Chapter 81: Chapter 81 – The Stepping Stone on the Emperor’s Path (Seeking votes)_1
Translator: 549690339
A few days later.
On Zhuwei Lake, which spans tens of thousands of acres, more than a hundred boats were already at work.
Among them were transport ships, dredging boats, and so on, all suitable for used in calm inland waters. To gather these vessels, Wang Shouzhe mobilized many of his connections.
In particular, the Chen Clan of Donggang, where inland waterways crisscross, numerous small boats and boat-building workshops were found in abundance.
Chen Fangjie, his future brother-in-law, was quite helpful. From purchasing small old boats to customizing dredging boats, he helped intensively, and even took care of transportation.
Wang Shouzhe, in reciprocation to his future brother-in-law’s generosity, presented him with five thousand dan of newly harvested wheat grain. After some processing in the mill, it would turn into high-quality flour.
The byproduct, bran, which was used to feed livestock in previous years, was now in high demand.
In previous years, the five thousand dan of new wheat was indeed valuable, but this season was extraordinarily different. Because of the low yield of new wheat, its value far exceeded those of previous years.
Through their cooperation with Wang Shouzhe, the Chen Clan of Donggang secretly obtained significant benefits.
It’s important to understand that many members from prominent families are accustomed to fine rice and flour; their demands are much higher and harder to fulfill than common people.
In any case, both parties were delighted.
The inland boats were quickly assembled, and Wang Shouzhe’s “century project” was swiftly underway.
In the past, the family would dredge part of the river every winter, and the silt would be used to fill the fields etc. At that time, the work was done with five men to a boat.
One man steered the boat, while four others dredged. After reaching the destination, the silt would be unloaded, and then the boat would return for more dredging…
It sounded easy but in reality, this work mode was very inefficient. The small- scale dredging in winter mainly utilized the idle season, so the low efficiency was tolerable.
But for a massive project, every bit of labor saved would add up to significant savings over time.
Under Wang Shouzhe’s guidance, the dredging workers were all strong laborers. Five people to a team, once on board an empty boat, they would quickly fill it using their dredges. Then, they’d switch to another empty boat and continue dredging.
The boatmen tended to be somewhat older and did not need to participate in the dredging, just sail the boat. At the destination, there would be a team dedicated to unloading the boat, and another team responsible for filling in the land.
Once the silt was unloaded, the loaders would replenish the boat with empty bamboo baskets. The boatman would then immediately sail the boat back and start the next round of work.
After some experimentation and adjustments, they gradually established an assembly-line type of operation.
The dredge used by the workers was heavy, with iron bars all around, especially at the scraping part where there were sharpened iron bars. The middle part consisted of closely woven space in wicker-work. This work required a lot of strength.
However, each dredge could bring up fifty to sixty pounds of silt. Just a few dredges could fill a large bamboo basket. Smaller boats could carry a few dozen bamboo baskets.
Larger boats, those designed for dredging and inland transportation, could carry over a hundred bamboo baskets. The largest boat could carry more than three hundred bamboo baskets.
A five-man dredging team, including resting time, could on average excavate and fill about eighty baskets in two hours. Therefore, larger boats would enlist several teams, leaving a final team to finish off the dredging.
In addition, some weaker women, children, and elderly people would be responsible for weaving bamboo baskets, cooking meals, cleaning, or leveling the silted land as auxiliary work.
Overall, the dredging and land-filling work was carried out smoothly.
The current dredging workers reached a strength of eighty teams, amounting to four hundred people. There were one hundred and fifty boatmen, fifty unloaders, eighty land-fillers, and the remaining auxiliary workers numbered just under a hundred.
The total number of people involved in the project was nearly eight hundred.
Even so, the daily dredging and filling amounted to around three to four thousand cubic meters, roughly equivalent to one-thousandth of the first phase of the project.
According to the current labor and material resources, even if they worked every day, it would still take about six years to complete the first phase of the project, and that didn’t include inclement weather like monsoons and winters that would hinder construction.
Acquiring new land and expanding clan production were never meant to be easy tasks.
The ancestors of the Wang family would have gone through untold efforts and time to bring Ping’an Town to its current status. Conquering nature was never an easy feat for mankind.
Wang Shouzhe’s awning boat calmly sailed through Zhuwei Lake, observing the vigorously progressing construction work up close.
“Brother Shouzhe,” Liu Yuanrui exclaimed with deep emotion, “Only now do I realize how difficult it was for our forebears to establish the family’s base. Each piece of family property is steeped in the life’s dedication of our ancestors.”
“Indeed, when our old ancestor Zhou Xuan first moved south, the entire region of Ping’an Town was a savage land where fierce beasts roamed,” Wang Shouzhe also felt the weight of their ancestors’ efforts, “At that time, our ancestors had a much harder time than us.”
Wang Shouzhe stood on the bow of the boat, overlooking the vast Zhuwei Lake. What seemed like an immense project only occupied a small part for actual construction, “The construction scale needs to be further expanded. There are still many people in Ping’an Town who are starving.”
Among the current eight hundred people, many were tenant farmers of the Wang family, and some were distant relatives of the Wang family who came to participate in the construction and management. The number of people recruited externally was only about four to five hundred.
If he wanted to truly alleviate the disaster, merely recruiting so many workers wasn’t enough. The team would have to keep expanding and the number of dredging boats would have to increase. At the very least, the entire construction team had to reach around two to three thousand people.
Carrying out large projects where productivity was relatively low was quite challenging. Even when a lot of resources and manpower were used, the progress was still slow.
However, for such foundational work of dredging and filling, except for operating in an assembly line process, there was no better approach. He didn’t have the ability to manufacture large excavators.
After satisfying Liu Yuanrui’s curiosities about the lake, the awning boat returned to the main residence.
At this point, Wang Zhong had someone report that the independent cultivator who had previously killed a wealthy farmer had been found hiding near Dingpu Ferry in a secluded warehouse.
Wang Shouzhe’s eyes narrowed, evincing his intent to kill.
He didn’t discriminate against independent cultivators, knowing that many of them had tough lives as well. However, what he hated the most were those who committed crimes recklessly and then walked away casually.
Time passed.
A secluded warehouse, a place used by a prominent family specifically for storing salted and smoked fish.
Recently, sales for smoked fish had been excellent, the stock had all been sold out, but the smell of fish remained.
A few independent cultivators with ferocious expressions sat around weakly, their morale quite low.
“Boss, is there any news from Liu Clan?” a man in his thirties anxiously asked, “Isn’t it just about arranging a boat to cross the river? Is it really that difficult?”
“The Wang family seems to have gone crazy, they actually had Deputy Garrison Commander Wang Dingzu blockade Dingpu Ferry. They even sent troops to guard some wild ferry crossings. It’s obvious they are targeting us,” said a middle-aged independent cultivator in his forties with scars on his face, “Everyone, just hang on a bit longer. Once we tide over this, we will be fine.”
“Boss, I heard that the Wang family and Liu Clan have come into conflict,” another independent cultivator said anxiously. “Do you think Liu Clan will try to silence us?”
“They wouldn’t dare!” The scarred independent cultivator scoffed. “This is not the first time we have done some dirty work for the Liu Clan. I have kept a lot of evidence in hand. If anything happens to us, someone will deliver the evidence to Wang Dingzu. Given the relationship between the Wang family and Liu Clan, they certainly won’t let it go.”
Independent cultivators roam the world seeking benefit. Naturally, they are sometimes used by some prominent families to do their dirty work and often hear about the plot of killing after they’re no longer of use.
Therefore, independent cultivators aren’t fools. They can certainly take money to work for you, but thinking you can clean up afterwards without a mess is almost impossible. All the independent cultivators who have managed to survive until their forties are shrewd to boot. The dangers they experience in their lifetimes, aren’t ones the sons of prominent families could even compare to.
“Boss is wise, truly wise. Once we catch a breath, we need to slice a big chunk of meat off the Liu Clan.”
The other independent cultivators also let out a sigh of relief, singing the boss’s praises and cursing the Liu Clan.
It was okay to hang on for a while and weather the storm. The Wang family only wanted to flex their muscles and boost their reputation. After all, it wasn’t their wealthy tenants who were murdered.
Just then.
“Clap! Clap! Clap!”
Amidst the applause, a young man’s voice rang from outside, “Listen up everyone! See how these independent cultivators operate and learn a thing or two. Always leave yourself a way out, that’s a great survival philosophy.”
“Yes, fourth brother.” two young boys obediently responded.
“Stop blabbering, let’s get to it.”
“Luo Qiu, the fourth brother is right. No matter how gifted you are, there will always be someone in this world who is more talented than you.”
The faces of the group of independent cultivators darkened dramatically.
The scarred independent cultivator leading them did not become agitated, but responded calmly, “Since you’ve managed to find us here, you surely must be well-prepared. Why don’t we have a chat?”
Between his words.
Wang Shouzhe, leading his two brothers and two sisters, walked into the warehouse.
He did not directly respond to the independent cultivator’s words, instead continuing his talk with his siblings, “You must remember, don’t do anything that you don’t want others to know. Our Wang family’s ancestor Zhou Xuan ventured south to establish Ping’an Town. In the process, he killed fierce beasts and expanded our territory, giving both the Wang descendants and countless civilians a place to live. We, the descendants, can’t compare to the merit points of our deified ancestors, but we must guard our home, uphold the bottom line, and not bring shame to the family.”
“You must remember, families like the Liu Clan and Zhao Clan operate without any regard for laws and have no bottom line,” Wang Shouzhe calmly stated, “They may rise for a while, but cannot flaunt their arrogance forever. Those clan members will sooner or later bring destruction upon their own heads.”
“Yes, fourth brother.” Wang Luo Jing nodded solemnly.
Wang Shou Yong and Wang Shoulian also seemed somewhat stirred up, their excited faces flushing red. “Our Wang family is a legitimate successor of an established family directly descended from Zhou Xuan’s lineage. We are fundamentally different from families like the Liu and Zhao Clans.”
“I, Wang Luo Qiu, you all don’t have to remember my name.” Fierce determination flashed in Wang Luo Qiu’s eyes, “I’m charged with the expectation of our ancestors and carry the duty of reviving our Wang family. You insignificant henchmen are nothing but stepping stones on my rise to power, nothing but small fry!”
“Boom!”
Like a cannon ball, Wang Luo Qiu charged into the group of independent cultivators.
Wang Shouzhe’s lips twitched.
If only this girl wouldn’t rush in like that, couldn’t she let me finish educating them about our family honour and enforce a proper worldview?
That girl’s temper!