Bringing the four children along was indeed a bit of a hassle, but An Jing was willing to do so.
With the children under her watchful eye, she felt more at ease.
Moreover, all four children were now very fond of the outside world. They probably found it fascinating because there were many things they had never seen before, and they felt a sense of novelty and freshness.
And whenever they saw something new, their eyes would sparkle with intense curiosity and an endearing charm.
Now An Yiyun, the little one, could walk on his own without support, but not as quickly as his three brothers. He tottered unsteadily, always looking as though he might fall, yet never quite doing so.
Su Yi Jing, Su Yixing, and An Yiqing, the three little guys, could already walk quite well, no longer wobbly, and they had quickened their pace considerably.
Of course, this increase in speed was relative to their earlier pace; in the eyes of adults, they still moved at a sluggish crawl.
An Jing and Xiao Changyi brought the four children to a river suitable for placing a Noria.
By the time An Jing arrived, there were already many people by the river—workers installing the Noria, curious farmers’ children who came to watch the commotion, and several officials from the Agricultural Institute of Qilin County.
Seeing the handsome couple that was An Jing and Xiao Changyi, with their extraordinary elegance and the four particularly adorable little boys following behind them, everyone was filled with envy.
Everyone thought that An Jing and Xiao Changyi must be especially blessed by the Star of Fortune.
The Noria actually had a very simple structure, consisting of a large wheel outfitted with numerous bamboo tubes.
The gaps between each bamboo tube were all quite similar.
An Jing first looked at the Noria set aside, then instructed the workers to immerse the Noria’s wheel into the water to just the right depth. Too deep wouldn’t work, too shallow neither; the depth had to be just right.
That wasn’t all; An Jing also specified the direction in which the Noria should be immersed in the water. Only with the correct orientation would the main wheel of the Noria be able to turn by the flow of the water.
The workers did as instructed.
Once the Noria was properly installed, An Jing had someone dig a water channel at a specific location behind the Noria’s axis and connected it to the irrigation canals leading to the fields.
Only when the water channel was connected to the canal did An Jing remove the wooden stick that prevented the Noria from turning.
As soon as the stick was removed, the Noria began to turn due to the force of the water flow, like a big windmill, and the bamboo tubes on the wheel, one after another, scooped up water and brought it to the surface, where it all poured into the water channel.
Then, the water from the channel flowed into the canal...
Watching the Noria operate without human intervention, tirelessly drawing water for irrigation, everyone’s faces were marked by astonishment.
After marveling, the watching farmers’ children were thrilled. This was something that would benefit them greatly.
"The other Norias should be installed in the same way; just follow this example," An Jing said.
Suddenly remembering something, An Jing added, "By the way, if you’re not using the Noria, just put this wooden stick back in place. That way, the Noria won’t be able to turn and won’t be able to lift water."
The farmers’ children all wanted to kowtow to An Jing in thanks.
But An Jing stopped them.
She saw An Jing bowing in the direction of the Emperor’s Imperial Palace and said, "I was only able to come up with this by the command of the Emperor, and it was also the Emperor who provided the silver for its construction. If you want to give thanks, the Emperor is the one you should thank."
Hearing this, the farmers’ children immediately knelt down in the direction of the Emperor of Xiyun’s Imperial Palace, knocked their heads on the ground, and cried out in unison, "The Emperor is merciful, long live the Emperor, long live, long live!"