I Got Rich in Period Fiction-Chapter 380: Should we dig a well ourselves?

"Pingyu no longer needed to worry.

Qiao Shengbao had woven a shoulder bag for Qiao Qingyu, using fine barley straw and edges of corn leaves.

He had sewn in a layer of labor cloth inside.

And there were two layers, with a divider made of crushed corn leaves sandwiched between them.

At the top was a white zipper, brought in from Nangang City.

On the front, he had woven two additional leaves out of corn leaves, making a chic and petite design.

"Beautiful, truly beautiful!" Qiao Qingyu praised sincerely.

Somehow, he had handled it so well that from a distance, it almost looked like a beige leather bag.

"Qingyu, if you’re happy with it, that really pleases me so much."

"No girl would dislike a pretty handbag, just don’t make too many or they’ll lose their value."

"I know, if every girl had one, it wouldn’t be interesting anymore. This is a unique one I’ve made just for you, and I won’t be making another like this for a few years."

Qiao Shengbao was well-educated and quick-witted, so naturally, he learned things quickly and was open to new ideas. Not to mention, during his train ride, He Xiuyu had shared quite a bit of economic theory with him and even gifted him a few books that turned out to be very useful upon his departure.

"That’s not necessary, Brother Shengbao. You could make a few and send them south with your goods, just change the design a bit. Set the price higher."

But Qiao Shengbao shook his head, "The designs I have now are sufficient." Then he took down a small leather bag from the wall, dainty and cute, shaped like a panda’s head with two little ears on top—this was for Rongrong.

It was equally small and exquisite.

Qiao Shengbao was a thoughtful man.

"Brother Shengbao, then let me thank you on behalf of Rongrong."

"What’s there to thank for? That child calls me uncle, and she even helped me out. These are things I should do."

"Then I won’t stand on ceremony with you."

Qiao Qingyu was smiling gleefully; being a girl, she naturally couldn’t resist the charm of these little things, looking at them joyfully.

Today the weather was good, and the aunt with a heavy heart was in a better mood as she aired out the quilts.

Yesterday, the second brother and his wife finally conceded, and she felt a lot more relaxed.

Moreover, last night her husband talked about the prospects of Qiao Family Team, and it felt like a dream to her.

If that were truly the case, it would be wonderful.

To live in a small building within her lifetime—she would die content.

So now it was important to save money urgently, because the construction of houses wouldn’t be free; each family would need to make contributions.

The village would only cover part of it.

Even if her own family couldn’t get an extra house, having one with both an upstairs and downstairs would be spacious enough to bring in a daughter-in-law.

It was just uncertain when this would happen.

Her husband said it could be within the next two years. If it were before, she wouldn’t have believed it.

But now, she truly did.

Before her niece came to the village, it had seen some hustle due to the seed base, but it wasn’t as buzzing as it was now.

So, her niece was truly a restless spirit.

Impressive, truly impressive!

Wang Guihua always looked at Qiao Qingyu with a gentle smile, then she raised her voice and called out, "Qingyu, come to eat at your aunt’s place at noon. Whatever you want to eat, I’ll make it for you."

"No thanks, Auntie, my sister-in-law said she’d make me scallion pancakes and pickled cabbage soup for lunch."

"Your sister-in-law makes a delicious pickled cabbage soup," someone said.

"Yeah, it’s already this season. After this, we won’t be able to eat pickled cabbage until this autumn," another voice followed.

Just as Wang Guihua was about to speak, the half-closed door was pushed open. Qiao Zhihai wiped the sweat off his forehead and noticed Qiao Qingyu with a beautiful crossbody bag, then called out urgently, "Qingyu, did you go to see your Uncle Li at your house?"

Qiao Qingyu answered with a smirk, "Uncle, you’re well-informed. Uncle Li is indeed at my place; how did you know?"

"Don’t ask how your uncle knew. Qingyu, can I come over to see him?" he asked cautiously, devoid of any cheekiness.

"Sure, Uncle Li is currently writing up a report on your contractual labor team’s situation. You could go and give him some additional information," she replied helpfully.

"Right," Qiao Zhihai agreed with a hurried nod and scampered off toward Qiao Genbao’s house.

Qiao Qingyu turned back to look at her aunt, whose facial expression hadn’t changed much. However, the grandparents sitting by the window soaking up the sun clearly looked very contented.

...

At the same time, in the hundred-acre green belt claim area of Xichuan Agricultural College.

Today was Sunday, and Li Bo had organized a group of classmates to water the trees they had planted.

In fact, nature was also testing them, challenging Xichuan with increasingly dry weather since the trees were planted—they hadn’t experienced a single drop of rain. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com

If this continued, the barley grass wouldn’t sprout, and the planted willows wouldn’t survive, rendering all their hard work futile.

A kilometer away, there was a small river channel.

This small channel was a tributary of West River, and now, its water level was low too.

Li Bo, with a shoulder pole bearing two water buckets, led the way. The pole had chafed her shoulders raw, but she clenched her teeth and persevered.

Before leaving, she had promised Qingyu that she would take responsibility for the Agricultural Department’s green belt.

Under her leadership, more and more of her classmates came to water the plants.

Unexpectedly, however, this incited strong dissatisfaction among the nearby villagers.

They relied on this water for farming. What was more important to them, their crops or some grass? Naturally, to these farmers, the immediate food was critical—without food, they’d go hungry, while the lack of grass would just mean more dust and sand.

Li Bo and the others didn’t engage in conflict with these people. The more than one hundred students, who were not allowed to fetch water from the small river, trudged back to the green belt, despondently carrying their empty buckets.

A student from the Geological Exploration Department muttered, "Looking at this region, there should be groundwater. Should we consider digging a well?"

Suddenly, even the howling wind seemed to veer, and a hush fell over the place. Eager eyes then turned to the dozen or so students from the Geological Exploration Department.

Action was taken swiftly, because university wasn’t meant to be a wasted experience.

But digging a well was not as simple as just talking about it, although now they had a goal.

...

Meanwhile, Qiao Qingyu carefully reviewed from beginning to end the information Li Tie and Uncle Li had prepared about the contractual labor team.

She trusted that the information was accurate.

Although Li Tie was somewhat mercenary, he was conscientious at work. His team, including her Uncle, had good masonry skills.

There were also several skilled veteran carpenters.

Even within their labor team was someone who had a knack for Feng Shui.

Qiao Qingyu was quite satisfied.

However, the team was unlicensed, lacking official certification.

Qiao Qingyu said, "Uncle Li, Uncle, in a little while they will start building roads in our village. If you two are interested, would you like to learn from and observe the professional teams, to gain some experience?"

The two men exchanged glances, and their eyes suddenly lit up!