Dad, don't be greedy! My brother climbed into the emperor's bed, and I became famous overn

Xiong Er has already started arranging manpower.

The twenty strong men were divided into three groups: one group dug a water collection pool, one group chopped wood to prepare firewood, and one group leveled the ground to prepare to build a stove.

Although their working posture wasn't very professional, they put in a lot of effort.

Sparks flew as the pickaxe sank into the layer of rubble.

Several shirtless men, chanting slogans, pried open and moved the boulders by the stream one by one.

Sweat and mud mingled together, streaming down his dark back.

By the afternoon, the water collection pool had taken shape.

It was about two zhang square and three chi deep.

The stream water gurgled into the pool along the diversion ditch, and in less than half an hour, the pool was filled to almost half full.

Gu Mingli squatted by the pool and tested the water temperature and quality with his hand.

"Good. The mineral concentration is even higher than expected. The distillation efficiency will be even better."

He stood up and walked toward the group of people who were leveling the ground in the distance.

"The foundation of the stove must be solidified with large stones! Don't fill it with rubble! Otherwise, it will collapse after a few days of use!"

"The support for the copper pipes will be made of wood for now. We'll replace it with an iron frame once the blacksmith from town delivers it."

"Dig the condensate tank deeper! The deeper the water, the better the cooling effect!"

He directed the work while personally demonstrating, rolling up his sleeves to move stones and build a frame.

Yi Shi squatted down beside him, resting his chin on his hand as he watched Gu Mingli sweat profusely.

"Young master is accomplished in both literature and martial arts."

Yi Wu stood on high ground, keeping watch, and said something without turning his head.

"He's a scholar. He can barely lift a stone without needing to catch his breath. He's hardly a martial artist."

Yi Shi thought about it and felt it made sense.

"That means being both literate and erudite."

Yi Wu ignored him.

As evening fell, Gu Mingyue returned to Weihu Village from the mining valley.

As soon as we entered the village gate, Old Ma came to greet us.

"The boss!"

"What's wrong?"

"Someone else is here!"

Xiong Er's expression was a mixture of excitement and worry.

"Around noon, people from three more small villages came to join us. Including those from before, the village now has nearly five hundred people!"

"That's great!"

"That's a good thing. But... there's no room left."

Xiong Er scratched his head in distress. "We don't even have enough mats. Many people are sleeping on the open-air stone slabs at night."

Gu Mingyue thought for a moment.

"First, build a batch of simple huts outside the village. Use local materials, such as wood and thatch. That should be enough for ten days to half a month."

"Once the stove for disinfecting the water is built, I will arrange for people to build a camp in the mining valley as well. Some people will live in the village, and some will live in the mining valley."

Xiong Er nodded repeatedly.

"The boss is very thoughtful! I'll go arrange it right away!"

As soon as he turned around, Gu Mingyue called out to him again.

"Wait a minute. Is there enough food?"

"Not enough," Xiong Er answered honestly. "The pig from before finished eating. The rice and noodles are almost gone too."

"Send someone down the mountain tomorrow to buy enough grain for a month."

"silver……"

"From that two hundred thousand taels."

Xiong Er's eyes lit up for a moment, then dimmed again.

"Boss, two hundred thousand taels is a huge sum. I'm afraid the brothers won't be able to control themselves."

Gu Mingyue smiled.

"have."

She waved to Yi Wu.

"Yi Wu, tell Mr. Lu to send a team of accountants to Weihu Village."

Yi Wu nodded and whistled.

A carrier pigeon flew down from the woods.

Gu Mingyue: "..."

So that's how she and her brother were betrayed.

Within ten days, Weihu Village was completely transformed.

Three rows of simple shacks were erected around the village. Although they were rudimentary, they at least provided shelter from the wind and rain.

The camp in the mining valley is also taking shape.

Two water collection pools were filled with mineral water, and the first batch of three distillation stoves had been set up.

The copper pipes were ordered by Gong Huo and his men from a blacksmith shop at the foot of the mountain.

I made two trips back and forth, spending three thousand taels of silver.

A total of ten sets of distillation copper tubes were manufactured, plus eight matching condenser copper plates.

The remaining seven stoves are under construction and, according to Gu Mingli's estimate, will be completed in another five or six days.

Gu Mingli rushed back to Jiangzhou to arrange the follow-up matters of the water management project, and then ran back to Weihuzhai to oversee the construction.

In the evenings, they would return to the village to draw blueprints, revise plans, and teach the bandits to recognize tools.

He explained the difference between "copper pipe" and "iron pipe" no less than twenty times.

"Bronze is yellow, iron is black. Got it?"

"I've got it! I've got it!"

Gu Mingyue felt sorry for him, but her brother was just that kind of hardworking person when he was engrossed in his work.

Yi Wu and Yi Shi spread some news.

Two days later, a small squad of Imperial Guards surprisingly delivered several fine bedding blankets.

Gu Mingli's lips twitched as he looked at the bedding bestowed upon him by the palace.

Indeed, in any era, when a boss wants you to work overtime, he will first issue a military-style bed.

That morning, the first distillation stove was officially ignited.

The mineral water in the collection pool flows slowly into the large iron pot on the stove through a bamboo water channel.

The firewood burned brightly under the iron pot, and steam rose from it.

Steam enters the copper pipe, flows along the pipe wall over the condensing copper plate, condenses into droplets, and drips little by little into the ceramic pot below.

"The water's coming out!"

Xiong Er stared at the liquid slowly accumulating in the earthenware jar, slapping his thigh excitedly.

"Lord Gu! The water's out!"

Gu Mingli walked over and carefully scooped a small spoonful of liquid from the earthenware jar.

The liquid was clear, slightly yellowish, and had a faint, pungent odor.

He smelled it, then dipped a bamboo skewer in it and dripped a little onto a rotten leaf.

The mold spots on the leaves faded visibly within a few breaths.

"It's done." Gu Mingli let out a long sigh of relief.

"This is a high-concentration sodium salt distillate. It still needs secondary distillation and formulation adjustment to become a usable disinfectant."

"But we've successfully completed the first step."

Gu Mingyue walked over from the camp, carrying a half-eaten steamed bun in her hand.

"How is it?"

"The sample is ready." Gu Mingli handed her a small spoonful of distillate.

Gu Mingyue leaned closer and took a sniff. It smelled like disinfectant.

Although it's bland, it definitely has that flavor.

"So, all I have to do now is prepare it according to the recipe?"

"Yes. The formula needs a few more things: lime powder, charcoal powder, and a special mineral powder."

Gu Mingli took out the recipes from the back of the treasure map and checked them one by one.

"Lime powder and charcoal powder are easy to obtain; they're sold at the market down the mountain. But this mineral powder..."

He pointed to a line of text on the recipe and lowered his voice.

"The formula says 'manganese sand,' which is natural mineral sand containing manganese dioxide."

"There's a manganese mining area about 300 li south of the Taihang Mountains, but it's too far away. It would be great if we could find a small-scale manganese placer deposit nearby."

Gu Mingyue thought for a moment, then beckoned Xiong Er over.

"You've been in the mountains for so many years. Have you ever seen a kind of black, metallic-looking gravel? It feels very heavy, much heavier than ordinary stones."

Xiong Er tilted his head and thought for a long time.

"Black? Heavy? Hmm... There's a cave in the back mountain, and the stones inside are all black and extremely heavy."

"We used to think it was iron ore, so we knocked down a few pieces, but it turned out we couldn't make iron from it, so we stopped bothering with it."

Gu Mingli and Gu Mingyue both looked at Xiong Er.

"Take me to see it."

Xiong Er led a few people over a mountain ridge and into a semi-natural cave.

The opening was small, barely allowing two people to pass side by side.

The interior was damp and dark, with the torchlight reflecting off the stone walls, shimmering with a dull metallic luster.

Gu Mingli picked up a piece of black ore, weighed it in his hand, and rubbed it against the stone wall to check the color of the powder.

Black powder with a brownish tint.

His eyes lit up as he looked at Gu Mingyue.

"It's manganese sand."