With her father-in-law here to help, the digging did not have to cease.
“Xiaoya, go and serve Grandpa his breakfast.”
“Yes!”
A large bowl of steaming millet porridge, a platter of white, fluffy steamed buns, a boiled egg, and a dish of pickled, crispy radishes were set before him. Wang Jiagui couldn’t remember the last time he’d had such a hearty breakfast—or perhaps, in all his years, he’d never had such a meal. It seemed that while his eldest daughter-in-law was indeed a bit fierce, she was quite filial to him, after all.
Satisfied and full, Wang Jiagui began to descend into the well. Being an older man, he wasn’t as nimble as Dazhuang; he had to climb back up to rest for a good while after every half-hour of digging.
“Second Brother Wang?”
Duhui, the eldest daughter from the neighboring family, called out to Wang Er from outside the courtyard, her voice tinged with shyness.
“Is something the matter?”
“Well… my mother told me to come and ask if you need any help.”
“Wait here, let me go ask my mother.”
Li Yao wasn’t surprised that her father-in-law had come to help, but the neighbors volunteering was a genuine shock. Throughout history, the relationships between mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law, sisters-in-law, and neighbors were known as the three most difficult dynamics to manage, and the original owner of this body had failed spectacularly at all of them.
The Du family, living right next door, had been the most frequent targets of her sharp tongue. Over time, the neighbors had come to avoid her like the plague, and the two families had become total strangers. As for why they were suddenly offering help, she suspected they were hoping that if a well were struck, they might be able to share the water.
“Let them come,” Li Yao said, not refusing the goodwill.
Dujiaqing was a kind and hardworking man, and his wife, Pang, was a virtuous woman. Besides, there was no deep-seated hatred between them; she felt that taking this opportunity to repair their relationship wasn’t a bad idea at all. Before long, Dujiaqing arrived with a pickaxe in hand, followed closely by his wife.
“Have some breakfast before you start digging.”
“No need, no need!” Dujiaqing shook his head like a rattle. “I’ll go down and relieve Uncle Wang right away.”
He hurried into the well to swap places with Wang Jiagui, and Li Yao had no choice but to let him be. Instead of going inside, she struck up a conversation with Pang. Pang had never imagined Li Yao could be so gentle and found herself quite uncomfortable, her speech stiff and awkward. It wasn’t until He Xiaoya joined the conversation that the atmosphere began to thaw.
By midday, a mud-covered Dujiaqing emerged from the well. “We’re heading home for lunch. We’ll be back in the afternoon.”
“Why go home?” Li Yao asked. “If you’re helping us work, you should eat with us.”
“No, really, it’s fine.”
The couple scurried away faster than rabbits, vanishing back into their home. Li Yao shook her head helplessly; it seemed her reputation as a shrew and a harridan was deeply ingrained in everyone’s minds.
Wang Jiagui, naturally, stayed behind for lunch. To help Dazhuang heal faster, Li Yao had specifically stewed pork ribs with large, marrow-filled bones. The resulting broth was rich, opaque, and creamy, and the meat was succulent and tender. A large plate of double-cooked pork, glazed in a savory sauce and fragrant with garlic, was enough to make anyone’s mouth water. There was also a platter of stir-fried pork liver and kidneys—crispy and fresh—and a dish of light, refreshing wild greens.
After the food was ready, she set aside portions of each dish along with a few buns, intending to send them to the Du family. She had originally planned to have Wang Xiaosi make the delivery, but she changed her mind. She had noticed earlier that morning that the Du family’s eldest daughter had a look in her eyes whenever she glanced at Wang Er that was unmistakably… improper.
“Wang Er, you go deliver these.”
“Yes.”
Since they were neighbors, it only took a moment to get there. Wang Er, while academically bright, was an absolute “steel-hearted” boy; he set the food down at the door, turned, and bolted back before he could even squeeze out a polite sentence. Still, upon reflection, Wang Er was only thirteen…
As she thought about this, Li Yao suddenly realized that she was becoming increasingly accustomed to her identity as a mother. Without even noticing, she had begun to worry about the boys in every possible aspect of their lives.
Over the next two days, the progress of the well-digging remained smooth.
However, as the excavation deepened, the difficulty increased exponentially. By the fourth day, they hit the “red bedrock” that the villagers had spoken of.
“Dazhuang’s mother,” her father-in-law, Wang Jiagui, sighed, “we’ve hit the bottom.”
Dujiaqing, having helped for three days, also looked regretful. “It looks like there’s no water to be found here. Why don’t we try somewhere else?”
“There is no need to switch,” Li Yao said firmly. “Keep digging.”
“This…” Wang Jiagui hesitated. “Even if we dig deeper, it’s still all red bedrock.”
“There must be a layer of sand beneath it. Where there is sand, there is water.”
Sand beneath the red bedrock? Wang Jiagui had never heard of such a thing in his entire life.
“We’ve been feeding you well every single day, so if she tells you to dig, you dig!” Granny Wang interjected at the critical moment, reclaiming authority. “We’ve dug this far already; are you going to drop dead from digging a few more feet?”
“Fine, we’ll dig, we’ll dig!”
Granny Wang’s influence made Wang Jiagui steel his nerves. He picked up the iron pickaxe and resumed hacking away at the red stone. It was a dense, stubborn layer that required exhausting effort to break through, but luckily, Dazhuang’s foot had healed enough for the three men to rotate shifts.
They spent two more full days on this labor. They had dug three meters into the red stone, and a massive pile of brownish-red, rock-hard earth had accumulated beside the courtyard, yet there was still no sign of a sand layer. Naturally, this result drew jeers from the villagers.
“Look at how many days they’ve been at it, and they haven’t even found a drop of water!”
“She’s so full of herself, acting like she can just pick any random spot and find a well.”
Eventually, even the village head couldn’t stand to watch any longer. He came over personally, peered down into the deep, dark well, and shook his head. “Call it off. Don’t waste your effort. Even if you dig deeper, it’s just more of this red bedrock…”
Crack!
At that very moment, a subtle sound drifted up from the depths of the well, and Li Yao’s spirit soared. It was the distinct sound of a pickaxe striking sand!
“Mother! Mother!” Dazhuang’s voice echoed urgently from below. “We found water! We found water!”
What? The village head’s eyes widened in disbelief as he scrambled to the edge of the well. Sure enough, at the bottom, through a small hole under Dazhuang’s feet, clear spring water was bubbling up.
“How… how could there possibly be water beneath the red bedrock?”
Regardless of his thousand doubts, he could not deny the reality before his eyes. The news swept through the village in an instant, leaving those who had been gossiping behind her back with burning, shameful faces.
Finding the water was only the first step. They still had to clear out the sand layer, reach the next tier of bedrock, reinforce the shaft with blue bricks, and finish the mouth of the well with stone slabs. Of course, this could be done at a more measured pace. With her father-in-law and Dujiaqing helping, and the village head managing the logistics, Li Yao was spared much of the headache, allowing them to finally resume their braised-dish business.
Once the well was finished, the village head finally lowered his pride. “Dazhuang’s mother,” he said, approaching her tentatively. Wang Jiafu was a cousin to her father-in-law, Wang Jiagui, so Li Yao addressed him as “Uncle.”
“Uncle Village Head, please, speak your mind.”
“It was my fault for saying you wouldn’t find water,” the village head admitted. “But look, there are so many people in this village, and the old well is nearly dry…”
“If they want water, they can dig their own wells.”
“That is a given,” the village head replied. “I don’t think anyone has the cheek to come to your home to take water. What I mean is… I was hoping you could help us look at some other locations.”
Li Yao’s mouth twitched. The principle was obvious: as long as one dug deep enough, there was water. What was there to “look” for? Still, it was a good opportunity to garner some favor. She took the village head around the village, identifying several areas where the terrain was lower and mapping out locations for new wells.
“If we really find water, the whole village will owe you a debt of gratitude!”
Under the village head’s leadership, Riverbend Village began a full-scale well-digging campaign. Within days, several sites had broken through the red bedrock, tapping into deep, hidden groundwater. As the water crisis eased, the wrinkles on the village head’s forehead finally smoothed out. Had it not been for Li Yao, this wouldn’t have been resolved so easily.
Granny Wang secretly let out a sigh of relief. For once, Li Yao had actually earned some face for the Wang family. In the future, if anyone called Li Yao a shrew, fine—that was true. But if anyone dared to call her stupid again, she would be the first to march up and tear their mouth open!