Prefect Chen was quite busy day by day, leaving early and returning late, diligently performing his duties.
To gain the appreciation of Governor Qin, he could go two days and two nights without rest.
In Dashui Village, at the Yun family's residence.
As Yun Erman walked into the courtyard, he saw his father sitting on a small stool with a wooden frame in front of him.
The plump sheep had been skinned, skewered on a wooden stick, and was being roasted over charcoal.
Little Xi Tian squatted beside Old Man Yun, like a little glutton, staring at the lamb leg with her small mouth pursed...
The Yun family was indeed much quieter without Liu Cuirong.
Zhao Guihua was in the kitchen with two maids preparing side dishes, while Yun Jinshan carried dry firewood to the fire.
Madam Gu was also busy inside and out.
"Erman is back!" Madam Gu poured him a cup of water and asked, "Did you send Cuirong away?"
Yun Erman nodded, "Sent her away!~"
He knew in his heart that his mother didn't really want to divorce her.
In a few days, before Yun Erman went to pick her up, Liu Cuirong would run back on her own.
With a whole roasted sheep at home, they naturally couldn't keep it to themselves.
Madam Gu asked Jinshan to call the village chief and Du Lao San to come over.
They brought out their homemade sorghum wine to entertain them.
It was also a good opportunity to discuss the drought.
As night fell, the residual heat of the day lingered.
The evening breeze blowing against them was still stiflingly hot.
After drinking a bowl of wine, the village chief fanned himself, swatting a mosquito on the back of his hand, and sighed, "Our village only had a few rains around Qingming Festival."
"Since then, not a drop of water has fallen. The stream in the village has dried up, and the crops are wilting and leaning askew."
"Gou Gou Lake has water, but who can carry it?"
"The livestock are all exhausted, let alone expecting the villagers to carry water..."
Du Lao San heard this and pounded the table, "Alas, if only the water from Gou Gou Lake could fly over by itself."
"Du Lao San, are you drunk? Have you ever seen lake water that can fly?" Fu Daqiang glared at him.
This kid, after a bit of cat's piss, just blabbered nonsense.
Du Lao San was not convinced. He put down his wine bowl, reached out, and hugged Little Xi Tian, who was eating roasted meat, into his arms.
He grinned, "See? We still have Little Sweet Treasure in our village. Since she could drive away the rat plague, she can surely pray for rain."
Sweet Treasure was not only the Yun family's daughter but also the daughter of every household in Dashui Village.
She brought blessings and continuous good luck.
Naturally, she could help the villagers overcome difficulties.
Little Xi Tian: "..."
Uncle Du San, I'm not the Thunder God, how can I make it rain with a clap of thunder!~
There was indeed an endless water source in her space.
She couldn't secretly irrigate her own fifty mu of land and let the crops of other villagers wither and die, could she?
Even irrigating all the land in Dashui Village would arouse suspicion.
Therefore, she designed the waterwheel drawings, so that the villagers could rely on themselves, dig canals, and solve the drought problem.
"This, for watering!~"
Little Xi Tian took out the drawing from her small satchel and waved it in front of everyone, "Waterwheel, save the crops!"
Old Man Yun was slightly taken aback and took the drawing.
His youngest daughter had been drawing on the kang table for several nights.
He and his wife had wondered about it, but now seeing it, they realized she was drawing this thing.
"What... what is this round thing?" Fu Daqiang asked curiously.
Let alone the people of Dashui Village, even the entire Liang Kingdom had never seen a waterwheel.
Old Man Yun's expression was a little complicated as he looked at Little Xi Tian, "Daughter, can this thing really water the fields?"
"Mhm!~" Little Xi Tian nodded emphatically.
She climbed onto the stool again, gesturing with her small hands, explaining the principle to everyone.
The working principle of the waterwheel was very simple.
The river water would rush in, using the inertia of the flow to push the spokes.
As the small water buckets were filled one by one, they would slowly rise. Upon reaching the top, the water buckets would gradually tilt.
The water would be poured into a sluice, and then flow along the dug canal into the crops.
"Understand?"
Little Xi Tian stood with her hands on her hips, her soft and cute appearance like a pink meatball.
Unbeknownst to her, if this invention were known to the court, it would surely shock the entire nation...
Everyone understood the general idea, only Fu Daqiang was slow to react and didn't grasp it.
This round wooden frame would move by itself?
And it could lead water to the fields?
This was too magical!~
The village chief looked down at the drawing, then looked up at Little Xi Tian.
He felt that this matter was very reliable.
The key was that Little Sweet Treasure proposed it, which made him inexplicably feel at ease, even if it seemed far-fetched.
"Old Yun, your daughter is truly a divine child!"
The village chief praised with a smile, "At such a young age, she can design such a clever thing to benefit the villagers and relieve their urgent needs. Little Sweet Treasure is truly the blessing of all the villagers!~"
The children in the village of Little Sweet Treasure's age were still squatting by the river, playing with mud.
How could any of them be as capable and talented as Little Sweet Treasure?
Old Man Yun picked up his wine bowl and drank it down, feeling very pleased with himself...
Madam Gu and Zhao Guihua also had smiles on their faces, looking dotingly.
"Old Yun, I'll go to the city tomorrow morning to give this drawing to Prefect Chen and have him send people to build the waterwheel."
The village chief folded the drawing and tucked it into his chest.
Old Man Yun's hands were quick, and he directly snatched the drawing back, smiling, "There's no need to trouble the village chief with this."
"Erman is now an official in the county yamen. Tomorrow morning, I will have him go to the city to see the prefect..."
It was also a good time to mention the matter of the agarwood forest.
The village chief's expression froze, then he burst into laughter, "Haha, good, good, good. In my excitement, I completely forgot about this."
"Now that Erman is working in the county yamen, these matters should naturally be handled by him!~"
Yun Erman grinned.
His position had less presence than air.
The whole roasted sheep was almost completely eaten.
Fortunately, Little Xi Tian was so full she was hiccuping, and the family had all had their fill.
The next morning.
Yun Erman, carrying two pieces of agarwood and a drawing, had breakfast and then drove the carriage into the city.
This time, when he went to the county town, he brought his sister along.
Yun Erman felt that he had been a bit unlucky these past few days. If his sister accompanied him, perhaps his luck would turn around.
As it turned out, he was thinking too much.
As soon as the carriage drove out of the village, Liu Cuirong darted out from the roadside and blocked the carriage.
Yun Erman's face turned pale with shock, and he yanked the reins hard.
The fine horse raised its front hooves and neighed, narrowly avoiding hitting Liu Cuirong...
"You prodigal woman, are you trying to die?" Yun Erman's heart pounded, and he cursed loudly.
Little Xi Tian lifted the curtain and looked outside.
She saw Liu Cuirong, with red eyes, kneeling on the ground and sobbing uncontrollably.
"Wuwuwu, Erman, I didn't sleep all night, just thinking about how to apologize to my parents."
"Erman, I was really wrong, I won't be lazy and gluttonous anymore. Will you take me back?"
Liu Cuirong's face was covered in tear streaks, crying sadly and helplessly, looking extremely pitiable.
She glanced at the carriage compartment and saw that Little Xi Tian was also there, her eyes instantly filled with light.
Liu Cuirong got up and walked over quickly, "Little sister-in-law, please put in a good word for your second sister-in-law, okay?"
"Second brother, drive the carriage!~" Little Xi Tian directly lowered the curtain.
Pitiable people must have their hateful aspects.
She was too lazy to care...