and check it out on-site first thing tomorrow morning.
Jiang Qinyu was definitely going, so that evening she entrusted her two children to Chen and gave her the key to her house.
The following day, Meng Tianze and Wang Bo, along with Village Chief Li, Jiang Qinyu, and several villagers skilled in digging cellars, went to the dam.
Meng Tianze pointed to the hills not far ahead and said, "That's where we came out. The underground river is right there, but the river has stopped flowing about two hundred meters from where we're heading towards Wild Boar Plain."
As he spoke, the group climbed over the hill and went back in from where they had come out the day before.
"It was Xiao Bo who discovered this place," Meng Tianze mentioned.
Wang Bo immediately waved his hand modestly, "I was just lucky..."
Before he could finish speaking, Jiang Qinyu slipped, gasped, and was about to grab onto a protruding rock when she felt someone support her other arm.
"Sister-in-law Lu, be careful." Wang Bo's voice rang in her ears.
Jiang Qinyu's heart skipped a beat. She calmly withdrew her arm, gave a faint thank you, and then moved a little further away from him.
If people were allowed to post emotional comments right now, Jiang Qinyu would definitely be surrounded by the phrase "Get the 'Jia Ziyin' (a nickname for a female voice) out of here."
She couldn't understand why Wang Bo's words sounded so strained. His voice wasn't deep and resonant, yet he deliberately lowered it, giving her goosebumps.
Apart from this little incident, Wang Bo's itinerary remained normal afterward, and Jiang Qinyu secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
It's really hard to explain this situation; she doesn't like it, but she can't openly and suddenly throw a tantrum.
The current era imposes far greater constraints on women than in modern times, especially on widows like her who have lost their husbands. If she were to tell others that Wang Bo had designs on her because he spoke to her with a lisp, she would undoubtedly be met with everyone's contempt.
Anyway, after what just happened, Jiang Qinyu has decided to stay away from Wang Bo completely. No matter what bad intentions he may have, she will never be alone with him to avoid any uncontrollable consequences.
It was much faster for them to descend to the underground riverbed from here than at Wild Boar Flat, since this place was just the foot of the mountain compared to there.
It was an hour later when they finally stood in front of the dried-up riverbed.
Meng Tianze and Village Chief Li, holding torches, surrounded Jiang Qinyu. Meng Tianze pointed to the end of the river, "If we go another hundred meters or so, the river will extend outwards."
Once extended, irrigation ditches can be dug according to the direction of the fields in Dingshui Village.
But before that, the water from the underground river must be drawn out to cover the dried-up section.
But that's all easy to handle. The difficult part is how to break through the tunnel that's a hundred meters or so ahead.
Jiang Qinyu knows how to conduct directional blasting, but she also needs to calculate some data and use a conservative approach.
There was no way around it; the restrictions were just too great, and her professional knowledge was becoming almost useless.
"Uncle Village Chief, I've noted down the situation down here. Next, I need to go up and take a look. Then I'll ask everyone to gather the things I need. We can probably start construction in about three days," Jiang Qinyu said to Village Chief Li after reading the notes.
Upon hearing this, Village Chief Li clapped his hands and said, "Alright! I'll make arrangements as soon as I get back. If you need anything, just let me know."
"Yes, sister-in-law, if you need anything, just have someone call me anytime," Meng Tianze said with a smile.
Wang Bo's voice, which sent chills down everyone's spine, came again: "And me, Sister-in-law Lu, I've seen something similar to what you made in the army, maybe I can help."
"Oh, you've seen her before? That's great! Then you can be my niece's assistant..." Village Chief Li said happily.
Jiang Qinyu politely declined, but she couldn't openly refuse at this moment, so she forced a fake smile.
The group emerged from underground, and Jiang Qinyu estimated the distance of the underground river channel, circling the hill several times.
Having a general idea of what was going on, Jiang Qinyu and her group returned to the village.
After a busy day, Jiang Qinyu just wanted to go home for dinner, but Wang Bo stopped her.
"Sister-in-law Lu, thank you for taking care of Miss Liu while I was away."
If rolling one's eyes weren't considered too unseemly, Jiang Qinyu's eyes would definitely be rolling to the sky by now.
“First, I didn’t help at all; second, your affairs have nothing to do with me, so don’t come to thank me for nothing in the future; third…” Jiang Qinyu looked at Wang Bo coldly, “You should first improve your relationship with your mother and Miss Liu, so as not to affect the villagers’ work.”
Yesterday, Granny Wang went to the family that had taken in Liu Ruyi and made a scene, simply because she heard that Liu Ruyi had given them ten taels of silver.
When Wang Bo brought Liu Ruyi home, he always treated her as a distinguished guest, and he also instructed Granny Wang to do so, so naturally he wouldn't accept any money from Liu Ruyi.
However, when Liu Ruyi went to someone else's house, she immediately gave them ten taels of silver for food and lodging. This made Granny Wang furious, and she went to the house and made a scene. It was only after Village Chief Li intervened that the matter was resolved.
Jiang Qinyu knew about this, but she didn't care; it was as if it didn't exist in her mind.
Wang Bo's behavior today was really too unusual, otherwise she wouldn't have spoken up so easily.
"Sister-in-law Lu, please don't misunderstand. My relationship with Miss Liu is completely innocent, there is absolutely no improper relationship between us..." Wang Bo hurriedly explained.
He had originally intended to invite Liu Ruyi back, but now that he knew Jiang Qinyu could make something even more powerful than a thunderbolt, he changed his mind.
Jiang Qinyu interrupted him directly, "I don't care about your relationship, and it has nothing to do with me. Just don't come in front of me."
After saying that, she turned and left, completely unaware of how unpleasant Wang Bo's expression was.
After returning to the Wang family, Wang Bo immediately had a big argument with Granny Wang.
Wang Bo roared angrily at Granny Wang, "Do you even know who Liu Ruyi is? She's a young lady from the Duke's mansion! Not some daughter of a third or fifth-rank official, but a member of the Duke's family!"
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