"Our Er Gou only has four biological younger sisters; we don't lack a sister like you." Cheng Loanloan's expression gradually turned cold. "If you have no intention of becoming close with our Zhao family, then don't even mention borrowing grain. Just being seen by others will affect Er Gou's reputation. Furthermore, the bamboo shoot jade pendant in your hand is something I gave to Er Gou's future wife. It has nothing to do with you; give it back."
Sun Shuqin hadn't even understood what was happening when the bamboo shoot jade pendant in her hand was taken back by Cheng Loanloan.
She bit her lower lip awkwardly. No wonder people in Dàhé Village said that Zhao Er Gou's birth mother was not easy to deal with. It turned out to be true; she could even take back things she had given away. Fortunately, she hadn't agreed to marry him, otherwise, she didn't know how much hardship she would have to endure later.
"The ten jin I lent you before is settled. Our family doesn't lack these ten jin of grain. The main thing is—" Cheng Loanloan's voice grew colder. "I don't want you to come to the Zhao family again, and I especially don't want you to come looking for Er Gou again. Go back to your Guihua Village quickly."
Sun Shuqin's tears fell uncontrollably. She didn't dare to stay long, afraid that Cheng Loanloan would say something else that would make her feel ashamed. She clutched the bag of grain and quickly ran towards Guihua Village. Soon, her figure disappeared into the dense forest.
Cheng Loanloan turned her gaze to her children, thinking that these four boys would be surprised by her combat prowess, but unexpectedly, they were all very calm.
Alright, if the original owner had encountered this kind of situation, she probably would have scratched Sun Shuqin's face to pieces long ago. What she had just done was already very gentle.
Her gaze lingered on Zhao Er Gou. This boy still looked utterly distraught.
Being rejected so suddenly, he was caught off guard, and his heart was probably shattered.
She spoke indifferently, "Er Gou, you are the smartest child in our family. How to bring water from the mountain down below, you should think about this slowly and carefully."
Zhao Si Dan was unconvinced. He felt that he was also very smart.
He definitely had to compete with his second brother and come up with a good solution.
On one side, the mother and her five children picked mushrooms and wild vegetables, while on the other, they pondered how to divert water. "Mother, I've thought of something!" Zhao Si Dan excitedly shouted.
"There are many bamboo trees on the mountain. The inside of the bamboo is hollow. If we connect all the sections of the bamboo, can we bring water from the mountain to our home?"
Cheng Loanloan couldn't help but exclaim in admiration, "Si Dan, you are truly smart! However, bamboo pipes have a small diameter, so they can't carry much water. They can only be used for daily life. Is there a better way to bring water from the mountain down to the fields? That way, even if it doesn't rain, we won't have a crop failure or no harvest this year."
In fact, she already had a preliminary idea in her mind.
"Mother, can we dig a ditch?" Zhao Er Gou said softly. "If we dig a ditch on the mountain, the water will flow down automatically, no matter how much..." Cheng Loanloan laughed. "Er Gou, you're thinking just like me! Now there's another problem: how long is the distance from the mountain to the foot of the mountain? How many people are needed to dig the ditch, and how long will it take? You need to think about all these things carefully."
Zhao Ergou stood up and took four or five steps, roughly ten feet. He estimated, "It's that long. If each person digs for an hour, we can definitely finish it. From the foot of the mountain to here, we'd need about two or three thousand people, each for an hour..."
Cheng Luanluan continued to lead the way, saying, "In the village, there are roughly four or five hundred able-bodied young men. If everyone worked together, how long would it take?" Zhao Ergou began to scratch his neck. "Mother, I can't figure it out..."
Cheng Luanluan pressed a hand to her forehead. This was a problem that seven or eight-year-olds in modern times would have learned, yet in ancient times, few people knew how to solve it.
Once life stabilized, the first thing to do would be to teach the children how to read and do arithmetic.