The echo inside the well is super loud. Wang Ke's words were buzzing back and forth, and I found the reason...the reason...the reason.
After shouting, Wang Ke thought, why is there this hole here? Was this hole dug intentionally or was it formed by the erosion of time? What is inside the hole? These don't need to be taken care of, but if the bottom of the well is cleared and the water is cleared for a few meters, drinking water for the whole village can at least be guaranteed.
He casually touched the water and touched several broken buckets stained with water. Wang Ke tied four or five people with ropes. After shaking the ropes, Deputy Company Commander Lu Zeran immediately understood the intention. The windlass above began to twist upwards, and several broken barrels were lifted upwards.
Wang Ke saw that this was too dangerous. If something fell and hit his head, he would definitely die. Dredging also requires safety protection. He turned sideways and felt towards the hole. If something fell down, he would climb into the hole.
Sitting at the entrance of the cave, he felt the wind behind him, not blowing outward, but sucking in and blowing outward. The air convection in the well is quite sufficient, and there is no chest tightness at all.
After seven or eight minutes, there was a bucket at the mouth of the well, slowly shaking down. Deputy company commander Lu Zeran probably understood what Wang Ke meant, but this bucket still couldn't hold much, it could only hold some smaller garbage.
The walls of the well were bare on all sides, and Wang Ke could only hold up the lantern with one hand and fish out things under the water with the other. Very inconvenient. Wang Ke was thinking about what lighting the ancients used when they dug this well. There must be a place to hang things on the well wall, so he touched the well wall with his hands. Sure enough, he found a hole as thick as a rolling pin. Wang Ke pulled out a military dagger from his leg and inserted it into the hole. Not too big, not too small, just right. He took off the lantern and shoulder bag and hung them on the handle of the military dagger, finally freeing his hands.
Then he bent down, picked up a pile of soaked broken ropes with his hands below, put them into the bucket, then pulled the rope, and started to lift up. But this progress is too slow. If we clear the bottom of the well in this way, not only will it take several days to complete, but it will also affect the water supply of the whole village tomorrow.
Wang Ke decided to go up first, report the situation to Deputy Company Commander Lu Zeran, hang down a few door panels, build a safety baffle at the bottom of the well, and bring a few digging tools. It is best to use a basket for hanging baskets.
Although the bottom of the well is not small, from a safety perspective, no more than two people can work down at a time.
Soon, when the iron bucket was lowered again, Wang Ke left everything behind except the flashlight. He tied the rope to his waist, pulled the rope, shouted upwards, and the top began to hoist himself up. .
Soon, Wang Ke came to the mouth of the well. The moment he approached the mouth of the well, he stretched out his hands. It was deputy company commander Lu Zeran's hand, and he grabbed Wang Ke.
After walking out of the well, I suddenly felt like seeing the sun again.
Looking at the clothes on my body, I saw that they were speckled with a lot of mud, which was caused by hanging things twice just now.
"How's it going inside? Wang Ke, come on, drink some water."
Wang Ke looked around and saw many concerned villagers coming to the well.
"Report to the deputy company commander, the situation inside is still relatively complicated. But if we can clear the silt, there will be no need to dig a new well."
"Really? That's great. Tell me how to clean the underground well?" Deputy Company Commander Lu Zeran was overjoyed.
Wang Ke took the cold water handed over by Xiao Gao, the squad leader on the phone, drank a few sips, put down the tea cup and said, "We need tools for underground dredging. Should we go back to the company headquarters to discuss it?"
Deputy company commander Lu Zeran understood immediately that there was something in Wang Ke's words.
"Yes, you guys keep an eye on this wellhead. Wang Ke and I will go back and report to the company commander and discuss the next action plan." The deputy company commander turned to the telephone squad leader Xiao Gao and then took Wang Ke's hand. Walked towards the company headquarters.
When they arrived at the company headquarters, Company Commander Bearded Tian saw Wang Ke's attire and wet legs, and immediately smiled and said: "Our warrior is back, what did you find?"
So Wang Ke told Company Commander Bearded Tian and Deputy Company Commander Lu Zeran about what he found at the bottom of the well, especially that there was not a single fish or any living creature. The entire well was dug manually under natural stones. , not a single brick was found in the whole body, as well as the leaking hole and the miraculous ventilation conditions at the bottom of the well, he said it all again. Finally, he said: "According to my judgment, except for this well, with our current tools and means, this village It will be difficult to drill a second deep well. But now if we want to ensure water supply for the whole village, we only need to completely dredge it. If we want to solve the problem once and for all, it is to completely plug the hole."
Company Commander Bearded Tian nodded. After returning from exploring the bottom of the well, Wang Ke discovered that compared to digging a new well, it is undoubtedly the most labor-saving and economical method.
"Lao Lu, what did you think about it?" Bearded Company Commander Tian turned around and asked Deputy Company Commander Lu Zeran.
"I agree with Wang Ke, the reconnaissance squad leader, to organize the bottom of the well to be dredged first."
"Wang Ke, what tools are needed to clear the bottom of the well? If we were responsible for cleaning it, how many days would it take?"
"Reporting to the company commander, although the space inside is large, it is too deep and the working surface can accommodate at most two people. The tools for dredging are mainly digging and planing tools, but two things are needed for protection. If these two things are available , the dredging can be completed in one day." Wang Ke said.
"What two things?"
"The first is to hang several door panels down and build a safety frame to prevent objects from falling from high altitude. The second is to have a water pump to ensure the normal progress of dredging at the bottom of the well." Wang Ke answered.
"Both of these requirements are not high. If we can really restore the water supply to the whole village in one day, it will be a great achievement. How long do you estimate this well will need to be cleaned?" Company Commander Bearded Tian asked again.
"In my judgment, this well has not been cleaned for at least hundreds of years. We can first clean it ten or twenty meters down, but it doesn't have to be that thorough."
"Well, strike while the iron is hot. We will work all night tonight. I will prepare what you want. Try to get everything in place within an hour. I will ask the electrician in the village to pull a light down the well. Deputy company commander, you should stay on the ground. , responsible for the entire command and dispatch; Wang Ke, you are responsible for clearing the bottom of the well, and it is up to you to choose who goes down in the company, so be sure to pay attention to safety."
"yes!"
An hour later, Wang Ke gathered four soldiers from his squad, wearing rain boots and raincoats, to the mouth of the well. They are veteran Luo Shaohuan, recruit Hu Yanlou, recruit Song Ruimin, and recruit Niu Suozhu. Excluding only one Hu Xinrui, he is still a little weaker physically.
Originally, there was no such thing as Hu Yanlou because his head had just had its stitches removed, but when he heard that he was going to the bottom of the well to clear the mud, he came anyway. He found a piece of plastic sheet, wrapped his head, and put on a hat.
To do this for the people, there is no need to do more mobilization. Wang Kezai carefully explained the safety matters of underground operations, and finally taught everyone how to tie a rope buckle, how to dredge the bottom of the well, and pay attention to monitoring the lantern, because Lack of oxygen underground is also a safety factor that cannot be ignored.
In the first group of people, he led veterans Luo Shaohuan and Song Ruimin to follow him. At this time, dozens of fellow villagers had gathered at the entrance of the well to watch the fun, and the widow, the nephew-in-law of the landlord, Uncle Geng, also came.
Hu Yanlou, a new recruit, felt that the squad leader did not let him be the first to call, and he had always had some objections.
Wang Ke walked over and patted recruit Hu Yanlou on the shoulder: "I won't let you go down now. The main thing is to keep you strong. You have to work all night tonight. The rest of the night is all up to you."
Deputy company commander Lu Zeran pulled Wang Ke aside. "Didn't you say that there can only be two people at most at the underground working surface? Why are there three people down there?"
Wang Ke quietly said to deputy company commander Lu Zeran: "There are two people working underground, but one person must stay under the safety frame. Be the safety officer and observe the situation at the bottom of the well."
"Well, you, Wang Ke, have thought carefully. Then we should also set up safety guards on the well to prevent anyone from approaching and prevent some objects from falling. Even a steamed bun falling into such a deep well will injure people."
"Thank you, deputy company commander, you should have thought more carefully." Wang Ke led four soldiers and saluted the deputy company commander and the soldiers on the telephone squad who were providing security next to him. Because from now on, the safety of the five comrades underground will be entirely handed over to these comrades above the mine.
"Comrades, the first step is for me to go down first. After I go down, the second step is to lift the wires and lights. The third step is to lift the door panel. The fourth step is to lift Luo Shaohuan and Song Ruimin. The last step is to lift the water pump. "After arranging all this, Wang Ke tied the hemp rope around his waist. This hemp rope is as thick as a rolling pin and can support a pulling force of more than 300 kilograms. Then he waved his hand, jumped lightly, and jumped into the well.
Thanks to his previous experience, this time he reached the bottom of the well in less than two minutes.
It was noon at this time, and the flames of the lantern did not flicker because of the arrival of anyone. Except that the water at the bottom of the well has risen a little higher than before, there is no other change.
He jumped into the water, and the water was probably close to his thighs. Untying the rope, he caught the hanging wires and electric lights one by one, and hung them on his military dagger. The bottom of the well immediately became bright. Then he took the four hanging door panels and the materials for building the safety frame. When Luo Shaohuan and Song Ruimin came down, several people started working together and quickly set up the safety frame.
At this time, except Wang Ke, Luo Shaohuan and Song Ruimin were shivering from the cold. They were both surprised. Didn't squad leader Wang Ke know how cold it was?
"Okay, you two climb up to the safety frame and take off your wet pants. Rest there for a while. I will drain the water here later and you can come down again."
Another 10 minutes passed and the newly installed water pump started working. The motor is placed on the safety rack. Thick water pipes lead directly to the hole. "Wow" started to pump water.
The machine was still very effective. Within ten minutes, the bottom of the well slowly dried up, revealing its original appearance.
Veteran Luo Shaohuan and recruit Song Ruimin put on their rain boots and jumped out. In order to reduce water leakage into the well, deputy company commander Lu Zeran even moved the company's marching pot, fixed both ends with ropes and wires, and slowly lowered it.
"Start work." Wang Ke ordered.
"Squad leader, what do you think that is?" Song Ruimin called out. Following the direction of his finger, there was a turtle as big as a washbasin.
"Hey, didn't you say there are no fish or shrimps in this ancient well?" Wang Ke walked over and took a look. The turtle was all ivory white. Pick it up and take a look. There are several small seal characters engraved on the turtle shell under the belly, one of which is the word "王".
"Fuck, you found all my ancestors." Wang Ke exclaimed in surprise. A thousand-year-old turtle, this rare white turtle has lived at the bottom of this ancient well for at least a thousand years.
