Beauty and the Beasts

Parker naturally agreed to her request. After finishing his breakfast, he did as she asked and headed to the mountains to look for wood.

Bai Qingqing came up with a rough blueprint in her head while waiting for him.

The theory behind a water wheel was simple, and once she understood it, they would definitely succeed.

The morning passed, and Parker returned with the material that Bai Qingqing wanted most—bamboo.

The two of them sat under the tree at the house that shielded them from the wind and got to work.

“Parker, make an axle first.”

Bai Qingqing drew a simple diagram on the ground before drawing a thick line for the axle. She pondered and said, “This axle has to be hard enough to withstand large amounts of force. What should we use to make it?”

“Stone,” Parker replied without hesitation, despite not knowing what Bai Qingqing wanted to make.

Bai Qingqing happily asked, “Can we? I need it to be this long, and it has to be very smooth and rounded.”

“Whatever you want, I’ll take care of it,” Parker said and patted his chest.

Bai Qingqing’s face lit up instantly. “Okay.”

Parker found a long piece of stone and began making the axle. Bai Qingqing picked up a snake scale and started to cut a bamboo pole by drawing lines on it.

She didn’t have enough strength and still had to depend on Parker for the primary structure as a result.

Because the water in the water hole was completely stagnant, Bai Qingqing decided to make a smaller water wheel. Making a bamboo pole as wide as a bowl was sufficient.

They were in the middle of making the water wheel when Curtis suddenly came over.

“Let me help you.”

Curtis had pale skin, a head of long, bright red hair, and blood-red lips, making him appear gentle yet dangerous as he stood in the blizzard.

Bai Qingqing glanced at him and quickly waved. “Quickly come over. It’s cold outside.”

Curtis walked over to Bai Qingqing’s side and sat down. He held onto her hands, which were red from the cold, and frowned. “Why are you still outside when you know it’s cold?”

“I can’t make this if I go inside.” Bai Qingqing pouted and hesitantly glanced at him. “Go inside. I’ll go in and keep you company once I’m done with this.”

Curtis glanced at her coldly. He then picked up a piece of bamboo and gently sliced it with his fingernail, producing a bamboo pole that looked exactly the same as the one in her hands.

“Okay. There’s strength in numbers.” Bai Qingqing stopped nagging and said, “Let’s make twelve bamboo poles.”

With Curtis’s help, they progressed much faster and finished making the water bucket in less than a minute. They then moved on to make the bearings.

Bai Qingqing had Curtis carve out the parts needed to make the bearings from a tree trunk.

The tree trunk had a diameter of about one meter. A hole was made in the center of the tree trunk for the axle to pass through. Twelve rounded columns that were just thin enough to all be held together with the bamboo pole were carved from the wooden shaft. The remaining wood was all whittled away.

They then found another twelve logs that were each as thick as the bearings and connected the parts together using hollow pieces of bamboo. Just like that, the main part of the water wheel was complete.

After tying the water bucket to the tree trunk, the water wheel was beginning to take shape.

At this point, Parker had finished making the stone axle. He brought it over and asked, “Do I just put it in like this?”

“Mm.” Bai Qingqing nodded. She held onto the two to three meters high water wheel so that Parker could insert the axle. Two wooden rings were then placed on either side of the axle to stabilize the water wheel. After securing them in place with dried grass, the water wheel was finally complete.

Bai Qingqing was the most surprised as she looked at the final product.

“That’s it? Will it work?” Bai Qingqing asked hesitantly.