By the Clear Water River, the self-flowing waterwheel had become one of Qing'an County's sights.
Every day, large numbers of townspeople, young and old alike, braved the blazing sun to come watch the spectacle, clicking their tongues in amazement at the "great wheel" that could draw water on its own.
Whether farmers outside the city or townspeople within it, no one wanted to see the rice fields yield nothing.
Especially now, with rice prices soaring, everyone hoped the drought would end and the rice harvest would be abundant.
Otherwise, forget rice—even coarse grains would become unaffordable!
Because the first self-flowing waterwheel had worked so well, the county yamen officially assigned the Official Workshop the task of building ten more waterwheels of the same kind in one go.
They were to ensure irrigation for the farmland along both banks of the Clear Water River!
Once this news spread, rice prices in the county town fell slightly.
But the decline was merely a flash in the pan. A few days later, the prices rose again.
Because there was no sign whatsoever of the drought easing!
Every day, the sky was cloudless and the sun blazed fiercely. The scorching sunlight baked the earth, causing many plants in the mountains and wilderness to wither and die. As far as the eye could see, everything was scorched yellow.
As time passed, the atmosphere in the county town grew tense.
Refugees began to appear!
Qing'an County had the nourishment of the Clear Water River, and with ten waterwheels gradually being put into operation, drawing water day and night, the drought could still barely be kept under control.
But conditions elsewhere were dire. Crops died in vast swaths, rice prices in the county towns skyrocketed, and ordinary people found themselves in a desperate plight where even selling