CHAPTER 81: CHAPTER 81: STEPPING STONES ON THE EMPEROR ROAD (SEEKING RECOMMENDATION VOTES)

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A few days later.

Over ten thousand acres of Zhuwei Lake had over a hundred ships working on it.

These ships, including transport ships and dredging ships, were all suitable for use on calm inland rivers. To gather these ships, Wang Shouzhe had used quite a bit of his connections.

Especially from the East Port Chen Family, where waterways crisscrossed inland, with numerous small boats and many shipbuilding workshops.

Chen Fangjie, the future brother-in-law, was quite helpful. Thanks to his influence, from purchasing small used boats to ordering dredging ships, he spared no effort in helping, even taking charge of transportation.

With the future brother-in-law being so considerate, Wang Shouzhe naturally wouldn’t be stingy. Using the excuse of the previous help, Wang Shouzhe directly offered five thousand dan of newly harvested wheat, which, once processed by the mill, would make excellent flour.

The bran sifted out was usually used to feed livestock in past years, but this year it was also in high demand.

In previous years, these five thousand dan of new wheat were quite valuable, but this season was different. Because the new wheat yield was extremely low, its value was incomparable to that of past years.

In collaborating with Wang Shouzhe, the East Port Chen Family also secretly gained a substantial profit.

It’s worth noting that many noble family descendants were accustomed to eating fine rice and flour, making demands that were much higher, far more difficult to satisfy than commoners.

In short, both parties were overjoyed.

With the rapid assembly of inland river ships, Wang Shouzhe’s "century project" was quickly unfolding.

Previously, the family would annually dredge some waterways during winter, using the dredged silt to fill farmland. However, that mode of work involved five people per ship.

One person steered the ship, and four others dredged with rakes. The ship would then travel to the destination to unload the silt, before returning to dredge again...

This seemed fine on the surface, but in reality, this work mode was extremely inefficient. Small-scale dredging in winter was mainly done during agricultural downtime, so lower efficiency was tolerable.

However, under a grand project, every bit of manpower saved accumulated to a significant saving over time.

Under Wang Shouzhe’s direction, the dredging workers were all strong laborers, forming groups of five. Once a group boarded an empty ship, they quickly loaded it with dredging rakes, then switched to another empty ship to continue dredging.

The ship steers were slightly older and didn’t need to participate in dredging; they only had to steer back and forth. Upon arrival at the destination, one group was responsible for unloading, another for filling the soil.

Once emptied, the unloaders would restock the ship with empty wicker baskets. The steers would immediately return the ship to start the next operation.

After some trials and adjustments, a streamlined assembly operation gradually formed.

The rakes used by the dredging workers were heavy, with iron strips all around, especially at the sharp, polished edges. The center was a densely woven rattan space, requiring considerable strength.

However, each rake could lift fifty to sixty kilograms of silt, filling a large wicker basket in a few swings. Smaller boats could only carry about ten to twenty wicker baskets.

Larger ships, specifically designed for dredging plus inland river transport, could carry over a hundred wicker baskets at once. The largest ship could hold over three hundred wicker baskets.

A group of five dredging workers, including rest intervals, could dig and load about eighty baskets per hour on average. Therefore, slightly larger boats required several groups of people to work together, with one group of dredgers finishing up.

Additionally, there were weaker women, children, and elders, who would be responsible for weaving wicker baskets, cooking, cleaning, or flattening the ground in the silt areas, among other supporting roles.

Overall, the dredging and soil-filling work commenced very smoothly.

There were currently eighty groups of dredging workers, totaling four hundred people, with a hundred and fifty ship workers, fifty silt unloaders, and eighty soil fillers, along with slightly less than a hundred other supporting workers.

The total number of people involved in the project reached nearly eight hundred.

Even so, the daily dredging and soil-filling only amounted to approximately three to four thousand cubic meters, roughly equivalent to one two-thousandth of the phase one project.

With the current manpower and resources, working like this every day would still take about six years to complete the first phase of the project. This timeframe didn’t even take into account the rainy season, winter, and other adverse weather conditions when work couldn’t proceed.

Nevertheless, pioneering and developing family property was never an easy task.

The ancestors of the Wang Family had also expended an unknown amount of effort and time to gradually bring Ping’an Town to its current state. To conquer nature was never an easy feat for humankind.

Wang Shouzhe’s awning boat quietly rowed in Zhuwei Lake, observing the bustling project in the distance.

"Brother Shouzhe," Liua Yuanrui commented with great emotion, "It is only at this time that I truly understand the difficulties our ancestors faced in establishing the family foundation. Each piece of clan industry contains the lifelong dedication of the ancestors."

"That’s right. Thinking back to when Ancestor Zhou Xuan ventured south, the entire Ping’an Town region was a barbaric wilderness beset by fierce beasts," Wang Shouzhe also expressed his sentiments. "At that time, the ancestors had it much tougher than we do."

Wang Shouzhe stood at the bow of the ship, gazing at the vastness of Zhuwei Lake. Although it seemed like an enormous project, the actual construction area occupied only a small part: "The scale of construction must continue to expand, as many people in the Ping’an Town area still go hungry."

Among the current eight hundred people, many were tenant farmers of the Wang Family, or the Wang Family’s collateral descendants who came to participate in the construction and management. Only about four to five hundred people were recruited from outside.

To truly quell the famine, merely recruiting a large workforce would not suffice. The workforce must be expanded, and dredging ships increased. At least, the entire workforce should reach around two to three thousand people.

Carrying out such a large project under such limited productivity was not easy, and progress was slow even with the deployment of large amounts of manpower and resources.

But for basic projects like dredging and land filling, besides winding up assembly line construction, there are no great methods. He does not have the ability to manufacture large excavators.

After satisfying Liu Yuanrui’s interest in lake cruising, the black canopy boat returned to the main residence.

At this moment, Wang Zhong sent someone to report. The loose cultivator who previously killed a wealthy farmer had been located. It was at a secluded warehouse not far from Dingpu Ferry.

Wang Shouzhe’s gaze sharpened, revealing a hint of murderous intent.

He did not discriminate against loose cultivators; many of them have a hard life. However, what he hated most were those who recklessly committed crimes, then left with a flippant attitude.

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Time passes.

A secluded warehouse was used by a noble family specifically for storing salted fish and smoked fish.

Recently, the sales of smoked fish and the like had been extremely good, and stocks were depleted, yet the smell of fish remained pungent.

A few fierce-looking loose cultivators sat scattered with low morale.

"Boss, is there still no news from the Liu Family?" A man in his thirties said anxiously, "It’s just arranging a boat to cross the river, is it that difficult?"

"The Wang Family seems to be up to something. They’ve let Deputy Garrison Commander Wang Ding Race block Dingpu Ferry, and even posted troops at some wild ferry points, obviously targeting us." A scarred middle-aged loose cultivator in his forties said with a cold face, "Everyone hold on a bit longer, and we’ll get through this situation."

"Boss, I heard the Wang Family and Liu Family got into a conflict." Another loose cultivator said worriedly, "Do you think the Liu Family will kill us to silence us?"

"They wouldn’t dare!" The scarred loose cultivator sneered, "We’ve done shady things for the Liu Family more than once. I’ve kept all sorts of evidence. If anything happens to us, someone will send the evidence to Deputy Garrison Commander Wang Ding Race. Given the relationship between Wang Family and Liu Family, they surely won’t let it go easily."

Loose cultivators roam the world, going wherever there’s benefit, often being used by some noble family as a tool, hearing many stories of being crossed and murdered after crossing the river.

Hence, loose cultivators are no fools; they can do things for money, but it’s almost impossible to cleanly eat them up afterward. Those who survive to their old age are all savvy, and the dangers they’ve experienced in their lives are unimaginable for noble family descendants.

"Smart, boss, smart. Once we catch a breather, we must carve a piece of meat from the Liu Family."

The other loose cultivators also let out a sigh of relief, and all started praising the boss while railing against the Liu Family.

It’s okay to hold on a bit, just get through the storm. The people of the Wang Family are just putting on a show, raising their prestige; it’s not like it’s your wealthy farmer who died.

At this moment.

"Clap! Clap! Clap!"

The sound of applause rang out, and at the same time, a young man’s voice came from outside: "Listen closely, this is how these loose cultivators conduct themselves. Learn from them, always leave yourself a way out. It’s an excellent philosophy of survival."

"Yes, Fourth Brother." Two boys answered earnestly.

"Stop rambling, just get on with it!"

"Luqiu, Fourth Brother makes a lot of sense. No matter how strong you are, there’s always someone stronger in this world."

The faces of those loose cultivators turned very ugly.

The leader of the scarred loose cultivators remained somewhat composed: "Since you’ve come prepared, let’s have a talk."

While speaking.

Wang Shouzhe led two brothers and two sisters into the warehouse together.

He didn’t directly respond to the loose cultivators but continued talking to his siblings: "You must remember that if you don’t want people to know, don’t do it in the first place. Our Ancestor Zhou Xuan of the Wang Family opened Ping’an Town in the south, slaying Demon Beasts and opening new territories, providing Wang Family descendants and countless civilians a place to live. We descendants may not rival the Ancestor’s achievements, but we must protect our home, uphold our bottom line, and not bring shame to the Ancestor."

"You must remember that family’s like Liu Family and Zhao Family disregard the law and have no bottom line." Wang Shouzhe said calmly, "They may run rampant for a time, but they won’t be arrogant forever. Sooner or later, their clansmen will bring an existential disaster to their whole family."

"Yes, Fourth Brother." Wang Luojing nodded solemnly.

Wang Shouyong and Wang Shou Lian were also somewhat excited, their faces a bit flushed. Our Wang Family is a rightful noble family handed down by Ancestor Zhou Xuan, totally different from those jackal wolf families like Liu Family and Zhao Family.

"I am Wang Luqiu, and you don’t need to remember my name." Wang Luqiu’s gaze exploded with a fierce and valiant spirit, "I carry the hopes of Ancestor from heaven, determined to bear the heavy responsibility of the Wang Family’s rise. You little villains are stepping stones on my Emperor Road, leveling up monsters!"

"Boom!"

Wang Luqiu rushed into the loose cultivators like a cannonball.

Wang Shouzhe’s mouth twitched.

Can this little aunt calm down for a bit? I haven’t finished imparting family honor and proper values yet!

What a hot temper this girl has!

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