Chapter 79: 79. Chapter 79: The Ditch Is Dug

79. Chapter 79: The Ditch Is Dug

Jiang Wei thought about it and said: "Uncle Zhao, we have to go to these places to deliver goods every day, and we have to set off at the Chen hour. Can you come to the village specifically to pick us up to town every day?"

"Of course." Old Man Zhao agreed without thinking. Anyway, he had to carry people to town every day, and running a few more trips was no big deal to him.

"Uncle Zhao, I don't just mean this."

Jiang Wei shook her head and said: "I want to contract your ox cart. From now on, only carry my family, and don't carry others. Do you think it's okay?"

She glanced at the ox cart full of ice cabinets and added: "There are so many ice cabinets of mine for snow cakes, and others can't sit. You only carry our mother and daughter to town, and I will give you twenty wen of car fare every day, how about it?"

"Ah?!"

Old Man Zhao seemed to be surprised by Jiang Wei's words, and hurriedly turned his head and said: "It can't be, it can't be, don't give so much, just give one wen per person for our mother and daughter..."

"Uncle Zhao..." Jiang Wei interrupted Old Man Zhao's words, "We have to go to several places to deliver goods, and it will be the Wu hour after delivering the goods. It will delay you a lot of time. I think your business of carrying people can't be done anymore. How can I feel at ease if I only give you two wen?"

"This..." Old Man Zhao hesitated.

He calculated that he carried people to town every day, and at most earned ten or so wen. If he only carried the Jiang mother and daughter, not only could he earn twenty wen every day, but he could also save the afternoon time to do something else, which was also okay...

So, he nodded, "Alright, I will go to the village to pick you up every day from now on."

A smile appeared on Jiang Wei's face: "Then trouble you, Uncle Zhao."

Jiang Xiaoxiao, who was listening on the side, secretly rejoiced in her heart. Great, she never has to deal with the gossip of those seven aunts and eight aunts again!

The ox cart walked very slowly, but it was considered a good means of transportation in ancient times. Before long, it arrived at the Shiliu Xiang Tea House.

Just then, Jiang Xiaoxiao saw her mother quietly reach into those ice cabinets, and in the blink of an eye, the ice cabinets that were originally empty were filled with snow cakes and ice cream...

Jiang Xiaoxiao: "……"

Jiang Xiaoxiao expressed that she was very envious. She also wanted to have a space-system ability, which was simply too convenient...

"Xiaoxiao, Uncle Zhao, you wait in the car, I'll go down to deliver the goods." Jiang Wei carried an ice cabinet and got off the ox cart.

In front of the Shiliu Xiang Tea House, there was already a shop assistant waiting.

Jiang Xiaoxiao scanned the circle from the car. There were not many customers coming and going in the Shiliu Xiang Tea House, far from having the large flow of people in Yuelai Restaurant, but the shop assistant was still very excited when he saw Jiang Wei carrying an ice cabinet of snow cakes and ice cream, and paid the money readily.

Jiang Wei carried the ice cabinet back, got on the car, and said: "Let's go, go to the next place."

Guangjuxuan and Pinming Pavilion were both restaurants and tea houses in the neighboring county, and being the furthest away, their group went there last.

The shop assistant waiting in front of the door for the goods was already sweating profusely from anxiety, and seeing the ox cart swaying over slowly, he rushed up to meet it impatiently.

"Oh my, Little Lady Jiang, you finally arrived!"

The shop assistant stepped forward to help move the ice cabinet, and Jiang Wei did not stop him; however, the next second, Jiang Xiaoxiao saw the shop assistant, who had picked up the ice cabinet, caught off guard and nearly pulled forward by the weight of the cabinet.

Fortunately, Jiang Wei was quick-witted and agile, catching the ice cabinet in one go, "Forget it, I'll do it."

Then, the shop assistant watched in a daze as Jiang Wei carried one ice cabinet in each hand and easily walked into Guangjuxuan.

Jiang Xiaoxiao found it amusing; each ice cabinet was stuffed with at least a hundred snow cakes, and these cabinets were made of solid wood and filled with ice blocks, so each one weighed at least seventy or eighty jin.

The weight was not small, and her mother's strength was not something an ordinary person could compare to.

When would she also have such great strength...

Thinking this, Jiang Xiaoxiao subconsciously touched her own thin arms and legs; her mother had told her that as her ability tier increased, her strength, speed, and sensory acuity would also increase, eventually far surpassing that of an ordinary person.

But she had already reached the second-tier water ability, so why hadn't she felt her strength increase yet?

After delivering the goods to Guangjuxuan, the group continued to the next place.

By the time they finished delivering to all the scheduled places, it was just noon.

Not going to the street corner to sell snow cakes saved them a lot of time, so they could stroll around the town; thus, Jiang Wei had Old Man Zhao drive the ox cart to the blacksmith shop and bought three large pots in one go.

These three large pots were as big as the ones bought last time, filling the ox cart completely.

Old Man Zhao didn't ask why they bought so many pots, remaining silent the whole way, and he wouldn't ask random questions like those village women; Jiang Xiaoxiao was very satisfied, as this Old Man Zhao was honest and simple, someone she could cooperate with long-term.

Jiang Wei then had him drive the ox cart to the pork shop, bought three jin of pork and a roasted chicken, and finally had Old Man Zhao drive back to the village.

Looking at the three jin of pork and the roasted chicken, Jiang Xiaoxiao thought of the Chunmiao sisters at home.

Her mother buying so much meat to take back must be for those two sisters as well.

The ox cart swayed all the way to the village, and from afar, Jiang Xiaoxiao saw the villagers gathered at the ancestral hall, with the Li Zheng standing in front of the hall, facing the crowd with a face full of joy, seemingly announcing some major event.

When they got closer, Jiang Xiaoxiao finally heard clearly what the Li Zheng was saying:

"... Thank you all for your hard work these past few days; the village's ditches are dug, and from now on, there will be no lack of water in the fields. Our crops are saved, and all of this is thanks to..."

While speaking, he caught sight of Jiang Wei sitting on the ox cart, his face becoming even happier: "All of this is thanks to Xiaoxiao's mother for the idea she gave us; it is Xiaoxiao's mother who saved our village's crops!"

Jiang Xiaoxiao jumped off the cart and was immediately picked up by the approaching Li Zheng, who held her high: "And there is Xiaoxiao; we must also thank her. It was Xiaoxiao who found the water source on the mountain, so we could dig the ditches to lead the water down!"

Held high, Jiang Xiaoxiao had a wide view and clearly saw the large fields not far away, where long and short ditches flowed with clear mountain spring water, following the slope of the mountain all the way into the thirsty crop fields.

The irrigated rice was no longer as withered and wilted as before, and it was recovering its vitality at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The villagers couldn't stop expressing their joy: "The rice has already started to head, and in another month or so, we can harvest! Fortunately, Xiaoxiao's mother thought of this method of digging ditches, otherwise, we would have starved to death this winter!"

"That's right, fortunately, Xiaoxiao's mother was here, otherwise we would only be able to gnaw on tree bark like before this winter..."

It wasn't that they hadn't encountered droughts in previous years, but the most severe one was five years ago; the fields were cracked, the river water dried up, the gardens were desolate, and the endless rice fields were full of withered rice seedlings, with agricultural production almost completely wiped out.

It was winter at the time, there weren't many wild vegetables left on the mountain, and the villagers were so hungry they could only gnaw on tree bark and grass roots until they were clean. (End of chapter)