Madam Sun opened her mouth, "I know this young lady. Her father and my father are cousins. When I got married, she was only three or four years old. Now she has grown into a beautiful young lady. What does Eldest Sister-in-law want to ask her about?"
1
"Isn't it to find a wife for Er Gou?" Cheng Loanloan said with a smile, "I want to ask a bit more about this young lady's character. If it's not bad, we can go to her door to propose marriage."
Old Madam Zhao was very pleased. She had been worried about Er Gou's lifelong marriage, and now, before she even opened her mouth to remind them, this woman had already started planning for Er Gou. As long as the eldest daughter-in-law could arrange Er Gou's marriage, it would be fine to let the eldest branch move back.
The old madam didn't realize that the other party hadn't even mentioned moving back, but she had already happily agreed in her heart.
Even Madam Sun had to smile.
Her paternal cousin was a scoundrel, proficient in eating, drinking, gambling, and women, which had angered Shui Qin's mother to death. All the household affairs were supported by Shui Qin.
If Eldest Sister-in-law married Shui Qin into the family as a daughter-in-law, it would be like getting involved with a scoundrel of an in-law, and she would be busy with many troubles later on.
Madam Sun casually said, "Shui Qin is a good young lady. I won't even mention how beautiful she is; the main thing is that she is hardworking and capable of farm work, even stronger than many men. If Eldest Sister-in-law marries such a daughter-in-law, you will enjoy blessings later."
As soon as Cheng Loanloan saw Madam Sun's expression, she knew she was speaking against her conscience. She definitely hadn't found out anything specific, but the Sun family was certainly not simple. She stood up, "Let me go back and consider when to go to propose marriage. I'm leaving first."
Old Madam Zhao was stunned, "Aren't you going to sit for a bit longer?"
She was leaving before even discussing the main topic?
Could it be that she wanted her, the elder, to actively bring up the matter of letting the eldest branch move back?
Cheng Loanloan nodded, "There are still things to do at home. I'm going back first."
She stood up and walked towards the outside of the house, disappearing through the gate a short while later.
She thought, she probably had to go to Guihua Village to inquire a bit herself. She couldn't just listen to one side, nor could she trust only her own feelings, in case the young lady was an introverted type.
But now, this wasn't important. What was important was the water source issue.
In the afternoon, Cheng Loanloan carried mugwort on her back and took her four children up the mountain.
With the patrol team from Dàhé Village, there were no longer any figures from Guihua Village on the mountain, and there wasn't a single person by the lotus pond, which was convenient for Cheng Loanloan to work.
The mud dug from the dry pond had cracked beyond recognition after only a short day of sun exposure.
Cheng Loanloan went to the slightly wet mud, had her four sons pile the mugwort on the ground, and then lit it with tinder.
Mugwort produces a lot of smoke, and the smoke will sink down to find an escape route. If there is moisture underground, the smoke will evaporate with the water. The place where the smoke rises most vigorously must have a water source.
Zhao Ergou was very curious, "Mother, what do we do after burning the mugwort?"
Cheng Loanloan looked in the direction of the smoke, "Follow it."
A pile of mugwort burned, emitting a lot of smoke. The smoke flew towards the bottom of the mountain valley.
A line of five people followed the smoke through a patch of dense forest, to the side of the mountain valley. There was a hollow here, a depression between two mountain peaks. The vegetation here was unusually lush, and there were many mosquitoes flying around.
The smoke suddenly began to rise here.
"Mother, there's water here!" Zhao San Niu's eyes were about to pop out. "Water is flowing out from a crack in the cliff!"
In this dry season, there was actually water flowing on the mountain!
Zhao Da Shan caught a few drops of water and tasted them. "It's so sweet, it's mountain spring water!"
Cheng Luan Luan burst into laughter. It seemed they had used the right method; they had truly found the source of underground water.
Water flowing out from the cliff was enough to prove that the underground water source was abundant.
Half of the drought problem had been solved.