Chapter 10: 10. Chapter 10: Flattery

Chapter 10: Flattery

Su Chunlin, having achieved his goal, had no idea what that pair of insufferable mother and daughter from the Mo family thought of him.

At this moment, he was walking back in high spirits. As he passed Zhongmen Village, he saw a group of people approaching from afar. Taking a closer look, he realized they were indeed from Ximen Village, so he quickly ducked to the side to hide.

Gao Zhi dragged his exhausted body at the front, looking as nervous as a frightened rabbit at the slightest movement.

Xiong Kai clutched his shoulder, his brows tightly furrowed. "Village Chief, we're almost home. We're safe now; surely no one will rob us of our water here."

Their departure had gone quite smoothly, but they hadn't expected to run into several ambushes on the return trip. Not only was the water they had worked so hard to bring back stolen, but many villagers were also injured.

Another person nodded in agreement. "Yeah, yeah! This is Qingsha Township, not the Canglan River. Don't you worry."

Gao Zhi wiped away a tear, looked toward the direction of Zhongmen Village, and muttered softly, "I wonder if their village has dug up any water yet?"

If they actually managed to dig up water, he wouldn't want to live anymore.

Xiong Kai sneered, "How could they possibly dig up water? If they really dig up water, I'll chop my head off and let them use it as a ball to kick around!"

After the group left, Su Chunlin poked his head out from behind them. Watching their bedraggled figures, he immediately ran in the opposite direction.

It was nearly dark by the time he returned to Dongmen Village.

Shen Yi had returned a step earlier than him.

Mrs. Han had already finished making dinner and began to scold Su Chunlin with a huff, "Ximen Village isn't even that far, yet it took you a whole day to go there. You really are something!"

Su Chunlin, acting as if she didn't understand, sat down nonchalantly and said earnestly to Shen Yi, "Uncle went to Ximen Village to find Mo Laotian today."

Shen Yi’s body stiffened, his gaze falling on Su Chunlin.

Su Chunlin sighed deeply and shook his head. "That girl from the Mo family has truly been spoiled rotten by Mo Laotian. It’s one thing to be arrogant, willful, and unreasonable, but she even had the audacity to tell me to my face that she was the one who wanted to break off the engagement. When I scolded her, she even acted like the victim. Mo Laotian’s wife is also a muddled one; she didn't even bother to ask what happened and actually tried to lay a hand on me."

"What? You were hit?" Mrs. Han hurried over to check on Su Chunlin.

Su Chunlin quickly dodged. "Nothing of the sort! As a grown man, could I really let myself be taken advantage of?"

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Shen Yi said apologetically, "Uncle, there was really no need for you to stand up for me. Miss Mo doesn't like me; if she really married me, life would be chaotic anyway. It’s better not to marry at all."

Su Chunlin nodded approvingly. "I’m very relieved to hear you think that way, but things that need to be clarified should be clarified. It’s all good now; I’ve vented some frustration for you, and I feel much better. If you really can't find a wife, I’ll marry Xiaotai to you."

"Cough, cough, cough." Su Tai, who was looking down at her meal, was so startled by these words that she began to cough repeatedly.

Shen Yi was also taken aback. He subconsciously looked at Su Tai, and a hint of awkwardness appeared on his tanned face.

Afraid that the two children would feel uncomfortable, Mrs. Han quickly changed the subject. "By the way, Shen Yi, has there been any new progress with the well-digging today?"

Speaking of this, Shen Yi immediately returned to his normal self and shook his head helplessly. "Dongmen Village selected three more well-digging sites. By evening, we had dug a zhang deep, but unfortunately, there wasn't the slightest sign of water. I also went to Zhongmen Village; the situation there is even worse. Uncle Zeng said they would try for one more day tomorrow, and if there’s still no harvest, they’ll give up and go to the Canglan River to fetch water."

"No, no, you can't go fetch water," Su Chunlin rejected the idea without a second thought.

Seeing everyone staring at him, he simply told them about what happened in Ximen Village. "I saw that they sent quite a lot of people, and even then, they were robbed and several were injured. If the people from Zhongmen Village really go, they’ll likely meet the same fate."

Mrs. Han turned pale with fright, her eyes welling up with tears. "Then what should we do? If they can't dig up water and can't go to the Canglan River, how will Zhongmen Village survive?"

That was her maiden home, after all!

Shen Yi quickly comforted her, "Auntie, don't worry yet. There is still one more day tomorrow; I will try again."

Mrs. Han looked at Shen Yi gratefully. "Then I’ll leave it to you."

Now, she could only place all her hopes on Shen Yi.

Seeing this, Su Tai tugged on Mrs. Han’s sleeve and whispered, "Mom, why don't we go to my maternal grandparents' home tomorrow? Our family can spare some water; we can just take it to them."

Shen Yi nodded. "The water storage in Zhongmen Village is indeed running out; it can last at most another day or two."

Su Chunlin gritted his teeth, slapped the table, and stood up. "I’m going tomorrow too! I don't believe that if our village can dig a well, their village can't! If they really dig one up, I’ll let Xiong Kai chop his head off and use it as a ball to kick around!"

The next day, before dawn, the Su family was already up.

They had just arrived at the entrance of Zhongmen Village when they saw a group of people gathered there. Mrs. Han’s eldest brother, Han Yan, looked at his sister’s family in surprise. "Why are you all here so early?"

Mrs. Han was startled by the dark circles under the eyes of the group. "B-b-b-brother, what have you all been doing? You didn't sleep all night?"

Han Yan nodded wearily. "We can't dig up water, and everyone is anxious. We were originally going to give up, but then we heard that the people from Ximen Village went to the Canglan River and didn't even bring back water—they said they were robbed. The village chief didn't dare to suggest organizing people to leave the village again, so he could only let everyone continue digging. We worked through the night; someone even fell into the well, but luckily there was no water, so nothing happened. Why are you here?"

"We're here to help!" the Su family said in unison.

The villagers of Zhongmen Village were deeply moved and handed Su Chunlin and the others two shovels.

Su Chunlin took a shovel and looked at Shen Yi in confusion. "Should we just find a pit and dig ourselves?"

Shen Yi nodded.

Su Tai quickly said, "Dad, you have good luck. Just tell us where to dig, and we'll dig there."

These words made Su Chunlin feel so flattered that he was floating. He confidently strode forward with a swagger.

Mrs. Han was speechless but didn't say anything. She knew the village well; several times, Su Chunlin almost walked into a ditch, and she had to call him back.

The group groped their way to the vicinity of a mountain pond. Su Chunlin wanted to keep going, but Su Tai pulled him back and whispered, "Dad, why don't we just dig here?"

Su Chunlin thought for a moment and looked at Shen Yi. "How about here?"

Shen Yi’s mouth twitched as he stared at the abandoned pits nearby, feeling somewhat helpless. But seeing that Su Tai didn't want to move anymore, he could only say, "We can try."

In any case, he didn't expect this family to actually dig up water. Seeing Su Chunlin’s high enthusiasm for work, Shen Yi turned his head toward the village. "I’ll go check other places."

"Then we'll start digging."

Su Chunlin led Mrs. Han and Su Zhan to work, while Su Ming, being small, helped carry the dirt.

Su Tai excused herself to relieve herself and slipped away. In the water space, she spent 50 virtual coins to purchase the usage rights for a spring eye, then used a medium tool to precisely place the spring eye nearly a zhang deep under the surface.

Once the spring eye was placed, it began to bubble with water. She estimated that by evening, they would be able to see moist soil.

After doing all this, Su Tai breathed a sigh of relief. To keep Su Chunlin’s confidence firm, she kept flattering him from the side. Every time Su Chunlin wanted to give up, he would be coaxed by Su Tai and would have no choice but to bite the bullet and continue digging.