Chapter 145: The Waterwheel
When San Xiwang returned, the belongings of the other two boys had already been moved into the new house by their mothers.
“From now on, you two will live with your eldest brother. If there’s anything you don’t understand in your studies, ask your eldest brother or your first uncle. But let me be clear—if you two dare to distract your brother from studying medicine, just wait and see how I deal with you.” Old Madam Luo tossed her two grandsons into the new house, gave them a few stern instructions, and then left them be.
Wen Jin and Wen Fa were left dazed in the wind—how did they go off to school for the day and come back to find they’d moved?
Still… they got to live in the new house. That was nice.
Since both brothers had already moved in, Wen Ying and Wen Di were also brought over. After all, when you owe a mountain of debt, what’s a few more stones on the pile? The folks at the old house had basically learned to let it all go at this point.
With the land deed in hand, Wen Xiuyi and Old Man Wen wasted no time in getting people to dig the pond. Digging the pond was easy enough, but the terrain here was slightly elevated, while the Ping River tributary sat lower. How to bring the water over became a new problem.
They couldn’t exactly dig a deep canal. That would be a huge drain on manpower and resources. And if the canal wasn’t covered properly, it’d be dangerous—what if a child fell in?
Suddenly, an idea struck Wen Xiuyi. He rushed home, locked himself in his room to sketch, and then took the plans to Carpenter Zhang.
“Big Brother Wen, what’s this?” Carpenter Zhang looked at the drawing. By now, he was used to the strange things Wen Xiuyi brought him. After all, that curved-shaft plow had made him quite a bit of money.
Though others had begun to copy it, his business was still the best, with the most orders.
“A waterwheel. This one’s more complex than the curved-shaft plow. And it’ll need to be adjusted on site at my place. Do you think you can manage?” Wen Xiuyi was a little worried. Carpenter Zhang had his own business to run. Of course, if he built it well, Wen Xiuyi wouldn’t shortchange him.
Carpenter Zhang wouldn’t say no. He immediately agreed, saying he’d finish up the few plows he had left and stop taking new orders so he could focus on the waterwheel for the Wen family.
Wen Xiuyi frowned. “Won’t that hurt your business?”
Carpenter Zhang carefully put the drawing away and grinned. “Big Brother Wen, now you’re just treating me like an outsider. Nothing’s more important than your family’s work. Don’t worry—I’ll finish my current jobs in a few days and come to your place.”
“Alright. No rush. The pond will take at least several more days to finish. I’ll head back then.” After saying goodbye, Wen Xiuyi rode the ox cart home.
As soon as he got back, he told Old Man Wen the water diversion issue was solved.
“How?” Old Man Wen asked curiously.
Wen Xiuyi looked out over the land that now bore their family name, full of emotion. Such a large expanse of land—back in his previous life, it wouldn’t have belonged to a private household. Truly, every era had its advantages.
Reining in his thoughts, he answered, “Just set up a few waterwheels.”
“Waterwheels? What’s that?” Old Man Wen looked confused.
Wen Xiuyi didn’t even know how to explain. What surprised him was that waterwheels didn’t seem to exist here yet. How did people irrigate fields far from rivers?
So far, he hadn’t seen much rice cultivation in this area—mostly dry fields growing wheat. There was some rice, but not much.
In the end, it all came down to inconvenient irrigation.
“I can’t really explain it well. Once Carpenter Zhang builds one, you’ll understand.”
Old Man Wen, though still curious, didn’t press further.
In the following days, Old Man Wen left home early every morning with his tobacco pipe in hand. He was either inspecting the crops or watching the workers dig the pond.
You had to hand it to them—those workers were diligent. In just over ten days, the pond was nearly complete. Though it hadn’t been filled with water yet, from a distance it already looked like a huge pit.
None of the soil was wasted either—it was all moved to the nearby wild hill.
“Uncle Wen, back to supervise us again?” someone shouted when they saw him approaching.
Hands behind his back, Old Man Wen replied with a laugh, “Supervise what? I trust you all.” Though he said that, the smile on his face couldn’t be hidden.
Never in his life had he imagined he’d see such a day.
After circling the pit, he strolled through the fields again. Seeing the wheat growing better than in past years, he couldn’t help squatting down to inspect it closely.
His heart swelled. This entire area—it all belonged to their family now. Once, he wouldn’t have even dared to dream of such a thing.
He wasn’t sure how long he had been sitting there when a voice sounded behind him.
“Dad, what are you staring at?”
Wen Xiuyi’s voice startled him.
“Geez! You trying to scare your old man to death?” Old Man Wen glared at him.
Wen Xiuyi sat down beside him, gazing at the sea of green. “Dad, how’s it look? Satisfied?”
Old Man Wen couldn’t stop the smile tugging at his lips. He was in a very good mood.
“Satisfied. Very satisfied.”
After a moment, he turned to his son. “Eldest, how do you know so much? In the past, you never mentioned any of this. If you had, our harvests would’ve increased years ago.”
Wen Xiuyi’s mouth twitched. In the past… he hadn’t been here, after all.
“I was just foolish before—my head wasn’t in the right place,” he answered, using it as an excuse.
Old Man Wen seemed to recall the past too. His brow furrowed slightly, but then relaxed. “Alright, the past is past. Just don’t make the same mistake again.”
“Of course, of course. I won’t.” Wen Xiuyi quickly agreed, secretly relieved.
After sitting for a while longer, Wen Xiuyi pulled his father up. “Come on, let’s head to the river. Carpenter Zhang’s almost finished the first waterwheel. Want to take a look?”
Old Man Wen grunted in assent and followed.
Not far from the river, a temporary shack had been set up. Carpenter Zhang and his younger brother were busy at work. Off to the side was a waterwheel laid flat, still incomplete, with a few parts yet to be assembled.
“Big Brother Wen, Uncle Wen—you’re here!” Carpenter Zhang saw them and quickly set down his tools to greet them.
“Working hard, huh?” Old Man Wen clasped his hands behind his back as he glanced around. Carpenter Zhang just grinned.
After greeting the brothers, Old Man Wen walked over to inspect the waterwheel. He circled it a few times but couldn’t make sense of it.
Still, if his son said it could draw water to the pond and fields, he believed him.
“Zhangwang’s dad, how long until it’s ready?” Old Man Wen asked. He was eager to see the thing in action.
Carpenter Zhang fetched a stool for him and replied, “Almost there—just a few parts need adjusting. Big Brother Wen said this waterwheel will be used for a long time, so I’ve got to make it sturdy.”
