Chapter 111: Bamboo Tube Waterwheel

Chapter 111: Bamboo Tube Waterwheel

When Yin Hongxue was roused from sleep, his eyes were still heavy.

He instinctively raised a hand to rub them, but halfway there, he remembered Gu Chaoning had said not to rub his eyes too often.

His hand paused for a moment, then he lowered it.

Gu Muan peeked at Yin Hongxue, who stared back at him wide-eyed.

Gu Muan broke into a grin, and Yin Hongxue smiled too.

He recalled what his younger brother had just said.

"Why are there so many eggs for breakfast?"

With that, he quickly got dressed. By the time he stepped out the door, he was wide awake.

Gu Muan trailed behind him, spinning in circles, answering, "Grandma said we're having scrambled eggs, but when I went to get water, I saw boiled eggs in the pot too!"

As for why so many eggs were being made, Gu Muan wasn't quite sure either—he'd just overheard and came running.

When the two reached the kitchen, Chen Youyan was having Gu Chaoning scoop the boiled eggs out of the pot and place them into a basin of freshly drawn cold well water.

Chen Youyan was prepping scallions, while Wang Xiuxiu sat nearby chopping some pickled vegetables.

Wang Xiuxiu spoke with a smile: "Those two, honestly. I got up early when I heard the noise and came to the kitchen. I saw Dawen putting the rice on, so I told them to boil two eggs each for themselves."

Chen Youyan chuckled and chimed in: "Who would've thought they'd boil one for each of us too."

So the boiled eggs were made by Grandpa and Dad.

Yin Hongxue now got why there were so many eggs for breakfast today.

But since there were already boiled eggs, were they still making scrambled ones?

Gu Chaoning placed all the eggs into the cold well water and, seeing the two little boys at the kitchen door, quickly called them over.

"Bring your own basins over to wash up."

The big pot beside him was steaming with hot water.

The two went over and lined up while Gu Chaoning ladled hot water into their basins.

Chen Youyan reminded them: "Xue Geer, watch An Geer and make sure he brushes his teeth with the toothbrush a bit longer. Yesterday I saw him just swish and spit it out in a rush."

Yin Hongxue nodded.

Chen Youyan continued: "Gu Muan, that tooth powder from town costs a pretty penny, you know. If you just swish and spit it out like that, you're just throwing money away."

The family had originally used willow twigs, but Gu Wen, taking pity on the two boys, had bought toothbrushes and tooth powder from the general store.

At first, he'd only bought them for the two children in the house, but after seeing how well they worked, he'd simply gotten them for everyone in the family.

And honestly, the store-bought stuff really was much better than willow twigs.

But better or not, tooth powder was something that had to be bought regularly, and seeing Gu Muan waste it like that still pained him.

Gu Muan mumbled okay and trailed behind Yin Hongxue with his head hanging.

After Gu Chaoning rinsed out the pot, he refilled it with clean water and added the washed rice.

Meanwhile, Chen Youyan and Wang Xiuxiu were just about done—Chen Youyan was cracking eggs while Wang Xiuxiu rinsed the scallions and chopped them finely.

Chen Youyan had said at first that since there were boiled eggs, they could skip the scrambled eggs with scallions.

Wang Xiuxiu thought it over, realizing that her words had already been overheard by little Gu Muan—she couldn't take it back now.

If she hadn't said it in the first place, that would be one thing, but having said it and then backing out would only upset the child first thing in the morning.

Chen Youyan thought that made sense too.

So scrambled eggs it was.

After breakfast, Gu Chaoning picked up the tools his father had set out for him, along with a pile of bamboo and wood, planning to head to the river with Yin Hongxue to work on the bamboo tube waterwheel.

Gu Muan paused when he heard this.

He kind of wanted to go play by the river with his two older brothers, but he also wanted to go see Cui Ling.

Yesterday he'd promised Cui Ling that today he'd bring Gu Lvliu with him to play.

No way around it—if he wanted to eat the treats at Cui Ling's place, he had to bring someone along.

After thinking it over, he finally decided to take Gu Lvliu to Cui Ling's.

After all, they'd agreed yesterday—he couldn't break his promise today.

The three children went their separate ways.

By the small river, Gu Chaoning found a good spot and set down his load.

Yin Hongxue brought a small box containing his paper, writing brush, and the draft for the bamboo tube waterwheel.

Gu Chaoning was about to put the first prototype of the bamboo tube waterwheel into the small river.

They needed to get it moving first to see where the problems were.

The stream babbled, and the moment the first prototype of the bamboo tube waterwheel was put in, it slipped and nearly got swept away.

The two exchanged a glance.

Well now—there was the problem, clear as day.

"After the rain makes the current stronger, we definitely need to consider the stability of the bamboo tube waterwheel."

The two pondered.

"The wooden support underneath needs to be bigger and heavier."

Yin Hongxue watched as Gu Chaoning held the center of the bamboo tube waterwheel with one hand to keep it from being carried off by the current, while picking up a rock with the other to wedge it into the bank.

"That way the labor and cost will definitely go up. Instead, why not run another long piece of wood from this central pivot point and bury it in the ground."

"As for the bottom, the four feet can also stick out sideways, held down with rocks."

That would save wood and cut costs, and should be even more stable than simply making the base bigger and thicker.

But talking and thinking alone wouldn't do—the two quickly got to work, getting ready to build a new bamboo tube waterwheel based on their new approach.

With the tools Gu Chaoning and Gu Wen had made, the two of them quickly built a new bamboo tube waterwheel.

When they placed it in the water again, with heavy stones weighing down the base feet, it was indeed stable.

Yin Hongxue pumped his fist in excitement.

Gu Chaoning tilted his head slightly and smiled as well.

The two of them worked nonstop for six days, spending every spare moment tinkering with sticks and bamboo tubes.

The first few days were fine, but later on, the adults at home started to wonder if the two were planning to become carpenters.

Gu Wen was pretty proud of himself about this.

"What does that tell you? It tells you the kids in this family all love their old man—they mess with wood because they love me."

Chen Youyan shot him a look and couldn't help but give Gu Wen's thigh a light punch.

"You've got a lot of nerve. One kid won't pick up a book, the other won't pick up a brush, and they spend all day hugging wood. What's that about?"

Wang Xiuxiu, standing nearby, also sighed, clearly thinking the same thing as Chen Youyan.

Gu Wen rubbed the spot where he'd been hit, figuring his husband had a point.

"I remember the kids saying they wanted to make some kind of watering tool. I wonder if they've gotten it done these past few days.

They've been so secretive—every time I ask if they need help, they just say to wait and I'll see later."

He thought for a moment.

"How about I sit down and talk to the two of them tonight?"

Chen Youyan already knew what Gu Wen was talking about and nodded. "I'll go with you."

But that evening, before the two of them could go find the kids, Gu Chaoning and Yin Hongxue came walking over carrying something that looked like a wooden wheel.

"Dad! Papa!" Yin Hongxue's eyes were bright with obvious excitement.

Gu Chaoning followed behind him, calling out to the two of them too.

Gu Muan, the little tagalong, had already gotten a look at the bamboo tube waterwheel behind his two older brothers.

Now he was trailing behind them, calling out "Dad" and "Papa" as well.

Yin Hongxue then went to find Gu Daniu and Wang Xiuxiu, saying that he and Chaoning Ge had made a bamboo tube waterwheel for watering and wanted to take all four adults to the river to see it.

Wang Xiuxiu had gone out to chat with her girlfriends, while Gu Daniu was at the river scrubbing down the mule.

Those two were on the way, so the family of five first went to find Wang Xiuxiu, then headed to the river together.

At this hour, a lot of people were out chatting and strolling. Seeing this family carrying something wheel-shaped and walking in a line toward the river, they couldn't help but be curious.

"Yan Geer, where's your whole family headed?"

"Xiuxiu, sister-in-law, Yan Geer, can we come by tomorrow to cut grass with you?"

"What's going on? Dawen, are you taking the kids to play in the water? It's fine around noon this time of year, but it's too cold at night."

The thing the two kids had made was supposed to be for watering, but it looked pretty confusing.

Not knowing what to make of it, the four adults casually brushed off the curious villagers with vague answers.

Even so, some people still tagged along to see what was up.

That's just how villagers are—after dinner, when it's dark but still too early to sleep and there's nothing to do, they like to get together and chat.

Seeing Wang Xiuxiu and Gu Daniu's group, and having nothing better to do, they figured hanging out by the water and chatting would be a nice way to pass the time.

Chatting as they went, the group made it to the river.

Seeing this big crowd coming over, Gu Daniu, who was brushing the mule, looked at Gu Wen at the front, confused.

Carrying that wheel the two kids had been messing with, bringing the whole family and the villagers along... What's all this about?

Gu Wen rubbed his nose and blinked at his dad.

He hadn't expected so many villagers to tag along.

He glanced nervously at the two kids beside him—luckily, they'd given vague answers, and everyone assumed they were just taking the kids to play in the water.

Otherwise, if the watering tool failed or something went wrong, he'd be worried about hurting the kids' feelings.

Yin Hongxue was surprised too—he hadn't expected so many people to come along either.

But then again...

There was nothing to be afraid of, because he and Chaoning Ge had perfected the bamboo tube waterwheel, and the watering worked perfectly.

He turned to Gu Chaoning.

Gu Chaoning smiled at Yin Hongxue. "Go ahead, Xue Geer."

Yin Hongxue nodded, took the thing from Gu Wen's arms, and headed to the river.

Behind him, someone rolled up his pant legs, ready to wade in, while others teased him for saying the water was cold just a moment ago.

Loud, hearty laughter rang out, mixing with the pounding of Yin Hongxue's heart.

Yin Hongxue crouched down and set the bamboo tube waterwheel down.

This spot in the river was where Gu Daniu washed the mule—the water was shallow and calm.

Yin Hongxue pressed the four support legs down with stones. The moment he let go, the water rushed past, spinning the newly placed bamboo tube waterwheel.

The bamboo tubes went from low to high, and at the top, water splashed down with a "whoosh."

Yin Hongxue then set up another contraption that looked like a triangular frame next to it.

One end was attached to the center of the bamboo tube waterwheel, and the other end was stuck into the ground.

At the end and at the center, both held a large bamboo tube lying flat.

The bamboo tube was split lengthwise, open on one side and closed on the other, with the open end a bit lower.

Water lifted by the waterwheel flowed out and fell into the horizontal bamboo tube, then ran down along it onto the ground.

Splash, splash...

The crowd that had been noisy just moments ago went quiet, all eyes fixed on the slowly turning, flowing bamboo tube waterwheel.