"This sandstorm is hopeless. The corn stalks will either break or wither and die. They can't survive." The father squatted on the ground, spreading the long corn stalks one by one in front of the house, preparing to burn them as firewood once they were dry.
In this era, fuel is also a precious commodity.
After all, the trees and other common plants have become extinct, and perhaps the last piece of wood was thrown into the fire to cook food many years ago by someone.
The mother's face was also full of worry, "This sandstorm was predicted in advance, but there's nothing we can do about it..."
"The corn stalks can't escape; the sandstorm is blowing in, what can you do?"
The father, still muttering to himself, had already finished processing the corn stalks. He then turned around and went to store the water in various containers, sealing them tightly. Meanwhile, Aqiu and her mother went to prepare the meal.
The meal was really just some freshly harvested dried earthworms, along with some well-preserved cornmeal and dried corn on the cob.
"Luckily, grain was recently distributed, otherwise the corn would have been ruined, and I don't know what we would have done next."
In the gloomy atmosphere, the family was about to start eating when they heard what sounded like someone coming in outside the door, along with the whirring sound of machinery.
The father put down his old rice bowl, walked cautiously to the door, and only opened it after confirming that the people outside did not seem like bad people, or even that they had come for his family.
Outside the door stood a long row of excavators, followed by a group of people wearing hard hats, seemingly discussing something and pointing at the ground.
Aqiu's father recognized these people, not so much as the people themselves, but because he recognized the clothes they were wearing; the badges on them were the same as those of the doctors who had provided them with free medical care some time ago.
One of the doctors even said his daughter's throat could be treated surgically, and he helped put her name into some special patient care list.
These people must be good people.
What are you doing?
Aqiu's father asked a young man standing outside who was also wearing a red hard hat.
The other person glanced at him and smiled, "We're looking for a suitable wellhead."
"Wellhead?"
Aqiu's father stood on tiptoe, sensing something was amiss. "We..."
There's no groundwater here anymore. If you want to dig a well, you'll have to go outside the city.
The young man said, "What we need to drill into is a well without water."
"Ha?"
Aqiu's father couldn't understand this idea at all; what use was a well without water?
Why would anyone specifically research this kind of thing?
Seemingly sensing his confusion, the young man explained, "We don't want to pump water from underground; quite the opposite, we want to pump water back into the ground."
"This will replenish the groundwater, making it much more convenient for you to use water in the future, as you can directly draw water from the site."
Replenish groundwater?
Aqiu's father understood.
Isn't that right?
The well is dry because the groundwater has been pumped out. So, if they pump water back into the well, wouldn't that replenish the groundwater?
But...
Where will the water come from?
The young man's smile suddenly widened, revealing his white teeth as he said, "Brother, would you believe me if I told you this water was pumped from Antarctica?"
Aqiu's father pondered for a moment, stared at the young man in front of him, and asked with great eagerness, "Where is Antarctica?"
Well...
The young man was speechless for a moment.
Zheng Xu was completely surprised that this man, who looked to be only in his twenties or thirties, didn't even know about Antarctica.
Suddenly, his eyes moved down and he saw a little girl beside the man's legs. She looked somewhat familiar; she seemed to be the little girl who had given them directions when he and Captain Yin first arrived in this time and space.
Zheng Xu raised an eyebrow, no longer dwelling on the Antarctica matter, and reached out to pat the girl's head. "Brother, is this your daughter?"
"Yes, her Aqiu."
Aqiu was also staring intently at Zheng Xu, and even nodded to him, clearly remembering him as well.
"Did Aqiu go to school?"
Aqiu's father shook his head. "I want her to go to school, but there are no schools around here yet, and it's too far to send her to another district."
Zheng Xu wasn't surprised; the pace of renovation work varied from place to place, which was quite normal.
"I estimate your area won't be affected for long either. By the time we replenish your water supply, the school should be ready."
"It's all set up. Maybe Aqiu will have good grades and become a top student..."
Aqiu's father stroked his chin, still very eager to learn. "And what's a top student?"
Zheng Xu: "..."
A low-lying area dozens of kilometers away from Zheng Xu.
Zhang Tianyuan and Yuan Heguang were both here at this time.
This place has now been transformed from a desert into a construction site, where nearly a hundred excavators are working.
There are two main types of artificial groundwater recharge methods.
One type is the surface infiltration method, which diverts the water that needs to be recharged to low-lying seepage depressions, ponds, sand pits, and specially excavated ditches, canals, and pools, allowing the water to infiltrate through the bottom of these areas to replenish the unconfined aquifer.
One type is well irrigation, which uses existing pumping wells or specially built injection wells to recharge water into the ground, which is what Zheng Xu is currently doing.
They naturally adopted the first method.
These excavators are digging infiltration pools specifically designed to allow water to seep back into the ground.
There are at least hundreds of such construction sites in China, all prepared for water storage.
This is also the most suitable method for Interstellar Spacetime after research.
Otherwise, bringing water from the Day After Tomorrow Spacetime into the ground would be a huge waste, especially given the severe desertification we face today.
Building a dedicated, sealed water channel is time-consuming and labor-intensive.
So the engineering team turned their attention underground.
When topographical and geological conditions are suitable, unconfined aquifers beneath the surface can be used directly as natural underground reservoirs.
During the rainy season, when surface water resources are abundant, storing water in the pores of aquifers can provide excellent storage conditions.
Moreover, since groundwater moves relatively slowly and evaporation and discharge are also limited, as long as it is properly allocated, it will not be difficult to successfully recycle and reuse most of the artificially replenished water in the future.
Based on current exploration and previously existing geographical and hydrological data, the Mutual Aid Society and domestic engineers have now identified all "underground reservoirs" nationwide.
In Antarctica in the timeline of "The Day After Tomorrow Spacetime," the ice-crushing factory has been operating for some time and has prepared a large quantity of ice. Once the seepage pools are dug, the ice can be directly transported over to melt naturally and seep into the ground...