Good news

  "Magistrate, what great joy! What great joy!"

  Yamen runner Li Xing rushed into the county yamen, panting and out of breath, and loudly reported to County Magistrate Han Wen, who sat on the public platform with a worried expression.

  Li Xing was Zheng Chun's subordinate. After Su Huan pointed out several wells and guaranteed that they would all yield water, Zheng Chun was overjoyed and immediately sent Li Xing to rush back to the county town to report the news. From Zhéguì Township to the county town, it was more than ten miles away. Under Zheng Chun's strict orders, Li Xing ran all the way back, exhausting himself until he spat out white foam.

  "Li Xing? What's going on? Has Zheng Chun finally dug out the well?" Han Wen raised his eyes and asked slowly, looking at Li Xing who was kneeling below.

  "We've struck water! 400 buckets in just one time period, what a great well!" Li Xing shouted hoarsely.

  "How many wells has Zheng Chun struck now?" Han Wen continued to ask.

  "This is... " Li Xing was taken aback, "The 16th well."

  "After digging 16 wells, he finally struck water in one of them, and Zheng Chun still has the nerve to come back and report his success!" Han Wen said angrily.

  "Magistrate, please forgive me." Li Xing kowtowed repeatedly. "Zheng Dianli said that previously, the well didn't yield water because the local villagers had offended the Dragon King. Yesterday, he led all the able-bodied men from Longkou Village to worship the Dragon King, and then the first well yielded water."

  "Absurd!" Han Wen scolded, the talk of ghosts and gods was just a way to deceive the common people, but he, who had studied the classics, would never believe in such things. In his opinion, it was just a coincidence.

  "It's true, when Zheng Dianli sent me back, he was leading people to dig the second well. He said that this second well would also produce water. Next, he has three more wells, and he dares to guarantee that all three are good wells." Li Xing repeated what Zheng Chuntai had told him, assuring Han Wen.

  Han Wen showed some interest: "Is what Zheng Chun said true?"

  "Zheng Dian said that if the three wells below did not produce water, he would willingly accept punishment." Li Xing said.

  "All right, I'll wait. Go back and tell him that if he can really dig three good wells in one breath, the county will heavily reward him." Han Wen said, and then casually took out a piece of silver and threw it in front of Li Xing, saying: "You've worked hard to report the news, this is a reward for you, go down and rest now."

  "Thank you, sir!" Li Xing picked up the piece of silver and weighed it in his hand, roughly about 7 or 8 cents, and couldn't help but feel overjoyed. He had run all the way back, and being able to get a reward was not bad at all.

  Li Xing stepped down, and Han Wen turned his head to ask Master Fang Mengbin, who was sitting beside him: "Master, do you believe what Zheng Chun said?"

  "Fang Meng furrowed his brow and said, 'This Zheng Chun has average ability in handling matters, and occasionally he even harasses the villagers. I've never been too confident in him when it comes to getting things done. This time, he drilled 15 useless wells in a row in Zhugui Township, and I was just about to propose that he be removed from his position. Now that he's managed to drill one good well, it's already not easy, but as for boasting and claiming that the next few wells will all be good ones, this is simply too ridiculous.'"

  Han Wen nodded and said, "I also think this matter is suspicious. Every time we drill a well in each village, we almost always have to drill three useless wells before hitting one good well. No one dares to say that every well they drill will be a good one. This Zheng Chun has already drilled one good well, so even if he drills three more useless wells for every good well from now on, it would still be enough to pass the test. But instead of saying that, he claims that none of the following wells will be useless, isn't this setting himself up for trouble?"

  "There must be a reason for this anomaly," said Fang Mengjin. "Could it be that he brought the villagers to worship the Dragon King and really moved the gods?"

  Han Wenzhong said, "How can we lightly believe in the affairs of ghosts and gods? I think Zheng Chun is afraid that I will blame him, so he easily made a promise, and also has some idea of testing his own luck?"

  "Let's see then," Fang Mengji replied.

  Han Wen and Fang Mengzhu did not have to wait for too long, the next day at noon had just passed, Han Wen was still resting in the inner house when a yamen runner came in to report that Li Xing had come again, asking to see him in the main hall.

  "Magistrate, what great joy!"

  As he saw the Korean walk into the hall, Li Xing still had that one sentence on his mind, and compared to yesterday, the smile on his face was even brighter, it was a kind of excitement from deep in his heart.

  Yesterday, a good well was drilled, and everyone still had some apprehensive feelings. Today, when this well came out with water, everyone felt solid and knew that the scholar named Su Hua indeed had the ability to communicate with heaven and earth. Even Li Xing, a small official, was very excited about this, because the better the drilling team's performance, the more rewards they would get in the future, which is directly related to personal interests.

  "How about it? Another good well has been drilled?" Han Wen asked.

  "That's right," Li Xing replied.

  Han Wenda said: "Zheng Chun won't be opening another mouth at the well yesterday, let's just say it's two mouths."

  This fake method was also encountered in the past with Korean characters. If a well is drilled in a place where water has been struck before, another well will generally be able to produce water as well. However, drilling multiple wells does not have much value because the groundwater within the same range is limited, and the result of drilling an additional well is that the two wells' water output is equivalent to the original single well.

  Li Xing shook his head: "No, no, how dare Zheng Dianli deceive the magistrate like this. The well we dug today is 3 miles away from yesterday's well, and it took one hour to yield 250 buckets of water."

  "Did Zheng Chun really get it right?" A flicker of doubt flashed in Han Wen's eyes, and he suddenly slammed his hand on the table, shouting loudly: "How dare you, Li Xing, to use flowery words to deceive this county!"

  Li Xing was startled by Han Wen's loud shout and didn't react for a long time, not knowing which sentence he said wrong, provoking the magistrate to be so angry. He repeatedly kowtowed and said: "Your Honor, every word I said is true!"

  Han Wenda said: "To be honest, how did Zheng Chun find these wells?"

  "This...” Li Xing was speechless. In Zheng Chun's opinion, he didn't want to mention Su Hao's role in the well-drilling too much, so that his own merits would stand out more. On the other hand, if Han Wen found out about Su Hao's affairs, then Zheng Chun's achievements wouldn't be apparent.

  However, Korean is not that easy to deceive. Zheng Chun previously drilled 15 dry wells in one breath, and suddenly had a burst of good luck, able to drill well after well. There must be other reasons behind this. Before drilling the well, Zheng Chun dared to claim that the well he drilled would definitely be a good one. This shows that Zheng Chun found a skilled Feng Shui master. How could Han Wen not ask for clarification?

  "Magistrate, please forgive us. We did find someone. These two wells were both chosen by him, and indeed water came out with just one strike." Li Xing was afraid and quickly told the truth.

  "Hmm, this is quite good. Where did you find the feng shui master? He's so talented, how come I've never heard of him in our county?" Han Wen's face softened a bit as he asked.

  Li Xingdao said: "Please let the county magistrate know that this person is not a geomancer, he is a scholar from Longkou Village."

  "Xiucai?" Han Wen was somewhat surprised, "How does a xiucai still know how to dig wells?"

  "Magistrate, you don't know that this young scholar is quite talented." Since the secret was already out, Li Xing no longer hid it and said to Han Wen with a smile: "This young scholar, only 17 years old, looks thin and weak, as if he would fall over in the wind. But after just one glance, he said that the well location we chose was incorrect and that water couldn't be drawn from it. Our Zheng Dianli asked him: 'Then, young scholar, can you point out a location where water can be drawn?' Guess what?"

  "What?" Hanwen was also drawn in by Li Xing's narrative and couldn't help but ask.

  Li Xingdao said: "This scholar shook his feather fan, pinched his fingers to calculate, and then pointed to the southeast direction, saying: From this direction, 700 steps will yield a well, 60 feet deep, and every hour can produce 400 buckets of water! As a result, the well-drilling workers had just drilled to 60 feet when they hit water, and it was exactly 400 buckets per hour.

  "How could this be!" Han Wen was truly shocked this time, "What's the name of this scholar? You say he's only 17 years old, that means he must have taken the Imperial Examination in the past year or two, but I don't remember him at all?"

  "This scholar's name is Su Hao, he just passed the imperial examination last year." Li Xing replied.

  "Su Hao?" Han Wen racked his brains, but he couldn't recall anyone by that name. There were many students who took the exam in the county every year, and if Su Hao was indeed a student with some ability, Han Wen should have had some impression of him.

  Fang Mengjin, who had arrived upon hearing the news, stood aside and said leisurely: "Sir, I have some impression of this Su Hao. His articles are indeed well-written in a steady and even tone, but there is no spark within, not like someone with great talent."

  "But, just like this one person, not only can he choose a suitable well location, but he can also estimate the amount of water. Mr. Fang, have you ever heard of anyone with such ability?" Han Wen asked.

  "It's unheard of." Fang Mengjin shook his head and said, "This underground matter is complex and ever-changing, who can see through it? I think this scholar may have just been boasting, trying to impress the crowd."

  "Magistrate, sir, this Su Hu is absolutely not talking nonsense!" Li Xing kneeling down argued: "Yesterday that well, he said one hour would yield 400 buckets of water, the villagers took buckets to test it and indeed in about an hour they got around 400 buckets. Today this well, he predicted beforehand that each hour would yield 200-300 buckets, and after digging, it really was 250 buckets. Even our Feng Shui master Chen Guanyu is considering taking him as his teacher."

  "Tell Zheng Chun to get rid of that Chen Shenbang, Zhougui Township clearly has water, he pointed out 15 well locations and not a single drop of water can be drawn, such a swindler, what's the point of keeping him?" Han Wen said casually.

  "Yes!" Li Xing hastily replied.

  "Is this really true?" Fang Meng looked at Han Wen, "If there is such a rare person, it would be a waste to just use him in Zhēnguì Township. Now the whole county is digging wells to resist drought, and many useless wells have been dug, not to mention wasting money and grain, but also delaying farming time, which would be a big problem. If we can get his guidance, even if only one out of every two wells is good, it would still be much better than now."

  "Li Xing, you immediately hurry back to Zhegui Township and pass on the message that scholar Su Hang is summoned to the county government." Han Wen said as he picked up his pen to prepare writing a summons. What was referred to as a "summons" was actually an ancient introduction letter, which was written on a piece of paper stating specific matters, then signed with a red pen and stamped with an official seal, thus having legal effect.

  "It's unacceptable for adults." Fang Mengjin hastily stopped Han Wen and said, "If Su Hao indeed has such talent, he is a sage, and we cannot treat him lightly."

  "It's all right." The Korean also reacted, people with skills like this should be won over. If a warrant was issued to arrest him like a criminal, it would be too damaging to the reputation.

  "Li Xing, go and pass on my message. Tell that scholar Su Hang to come to the county yamen for a chat. Be polite when you speak, don't disturb him," said Han Wen.

  "Understood, I'll go invite Su Hao right away." Li Xing replied loudly.