In the Three Kingdoms period, the opening scene features the killing of Huang Gai, shocking Zhou Yu!

The first ray of sunlight in the morning,

It pierced through the thin mist of the Taihang Mountains.

The gate of the Marquis's mansion creaked open.

Zhao Yu, supporting his aching back with one hand and holding a thermos in the other, swayed as he swaggered out.

Last night's "private lesson" went on so late that I experienced a profound spiritual uplift.

But physically... it's really a bit too much for me.

After all, one is the daughter of a military family, and the other is the daughter of a prime minister; neither of them is easy to deal with.

"This...this...this must be what they call 'painful yet pleasurable,' right?"

Zhao Yu took a sip of goji berry water and sighed.

As soon as I stepped into the yard,

They bumped right into Ma Chao, who had a cold expression and was doing his morning exercise with his hands behind his back.

Ma Chao looked at Zhao Yu's legs, which resembled cooked noodles, and the way he was holding his waist.

They made no attempt to hide it, their expressions filled with contempt:

"Hmph, Xu, back in the day, I was one-on-one with him..."

Zhao Yu immediately straightened his back (though it felt a little empty):

"Mengqi, you don't understand. This is called... devoting oneself to the continuation of the family line."

"But you have a lot of work to do today."

"Let's go, my humanoid crusher."

Dust swirled in the concrete area behind the mountain.

The environment here is far worse than a public bathhouse.

Several rotary kilns rotated day and night without stopping.

It spewed out grains of grayish-black cooked material.

These clinker materials must be ground into a powder finer than flour in order to become real cement.

Previously, the enormous amount of grinding work was a major concern – several donkeys pulling the millstone collapsed from exhaustion and foamed at the mouth after less than half a month of work.

If we follow the old approach,

Such heavy work will inevitably fall on strong laborers like Zhao Yu and Ma Chao.

At this moment, Zhao Yu stood leisurely by the river.

Looking at the wooden monster in front of him, his face was full of contentment.

The rushing river water crashed against the huge waterwheel blades.

Then the wooden axle rotates.

The wooden axle connects to a complex set of gears (Ma Jun's masterpiece).

The power is then transmitted to three giant stone mills on the shore.

Driven by water power, the speed is a bit slow, but one thing is certain: water power never tires.

Working day and night, it certainly won't collapse from exhaustion like those donkeys.

The hardened clinker was poured in.

In an instant, it turned into a fine gray powder.

It flows down along the trough.

"Brilliant!"

Ding Yi stood aside, gazing at the almost fully automated grinding process, and couldn't help but exclaim in admiration:

"Brother Deheng (Ma Jun) is truly a genius! This water-powered stone crusher is worth more than a hundred strong donkeys!"

And it works day and night without needing to be fed!

Ma Jun scratched his head shyly to the side:

"Actually... these are all the Lord's drawings... the drawings are good. I just modified... modified the gears a bit."

not far away,

Ma Chao crossed his arms and leaned against a tree.

Looking at the tireless waterwheel, I let out a long sigh of relief.

He originally thought Zhao Yu was preparing to take revenge on him.

Thank goodness, thank goodness.

Zhao Yu didn't go crazy and make him push the millstone.

"The production volume is sufficient."

"Vice President Ding, there's plenty of raw materials. Now it's up to you."

"This ten-mile-long road must be completed within half a month!"

With sufficient cement available, the road paving project was accelerated across the board.

A wide, straight, and flat road to prosperity began to extend outwards at an astonishing speed.

Ding Yi is now a fully-fledged contractor.

Wearing coarse cloth shorts.

The trouser legs were rolled up to the knees.

He was also holding a long wooden scraper in his hand.

Commander with composure.

"Level it! Make it higher in the middle and lower on both sides! It needs a slope for drainage!"

"Pull it up! Use a stick to poke it hard! If the air bubbles don't come out, there will be pits everywhere!"

When the road was halfway paved,

there is a problem.

That day at noon, the sun was blazing, and the ground was scorching hot.

The road section was only paved a few days ago.

It made a few faint "clicking" sounds.

Ding Yi lay down on the ground and looked.

It cracked!

On the originally smooth road surface,

Several irregular cracks appeared.

"It's all over!"

"Why is the road cracked? Is there something wrong with the cement formula? Or is Ma Jun's waterwheel turning too fast?"

They called Zhao Yu over again.

Zhao Yu reached out and touched the road surface; it wasn't a problem with the cement.

"Brother Ding, you've covered it up too much."

"Too full?"

Ding Yi was puzzled.

Zhao Yu picked up a twig and drew a diagram on the ground:

Everything breathes.

"When it gets hot, even people stretch, let alone stones?"

"Although this cement road is hard, it also has its own life, expanding and contracting with temperature changes."

"These stretches of road are all connected, and under the midday sun, the volume expands, they squeeze together, and with nowhere to go, they can only suffocate and burst, right?"

Ding Yi's eyes widened.

What is this? It feels like I've heard a completely new and profound truth about the universe.

"Stones...stones can breathe?"

Zhao Yu nodded:

"I'll remember that from now on."

"Every 15 feet, a wooden board must be used to make a gap."

"Fill the gaps with asphalt or cork."

Give it some space, so it can stretch and contract.

Ding Yi looked at the road surface that had cracked from the sun.

There was a long silence.

He bowed directly to Zhao Yu.

"Been taught a lesson."

"It turns out that road construction also aligns with the principles of being a good person."

"Don't be too full, don't be too absolute."

"Leave room for maneuver, and you will last."

This time it was Zhao Yu's turn to be pleasantly surprised.

This Ding Yi, he truly lives up to his reputation as a writer.

You can even glean life philosophy from fixing an expansion joint.

Such insight is truly exceptional.

half a month later.

With the final section of road surface smoothed and maintained,

This ten-mile-long cement road connecting Bingjing Pavilion with the official road to the outside world is now fully open to traffic.

On the day the road opened,

There were no firecrackers or ribbon-cutting.

Zhao Yu didn't like this kind of empty talk.

If Zhao Yu doesn't take action, his subordinates naturally won't either.

He immediately had his luxurious carriage brought out.

Whether the road can be built or not.

Try it and you'll see.

To adapt to this "highway," he had Ma Jun wrap the wooden wheels with a thick layer of tanned cowhide.

It was stuffed with wool, goose feathers and other fillings.

Of course, it can't compare to rubber tires.

But compared to ordinary wooden wheels, they are more than enough.

"Get on the bus!"

Zhao Yu greeted Cao Jie and Sun Shangxiang.

"Today I'll show you what it means to fly close to the ground!"

Ma Chao took the initiative to walk to the position of the coachman.

As a top-notch cavalry commander, he was not only skilled at riding horses, but also had first-rate driving skills.

Looking at the gray road in front of him, he naturally wanted to try it out and see if this so-called "divine road" was suitable for horse racing.

"Hold on tight."

Ma Chao gave a shout and flicked the reins.

Two strong horses galloped off, pulling the carriage onto the cement road.

At first, Cao Jie subconsciously gripped the handrail, preparing for the usual bumps.

Unfortunately, there was no beginning.

A breath later.

No bumps!

There were no ups and downs!

Only the whistling wind could be heard in my ears.

There was also the crisp, pleasant "clatter" of horses' hooves on the hard surface.

The wheels rolled on, as if traversing flat ground.

The trees on both sides receded wildly.