The whole family travels through time: escape from famine! No cheat codes yet!

Shen Zhiqiu didn't care whether it was herbal or not. Even if he dug up ginseng, what would that matter? In their current situation, it wouldn't help them to make a gold mountain.

So he simply ignored Doctor Guo's words and grabbed Shen Youyou and said, "Girl, how can you be sure there is water here?"

"This is a piece of... cough cough!" I spoke too hastily and my throat was too dry, so I started coughing.

Everyone was so anxious: "You kid, drink some water!"

Shen Youyou also took a small sip before continuing, "This is a patch of Eucommia trees. Yes, it is a patch. Eucommia trees like to grow in moist places. What does this mean? For so many Eucommia trees to survive, there must be water underground!"

Shen Youyou was extremely excited, but everyone else was a little discouraged. The ground was covered with dead leaves and there was no green grass. The leaves were all yellow and dry, and it was obvious that the trees were dying. How could there be water?

Shen Zhiqiu thought the same thing: "Oh, don't you see that the leaves are all yellow? It must have been because it was wet before, but it's hard to say now."

Shen Youyou was speechless and pointed at the seeds on the tree: "Dad, look at what's on it, this is the seed of the Eucommia tree. The seeds mature in September, and the one on the tree is obviously mature. They all have water to produce seeds, so how could they be dead? And the leaves of the Eucommia tree itself start to turn yellow and fall off in this season, it's different from other trees."

When these words were spoken, everyone looked at each other in disbelief, because the grass here was all yellow.

In fact, Doctor Guo didn’t know that this tree had these characteristics. He only knew the appearance characteristics of the trunk, leaves, and seeds of the Eucommia tree.

Because large-scale cultivation of medicinal herbs was not popular in ancient times, he could only find some common ones when he collected herbs in the back mountains of Shenjia Village.

He also sold the bark of the Eucommia ulmoides tree. It cost two hundred coins per pound, which was quite expensive.

This must be the price he sold it to. If he bought medicinal herbs, it would probably be around one hundred and forty or fifty cents. Their village is small and they don't need much, so he usually just buys a pound for backup.

Shen Youyou looked at Shen Zhiqiu anxiously: "Don't you believe in my brain? I can remember everything I read in the book."

Shen Zhiqiu gritted his teeth and said, "Damn it, dig!"

It's not that he didn't believe in his daughter's memory, but in their current physical condition, digging a well really requires success in one go. If they dig for more than ten meters and don't find any water, they will die of thirst.

But Shen Zhiqiu still decided to trust his daughter's judgment, as he had spent a lot of money to cultivate her.

What else is there to say? Now that the leader has spoken, let’s give it a try!

The men took out shovels, but there were only four of them. The rest were thrown away halfway. So they had to work in groups of four, taking turns digging the well. However, the shovels in ancient times were different from those in modern times.

It is much narrower than the modern ones, and not much soil can be dug out at one time.

Shen Youyou squatted in the shade of a big tree, praying in her heart that she would not dig up the boulder. This was her only worry.

He listened to his father dividing the area: "Let's dig here," and then he drew a circle of about one and a half meters.

It's too big and it's a waste of energy; it's too small and four people can't fit in to dig a well. Even with four people in this size, they can't move around much.

The first round started with the four strong men from the Gao family. The soil was dry and difficult to dig, so they were panting from exhaustion and sweating profusely.

Otherwise, why is it so difficult for Shen Zhiqiu to make a decision? This job is too physically demanding.

Let me think about it. It was scorching hot, and I was digging a well with great effort. The ground was dry and hard, so I was sweating a lot. The more I exerted, the faster I lost water.

However, this well cannot be dug in a short time. Taking all the current factors into consideration, it will probably take four or five days to dig.

Shen Zhiqiu dragged his tired body and sat down under the shade of the tree: "We won't rush to collect water tonight, and we should try to give as much as possible to the well diggers. This project cannot be completed in one or two days."

Master Shen nodded: "Okay, then let's not just sit there and start catching cicadas!"

Doctor Guo also wanted to say that this book cover was valuable, but I believe that it was valuable, so what? The most important thing now was water and food.

But he didn't say anything, Shen Youyou interrupted: "Catch cicadas at night, and collect Eucommia leaves, seeds, and bark during the day."

Shen Zhiqiu asked: "The bark is a herb, why collect the leaves and seeds? Can you also extract rubber?"

"I can!" If we don't refine rubber, what can we use to make shoes?

Shen Zhiqiu didn't know what to say directly, so he stood up and took his daughter's hand, asking her to go and see how many Eucommia trees there were.

The crowd was not so ignorant. They saw that the father and daughter had something to say, so they decided to get up and cut down some trees to build a shelter.

We had to stay there for several days, and there were no caves nearby, so we had to sleep directly on the ground for fear of being bitten by poisonous snakes in the middle of the night.

Along the way, they learned that this job was easy to do. As long as it wasn't raining, they just had to find three nearby trees and build a flat frame.

It is about two meters high. You can use a wooden ladder to go up and down, spread some hay bedding, and lie down to sleep.

Old Lady Hua was curious and asked Li Jingshu: "What are they talking about? Why can't they talk about it here? What is rubber?"

Li Jingshu didn't dare to say more. Who knew what the father and daughter discussed? She could only answer, "I don't know. I haven't read the book."

Old Lady Hua thought about it and it made sense, so she turned around and went to cut thatch with the other old ladies. The girls were also very conscientious and decided to look for some wild vegetables around, which at least contained some moisture.

The women didn't have to cook, and what could they do without food? They used thatch to weave ropes for the men, which would be used to fix the wood later.

The young boys were waiting for Da Zhuang and the other three to take their turn, and they were slow at first.

The boys dig first, and after the boys have taken their turn, the men dig next.

After a long period of working together, everyone already knows what to do when taking a break and does not need any instructions.

But no one talks anymore. In the past, when there was water, people would chat in groups while working, lamenting how tired they were and imagining what their future settlement would be like.

I basically don’t talk now. Why? Because talking is a waste of saliva.

Shen Zhiqiu and Shen Youyou were sitting under a big tree, whispering to each other.

"Girl, even if you can make rubber, we don't dare to do it. No one here has ever seen anything plastic. If we let others covet it, we have no power or influence now."

"You're overthinking. I just want to make some soles. And if you want to make the Eucommia rubber white, you need to add bleaching powder. Without bleaching powder, you can only make black rubber."

In fact, Shen Youyou also wanted to say that she also wanted you to make transparent plastic bottles, greenhouse films, tires, etc. that can make a lot of money.

I only make plastic shoe soles, and even if I sell them, they only cost a few cents a pair. Would the rich and powerful be interested in them?

But her father did remind her that she still had to continue taking the imperial examination, otherwise she would not be able to make anything in the future.

"Then you are making some big buckets, can you do it?"

Shen Zhiqiu thought about it and realized that it was so black that even if it was made into a bucket, no one could see that there was water inside.

What's more, when the time comes, they can cover it with oilcloth and they won't have to go through so much trouble using bamboo tubes.

"What are you thinking about, Dad? We are in the middle of nowhere, and we don't have any tools. I am making a bucket, and I have to make a few wooden models to make the soles of the shoes."

What a prank! She also made buckets, why not let her make a big water tank?