Farming with kids: My deceased husband returns and I spoil him rotten.

The village chief paused intentionally, then continued, "The weather is hot now, and some vegetables and crops can't withstand the heat and die within a few days. If this continues, no one will dare to farm anymore. If no one farms, everyone will starve to death in less than six months. So, this water is meant to save our crops."

Lao Zong interrupted, saying, "So how to transport this water down is the most crucial question."

Everyone was clearly stumped by this question.

"Why don't we go door-to-door to fetch water first, and then figure out a solution later?"

"I agree, I haven't had a proper shower in days!"

"Taking a bath isn't the main concern. The village chief is right; the most important thing right now is our crops. What's the point of us farmers living if the crops die?"

Shang Qing lowered her head and pondered for a moment. As if she had thought of something, she suddenly looked up and said, "You've all heard the story of Yu the Great controlling the floods, right? I think we can do what he did, dig ditches and canals, and let the underground water flow automatically to each household's fields. What do you think?"

The village chief's eyes lit up, but quickly dimmed again: "Well... no one has ever truly succeeded before, and this project sounds quite complicated. If problems arise along the way, wouldn't all the work done so far be wasted?"

The others also sided with the village chief, even Zhang Ergou questioned, "Shang Qing, let the village chief figure this out himself. He has more experience than you; you're just a woman..."

Before Zhang Ergou could finish speaking, Shang Qing coldly interrupted him: "So what if I'm a woman? Do you all look down on women?"

Before Zhang Ergou could reply, Shang Qing continued, "Actually, it's not difficult to complete the digging and canal construction. As long as we calculate the distance from here to each household or those fixed points, it won't be a problem. I can also draw up the blueprints."

The village chief couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement and said, "Shang Qing, I really didn't expect you to think so much... Sometimes I'm really curious where you get all this information from. You know so much."

Shang Qing could only vaguely say, "When doing business, I make connections with people in the capital. I heard this from them."

Seeing this, the village chief didn't ask any further questions, and Gu Yu looked at her with admiration.

The people digging in the soil also made a discovery: there was indeed a large underground lake underneath.

"Let's leave it at that for today. Until Shang Qing and I have figured out what to do, please don't spread this news, so as not to cause unrest among the villagers. If this news gets to other villages, it will only be detrimental to us as well."

"This underground lake was discovered by our village and has nothing to do with other villages, but since other people have the right to control it, there's nothing we can do. So the only thing we can do is keep quiet, so that everyone can have some information later, understand?"

The villagers nodded repeatedly, and the village chief instructed them to bring some things to cover the place up. Fortunately, the place was remote and few people usually came here.

As they descended the mountain, the village chief couldn't help but ask, "When you get back and someone asks where you went, you know what to say, right?"

"Village chief, don't worry, we definitely won't tell anyone. We'll just say you told us to go and till the land!"

The village chief nodded in relief, then smiled at Shang Qing: "I'll trouble you to put in a lot of effort when you get back. If it works out in the end, I'll definitely go to Lord Meng myself and tell him about it, so he can give you a big credit!"

Shang Qing just smiled, but in his mind he was thinking about digging ditches and canals.

When everyone parted ways, Gu Yu noticed Zhang Ergou.

Actually, we shouldn't have called him over today, since he's such a restless person.

Seeing him emerge from a narrow path beside him, Gu Yu asked Lao Zong, "Which way does that path lead?"

Lao Zong glanced at it and replied, "Going to Peach Blossom Village next door, what's wrong?"

Gu Yu was speechless: "What do you think he's going to Peach Blossom Village for at this time?"

Lao Zong suddenly realized, and slapped his thigh, saying, "Oh dear, why didn't I think of that! This guy must have gone to tell people in other villages. Isn't he trying to cause trouble?"

"I'll go and bring him back right now!"

Lao Zong was about to leave when Gu Yu stopped him.

"Don't try to catch him, it won't do any good now. Follow him and see what he's up to."

After Lao Zong left, Gu Yu told Shang Qing about it.

Upon hearing this, she rushed home without stopping, grabbed her tools, and began working tirelessly in the various fields. She needed to hurry so that those people wouldn't have a chance to take advantage of her.

What would normally take one or two days to complete, Shang Qing and Gu Yu finished in just two hours. They didn't even have time to cook dinner before heading straight to the village chief's house to tell him their calculations and the route they had planned.

Upon hearing this, the village chief immediately summoned the villagers.

"I originally planned to tell everyone about this tomorrow, but because the situation has changed, I've decided to tell you the whole story now!"

"After Shang Qing discovered that there is a spring on the mountain next to the village entrance, we also found an underground lake there this afternoon. After discussing it with Shang Qing, we plan to dig canals and ditches so that the water can flow into everyone's fields."

"Because the fields in our village are unevenly distributed, Shang Qing also found six fixed points to concentrate everyone's fields together in order to ensure that water can be continuously supplied to the crops."

"Of course, this is a big project, and everyone's help is needed. So everyone should contribute what they can. Once this is done, everyone's crops will be saved."

The villagers were all incredulous, as they had never dealt with anything like this before and had little experience. So they dared not agree, but they also dared not refuse.

Shang Qing stepped forward and said, "I assure everyone that this will only benefit you and cause no harm. As long as we work together, I believe this project will be completed in less than half a month, and then you can plant your crops with peace of mind."

"Since Shang Qing has said so, let's choose to trust him one more time!"

"Shang Qing has helped my family a lot before, so I support her unconditionally!"

"Me too, me too, I agree with Shang Qing's approach!"

While the village chief was pleased, he didn't forget to remind everyone, "Of course, there's something I need to say upfront: keep this a secret as much as possible and try not to spread it around, understand?"

Everyone nodded in agreement.