Chapter 2

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Chapter 2: Digging a Well

The mountains were still cold in the afternoon, but Zhang Xiaohua’s enthusiasm persisted. However, the reclamation progress in the afternoon was not as smooth as in the morning. There were many rocks on the barren land, many of which were buried in the ground. Digging the ground and prying up large rocks was not an easy task, as the sun set in the west and dusk approached, Zhang Xiaohua had only managed to move a few rocks. His hands were the first to suffer, with his palms scratched and bleeding, standing in the cold wind, he felt a throbbing ache.

After all, he was still a young man.

He turned back to glance at the desolate land he had toiled on all day. Though reluctant to leave, Zhang Xiaohua still shouldered his hoe, grabbed his water jug, and headed back. It was getting late, and if he didn’t return soon, his father and brother would come looking for him, and his grandmother would worry.

The barren land was quite a distance away from home, otherwise, his mother wouldn’t have needed to bring lunch over at noon. Walking along the rugged mountain path back home, Zhang Xiaohua, despite being tired, felt oddly cheerful. His progress in clearing the land wasn’t fast, but his father had already warned him about that. If it could be tidied up in just a few days, everyone in the village would have already filled the hillside with fields.

This was just the beginning, there was still a lot of work ahead, plowing, planting, watering, and so on. There were plenty of troubles ahead. Suddenly, Xiaohua thought of something, watering!!! Yes, the hill was so high, so far away from the river in the village, and there were no springs around, how could he get water up there? Why didn’t he think of this earlier? This…what should I do? With these thoughts in mind, Zhang Xiaohua couldn’t help but quicken his pace as he ran back home.

When Xiaohua entered the village, it was already dark. Despite the late hour, there were still many children playing and laughing in the village. When they saw him carrying a hoe some familiar villagers stopped Xiaohua to inquire about his work opening the new land, and Xiaohua answered each question patiently. It seemed that opening up new land on the hillside was a matter of great concern for villagers who didn’t have enough food. However, Xiaohua was distracted and not fully present in the conversation. Thinking he was just tired, the villagers didn’t press him further, so Xiaohua hurried home.

Zhang Xiaohua’s home was located at the southern end of the village, a position considered less favorable according to Feng Shui principles. However, the area wasn’t small, and with Zhang Cai’s efforts, they managed to create a small courtyard. The courtyard’s walls were not tall and were made with yellow clay, allowing one to see the inside from the outside.

From afar, through the fence gate, Zhang Xiaohua could see the silhouette of his grandmother leaning on a cane. Because she couldn’t see, Grandma didn’t venture out very often. Now, leaning on the fence gate, it seemed she was eagerly awaiting her youngest grandson. Grandma’s face lit up with a smile as she heard the approaching footsteps.

“Xiaohua, you’re back~, are you tired today?” Zhang Xiaohua hurried a few steps, entered the house, and put down the hose and water jug. He then held onto his grandmother’s arm and quickly replied. “Not tired at all, Grandma. It’s not like I haven’t done farm work before.” Grandma happily grasped Xiaohua’s hand and said. “Our Xiaohua is already grown up. Grandma almost forgot!”

Grandma’s hand happened to touch the place where the palm of Zhang Xiaohua’s hand had cracked and Xiaohua sucked in a breath of cold air from the pain. Although he didn’t cry out, Grandma heard it and exclaimed loudly. “Xiaocai, come here quickly and take a look at the child.”[TL_Note: Xiaocai-> Little Cai, is a term of endearment from an older person to a young person] Xiaohua’s father had just returned and was cleaning in the yard. Hearing his mother-in-law’s voice, he hurried over and carefully examined Xiaohua, saying:

“It’s okay Mother, Xiaohua worked too hard, and his hand cracked. It will be fine in a few days.”

Grandma said: “How about going to Old Chen’s at the end of the village to get some medicine for the child?”

As they were talking, Guo Sufei came out of the house with something in her hand and casually said to Zhang Xiaohua’s grandmother. “It’s alright, Mother. Didn’t we use it for Xiaohu last time, there’s still some left. We’ll apply a bit when Xiaohua goes to bed tonight. It should be better tomorrow. Mother, why don’t you go back inside, it’s getting cold and the wind is picking up. I’ll bring your meal over in a while. Xiaohua, help your grandmother back inside quickly.”

Zhang Xiaohua carefully helped his grandmother back inside, putting aside his worries about watering for the time being.

After dinner, both parents weave baskets under the dim oil lamp, and Zhang Xiaohua and his two older brothers help alongside them. It was then that Zhang Cai inquired about Zhang Xiaohua’s progress with clearing the land. Zhang Xiaohua recounted everything, and then Zhang Cai responded:

“You’re indeed slower on your own. Once Xiaohu helps Xiaolong with the land on the other side of the river, he’ll go over to assist you.”

Zhang Xiaolong added: “Don’t worry, Xiaohua. Once we’re done with our tasks, Dad and I will come to help you. We’ll have everything sorted before winter sets in.”

Zhang Xiaohua said: “Why would I be in a hurry? Dad always says that clearing the land requires carefulness. We should take it slow and clear it thoroughly so that when we plant crops later on, they’ll grow better.” It wasn’t until then that he thought about watering and quickly asked his dad. “Dad, I just remembered something on my way back. The hill is so high, and there are no nearby springs. How are we going to water the crops in the future?”

Zhang Cai stopped his work and said: “It’s impressive that you thought of this. What do you think we should do?”

Zhang Xiaohua looked at his two brothers for help and then said: “Our fields are irrigated by pouring water. The mountain slope is so far and tall, that carrying water won’t work, right?”

Zhang Cai smiled and said: “Xiaohua, what’s behind our sloping land?”

Zhang Xiaohua thought for a moment and said: “Isn’t there just a deep pit behind it?”

“Right, exactly there. It’s a small valley where three hills converge. We can dig a well there, and then we can build a small path from the well to the fields. That way, we can both have water to drink and irrigate the fields.” Zhang Cai said confidently.

“It seems that you had a plan all along.” Guo Sufei praised her husband with a smile.

“Then, Dad, when will we go to dig the well?” Zhang Xiaohua asked eagerly.

“After we finish leveling the land, probably before winter sets in and the ground freezes, we’ll ask the village’s well diggers for help, and then we’ll start!” Zhang Cai replied before resuming his work.

Having received a satisfactory answer, Zhang Xiaohua finally felt relieved. The whole family continued with their tasks, and after a while Zhang Xiaohua clearly felt exhausted, his eyes even becoming blurry. Guo Sufei, feeling sorry for him, told him to go to bed first. Zhang Xiaohua agreed, walking drowsily to the kangs shared by the three brothers. He threw himself onto the old quilt and fell into a deep sleep, not even aware when his mother applied medicine to his hand later that night.[TL_Note: kang ->a heatable brick bed]

The busy day passed in a hurry like this.

In the following days, Zhang Xiaohua managed to endure patiently, focusing solely on leveling his land without worrying about the issue of irrigation. One evening, after clearing weeds and breaking up large clods of soil apart, Zhang Xiaohua was ready to call it a day and head home. On the way back, he couldn’t help but ponder inwardly. Seeing his sloping land transformed into smooth farmland, it was only a matter of finely plowing before he could sow the seeds. He couldn’t help but wonder when the well could be drilled.

When he just turned around the hillside, Zhang Xiaohua saw several wooden frames standing erect at the bottom of the slope. Zhang Xiaohua hurried over and took a look. Sure enough, a circular platform was flattened out at the bottom of the pit, with circular wooden planks laid on top. Around the planks were six wooden poles, deeply inserted into the soil at the bottom, forming a tower-like structure.

Zhang Xiaohua was so excited that he nearly jumped for joy, and he dashed down the hill to reach the wooden frames below. There was no one around at the moment, he guessed they had just finished setting up the frames and gone to rest. Zhang Xiaohua poked and prodded here and there, feeling puzzled. Could these few frames really be used to dig a deep well? Just as Zhang Xiaohua was wondering, someone called out to him from above:

“Xiaohua, where are you?” The voice belonged to his second brother, Xiaohu. Xiaohua quickly replied:

“I’m here, Second Brother. Come over and see, we’re getting ready to dig a well.”

Zhang Xiaohu also slipped down the slope and grabbed Zhang Xiaohua. “Alright, I know. It was me and Big Brother who helped bring all these things here this afternoon. Big Brother wanted to give you a surprise, so he didn’t tell you. Right now, Mom and Dad are waiting for you to come back. Let’s hurry.”

The two brothers ran all the way back home.

Inside the small house, the dining table was already set. Sitting beside the table were his Dad and Eldest Brother, but there were no unfamiliar faces. Zhang Xiaohua couldn’t help but ask: “Dad, where are the people who were supposed to help dig the well?” Zhang Cai smiled and replied: “They’ve all gone back. Our family doesn’t have much money, so we only promised to provide lunch. Moreover, our family also needs to help so the wages can be reduced.” Zhang Xiaohua nodded in understanding and went to help his mother prepare dinner.

After dinner, Zhang Cai assigned tasks to everyone in the family. Zhang Xiaohua and his two brothers were tasked with helping out at the site. Xiaohua’s mother was responsible for cooking and delivering meals, while Zhang Cai himself had to buy materials, seek assistance, and so on. In short, everyone in the family except Zhang Xiaohua’s grandmother had to pitch in. Of course, Grandma had to watch over the house and attend to other chores like feeding the chickens.

Early the next morning, Zhang Xiaohua woke up promptly and quickly joined his two brothers who were already up from bed, eager to head out to dig the well. However, Zhang Xiaohua’s mother insisted that they eat something before leaving. She said that Zhang Xiaohua’s father had already gone ahead, and they had agreed upon a specific time with the others. Going too early would be pointless as there wouldn’t be anyone there, and the three of them wouldn’t know how to dig the well on their own. Reluctantly, Zhang Xiaohua accompanied his brothers to finish their breakfast, by the time they arrived at the hillside, the sun had already hidden.

Upon reaching the hillside, they saw that several people were already busy working in the pit. Zhang Cai quickly called them over to help, instructing them to move the rocks and soil they had dug out to the side. With everyone pitching in, the work proceeded vigorously.

In this manner, after a few days of work, Zhang Xiaohua realized that digging a well was indeed a straightforward task. Just find a suitable location, set up the framework, and then dig down. However, ensuring the stability of the excavation site and preventing collapses required experience. For example, the wooden frame was a must, otherwise, as they dug deeper and deeper, how could the soil be transported up from underground, and how will the people ascend back to the surface?

Indeed, regarding the location, Zhang Cai was fortunate. The location they wanted, based on their discussion at home, was just to be close to the fields, and he didn’t expect to find water. The well-digging master looked all over the hill and finally settled on this place.

He said that there might be a spring down there, so they dig it out and try. If they were to dig out a sweet mountain spring, it might be more suitable for drinking rather than watering the fields. When Zhang Cai heard this, he just brushed it off. With their home being so far away, how could they fetch water? Were they supposed to carry several buckets back home from here every day for cooking?

The days of digging the well passed slowly. The deeper they dug, the more difficulties they encountered, and their progress noticeably slowed down. Since they were digging from the low-lying areas between several hills, they often unearthed many stones. Fortunately, these stones were not too large, and they hadn’t encountered large patches of rocks, otherwise, they might have had to abandon the well before even finishing it.

A few days later, perhaps Zhang Cai’s luck had run out, as they finally ran into a major problem while digging the well.

At noon that day, Zhang Xiaohua descended into the well, wielding his shovel to start digging. However, with the first strike, he hit what seemed to be a hard stone, causing his hand to go numb. Following his previous experience, Zhang Xiaohua chose a spot further away from the previous location and struck again. With a ‘Clang~~’ he clearly hit that same piece of stone. Zhang Xiaohua couldn’t help but feel a little anxious. He continued to shovel around the perimeter of the well, but without exception, he encountered more stone!

Zhang Xiaohua tugged at the rope tied around his waist, signaling for someone to pull him up, and then with a sullen face, he explained the situation to his father. Zhang Cai and the well diggers also descended into the well to take a look and remained silent upon resurfacing. The well diggers discussed with Zhang Cai, suggesting that the others take a break nearby, and then come to help after lunch. They needed to confirm whether it was indeed a large stone or a layer of stones causing the obstruction.

Seeing everyone dispersing and resting on the ground, only Zhang Xiaohua remained, staring at the unfinished well with an uneasy heart. He was genuinely afraid that it might be a layer of stone, making further digging impossible. All the hard work of many days could be wasted, and perhaps the well would never be completed. Zhang Xiaohua asked Zhang Xiaolong to lower him back into the well, refusing to give up, and resumed digging once again.