Zhou Qiong, County Magistrate Cheng, and the others left in a hurry after lunch. Only Song Jinggong and the people he brought were still eating and drinking in the restaurant. It seemed that they were going to stay up all night. Those who couldn't hold their liquor had already fallen asleep after drinking too much, but they didn't leave. They were waiting for the night to wake up so that they could continue fighting.
Zhang Xiaobao didn't expect Zhou Qiong and County Magistrate Cheng to bring much income to the restaurant. Usually, they would stay in the province for a few days, so it was impossible for them to come here for a drink. It was the same for County Magistrate Cheng. Going back and forth would take up almost an entire day. It wasn't worth it just to have a meal.
The purpose of asking them to come here was to wait for the construction at Little Luoshui to be completed. After that, they would connect with this place and let those who were envious of the benefits know that these two places were under the protection of the county magistrate and an army officer. When the time came, they would weigh their weight. Those who weren't qualified shouldn't come forward. Those who were qualified should be dealt with separately.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan had been waiting for Zhou Qiong to come over and ask him questions. In the end, he left after eating and seemed to have forgotten that there was an expert here. This made the two of them feel much more relaxed.
The Dragon Boat Festival passed by in a lively manner. This year, other than Zhang Xiaobao and Wang's Zhuangzi giving out Zongzi to the villagers, the Ge's Zhuangzi also learned from them and gave out some. This year, the Ge's didn't have to hand in grain to the imperial court, but the villagers had to hand in grain to the main family, so there would be a lot left over.
Moreover, the restaurant had opened and the three families were operating together. They couldn't continue to be stingy. After the Zongzi were given out, the villagers of the Ge family puffed out their chests. When they met the villagers of Zhang Xiaobao and Wang again, they had something to say.
*****
County Magistrate Cheng, who came to support them, hurried back to the yamen and rested for a while. Seeing that it was already late, he called Deputy County Magistrate Zhang Mingsheng over and prepared a few dishes and a small jar of wine. Under the cover of the night, they began to discuss matters.
"Xuyang, how many days has it been? There hasn't been a single drop of rain. Let's not talk about the reduction in grain production. There are so many people and livestock that are running out of water. If we don't think of a solution soon, people will die of thirst." County Magistrate Cheng poured a bowl of wine for the deputy county magistrate and sighed.
The deputy district magistrate held the bowl with both hands and waited for the district magistrate to finish pouring. He placed the bowl gently in front of him and said worriedly, "Six days ago, there was some rain at the east of the district. It stopped in less than two hours and the ground was not wet. Now, there are many places in the district where the ground is cracked and we can't get much water from the wells."
County Magistrate Cheng was also aware of this situation. He reached out his chopsticks and was about to pick up some food when he stopped. He drank a big mouthful of wine and exhaled. "There's less water in the well. What if we dig deeper? Is it possible to dig out water? "
"Yes, but the well is not like when it was dug. If we want to go down directly, other than some big wells, the other wells will not work. If we want to dig deeper, we have to dig all of them. My lord, it would be great if the well could be like the Auspicious Well where water comes out with a bang. Now, that well is still supplying water to many people."
The deputy county magistrate drank a mouthful of wine with him and followed the county magistrate's words. As he spoke, a glimmer of hope appeared on his originally troubled face. Both he and the county magistrate knew how the auspicious sign appeared. The Zhang family's farmstead had used this to make an exchange with someone in the state. As a result, the well had been filled with water after a rumbling sound. Even now, the water had not decreased.
When County Magistrate Cheng heard this, his eyes lit up. That's right, what can't Zhangjia Zhuangzi do? Why didn't he think of asking them for help? Since one well could produce water, there should be more wells.
Xuyang, you have done a meritorious service. If this matter can be solved, the people of Sanshui County will thank you. Quickly, call Chen Dong and ask him to come to Zhangjia Zhuangzi immediately. Ask him to come here even if he has to beg. It concerns the lives of so many people. If it really doesn't work, I will go there and kneel for a long time to get the water out. "
County Magistrate Cheng had made up his mind. He didn't know how the people of Zhangjia Zhuangzi got the water out of the well. Perhaps they borrowed some magical power, which might also affect their lifespan. However, he had no other choice. He would ask when the time came. If it really reduced his lifespan by too much, he could only think of other ways. After all, it was not just one well.
If his lifespan was reduced by a few days, he would build a Longevity Shrine in the county and tell the people in the county who worked so hard to get water for them at this time. He would also need to send a document to the higher-ups. He had to get the water out first and then send a document.
Chen Dong happened to be on duty tonight. He came as soon as he heard the call. After the county magistrate finished speaking, he promised, "Sir, don't worry. I will rush there as fast as I can and let them know about this. I believe that Zhangjia Zhuangzi won't just stand by and do nothing."
"Go quickly. If they fall asleep and can't be woken up, just wait. When dawn comes, the restaurant over there will open. You can go there and wait. Maybe you can eat some dishes and drink some wine." County Magistrate Cheng told Chen Dong not to delay things and then let him leave.
"Come, Xuyang, let's drink together. I really didn't want to eat just now. There is food here. Some people may not even have water to drink." County Magistrate Cheng, who was temporarily relieved, regained his spirit and asked his deputy to eat and drink.
*****
Chen Dong also knew that this was a serious matter. He took two horses from the yamen and didn't stop at all. He changed horses all the way and arrived at Zhangjia Zhuangzi in three hours. Seeing that the restaurant was still brightly lit, Chen Dong licked his lips. He really wanted to go in and drink a bowl of wine. At the same time, he also knew that they wouldn't take his money. Even if he gave it to them, they wouldn't accept it.
But there was something more important. He endured the thirst in his mouth and came to the courtyard of the Zhang family. He knocked on the door twice. The night watchman opened the small door and saw that the yamen runner had arrived. The county magistrate had just left at noon. Could it be that he got lost on his way back and the yamen runner couldn't wait for him and came to ask?
This was not something he could handle. He ran to the back and woke up the housekeeper. Steward Zhang had just fallen asleep. Others could sleep earlier, but he couldn't. He was in charge of many things. He got up reluctantly and walked to the living room. The yamen runner, Chen Dong, was already waiting there.
The tea was served and he drank two bowls of it. Then he told the purpose of his visit and waited for Steward Zhang's reply. At least he had to ask the expert.
Steward Zhang estimated the time and said to Chen Dong, "Wait here for a moment. I'll go and ask. Whether it's successful or not, I'll come back and tell you."
After that, Steward Zhang left the living room and walked to the courtyard of the little childe. He knew that the little childe and his wife just happened to wake up at this time to study. Otherwise, he would have to ask the yamen runner to come back tomorrow morning.
When Steward Zhang arrived, Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan were eating. Children grew up quickly and became hungry quickly. They took time to eat something.
After Steward Zhang repeated the matter, Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan looked at each other and reached an agreement. They said to Steward Zhang,
"You go and tell the yamen runner to draw a map of the wells that need water and send it here. Don't worry about anything else. Also, tell him that there may not be so much water coming out of every well. Also, this kind of thing will shorten one's life. This is the only time."
Steward Zhang took the order and left. Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan looked at each other again and sighed at the same time. This time, they had to do a lot of things. It had to be said that it was life-threatening. Otherwise, if the higher-ups asked them to blow up the other two big places and their surroundings one by one, they couldn't stand it.
"Xiao Bao, how about artificial rain? Recently, there are always clouds floating above, but it doesn't rain. I'll try to make some clay bombs. What do you think?" Wang Juan suggested.
"Okay, when the time comes, you can blow me up. I'll have a bucket of water in each hand and pour it wherever I want. Even if you can make clay bombs and the launching tools are simple, I can't make dry ice." Zhang Xiaobao said and reached out to touch Wang Juan's forehead to see if she had a fever.
"Don't touch me, I'm just saying. People need to have some hope, and work hard with that hope. I believe that you will be able to create dry ice in your lifetime, or even liquid nitrogen." Wang Juan slapped his hand away.
"Dry ice? Do you believe that if you push me too hard, I will become a dry corpse tomorrow? Eat quickly, it will be cold soon. This is fungus soup, it's expensive. "
Zhang Xiaobao knew that Wang Juan was just saying it casually to ease the atmosphere. Anyone would know that artificial rain was impossible at this time.
After drinking the soup and eating something, Wang Juan said, "How should we arrange it? We can't let others find out this secret. We can only blow it up when others are not paying attention. Then it will be nighttime. We have to arrange a few people. Erniu is one, and his brother Daniu is another. Who else can be absolutely reliable? "
"Huzi is also fine. I don't know about others. Just the three of them. We have to spend a lot of money to buy materials, and we can't ask for reimbursement from County Magistrate Cheng. This matter is settled. Read the book." Zhang Xiaobao didn't have a good candidate at the moment, so he could only trouble the three of them.
*****
Steward Zhang told Chen Dong what the young master said. Chen Dong was happy when he heard it. He got up and wanted to go back to tell the good news to the county magistrate, but he was stopped by Steward Zhang. He said that if he went back, the county magistrate would be asleep. It would be better to wait until dawn, when the county magistrate would wake up.
During this time, he didn't need to live in the yard. He found a night patrol and asked him to take Chen Dong to the restaurant to eat something and have a good rest. Horses also needed to eat and rest.
When Chen Dong arrived at the restaurant, he was given two dishes, one meat and one vegetable, as well as four side dishes. There was also a small pot of wine and a bowl of rice. Because this was a joint venture between three families, they had to keep a separate tab and count it as a special reception fee.
Chen Dong was not in the mood to enjoy. He hurriedly finished his meal and went to sleep. The next day, he woke up without being woken up. He didn't even eat breakfast and directly rode back.
When he arrived at the yamen, he didn't care whether the county magistrate was awake or not. He ran inside and shouted, "Sir, it's done. It's done."
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