The sun rose high.
Although it was still early morning, the weather was already incredibly hot. The sun blazed, and sweat drenched everyone.
The village headman, Li Zheng, arrived in his best clothes. From head to toe, there wasn't a single patch on his garments. His shoes weren't the common straw sandals found in the village, but a pair of neatly tailored dark blue cloth shoes, and, rarely, he even wore socks inside them.
"This humble commoner greets Your Excellency, the Magistrate."
Li Zheng stepped forward and immediately prostrated himself on the ground to pay his respects.
In the distance, the villagers, seeing this scene, were instantly terrified, shrinking their necks and quickly bending down to hide in the rice paddies, afraid that if His Excellency the Magistrate saw them, they would have to go over and pay their respects. The Magistrate said indifferently, "Rise. First, take this official to see the irrigation canal your village has dug."
Li Zheng stood up, his head covered in sweat. His original plan was to go to the county town himself early this morning to meet His Excellency the Magistrate, but after hearing the suggestion from Da Shan's mother, he decided to go at noon. He hadn't expected His Excellency the Magistrate to come here himself, which nearly scared him to death.
Li Zheng trembled as he stood up, bowing his head and leading the way.
One could go directly up the mountain by the main path. This mountain was called Da Dong Mountain, belonging to Da He Village. There was no need to go far; just standing halfway up the mountain and looking up, one could see the canal extending from the mountain valley. Looking down, one would see clear water flowing turbulently into the rice paddies. However, now that the rice paddies in the village had all been irrigated, the water outlet had been blocked, and the water in the canal was flowing quietly.
"Take this official up the mountain to see the source of the water."
His Excellency the Magistrate spoke again, and Li Zheng could only continue to lead the way.
The path up the mountain was not too rugged, but it was indeed not short. The Magistrate's figure was a bit plump, and he hadn't gone far before he was panting heavily. The servant beside him quickly stepped forward to support him.
The secretary, who was accompanying them, was also unbearably tired and suggested, "Your Excellency, why don't we find a few strong men to carry you?"
Upon hearing this, Li Zheng immediately got a headache. There were strong men in the village, but there was no sedan chair. What could they use to carry him? A door plank?
In fact, the strong men in the village wouldn't mind carrying a door plank, but for His Excellency the Magistrate to sit on a door plank, what kind of decorum would that be?
The Magistrate waved his hand, "How much longer until we reach the water source?"
Li Zheng quickly said, "About the time it takes to drink a small cup of tea."
For him, a small cup of tea's worth of time would get them there, but His Excellency the Magistrate was very plump, and walked even slower than a three-year-old child. He estimated it would take at least two cups, no, three small cups of tea's worth of time to arrive.
A group of four people, apart from Li Zheng and the servant who looked relatively comfortable, His Excellency the Magistrate and the secretary were as tired as dogs.
Finally, they went deep into the mountains and reached the water source.
This was the origin of an underground spring. Water continuously gushed out. Initially, they had dug a large opening to easily channel water down to the fields. Later, when the fields no longer lacked water, Li Zheng had instructed people to fill the water outlet by about two or three parts, leaving only a little water for daily life, so that the villagers could conveniently use it for washing clothes or other tasks.
The secretary said with a surprised expression, "The water source is so deep. How on earth did you find it?"
Previously, the county yamen had also sought out people skilled in geomancy to search for water sources, but they had not found any. Yet, a small village like Da He Village was able to solve its water source problem on its own.
The strategist looked left and right, then concluded, "This place is damp, with dense vegetation and large leaves. The soil underfoot is moist. Based on the environmental conditions here, it's possible to find a water source."