Ed wouldn't arrange a candlelight dinner; he didn't have the time for that. The little river by the village was indeed running low on water, as the butler Marcus had already told him.
If it doesn't rain soon, the crops on the land will dry up and die. Ed is praying for Grayhold, begging God to send rain soon.
But the cloudless sky outside the window dealt Ed another blow; he felt that God had not heard his prayers.
"My fate is in my own hands, not in the heavens!" Ed encouraged himself, then slumped onto the table and began working on his problem of improving the waterwheel.
Actually, there is a waterwheel now; the village mill was built by the river. However, the river is low now, so I don't know if the waterwheel in the mill can still work.
It's unlikely to rain anytime soon, and the water level in the river will only decrease. Ed needs to plan ahead and design a bigger and better waterwheel.
If it still doesn't rain by then, they'll have to draw water from Dongting Lake. But the lake is definitely lower than the village, so without a large waterwheel, they won't be able to pump any water.
Furthermore, after a large waterwheel was erected by the lake, it could not only irrigate the arid land, but also connect the water to the Peace Hotel and the castle, thus providing them with running water.
Ed was secretly delighted. With running water, a flush toilet wouldn't be far behind. Ed became more and more excited as he thought about it. But it was still a long way off! Ed immediately stopped his unrealistic fantasies.
But once the waterwheel was set up, Ed was stumped about what kind of pipe to use to draw water. Bamboo would be the best choice, but there was no bamboo here, and he couldn't conjure it up without the system!
Can iron be used? It seems so, as long as a round pipe is cast. But then again, it seems not, because round pipes can only be cast section by section, and there's no way to connect them.
Ed could only continue thinking, but after a long time he still couldn't come up with an idea. Ed leaned against the long table, somewhat listless.
"Adelaide, pour me a cup of tea," Ed called out.
Adelaide wasn't in the lobby; I don't know what she was doing outside.
"Coming, Master," Adelaide's voice came from afar.
"Adelaide, where have you been?" Ed asked, looking at Adelaide who was panting.
"Master, the crops in the village are drying out badly. Butler Marcus has already sent the castle men to fetch water from the lake. I just went to check." He then turned to pour tea for Ed.
Ed was shocked! Had it gotten that serious? The waterwheel needed to be set up immediately.
"Master, your tea." Adelaide placed the teacup in front of Ed and was about to leave with the kettle when Ed called her back.
"Adelaide, wait, I suddenly remembered."
Looking at the kettle Adelaide was holding, Ed suddenly remembered that this iron kettle used to be made of pottery, and the water pipe could be fired! Now they're making bricks, right? Why not just make it into the shape of bamboo out of clay?
"Master, is there anything else?" Adelaide stopped in her tracks.
"Okay, when Roderick comes back, ask him to come here." Ed said, and quickly drew the shape of the pipe to be fired on the paper.
They also made some minor improvements to the waterwheel, such as replacing the original wooden parts with metal ones.
"Adelaide, haven't they all returned yet?" Ed asked, looking at the darkening sky.
"Not yet, Master. Are you hungry? I'll go make some food." Adelaide said and walked outside.
Ed had no choice but to wait, and then silently lit the oil lamp on the table.
A moment later
A bowl of pea porridge was placed in front of Ed, with a salted fish in the middle of the table, while Adelaide, sitting opposite Ed, also had a bowl of pea porridge.
The dim light of the oil lamp on the table flickered, casting the shadows of the two people eating porridge on the wall behind them, their shadows growing larger and smaller with the flickering light. The silent sounds of eating porridge inside the castle and the chirping of unknown insects outside were like a gentle autumn whisper, intoxicating and captivating.