Chapter 301: 300. Cistern
Chapter 301 300. Reservoir
If you look down from the sky above Woer Village, the ravine where the village is located looks like a claw mark scratched by a giant dragon. A pool of green blood flowing out.
In just three days, great changes have taken place in the upper reaches of Wall Village, and the prototype of the first reservoir has been shown in this area.
Nearly one acre of semi-circular slate land has been sorted out at the uppermost part of the ravine. Since there is no soil cover here, it is usually barren and there is no vegetation. Nearly two hundred craftsmen and laborers work on this site every day. busy.
Seeing the busy work in front of him, the old village head stood on the rocky **** full of emotions. He thought that when he was young, he also wanted to change the situation of the village. He tried to transport the fertile river mud from the tidal flat in the lower reaches of the river to Come upstream and build fields on this barren slate.
It's just that when the few acres of land he worked so hard to reclaim came the rainy season, under the washing of the heavy rain, all the soil on these slabs of land was washed away along the river and stream, and returned to the tidal flats to become mud.
The old village head suffered a serious illness because of this, and now the young knight Suldak is also going to do these things, and his ideas are far more daring than his original ideas.
In Suldak’s plan, the entire reservoir is divided into five layers. It looks like a terraced field as a whole. Each step is an independent reservoir, and the five reservoirs are ringed. Interlocking, after the first reservoir is full of water, the spring water enters the second reservoir through the overflow of the reservoir, and so on, until the fifth reservoir is completely built, the water in the reservoir Theoretically, water storage can allow the villagers of Wall Village to survive the dry season in spring and summer.
According to the requirements of the old village head, the bottom of the entire reservoir must be flat, and because the limestone has strong permeability, the bottom of the reservoir needs to be covered with a layer of two-inch thick pozzolan cement as a waterproof layer. It wasn't that the price of raw lacquer in Hailansa city was too expensive, and Suerdak even wanted to paint a layer of raw lacquer on the bottom of the reservoir.
The arc-shaped reservoir wall has begun to pour the foundation. The only thing that bothers the old village head is that there are only four carriages in the village. Even if they go back and forth three times a day, the volcanic ash is continuously transported back, but the volcanic ash is still too little. Every time after the volcanic ash is transported back, after the lime powder is mixed in according to the proportion, the craftsmen on the site rush forward and can grab all the volcanic ash cement in an instant.
The construction of the cistern fell into a semi-stalled state on the third day. After more than a hundred laborers leveled the stone slabs of the cistern, except for the necessary 20 or so laborers who were grinding lime powder on the construction site, the rest of the laborers all They all carried linen bags and carried the volcanic ash back from the depths of Mount Pagros by hand.
It was heard that carrying volcanic ash could make money. That afternoon, the women in Wall Village approached the old village head one after another, asking the old village head to distribute the benefits to the villagers in advance.
The women in the village think that their strength is not much worse than those of the laborers in other villages, and they can also carry the volcanic ash back from the mountain.
After all, you can earn 50 copper coins a day. For the women in the village, the money did not come easily.
There is nothing in the barren Wall Village, but the people living here have a handful of strength.
Even if there is less volcanic ash to carry back, the worst thing is to get some less wages, which is better than nesting in the village all day long. Staying in the village will not make you a loud copper coin.
The old village chiefs arranged for a few women with poor legs to take care of the children and the elderly in the village, and the rest of the women followed the laborers on the construction site into the Pagros Mountain to carry the volcanic ash.
When Suldak rode back to Wall Village on horseback, he just walked out of the mountain pass lined with wooden crosses, and saw a black line on the mountain road between the mountains and fields. This intermittent black line stretched from Wall Village to the mountains. At the end of the road, Suldak thought that something had happened to Wall Village, so he galloped back to Wall Village, only to find that there were villagers carrying heavy bags on the mountain road.
The villagers from these other villages seem to be migrant workers who come to work in the village. Each of them is ashamed, the sweat on their faces dries up and then drips down, and the heavy bags on their shoulders are bulging, which looks very heavy. The soles of the straw sandals seem to have been trampled, and only the second half is connected to the straw rope on the feet. The thick soles of the feet are on the ground, and the toes are far apart. One can tell at a glance that they are all people who are used to bare feet .
When the villagers from other villages saw Suldak, they wanted to step aside and let Suldak pass by on horseback.
Suldak did not continue to stay here, because he found that there were some village women behind the team, also carrying heavy linen bags, struggling to follow behind.
He ran over on his horse, jumped off the horse, and wanted to help the women in the village carry the heavy linen sacks, but the women in the village refused to do so, and insisted on carrying the linen sacks, following the team step by step. Footsteps to the village.
"Suldak, do your work, just carry a bag of sand, and we can do it!" The woman in the village changed the linen bag to the other shoulder and said to Suldak with a smile, her eyes Squeezing a smile, for fear that Suldak would **** her linen bag.
"Why are you all reciting this?" Suldak asked with a sullen face seeing these village women who were so tired that they couldn't straighten up.
Usually, they are often seen chatting and washing clothes by the river, and they are also seen waving sickles in the wheat fields. Seeing them carrying heavy volcanic ash to the village like hard labor in other villages, Suldak felt as if a stone was weighing on his heart.
Seeing Suldak's serious face, these village women who usually look aggressive are naturally not afraid. They put down the linen bag, and said to Suldak with the unique accent of Wall Village. : "Isn't it just to carry the ashes from the mountains! The old village chief gave all these tasks to the villagers, and a bag of ashes cost fifty copper coins. It's not the same for whoever does the work, why not first But it’s not like we can’t carry it on our own, we managed to ask the old village chief for this job..."
Suldak was immediately weakened by what they said, and he could only say: "You can recite less, I will talk to the village chief about the salary, and let you get the same salary as the craftsmen."
Hearing that Suldak was actually standing on their side, the group of village women immediately cheered up, and said repeatedly: "Oh, this is not acceptable, what rules are set, then follow the rules, the village chief will be the last What I hate is people who break the rules, as long as they are willing to pay us some money, that's fine."
There were even older village women who took Suerdak's hand and said earnestly: "Dak, I heard from the village chief that you paid for the construction of the reservoir this time. We all understand in our hearts why we should not be paid for carrying ashes, how can we be ashamed to recite less than others and get the same reward as others..."
Suldak thought to himself, in the final analysis, the background of the children's villagers' families is too weak. Even if the men get a lot of money for mining, they still want to earn a little more money within their ability. Fortunately, Rita and Natasha were not seen among the group of village women.
Thinking of this, he didn't say anything. He wanted to ride a horse to discuss with the old village chief. Since the sulfur mines brought a lot of wealth to the village, how can they further improve the living conditions of the villagers. I can't eat stew and white bread every day by myself, the whole village is struggling on the line of food and clothing...
As soon as he arrived at the entrance of the village, Suldak saw old Sheila sitting under a tree, a group of children playing hopscotch in the open space, and little Peter also participated in it. Some sharp-eyed children next to him reminded little Peter, and little Peter just accidentally made a mistake in jumping and was defeated, so he threw a bag of joy into Suldak's arms.
Suldak held him in his arms, led the horse and walked to the old Sheila. The old Sheila looked at Suldak peacefully and asked him, "Have you not had dinner yet?"
Standing in front of old Sheila, Suldak always felt an inexplicable pressure. After all, no matter what the purpose was, he could be regarded as replacing the knight status of his son, and now he slept with Natasha. On the bed...he said with a sneer, "I ate some on the way, and I'm not hungry yet!"
"Has everything been done in the city?" Old Sheila asked again, her wrinkled face remained calm, and she tilted her head slightly.
Suldak scratched his head and said, "It's done. This time, I signed up at Hailansa Knight Academy. I will go to the academy to take classes in a few days. I will be considered a formal knight after graduation."
Old Sheila nodded slightly, and looked at little Peter tenderly.
Of course she could understand the implication in Suldak's words. This official knighthood, if nothing unexpected happened, would fall on Little Peter in the future.
Seeing that Suldak was being hugged onto the horse, little Peter leaned against Suldak's arms and screamed excitedly, and old Sheila's eyes lit up with a faint light of hope...
…
On the construction site of the reservoir, bricklayers are sitting on the outermost stone platform of the reservoir to rest. In just three days, the place has already taken shape, and the bottom of the reservoir is almost flat. The gentle **** here was suddenly artificially flattened a lot, and the excavated limestone was piled up on the outermost edge of the reservoir to form a high stone pestle.
A total of thirty-seven concrete piers were planned for the foundation of this half-moon arc-shaped embankment, and only twelve have been poured so far. There will be a ground beam nearly one meter deep on the cement piers. According to Suerdak's design drawing, Eight steel bars will protrude from each foundation concrete pier, and these steel bars will be tightly bound to the ground beam steel cage, and then the pozzolan cement can be poured. Only when the foundation is firmly established, can the three-meter-high reservoir dam be built .
The coolies hired from other villages had already carried bags of volcanic ash back from the mountain. Selina was counting the amount of volcanic ash. She saw Suldak coming back on a horse from a distance. Her fair face With an undisguised smile, she was wearing a long gray linen dress, a beige sweater, and a turban covering her long hair. Her tall figure stood out from the group of coolies.
Signa didn't get under Selena's skirt this time, but sat on a rock next to her, pointing at something with her fingers.
On the mountain road leading to the outside of the village, people carrying volcanic ash came back one after another, and it was difficult for Selina to escape for a while.
At this time, Suldak also saw the busy figure of Rita and Natasha. The two of them were carrying a large wicker basket full of hot baked wheat cakes, and they were offering to the craftsmen who gathered together to rest. They distributed wheat cakes, and a few village women behind carried large steaming wooden barrels filled with vegetable soup. These people ate dinner on the construction site.
It seems that this group of people does not intend to rest immediately after dinner, and the construction site of the reservoir will not be finished until later.
Little Peter saw Natasha in the crowd, so he struggled to get off the horse, and ran towards Natasha and Rita while running and jumping.
Suldak led the horse to the stream, let it drink to its fullness, and then walked up to the old village chief.
The old village head was standing next to a big stone, on which was covered the sheepskin drawing drawn by Suldak himself, and was explaining something to the bricklayers beside him.
Just listen to him say: "Tomorrow, the rest of the foundation stone pier must be poured out. These buried parts still need to be raised with water for a period of time. The ground for paving the reservoir can be moved to the back. Looking at it now, the volcanic ash It is enough, I will increase the manpower for grinding lime powder overnight to ensure that there will be enough cement for the start of work tomorrow!"
Then he felt that the bricklayers around him were a little distracted, and they all looked out. Just about to scold, but saw Suldak walk in, his face softened and said: "...Oh, Suldak, you are back, All right, everyone, go eat first, and then tidy up the venue before it gets completely dark!"
The old village chief waved away the bricklayers, then took a sip of water from his cup and said with a long breath, "How is the trip to Hailansa going well?"
Suldak nodded, and said: "It's going well, all the needed materials have been bought, and a large number of materials should be delivered tomorrow! I've only been away for three days, and this side has already been repaired like this. You Don't be afraid to exhaust these craftsmen!"
Speaking of this, the old village chief said with some pride: "You don't know how many people come to me every day to intercede, begging me to hire them to repair the reservoir. What is there to be dissatisfied with finding such a job outside the mountain pass? ?”
Then the old village chief pulled Suldak and whispered: "It's not that I'm too harsh, these accounts don't count... You don't know what you spend every day. I finished work the night before yesterday. I asked Selina to count it." Accounts, I just found out... Good guy, as long as we start working, we have to throw at least one golden coin into the reservoir every day. This is how it used to be, I didn't even dare to think..."
"As long as I think about it, I can save a gold coin by finishing the work one day earlier, how dare I get tired..."
(end of this chapter)