Era: Starting from cave dwellings in northern Shaanxi

Chapter 26: Out of Water [Please read it! 】

"Master Geng, I think this well will be able to draw water if it is at most five or six meters long."

The person who spoke was Sun Qingbo. He was two years older than Sun Xiangyang. He was at the age when he was full of energy and thought about marrying his mother-in-law all day long.

It's just that his family conditions are relatively poor, he has a heavy burden, and he looks average, with a bumpy face and a height of [-] meters.

To sum it up, there is only one word: difficult!

But Sun Qingbo also has advantages. He is more lively, can get along with anyone, and is quick at work.

He is the kind of person who has something in his eyes and something in his hands.

Otherwise, with his size, he really wouldn't be qualified to join the well-drilling team.

Ever since he came here, Sun Qingbo had made up his mind to move closer to Sun Xiangyang.

After all, he was not blind, and the old party secretary held Sun Xiangyang in high regard, so he could see clearly.

More importantly, Sun Xiangyang has real abilities.

So as long as Sun Xiangyang is here, he will hang around if he has something to do.

Previously, everyone had discussed how deep it should be to draw water. Compared with others who guessed the number of [-] meters or [-] meters, he was sure that this well would definitely not be deeper than the original well in the village.

Now, the well has been drilled seven or eight meters deep. According to Geng Guohai, if it is drilled another ten meters, it will take almost twenty meters to produce water.

But after getting out of the water, you will definitely have to continue diving for a few meters.

Calculating this, in Geng Guohai's expectation, the well would eventually be about [-] meters long.

Pretty much what most people would guess.

The well that Shuangshuiwan had drained before was only a dozen meters long.

On the Loess Plateau, water can be found at this depth, which is absolutely rare, almost like hitting the jackpot.

It is precisely because of this example that Sun Qingbo is so sure.

"Five or six meters? Qingbo, do you want to make a bet?"

After hearing his solemn words, the people waiting in line to bulldoze the soil came over.

"Just fight, what if you lose?"

If Sun Xiangyang hadn't been around, Sun Qingbo wouldn't have taken up the fight at all, but at this moment, how could he be cowardly?
  "The loser will give a hundred work points and treat everyone on the well-drilling team to a good meal."

The person next to him said.

One hundred work points sounds like a lot, but in fact, as a member of the well-drilling team, a full work day is ten work points. One hundred work points, that is, ten days, exactly ten daily values.

If converted into money, based on the daily value of [-] cents, it is almost [-] yuan.

The people present were all young and strong laborers with full wages. They gritted their teeth and could still come up with five yuan, but it was definitely not easy.

After all, the five yuan I have now can buy about 25 kilograms of white noodles, and even more if I buy stick noodles or sweet potato noodles.

"No problem, but you also have to tell me the number. You can't just tell me, right?"

One hundred work points is just above the limit that Sun Qingbo can bear. With so many people watching around him, he must not be vain.

"I bet it's about fifteen meters."

The man who made the bet with Sun Qingbo thought about it and decided to listen to Geng Guohai.

After all, Geng Guohai has proven his ability during this period and is also an expert in drilling wells.

"Then it's a deal. Everyone will help prove it. When I win, our well-drilling team will improve the food."

Sun Qingbo was obviously willing to take risks.

Immediate response all around.

After all, as long as one of them wins, they can have a delicious meal in vain.

After this episode, the atmosphere of the well-drilling team was completely aroused. Everyone was holding back their energy and wanted to see how many meters they could draw water.

The old branch secretary also came and walked around. After hearing that Sun Qingbo made a bet, he just smiled and said nothing.

But early the next morning, he asked someone to set up a big pot in the yard and brought a chicken over from home. He chopped it early and put it in the pot to cook.

Throughout the morning, the aroma of meat emanating from the pot made people crane their necks to look around from time to time.

Likewise, everyone is more motivated, and the progress of well drilling has accelerated visibly.

That's it, three days later.

The anxiety on Sun Qingbo's face could no longer be concealed, because in the past three days, he had beaten down almost five meters. The original bet he made was only five or six meters. If he couldn't get water out even if he drilled down another two meters, he would definitely lose.

Thinking of having to export a hundred work points all at once, he wished he could slap himself in the face.

In fact, after the bet was made that day, he already regretted it, but he was riding a tiger and couldn't get off at that time, and there was no room for him to back down.

Even at night, when his father heard that he had lost a hundred work points in a bet, he picked up a stick and taught him a lesson. But her mother was so angry that she didn't speak to him for two days.

His younger brothers and sisters didn't give him a good look either.

After all, this family, even during the Chinese New Year, does not have the luxury to buy 25 kilograms of white noodles at once.

So one can imagine his situation at home.

Now, he just hopes to get out the water quickly so that he doesn't have to lose.

But the reality is that his heart is sinking little by little.

At this time, a second ladder has appeared underground. The diameter of three meters has been reduced to two meters again, and it has been dug down to a depth of more than one person. After calculation, the well is now almost twelve meters long.

The soil below is also harder.

If you continue to use a foreign pickaxe, it can only accommodate one person, and the efficiency will undoubtedly be greatly reduced.

Therefore, after reaching a diameter of two meters, the tool has been replaced by a special steel drill specially used for digging wells.

The bottom of the steel drill is forged into a flat surface of about five or six centimeters. Hold it in your hand and pound it down hard, and then dig out the soil.

Although it is slower than the pickaxe.

But the advantage is that it takes up less space. Originally, with a diameter of two meters, only one person could work with a pickaxe, but now, there are five people holding the drill, which is definitely much faster than one person.

"clang!"

Suddenly, Zhao Fugui pushed the steel drill down, but it failed to penetrate deeply into the soil. Instead, it made a crisp sound, and the steel drill was bounced away, causing his hands to go numb.

"What? Did you hit a rock?"

The people nearby heard the movement and couldn't help but ask.

Although there is a thick layer of soil underneath the Loess Plateau, it does not mean that there are no stones. During the process of digging the well, several stones were dug out. The largest one required two people to lift.

Hitting a rock often means trouble.

"Probably, but the stone is a bit hard."

Zhao Fugui was shirtless, his body covered with mud, and the sweat on his face flowed down, forming traces.

Since his younger brother was imprisoned, he has worked harder, even to the point of despair.

Everyone saw his performance, but no one dared to say anything, and no one dared to guarantee anything until the old party secretary spoke.

"Hard? No matter how hard it is, can it be as tough as the guy in our hands? Everyone, help us to pry this rock out first."

The person next to me was also shirtless.

Although it has entered October and the temperature outside continues to drop, doing strenuous work more than ten meters underground will only make you sweat profusely.

"okay!"

After saying hello, several people began to use steel drills to test the range of the stone.

In the end, it was concluded that the stone was not very big, only forty centimeters in diameter, but as Zhao Fugui said, the stone was unusually hard.

Then, several people started digging around the stone.

What was unexpected was that after digging a full fifty centimeters, the stone began to show some signs of movement.

After cleaning up the surrounding soil, an irregular stone like a pillar stood straight in the middle of the well.

Then two more people were called down from above, and everyone worked together to shake the stone, and finally pulled it out.

After the stone was pulled out, a thirty to forty centimeter pit was left on the spot.

But at this moment, Zhao Fugui's sharp eyes saw that the bottom of the pit seemed to be a little shiny. He thought he had seen it wrong, so he knelt on the ground and dug out with his hands.

And his actions also attracted the attention of others.

When Zhao Fugui took out his hand, everyone's eyes were immediately attracted.

Staring at Zhao Fugui's hand.

I saw that his hands were wet, stained with some... muddy water!
  　The water is out, the water is out...

　　
  　
  (End of this chapter)