After listening to He Sanlang's words, Old Lady He told Xu and Mrs. Lin to continue working, while she went to the old well with a rolling pin in a rage.

She has three sons.

It’s just that Old Mrs. Li is a woman, and her three sons don’t want to argue with her.

He Qiudi also followed them to the old well.

When we arrived under the old locust tree, we saw Old Lady Li sitting on the stone bricks in the middle of the old well where she was drawing water, with her hands on her hips, looking as if she was determined to fight the He family to the end.

Seeing Old Lady He rushing over, Old Lady Li got up from the stone bricks, put her hands on her hips, and said to Old Lady He: "Old He, what's the matter? You come here with a rolling pin, do you want to fight with me?"

Old Lady Li clapped her hands and said, "The head of the village and the elders said that each family can only carry four loads of water today, and it will be gone after we carry them. When I went to the city, your fifth son also came to carry your share."

"Now, your three sons have come to fetch six more buckets of water. Unless the water from the old well overflows into the vegetable washing puddle outside, your family can fetch more water. Look, the water level is less than 40% of the usual level. If your family fetches all the water, what will the rest of us drink tomorrow? We will die of thirst. Will you, the He family, pay with your lives?"

He Qiudi looked towards the old well.

Indeed, there was less than half water left.

She and her sixth brother both used water to wash themselves, and the stored water in the house was almost used up.

Six loads of water.

Not enough to handle the two sheep and the dinner for tonight.

Old Mrs. He said speechlessly: "Sister-in-law Li, do you really have to go against our He family? It is morning now. Every household in the village has come to fetch water in the morning, so naturally there is less water. By the evening, the water level will naturally rise."

Old Lady Li said fearlessly: "Who told me to go against you? Who knows if there will be no water in the afternoon? The water level can't rise, and you He family are not allowed to dig. If you dare to come down again, I will use something to muddy the well water, so that no one in the village can drink water."

Someone couldn't stand it anymore and said, "I still have one load of water left out of the four loads I carried today. He Huaiping, go ahead and carry it. It's mine."

Old Mrs. Li also lay on the stone bricks, not allowing He Huaiping to go down.

"That won't do. The He family has already carried six more buckets of water. Unless you can gather seven buckets of water, I will allow him to come down and carry one bucket."

We have been controlling everyone’s water consumption these days.

There is not enough water for every household.

Generally, the first thing to do after getting up is to arrange for the important labor force in the family to fetch water.

If there are many people in the family, four loads of water are not enough.

By the evening, if there is a lot of water stored in the old well, the village head will ask families with more people to carry two more buckets of water to use.

But you are generally not allowed to fetch more water in the morning.

The man continued to chime in, "Mrs. Li, aren't you going to move your family to live with your brother? You're moving away, and you can't control how the well water in the village is distributed."

"Humph." Old Lady Li continued to say unconvinced, "As long as I am still in Pomegranate Village, I am a member of Pomegranate Village. When I am gone, you can do whatever you want. I will not control you anymore."

The person wanted to continue speaking, but Mrs. He signaled her not to tell Mrs. Li.

She said to Old Lady Li, "How about this? I'll buy water from the village at two cents a piece. What do you think?"

Old Lady Li shook her head and said, "That won't work. This money is not for me. Even if it is given to me, my Li family won't get a penny. Do I have to let your He family draw all the water for this penny, leaving more than a dozen people in our Li family without water to drink?"

Old Mrs. Li was filled with jealousy over the He family's recent high income.

I'm really envious.

Why is it that old lady He has such a good life?

He must have snatched away her life because he had snatched away the man she had set her eyes on first.

If she had been the one who married into the He family, would she have had many children and grandchildren, three promising sons, a lot of money, and be able to enjoy her old age in peace?

Seeing that Old Lady Li was so stubborn, Old Lady He was at a loss what to do.

He had no choice but to say to the villagers who were watching nearby: "My fellow villagers, I really have no other choice. But today my He family wants to kill two wild goats, and we cannot do it without clean water. If any of you can spare some water..."

But before Old Lady He could finish her words, some sharp-eyed villagers discovered that water was flowing out of the old well.

"Water is coming out! Water is coming out of the old well!"

The amount of water output is visible to the naked eye.

Well water spurted up from the bottom of the old well, forming a water column and several bowl-sized splashes on the water surface.

Nothing is more exciting than the increase in water output from the old well.

"The old locust tree showed its spirit. It must be the old locust tree showing its spirit. Oh my god, ancestors, you must protect our Shiliu Village and help it survive this drought."

Everyone prayed towards the old locust tree.

Some even knelt down.

He Qiudi sat on the stone bricks next to the old well, trying hard to reduce his presence.

The villagers fiddled with the ritual for several minutes before engaging in a lively discussion.

Some people speculate that the old locust tree needs to rest for a few days every once in a while, so don’t panic because the old well is not producing much water for the time being.

When there is water, take good care of the land.

In short, it would be great if the old well could provide water until the autumn harvest.

Some people speculated: "Could it be that the old locust tree discovered that a villager had evil intentions and wanted to leave Pomegranate Village, so he wanted to teach her a lesson."

This is obviously referring to Old Lady Li.

Someone simply asked directly: "Sister-in-law Li, if there is always water in the old well, enough for our Shiliu Village to irrigate and use until the autumn harvest, will you still go to your brother's house?"

Others enjoy watching the fun.

He followed the first person who asked the question and said in a sarcastic tone, "She must go to her brother's house. Her land has been sold to the He family. If the Li family doesn't leave, what will she eat and drink? Does she have to work for the He family to earn some food? Wouldn't that make her more uncomfortable than killing Li's sister-in-law?"

"By the way, how much did Sister-in-law Li sell the land to the He family for?"

"Twelve taels of silver."

"Then she has suffered a great loss. She wanted forty taels before. If there is water in the old well, the dry land can be planted in the next two days. The good land is two taels of silver per mu, and the dry land is one tael of silver per mu, so it can be sold for twenty-five taels. She has suffered a great loss."

"Who told her to think that she couldn't survive in Pomegranate Village and go to live with her relatives? Now she has lost more than ten taels of silver for nothing."

Hearing this, Old Lady Li looked at Old Lady He and said, "Give me back the deed. I won't sell my land anymore!"

She didn't regret selling the land. She was going to go to her brother anyway. Even though there was water in Shiliu Village, it was dry all around and still couldn't escape banditry and war.

She regretted selling all 20 acres of land to the He family for twelve taels of silver!

If she knew that the old well still produced water, she might not have sold the twenty acres of land even if she was given thirty taels of silver!

I lost more than ten taels of silver in vain!

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