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墨書 Inktalez
In the crowd, Zhao Blacksmith suddenly exclaimed, "Just like the bellows I use for forging!"
"This is called the principle of communicating vessels," Lin Dahe seized the opportunity to draw a simple diagram in the sand. "As long as we clear the blockage..." His words were abruptly cut off as the system projected a holographic diagram above everyone's heads, clearly illustrating the flow of underground water!
Fortunately, the villagers attributed it to the blinding sunlight and began to chatter excitedly. Lin Dahe hurriedly wiped away the sand drawing, but he heard the raspy laughter of One-Armed Veteran.
"When I was stationed in Gansu, I saw a Karez that stretched for thirty miles," Old Soldier said as he took a swig from his wine pouch. "The Persians taught us how to draw water from hidden streams in the snowy mountains."
The oldest among them, Old Li, suddenly slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "My great-grandfather said that! A governor from a previous dynasty did something similar!"
Just as the atmosphere began to warm up, Aunt Ma squeezed into the crowd with her basket of incense candles. "Oh dear, scholars sure know how to fool people!" she said sarcastically while pointing at Lin Dahe. "You send your man to work hard while you stand on dry land talking pretty..."
Suddenly, a system prompt appeared: [Group unrest detected, activating "Lead by Example" mode.]
Without hesitation, Lin Dahe loosened his belt and pulled off his coarse short coat down to his waist. His sunburned back was marked with fresh scabs and old burns layered upon each other, and there was a bloody gash on his right shoulder from a jagged rock.
"I, Lin Dahe, declare today—" he shouted as he grabbed a shovel and jumped into the mud pit, "if the waterway is blocked, I will not wear clothes!"
Mud splashed onto Aunt Ma's skirt, making her jump in anger. But many villagers' expressions had already changed, especially several elderly men who had once served alongside One-Armed Veteran; they silently picked up their hoes.
Cui Xiaoman stood at the edge of the crowd with a rough clay bowl in her hands. When Lin Dahe climbed out panting, she offered him a bowl of cool mung bean soup.
"You fool..." her voice was barely audible as her fingertips quickly brushed over his wound on his back. "It's already festering..."
The next dawn, Lin Dahe was awakened by the sound of chiseling stones. When he pushed open the wooden door, he saw more than twenty villagers busily working at the irrigation site; even seventy-year-old Old Zhao was hammering away at stones with a small mallet. To his surprise, over a dozen young men from Lizhuang had come too, led by an old man missing a front tooth.
"The Dragon King sent me a dream!" the old man grinned widely. "He said your spring water is sweet!"
One-Armed Veteran was squatting on a rock face driving in spikes when he saw Lin Dahe approach. He nodded towards a pile of strange tools nearby—several curved hooks tied with cowhide ropes, just like those used by Mad Old Woman for spinning yarn!
"She had it all planned out," Old Soldier said as he wedged one of the hooks into a rock crevice and gave it a gentle twist. With a crack, he pried loose a stone as large as a grinding wheel. "This rock layer has natural joints."
The pace of work suddenly quickened. By noon, women from Lizhuang set up large pots to cook millet porridge while children carried stones in bamboo baskets. Just as Lin Dahe swung his hammer to drive in rock nails, an alarm blared from the system:
[Malicious interference approaching: Zhou Liangzhang is bringing people to the construction site.]
Almost simultaneously, Cui Xiaoman blew her warning whistle—she had volunteered that morning to keep watch at the village entrance. The villagers immediately dispersed according to plan; young men grabbed their tools and hid in the bushes while older men and women pretended to continue working.
As Zhou Liangzhang swaggered over with five Yard Officers in tow, Lin Dahe was knee-deep in mud digging out sludge. He looked so disheveled and covered in muck that even the Yard Officers showed expressions of disdain.
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