In the room, the sound of Si Jin telling stories to Eldest Girl soon rang out.
Qin Sang went to the Woodshed again. Eldest Brother was settling the box. The box was the dowry of Eldest Brothers Wife, and inside were only the clothes of the two of them and Eldest Girl. The small box wasn't even full.
The Woodshed could only fit one bed, and there wasn't even room to stand elsewhere. Qin Sang felt a bit apologetic:
"Da Zhuang, for now, you'll have to make do with sleeping here.
When Mother earns money and builds a big house, I'll make better arrangements for you and Da Hua."
Tian Dazhuang hurriedly climbed over from the bed and stood straight in front of Qin Sang, explaining anxiously:
"Mother, this is already very good, it's no hardship.
Now that you've arranged for Eldest Girl to sleep in your room, it's very spacious here. If Eldest Girl can't sleep there, she can completely come back and sleep with us."
Qin Sang smiled and said:
"Don't worry about Eldest Girl, she can fit."
"That's good." Da Zhuang gave a simple and honest smile.
Mother said she was mistreating him and Da Hua.
Mother felt sorry for them.
He felt so happy.
An oil lamp was lit in the main hall, its faint yellow light stretching the family's shadows long, swaying on the adobe walls, flickering as if dancing.
Qin Sang didn't feel much about sleeping on the top bunk; she had long gotten used to it when she was a student. Last night, they didn't ask her to tell a story because Xiao Wu and Er Fu wanted to finish listening to Havoc in Heaven before listening to the sequel together.
Qin Sang fell asleep amidst the chatter of Eldest Girl and Si Jin telling stories. She didn't know when the little ones fell asleep. After Qin Sang woke up, she quietly climbed down from the bed.
As usual, she fed the rabbits, mules, and horses, disinfected and applied medicine, gathered eggs, and went to fetch water.
The sky was just beginning to brighten when she saw many people gathered around the well.
Only when she got closer did she realize that someone had gotten into a conflict with the residents living by the well.
"Your house is so close to the well; you must have fetched all the water in the middle of the night. Now there isn't a drop of water left in the well. Are you going to watch us all die of thirst?"
The resident living by the well didn't back down either. The woman jumped and cursed:
"Hmph, what's wrong with me fetching water in the middle of the night? If you're so capable, you come fetch it in the middle of the night too! You're lazy and don't come to fetch water, and then you blame others when the well stops producing water.
What? Want to come to my house to snatch water to drink? No way."
"Tian Hongmei, you heartless person, ignoring others' life and death. Watch out or a mouthful of cold water will choke you to death."
Qin Sang remembered; this Tian Hongmei was the elder sister of the Shanshui Brothers. She had married into this village and, with the Shanshui Brothers backing her up, her reputation in the village was comparable to the Original Body's former reputation.
However, the Original Body looked down on others and didn't associate with other families, whereas this Tian Hongmei wanted to take advantage of everything. If she saw a child chewing on grass roots by the roadside, she would snatch them away to taste if they were salty or bland.
Seeing this situation, Qin Sang spoke up and asked:
"Has anyone gone to call the Village Chief?"
The people beside her finally remembered this:
"I'll go call him."
Guihuas Mother was also in the line for fetching water and shouted at Tian Hongmei:
"Just wait until the Village Chief comes and see how he deals with you."
Tian Hongmei looked over with slanted eyes and snorted:
"Every one of you says my family snatched the water. Why don't you say Widow Tian's family used all the village's water to make mosquito coils?
Didn't you see how many mosquito coils her family made? Does making mosquito coils not require water?
Didn't you see that her family keeps mules and horses, and even their dogs are sleek and shiny? Don't all these animals need to drink water?
You have the nerve to frame my family for fetching all the water, when clearly it's that Widow Tian who snatched all the village's water."
After Tian Hongmei finished speaking, Qin Sang noticed that the expressions of the villagers became much more complicated.
Qin Sang understood. In fact, these villagers also felt that her family must use a lot of water. However, every household now relied on Qin Sang's family to exchange for grain, and every time Qin Sang finished fetching water, there was still some left in the well, so no one had exploded.
But today, the well was completely out of water, and the dissatisfaction in everyone's hearts could no longer be suppressed.
Without food, they would starve; without water, they would also die of thirst.
Seeing that they had all stopped talking, Tian Hongmei became even more energetic:
"You just think my family is easy to bully. In front of Widow Tian, you don't even make a sound.
From now on, whoever comes to bang on my door again, don't blame me for splashing manure."
The Village Chief arrived, and the villagers all gathered around:
"Village Chief, there's no water in the well. You have to think of a way."
"This well is the village's public well. It can't be completely fetched by one or two families."
"Exactly, we're all going to die of thirst."
The Village Chief learned about the situation and was a bit worried: "Then everyone tell me, what do you want to do?"
Someone immediately came up with an idea:
"The water must be rationed for each household. We have to ensure everyone has a mouthful of water to drink."
"Then who will distribute it? It's hard to ensure fairness no matter who does it."
"Exactly. Even if the Village Chief distributes it, he will definitely favor his own family a bit."
For a moment, everyone felt that the person distributing the water had to be one of their own, and the noise was deafening.
Qin Sang spoke up:
"Then I have a method. Everyone, listen first."
The Village Chief walked over leaning on his cane:
"Tian Qinshi, what method do you have? Tell us."
Qin Sang scanned the villagers and said:
"The water produced by the public well every day is limited. The Village Chief can collect the water here every morning, and then the Village Chief will supervise the quotas.
Every morning, two families will send people to distribute the water for everyone. As for who is in charge and how the rotation works, it will be decided by drawing lots."
The Village Chief nodded with relief:
"The method Tian Qinshi suggested is very good. This way, no one has to worry about the person in charge of distributing water giving more to their own family. With me supervising from the side, there's no fear of unfair distribution."
Others also agreed one after another:
"The method of Da Zhuangs Mother is good. Then let's decide by drawing lots."
"I agree. Mutual supervision so everyone has a mouthful of water to drink. If the well completely stops producing water, then there's nothing that can be done."
"Yes, yes, let's do it that way."
Someone began to worry:
"Da Zhuangs Mother, if the well water is divided equally, will your family still make mosquito coils? Will you still collect herbs?"
Since it concerned everyone's livelihood, everyone's attention turned to Qin Sang.
Tian Hongmei sowed discord from behind the crowd:
"You don't let people use water, but you still want to exchange for their grain. Hmph."
Everyone's faces showed some shame. Guihuas Mother opened her big mouth and said frankly:
"Then, then when the time comes, I'll give half of my family's share of water to Da Zhuangs Mother."
Everyone was stunned, then became joyful:
"Right, my family can also give half. As long as we have a mouthful of water and don't die of thirst, it's fine."
"One's own share is for one to distribute as one pleases; there's no need for others to point fingers. Let's do it this way."
Qin Sang didn't lack food or drink, so she naturally didn't care how much water she could get from the well. In fact, if Qin Sang hadn't been pouring water into the well these days, the well would probably have dried up long ago.
"It's fine. Making mosquito coils doesn't require much water. River water can be used for the livestock. If the river runs dry, I can also go to Town to buy water."
The villagers then sighed with relief, because everyone knew that there was very little well water now. With so many people in the village needing to drink, they didn't know if each person could even get a cup.
"There's water for sale in Town? How come I haven't heard of it?" Tian Hongmei couldn't stand seeing Qin Sang so popular. Before, their reputations were similar, both being the type of characters others would gossip about behind their backs. But now, things were different.
Qin Sang's reputation had reversed, and her prestige was constantly rising. Now, everyone couldn't help but praise Qin Sang behind her back, and she was the only one left being cursed.
No comparison, no harm. Who could stand this?"