Under the bewildered gazes of everyone, Xu Fan forcefully hammered wooden wedges, one by one, into the natural cracks of the Bluestone.
"What is he doing? Trying to pry the stone open with wood? That's just wishful thinking!" Xu Laosan scoffed, arms crossed, his Face full of derision.
Xu Fan ignored him. After hammering in all the wooden wedges, he picked up a bucket and slowly began to pour water into the wedges and the stone cracks.
"Pouring water? Hahahaha!" Xu Laosan laughed, doubled over, "I finally understand, he's trying to drown this stone!"
Now everyone was confused; even Xu Chang and Yan Aini were muttering to themselves.
Only Xu Fan knew that this was the simplest and most effective ancient method of splitting stone.
It utilized the enormous expansive force of wood after absorbing water to crack the rock from within.
This required precise control over the rock's texture and the placement of the wooden wedges; even a slight deviation would not work.
After pouring the water, he no longer paid attention to the stone and told his family, "Let's go, we'll level other areas first."
Xu Laosan saw him being enigmatic, curled his lips, assuming he had no other way and was just trying to save Face. After a few sarcastic remarks, he also found it uninteresting and left.
The villagers who had been watching waited for a long time, but seeing no movement, they gradually dispersed.
Only the Xu Family, led by Xu Fan, continued to work steadily.
An hour later, the sun reached its zenith.
In that quiet wasteland, a faint "crack" sound suddenly came.
The sound was very soft, but in this quiet environment, it was exceptionally clear.
Immediately following, "crack... crack..." the sounds became increasingly dense.
Xu Chang and Yan Aini abruptly stopped what they were doing, looking disbelievingly at the huge Bluestone.
They saw countless cracks, like a spiderweb, rapidly spreading across the surface of the incredibly hard rock!
Bang!
With a muffled thud, the entire giant rock, under the shocked gazes of everyone, split into more than a dozen stones of varying sizes!
The iron shovel in Xu Chang's hand clanged to the ground. He gaped, looking at the miraculous scene before him, unable to utter a single word.
Xu Fan slowly exhaled, a smile appearing on his Face.
He walked to the pile of cracked stones and said to his stunned younger siblings, "Alright, come help move these smaller stones."
At this moment, no one doubted anymore.
This wasteland would surely grow something.
With the biggest obstacle removed, the progress of the water channel's Excavation was rapid.
By evening, a preliminary diversion channel, winding from the stream and over a hundred meters long, had taken shape.
Clear stream water slowly flowed along the channel, eventually collecting in the dug-out reservoir pit in the center of the vegetable plot.
Looking at that precious water, the entire family's Faces lit up with smiles.
At the dinner table, the atmosphere was more lively than ever before.
"Fan'er, that trick of yours... cracking the stone just by pouring water on the wood, how did you think of that?" Xu Chang took a sip of broth, finally unable to resist asking the question on his mind.
"I heard a peddler, who traveled far and wide, talk about it once. It's considered a folk remedy," Xu Fan casually made up.
He couldn't very well say it was junior high school physics knowledge.
"That folk remedy is too amazing!" Xu Chengbo said excitedly, "Big Brother, you even know this. How much more do you know that we don't?"
Xu Fan smiled and put a piece of meat in each of his younger siblings' bowls: "No matter how much I know, it only counts if it can fill our stomachs. Everyone eat quickly, and rest early after you're done. Tomorrow, we're going to do something even bigger."
The next day, just as dawn broke.
Xu Fan took Xu Chengbo, carrying shovels and hoes, and stood in the center of their courtyard.
"Big Brother, are we digging here today?" Xu Chengbo asked, a little uncertainly.
"Yes, right here."
Xu Fan closed his eyes. In his perception, the earth beneath his feet was no longer inanimate.
He could see the structure of the soil and smell the faint, damp Qi emanating from deep within.
You are sensing the Earth's Veins, attempting to find a water source, unlocking a new skill: Prospecting (Beginner 0/100).
It worked!
Xu Fan suddenly opened his eyes and drew a circle on the ground with his foot.
"It's right here."
Xu Chang and Yan Aini also came out, and seeing their son's mystical demeanor, their hearts began to pound again.
"Fan'er, this... can this work?" Xu Chang was still uneasy, "Everyone in the village says that three zhang below our land is all Bluestone, as hard as iron; a hoe only leaves a white mark."
"Dad, how will we know if we don't try?" Xu Fan handed the shovel to his father, "Our family has more people now, and more strength than before. We have to try."
"Alright!" Xu Chang looked at his son's determined eyes, said no more, took the shovel, took a deep breath, and with all his might, slammed it hard onto the ground!
"Clang!"
With a sharp clang, the shovel bounced high, numbing Xu Chang's tiger's mouth.
On the ground, only a shallow white mark remained.
Xu Chang's Face immediately fell.
"I told you..."
"Dad, I'll do it." Xu Fan took the shovel and weighed it.
He didn't use brute force like his father but adjusted his breathing.
His waist exerted force, driving his shoulders, and his arms followed through, all the power concentrated at the tip of the shovel.
"Thud!"
This time, it wasn't a sharp clang, but a muffled thud.
The hard ground was actually chiseled open into a small, fist-sized pit, with gravel and dry earth scattering.
Excavation proficiency +1.
Excavation proficiency +1.
Xu Chang and Xu Chengbo were stunned.
Was this still the land so hard it could chip a hoe blade?
"Second Brother, clear out the broken stones." Xu Fan didn't pause, shovel after shovel.
Thud! Thud!
His movements became faster and smoother.
Each shovel stroke brought up a large chunk of earth and stone.
The hard ground, under his hands, was like tofu.
Excavation (Beginner 88/100).
Xu Chengbo watched, his blood boiling, and picked up a hoe to join in.
Although his efficiency was far from his Big Brother's, it was still much better than his father's.
The three of them, father and sons, began a battle with the earth in this small courtyard.
Yan Aini and Xu Huining, along with the younger children, carried the excavated earth and stones out of the courtyard, basket by basket.
The family worked with clear divisions of labor, a hive of activity.
This commotion naturally attracted all the villagers to watch again.
"Look, the Xu Family is at it again, this time digging a pit in their own courtyard."
"What are they doing? Digging a cellar?"
"I heard they're going to dig a well! They must be out of their minds. If water can be found here, I'll write my name, Xu Laosan, backward!" Xu Laosan had somehow joined the crowd again, arms crossed, his Face full of disdain.
The villagers discussed animatedly, most of them with the intention of watching a spectacle.
However, the smiles on their Faces gradually froze as the pit grew deeper and deeper.
Xu Fan seemed tireless; his digging speed not only didn't slow down but became faster and faster.
He used a clever technique to easily toss the earth and stones from the pit into the baskets outside.
In half a day, a pit more than a person's depth appeared before everyone.