Three poles in the sun.
Although it was still early morning, the sun was already very strong. The sun was scorching and I was sweating profusely.
Li Zheng came running in his most decent clothes. There was no patch from head to toe. His shoes were not the most common straw sandals in the village, but smooth navy blue cloth shoes. He even wore socks inside the shoes, which was rare.
"The common people have met the county magistrate."
As soon as Li Zheng ran over, he lay on the ground in a prostrate posture.
When the villagers who were watching from a distance saw it, they immediately shrank their necks in fear and quickly bowed down, hiding their bodies in the rice fields, for fear that the county magistrate would see him and kneel down.
The county magistrate said quietly: "Get up and take me to see the ditch dug by your village first."
Li Zheng stood up sweating profusely. He originally planned to go to the town to meet the county magistrate in person early this morning, but after listening to Dashan Niang's suggestion, he decided to postpone his visit until the afternoon. Who would have thought that the county magistrate would He was almost frightened to death when the chief secretary came in person.
Li Zheng stood up tremblingly, lowered his head and led the way.
The main road can go directly up the mountain. This mountain is called Dadong Mountain, which belongs to Dahe Village. You don’t need to go too high. Standing on the mountainside and looking up, you can see the ditch extending into the valley. Looking down, you will see Clear spring water gurgled into the rice fields, but water was diverted from the rice fields in the village. The openings into the fields were sealed, and the water in the ditches flowed quietly.
"Take me up the mountain to see where the water source begins."
The county magistrate spoke again, and Li Zheng had no choice but to continue leading the way.
The road up the mountain was not rugged, but it was indeed quite a distance. The county magistrate was on the fat side, and before he had gone very far, he was tired and out of breath. The boy next to him quickly stepped forward to support him.
The master who came with us was also very tired and suggested: "Your Excellency, magistrate, how about we find a few men to carry you up?"
Hearing this, Li Zheng's head hurt. There were men in the village, but there were no sedans. What should I use to lift them? Door panels?
The men in the village didn't mind lifting the door panel, but it didn't seem right for the magistrate to sit on the door panel.
The county magistrate waved his hand: "How long does it take to reach the water source?"
Li Zheng said hurriedly: "It takes about a cup of tea."
For him, one cup of tea can indeed arrive, but the magistrate is too fat and walks slower than a three-year-old child. It is estimated that it will take at least two, oh no, three cups of tea.
There were four people in the group. Except for Li Zheng and the boy driving the carriage, they walked quite easily. The county magistrate and the master were exhausted.
Finally, we reached the source of water deep in the mountains.
This was the beginning of underground water, and water kept emerging. At first, a big hole was opened to allow water to flow into the rice fields. Later, when there was no shortage of water in the fields, Li Zheng asked people to block two-thirds of the hole. Slowly Just run the water slowly and it will be more convenient for the villagers to wash with water and so on.
The master's face was full of amazement: "How did you find a water source hidden so deep?"
A while ago, the county government also asked some people who were good at geomantic omen to investigate, but nothing could be found. However, Dahe Village, which has always had a very low sense of existence, actually solved the water source problem by itself.
The master looked left and right and concluded, "The humidity here is very high, the vegetation is lush, the leaves of the trees are very green and large, and the soil under the feet is moist. If we survey according to these environmental landforms, we should also be able to find water sources."
The county magistrate shook his head: "Look 20 meters away, there are lush vegetation over there, but the water source is not there. This method can only determine the approximate area, but it cannot accurately locate it. We don't have that much time to slowly and slowly try."
The master and the county magistrate looked at Li Zheng at the same time.
Li Zheng: "..."
Don't look at him, he doesn't know, Dashan Niang didn't tell him.
He paused and then said cautiously: "This matter was discovered accidentally by a young man from our village. Why don't the county magistrate and I go to his home to ask?"
Dashan Niang knows everything, so let Dashan Niang and the county magistrate do the talking.
He didn't dare to look into the eyes of the magistrate. When he saw it, his legs became weak and he felt panicked.
So, Li Zheng took the county magistrate and the master down the mountain.
As the saying goes, it is easier to go up the mountain than to go down. Not to mention that it was not easy for the county magistrate and the two to go up the mountain. It was even more difficult to go down the mountain. After walking for an hour, they finally reached the foot of the mountain.
Wearing brand new cloth shoes when going up and down the mountain made Li Zheng almost feel distressed.
Cheng Wanwan was wrapping hay in the yard. Once he finished wrapping the pile of hay, he was going to make a fire for lunch.
At this time, Li Zheng stood at the gate of the courtyard with the county magistrate and master.
There was a lot of noise in the village when the county magistrate came. Cheng Wanwan had already seen it from a distance, but she didn't come forward to join in the fun. There were a lot of things at home and she couldn't get away from it.
Seeing a group of people arriving at the door of her house, she quickly got up and opened the door.
Li Zheng coughed and said, "Da Shan Niang, this is the county magistrate, and this is Master Yuan."
Cheng Wanwan lowered his head and saluted: "A common woman has met the county magistrate and Master Yuan. Please come in quickly. Hui Niang, please pour out three bowls of water."
Wu Huiniang was peeling stone flower seeds in the house. When she heard her mother-in-law's instructions, she quickly got up and poured water. When she walked out, she saw the black gauze hat on the head of the county magistrate. She was so frightened that her legs became weak and the water in the bowl sloshed out. Quite a few.
The master saw that the bowl was cracked and tattered, and he didn't know if the water was clean. Just when he was about to refuse, he saw the county magistrate took the broken bowl and drank a large bowl of water in one breath.
He was too embarrassed to hold it, so he took the bowl and drank all the water. He didn't know whether it was because he was too thirsty or for some other reason, but the water turned out to be a little sweet.
Li Zheng drank the water and said calmly: "Da Shan Niang, the county magistrate came here this time to ask how the water source on the mountain was found."
"My second son discovered it accidentally. I can't explain it in just a few words." Cheng Wan said, "But our second son is too busy. Now he goes to town to deliver goods. He has to go to the field when he comes back in the afternoon. I guess he can only do it in the evening. If you have time, the magistrate may have to wait for a while."
"Presumptuous!" Master Yuan raised his eyebrows, "The county magistrate has invited me. Even if my father is dead, I must accept the county magistrate's dispatch."
Li Zheng was startled, and instinctively stood in front of Cheng Wanwan, saying humbly: "Master Yuan, the county magistrate, does not know something. There is a severe drought and no rain for a long time. When the villagers are desperate, they finally found There is water, and there is still half a month to harvest rice, so the work in the fields cannot be delayed for a while, and all the children in the village who can just walk will help with the farm work. I really don’t mean to neglect the county magistrate."
The county magistrate looked at Master Yuan and said, "We are all honest farmers here. It's time to stop your temper."
Master Yuan nodded quickly: "Yes, yes, the county magistrate said yes."
Cheng Wanwan was a little surprised. The county magistrate turned out to be a good-tempered man and did not look like the kind of greedy corrupt official.
She gave Satsheng a look, indicating that those words yesterday could be said now.
Li Zheng immediately tied his knot, and opened and closed his mouth again and again, but he was stunned and couldn't say a word.
Asking the county magistrate for money was something he had never done before, and he didn't even dare to ask.
