It wasn't really far to Honghuoling. Chen Lan and the elder woman chatted the whole way. The ox cart trundled along the mountain path, and soon they reached the entrance of Honghuoling Village. As soon as they arrived, they saw a man standing at the village entrance, craning his neck to look down the road leading back to the village.
Before the ox cart even got close, they saw the man running down, shouting, "Mom, Mom, you're back! What happened? How did you get sent back? I told you not to go, but you insisted. Mom, how are you now..."
The elder woman held out her hand and gave the man a cornbread bun she had been reluctant to eat. She interrupted his questions, saying, "Dachun! Eat this cornbread bun quickly and run an errand for your mother. Go quietly ask your eldest uncle and Uncle Dunzi to come to our house. Say that distinguished guests have arrived in our village to discuss grain and digging a well."
The man called Dachun didn't take the cornbread bun. He waved his hands, saying, "Mom, you eat it. I'm not hungry. I had wild vegetable porridge this morning." Before he finished speaking, his stomach rumbled loudly, likely reacting to the aroma of food.
The elder woman insisted on stuffing the cornbread bun into his arms, saying, "Wild vegetable porridge can't fill you up. Eat it quickly and go do my errand. Remember, don't let anyone else know. Do you understand?"
Chen Lan took two more cornbread buns from her pocket and gave one to Dachun and one to the elder woman. Dachun looked at the cornbread bun Chen Lan offered, his gaze anxious.
The elder woman chuckled and chided, "Dachun, look at you. Take it quickly and thank the young lady for it. Eat your fill and go do this for your mother!"
Dachun reached out and took the cornbread bun Chen Lan gave him. Blushing, he stammered, "Thank you, little sister. Thank you for bringing my mother back."
With that, he nodded to Chen Lan and Xu Mingxuan.
He then carefully put the received cornbread buns into his pocket, saying, "Mom, one is enough for me. I'll save this for my wife."
The elder woman laughed and scolded, "Whatever you say. Look at you."
Watching Dachun walk away, Chen Lan said, "Elder woman, shouldn't we go see the village well now?"
The elder woman readily agreed. The road wasn't long, and soon they arrived at the well in the middle of the village by ox cart.
They all got off the ox cart. Chen Lan immediately used her mind to activate the system and its search function, scanning fifty meters underground. She walked around the well and discovered that due to its age, the well needed its silt cleared. It was also a bit shallow, only about forty meters deep. No wonder the water level dropped whenever there was a drought.
However, Chen Lan couldn't help but admire the ancient craftsmen. They were truly skilled. The well's location was chosen exquisitely, precisely between two large underground rock formations. But to deepen the old well and clear the silt, they would first need to dig a new well for the villagers to have water.
Xu Mingxuan and Xiang Xi also walked around. Seeing Chen Lan stop as she was pacing, they immediately came over. Xiang Xi leaned in and whispered, "Little Lanzi, how is it?"
Chen Lan replied softly, "It's nothing. It's been used for a long time, so there's a lot of silt that needs to be cleared. The well also needs to be dug a few meters deeper."
Chen Lan looked carefully again and then pointed to a low-lying area in front of them, saying, "Little Watermelon, look over there. About five meters away from this old well, in that sunken area, you can also dig a bit deeper and build a new hand pump well. It can be used to replace the old well for a while. In the end, the villagers can decide which well they want to use."
Upon hearing this, Xiang Xi confidently patted his chest and said, "Okay, Little Lanzi. Get the well-digging tools ready, and leave the rest to me."
Chen Lan smiled and said, "Alright! Little Watermelon, I'll trouble you. I'll entrust the well matters to you! If you need any help, just tell the elder woman."
The elder woman, who had been standing nearby, immediately chimed in, "Yes, yes, that's right. Just say what you need."
Xiang Xi thought for a moment and said, "Elder woman, there are no special requirements, except that we need someone to arrange for the excavated soil and mud to be transported away promptly, and we'll need a mason. The bricks for the well and the hand pump tools will be prepared by us."
The elder woman readily agreed, "No problem, that's what we should do! It's just too much for you to spend money and effort! How can we accept this? We'll prepare the bricks and the winch for the well ourselves!"
Xiang Xi said with great conviction, clapping his hand, "Elder woman, it's settled. We'll bring the well-digging tools tomorrow, and we'll start by digging a new hand pump well for the village, then clean out the old well. However, Elder woman, there's one thing: if the new hand pump well is for drinking, it will need to be cleaned regularly with charcoal and sand. If it's for irrigation, it won't need cleaning."
The elder woman happily agreed, "I've noted it. Thank you. You are all living Bodhisattvas!"
The elder woman's words startled Xiang Xi, who quickly waved his hands to stop her, "Elder woman, you mustn't say that. Superstition is forbidden now!"
The elder woman smiled and said, "I won't say it anymore, I won't say it anymore. I've understood and will definitely not say it again."
With the well-digging matter settled, they all went to the elder woman's house. Her house was four low adobe rooms with a large courtyard. As soon as they entered the courtyard gate, the elder woman shouted loudly, "Child's father, Erchun, Xiaochun, come out quickly and see, we have distinguished guests!"
No one came out for a while. Then, a young wife carrying a child walked over from outside. She saw an ox cart parked outside the courtyard gate and several strangers with large backpacks standing at the entrance, and she was stunned. Just as she was about to ask, she saw the elder woman and immediately called out, "Mom, you're back. How was it? Did you trade for grain?"
The elder woman grunted and asked, "Yes, I did. Where are your father and Erchun and Xiaochun? We have distinguished guests, give me the child, and hurry and boil some water."
The young wife quickly said, "Mom, no need. I just took Zhuzi to Cui Fen's house to borrow some milk to feed him. He's asleep now, so I can put him on the kang to sleep. Dad and the Xiaochun brothers have gone into the mountains to see if they can hunt something or gather some wild fruits."
The elder woman sighed and said, "You borrowed milk from Cui Fen's family again. I traded for grain today. Later, send more grain to her family. Everyone is short on grain now, and she still has to nurse a child. It's not easy for anyone!"
The young wife readily agreed, "Ah! Mom, I understand."