CHAPTER 43: CHAPTER 43: ISN’T IT JUST WATER?

The family finished their lunch and was preparing to rest for a while before heading to the field to work in the afternoon.

But before they could coax the two children to sleep, someone was already calling Jiang Hu’s name from outside.

"It’s the village chief. What’s the village chief doing here at this hour?" Jiang Hu was puzzled, but he still signaled his second wife not to bother and to stay with the kids, while he got up and went out.

Outside, he found that it wasn’t just the village chief; Liu Yang had also come along with him.

Seeing Jiang Hu, Liu Yang quickly waved enthusiastically, "Brother Hu, are you taking a rest? Hope we’re not disturbing you?"

Jiang Hu shook his head, casually shut the door, and walked towards the kitchen area, "No, it’s fine, village chief, Liu Yang, what brings you here? We still have work to do this afternoon. Aren’t you taking a break for a bit?"

Jiang Hu led the two to sit at the kitchen table, pouring each a bowl of water, "Have some water, it’s quite a trek to get here."

It was indeed not close; it took about a quarter of an hour to walk from the village chief’s house to Jiang Hu’s place.

The village chief took a sip of water and paused, still deliberating even after Jiang Hu had sat down beside them.

Jiang Hu could tell that the village chief had something on his mind, and it seemed like something hard to talk about.

He wasn’t the type to beat around the bush; he liked being straightforward, so he asked directly, "Village chief, if you have something to say, just say it. If you don’t, I won’t know what you want at all."

The village chief cleared his throat, a little embarrassed, "Ahem, actually, it’s like this, we came to find you today for something not too big."

Then he stopped again, leaving Jiang Hu wondering what it was after all, urging him to speak.

In the end, Liu Yang couldn’t stand it anymore and patted Jiang Hu’s arm, "Brother Hu, let me just tell you, the village chief is too hesitant."

Jiang Hu nodded inwardly, indeed finding it a bit frustrating, but he wouldn’t bluntly say it like Liu Yang.

Liu Yang was just that kind of person, not bad-hearted, but even more straightforward in his speech, saying whatever was on his mind without much consideration for how others might take it.

However, Jiang Hu found him quite okay other than the way he spoke. They had known each other for a while and had been getting closer in the past two months, with no other evident faults.

Sure enough, after Liu Yang complained about the village chief, he directly turned to Jiang Hu, "So, it’s like this, everyone noticed that your crops are growing the best, so they wanted to ask how you’re doing it and if you could share your method."

"Others were too shy to come, so they sent the village chief to ask. Since I had nothing to do, I tagged along."

Having said that, Liu Yang added to himself, "But I’ve often worked with Brother Hu and haven’t seen him use any special methods."

The one who helped Jiang Hu with work the most was undoubtedly Liu Yang, and sometimes when Jiang Hu was finished, he’d lend a hand at Liu Yang’s home too, so even the village chief didn’t argue when he said that.

Jiang Hu was surprised; he hadn’t expected this to be the reason. He was just talking about it with his second wife this morning.

Jiang Hu hadn’t thought of hiding it, and after pondering briefly, he said, "I mentioned this to my second wife this morning. But Liu Yang’s right, growing crops is just doing what everyone else does. He often works with me, there’s no difference."

It’s just like everyone weeding when it’s time to weed, fertilizing when it’s time to fertilize. Even when buying corn seeds, it was the village chief who reminded him, then he remembered to buy them.

The village chief remarked, "Then that’s strange. Could it be the soil? But the plots adjacent to yours don’t seem to do as well; they’re all sparse."

And back when Jiang Hu was alone, he had to take care of his wife who was about to give birth and two kids at home, leaving little attention for the fields.

Even reclaiming land for growing grains mostly happened after picking the leftovers once others were done selecting places.

So it probably wasn’t related to the land, considering it couldn’t just be the exact piece Jiang Hu reclaimed, not an acre more or less.

Liu Yang smacked his lips, "If you ask me, it must be thanks to Little Lucky Star. Haven’t you noticed, village chief, Brother Hu’s drinking water tastes better too?"

The water they drank was drawn from the village well, not just by Jiang Hu’s family. Besides, drinking water couldn’t be related to water for washing diapers!

The village chief had taken a few sips earlier but hadn’t paid much attention. Now, hearing Liu Yang, he took another sip, holding it in his mouth for a while before slowly swallowing.

Then he exclaimed in surprise, "Really, this water indeed tastes better."

He immediately followed with suspicion, "Could it truly be Little Lucky Star’s blessing?"

Jiang Hu also poured himself a bowl of water; it was boiled in the morning and had now cooled but wasn’t chilly, harmless to drink.

He gulped down most of the bowl, then mimicked the village chief’s careful tasting, ending with a disappointed shake of his head, "I don’t feel any difference."

"Don’t be skeptical, Brother Hu, lend me your bucket for a moment, I’ll be right back."

Saying that, Liu Yang grabbed the clean bucket beside the water tank and dashed out.

The village chief looked speechless at Liu Yang’s retreating figure, "This kid, always in such a rush, what’s he doing with the bucket?"

Jiang Hu ventured, "Probably wants to draw water from the well to see if there really is a difference."

He downed the remaining half-bowl of water, still feeling no difference.

He wasn’t picky about food; as long as it was edible, not poisonous, and filled the stomach, he was satisfied.

So normally, he didn’t taste things carefully, typically swallowing after chewing. Unless something like vegetables was prominently distinct, he wouldn’t pay much attention.

As for the water, he drank it every day and truly felt there was no difference.

If Little Lucky Star were here, she’d surely hum her agreement, saying of course it’s different. Ever since she was past her postpartum period, she always found ways to come look at the reflection in the water tank!

Though she wasn’t sure what made the reflection appealing, she knew it was a great chance to add lots of Spiritual Spring water to the tank!

Her family’s water tank wasn’t small. Now that they didn’t need to wash diapers daily, filling it once could last two days.

She only added about half a bucket of Spiritual Spring water each day, which wasn’t enough for anyone to notice.

But apart from Little Lucky Star, no one knew about it.

Liu Yang returned quickly; being used to physical labor, carrying half a bucket of water didn’t slow him down at all.

"Brother Hu, this is the water I just drew from the well, the one you usually draw from. Taste this, then try your own home water."

Jiang Hu didn’t doubt him, scooped a bowl, and took a sip. The freshly drawn well water was ice-cold, colder than the cooled boiled water at home.

He poured another bowl of cooled boiled water, tasted a sip, then another sip of well water, then another of the cooled boiled water.

He drank both bowls until they were empty, even burping, almost spraying water out.

"So how is it, Brother Hu, isn’t it different?" Liu Yang eagerly asked.

Jiang Hu thought for a moment, then honestly said, "Couldn’t tell much difference, but they both taste pretty good."

Isn’t it just water? How could it possibly taste different?