Dressed as a farmer's widow, she brought her daughter to stock up on food and reached the top

After a while, Zhao Cunliang arrived with Guangzong and Yaozu. He told his two sons: "Work hard and don't embarrass me!" Then he hurried away.

After Zhao Cunliang left, the two brothers pretended to do something. Guangzong dug in the dirt intermittently, and from time to time he muttered to Yaozu, "Our father is really something. He insisted on letting us do it."

Yaozu leaned lazily against his shovel and said, "That's right, this job is tiring and unprofitable, so we can just deal with it casually."

As they talked, they waved their tools carelessly, not looking like they were working hard at all. The villagers watching shook their heads.

"These Zhao brothers are really outrageous!" a villager couldn't help but mutter.

Guangzong heard it, rolled his eyes at the man, and said, "Humph, you are meddling in other people's business!"

However, their laziness didn't last long. The village chief came over, saw their expressions, and his face darkened. He shouted, "You two, is this the right attitude for work? If you don't want to work, get out!"

The two brothers were frightened by the village chief's yell and immediately pulled themselves together and worked hard. They never dared to be lazy again.

When Zhou Dazhu's family saw Guangzong and Yaozu join the well-digging team, they felt regretful.

Zhou Dazhu squatted in front of his water tank, looking at the little water left in the tank, his face full of worry.

"If it doesn't rain again, what will we have to drink at home?" Zhou Dazhu muttered to himself, regretting his decision. "I shouldn't have said it so absolutely back then."

Thinking of this, Zhou Dazhu turned to look at his son Zhou Xiaoxiong and said, "Xiaoxiong, go and ask the village chief to let our family use the water from the new well."

Zhou Xiaoxiong looked embarrassed and said timidly, "Dad, is this possible?"

Zhou Dazhu glared and said, "Just go if I tell you to!"

Zhou Xiaoxiong had no choice but to bite the bullet and go to the village chief's house.

The village chief looked at Zhou Xiaoxiong, who had just recovered from his illness, and his heart softened. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Xiaoxiong, there are enough people digging the well. I will assign you to the back mountain spring protection team."

After hearing this, Zhou Xiaoxiong nodded and thanked him: "Thank you, Village Chief!"

He turned around and ran home to tell Zhou Dazhu the news, and Zhou Dazhu finally breathed a sigh of relief.

After days of arduous digging, the well-digging team was exhausted. The sun was still high in the sky, and everyone mechanically wielded their tools, the flame of hope in their hearts gradually dimming.

Suddenly, a villager who was digging in the well felt the shovel in his hand loosen, and then a cool breath blew in his face.

He opened his eyes wide, unable to believe his own feelings, and shouted in a trembling voice: "There's water! There's water!"

This cry resonated like thunder in everyone's ears. Everyone stopped what they were doing and fell silent. A moment later, a burst of ecstatic cheers broke out.

"There's water! There's really water!" Everyone hugged each other excitedly and cried with joy.

Some people simply collapsed on the ground with a bright smile on their faces.

The man at the well hurriedly lowered the bucket and lifted it up. A full bucket of clear water shimmered with hope under the sunlight. The village chief looked at the bucket of water and burst into tears.

"We succeeded! We dug out water!" Cheers echoed over the village.

People rushed to tell each other, and the whole village was immersed in joy. Women hugged each other, crying and laughing, and children jumped happily by the puddles.

Xiuying was working with her children on the hillside. When she heard the news that water had been dug out, she immediately put down her work and hurried over with her children.

Her face was filled with an excited smile, her steps were quick, and she kept urging the children to "hurry up, hurry up."

When Xiuying rushed to the well and saw the clear water, her eyes became moist with joy.

She held the children's hands and said excitedly, "It's good now, there's water!"

After the excitement subsided, Xiuying calmed down and said to the village chief, "Chief, this water is hard-earned. We must conserve it. Every household must register their water use, and someone must be assigned to guard the well water. We can't waste it."

Zhou Dazhu was displeased when he heard this. He pulled a frown and shouted at the top of his voice, "Why should we be controlled by the water we use from the well we dug ourselves? We have two laborers in our family!"

He stormed up to the village chief, waving his arms and shouting, "Chief, this isn't fair! We've put in the work, so why shouldn't we be able to use the water as we please?"

Everyone around was startled by Zhou Dazhu's sudden outburst. The scene instantly became quiet and everyone's eyes were focused on him.

Xiuying stepped forward and said patiently, "Uncle, this water was dug by everyone together. It doesn't belong to any one family. If we don't manage it and use it carelessly, it will soon run out of water again."

Zhou Dazhu glared at Xiuying and said, "Stop making sarcastic remarks. Your family is doing well. You didn't even have to contribute a single person to dig the well! Of course, it's easy for you to talk without any pain in your back."

If you ask me, your family is not allowed to use this well water!"

When Mrs. Sun heard what Zhou Dazhui said, she immediately felt sorry for Xiuying and said, "Zhou Dazhui, don't be unreasonable! Although Xiuying didn't contribute manpower, she provided the hoe and shovel used to dig the well, and the donkey cart used to transport the soil!" Mrs. Sun put her hands on her hips, her eyes wide open, and her face was full of anger.

Zhou Dazhu was stunned by Sun Dasao's retort, then said stubbornly, "So what? Can tools compare to manpower?"

Mrs. Sun stepped forward, pointed at Zhou Dazhui's nose and said, "How can you be so ungrateful! If Xiuying hadn't provided these things, this well could not have been dug so smoothly?" Her voice became a few notches higher, attracting the attention of the people around them.

Zhou Dazhu's face turned red and white. He wanted to refute, but he didn't know what to say.

At this time, someone in the crowd also echoed Mrs. Sun: "That's right, Xiuying's family has also made a lot of efforts, you can't say that to them."

Seeing that he had incurred public wrath, Zhou Dazhu softened his tone, "I...that's not what I meant. I just think water use shouldn't be regulated so strictly."

Mrs. Sun snorted, "If you don't enforce the law more strictly, everyone will use water indiscriminately and it will be a waste of time to dig the well!" After that, she ignored Zhou Dazhu.

Zhou Dazhu stood there, embarrassed, head bowed, and remained silent. The people around him also continued to discuss the issue of rational water use.

The village chief quickly tried to smooth things over, "Dazhu, Xiuying is doing this for everyone's benefit. We have to think long-term, not just focus on the present. Your family has contributed, and everyone will remember it, but this water really needs to be used properly."

The village chief looked at Xiuying approvingly and said, "Xiuying is right. This water is the result of everyone's hard work and must be cherished."

The surrounding villagers also expressed their agreement, saying, "Xiuying, this is a good idea. We must take good care of the water."