CHAPTER 178: CHAPTER 178: WATER LEVEL DROPS

A lively day, which didn’t start winding down until after lunch.

Those who helped took care of cleaning up the Jiang household, and then each took their own belongings—pots, pans, bowls, and tables—and went home.

The shopkeeper Liu specially closed his store for the day, bringing restaurant staff to support Jiang Hu; when leaving, he didn’t forget to take a few baskets of cabbage and radish back home.

In this cold weather, these are the vegetables that can resist the frost the most.

Fortunately, the cooks have good skills; even with just a few simple dishes, they can make them remarkably delightful.

Uncle Liu sent some servants back home directly, leaving behind only an elderly woman who could help with washing clothes and cooking.

Liu Ze and Lucky Seven naturally stayed behind at Jiang’s place.

Additionally, there was a horse-drawn carriage, which Jiang Hu could use however he wanted. Whether for transporting vegetables or traveling to town, this carriage is much faster than the ox cart.

As for the Big Water Buffalo, it could be kept at home; anyway, one buffalo needed to be driven, so does two—the most important being that a big buffalo produces quite a lot of manure in a year.

Though it lasted only half a day, welcoming guests and seeing them off wasn’t easy. Once the guests were gone, Jiang Hu encouraged everyone to rest a bit before continuing with other tasks.

The lodgings were arranged in the inner courtyard, with the main house naturally for Jiang Hu and the second mother, and next to it a study room, while the courtyard had three rooms on each side.

Xiao Mi, Xiao Xue, and Iron Egg lived on one side.

Uncle Liu, Liu Ze, and Jiang Yu lived on the other side.

Lucky Seven and Yang Auntie, the woman from the Liu family, were staying in the outer courtyard.

The grain warehouse was also in the inner courtyard, just adjacent to the outer courtyard side, a little behind the corridor—somewhat like a blind spot in view. Generally, people would not go there.

The ground in the outer courtyard was paved with thick bluestone slabs. There was also a slab area outside the courtyard, which would be Jiang’s family’s drying yard in the future.

With a place to dry the grains, they could dry much faster.

The inner courtyard was made into a landscaped garden, with small paths. But aside from the pebble paths, there wasn’t much else.

Having worked hard for two consecutive days was more tiring than regular harvesting, mainly because there were too many miscellaneous tasks—physically not fatigued, but mentally exhausted.

Fortunately, after a nap, he felt much more relaxed.

When Xiao Mi got up, Jiang Hu and the second mother were already at the old house, cooking pig feed.

Xiao Mee and Xiao Hei were still at the old house since chickens, ducks, and geese were there—needed someone to watch them. Xiao Hei was obviously the best helper.

There was almost nothing left from the noon meal, so the two little ones were eating fish specially cooked again by the second mother for them.

Eight big fat pigs hadn’t been fed today yet, so when Xiao Mi went looking for them, Jiang Hu was cooking pig feed, while the second mother was feeding chickens.

"Daddy, are you busy?" The sun was slanting westward, a cold breeze blowing, it felt quite chilly.

Jiang Hu added more firewood: "What’s the matter, Xiao Mi? Is it because of yesterday’s events?"

The second mother mentioned last night that Xiao Mi seemed to have something on her mind but wasn’t willing to talk about it, waiting to discuss after today’s busyness was over.

Seeing Xiao Mi come over, Jiang Hu immediately thought of this matter.

Xiao Mi didn’t deny it, squatting beside Jiang Hu: "Daddy, the other day when I drove the ducks to the water channel, I noticed the river’s water level seemed to have dropped a lot."

She had just noticed it; clearly, the water level had been quite high before but suddenly dropped significantly, making her find it odd.

Jiang Hu paused for a moment, then rubbed Xiao Mi’s head: "Is this why you’ve been feeling down these past few days?"

Xiao Mi nodded obediently: "Brother Ze previously read to us that if it doesn’t rain for a long time, there will be a drought, there will be no crops, and we will be hungry."

Liu Ze indeed read them such stories, but probably even Liu Ze forgot; however, that didn’t stop Xiao Mi from using this reason.

Jiang Hu was amused: "Xiao Mi, winter is here; there is less rain, so the water level naturally declines. Also, wasn’t there rain recently? Just the other time we caught bamboo rats?"

Xiao Mi froze, yes, wasn’t that just half a month ago?

A month without rain in winter should be normal, right?

But why does it still feel like something is not quite right?

Seeing Xiao Mi still furrow her little brows with an expression of confusion, Jiang Hu patted her head.

"Alright, don’t overthink it. Rest assured, we have plenty of food; even if there’s a problem, we won’t go hungry."

Hearing her father’s reassuring words, Xiao Mi finally felt easier, right, there is plenty of food at home, and she has lots stored away, there shouldn’t be any problems.

With this thought, Xiao Mi’s little worries finally dissipated, returning to her lively self.

"Daddy, you carry on; I’m going to herd the ducks back."

She bounced away as she said so, with Jiang Hu shouting behind her to be careful, she just waved her hand backward, loudly replying that she knows.

Jiang Hu shook his head helplessly; indeed, children think of things impulsively.

However, after Xiao Mi left, Jiang Hu still frowned slightly, mumbled softly about words like "water level dropped", "drought".

In his heart, he’s always believed Xiao Mi is different from regular kids, more precocious, and because of Xiao Mi’s presence, it brought about many changes at the home, for Fu’an Village.

Simply put, he originally joked that Xiao Mi was a lucky star, but gradually, he came to genuinely believe it.

Xiao Mi is a lucky star come to earth!

Yet now, Xiao Mi suddenly brings up words like water level dropping, drought, even though he explained the reasons to soothe Xiao Mi’s mood, in his heart, he couldn’t let go of the feeling.

It seems Xiao Mi has spoken so maybe it’s intuition?

Or perhaps, it’s a warning from Little Lucky Star?

Thinking of this, Jiang Hu immediately felt unsettled.

He stood up suddenly, scaring the second mother who just came over.

"Brother Hu, what’s wrong?" The second mother had a handful of tender grass, casually tossing it into the pigsty.

The second mother’s voice calmed Jiang Hu back down, smiling helplessly: "I’ve been scared by my own thinking, nearly forgetting there was rain not long ago."

The second mother was puzzled: "What happened?"

Jiang Hu quickly explained it, including Xiao Mi’s recent concerns.

The second mother laughed: "Maybe it’s just kids letting their imagination run wild; I happened to hear the story Xiao Ze told too, Xiao Mi after all is very young, perhaps she got scared."

Jiang Hu shook his head: "Not impossible, but still, let’s keep an eye out, see if it rains over the next month or two."

The second mother: "You’re worried?"

Jiang Hu smiled wryly: "If it were someone else saying it, I wouldn’t think much of it, but this is Xiao Mi speaking, how could I not worry?"

The second mother thought a while: "Then, should we take advantage of the time and plant some sorghum?"

Jiang Hu paused at first, then clapped his hands: "Yes, I almost forgot, wasn’t our sorghum growing alongside the wheat before?"