"Er Gou, what nonsense are you spouting?"
"Digging a ditch from the mountain down, that's truly absurd."
"If everyone goes to dig ditches, who will farm? Is this a joke?"
Everyone in the village disbelieved it.
Before, they had all cleared wasteland. It would take many days for an entire family to clear one mu of land. Digging a ditch from the mountain down would likely be even harder.
Zhao Er Gou confidently said it would only take two and a half days. That was clearly a scam.
A group of people scoffed, shouting and clamoring.
Zhao Er Gou had never faced such a situation before; his hands and feet were flustered.
He was only sixteen, just starting high school in modern times. If he could handle this situation well, Cheng Loan Loan would praise him for his decisiveness.
She stepped forward and stood beside Zhao Er Gou.
As soon as she stepped up, everyone gradually quieted down.
It wasn't that the crowd feared her; mostly, it was surprise. In their impression, Zhao Daitao was a rustic woman. Now, she seemed to have become much younger, mainly because she was clean, her clothes weren't stained, and her complexion seemed even fairer.
Cheng Loan Loan used to be a boss and often gave speeches. Even with everyone staring at her, she wasn't flustered at all.
She said indifferently, "Tie Zhu's father, may I trouble you with something?"
Zhao An Jiang immediately nodded, "Zhao Daitao, just give the order."
"Bring a shovel and, in front of everyone, right here, dig a ditch."
Cheng Loan Loan's voice was calm, "Everyone can calculate how long it takes Tie Zhu's father to dig a ditch."
Zhao An Jiang was over thirty, at the peak of a man's strength. He dug down, and a large hole immediately appeared on the ground.
He buried his head and continued digging, and in less than a quarter of an hour, he had laboriously dug out a ditch head ten zhang long.
The crowd was dumbfounded. Was digging a canal that easy?
"The soil on the mountain is relatively hard and contains rocks, so it definitely won't be a quarter of an hour. Let's assume two hours for now." Cheng Loan Loan took a step back, "Er Gou, this idea was yours. You should explain it to everyone for convenience."
She stepped down from the platform, yielding it to him.
Zhao Er Gou had calculated countless times. He didn't stammer at all as he explained the calculations to everyone. With Zhao An Jiang's demonstration first, and then Zhao Er Gou's logical explanation, most of the villagers were convinced.
At this moment, the village head stepped forward and said, "This is an important task for everyone in Da He Village, so all able-bodied men sixteen years and older in the entire village must participate in digging the ditch. Everyone go home and prepare, bring your farm tools. We will all set off for the mountain in half an hour."
A small portion of people still asked doubtfully.
"Village Head, what if there isn't much water on the mountain?"
"Village Head, what if this water only flows halfway and then stops? My field is quite far, what if the water doesn't reach it?"
"Anyway, I'm not putting in any effort!" Zhang Wu Lai snorted coldly, "Zhao Daitao, a long-haired, short-sighted woman, and people actually believe what she says. She's just toying with everyone. Why should whatever she says be the truth!"
Among the crowd, some people agreed with this view.
For example, Fu Gui's aunt, whose husband kept thinking about the widow Zhao Daitao, had found Cheng Loan Loan annoying for a long time.
Then there was Sun Shi. Among the three Zhao family daughters-in-law, she had always ranked second. If she could give birth to a son, she would definitely be number one. Now that the eldest daughter-in-law was actually supported by the village chief, it meant that among the three daughters-in-law, she ranked last. How could she be happy?
"Shut up!" The village chief glared coldly at Zhang Wulai. "If you don't want to do it, then don't. When the water is diverted from the mountain, don't even think about your family's rice getting a single drop! Does anyone else have an opinion? You can leave now! If you're not from the Zhao family, I don't care if you leave. But if you're a member of the Zhao family and you leave, then I'll open the ancestral hall and erase your name!"
The village chief rarely got angry. Now that he was furious, no one dared to argue. Except for Zhang Wulai, everyone else honestly went home to get their farming tools.