A day and a night, and then another half day passed, with people working from the mountaintop down to the foot of the mountain.
A ditch about half a meter wide stretched from halfway up the mountain to the middle of the fields, extending horizontally and vertically to each family's rice paddies.
The village chief led the people up the mountain. The head of the ditch was about a hand's span from the source. The most important pickaxe was, of course, entrusted to the village chief of Dahe Village, imbued with a sense of solemn ritual.
The village chief raised the pickaxe and dug down forcefully under the watchful eyes of hundreds of people. The soil here was very soft; it didn't take much effort to dig a hole. Water flowed out from it, following the ditch down to the foot of the mountain.
Children cheered joyfully, running after the flowing water down to the foot of the mountain. But who could run as fast as the water? Soon, the water had reached the foot of the mountain.
Countless farmers watched with eager anticipation.
Under the scorching sun, the spring water shimmered with a brilliant light.
Like a giant silver dragon.
Like hope erupting, surging forward.
It was clearly only a ditch half a meter wide, but for some reason, it seemed magnified, looking like a vast sea with surging waves.
The eyes of the elderly in the village were red, tears trembling and rolling down their cheeks.
"There's really water!"
"We have water!"
"The rice is saved!"
"No one will starve to death anymore!"
Water flowed into the rice paddies along the ditch. The dry, cracked, yellow earth opened its mouth to absorb the water. The parched land frantically drank the clear water. Water flowed into the rice paddies, quickly filling the dry cracks. Then, the water continued to flow in.
The withered rice stalks seemed to be filled with hope. Under the blazing sun, in the hot, dry summer wind, the rice stalks swayed gently.
Farmers stood on the field dikes, weeping with joy.
While no one was paying attention, Zhang Wulai had dug a hole in the dike of his own field. In an instant, water filled his field.
Someone saw this, but in that emotional moment, no one wanted to argue or settle scores with a scoundrel like Zhang Wulai. Moreover, Zhang Dagang of the Zhang family also helped, although not with the strong youthful vigor of other families, even the children tried very hard. Living in the same village, people didn't want to cause an unsightly commotion. Amidst everyone's joyous celebration, a discordant sound rang out.
"Damn it! The water really flowed down."
The villagers turned to look in unison, only to see a few people from Guihua Village who had, at some point, joined the crowd. One man even spat into the ditch. This time, it truly enraged the crowd.
Old Woman Zhou, who was seventy or eighty years old and usually unsteady on her feet, now jumped up and slapped the spitting man on the back of the head, angrily saying, "Try spitting again, I dare you?"
The man was furious: "This crazy old woman dares to hit me. See if I don't beat you to death..."
Before he could finish his sentence, he felt countless icy gazes fall upon him. The man lowered his head and saw many people surrounding him.
These people were all strong, robust young laborers with solid muscles. A dozen or so people standing together looked like majestic mountains.
The man hadn't even had time to swallow his unfinished words before he quickly bent his legs and ran away. The few people from Guihua Village also quickly followed, disappearing at the village entrance a moment later.
Li Zheng then walked down with his hands behind his back, his face serious as he said, "We must be wary of those bastards from Guihua Village. Poisoning is definitely something they're capable of!"
Cheng Luanluan spoke up, "I think the patrol team should continue to guard the mountain spring, protect the rice in the fields, and safeguard the food in every home."