We made you the chief, and now you've become the world's chief?

Chapter 168 A Thousand-Meter City Wall Built in One Day!

Stepping outside, enveloped in a chill, Xia Minghao suddenly thought of the moonlight he had seen last night.

By the way, when the next full moon arrives, won't it be around the Mid-Autumn Festival?

Autumn has been over for so long, and it's Mid-Autumn Festival now. The Mid-Autumn moon in this other world is just as round.

Should we give the Xia tribe a holiday or something?

The Mid-Autumn Festival felt familiar to me, but it was quite foreign to these primitive people from another world.

It was a holiday, but I spent the Mid-Autumn Festival in a daze.

Who cares? As long as I feel it's worth celebrating, that's enough. And it doesn't necessarily have to be a complete mess. I can just tell myself some Mid-Autumn Festival stories and that's it.

Just like when we talked about Pangu creating the world and Nuwa creating humans, we can also talk about Chang'e flying to the moon, which will enrich the spiritual world of the Xia tribe people.

Moreover, the Xia tribe does indeed need such a festival...

It's really sad to think that we don't even have two-day weekends or one-day weekends anymore.

But if they were to introduce a single or double weekend off system now, that would be completely absurd, and Xia Minghao would naturally not do that.

However, it's perfectly fine to give everyone a Mid-Autumn Festival holiday so they can take a break.

Once they were seated on the giant deer and below the plateau, Xia Minghao had already made his decision.

The Mid-Autumn Festival should still be celebrated.

Meanwhile, below the platform, everyone had already begun their work.

But now their work is no longer just digging sand and rocks, but all of them are carrying cement and coarse and fine sand up in deer carts.

"You all go down too, and let the deer help pull the cart."

This time, he once again led the entire force of deer cavalry. The large number of people deployed here was naturally to complete the pouring of the city wall as quickly as possible.

"Yes, Chief!"

The crowd shouted in unison! The momentum was truly magnificent.

When everyone came to the Xia tribe, they still felt a little guilty.

They ate very well, with taro, meat, and red salt—they never lacked anything.

But all they had to do every day was follow orders.

It's so simple that for them, simply following orders and not having to think about anything complicated is a real pleasure.

They were well-fed and lived a relaxed life, which made them all want to do more.

They never imagined that such comfortable living conditions were obtained at the cost of their lives.

Even if they knew, they wouldn't care. Their long-term battles with the Mao people had made them aware of the reality of death, and they no longer took it seriously.

With the help of the deer riders, the speed at which cement and sand were hauled onto the terrace increased dramatically.

The addition of a smooth cement road surface further enhances the efficiency.

Xia Minghao wasn't idle either; he was conducting the final experiment on the side.

Looking at the two-person-high mold on the ground, he directed the craftsmen around him to get to work.

The mold was made of large pieces of wood bound together with fish glue and vines, and the whole thing was ladder-shaped.

This is what will be used for pouring water for the city wall later.

Because the process is complicated and requires fish glue, Xia Minghao made four.

Four is already enough to keep our hundred-strong team busy.

Don't be fooled by the fact that you only need five or six people to work on the concrete later.

But there also needs to be someone on the side responsible for making and mixing the concrete.

If we leave some extra manpower, about twenty people managing one mold would be just right.

"Put in the fine sand first, then the coarse sand. Don't do it that way."

"Stir it quickly!"

With fine and coarse sand poured into the cement, the first batch of concrete was produced.

The next step is to mix it thoroughly and then quickly pour it into the mold.

The concrete is mixed directly in the truck, and the truck is lifted up to pour the concrete directly into the mold.

"Stop! Pour it out and put it in here."

Two or three people were stirring the concrete in the truck. After Xia Minghao saw that it was almost mixed, he immediately said something to them.

They then worked together to lift the wooden cart and began to pour it onto the mold.

One truckload is certainly not enough; it's just enough to fill the gap.

Xia Minghao didn't actually plan to build a concrete wall here; his main purpose was to gain some understanding of the original concrete.

For example, the time for initial setting and final setting.

Initial setting can be simply understood as the time it takes for concrete to lose its fluidity and plasticity.

Unlike cement, which becomes sticky after just one day.

In concrete, large stones and small pebbles become the main components, which increases the contact area between the cement and the air, thus significantly increasing the time for water loss.

Therefore, the rate at which fluidity and plasticity are lost increases dramatically.

This is a crucial data point; if it's not handled properly, it will definitely lead to a significant waste of concrete.

Cleaning up the waste concrete will also be a major problem.

After a truckload of concrete was poured in, Xia Minghao immediately took out a precious item: cattails.

Of course, it's no longer for lighting like at night, nor is it for repelling mosquitoes.

I've been here by the river for a long time and haven't seen many insects, probably because it's cold.

Xia Minghao took out the cattail now to keep track of time.

It takes about half an hour for one cattail to burn completely. Now we need to see how many cattails are needed for this batch of raw concrete to complete its initial setting.

After a brief test, the results surprised Xia Minghao.

Once a cattail has burned out, the concrete has completed its initial setting and entered the final setting stage.

Final setting refers to the time it takes for concrete to develop its strength after it has been formed. In Xia Minghao's memory, this time was about ten hours.

After final solidification, the strength gradually increases, which takes about a month.

There's no need to time the final solidification; just look at the sky. The cattails are all sent from the swampy area, and the quantity is extremely small, so we can't afford to waste them.

After setting down the burnt-out calamus, Xia Minghao roughly estimated the amount of concrete needed to fill a mold, as well as the time it would take for his group to mix and pour it.

It seems we have to "rush the construction schedule".

Fortunately, it was decided beforehand to bring all the materials for making concrete up to the platform, instead of trying to save time and completing the work on-site.

Otherwise, the concrete would be ruined as soon as it was pulled up.

After almost all the materials had been moved from below the platform, Xia Minghao led everyone to the platform.

The foundation of the wall has been laid, forming a standard rectangle around the terrace.

Xia Minghao didn't dare to teach them all at once, so he had them divide into groups and do it on their own.

Instead, they had those with prior experience start mixing concrete in one place, while personally guiding others to learn.

The remaining dozens of people weren't idle either; they all moved the cement trucks and gravel to three corners, which would be where they would start work soon.

With hands-on guidance, thankfully nothing went wrong.

The concrete, enough to fill the mold, was all ready, while the cattail that had been lit earlier was only half burned.

About fifteen minutes...

This is the speed of the Xia tribe!

Seeing the group panting heavily, Xia Minghao didn't give them time to rest.

The group lifted the car, stood on the stone platform, and poured concrete down from all four directions of the mold, filling it completely.

Xia Minghao also noticed the situation and, seeing that it was almost overflowing, quickly told the others to stop.

The calculation of these material quantities is absolutely correct; the mold is a trapezoid, and the truck filled with concrete is a cuboid.

Even if the volume is miscalculated, it's still a case of someone slipping through the net of compulsory education.

The fact that so much remains now is probably because the concrete was poured in too forcefully, leaving a large amount of air trapped inside.

This didn't happen during the experiment below, but it's not too late to deal with it now. That is to re-mix the concrete in the mold.

After giving the order to everyone, many more concrete trucks were put down, and they picked up wooden sticks again.

Everyone started working together to quickly mix the concrete inside the mold.

Sure enough, in just a few moments, the concrete level dropped significantly.

Now that I have experience, I deliberately slowed down when pouring the rest in again.

Once the dumping was completely finished, they immediately had someone bring out their secret weapon for the wall.

Those are fragments of pottery.

Inserting shards of pottery one by one into the concrete top surface was a crucial defensive measure for a two-meter-high wall.

By the time the concrete was fully inserted, Xia Minghao could clearly feel it gradually hardening.

Fortunately, there were some minor hiccups, but they did not affect the overall situation.

Xia Minghao stepped down from the large rock on the high platform and let out a deep breath.

"When you're not tired, take the mold off and work on the next one right next to it."

Xia Minghao didn't urge everyone on. He had been helping out on the sidelines and was already quite tired, so he could understand how exhausted these people must be.

At the same time, I couldn't help but think, no wonder ancient civil engineering projects were called corvée labor, it really was too tiring.

Moving to the next corner, Xia Minghao began teaching the second group of people how to pour concrete.

With previous experience, the pouring was obviously much more successful.

One after another, as the chill gradually subsided and the warmth of the sun was finally felt on the terrace, the pouring instruction for all four groups was completed.

Xia Minghao was still busy, observing each group of people, not only to assign tasks later, but also to see who did the best.

I'll wait until then to promote him directly to be in charge of civil engineering, which will save me a lot of effort.

After all, there will be a lot of construction work to be done later, including his own palace, the houses of the Xia tribe, the second city wall, the third city wall...

I can't always rely on myself to guide them.

Sure enough, after observation, Xia Minghao quickly discovered that each group had several people taking the initiative to lead.

Most of these people came from Yanquan Mountain, while a small number were members of the Wa clan.

After observing for a period of time, and after pouring concrete on several sections of the city wall, Xia Minghao also discovered a very obvious correlation.

The closer there are to four people in charge, the higher the efficiency.

A group with only two people taking the initiative to direct everyone's work is far less efficient than a group with four leaders.

The former has only just started working on the fifth wall, while the latter is almost done with the sixth wall.

Having more than four people in charge will slow down the progress, even slower than a group with no one in charge.

The reason for this is quite obvious: it's an argument caused by differing opinions.

Xia Minghao found it interesting, and then took the initiative to transfer people from the group with more than four leaders to the group that lacked leaders.

Looking at it again after a short while, the efficiency was practically on par with other processes.

In an instant, Xia Minghao had an idea: should they hold a competition or something to further improve their efficiency?

But just as he was about to speak, he immediately dismissed the idea.

Introducing competition to stimulate initiative is not necessarily a bad thing, but everything has its advantages and disadvantages.

These people are all new to concrete pouring and are inevitably inexperienced. If they are further stimulated by this competition and sacrifice quality for efficiency, then it would be a losing proposition.

By noon, a large quantity of crocodile meat and red salt had arrived.

Xia Minghao was extremely surprised to see that such a large quantity of red salt had been delivered.

I did tell the kitchen to send over as much salt as possible today, but I didn't expect so much to arrive.

Logically, the Xia tribe should have run out of red salt by now.

There is only one reason!
Xia Minghao asked, and sure enough, the large ship docked, bringing with it all the red salt and bronzeware he would need later!
He immediately wanted to go back and check, but he was also afraid that if he wasn't there, something might go wrong with the construction of the city wall.

There was no rush, since we had to leave tomorrow anyway, and it wouldn't be too late to check back tonight.

When the taro and crocodile soup was served on the terrace, everyone almost simultaneously stopped what they were doing.

As a working man, Xia Minghao had already guessed that he wouldn't be able to concentrate on work at this point.

So lunch was delivered exceptionally early, giving this group no chance to slack off.

"Eat as much as you like! There's extra salt here, add as much as you want!"

"Huh?! Red salt! So much of it!"

When everyone gathered around, they were all incredulous to see that there were four full earthenware jars of red salt.

Red salt is considered the most expensive item in the Xia tribe, especially since Xia Minghao secretly orchestrated a "red salt price increase" with his powerful influence. Sometimes, everyone even dreams about red salt.

Of course, the price increase wasn't because Xia Minghao wanted to plunder the people's hard-earned money. It was mainly because only red salt was the hard currency for trading with the heartland of the Great Lakes tribe, so they had to cut back on spending to get more palm fruit.

Therefore, out of necessity, "macro-control" was carried out for the overall benefit of the Xia tribe.

"You can eat red salt, as much as you want, but you can't take it away secretly."

“I know, Chief! We’re not taking this. If anyone does, I’ll kick their ass like a groundhog!”

The painted-face man, who had also been busy all day, then spoke loudly.

While others experienced a considerable period of "red salt freedom," it was a different story for those from the Great Lakes tribes.

Having never tasted such a delicacy before, they naturally cherished it immensely.

Those Wa clan members with ulterior motives, upon hearing this and seeing the frightening appearance of the painted face, dared not even think about how to secretly bring the red salt home to eat.

"Chief, can we still do this in the future? That is, work with mud and stones?"

"Playing with mud and stones?"

Hearing what the people from the Great Lakes tribe said, Xia Minghao smiled faintly.

They were almost entirely uninvolved in the production of cement and concrete, assuming that mud and stones were normal.

Seeing the excitement in the eyes of this group of people, Xia Minghao spoke to them.

"Of course you can. There will be many more like this in the future. As long as you participate, you can eat as much red salt as you want, as well as meat and taro."

Unexpectedly, after these words were spoken, the group of young men from the Great Lakes tribe cheered.

In all the time they've spent together, Xia Minghao has rarely seen these people so happy.

Indeed, red salt is a wonderful thing!

Not only can it be exchanged for palm fruits, but it seems that once so many people in the Great Lakes tribe have tasted the flavor of red salt and its reputation has been established, it can be exchanged for a large amount of labor.

Unfortunately, the production of red salt is limited, and there are only a few springs in Yanquan Mountain, which completely eliminates the possibility of increasing red salt production.

If you want to get more salt, you either need to get lucky and find another salt-producing area, or you need to go to the sea and use seawater to produce salt.

But neither of these is realistic...

Thinking of this, Xia Minghao couldn't help but frown.

Faced with such enormous profits, it all seemed like trying to see flowers through a fog or grasp the moon's reflection in water, leaving me feeling awkward and uneasy.

The meal was eaten with great gusto; before they had anything in their mouths, no one really felt that hungry.

But once you taste the taro and crocodile meat, the collision of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins in your mouth immediately makes you feel like a starving ghost reincarnated.

The people of the Great Lakes tribe, in particular, have come up with a way to eat taro dipped in salt, leaving their mouths red from the food.

Okay...

Xia Minghao could understand why he was wolfing down his food, after all, he had been doing heavy physical labor all morning.

When I participated in military training, I could eat two extra steamed buns for lunch, let alone pouring concrete.

With this kind of eating, I'm afraid we'll need to have someone specifically fetch water this afternoon.

If you drink too much water, you'll eventually need to pee, and those flowers and plants below the platform are truly "lucky."

Thinking about all this, Xia Minghao felt a bit overwhelmed.

Once the wall is built, things in the city will have to be built. After the wall is built, you can't just "urinate in the air" anymore.

Toilets need to be built, along with various supporting facilities. Such a large amount of construction will definitely require a lot of human resources.

It seems like we're short-staffed again. Ugh...

(End of this chapter)