Chapter 155: Spring Drought

Just as the family finished moving the belongings into the inner rooms, Li Dechen arrived.

Li Dechen had originally come to see Old Liu, but upon seeing Liu Yitiao as well, he was pleasantly surprised. He stood in the courtyard and bowed deeply to Liu Yitiao, greeting him, "Master, you have finally returned! This old servant has been looking for you these past few days regarding a matter."

"Oh," knowing that Li Dechen was reluctant to enter the house, Liu Yitiao fetched two chairs and placed them in the courtyard. With an unhurried smile, he said to Li Dechen, "Elder Li, please sit down and speak."

"Ah, thank you, Master." Li Dechen accepted the wooden chair with both hands, and only after Liu Yitiao was seated did he carefully take a seat beside him.

"I have been away for quite some time, and all the affairs of the fields have rested entirely on Elder Li. You have worked hard." Liu Yitiao cupped his hands slightly toward Li Dechen to express his gratitude.

This was originally a very polite gesture, but it gave Li Dechen quite a start.

Where had he ever seen such a spectacle before? For the master of the house to bow and thank him—how could he possibly deserve such treatment? He hurriedly stood up from the chair, bent deeply, and saluted Liu Yitiao, saying, "Master, you flatter me too much. This is only what this old servant ought to do; I am unworthy of such praise from you."

"Haha," Liu Yitiao shook his head with a light chuckle. This old man was still the same as ever, adhering too rigidly to propriety. He waved a hand at Li Dechen and said, "Everything I just said came straight from the heart, Elder Li. There is no need for you to be like this; please sit down first. My household is not like other places, nor are we some grand and wealthy clan. We don't have all those cumbersome rituals and rigid rules. It is better for you to be more at ease and not stand up to answer every time we speak. Doing that makes things troublesome for you, and rather awkward for me."

After Li Dechen had bowed and seated himself once more, Liu Yitiao continued, "Earlier, Elder Li mentioned having something to discuss with me. What might that be?"

"Reporting to the Master," Li Dechen instinctively cupped his hands together again and replied, "This old servant came here today originally wishing to consult Elder Liu about the issue of the drought in the fields. Now that the Master has returned, I can discuss it directly with you."

"Since the Master has been away from home for these past few days, naturally you are unaware of the situation in the fields," Li Dechen said. "The spring millet was sown a little over half a month ago, and the seedlings have all emerged by now. The taller ones have grown to about the length of a finger, and their growth has been quite favorable. However, some problems have arisen over the past few days."

"The farmland has become rather dry." Seeing Liu Yitiao look toward him, Li Dechen continued, "This year has been a warm spring. Ever since the New Year, the weather has remained consistently clear. Aside from the two light snowfalls before the end of the year, not a single drop has fallen from the sky. Now we can clearly see that the fourth month is fast approaching, yet there is still no sign of rain. I am afraid this spring is going to suffer a severe drought."

"Mhm, what Elder Li says is true." Old Liu also carried a chair out from the house, placed it right next to Liu Yitiao's, and sat down heavily. His expression looked somewhat worried.

To farmers, especially farmers of the Tang Dynasty, what was their greatest worry and fear? Nothing else—only natural disasters. And among natural disasters, what were the most common and frequent ones? None other than floods, droughts, and locust plagues.

And right now, very unluckily, Liu Yitiao was facing a drought.

"Master Liu, greetings!" Li Dechen cupped his hands in greeting toward Old Liu. Old Liu nodded in return and said, "It seems Elder Li has noticed it too. I'm afraid it will be very difficult for rain to fall this year."

"Master Liu is truly perceptive. In past years, right after the spring ploughing, the heavens would invariably bestow a spring rain, whether large or small, to relieve the drought following the tilling." Li Dechen looked up at the sky. "But look at this year. It has been a little over half a month since spring ploughing concluded, yet the sky remains as clear as this. This old servant truly worries that if the heavens do not drop any rain for another half-month, the surface soil in the fields will surely bake into a solid crust."

"Father, Elder Li," Liu Yitiao said, feeling somewhat perplexed. Wasn't it just a bit of dryness in the fields? Was there really any need to look so glum and worried about it? He asked Old Liu and the others, "In farming and cultivating the land, excess water is drained and dryness is irrigated. Since the fields are short of water, can't we simply channel water in for irrigation? If I remember correctly, isn't there a ditch specifically meant for irrigating farmland right near our Gutian Village?"

Old Liu glanced at Liu Yitiao and said, "What Yitiao says is correct; there is indeed a ditch to the east of the village. But do you know how far that ditch is from the edge of our family's fields? At least a distance of one li. Besides, there is a high ridge on the west side, so even if you wanted to channel the water up, you wouldn't be able to lift it over. Otherwise, why do you think so much wasteland was left vacant on the west side of the village?"

"Indeed, Master. Water far away cannot quench an immediate thirst," Li Dechen chimed in, adding, "Moreover, the water in that ditch to the east of the village doesn't seem very abundant; it couldn't possibly irrigate much farmland anyway. This year's drought can hardly be avoided."

So that was how it was. Liu Yitiao nodded, leaned back slightly in his chair, and furrowed his brow.

How did that saying go?—Spring rain is as precious as oil. This reflected from one angle how desperately crops needed moisture during the spring season. This period was precisely the critical time for the growth and development of various crops in the fields. Without moisture—

"Since channeling water doesn't work, we'll dig wells to irrigate the fields!" Liu Yitiao sat up straight and stated firmly to Old Liu and Li Dechen, "We will dig a deep well at the edge of every household's plot, draw water to irrigate the crops, and be done with it once and for all. Father, and Elder Li, what do you think of this?"

"Dig wells?" Old Liu and Li Dechen exchanged glances, both frowning simultaneously. They felt this method was even more troublesome and difficult to execute than channeling water.

Water wells were hard to dig, especially deep wells. Ordinarily, a single water well required ten laborers working in shifts for a full month, and even then, success was not guaranteed. Otherwise, why would the neighboring villages each have only one or two wells for drinking water? Even within the city, the water wells were fixed in number, and only some large and wealthy families would hire people specifically to dig one within their own compounds.

Furthermore, even if they painstakingly managed to dig a well at the edge of the fields, what would they use to irrigate? They surely couldn't draw the water up bucket by bucket like they did for everyday drinking water, could they?

"Yitiao, this method of yours is highly impractical," Old Liu finally said quite bluntly. "If we were to implement it, I'm afraid it would only waste effort and money without serving any practical purpose."

"Yes, Master. Sinking wells for irrigation is not only difficult to carry out, but its utility is also extremely limited. It is simply unsuited for irrigating farmland," Li Dechen also advised, persuading him otherwise. "We had better think of other ways."

Other ways? Liu Yitiao glanced at Old Liu and Li Dechen, finally understanding what was on their minds. It also reminded him of the habitual mindset of ancient farmers: What to do when there is a drought? Either divert water from a river for irrigation, or wait for the heavens to send rain and leave their fate entirely to the elements. Aside from these, there was no other way.

However, whenever a severe drought struck, how could there possibly be any water left in the rivers? This was precisely why, in ancient times, droughts most easily caused devastating disasters like total crop failure.

"Father, Elder Li, during a severe drought, aside from using well water, do you have any other methods? I know what you are worried about, isn't it just that deep wells are hard to dig and we lack suitable irrigation tools?" Liu Yitiao looked at the two of them and said firmly, "I can resolve all of these problems smoothly. You just need to follow my instructions."

"In a while, I will go to the blacksmith's shop at the head of the village to order some ironware, and tomorrow or the day after, I will distribute them to the tenant farmers. For every two households, I want a deep well dug at the edge of their fields." Although this might not necessarily turn out to be a massive drought, it served as a wake-up call for Liu Yitiao. In farming, how could irrigation ever be omitted? Digging a well at the edge of the fields was the only way to ensure long-term security.

Liu Yitiao stood up and instructed Li Dechen, "In a moment, I must trouble Elder Li to go back and speak with the various tenant farmers. Hmm, just tell them that for every deep well dug, the master will award five hundred cash coins; whoever finishes digging the first one will receive a reward of eight hundred cash. Since it is currently the agricultural slack season and the tenants have no major tasks on hand, let them begin tomorrow."

Five hundred cash? Eight hundred cash?! For a single well?! Li Dechen's eyes widened, a trace of eager desire flashing through his gaze—this was yet another tremendous temptation.

"Yitiao! You—" Hearing Liu Yitiao's words, Old Liu's heart tightened sharply. Wasn't his eldest son acting recklessly and wasting family wealth? To offer so much money as a reward just to dig a dilapidated well of uncertain utility?

"Father," Liu Yitiao preemptively spoke out to cut off Old Liu's words, looking at him very earnestly as he said, "I have everything under control in my mind regarding this matter, Father. You don't need to worry anymore."

"Uh," Old Liu looked into his eldest son's eyes, which were filled with absolute confidence, and then thought of the sacks upon sacks of coins sitting in the inner room. The words that had just reached his lips were swallowed back down. The eldest son wasn't a fool; perhaps he really did have a reliable method after all?

"Alright, Elder Li," Liu Yitiao turned his head to tell Li Dechen, "This matter is settled. Go on back and tell the villagers, and let them start tomorrow."

"Understood, Master. Then this old servant will take his leave." Li Dechen bowed deeply to Liu Yitiao and Old Liu, then hurried away from the Liu household.

"Father," after sending Li Dechen out the door, Liu Yitiao turned back and called out to Old Liu, wanting to explain the matter of digging wells for irrigation.

Unexpectedly, Old Liu waved a hand dismissively at him and said with an air of carefree detachment, "Alright, you don't need to explain too much. Father believes in you. You are grown up now, sensible, and you have your own ideas. From now on, whatever you wish to do, pursue it wholeheartedly. Your father, your mother, your second brother, Xiaohui—everyone in this family will support you."

"Huh?" Liu Yitiao, who had just picked up his chair, froze on the spot, clearly not expecting Old Liu to utter such a speech.