Jiang Yaojie was taken aback by Jiang Ling's question. He lowered his head, nervously clutching his patched clothes, and hesitated for a long time before finally speaking, "I...I...I vaguely remember that some elderly people lying in bed...said the same thing. Not long after they said that, they passed away..."
Jiang Yaojie dared not say anything more, nor did he dare to think about it anymore. At this moment, his heart ached inexplicably, so much so that he almost shed tears.
Jiang Ling was speechless. She rubbed her forehead and realized that Jiang Yaojie was not only sensitive but also suspicious.
"I need to be more direct with Jiang Yaojie in the future. He's so prone to overthinking, it's not easy to explain things to him in a short time!" Thinking of this, Jiang Ling said, "Don't worry, I'm perfectly healthy!"
“You are the eldest son of our family, and I just think it would be better if some things were said by you. A couple of days ago, I discovered a water source in this mountain, and this morning I went to discuss this matter with Grandpa Village Chief,” Jiang Ling said.
"Wh...what, Mother? You! You found a water source?" Jiang Yaojie stared wide-eyed, mouth agape in disbelief.
“Yes, it’s inside the White-Haired Goddess’s Cave. However, the water source is currently blocked by a huge rock. The method was given to me by the White-Haired Goddess in a dream. I tried it and the method is indeed feasible, but…” Jiang Ling paused here.
"However, while the problem of the boulder is solved, how to bring the water down is still a problem," Jiang Ling said with a troubled expression.
“This…this is not difficult at all,” Jiang Yaojie said.
Jiang Ling was overjoyed and asked, "Yaojie, do you have a solution?"
"Mom, it's easy, I'll just carry the buckets to fetch water!"
Jiang Yaojie's words left Jiang Ling speechless. How come these people only think of the most time-consuming, laborious, and useless methods?
"Yaojie, let me ask you, how long does it take you to get to the White-Haired Goddess Cave in the back mountain?"
"About half an hour, or maybe less than half an hour if I'm on my feet!" Jiang Yaojie said, scratching his head.
"How many buckets of water can you carry at a time?" Jiang Ling continued to ask.
"Two buckets, please," Jiang Yaojie said, glancing at the buckets placed in the corner.
"Do you know how many buckets are needed for one acre of land?"
After listening to Jiang Ling's question, Jiang Yaojie pondered for a moment and replied, "Well... I'm not quite sure about that."
"Yaojie, let me ask you again, if it takes twenty buckets of water to irrigate one acre of land, how many times a day do you need to go up and down the mountain?"
Jiang Ling's question completely stumped Jiang Yaojie. He scratched his head and thought about it for a while, then shook his head with a blank look on his face.
Jiang Ling felt inwardly ashamed. This was a simple math problem that even elementary school students could solve, yet Jiang Yaojie, who was already fourteen, still couldn't figure it out. Jiang Ling suppressed her urge to tell him the answer and continued to guide him: "Yaojie, do you think two buckets of water take half an hour? Then how long would it take to get four buckets of water?"
“One hour!” Jiang Yaojie answered quickly this time.
"If it takes four buckets of water in one hour, how long would it take to get twenty buckets?" Jiang Ling continued patiently.
“This…” Jiang Yaojie started counting on his fingers with a serious expression.
After a good three or four minutes, Jiang Yaojie finally stammered, "Mother...is it five hours?"
"That's right!" Jiang Ling felt incredibly happy when she heard Jiang Yaojie's answer. This was clearly a primary school math problem!
Jiang Ling nodded and said earnestly, "Yaojie works twelve hours a day, and you will spend five hours fetching water. And this is only for one acre of land. What if it were twenty or thirty acres?"
"I..." Jiang Yaojie bit his lip, unsure how to answer Jiang Ling's question.
"Yaojie, is the water flowing?" Jiang Ling continued to guide him. Although she was very anxious at the moment and wished she could tell Jiang Yaojie the method directly, she knew that she could not do so. Doing so would only make everyone suspicious.
“Mother! You… could it be… that you mean we should dig a road from the back of the mountain and let the water flow down along it?” Jiang Yaojie said after a long period of contemplation.
When Jiang Ling heard this, she almost jumped up and danced. Heaven knows how much she had suffered keeping this thought to herself.
“This method is feasible, but Yaojie, don’t you think the land is too dry right now?” Jiang Ling continued.
Jiang Yaojie was taken aback by Jiang Ling's words. He stood up, looked at his neglected vegetable garden, and nodded to Jiang Ling.
"Although there is water on the mountain, the land is so arid that the water would probably be absorbed before it even reaches the foot of the mountain, right?"
Upon hearing Jiang Ling's words, Jiang Yaojie showed a somewhat disappointed expression. He looked up at the starry sky and murmured, "Is there really no other way?"
"Yaojie, have you ever thought about putting something on the soil to prevent the water from being absorbed by the land?" Jiang Ling continued to hint.
Jiang Ling's words reminded Jiang Yaojie. He frowned, scratched the back of his head, and began to think seriously. Jiang Ling didn't give him any further hints or urge him; she patiently sat beside him, waiting for his answer.
Jiang Yaojie's facial expressions kept changing, sometimes frowning, sometimes scratching his head, sometimes pouting. After a long while, Jiang Yaojie had a look of sudden realization. He slapped his head and said, "Mom! Can't we just use hay?"
As he spoke, Jiang Yaojie began to gesture to Jiang Ling.
Jiang Ling was somewhat disappointed after hearing this, but she didn't show it and continued to patiently guide him: "Yaojie, hay is useful, but it will rot if it is soaked in water for a long time. Besides, the cost of weaving hay is not low. Can you think of any other feasible methods?"
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