There were a total of three wells in Daha Village.
Half a month ago, two wells had dried up, leaving only one to sustain the lives of all the villagers.
Now, the last well had also dried up, and suddenly, cries of despair filled the air outside the houses. If the fields yielded no harvest, one could still eat tree bark or grass roots to survive, but without water, it was truly a desperate situation, a plea to heaven and earth that went unanswered.
The village chief heard the cries outside and sighed, "Dahan's mother, all hope in the village now rests on you. I truly hope every word you say is true."
"Village Chief Uncle, I would never joke about such a matter," Cheng Loanloan said with a serious expression. "However, I also have an unreasonable request."
The village chief straightened up. If Dahan's mother had no requests, he would be a little afraid, afraid that all of this was false, that hope would be given only to be followed by disappointment, a kind of suffering he could not bear.
If Dahan's mother had a request, it proved that the matter of water on the mountain was ninety percent true. "Last year, Old Zhao's family and I separated, and I was allotted thirteen *mu* of land, but only five *mu* were good land. The remaining eight *mu* were poor soil and couldn't grow good crops."
Cheng Loanloan had only spoken half of her request when the village chief understood her meaning and immediately said, "Dahan's mother, as long as this water source you speak of is real, I will give you the most fertile plot of land in the village. But good land is expensive; in the market, it's two *liang* of silver per *mu*..."
The most fertile plot of land in the village belonged to the village chief's family. How could Cheng Loanloan take something from someone else?
She opened her mouth and said, "I want that barren land at the foot of the mountain. The water flowing down from the mountain must pass through this land. Barren land can definitely become good land in the future. Many experienced farmers surely know this principle and will likely quickly come to Village Chief Uncle to buy land. May I ask Village Chief Uncle to hold this land for me for half a year? I will buy it back when I have silver in my hand. If I don't have silver within half a year, Village Chief Uncle can sell it."
This request was not really a request at all. Last year, after the locust plague, most of the villagers' wealth was spent due to high food prices. This year was the same situation; no family had spare money to buy land.
The village chief immediately agreed, "I'll calculate the price for you based on barren land, eight copper coins per *mu*. How many *mu* do you want?"
Cheng Loanloan had a headache. She didn't quite understand the unit of *mu*. Three or four *mu* she could visualize, but more than that she couldn't convert. She smiled and said, "I'll go back and discuss it with my children."
After she left with Zhao Ergou, the village chief's eldest son, Zhao Anjiang, came over. "Father, I just heard you talking about water. When did the mountain get water?"
The village chief recounted Cheng Loanloan's words.
"How can that be?" Zhao Anjiang's face showed disbelief. "Has Sister-in-law Zhao ever done anything serious? And yet, Father believes her words?"
Zhao Anhe, the village chief's second son, also said, "In my opinion, Sister-in-law Zhao is trying to trick us out of those few *mu* of land."
"It's just over ten *mu* of barren land. What benefit would she get from tricking us?" The village chief scolded angrily, "The matter of the bamboo shoots was brought to us by Dahan's mother. You all ate the bamboo shoots so happily, why are you unwilling to trust others? Besides, we'll know tomorrow if Dahan's mother is lying when we go up the mountain. What good would it do her to deceive me for one evening?"
The village chief's old friend agreed, saying, "Nang Dashan doesn't look like she used to. When Er Gou came in just now, I didn't recognize her for a moment. She's much cleaner, and seems to have even put on a little weight..." On the way back, they happened to see that barren plot of land.