The county magistrate shook his head. "Look twenty paces outside, there are many trees there too, but the water source isn't on that side. We can use this method to roughly determine the area with water, but we can't pinpoint it precisely. We don't have much time to experiment."
The secretary and the county magistrate both looked at the village chief.
The village chief: "..."
Don't look at him, he didn't know anything either. Nian Dashan hadn't told him.
He paused for a moment, then carefully spoke, "This was accidentally discovered by a child from the commoner's village. Why doesn't the county magistrate come with this commoner to that boy's house to ask him?"
Nian Dashan knew a lot; it would still be better to let Nian Dashan speak with the county magistrate.
He didn't even dare to look directly into the county magistrate's eyes. Just seeing him made his legs go weak, and his heart fluttered with panic.
So the village chief, along with the county magistrate and the secretary, descended the mountain.
As the saying goes, it's easy to go up a mountain, but hard to come down. Not to mention, it wasn't easy for the two officials to go up the mountain in the first place; now coming down was even more difficult. It took about an hour to reach the foot of the mountain.
Wearing brand new cloth shoes to go up and down the mountain made the village chief's heart ache terribly.
Cheng Loanloan was sitting in the courtyard bundling dry grass. After she finished bundling this pile of dry grass, she would light a fire to cook lunch.
At this moment, the village chief led the county magistrate and the secretary to her door.
When the county magistrate arrived in the village, it caused a great stir. Cheng Loanloan had seen it from afar, but she didn't want to go join the excitement. There was still a pile of things to do at home, and she couldn't get away.
Seeing the group of people arrive at her doorstep, she quickly stood up to open the door.
The village chief coughed, saying, "Nian Dashan, this is the county magistrate, and this is Secretary Yuan."
Cheng Loanloan bowed in greeting. "This commoner's wife greets the county magistrate, and greets Secretary Yuan. Please come in quickly. Hui Niang, quickly bring out three bowls of water."
Wu Hui Niang was in the room shelling stone flower seeds. Hearing her mother-in-law's command, she quickly got up to boil water. As soon as she came out, she saw the official's hat on the county magistrate's head, and was so scared that her legs went soft, spilling quite a bit of water from the bowls.
The secretary saw the chipped bowls and wondered if the water inside was clean. Just as he was about to refuse, he saw the county magistrate pick up a chipped bowl and drink a large bowl of water in one gulp.
He also felt embarrassed and picked up a bowl to drink. He didn't know if it was because he was thirsty or for some other reason, but he felt the water had a sweet, clear taste.
After drinking the water, the village chief calmly said, "Nian Dashan, the county magistrate has come this time because he wants to ask what method you used to discover the water source on the mountain."
"It was my second son who accidentally discovered it. This matter cannot be explained in just a few words," Cheng Loanloan said. "But now this commoner's second son is busy. He has gone to the town to deliver goods and won't return until the afternoon. I'm afraid he won't have time until evening. Perhaps the county magistrate will have to wait a while."
"How dare you!" Secretary Yuan's eyebrows shot up. "The county magistrate has summoned you. Even if your father were dead, you would still have to obey the county magistrate's order."
Li Zheng was startled and instinctively stood in front of Cheng Loan Loan, bowing and saying, "Lord Magistrate and Master Yuan, you may not know this, but due to the drought, it hasn't rained for a long time. When the villagers were in despair, they found a water source. In less than half a month, the rice will be ready for harvest, and farm work cannot be delayed. Therefore, even the toddlers in the family have to help with farming. They truly did not intentionally delay Lord Magistrate."
The Magistrate looked at the master and said, "These are all honest and simple farmers. Restrain your temper."
Master Yuan quickly nodded, "Yes, yes, yes, Lord Magistrate is right."
Cheng Loan Loan was a little surprised. This Lord Magistrate was a good-natured person and did not seem like the type of corrupt official with insatiable greed.
She looked at Li Zheng, signaling that he could say the words she had spoken yesterday.
Li Zheng flinched, his mouth opening and closing, but he couldn't utter a single word.
Asking Lord Magistrate for money, he had never done such a thing, and he fundamentally dared not open his mouth.