Jiang Ling wasn't idle either. She taught a few village women how to fill bamboo baskets, and then crouched down and went to the cave to find the right spot.
After everything was ready, Jiang Ling used the same reason to get the village woman to leave. Then she opened the system shop and bought some sulfur, saltpeter, and charcoal to process the bamboo a second time.
Several loud "bangs" echoed from inside the cave, and thick, pungent smoke slowly drifted out.
"Oh my god, what's that smell?!"
"Jiang, what were you doing in there?"
"This stuff isn't poisonous, is it?"
The village women, drawn by the smell of sulfur, surrounded Jiang Ling and chattered amongst themselves.
"Don't be afraid, sisters-in-law. This smoke isn't poisonous. It's just the smell when the pebbles explode," Jiang Ling quickly reassured them.
Indeed, these village women didn't seem to believe Jiang Ling's words much; their eyes showed a mixture of disbelief and skepticism.
Jiang Ling continued, "If you sisters-in-law are really worried that the smoke is poisonous, I can go in by myself after the smoke dissipates!"
Upon hearing Jiang Ling's words, the village women breathed a sigh of relief and continued filling the bamboo baskets at hand.
Jiang Ling stood outside for a while, and after the smoke had almost dissipated, she covered her mouth and nose with her sleeve and went inside.
By the light of the torch, Jiang Ling wiped away the black marks left by the charcoal on the boulder with her hand. Tiny cracks spread outwards, and the smooth surface gradually became uneven.
"Jiang Shi, how is the boulder?" Jiang Ling had just come out of the cave when she saw the village chief standing not far away, asking with an expectant look on his face.
"It's much better than last time, the cracks are starting to widen!" Jiang Ling said.
"Great! Great! Now our Lujia Village is saved!" The village chief clapped his hands excitedly and walked towards the direction where the ditch was being dug.
The village women filled the cave with bamboo sections one by one and sent them inside.
Explosions could be heard intermittently from inside the cave.
The irrigation ditches on the back hill are also progressing smoothly and in full swing.
The busy day passed very quickly, and before we knew it, it was completely dark. The village chief had intended to let everyone go back to rest and continue tomorrow, but the villagers were full of energy and refused to go home to rest no matter what.
Left with no other choice, the village chief had to temporarily stop Jiang Ling's group and send a few of them to notify the other women in the village to prepare food and have it delivered to their homes.
As night fell, the back mountain of Lujia Village was shrouded in torches.
The torches illuminated everyone's faces, and they seemed to have forgotten their fatigue, devoting themselves wholeheartedly to digging the ditch.
"Bang," "Bang," "Bang," several more loud noises rang out, and water gradually seeped out of the cracks in the boulder.
Jiang Ling touched the damp boulder and walked out of the cave with a joyful expression.
"Jiang Shi! How is it? Has the boulder changed at all?" Wang De's wife was the first to ask, unable to contain her curiosity.
"It's done! It's almost done! Water is seeping through the crack! I estimate that after a few more blasts, the boulder will be completely blown open!" Jiang Ling said, trying to calm her wildly beating heart.
"Jiang, how's it going over there? The bamboo for the irrigation ditch on the back mountain is all laid out, and we're ready to dig down the mountain!" The village chief asked, trembling as he walked from the back mountain to the cave entrance.
The village chief's eyes were bloodshot, but he couldn't hide the excitement in them. Jiang Ling glanced at the village women sitting next to her, who were yawning, and frowned as she asked, "Village chief, what time is it?"
It's the hour of Yin (3-5 AM).
The village chief's answer surprised Jiang Ling even more. She never expected that the people of Lujia Village would stay up for a day and a night to dig the ditch.
“Village chief, why don’t you let everyone rest? You’ve been working for a whole day and night without rest, it’ll wear you out!” Jiang Ling continued.
"We can't persuade them! This water is a lifesaver for the Jiang family; no one dares to rest!" The village chief looked up at the sky and sighed helplessly.
“The boulder is starting to leak water. These bamboos should be enough. Village Chief, why don’t you let Wangde’s wife and the others go back to rest? After all, they have children who are already grown up!” Jiang Ling said.
"Is this enough?" The village chief knew that the people of Lujia Village were exhausted that night, but more than his own physical exhaustion, he was worried about the fact that Lujia Village had no harvest and that every household would go hungry.
"That's enough, don't worry. Even if it's not enough, Wenxi and I can make a few more!" Jiang Ling said.
Upon hearing that they could rest, the village women immediately looked at the village chief. The village chief felt a little embarrassed by their stares and kept glancing to the side before coughing lightly a few times. He said, "Well, then let's do as Jiang said. Wangde's wife, you can go back first!"
Upon hearing this, Wangde's wife and the others thanked them repeatedly and dragged their tired bodies down the mountain.
Jiang Ling dismissed the village chief, told Wenxi not to wander off, and then carried a few bamboo stalks back into the cave.
After a night of adjustments, Jiang Ling was already familiar with the quantity and proportion of the three items. After adding all the materials, she hurriedly threw the bamboo into the fire and ran out.
Several more loud bangs followed. Unlike the previous ones, this time, in addition to billowing smoke, a trickle of water flowed out, but the water was not very clear; instead, it was somewhat murky.
"Wenxi, go and call Grandpa Village Chief over. I'll go into the cave first and take a look!" Jiang Ling's heart started pounding again when she saw the flowing water. She gently patted her chest to suppress her inner joy.
"Okay!" Upon hearing this, Wenxi took off running down the mountain.
Jiang Ling strode into the cave. The water soaked her straw sandals, and the damp feeling made her feel uncomfortable.
"Oh, I really miss my old shoe cabinet. Now I can only wear these straw sandals. Luckily it's summer now, otherwise my feet would freeze to death in winter. I guess I need to make some money quickly, so I won't have to suffer from cold and hunger in winter!" Jiang Ling thought to herself as she walked.
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