The next morning, Ning Yao left Qin Yao Pavilion as soon as it was light.
Breakfast was eaten at Shi An Yuan.
Aside from her slightly swollen eyes, Ning Qiong looked unusual and coaxed Ning Yiyi into eating quite a lot of food.
Seeing this, Ning Yao didn't mention what happened last night.
After all, it's better to avoid trouble.
After breakfast, Ning Yao approached Ning Wenyi to discuss her future plans.
"Father, now that we've arrived in Licheng, what are your plans for what comes next?"
Ning Wenyi nodded: "If you ask me, this drought still has no results. Even if we have stockpiled a lot of food, we can't just sit around and do nothing."
Do you have any thoughts?
Ning Yao shook her head: "Not for now. No matter what we do, it has to rain from God."
"Father, let's take stock of the situation at the manor first, and we can deal with the rest later."
"OK!"
After leaving Shian Garden, Ning Yao took Zhi Lan straight to the outside of the manor.
"Miss, where are we going?"
“Let’s go and see what’s going on around this estate. When we bought it, they said that in addition to the estate itself, it would also come with surrounding fertile farmland. We’re settling here, so we need to make plans for the future.”
“Even if I had the foresight to ensure that everyone has enough to eat and drink, it can’t go on for long. The drought is not over yet, so we need to prepare early.”
Zhilan nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite: "What are your plans, Miss?"
"Not yet, let's walk around and see."
The manor is located in the eastern part of Licheng, probably only a few dozen miles away as the crow flies.
Licheng is a southern city with few mountains and mostly flat land.
However, compared to Nanjiang City, there are not enough plains and dams, the mountains are not high enough, and even the rivers are not as wide as those in Nanjiang.
There are several dried-up rivers outside the city, one of which is located in the middle of the attached plot of land.
The river has dried up, revealing a cracked riverbed. The water-scarce mud is curled up like tiles, and the barren cracks seem to be protesting the injustice of nature.
The river is not wide; at its widest point, it is less than twenty meters wide, and at its narrowest point, it is only about ten meters wide. The deepest part is five or six meters deep, and the shallowest part is only knee-deep.
There was a wooden bridge about seven or eight meters across the river. Ning Yao stepped on it and it creaked.
Zhilan felt a chill run down her spine from the sound and couldn't help but warn, "Miss, please be careful!"
The wooden bridge, combined with the river's depth, is a good fifteen or sixteen meters high; falling into it would be very dangerous.
Ning Yao waved her hand: "Don't worry, this bridge is quite sturdy. It's just that no one has crossed it for the past six months."
"No matter what it is, you have to use it all the time to prevent it from breaking down quickly. If you leave it there for too long, it will break down more easily."
As she spoke, she leaned her head over the railing.
This location was right on the edge of the riverbed, and Ning Yao noticed with her sharp eyes that the bottom of the riverbed seemed a little different.
She braced herself on the railing with one hand, then used her feet to flip herself over the wooden bridge, her body plummeting straight down.
Zhilan exclaimed, "Miss!"
Ning Yao controlled her speed and descended slowly. When her feet touched the ground, she couldn't wait to squat down and reach out her hands.
The soil was damp, with one or two small weeds nearby.
The sudden appearance of green on the dry, yellow earth was bound to be a huge shock to Ning Yao!
"Miss, what's wrong? What happened?"
"Get down here and see for yourself!"
Zhilan didn't have Ningyao's lightness skill, so she could only go down to the shallow side of the riverbed and run to Ningyao's location.
The closer she got to Ning Yao, the cooler she felt.
"What's wrong, Miss?"
“Look here.”
Zhilan looked closely and exclaimed, "Grass? How can grass grow here? After such a long drought, how can grass still grow here?"
"Miss, does the presence of grass mean there's a water source here?"
Ning Yao's voice also betrayed a suppressed surprise: "It should be, and look at this place, the soil is moist, completely different from other exposed riverbeds!"
Upon hearing this, Zhilan reached out to touch it and found that it was indeed wet.
Then she followed the corner deeper into the area and found an even bigger surprise.
"Miss, the same goes for this place. The deeper you go, the more damp mud you'll find in the dark corners!"
Ning Yao nodded: "That's right. This means that there should be groundwater in this place."
"If we dredge the riverbed further down, we might be able to find water!"
Zhilan stood up and said, "If that's really the case, even if it doesn't rain, we can still find other solutions, right?"
Ning Yao thought for a moment, then shook her head: "That's not right either. We don't know how much groundwater there is. If it's just a small trickle, it won't be of much use."
Zhilan instantly became disappointed.
"Tell me, what are you two doing down there?" Hua Yan's voice came from above.
Ning Yao looked up and saw that beautiful face.
What brings you here?
“I was bored staying at the manor by myself, so I followed you out when I saw you were going out.”
Hua Yan leaped into the water and landed on the bottom of the riverbed just like Ning Yao.
"What's wrong? Did you find something?"
Ning Yao narrowed her eyes, looking at the devilish man in front of her. Thinking of how he had lied to her, Ning Yao felt extremely uncomfortable.
Hua Yan has changed out of her fleeing clothes. Now she wears a light short jacket with a pleated skirt, her long black hair is half-up and secured with a wooden hairpin, her face is unadorned, and her skin is as white as jade, giving her a unique charm.
He blinked, teasing Ning Yao, and said in a soft, sweet voice, "Little lady, am I pretty?"
Ning Yao suddenly shivered: "Don't I know your background? Don't disgust me!"
Hua Yan giggled, then pouted and said, "This isn't fun at all. Miss Ning isn't as cute as she was at the beginning. You weren't like this at the beginning."
Ning Yao reached for her waist, her eyes gleaming coldly: "If you don't want to talk, I can grant your wish."
Hua Yan immediately dropped her playful demeanor and asked seriously, "What are you two doing here?"
It wasn't that he was afraid of Ning Yao, but that he simply couldn't beat her.
"See for yourself!" Ning Yao pointed to the corner.
Hua Yan looked on curiously, then her expression immediately changed: "Is there water in this?"
"There is water, but we don't know how much. At least we know that the drought is not severe."
Hua Yan nodded: "As long as there's water, it's a good thing!"
"Alright, let's go home first."
Ning Yao did not hide the discovery of what appeared to be water in the riverbed from her family.
Ning Wenyi thought it over and over but still shook his head: "It's not very useful. What the people need is large-scale rainfall to be effective."
Everyone fell silent.
Ning Yao sighed and changed the subject: "Let's not talk about that for now. Father, did you find anything today?"
Ning Wenyi explained his family situation.
The manor was too large and had been vacant for a long time, so that apart from a few courtyards where people lived, the rest were empty or even abandoned.
If it weren't for the drought, it would definitely be overgrown with weeds, but because of the drought, it's much easier to clean it up.
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