Chapter 43                                                             �

Zhao Jiu said: "Sir, Brother Cheng's picture is of course very good. But now there are some different places. Can you dig a well?"

Zhou Mengchen was slightly stunned. He looked at the drawings again and found that there was no well.

Zhou Mengchen also understood this.

Wells were a relatively scarce resource among ancient cities. In ancient times, there were more than 100 wells in the entire area of ​​a county town, which was considered good.

People do not have wells at home, and usually many neighbors use a well together. In the early morning, they see many people queuing by the well at the entrance of the street, so don’t be surprised. This is a very normal thing.

There are fewer water wells in the south, and the reason is very simple. There are many rivers in the south, which can also be used as the water intake for the people. Therefore, the demand for water wells is even smaller.

There is no well at Zhou Mengchen's home, but his home is not far from the well, and there is nothing else. The lotus leak on the bell and drum tower requires a lot of water. This well is naturally not far from the bell and drum tower.

Therefore, there is no well on this drawing, and Zhou Mengchen doesn’t think there is anything. You should know that there are nine lakes in Wuchang City.

Zhou Mengchen asked, "Is it inconvenient to get water now?"

Zhao Jiu said: "Old man is wise. It is. First, there are more people in Yangjiyuan. There are more water needed. Second, the water level in Sihu has dropped significantly in the past few days. There are many people fighting for places where we are old, weak, sick and disabled, and we can't take away our houses. We can be renovated. If we don't eat this water for a day, we will not be able to do it."

Zhou Mengchen suddenly remembered the drought that Master Liu mentioned before. Although he had not felt it yet, the drought had unknowingly affected the people around Zhou Mengchen.

Zhou Mengchen said, "Okay, add it."

"Yes." Cheng Dawei said.

It's easy to add a well to the drawings.

But it is a bit troublesome to actually dig a well.

Zhou Mengchen inquired about the cost of digging a water well, which is of varying degrees. But it costs at least 100 taels. If it is a large water well, it may even cost 100 taels.

Fortunately, Zhou Mengchen has a sufficient budget.

Don't care.

After all this was arranged, Zhou Mengchen walked out of the Yangjiyuan.

Before I could go far, I saw the crowds in front of me.

One by one, they helped the elderly and the young, and came to the lake to fetch water.

From a distance, the entire Sihu Lake is still rippling, but when you walk in, you will find that the lake has retreated from a large area of ​​land, which makes people who want to fetch water have to walk through large silt to fetch water. The mud at the bottom of the lake is soft and cannot support heavy objects, so you don’t know how many roads there are water and wooden boards.

The people gathered on a few wooden paths, which made people feel crowded.

Zhou Mengchen looked at him and frowned secretly.

This scene was something he had never thought about.

This is also the reason why people in later generations don’t feel anything about drought. It is because later generations have higher efficiency in utilizing water resources. As long as no one’s water flow is completely dry, many people don’t feel it. And even if the ground water is dry, there are still groundwater that can be used.

But this era is different.

Let’s not talk about agricultural water use for the time being.

The lake surface alone fell by only one meter at most, which caused great trouble for residents to use water.

At this moment, Zhou Mengchen had a deeper understanding of the fragile ecology of ancient times and a deeper understanding of what drought is.

"Brother Zhou is here too?" Zhou Mengchen suddenly heard someone say behind him. He turned around and saw that it was Uncle Zhang. He immediately said, "Brother Zhang."

The main entrance of Yangjiyuan is not far from the back of the Fuxue School. This Sihu was even after the Fuxue School, and even part of the Sihu water was introduced into the Fuxue School's backyard, which can be said to be separated by a wall.

Uncle Zhang looked at everything in front of him and said, "It's so difficult for people to live in. In recent years, water and droughts have occurred frequently in Huguang. The drought is better, but the most feared thing is floods. My family lives in Jingzhou, the first continent of the Yangtze River. It is the first to be affected. Overall, droughts are always better than floods. But the fear is that long-term droughts will lead to floods."

The Jingzhou area has always been a severely affected area of ​​the Yangtze River flood.

Because the Yangtze River emerged from the Three Gorges and spread thousands of miles in Jingzhou. In addition, since the Ming Dynasty, the lakes were ripe and the world was full of people. The reason for this was that in the mid-Ming Dynasty, large-scale land surrounded and land was built, and lakes disappeared one by one, and a large number of farmland were planted on both sides of the Yangtze River.

The Yangtze River has also lost many places where river water can be stored.

The Yangtze River floods are becoming more and more intense, and the more they go back, the more severe they are. Now, the Yangtze River floods are far above the Yellow River.

Zhou Mengchen frowned and said, "It shouldn't be the case this year, right?"

Uncle Zhang shook his head and didn't say anything. How can this kind of thing be said accurately? Nothing is useful now. He changed the subject and said, "Brother Zhou, why are you here? I heard that during this period, Governor Che has ordered all prefectures and counties at all levels in Huguang to stop other government affairs, and everything is about drought resistance. In Jiangxia County, he is probably too busy to stop his feet."

Zhou Mengchen smiled softly and said, "I asked the previous blessings to the county magistrate to offer me as a god. I have nothing to do?"

Uncle Zhang said, "But he is a pity."

Zhou Mengchen's heart moved slightly and said, "It just so happens that I have something to ask Brother Zhang for advice."

Uncle Zhang's eyes were paired with Zhou Mengchen's eyes, and he thought something in his heart and said, "Okay."

The two came to the Yangjianyuan.

Zhou Mengchen said: "I have been in the study for a long time, but I don't know what is the key to resist drought?"

Uncle Zhang heard this and said, "Drought resistance is naturally the key to building water conservancy. In many places, as long as you build some ditches, you won't be afraid even if you encounter drought. However, now building water conservancy is a net that is located near the abyss and digging wells is a bit too late. So generally speaking, drought resistance should focus on two things, one is to build water trucks, and the other is to dig wells. This is the fastest-effect and is also the place where Brother Zhou uses it."

Seeing that Uncle Zhang saw through, Zhou Mengchen did not hide it, and said, "Brother Zhang, what he said is very true. My slightest ability is not as good as Brother Zhang. However, when it comes to making tools, there are still some things that can be proud of. Seeing the sufferings of the people, he naturally does not want to stand by and watch."

Of course, Zhou Mengchen also has some selfishness.

Zhou Mengchen reflected on why he turned danger into safety before he reflected on it because he had a reputation among the scholars.

In ancient times, agricultural production was a first-class event.

If there is any help in this, Zhou Mengchen's reputation will only be greater.

This action had a special term in ancient times, called "有有有有."

Uncle Zhang was about to speak, but saw Zhao Jiu, Cheng Dawei and several others standing outside.

Zhou Mengchen saw it, and told a few people to call in and asked, "What's the matter?"

Zhao Jiu said: "Sir, we have already found someone to see the water vein. But we can't dig it."

After hearing this, Zhou Mengchen looked at Uncle Zhang and said to himself: "What did you really say?"

Zhou Mengchen said, "Brother Zhang will take a look together?"

Uncle Zhang naturally refused.

The group arrived at the place where the well was dug.

But I saw an old man in Ge and a few strong men standing aside with bare shirtless.

Zhao Jiu immediately recommended Zhou Mengchen.

This old man is the person responsible for digging the well. Zhou Mengchen is also a member of the government, otherwise it would be impossible for him to come here immediately at this time.

Zhou Mengchen looked at the well that had been dug. It was not very deep, about one meter deep.

Zhou Mengchen said, "What's going on?"

The old man immediately stepped forward and said, "Report to the master, this area is between Snake Mountain and Phoenix Mountain. There are many stones, and Yangjiyuan is close to the city wall, which is even more so. Moreover, this year's drought, the water level has dropped a lot, making it even more difficult to open up. If you don't do your best, you can't fight."

Zhou Mengchen said: "Can you use gunpowder?"

The old man said, "Master, you must never move. As long as you move gunpowder, the well must collapse."

After hearing this, Zhou Mengchen scratched his head and said, "Is there really nothing I can do?"

The old man said, "The little old man is incompetent. Only the people from Sichuan can open the ground. I don't have the ability."

Zhou Mengchen was a little curious and said, "Is Sichuan's well-driving technology very good?"

Uncle Zhang said: "Sichuan well salt is famous all over the world. It is said that it can be beaten like a dozen feet underground, causing the earth to leak out, and used for boiling salt. I have only heard people say what's going on? I have never seen it."

After hearing this, Zhou Mengchen said intimately: "The leakage of earth fire should be natural gas."

Although he didn't know how deep the natural gas in Sichuan was, he thought it should be shallower than the water layer. Moreover, Wuchang City was on the edge of the Yangtze River after all, even if the Yangtze River was not mentioned, it was Sihu hundreds of steps away. No matter how Zhou Mengchen thought, he didn't think the groundwater here could be deep.

He said intimately: "I can do what the ancients could do."

Zhou Mengchen said, "Uncle Cheng, you need to order an iron stick. It must be as fine as the bowl."

"Yes." Cheng Guangde said.

Zhou Mengchen said, "Zhao Jiu, go find someone and let the workshop stop work. I have something to build."

Zhao Jiu immediately agreed and said, "Yes."

Now that the workshop has overproduction, Zhou Mengchen has been preparing to make furniture on the workshop, and temporarily work overtime to produce other things. It is not a big problem.

Zhou Mengchen said, "Brother Zhang, I'm sorry, I'm afraid I'm going to be busy for a while."

Uncle Zhang said, "Don't worry about me, I'm just about to see Brother Zhou's clever thoughts."

Zhou Mengchen took a deep breath and said, "Try not to let Brother Zhang down."

To be honest, Zhou Mengchen was not sure about this matter. It was not that Zhou Mengchen was not sure about breaking the stone, but did not know how deep the stone was. But he had to try it, not just to maintain the well in the Jiyuan, but to make a tool or machinery that could drill the well as quickly as possible.

Zhou Mengchen said to Cheng Dawei: "Come with me."

Cheng Dawei learned mathematics very quickly and was very damn good at abacus. He seemed to be no match for Feng Li, so he could already take on some work.

Cheng Dawei was also very happy and said, "Yes, Master."
Chapter completed!