Traveling through 1942 with space

Chapter 183 Digging a Well

"Hei Wa, are you going to get some water?"

"Yes! Auntie, didn't you learn how to make candied haws?"

"I'm clumsy and I've learned to waste things, so I won't go. I'll go sell it with your uncle later."

Along the way, they occasionally met villagers and children basking in the sun or playing, and the Hou Xiaoge brothers greeted them with a smile.

Hou Xiaoge discovered that his younger brother was a social expert who could talk to everyone, young or old, regardless of gender. He thought that this kid might be a good businessman when he grew up.

There is only one well in the village, which was dug by hired workers with public funds. It took five hundred kilograms of bran and five people five days to dig it.

The well is at the entrance of the village. Hou Xiaoge's family is a major water user in the village because they make braised meat and pancakes, using at least 300 kilograms of water every day.

It took eleven buckets to carry the big wooden barrel in Hou Xiaoge's house, and most of the time, his eldest cousin would help pull it with a donkey cart.

The well at the entrance of the village was dug by two people, so it is quite large, with a diameter of about one and a half meters.

Chang'an is located in the Guanzhong Plain and is surrounded by eight rivers. It has abundant groundwater resources and the water depth in the nearby low-lying areas is only seven or eight meters.

Nanjiagou Village is located on a slope, and the water level suddenly rose by more than ten meters, so the well was dug to a depth of thirty meters at that time.

Naturally, water could not be drawn by a water pump or the kind of water pressurizer shown in later videos, but by a windlass.

(I'll post the pictures tomorrow. I have something to do today and can't use the computer.)

The windlass is manually operated, the bucket is hooked with a rope, and then the rope is slowly loosened using the windlass to lower the bucket into the well.

After filling the pot with water, the water is pumped up by turning the windlass vigorously. This method has been used for thousands of years.

In his previous life, when Hou Xiaoge was a child, his grandmother's house still had this kind of windlass. Hou Xiaoge's family was poor and could not afford to dig a well, so they usually had to beg for water.

It was not until two thousand years later that water pumps gradually became popular.

At that time, Hou Xiaoge's family built a new house and dug the first well. Once the switch was turned on, water became readily available. From then on, they no longer had the problem of water shortage. His mother was so happy that she couldn't stop smiling for several days.

The two brothers came to the well at the entrance of the village, where a few villagers were drawing water. Seeing that there were only the two brothers there, they helped to stir two buckets of water.

The two brothers are not very old, and stirring the water is a physical job. The water is deep, so it is difficult for ordinary women to stir it.

The villagers didn't know that Hou Xiaoge was as strong as an ox! So when others helped to fetch water, the two brothers naturally expressed their gratitude.

"Hey! You kid, it's just a small matter of disturbing the water." The man who fetched water in the village waved his hand, picked up his pole and carried the water home.

"Tongtong, you carry the small head and walk in front, and brother will carry the big head." Hou Xiaoge put most of the weight of the bucket at the back to make it easier for his brother.

"Okay, let's go home!" The little guy didn't feel it was too heavy and wanted to run away with the water.

"Slow down, kid. The water has all spilled and we can't even lift it up." Hou Xiaoge saw the water was leaking out of the bucket and quickly pulled it back.

There are leaves in the summer. Picking one or two and throwing them into the bucket can reduce the need to stir the water.

But in winter, there is no hair, and you can't just grab a handful of wheat straw! How can people eat it? It's okay to feed animals.

The little guy staggered when Hou Xiaoge pulled him and almost fell backwards.

After a scolding, the little guy obediently carried the bucket forward.

"Lift it higher. Be careful that the bucket doesn't roll in front and hit your heels. Don't cry." Hou Xiaoge scolded and gave orders from behind from time to time.

In his previous life, when he was a child, Hou Xiaoge’s heels were often hit by the bottom of a bucket, especially in the summer. The iron bucket would make a squeaking sound when it hit his heels, and the skin on his heels would be knocked off. It was so painful!

The journey was only about 100 to 200 meters, but Hou Xiaoge was carrying water like Zhang Fei trying to squeeze an egg, and he had no strength to do it! It was so painful to carry it.

When they were a few dozen meters behind, the little guy was also tired, so Hou Xiaoge simply pulled out the stick and carried the two buckets back by himself.

The bucket only weighs about 70 or 80 kilograms, so I could have gone back home earlier if I hadn't bothered.

"Mom, we're back." The little guy played with a stick and opened the door and shouted loudly.

"What are you shouting for, you frivolous boy? Are you trying to call for the soul?" Wang Maimiao came out of the kitchen and scolded.

"Mom, my brother is so strong that he can lift two buckets of water." The little guy was stunned and said in a low voice.

"Hey! You bastard, how could you let your brother fetch water alone?" Wang Maimiao looked at Hou Xiaoge carrying water in, cursed loudly and hurried to meet him.

"Mom, it's okay. I just carried it in from not far from the door." Hou Xiaoge waved his hand to stop Wang Maimiao from helping.

"My Heiwa has really grown up. Only his father has real strength." Wang Maimiao sighed as he watched his son fetch water into the kitchen.

There is a large water tank in the kitchen that is used to store water. It is 1.2 meters high and 60 centimeters in diameter, and can hold nearly 1,000 kilograms of water.

When Hou Xiaoge poured two buckets of water in, there was only a bottom, like a ladle of water.

"Mom, our family consumes a lot of water. It's not a good idea to go to the village to fetch water all day. I want to dig a well for our family. This way it will be convenient for us to use water in the future without having to go to the village." Hou Xiaoge came out with a bucket and said to Wang Maimiao.

"It would be a good idea to dig a well. Right now my family uses a lot of water every day, and this is winter. In summer, we also need to water the vegetables and raise livestock, which consumes even more water.

You are the head of the family now, if you want to fight, then go ahead! Do you have enough money? If not, I will give you some." With money in hand, Wang Maimiao was not worried.

"Okay, my eldest cousin's two uncles are free, so we can just call them over. And let Fifth Uncle go outside the village to call a few relatives from the village, and try to dig a well in three to five days, so that it can be used during the New Year." Hou Xiaoge and Wang Maimiao discussed.

"It's also nice to call your two uncle's brothers! The only one learning how to make candied haws in the village is our Hou family, so they don't have a chance, so it's nice to help." Wang Maimiao nodded in agreement.

Hou Xiaoge is a man of quick temper. Once he has decided on something, he will do it right away.

He hurried to the public kiln and told the fifth and seventh uncles who were staring at the villagers that he needed to hire four or five people to dig a well, provide them with two meals of meat soup and mixed grains a day, and pay them five kilograms of bran as wages.

After leaving the village, I went to the train station market again. I told my uncle about digging a well, and then I found my eldest cousin who worked as a laborer and went to the grain store to buy 300 kilograms of bran for five dollars.

I went to a nearby brick kiln again and ordered 500 bricks to be used to bind the well. Otherwise, the well wall would easily collapse if water was drawn for a long time.

After returning to the village, the five people that Qi Ye had found were already waiting. When they saw their master coming back, they patted their chests and promised that they could do a good job.

Hou Xiaoge explained the treatment to everyone again, and then brought everyone home.

Ask the eldest cousin to call his eldest uncle, second uncle and a few cousins over, and then ask a few hired people to help move the food into the house.

There were seven people in total, the youngest of whom was four boys, ten years old, who were cousins of my eldest cousin.

"Elders, let me first tell you the requirements. Everyone knows the well in the village. It is 30 meters deep and more than one meter wide. It was dug by two people.

Our well doesn't need to be that big. The size of the well we use is enough. You adults can take turns to dig the well.

The people above not only have to carry the excavated soil up, but also transfer it and throw it into the trench outside the door.

I will give you four days, and the treatment is two meals of meat soup and coarse grains a day, and the reward for adults is five catties of bran a day, and for children one catty a day. "Hou Xiaoge said to the few people.

"Heiwa, it's enough for these kids in our family to have enough food to eat. There's no need to give them grain." The eldest cousin's uncle said to Hou Xiaoge.

"It's okay. We are all family. Just help out when your cousins are working." Hou Xiaoge waved his hand and didn't care.