Jiang Li’s words were half true and half fabricated, but combined with reality and so-called geological knowledge, they sounded convincing and difficult to refute.
Liu Defa was still thinking and hadn’t had time to respond, but the villagers were already shaking their heads.
“Little girl, of course we hope there’s water, but you can’t just say things like that. Our ancestors have lived here for generations—we’ve never heard of any underground water veins.”
“Exactly. If there were water, would it be this drought-stricken?”
“You really dare to say anything. Even the experts didn’t dare make such claims.”
Amid the doubts, Liu Defa brushed the dirt off his hands.
He stood up and carefully examined the phenomena Jiang Li had just pointed out.
After a moment of silence, he looked at her again.
“Girl, can you be sure your conclusion has a basis?”
“You need to understand, digging for water isn’t a trivial matter.”
“If there’s nothing there, not only will everyone be disappointed, but the resources and money wasted would also be considerable.”
Jiang Li had expected these doubts, but she knew she couldn’t waver now.
“Sir, I can’t say it’s one hundred percent certain, but I’m about seventy to eighty percent confident.”
“How about we choose one spot and conduct a small-scale exploration first? We don’t have to keep digging until we see water—we can first check whether the soil moisture changes.”
“Think about it—if there really is water, then all these problems can be solved. Otherwise, are we just going to watch the crops wither from drought and the villagers go hungry?”
Meeting Jiang Li’s firm gaze, Liu Defa looked at the barren land around them. Finally, he slapped his thigh.
“Alright, we’ll do as Comrade Xiao Jiang suggests.”
As he spoke, he turned to the village secretary and gave firm instructions.
“Please gather a few experienced and strong men. Bring tools, and we’ll select a spot at the foot of the mountain to test first.”
Although the villagers were still half-convinced by Jiang Li’s reasoning,
the expert had spoken, and they were somewhat swayed.
At the very least, they hoped it was true.
The secretary nodded and immediately began organizing things.
Half an hour later, as the villagers got busy—
each holding Luoyang shovels and digging according to the designated spot—
Jiang Li finally let out a breath of relief.
She believed the plants wouldn’t deceive her.
On this first day, they didn’t proceed with full excavation. The priority was to determine the correct digging location.
After all, no one knew what lay underground, so safety came first.
Once Liu Defa had settled everyone, the day’s work came to an end.
Within less than half a day, the news spread back to the military compound.
When Xiao Ya heard that Jiang Li had proposed exploring for groundwater in Li Village, she shot upright from her bed.
A sneer appeared on her face as jealousy intensified in her heart.
She tiptoed and glanced outside at the group of gossiping military wives.
Pretending to go out to buy something, she casually struck up conversations along the way.
“Sisters, have you heard? The female comrade from the regiment commander’s family—she really made a scene in Li Village today. She insists there’s groundwater at the foot of the mountain and even encouraged the technician and villagers to start digging tomorrow.”
“Think about it—if nothing is found, how will they handle it? The villagers came to our army with so much hope. Won’t they think the army families are just full of empty talk? Wouldn’t that damage military-civilian relations?”
With Xiao Ya’s instigation, the situation was immediately blown out of proportion.
The gossip-loving women, hearing this, slapped their thighs in agreement.
“That woman from Commander Si’s family really isn’t simple. She just arrived and already caused such a commotion—this is reckless!”
“Exactly! If it turns out to be a waste of effort, where will Commander Si put his face?”
“And that technician too—so old, yet no judgment at all! Listening to a young girl’s nonsense!”
“At this hour, she’s probably already back. Why don’t we go ask her? We can’t let her act recklessly!”
Truth be told, few of them actually cared about the matter itself—they were just eager for drama.
Xiao Ya knew this well, and it was exactly the effect she wanted.
At that moment, Jiang Li had just returned home. She was washing up, exhausted, preparing to rest.
She had just hung up her towel when suddenly, there was a knock at the courtyard door, accompanied by voices.
“Comrade Jiang Li, are you home? We have something to ask you!”
Jiang Li opened the small gate and saw several military wives, led by Sister Zhang, blocking her doorway.
Their faces clearly showed displeasure as they folded their arms and sized her up.
What surprised her was that Xiao Ya was also among them, standing at the back with a smug expression.
“Why have you all come so late? What’s the matter?”
Jiang Li had barely met some of them before—her tone was already polite.
Sister Zhang, however, spoke directly, her voice raised.
“Comrade Jiang Li, you’ve just arrived here, and we wanted to treat you well. But today we heard something quite outrageous—that you plan to lead people tomorrow to dig for groundwater in Li Village?”
“Miss, we’re not trying to lecture you, but this matter is too risky.”
“You’re young and new here—we understand wanting to prove yourself. But this concerns the reputation of the military family compound. We can’t let you act recklessly!”
As soon as she finished, the others chimed in.
“That’s right. Technician Liu is an expert—we trust him.”
“But you—you don’t even know the roads here yet. Looking at you, you’ve probably never farmed. How can you be so sure there’s water underground? If nothing is found, people will say our army is unreliable…”
“Sister Jiang Li…”
Just as the women spoke one after another, Xiao Ya stepped forward, her voice soft and gentle.
She looked full of concern.
“The sisters are all speaking out of kindness. You might not understand how important maintaining military-civilian relations is.”
“Sister, just listen to me—tomorrow, go apologize to everyone. Say you made a mistake. Otherwise, you won’t be able to step down gracefully later.”
“Forget about damaging the reputation of our compound—you’ll even implicate Commander Si. Can you bear that responsibility?”
Though Xiao Ya sounded like she was persuading her, every word subtly accused Jiang Li of showing off and acting recklessly.