Traveling through ancient times: living a different life

Grandpa went to find those villagers and asked them to think about it and come home in the afternoon to discuss it in detail.

At two or three o'clock, five families arrived one after another. Grandpa took out the blueprint and showed it to them. They had never seen or heard of it before, and they didn't know if it was really useful. They were hesitant and tangled.

"You still don't believe me, Old Chen? I paid someone to buy this blueprint. If you don't want to do it, I can do it myself. But let me be frank. When the water flows out, don't say I cut it off so that it doesn't flow into your fields. Just don't find fault with me."

Finally, several families agreed. Each family paid two taels of silver first. If it was not enough, they would level the beach later. If there was more, they would return it to them.

So he drove a bullock cart to find Carpenter Yan from the neighboring Liushu Village and asked him and his son to make it. Carpenter Yan looked at the blueprint and said happily, "This is a good thing. If it works, it will help the villagers a lot and bring good news to the fields that lack water. Good! Let's do it as soon as possible."

"Take it back to Shuwan Village and install it! But you and your son can go and see where to install it and what else is needed. I will prepare it in advance."

"Kuan'er, you go with Uncle Chen. I'll prepare the wood at home."

So Grandpa brought Yan Kuan to Shuwan Village, checked the place, measured the dimensions, and told him where to dig a reservoir. After making all the arrangements, Grandpa sent him back to Liushu Village.

Grandpa went to the village chief's house in the evening and talked about the water truck loading. If you are interested, you can go and take a look. After chatting for a while, he came back.

Ten days later, Carpenter Yan and his sons used ox carts to pull two carts of waterwheel materials and parts, put the things on a flat place by the river, and started to install them. Grandpa asked the people from those families to help. Some went to Chen's house to move bamboo, and some took things. They were busy.

The village chief brought several older elders here, and some villagers also came over to watch the fun.

An hour later, all the water wheels were assembled, the bamboo joints were opened and connected one by one, and a reservoir three meters long and four meters wide was dug above the field to bring water up for irrigation.

The villagers also helped enthusiastically. They stood the waterwheel up and pushed it. Soon the waterwheel began to rotate under the power of water, and the water slowly flowed into the trough and then into the big puddle.

The villagers cheered and were excited, and they all went to the village chief to ask for a water truck.

"Everyone be quiet. This was installed by Chen Feng and several villagers. Chen Feng also asked someone to buy the blueprints. If you want to do it, you can talk to Chen Feng." The village chief said loudly to the villagers while standing on the slope.

Some villagers could not wait to run to Chen Feng and said, "Brother Chen, my fields are far from water. Every time I carry water for irrigation, the skin on my shoulders is worn out. Your waterwheel is great. It saves a lot of trouble."

"If you want to make it later, you can talk to Carpenter Yan. I can't do it. Although I paid for the blueprint, we are all from the same village, so I paid for it myself."

"Chen Jiadayi is a really nice person. This waterwheel drawing must have cost a lot of money." Praises were heard everywhere.

The village chief walked up to Chen Feng and said to him, "Brother Chen, as the village chief, I will lead the villagers to thank you for your contribution to the entire village. I will take you to report this to the mayor tomorrow so that the water truck can be promoted and more villagers can benefit from it. Don't worry, your family will not suffer any loss."

The next day, the village chief came to Chen's house early. Chen Qingyun opened the door and saw the village chief coming. He hurriedly greeted him: "The village chief is here. My father is in the house. Come out right away."

After a while, Old Man Chen came out. He was going to see the mayor today. He was wearing clean clothes and cloth shoes. The ox cart in the backyard was ready. The two of them opened the back door and drove the ox cart to the town.

At around ten o'clock in the morning, two vehicles came running on the road leading into the village, a horse-drawn carriage in front and an ox-drawn cart behind.

The car drove all the way to where there was a water truck. The villagers knew that the mayor had arrived, and many people went there. Chen Qingyun and his second brother also went to take a look. They asked the family to prepare lunch and invited the mayor and the village chief to come to their house for dinner. After that, they left with the second brother.

At around eleven o'clock in the morning, my grandfather drove the ox cart in front, and the mayor's carriage followed behind. They arrived at Chen's house and drove the carriage into the yard.

Chen Qingyun drove the ox cart to the backyard. Grandpa sat down with the mayor in the main hall and poured tea. The mayor took a sip and praised, "Good tea." He then said, "I will report the waterwheel to the county. This is a great contribution. I may come with the adults. Can you give me this drawing to take away?"

Biyue hid behind the door, listening to the conversation between her grandfather and the mayor. When she heard that she had to hand in the drawings, she didn't know whether she should do so or not.

Grandpa said, "Okay," and handed the drawings to the mayor, saying that the meal was ready and invited the mayor, his entourage, and the village chief to have dinner together. There were many people today, so there were two tables for men and women. The women and children's table was in an empty room, and the men ate in the main room. After the meal, Grandpa filled a bamboo jar with half a can of tea for the mayor to take away. The mayor thought Grandpa was very considerate.

My grandfather thought that once he submitted the drawings, they would be forgotten.

Ten days later, the mayor, accompanied by the county magistrate, legal advisors, and yamen runners, came to the village in a mighty procession.

The quiet little mountain village became lively again. Chen's father and son personally led the county magistrate and a group of people to the waterwheel.

From a distance, you can see the waterwheel standing by the river, operating normally. The waterwheel scoops up water from the river, and the bamboo tube on the waterwheel pours the water into the trough below the waterwheel. The water slowly flows into the trough, and then the water is slowly transported to the reservoir, so it can be used for irrigation at any time, greatly saving a lot of manpower.

The lord praised and said: "I have reported this to the capital, and there will be a reward soon. This great thing that benefits the country and the people must be used by the people of the world, especially those in areas where water is scarce."

Grandpa invited everyone to his house for dinner, and everyone didn't refuse. There were many people eating today, so he steamed a wooden barrel of rice, fried two pots of vegetables, and prepared a separate table for the county magistrate and his family. Today, three tables were set up before we finished the lunch. After seeing the county magistrate off, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Seven days later, the county yamen runners brought a commendation with some words of praise and awarded two hundred taels of silver and ten pieces of cotton cloth.

Grandpa rewarded the person who brought the good news. The whole family was very happy. The villagers were also envious and everyone came to congratulate him.