Chapter 605 - Chapter 605: Chapter 592: Dilemma (1/2)

Chapter 605: Chapter 592: Dilemma

“This thing is called a waterwheel.” Zhuang Jingye said from the side, “This was thought up by Miss Zhuang, she drew the blueprints. Our county magistrate then hired skilled craftsmen to specifically make it for watering the farmlands.”

“It’s not just our village, but all the nearby villages will gradually install waterwheels. From now on, our crops here will be truly spared.”

“Yes, truly spared!” The villagers were also tremendously excited. They all gathered around the incredibly magical waterwheel to take a look, with many trying to step on it to test it out.

Seeing this, Zhuang Jingye hurriedly began to recruit those willing to operate the waterwheel every day, and promised to provide adequate wages.

The source of these wages was contributed by each household according to the size of their land, handed over to him, for him to distribute.

This way, it ensured that everyone’s farmland in the village could be watered without disrupting the normal operations of the village workshops, accomplishing a balance between the two.

Upon hearing Zhuang Jingye’s announcement, young workers volunteered to operate the waterwheel. Elderly women also stepped forward, volunteering their time to cook the meals, and even guaranteed to provide enough flour, rice, and eggs.

Others, upon seeing this, also took out their chickens, ducks, fish, and meat from home to add a nutritious dish for those operating the waterwheels.

Seeing that they couldn’t help much, the children came forward with cattail leaf fans to cool down the ones working hard, making them feel more comfortable.

In short, everyone was thinking about what they could do, and doing their best to overcome this difficult time together.

Zhuang Jingye felt extremely relieved seeing this.

Indeed, the villagers of Enji were truly admirable. At critical times, they never failed to come together and push forward as one.

Zhuang Qingning and Chu Jinnian also exchanged smiles, helping Zhuang Jingye and the officials to secure the waterwheel properly. Then they divided the tasks among themselves. Once decided, they didn’t waste time and began the waterwheel’s round-the-clock operation.

While Enji village was busy, the nearby villages weren’t idle either. With the help of the officials, they each set up their waterwheels to start watering their farmland.

The county’s carpenters were rallied by Xu Zhengping in light of the waterwheel’s success, working relentlessly according to the blueprints to construct waterwheels, ensuring each village had at least two for irrigation.

With the drought situation beginning to be alleviated, rumors about the drought faded away, and Xu Zhengping and Ding Gaochang finally breathed a sigh of relief.

After the success of the waterwheel experiment, Chu Jinnian immediately sent people to Lu to open water channels for irrigation. Even though some villages didn’t have rivers to supply water, the alleviation of the drought in most areas was already a great achievement, enough to put people’s hearts at ease.

The drought in Lu was relieved and several county towns also escaped from drought, all thanks to a magical thing called a waterwheel.

This waterwheel was the brainchild of a girl surnamed Zhuang.

For a time, the words ‘waterwheel’ and ‘Miss Zhuang’ were on everyone’s lips, spreading everywhere.