Shipin Dalizheng

After Rong Tang finished speaking, he understood what Village Chief Gao meant. He was worried that Rongjia Village would pump out all the water and there would be no water left downstream.

"Village Chief Gao, this river is quite deep. In previous years, your village had to carry water manually. But has there ever been a time when the river was completely drained?"

Village Chief Gao blushed, "Except for years of severe drought, there has never been a time when the water ran dry."

He also knew that the other person had not made any mistakes, it was just that the field was almost dry and he was a little anxious.

"The river flows from west to east, ultimately returning to the sea. Our crops are suffering from drought, and it would be fine if there were no water in the river, but since there is, wouldn't it be a shame to let it flow away in vain? Don't worry, the Imperial Ministry of Works is already manufacturing these water dragon carts. In the future, every village that has the conditions will have them installed. They will make irrigation more convenient, saving time and effort. Although the people rely on the weather for their livelihood, being able to rely on themselves will also provide more opportunities for survival, right?"

The other village heads expressed both joy and worry. The head of Yushuwan Village said, "Our village is close to a water source and has many paddy fields, but the ditches are not smooth, so villagers have to carry water for irrigation all year round."

“Why not dredge it?”

The head of Yushuwan Village sighed, "We've mentioned this in previous years. Villagers aren't afraid to work hard, but digging the canal often presents difficulties that they can't overcome, and after a while, they give up."

"Are you short of money?"

"Silver is one thing, but it's not the most important thing. Our location is special, and while digging, we hit a big rock and couldn't dig any further."

Rong Tang could imagine it, so he reached out to touch the teacup, and Mayor Gao hurriedly acted as a temporary servant.

"I'll go check it out some other day."

The head of Yushuwan Village was very excited. "There is no time to lose, Rong Shizi. We are far from the water source and the fields are almost out of water."

"After we finish discussing this, I'll go to your place first. Let's get back to the water dragon carts. I suggest that each of your villages order two or three. While the Minister of Works is still here, I'll have them all counted and distributed first."

The village heads were very happy, especially Shangtiangang, which is located on high ground and is more prone to drought.

But money was also a big problem. The village chief of Shangtiangang bravely asked, "Prince Rong, how much silver does a waterwheel cost?"

Rong Tang also got the details from Lord Sima. The cost of the planes he wanted was about ninety taels, and the selling price could not be lower than forty taels per plane, otherwise the various departments would not be able to negotiate.

This is just the manual and foot-operated model. When the fully automatic model comes out, the minimum price for one will be no less than one hundred taels.

"How about this, since you're willing to sign a contract to grow sugar sorghum next year, I'll give you three water dragon carts for 100 taels. If you're short of that, I'll subsidize you. You can also buy your own, maybe 40 taels each."

It is of course good that Prince Rong is willing to provide some subsidies, but one hundred taels of silver has also made the village heads worried. There are about a hundred households in a large village, and only forty or fifty households in a small village. In total, each household needs one or two taels of silver, and most families cannot afford it.

Rong Dajiang, also the village chief, stayed here for a long time before suddenly saying, "Sir, the village can't come up with a hundred taels right now. Why not just deduct it from each household's wages? When everyone pays it back, that's the end of it."

"Okay, I'll have Rong An sign the deed for the village later."

With Rong Dajiang taking the lead, the other village chiefs also saw hope. With eager eyes, they all said, "Prince Rong, is there any work you can give us? We can also work to pay off our debts."

This was exactly the method Rong Tang had been thinking about for a while. The villagers had no money, but they had the strength and were willing to work.

"Yes, I'm planning to build a carpentry workshop in the village, cooperating with the Imperial Ministry of Works. Just this water dragon, you can work year-round without getting unemployed. The Ministry of Works will handle the key technical aspects themselves, and the work for the workshops will be relatively simple. Go back to the village and calculate how much labor can be invested, and then report back to Village Chief Rong."

Rong Dajiang suddenly developed a huge sense of responsibility, as if the entire town's food and clothing depended on him.

After they got down to work, the village heads who had targets all returned to the village to count the number of people, while Rong Tang, as agreed, went to Yushuwan to see the difficulties they encountered in digging the canal.

When he ran into Sima Xin's family as they were leaving, he told them the number of water dragon carts he wanted, and Sima Xin readily agreed. He quickly did some calculations in his mind: with the release of this thing, their Sima family's status in the eyes of craftsmen throughout the world would rise a hundred feet. Even if he didn't make any money, it would be worth it.

Rong Tang took Rong Zhan and Rong Wanli, each riding a newly acquired fast horse, and went straight to Yushuwan to see the scene. The poor Yushuwan village chief had to ride on a donkey with Gao Zhenzi, and they had to keep up with the pace behind, luckily they barely managed to tire out Gao Zhenzi's donkey and break its leg.

By the time the real owner arrived, Rong Tang and the other two had already visited several sites in Yushu Bay where they had abandoned their plans for canal digging, and they had a basic idea of ​​the situation.

Indeed, beneath the shallow surface layer of soil were many huge rocks that could not be dug out, cut, or moved. The villagers had no choice but to give up their chosen route again and again.

The Yushuwan village chief came running over breathlessly, pointing at the large rock in the pit and saying, "That's it. You don't dig very far before you come across one. Small ones can be pried away, but something this big is completely impossible to remove with human power. Even seven or eight strong men can't lift it."

This piece is estimated to weigh at least several tons, and it is impossible to chisel it with manpower. Even if special tools are used, it will take several people several days to chisel it, which is very labor-intensive and time-consuming.

When faced with the same scene, Rong Zhan and Rong Wanli both thought of the Mizhou Dam. If the master could blow up a small mountain blocking the way, then this little thing should be no problem at all.

The two people winked at each other, conveying a message that only they could understand.

Rong Tang felt amused, "What are you thinking about?"

Rong Wanli said with a shameless face: "Master, do you want to do that, Duang..." He made an exaggerated gesture of the sky collapsing and the earth cracking and blooming.

"Duang bullshit, this is in the village, you want to scare them to death."

"But what can we do? It's too big..."

Rong Tang saw that it was still early, so just like the Yushuwan village chief said, the problem should be solved early and the fields should be watered a day earlier to avoid missing the harvest.

At this time, many villagers from Yushuwan gathered around and asked the village chief what was going on. The village chief briefly explained the situation, and immediately more than a dozen young and strong villagers came forward and asked Rong Tang if he had any good solution.

Rong Tang looked at the boulder again and confirmed that it was a huge piece of limestone, which was easier to break than other stones.

"Go get some firewood, and put a few buckets of water aside."

Some villagers went around looking for firewood, while others went home to fetch water in buckets. Within a quarter of an hour, they had prepared everything Rong Tang had specifically requested.

“Putting firewood on a stone, it can hold a thousand miles and start a fire.”

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the fire was lit. The intense heat forced everyone to move away. When the fire was almost out, Rong Tang said, "Pour water on it."

Rong Wanli took a bucket of fruit and poured it over the burned area. The hot stone met the cold water, and just as Rong Tang had imagined, there was a crackling sound, and the huge stone broke apart. Some were large, some were small. The large pieces were still unmovable, but the small pieces were already pickable.

The onlookers were overjoyed, "Village chief, look, it's cracked."

Although the big ones cannot be moved, it is just a matter of burning again. The fundamental problem has been solved.

The village chief could hardly believe his eyes. He rubbed it again and again, and sure enough, it was cracked.

"Prince Rong, you are truly an immortal sent by God to save our village. Come quickly, kowtow to Prince Rong and express your gratitude."

"No, no, village chief. I'm still young and it would shorten my life. Tomorrow you can reorganize the villagers to dig a canal. And this limestone."

He pointed to the large rocks in the pit and said, "Pick them up and send them to Rongjia Village for me. I won't take them for free. I'll give you ten cents for a cartload."