Chapter 140: Spring Has Come

The mighty flood slowed its pace across this plain, and only then did Baifeng feel less panicked; because there was no Grass to protect the ground during Winter, the water was unusually turbid, though one could still see unmelted ice chunks and scattered Snow floating on top.

The flood flowed for a long time before slowly subsiding; Baifeng estimated this must be meltwater from the snow, and since the valley that originally discharged the flood was on the shady side of Yinshan, it was possible that ice had formed and blocked the waterway, causing it to act like a Quake Lake and surge toward the side of the Baifeng tribe.

It was nearly evening, and the flash flood was no longer worth watching; furthermore, the temperature began to drop, so everyone felt bored and returned to eat.

Without his worries, Baifeng had a good appetite, finishing two large bowls of rice and three side dishes, enough to make Baifeng's stomach feel comfortable; moreover, the flood could be considered good news, as the temperature had now risen, and it would not be long before the entire Wasteland thawed, at which point Baifeng would first spend a few days improving the irrigation canal before starting the spring plowing.

When they went to look the next morning, the plain was a solid sheet of ice, practically a giant skating rink, but because they were still afraid of more flooding, everyone was forbidden from leaving the city.

By noon, everything began to melt again, and the ice started to crack and flow, though the water flowing down this time was relatively clear, shimmering white with many bubbles.

This spell of good weather lasted a long time, with barely any clouds, so the temperature rose at an extremely fast rate; by the time all the Snow in the tribe had melted away completely, the flood outside the city had also vanished, leaving behind only damp earth and thick silt.

Baifeng dug into the soil in the tribe with a shovel; it had completely thawed and work could now begin, so almost all the Handcarts in the tribe were loaded with pottery pipes and headed toward Dahu, preparing to improve the irrigation canal.

However, when they were nearly at Dahu, they discovered that some parts were impossible to handle; the area near Dahu was all mud, and for every step they took they slid two, with the carts also getting stuck in the mud and unable to move.

Baifeng took some people over to take a look, but they retreated before even reaching Dahu; it was more than just mud, as water was flowing outward, and it seemed Dahu was already full to the point of overflowing.

Since they couldn't start digging from Dahu, they simply began the improvements halfway, planning to work their way back to Dahu later.

They removed the old pottery pipes and deepened and widened the canal; if it were deep enough, it would actually not be afraid of freezing and breaking in Winter, because the temperature underground would be above zero, though there was nothing they could do if the outlet of Dahu froze over.

For several hundred people, covering this distance was simple, and they finished laying the pipes back to the tribe in less than a day, though the Cement used for sealing had not yet dried through.

Upon reaching the tribe, they built a small pool, connected the pipes from above to the pool, and then branched out many smaller pipes from the pool to the residential area, the farmland, the Fish Pond, the cattle pens, and other places; in short, it was divided very finely and clearly.

They did not know how many more days water would seep from Dahu, but they could not just wait around now; spring was so important, and time was fleeting.

Thus, they began making preparations for spring plowing; during Winter, the vast majority of Iron had been used to forge farm tools, especially plowshares, as last year they had relied entirely on wood, stone, and even bone digging sticks to plow the land, which was very slow and could not open up much farmland; this year was different, and with better tools, they could naturally cultivate more.

Those dozen or so cattle had been separated individually, and they faced no resistance from the herd; those dozen cattle ate and drank well for these few days, to see if they could contribute during the spring plowing.

The tool used for the cattle was mainly the ox yoke, which was the thing placed on the ox's shoulders, with ropes tied behind to carry the plowshare; however, Baifeng added a soft collar under the yoke, wrapped in Hemp Cloth and filled with rice husks, to prevent the ox's shoulders from being chafed by the yoke; if they were injured, it would not only be bad for the cattle, but the cattle would also refuse to move once in pain, and the plan to use cattle to plow the land would be ruined.

With so many tools and so many people, Baifeng set a small goal for this year: first reclaim five thousand mu!

This year, they had to focus on Rice, as it had a high yield and tasted good, followed by Wheat, while Millet and Sorghum could be planted less; at this time, Baifeng also remembered that buckwheat seemed to need late planting and was often used for remedial purposes, such as if the Sorghum failed, they would turn over the Sorghum field and plant buckwheat instead; if Baifeng had cleared the buckwheat field and replanted last year, there might still have been a harvest.

Before plowing, they applied fertilizer first; the fertilizer saved for a year had long since piled up into a mountain, and it was scattered into the fields mixed with hearth ash and cow dung, filling the entire air with that sour, foul smell, though fortunately it was not too intense.

The most important issue for Rice paddies was irrigation; with the new irrigation canal, watering would no longer be a difficult task, and there was absolutely no need to build things like waterwheels, as they wouldn't be used.

When the temperature rose, everything thawed; except for a little bit of white remaining on Yinshan, the ice on the Fish Pond of the Baifeng tribe had finally melted, and he did not know how many were still alive after the winter.

When the water on the road had dried and the mud had hardened, Baifeng went to check the Fish Pond; the occasional sight of fish floating belly-up along the edge put Baifeng in a very bad mood; they had grown so large, wasn't this a waste? If he had known, he should have caught them before winter, and they could have eaten fresh fish for a few meals.

Baifeng did not know how many had died and how many were alive, as there might still be fish at the bottom of the pond; he fished out all the dead fish he could see and reach on the road, firstly because they were unsightly and affected his mood, and secondly because leaving them inside would affect the water quality.

After a round, he had fished out several hundred catties of dead fish; Baifeng felt his heart was bleeding, as this was all food, but unfortunately, it could no longer be eaten.

To see roughly how many fish remained, he boiled some rice and Wheat, mixed in some Wine, and scattered it into the Fish Pond; soon, many fish came to scramble for it, and watching the fish churning on the water's surface, Baifeng's mood finally improved a little—at least the survival rate was still acceptable.

Now lotus seeds could also be planted; by cutting open one end of the lotus seed and throwing it directly into the pond, it could quickly take root and sprout.

Scouts were checking every day, and they would act as soon as work could begin near Dahu, but after waiting for several days, there was still no news; Baifeng could not wait, so he planned to take people to plow personally and postpone the canal work for a period of time.

Unfortunately, it was just so troublesome; Baifeng had already found the tools, but then a report came that the area near Dahu was gradually drying out and work could begin, which left Baifeng feeling somewhat speechless.

For that short length, the people they had taken last time could solve it in half a day, so the plowshares they had just picked up had to be put down again to go dig the canal at Dahu.

The pipes at Dahu were installed very easily, and they tested them, with excellent results; now he could finally rest easy.