The Leisurely Life of a Peasant Woman in the Tang Dynasty

The figures walking in the distance were getting closer and closer. Tang Youyou saw clearly that they were Aunt Zhang and Uncle Wang from the village. They were both good at farming, but they had rare expressions of worry on their faces.

"Aunt Zhang, Uncle Wang, why are you here?" Tang Youyou stepped forward and asked puzzledly.

Aunt Zhang sighed and said worriedly, "Youyou, the weather has been so strange lately. It hasn't rained at all. Look, the ground is cracking. The crops are almost dying of drought!"

Uncle Wang also echoed, "Yes, I've lived for most of my life and have never seen such a severe drought. If it continues like this, this year's harvest will be..."

Tang Youyou's heart skipped a beat as she noticed that the once lush green wheat fields had now turned dry and yellow, with curled leaves and no life at all. The once clear streams were now reduced to a few dry gullies.

"How could this happen..." Tang Youyou muttered to herself, an ominous premonition coming to her mind.

"Mom, will our rice die of drought?" Tang Jin asked anxiously as he looked at the seedlings that had just been planted in the field.

Tang Youyou suppressed the uneasiness in her heart and comforted her: "No, we will water the rice in time, and the rice will be fine."

However, the reality was even more cruel than Tang Youyou had imagined. Due to the long drought, the water source gradually dried up. Even though they got up early and worked late every day to fetch water for irrigation, only a very small number of seedlings close to the water source barely survived, and most of the seedlings had begun to wither.

Looking at the scene in front of her, Tang Youyou was extremely anxious. This piece of land, carrying the hope of their family, was about to be destroyed, but she was powerless to do anything.

"Is there no other way?" Tang Youyou looked at the dry fields, feeling powerless.

"Mom, I remember grandpa once said that when there is a drought, we can use an ancient method of irrigation." Tang Wan, who had been silent all the time, suddenly spoke.

"What method?" Tang Youyou asked hurriedly, as if she had grabbed a life-saving straw.

"We need to use bamboo tubes and wood to build a..." Tang Wan recalled the scene her grandfather had described and tried to describe it...

"We need to use bamboo tubes and wood to build a..." Tang Wan recalled the scene her grandfather had described, and tried hard to describe a tool called a "waterwheel." It is said that this tool can bring water from low places to high places, thus solving the irrigation problem.

Tang Youyou's eyes lit up. This might be a feasible solution! She immediately gathered her family and villagers and began to try to build a waterwheel according to Tang Wan's description.

Tang Jin volunteered to chop wood, axe in hand, and ran to the woods behind the village. Tang Wan took charge of surveying and design, using branches to draw blueprints on the ground, calculating the dimensions and proportions of the waterwheel. Tang Xiaoya also helped carry materials, her small figure weaving in and out of the busy crowd.

After several days of hard work, a simple waterwheel was finally built. The villagers turned the waterwheel with great anticipation, hoping to divert river water to the fields.

However, the reality was not what we had hoped for. Due to the overly simple structure of the waterwheel, a large amount of water was lost during the transportation process, and the amount of water that actually reached the fields was very small, which was completely unable to meet the needs of crops.

"How could this happen?" Tang Jin looked at the dry fields and lowered his head in disappointment.

"Don't lose heart, let's think of another way!" Tang Youyou comforted her son while also racking her brains for a solution.

"If only there was a tool that could pump up groundwater like a well..." Tang Youyou muttered to herself. She suddenly remembered the common water pumps in the modern world. If this technology could be applied here, perhaps the irrigation problem could be solved.

"Water pump?" Tang Wan looked at her mother in confusion. "What is that?"

Tang Youyou realized that she had let something slip, and she explained with a smile: "It's nothing, I just suddenly thought that it would be great if there was a tool that could pump up groundwater like a well..."

Although Tang Wan didn't understand what her mother meant, she still encouraged her, "Mom, I believe you can find a way!"

Tang Youyou looked at her daughter's hopeful eyes and secretly made up her mind to find a way to solve the problem!

That night, Tang Youyou locked herself in her room and began to try to make a simple water pumping device with bamboo and wood. She kept recalling the structure and principle of water pumps in the modern world, and tried again and again...

It was late at night, and the light in Tang Youyou's room was still on...

Tang Youyou rubbed her sore eyes and put down her tools. On the table were various wooden and bamboo parts, large and small. These were the fruits of her diligent research over the past few days. She had failed countless times, but each failure gave her a deeper understanding of the principles of the "water pump." Hard work pays off, and just now, she had finally successfully made a simple "water pump"!

She rushed out of the room excitedly and woke up Tang Wan who was already fast asleep.

"Wan'er, come quickly, I succeeded!" Tang Youyou said excitedly, pulling her daughter to the well in the yard.

With Tang Wan's help, Tang Youyou installed the "water pump" on the well. As she pressed the wooden handle hard, the "water pump" made a "creaking" sound, and a stream of clear well water gushed out of the bamboo tube and flowed into the ditch dug in advance.

"Success! It really succeeded!" Tang Wan jumped up happily, a joyful smile on her face.

Tang Youyou also smiled happily. She hugged her daughter tightly, her excitement beyond words.

The news quickly spread throughout the village, and villagers rushed to watch. When they saw the "pump" pumping water from the well continuously, they all showed disbelief on their faces and burst into warm cheers.

"Madam Tang is truly amazing. She can actually create such a magical artifact!"

"Yeah, now we don't have to worry about the fields drying up!"

The villagers expressed their gratitude and admiration for Tang Youyou. Tang Youyou looked at the villagers' ecstatic expressions and felt a sense of accomplishment in her heart.

With the help of the "water pump", the crops in the farmland were finally irrigated, and the originally withered leaves gradually recovered their vitality and regained their vitality.

However, the impact of the drought goes far beyond this. Although Tang Youyou's family has solved the irrigation problem, the long-term drought has led to a reduction in crop yields. Looking at the sparse crops in the fields, Tang Youyou's heart was shrouded in a shadow.

"Mom, this year's harvest will definitely not be as good as in previous years." Tang Wan said worriedly as she looked at the crops in the field.

Tang Youyou sighed, patted his daughter's head, and said, "Yes, I'm afraid this year will be a little sad."

At night, Tang Youyou tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep. She knew that farming alone could no longer support her family. She had to find other ways to increase her income to make up for the losses caused by the drought.

Suddenly, she thought of something, sat up abruptly from the bed, and said with a firm look in her eyes: "It seems that I have to go to the city..."

Tang Youyou got up early the next day. She made some of the remaining food at home into fragrant rice cakes and planned to take them to the city to sell.

"Mom, are you going to the city?" Tang Wan asked as she helped Tang Youyou pack her things.

"Yes, the harvest is not good this year. Mother is going to the city to see if there is any work to do and earn more money so that she can buy you some clothes." Tang Youyou smiled and touched her daughter's head. Her tone was gentle but with a hint of bitterness that was hard to detect.

"Mom, I want to go too!" When Tang Jin heard that Tang Youyou was going to the city, he immediately put down the wooden stick in his hand and ran over excitedly.

"You stay at home and don't cause any trouble!" Tang Youyou glared at Tang Jin. This kid only knew how to play all day long and was a real worry to him.

"Mom, I can help you take care of your younger brothers and sisters!" Tang Jin looked at Tang Youyou eagerly, trying to fight for an opportunity for himself.

Before Tang Youyou could say anything, Tang Xiaoya hugged her legs and said in a baby voice, "Mom, I want to go too, I want to go too..."

Tang Youyou looked at the expectant eyes of the three children in front of her, and finally softened her heart.

"Okay, let's go together, but when we get to the city, you all have to be obedient, okay?" Tang Youyou compromised helplessly.

"I understand, Mom!" the three children answered in unison, their faces filled with excited smiles.

Tang Youyou brought the three children to the city gate. Looking at the three big characters "Chang'an City" hanging high on the city gate, her heart was filled with anticipation and anxiety.

After entering the city gate, Tang Youyou found a secluded corner, placed the rice cakes she had brought, and began to shout: "Fragrant rice cakes, freshly baked rice cakes, five cents each..."

However, after a whole morning, Tang Youyou only sold a few rice cakes. Looking at the basket with most of the rice cakes left, Tang Youyou couldn't help feeling discouraged.

"Mom, is it because our rice cakes are not tasty?" Tang Wan asked somewhat frustratedly as she looked at the stall where no one was interested.

"How could that be? Our rice cakes are the most delicious!" Tang Jin said unconvinced.

"That's because..." Before Tang Youyou could finish her words, she was interrupted by a loud noise.

"Come and see, these new silk flowers are new in style and cheap..."

Tang Youyou looked in the direction of the sound and saw a stall not far away surrounded by people. The stall owner was a middle-aged woman. In front of her were various brightly colored silk flowers, which attracted many girls to stop and choose.

Tang Youyou looked at the lively scene in front of her, and suddenly an idea came to her mind...