Chapter 116: Engineering

Xu Wenshan returned to the village victorious.

This expedition not only opened a sales route between Luhe Valley and Fengshi Village but also brought back enough grain to sustain Luhe Valley through the entire winter. Moreover, he returned with over four hundred captives and slaves.

Among them were members of the salt guild and some bandits.

The three large sacks of gold and silver treasures he casually brought back turned out to be the most trivial spoils of war. He already had more money than he could spend, and now there was even more.

What remained critically scarce was manpower. Even if all four hundred captives were put to work on the upcoming irrigation canal project, it would still be far from enough.

It was already midsummer, and the autumn harvest was approaching. He hoped to complete the irrigation canal before the harvest, so that after the harvest, Luhe Valley could begin planting wheat.

He had brought back winter wheat seeds. Thanks to the persistent breeding efforts of Saya and her subordinates, these seeds were now in their 120th generation—plump grains with resistance to pests, diseases, and lodging, rivaling modern crops. The rice was equally impressive, with yields even surpassing wheat.

If these two crops became widespread, Luhe Valley would become a treasure trove nestled in the mountains, free from any worries about food shortages. Wheat and rice could be rotated, effectively allowing two harvests a year, multiplying yields many times over.

But all this hinged on solving the water supply issue.

Xu Wenshan had also brought back Wei Taigong with him.

For three consecutive days, he conferred with Wei Taigong on the plan for building the irrigation canal.

Since canal construction was a technical endeavor beyond his expertise, only Wei Taigong, his granddaughter Wei Bing, and a silent observer named A Fa participated in these meetings.

Xu Wenshan pointed at the map. “From Tian Lake to Luhe Valley, the total distance is nearly 40 li, crossing 15 mountain peaks and 12 valleys.”

Wei Taigong stroked his beard thoughtfully. “The mountain peaks are manageable—level them or dig tunnels—but how do you propose to channel water across the valleys?”

“Using aqueducts,” Xu Wenshan drew a model of an aqueduct on paper. “Build aqueducts in the valleys to carry water from one mountain peak to the next.”

Wei Taigong studied the drawing for a while. “What materials will these aqueducts be made from?”

“Bricks and cement. I estimate a one-li-long aqueduct requires about 30,000 bricks and 5,000 jin of cement.”

Wei Taigong glanced at Wei Bing. “Forty li means…”

Wei Bing hesitated briefly, then quickly answered, “1.2 million bricks and 200,000 jin of cement.”

Xu Wenshan looked at her with mild surprise—she was quite adept at mental arithmetic.

After calculating the figures, Wei Bing and Wei Taigong were both struck by how staggering these numbers were.

Xu Wenshan added, “That’s not all. Construction will also demand timber for scaffolding and fuel. Along the route, we’ll need to build sluices and water houses.”

Wei Taigong said, “It’s not just aqueducts; mountain peaks must be excavated, and channels dug… This is a massive project. Young Master Xu, when do you plan to finish?”

It truly was a monumental task. Wei Taigong had hoped to complete such a project within his lifetime, feeling honored if he could.

But Xu Wenshan answered firmly, “By this autumn’s harvest, it must be finished.”

Seeing Wei Taigong’s stunned expression, Xu Wenshan repeated, “By this autumn’s harvest, it must be finished.”

The old man trembled as he said, “Young Master Xu, do you understand how vast this undertaking is?”

“I do,” Xu Wenshan replied.

“Bricks require soil extraction, molding, firing, and drying. Cement demands sand collection, quarrying, grinding, and mixing. Then there’s logging, transportation, feeding the workers, building shelters, and guarding against venomous insects and wild beasts.”

Wei Taigong nodded. “With only five months until the harvest, how can such a colossal project be completed in time?”

Xu Wenshan said simply, “By giving it everything we’ve got.”

Setting such a tight deadline was a reluctant necessity. After the autumn harvest, the millet crop would need to be immediately sown with wheat. Though this period was the rainy season, the current water supply in Luhe Valley was far insufficient; much more water was needed to ensure the success of next year’s wheat planting.

Winter would bring heavy snow, halting construction. Spring would see the millet planting season again, which would block Xu Wenshan’s rice plans.

Therefore, the canal had to be completed by autumn.

Throughout this time, Wei Bing busied herself with calculations. Finally, she looked up and said, “I estimate that to finish before autumn, at least 20,000 workers are needed.”

Xu Wenshan smiled. “We don’t need that many.”

He grabbed Wei Bing’s pen. Her pale face flushed slightly but she said nothing. Xu Wenshan wrote while speaking: “The bottleneck is the bricks, and the bricks depend on the kilns. We don’t have a brick kiln. We need to build one. From molding to drying, firing a batch of bricks takes three days. If we build a kiln that produces 10,000 bricks per batch and overlap molding, firing, and drying, we can finish within five months.”

Wei Bing was still calculating when Xu Wenshan continued, “I currently have 500 laborers. If I squeeze out another thousand from Luhe Valley, we can assign 500 to build the kiln, 200 to log wood, 100 to make brick molds, and 200 to produce cement. Once the kiln is built, keep 100 working at the brick factory, 100 logging, and free up 600 for canal construction.”

Wei Taigong tugged his beard anxiously. “But even 600 workers aren’t enough; some must transport materials. Hauling bricks and timber is hugely labor-intensive.”

Xu Wenshan said, “During construction, I will mobilize the entire population of Luhe Valley to help push carts. I will also bring in a group from outside the village. In any case, we must rally all available manpower to build this irrigation canal within the deadline.”

Wei Taigong’s expression grew solemn. He bowed deeply to Xu Wenshan.

Xu Wenshan hurriedly steadied him. “Taigong, why this?”

Wei Taigong said, “Young Master Xu, for the sake of the two villages’ people, you are willing to exhaust your wealth. This old man is truly grateful.”

Xu Wenshan understood the implication: mobilizing so many workers required money, and that money would come from him.

For Xu Wenshan, everything was a challenge—except money, which was no obstacle at all.