Tiger fixed a bicycle wheel, now only the rim and no rubber tire, to a thick wooden plank about the width of a hand and over two meters long. He then nailed the plank into the reservoir, submerging the rim. Next, he connected two iron pipes with a T-joint to form a straight pipe, which he then secured to the reservoir dam. He threaded a nylon rope, strung with numerous round plastic pieces, through the iron pipe and used it to connect the rim in the water to the bicycle's rear wheel rim. Finally, he lifted the bicycle and secured it firmly to the shore.
Tiger got on the bicycle and pedaled. Xia Qing watched as water from the reservoir was propelled by a lever threaded onto a nylon rope into an iron pipe, flowing out through a T-junction. It was truly eye-opening for her. "Sister Qing," she said, "just like riding a bicycle, you pedal, and the water flows up the T-junction. The faster you pedal, the faster the water flows. It's much more convenient than carrying water in buckets to irrigate the fields."
"I understand, this is so useful!" Xia Qing nodded repeatedly, unable to resist praising, "Who came up with such a brilliant idea? It's so clever!"
After the natural disaster, oil and electricity were scarce, so the exchange points were high. This kind of waterwheel, powered entirely by human labor, was perfect for her.
Hu Zi blushed at Xia Qing's praise, not daring to lift his head. "There's also a water hammer pump that doesn't use oil or electricity, relying solely on the kinetic energy of flowing water to pump water upwards. But that device is more complex than this one, requiring more parts, difficult to disassemble, and might get damaged by rodents if left by the water. Besides, the water hammer pump doesn't pump water as quickly as this one."
Xia Qing couldn't imagine what a water hammer pump looked like, but hearing about the many parts and the difficulty of disassembly, she knew it wasn't suitable for current use. "This waterwheel is easy to install when needed, and can be taken home when not in use. It's simple and convenient, much better than a water hammer pump."
"I heard from Captain Tan that Sister Qing wants Boss Yang to pedal the waterwheel." Seeing Xia Qing's genuine interest, Hu Zi pulled out a pair of modified pedals resembling sheep shoes and a large seat, quickly swapping them onto the bicycle and adjusting the seat to its lowest position. "Boss Yang is strong and smart; if Sister Qing can let it ride on the bike, it'll definitely learn to pedal."
Lying leisurely under a Chinese toon tree on a high slope, Boss Yang's eyes lit up as Xia Qing watched from the reservoir. Tiger reminded Xia Qing, "Although this frame is the sturdiest one I picked, it still can't withstand Boss Yang's madness. Sister Qing, take it easy."
Xia Qing nodded with a smile.
Zhong Tao chuckled, "In my opinion, don't bother extending the pipe at the three-way outlet. It's only three or four hundred meters from here to your land; we can just fill in some soil and build a ditch to get there."
Xia Qing wasn't about to trouble them. "I can build the ditch myself; it'll only take half a day."
Zhao Tao didn't stand on ceremony any longer. While Hu Zi was adjusting the waterwheel, he chatted with Xia Qing, "Captain Luo of the Azure Dragon Team has also left the safe zone; he's in this corner. Have you seen him, girl?"
"I know he's here, but I haven't had a chance to meet him yet." Zhong Tao, having come from the safe zone, was well-informed, and Xia Qing took the opportunity to inquire about him, "Why isn't Captain Luo staying in the safe zone anymore?"
"Yeah." Zhong Tao's face lit up with anger at the mention of Luo Pei, "After the rainstorm, high-risk evolved plants and birds appeared in the eastern evolution forest. When Captain Luo was on a mission to clear them out, some bastard tricked him, and he was poisoned by the synthetic poison." Synthetic poison is a synthetic toxin made by combining purified, excessive amounts of toxic elements with various other toxins. When this toxin enters the bodies of evolved animals and humans, it causes severe damage and the toxins are extremely difficult to eliminate. It can be said that synthetic poison is the most insidious method of harming humans since the great evolution of life on Earth, and its manufacture and use have long been strictly prohibited by the state.
In the face of natural disaster, Luo Pei, a highly skilled visual evolutionary sharpshooter, is the strongest fighting force in the Hui San Base against attacks from evolved flying beasts. Whoever used synthetic poison to harm Luo Pei, regardless of their identity or motives, deserves to be torn to pieces.
Xia Qing tensed, her eyes sharp. "Since Captain Luo was poisoned, why didn't he stay in the safe zone to be detoxified?"
This only fueled Zhong Tao's anger. "Captain Luo needs a lot of uncontaminated water to detoxify him. Some damned bastard spread rumors that the base used all the hospital's uncontaminated water to treat Captain Luo, and even used all the water from the planting center used to cultivate superior evolutionary food! Tens of thousands of bastards in the safe zone were incited to storm the Azure Dragon Team headquarters, demanding an explanation from Boss Yang and to kill Captain Luo!"
Damn it! Xia Qing barely managed to hold back his curses. "Did Su Feng's men do this?"
"Who else but those bastards?" Zhong Tao's anger escalated with each curse. "Those bastards from Su Feng's team pretended to rush in to maintain order and try to break down the door when ordinary people couldn't break through Qinglong's defenses. They only ran away after Boss Yang personally killed a few of them. Bah! Those bastards! They even gave all the uncontaminated water to Captain Luo! Damn it, do they think I don't know? Tang Lu, who looks down on people, even uses..."
"It's all set up, Brother Tao, let's go back." Hearing Zhong Tao's increasingly absurd words, Hu Zi quickly adjusted the waterwheel and told Zhong Tao to go back.
Xia Qing exchanged the evolved animals he had caught for reagents and gave them two small bundles of evolved perilla as a thank-you gift before seeing them off from the territory.
Xia Qing could guess what happened next without Zhong Tao having to explain. The Sufeng Squad didn't want Luo Pei to recover from his injuries, spreading rumors that incited discontent and riots within the safe zone, which is why Luo Pei left.
Of course, Luo Pei leaving the safe zone wasn't to abandon treatment, but rather to facilitate it.
With the Qinglong Squad's capabilities, they could definitely find uncontaminated water for Luo Pei's antidote; Xia Qing had no doubt about that, but he also guessed that they would pay a heavy price for it.
This shift in power weakens the Qinglong Squad, strengthening the Sufeng Squad.
The stronger the Sufeng Squad, the harder it will be to avenge Xia Qing's father.
Xia Qing coaxed the sheep antler to carry soil, pave a dirt road level with the farmland, then built an irrigation ditch leading to the farmland, and finally drove his shovel deep into the ground. The enemy of my enemy is the one I can cooperate with.
That afternoon, Tan Junjie came to Xia Qing's territory to collect supplies for exchange. Xia Qing handed him the toon sprouts and perilla leaves, inquiring about Luo Pei's condition, "Captain Tan, is Captain Luo's injury any better?"
During this time, Luo Pei occasionally uttered a word or two during the lords' evening chats, but Xia Qing couldn't discern his current state from his voice. Since Tan Junjie had a good relationship with Yang Jin, Xia Qing figured he must have visited Luo Pei at Site Number One.
Tan Junjie gave a vague reply, "His injury needs slow recuperation."
This meant it wouldn't heal in the short term; the poisoning must be treated as soon as possible, the longer it was delayed, the greater the damage to the poisoned person's body. It seemed the uncontaminated water the Azure Dragon team had found wasn't enough.