Chapter 301: Water Returns to the Village
The water canal running along the rocky strip of land on the East bank of the stream, after nearly two grueling months of digging and building, was finally completed.
The final segment was the most difficult segment. In that place, the canal bed had to cut across a patch of gravelly soil, the water just flowing in and the bank immediately eroding.
Therefore, chief craftsman Borin forced people to line large rocks stacked tilted on both sides of the canal slope, stacked tightly to the point even inserting a finger could not fit through.
Right at the source head, he ordered digging an extra settling basin about two house bays wide, used to hold back mud and sand before the water flowed down to the village. The water intake gate was closed with a thick solid ironwood sluice gate, additionally installed with an iron crank handle, wanting to open wide or close small were both possible.
The Millbrook village children throughout these past few weeks had turned the half-dug construction site into their playground. Some ran along the dry canal bed shouting, some sat cross-legged on the unstacked large rocks, relentlessly asking the workers without getting tired.
Old Borin being asked relentlessly ended up getting used to it, ultimately he had to assign exactly one chore for each kid, some picking up gravel, some carrying water, some going counting boundary stakes. Whichever kid counted wrongly would be knocked a really painful one on the forehead by him.
Arriving at the water opening day, the whole village completely no one could sleep since the roosters had not crowed.
The sky just brightening, people had already stood tightly crowding both canal banks. Not only Millbrook village people, but citizens of several neighboring villages hearing the news also flocked dragging each other walking arriving since the night before.
They stood crowding on the high earth slope to grab a spot to see clearly. Some people even led both buffaloes and cows along, probably thinking in their bellies if the water truly returned then conveniently letting them drink too.
Kaelen and Sane arrived early but did not stand up on the high spot. The two stood mixed in the villager crowd, right behind old woman Agnes’s back, silently watching the workers remove the remaining final propping bars at the sluice gate.
Dale stood on the settling basin bank, his two hands cupped making a trumpet, shouting loudly asking old Borin seeing if below had finished everything yet. The Dwarf old man waded ploddingly down the canal bed rechecking the final round, peering around completely bored then finally climbed up, dusting off his hands, clearing his throat answering:
"Below has been completely checked thoroughly. Everyone can open the water now."
Dale turned looking at Kaelen as if wanting to ask for instructions. Kaelen only nodded lightly, then he raised his voice gently but loudly enough for the whole land plot to hear together:
"This canal is the effort of Millbrook village. Then the person opening the water today must also be a person of Millbrook village. Mrs. Agnes, please trouble you coming up here helping us a hand."
Old woman Agnes was sitting flatly on a rock, hearing her name called she froze for a few seconds. She bewilderedly turned looking at the person beside her, as if wanting to reconfirm seeing if the Lord had mistakenly called someone. Only when the surrounding crowd simultaneously turned their heads looking at her, did she finally tremblingly lean on her cane standing up.
Toby quickly ran over supporting the old woman’s elbow, caringly leading her walking along the canal bank all the way to the sluice gate spot. The whole land plot was dead silent looking following the two figures, one old one young, ploddingly leading each other walking on the newly built dirt road.
Arriving at the place, the workers had automatically stood scattering entirely to both sides to make room. The iron crank handle of the sluice gate was wiped shining cleanly, even pre-lubricated with grease for smoothness. Old Borin carefully held the old woman’s hand placing it onto the crank handle, caringly instructing:
"You just turn slowly okay. Only needing to turn three laps and the water automatically flows out, you do not need to use much strength."
Standing mixed in the crowd below, Kaelen silently closed his hand.
If he wanted, only needing a fleeting thought in his head and the water would automatically fill the canal bed. And actually there was no need for this canal for what to be tiring, he could completely call an underground water spring to emerge right in the middle of the Millbrook village courtyard. That matter for him now was even easier than breathing.
However that water spring would be his. While this canal was exactly belonging to that old woman tremblingly holding onto the crank handle over there, belonging to kid Toby, belonging to two hundred people having sweat boiling water and tears throughout two grueling months.
Therefore he just stood still there, patiently waiting for the old woman to turn fully three laps.
Agnes grasped the crank handle. Her wrinkled two hands trembled violently, trembling to the point Toby had to hurriedly lean forward supporting one more side.
She tremblingly turned the first lap. The wooden sluice gate inched up a small gap the size of a finger, the water from the settling basin immediately squeezed through the gap, sticking its tongue out licking down the dry cracked canal bed.
She turned the second lap. The gap widened as large as a whole hand, the muddy water rushed down, sweeping along several dry grass blades then hurriedly ran away.
She turned the third lap.
The water poured down roaringly into the canal bed forming a large stream, rushing pushing dirt and dust flying up blindingly over a whole segment. The entire dead silent land plot suddenly burst out into a resonant cheering volley. Some people clapped their hands, some people jumped up, the children screamed as if someone had stepped on their feet.
The water stream began flowing down along the canal bed toward the village. The children excitedly raced with the water stream along both banks. Whichever kid ran a segment and was exhausted falling behind, immediately another kid from below ran up taking the place, continuously following each other running throughout nearly five miles of road.
The adults walked following behind, both walking and turning back looking at the water stream as if afraid it would change its mind turning its head back. Walking a distance, someone would squat down on the bank, reaching their hand down scooping water up washing their face, then gleefully standing up continuing walking.
The water flowed arriving at the head of Millbrook village around mid-morning.
In that place the canal bed connected into a dry pond that the villagers had unitedly dredged ready since a few days prior. The water overflowed into the pond, muddy then gradually clearing, rising bit by bit, submerging several dry hardened buffalo footprints, submerging even several sun-scorched grass roots. The women and girls in the village carried buckets out queuing forming a long line on the pond bank, but no one hurriedly scooped first, everyone silently stood watching that rising water surface.
Then a woman standing in the front row suddenly squatted down, covering her face bursting into sobbing tears. Finishing crying she also did not explain anything, only silently wiped her tears then bent down scooping full her bucket, carrying it away on a yoke.
Village chief Thatcher leaned on his cane standing at the pond edge, his whole body trembling shakingly. The old man was already nearly eighty years old, his whole life had never seen water automatically flowing returning to his village without having to go begging anyone. He also had never dared to think about that magical matter would happen before he closed his eyes resting his hands.
The abandoned watermill at the end of the village at this moment again became the most crowded gathering spot. The young men swarmed in peering around the wooden wheel having broken losing half, buzzing discussing seeing if it could be repaired. Old Borin waded down checking once then judged that the axle was still good enough, only needing to rebuild the rim and replace a few wooden buckets and the wheel would spin rapidly again. He even added, if later connecting the axle to the bellows pipe of the forge then the whole village would not have to break their necks pulling the bellows by hand anymore.
The young men hearing to that point their eyes brightened completely up. They swarmed together asking him enthusiastically to the point he had to shout chasing them before they were willing to scatter a bit.
At the final canal segment behind the village, the seven defendants in the Merchant Guild’s caravan were still burying their faces executing the hard labor reformation sentence, exhaustingly scooping the remaining excess dirt onto the bank. Morley occasionally stopped his hands, looking up at the cheering crowd up there. He looked for a while then sullenly bent down continuing scooping. Not a single citizen in the village bothered sparing a gaze paying attention to him.
That afternoon, the City Hall’s people brought arriving a large piece of paper.
That piece of paper clearly stated that the water canal along with the entire sluice gate, settling basin and both canal banks belonged to the common usage rights of the entire Millbrook villagers. Lyra city does not collect a single coin of water fee, completely no one is allowed to sell, allowed to rent or allowed to block its flow. At the end of the paper was Mayor Elric’s signature and the City Hall’s bright red stamp seal.
Mr. Thatcher reached his two trembling hands receiving the paper, but finishing receiving the old man just stood rigidly in the middle of the courtyard, his face extremely miserable. His house was leaky. The wooden chest holding precious belongings of his house had been half-eaten by termites already, and if keeping it at home what if at night there was a house-burning incident then how to speak with the villagers. The old man stood thinking an entire afternoon, ultimately finally ploddingly leaned on his cane walking out to the abandoned chapel at the head of the village. He personally hung that paper up onto the wall behind the podium, the highest and driest spot he could think of.
Finishing hanging he even stood admiring it for a long time, then finally turned instructing his grandchildren to go get brooms sweeping cleaning the chapel floor really cleanly. So since that day, the rotting chapel that for dozens of years no ghost had visited suddenly every day had people going in and out wiping cleaning carefully.
The most ridiculous story of the day actually happened on the dam.
The two Voss family’s servants still assigned sitting guarding the sluice gate on the dam since whenever, that day also sat cross-legged there looking down. They watched Lyra’s water stream flowing rapidly detouring behind their dam, flowing straight down to the village, watching from morning until noon. The dam still held water fully, the sluice gate still closed tightly, but from now onward both that entire dam and their two lives completely no one bothered paying eyes to anymore.
Arriving past noon, one of the two guys slid down from the dam bank, sidling up walking to Dale’s desk. He hesitated for a long time before daring to open his mouth:
"Lord official, I heard saying your side is still recruiting people going digging the road is that right? I... I hoeing dirt is also fine, carrying heavy loads I can also do it all."
Dale looked up at him once, then silently opened the ledger, asking for his name.
Late afternoon, when the human stream had scattered almost completely, Kaelen and Sane still lingered standing on the canal bank for another while.
The water surface reflected the blood-red sunset light, occasionally some small fish splashed up once tossing water foam. In the distance, several kitchen smoke plumes began rising from the mud wall roofs of Millbrook, the kind of smoke that a few months ago still sparsely had a few.
Kaelen opened his palm out. The slender pale faith threads connecting returning from the South today had darkened in color a bit, no longer having that trembling ready-to-snap appearance like before.
"The faith threads are still very slender." He softly sighed saying.
"People have only believed in a canal." Sane stood beside, his two hands lazily tucked in his pant pockets, his tone casual: "Believing in a canal is easy. Forcing people to believe in a new law is a difficult matter."
Kaelen turned looking at him, just intending to open his mouth saying something when there was the sound of horses galloping urgently from Lyra city’s direction running straight down.
The person riding the horse was a young staff member of the Mayor’s Office. He reined, hurriedly jumped down to the ground, ran arriving before the two then bowed folding his body down panting heavily:
"My two Lords, the Mayor sent me down reporting urgent news. Seven village chiefs have arrived at the South gate already. They arrived since afternoon, but absolutely no one dared to enter the city, just standing stubbornly outside the gate forever."
Kaelen frowned bewilderedly: "Why did they not dare to enter?"
"Well..." The young staff member scratched his head, his voice gradually lowering: "There was an old man saying everyone traveling a long road no one had bathed changing into proper clothes yet, afraid stepping into the City Hall then would dirty all your floors."
Kaelen was stunned for a moment.
He turned looking at Sane, seeing his mouth corners were smirking up. Ultimately he breathed out a really long sigh, reaching his hand patting the young staff member’s shoulder:
"You ride your horse returning first, telling the Mayor to open the gate inviting the old men into the guesthouse resting. You remember telling people boiling hot water, cleaning arranging the resting place really decently for them. Tell the old men that tomorrow we will discuss business, tonight just rest regaining strength first."
The staff member said yes a really loud one, agilely climbed onto the horse galloping away disappearing.