Digging a Well

The mountain air remained chilly in the afternoon, but Zhang Xiaohua's enthusiasm was still running high. However, the progress of clearing the land in the afternoon wasn't as smooth as in the morning. There were many rocks in the wasteland, most buried underground. Digging them up and prying out the larger stones was no easy task. By the time the sun began to set and dusk arrived, Zhang Xiaohua had only managed to move a few rocks. His hands, however, were injured, his tiger's mouth split open and stinging in the cold wind.

He was still just a young lad, after all.

Glancing back at the wasteland he had worked on all day, Zhang Xiaohua felt a pang of reluctance. Nevertheless, he shouldered his hoe, picked up his water pail, and started walking back. It was getting late, and if he didn't hurry, his father and elder brother would come looking for him, and his grandmother would worry.

The wasteland was quite a distance from home; otherwise, his mother wouldn't have needed to bring him food at noon. Walking along the rugged mountain path back home, Zhang Xiaohua, though exhausted, was in high spirits. His father had warned him that clearing the land would be slow. If it could be done in just a few days, everyone in the village would already be cultivating the hillsides. This was just the beginning; there would be meticulous farming, sowing, watering, and many other troublesome tasks ahead. Suddenly, a thought struck Xiaohua: watering! Yes, the hillside was so high, and the village river so far away, how would they get water? There were no springs nearby either. Why hadn't he thought of this sooner? What should they do? This realization made Zhang Xiaohua quicken his pace, running towards home.

By the time he reached the village entrance, it was completely dark. Many playful children were still laughing and playing in the village. Seeing Xiaohua carrying his hoe, some familiar villagers stopped him to ask about his land-clearing efforts. Xiaohua answered each of them. It seemed that clearing wasteland on the hillside was a matter of great concern for villagers who didn't have enough food. However, Xiaohua was distracted, and everyone assumed he was just tired, so they didn't inquire further. Xiaohua then rushed home.

Zhang Xiaohua's home was at the southern end of the village, which, from a feng shui perspective, was in a low-lying, disadvantaged area. However, the house itself was not small, and thanks to Zhang Cai's efforts, it even had a small courtyard. The courtyard wall was not high, built with mud, and visible from the outside. From afar, through the fence gate, Zhang Xiaohua saw his grandmother leaning on her walking stick. As she couldn't see well, his grandmother rarely went out. Now, leaning on the fence gate, she was likely worried about her youngest grandson. Hearing his approaching footsteps, his grandmother's face broke into a smile. "Xiaohua, you're back~ Are you tired today?" Zhang Xiaohua hurried a few steps, entered the house, put down his hoe and water pail, supported his grandmother's arm, and quickly replied, "I'm not tired, Grandma. I've done farm work before." His grandmother affectionately held Zhang Xiaohua's hand and said, "Our Xiaohua is already a grown man, Grandma forgot!" His grandmother's hand happened to touch the split on Zhang Xiaohua's tiger's mouth. Zhang Xiaohua gasped in pain. Although he didn't cry out, his grandmother heard it and exclaimed loudly, "Cai, hurry over and look at the child." Zhang Xiaohua's father had just returned and was washing up in the courtyard. Hearing his mother-in-law's voice, he came over and took a closer look. He said:

"It's fine, Mother. Xiaohua was working too hard and split his hand. It will be fine in a few days."

His grandmother said, "Why don't you go to Old Chen at the village entrance and get some medicine for the child to put on it?"

As they were talking, Guo Sufi came out of the house with something and casually said to Zhang Xiaohua's grandmother, "No need, Mother. Didn't Xiaohu use some last time? There's still some left. When Xiaohua is asleep tonight, I'll put some on him, and he should be better tomorrow. Mother, you should go back inside. It's cold, and the wind is picking up. I'll bring you dinner later. Xiaohua, quickly help your grandmother back inside."

Zhang Xiaohua carefully escorted his grandmother back inside, his anxiety about watering forgotten.

After dinner, his parents were busy weaving baskets under the dim oil lamp, and Zhang Xiaohua and his two brothers were helping out nearby. Zhang Cai then asked Zhang Xiaohua about the land-clearing situation. Zhang Xiaohua recounted everything. Zhang Cai said:

"It's indeed slow for you to do it alone. Once Xiaohu and Xiaolong finish the work near the river, they'll come help you."

Zhang Xiaolong also said, "Don't worry, Xiaohua. When we're done, I'll help you and Father too. We'll finish before winter sets in."

Zhang Xiaohua said, "Why am I worried? Father said clearing land needs to be done carefully, didn't he? If it's slow, it's slow. If it's done meticulously, the crops will grow well later." Speaking of this, he remembered the watering issue and quickly asked his father, "Father, I remembered on the way back, the hillside is so high, and there are no springs nearby. How will we water the crops later?"

Zhang Cai stopped his work and said, "It's thoughtful of you to think of this. What do you think we should do?"

Zhang Xiaohua looked at his two elder brothers for help. "We always water our fields by carrying water. The hillside is so far and high, carrying water won't work, right?"

Zhang Cai smiled and said, "Xiaohua, what's behind our slope?"

Zhang Xiaohua thought for a moment and said, "Isn't there a very deep pit behind it?"

"Yes, that's right. It's a small basin where three hillsides meet. We can dig a well there. Then, we can build a small path from the well to the fields, which will provide water for drinking and irrigation," Zhang Cai said confidently.

"It seems you already had a plan," Guo Sufi said, smiling and praising her husband.

"Then, Father, when will we dig the well?" Zhang Xiaohua asked eagerly.

"Once the land is mostly leveled, before winter sets in, while the ground isn't frozen yet, we'll ask someone from the neighboring village who knows how to dig wells to help us. We'll get to work then!" Zhang Cai said, then resumed his work.

With a satisfactory answer, Zhang Xiaohua finally felt at ease, and the family continued with their tasks. After working for a while, Zhang Xiaohua was clearly exhausted, his eyes drooping. Guo Sufi, concerned, told him to go to bed first. Zhang Xiaohua agreed and listlessly walked to the kang where his three brothers slept. He threw himself into the worn-out cotton quilt and fell into a deep sleep, not even realizing when his mother applied medicine to his hand that night.

The busy day passed quickly.

In the following days, Zhang Xiaohua was patient, focusing solely on leveling his land and no longer worrying about the watering issue. One evening, after clearing the weeds and breaking up the larger clods of earth, Zhang Xiaohua prepared to head home. On the way, he couldn't hold back his thoughts any longer. He mused to himself, seeing his slope gradually transforming into level farmland, just needing a final plowing before sowing, he wondered when the well would finally be dug.

As he rounded the hillside, he saw several wooden frames erected in the hollow below. Zhang Xiaohua ran over quickly and peered down. Sure enough, a circular platform had been leveled at the bottom of the pit. On it were placed circular wooden boards, and around the boards, six long wooden poles were propped up, their bottoms deeply inserted into the earth, forming a tower-like structure. Zhang Xiaohua was so happy he almost jumped. He scurried down the slope and arrived beneath the wooden frames. No one was there at the moment; they had likely finished setting up the frames and gone to rest. Zhang Xiaohua patted and touched everything, quite puzzled. Could these frames alone be used to dig a deep well? Just as Zhang Xiaohua was wondering, someone called him from above:

"Xiaohua, where are you?" He recognized the voice as his second brother, Xiaohu. Xiaohua quickly replied:

"I'm here, Second Brother. Come quickly and see, we're about to dig the well."

Zhang Xiaohu also slid down the slope and grabbed Zhang Xiaohua. "Okay, I know. This afternoon, Big Brother and I brought these things over together. Big Brother said he wanted to surprise you, so he didn't tell you. Your father and mother are waiting for you to go back. Let's go quickly."

The two brothers ran back home.

Dinner was already laid out in the small house. His father and elder brother were sitting by the table, but there were no unfamiliar people. Zhang Xiaohua couldn't help but ask, "Father, where are the well diggers?" Zhang Cai smiled and said, "They've all gone back. We don't have much money, and we agreed with them that we'd only provide lunch. They don't stay for dinner. Besides, our family has to help, so the labor cost will be less." Zhang Xiaohua acknowledged this and went out to help his mother prepare dinner.

After dinner that evening, Zhang Cai assigned tasks to everyone in the family. Zhang Xiaohua and his two brothers would, of course, help at the site. Xiaohua's mother was responsible for cooking and delivering food, while Zhang Cai had to buy materials and find people to help. In short, everyone in the family, except for Xiaohua's grandmother, had to pitch in. Of course, his grandmother had to look after the house and feed the chickens, so she was busy too.

The next morning, Zhang Xiaohua woke up early, urging his two brothers on the kang to go to the well digging site together. However, Zhang Xiaohua's mother insisted that they eat something before leaving, saying that Zhang Xiaohua's father had already gone ahead, and they had agreed on a time with the well diggers. Going too early would mean no one would be there, and the three of them didn't know how to dig a well, so it would be useless. Zhang Xiaohua had no choice but to accompany them for breakfast. By the time they reached the hillside, the sun had already risen.

In the hollow of the mountain, several people were already busy. Zhang Cai busily called them over to help move the excavated stones and soil to the side. Then, everyone began working enthusiastically.

After a few days of this work, Zhang Xiaohua realized that digging a well was quite simple: just find a spot, erect the frame, and start digging. However, finding the right location and ensuring the excavated area wouldn't collapse required experience. For example, the wooden frame was essential. Otherwise, as people dug deeper, how would the soil be brought up from underground, and how would people get out? As for the location, Zhang Cai was lucky. The spot they had discussed at home was chosen to be close to the fields, without considering whether water could actually be found. The well-digging masters had searched all over the mountains and finally settled on this spot. They said there might be a spring below, and they would try digging. If they found sweet mountain spring water, it would be more suitable for their own consumption than for irrigation. Zhang Cai dismissed this remark. The place was so far from home; how would they carry water? Would they have to carry a few buckets home every day for cooking?

The days of digging the well passed one by one. The well grew deeper, but the difficulties also increased, and the progress slowed down noticeably. Because they were digging in the low-lying area between several hillsides, they frequently unearthed many stones. Fortunately, none of them were too large, and they didn't encounter any large rock formations, otherwise, they would have had to abandon the well before even starting.

After a few more days, perhaps Zhang Cai's luck ran out, and digging the well encountered a major problem.

One noon, Zhang Xiaohua descended into the well and swung his hoe to dig. To his surprise, the very first strike hit something that felt like a hard stone, numbing his hand. Following his previous experience, Zhang Xiaohua chose a spot farther away from the first and struck again. "Clang~~" The sound clearly indicated another stone. Zhang Xiaohua began to feel a little panicked. He dug a few more times around the circumference of the well, and without exception, it was all stone! Zhang Xiaohua tugged the rope tied to his waist, signaling to be pulled up. With a grim expression, he told his father about the situation. Zhang Cai and the well diggers also went down to inspect. After coming up, they remained silent. The well diggers discussed with Zhang Cai, suggesting that the others take a break nearby and return to help after lunch to confirm if it was a very large stone or a layer of stones.

Seeing everyone disperse and sit on the ground to rest, only Zhang Xiaohua looked at the unfinished well, his heart filled with unease. He was truly afraid that it was a layer of stone, making further digging impossible, rendering their efforts over the past few days futile, and perhaps they wouldn't be able to dig the well at all. Zhang Xiaohua asked Zhang Xiaolong to lower him into the well again, and unwilling to give up, he started digging once more.