After careful consideration, Jiang Ye decided to dig a dry-shaped mine pit.
That is to say, first dig a main road across the fluorite mining area, and then dig branches from the main road to the left and right, similar to the character "干" (gān).
This way of excavation is more organized. Following the main road, progress is made daily. Once the end is reached, the entire mine will be excavated.
With the direction set, work began immediately.
Jiang Ye swung his shovel, digging rapidly.
Instead of digging a new main road from scratch, he utilized the existing mine tunnel and extended it.
The fluorite in this area was indeed abundant. The shovel quickly became useless; the ore was too plentiful and too hard. It was time for a pickaxe.
With each strike of the pickaxe, large chunks of fluorite tumbled down.
Every piece was money!
The morning excavation was very smooth. With the enhancement from the stamina booster, he felt almost no fatigue. A few breaths when tired, and his stamina would fully recover.
At noon, he returned to the campfire to eat and had two more ears of corn. There was one left in the pot, saved for the evening.
He continued excavating in the afternoon, but after less than an hour, a problem arose.
Jiang Ye suddenly noticed that the soil he was digging seemed to be getting wetter?
He was already four meters underground. He had been excavating at this depth in the morning, but the soil on the pit walls was very dry, and a puff of air could blow away the dust. However, the further he progressed, the less dry the soil became, and no dust could be blown away.
Jiang Ye felt something was wrong.
He drew his samurai sword and forcefully thrust it into the soil ahead!
Then, he pulled it out.
The tip of the sword brought out some soil. Touching it with his hand, it was even wetter! It was also visible to the naked eye that the soil's color was darker, due to the high moisture content.
Indeed, at this depth, the soil became progressively wetter the further he went.
There were no rivers on the surface, nor any water sources.
Therefore, there was only one explanation: an underground current!
Jiang Ye's blood pressure surged, and he became very excited.
On one hand, he was fearful. If this underground current was too strong, and after digging a few more meters, it suddenly gushed in, it could potentially collapse the mine tunnel.
On the other hand, he was happy. Water was a scarce resource. If there was indeed an underground river, or even a small underground spring, it would be a gift from heaven!
Jiang Ye decided to stop advancing.
He couldn't take the risk. Many miners had been killed by underground currents.
He immediately retreated and climbed out of the deep mine pit.
Then, Jiang Ye, following his intuition, walked a few meters in the direction where the underground current might be, and began to dig downwards from the surface.
He quickly dug one meter deep with his shovel. There was no fluorite here anymore, so the excavation was fast.
Jiang Ye squatted at the bottom of the pit and grabbed a handful of soil.
Huh? He was puzzled.
The soil in his hand was extremely dry, showing no signs of moisture.
Perhaps it wasn't deep enough yet. He continued digging!
Shovels flying, he transformed into a relentless digging machine.
In a blink of an eye, he had descended another meter.
This time, he was relieved. The soil had clearly become moist, and the underground current should be beneath it.
Jiang Ye judged that the current was at least four meters underground, possibly even lower. He couldn't just keep digging straight down, or he wouldn't be able to get back up.
So, he spent another hour excavating the walls, leaving a slope that he could climb back to the surface.
Then, he continued to dig down.
Two and a half meters.
Three meters.
Four meters.
The soil was very moist, like the soil in a freshly watered flowerpot. Squeezing a handful in his hand, he could even squeeze out a drop or two.
Jiang Ye again adjusted the walls, leaving a slope to climb up. Then he dug deeper.
As he dug.
Hiss! With a sound of spraying water, a white column of water shot out from the bottom of the pit!
The water pressure was higher than expected, hitting Jiang Ye's leg. He almost fell because he lost his footing.
Jiang Ye dodged to the side. The water column sprayed all the way up to his face. Before he could turn his head, he was washed in the face.
Fortunately, the water had no strange odor, so it should be non-toxic.
A few drops splashed into his mouth, and he accidentally swallowed them. He didn't taste anything unusual; it seemed to be just clear groundwater.
As the water column continued to spray, water began to accumulate at the bottom of the pit. The water level rose rapidly, submerging his calves within two minutes.
"Damn, it's quite powerful!"
Jiang Ye exclaimed in surprise and scrambled to climb up.
His earlier decision to stop and reinforce the pit walls was correct. Relying on the created slope, it only took tens of seconds for Jiang Ye to climb back to the surface from underground.
He looked back at the water at the bottom of the pit.
The water continued to rise, quickly reaching a meter high, and then stopped.
It formed a murky pool at the bottom of the pit.
Or, to be precise, a small well!
Jiang Ye was overjoyed. With this well, his water supply was guaranteed.
However, the water in the well was too murky to drink directly.
He needed to figure out how to make a filter, at least to remove the sand and silt.
Jiang Ye wasn't a clam; he didn't need to eat sand, nor would eating it produce pearls.
Just as the effect of the stamina booster wore off, he returned to the base and bought another injection for himself.
Then, he picked up an empty mineral water bottle from a corner.
In elementary school, during arts and crafts class, the teacher had taught them how to make a simple filter using a bottle.
Jiang Ye operated according to his memory.
First, he cut off the bottom of the bottle.
Then, he went outside the base and collected some small pebbles, coarse sand, and fine sand, washing them clean with water separately.
These pebbles and fine sand were used to intercept large impurities in the dirty water.
However, he was still missing a filter screen.
Jiang Ye opened the chat channel and sent a message asking for help:
Jiang Ye: Bros, I'm making a simple filter and need a screen. Does anyone have any paper towels, toilet paper, or clean, fine fabric that can filter dust from water? I'm willing to pay, and the price is negotiable.
After sending the message, a few people quickly responded.
However, none of them were reliable.
Stay Here Don't Go: Big shot, I have a pair of small briefs. I can wash them, cut them up, and use them as a filter screen. How about five hundred yuan?
My Voice Is Like a Clip: I have a lot of long hair. You can weave your hair into a net to filter things. One hundred yuan? Or trade for food?
Dazuo: My dear friend, I have plenty of withered corn leaves. They should work as a filter screen. As long as you pay, I have plenty of leaves!
Jiang Ye scanned the responses, his forehead covered in black lines.
What kind of weirdos were these?
Were they all trying to scam him?
He ignored them all.
Just as he was about to close the chat channel and think of a solution himself, a new private message came in.
It was from an old acquaintance.
It was the girl from whom Jiang Ye had bought a picture of black silk legs.
Can't Unscrew Bottle Cap: Jiang boss, do you need a filter screen? I have a sponge pad, will that work?
Jiang Ye was taken aback. A sponge pad?
This could actually work! Sponges were excellent filter materials!
However, he needed to understand the details to avoid any misunderstandings.
Jiang Ye: What kind of sponge pad is it? How big is it? Are the sponge pores fine?
Can't Unscrew Bottle Cap: It's the kind of sponge pad that goes inside underwear.
Jiang Ye froze, his cheeks suddenly feeling a bit hot.
Good heavens, that kind of pad!
Although it was embarrassing to mention, that pad might actually work. It was thin, with fine pores, and likely suitable for filtering.
Buying a filter screen and ending up with this item was truly unexpected.
Jiang Ye: Okay, okay, name your price.