The optimism and unity of these people deeply touched Su Xiaotian.
In this world, the most fearsome thing is unity.
"Many hands make light work," as the saying goes.
It was just a small dike collapse. With so many people working together, pooling their efforts, Su Xiaotian firmly believed it would be repaired quickly.
However, reality proved to be more challenging than imagination.
Although their method was good, the terrain here was special, and their first attempt at the critical juncture failed. Su Dan Xiaoshuo Wang
Watching the reduced water flow surge again, everyone felt a sense of disappointment.
But no matter how disappointed they were, they had to continue.
Several craftsmen in charge of directing the repairs conferred and then rallied the crowd again.
Learning from their mistakes, everyone began the second repair attempt.
At this point, people from further away learned of the situation and rushed to help.
Seeing more and more people, more and more lights, even though the heavy rain continued to pour, Su Xiaotian felt a warmth in her heart.
In this world, while there are people like Xiao Shu's uncle and aunt who are not human, most people are good.
How many of these people, willing to brave the danger on such a stormy night to help those downstream who are unrelated to them?
As more people arrived, the speed of dike repair gradually increased.
Eventually, everyone began to shout a rhythm together.
The sound of their chants grew louder, and the breach in the dike gradually closed, leaving only about a meter remaining.
But last time, they had failed at this very point.
Everyone accelerated their efforts and carefully worked on the final stretch.
The saying "many hands make light work" was fully demonstrated here.
With so many people, no matter how turbulent the water flow, each person could contribute a stone to build up the dike.
Soon, under the obstruction of bamboo, large and small stones successfully filled the breached section of the dike.
But stones were just stones, and water still persistently flowed downstream through the gaps between them.
Although the water flow had slowed, everyone worried that if the rain intensified, these stones might be washed away again, which would truly be a disaster.
"Good people, this is the critical moment. Let's all put in a final effort to reinforce this dike completely."
Someone, with a loud and clear voice, shouted this out.
Despite the storm, this single sentence reached everyone's ears clearly.
Those who were tired and thinking of resting were re-energized by these words.
If they had concrete, repairing the dike would be much easier, but without it, they had to rely on the most primitive methods to make the dike as watertight as possible.
Some people had already entered the river, which was very dangerous in the low visibility of the night.
To prevent casualties, they followed the previous method of tying ropes to those entering the water, but this time, instead of being held by others, the ropes were directly tied to the large willow trees on the riverbank.
In the dim light, Su Xiaotian carefully observed the terrain.
She felt that even if this dike was repaired now, it would eventually be washed away again. To fundamentally change the situation, the angle would need to be altered.
However, she was not an expert in this area and would need to suggest to the leaders that they find professionals to plan it.
As someone from the future, Su Xiaotian knew that the current unity of hearts, where one family's trouble was helped by a hundred families, would not last. In a few more years, people's hearts would not be so united. If such danger struck again, it was unlikely that so many people would willingly volunteer their labor. Wouldn't they rather use that time to earn money for their own families?
Seeing his sister standing by the dike, looking left and right, Su San Gong was curious.
"Xiaotian, what are you looking at!"
"Third Brother, I think this dike is still dangerous. The angle here is too steep, and the river's direct impact means there will be problems sooner or later."
If Su Xiaotian had said this to others who were repairing the dike, she would likely have been scolded. Such words at this time were considered inauspicious.
But speaking to her own brother, Su Xiaotian had no reservations.
Su San Gong was skilled in farming but had little knowledge of hydraulic engineering.
Just then, someone suddenly said, "After repairing the dike like this, the angle becomes even steeper, and it likely won't last long. Since we're repairing it, why not put in a bit more effort tonight to adjust the angle here to be gentler? That way, it might last longer."
Su Xiaotian and her brother exchanged glances.
Indeed, true talent could be found among the common people.
When Town Chief Liang and Secretary Du heard this person speak, they naturally agreed. This was because the speaker was known as a capable person in the surrounding ten villages. Although this person was uneducated, he was truly skilled in hydraulic engineering. His suggestion at this moment was certainly not baseless.
"We trouble you, Master Fan. Please advise us on how best to repair it."
Secretary Du's words were polite, but only out of courtesy. Although they were local leaders, their authority was limited, and they could not make further promises to others. For example, for the volunteers tonight, if it were a few years ago, they could have been credited with work points, but now, they dared not say anything extra. They could not authorize any payment. Fortunately, the people's hearts were pure, and with their close family ties, helping the upstream when the downstream was in trouble elicited few complaints.
The man known as Master Fan, hearing the town secretary support him, loudly called out to some people to begin reshaping the dike's angle according to his assessment.
The same saying held true: many hands make light work.
With so many people working from dusk until dawn, the entire dike was finally repaired.
As per Master Fan's instructions, the dike's angle had changed significantly, making it look reassuring.
The people working in the water had been replaced several times. Now, seeing the dike perfectly sealed, with no seepage at all, everyone finally felt at ease.
As dawn broke, the rain finally stopped. The rainfall from this night had clearly exceeded normal levels.
Town Chief Liang and Secretary Du were worried about whether more areas had been affected. As local officials, they had many concerns and could not rest. After briefly arranging matters here, they had to go to work. It was only then that they remembered Shen Zizhen and his two students. They were deeply moved by these three. While people from upstream might have come to help partly because they knew and were familiar with those downstream, Shen Zizhen and his companions were purely volunteering.
"Teacher Shen, you've worked hard. Please come to my home to rest and have breakfast," Secretary Du sincerely invited.
Last night, the intention was to resolve Xiao Shu's problem, but no conclusion was reached regarding Xiao Shu's issue, and they ended up spending the entire night in the heavy rain. Shen Zizhen nodded. Although he had contributed little during the night, he had not been idle. Now, he felt completely drained and truly needed rest. Furthermore, they had to travel to the city today to catch the evening train back to the capital. Resting was essential.
"In that case, we will trouble Secretary Du!" Shen Zizhen accepted without hesitation.
As the group was about to follow Secretary Du home, they saw a group of people approaching them.