Chapter 3

"Chop it down!" Xiao Mingli roared, using all his strength to deliver the final blow with his axe.

With a "crack," a more than ten-meter-tall oak tree crashed to the ground, sending up a cloud of dust.

"How many now?" Liu Dafa handed him a cigarette. Xiao Mingli didn't hesitate, lit it, took a deep puff, and sighed contentedly. "The third one."

Before Liu Dafa's穿越 (穿越 means "穿越" in this context, but it's better translated as "time travel" or "transport"), he worked in sales at a company. With average social skills, he was far from successful. Recently, he and Xiao Mingli had been living together, and the two, with compatible personalities, had gradually built a relationship.

"You think..." Liu Dafa stammered, hesitating for a long time before saying, "Do you think we really time-traveled? I still can't believe it, but those Indians we met yesterday didn't seem fake."

"How could they be fake?!" Xiao Mingli looked up at the sky. "You saw the bodies. These days, who would dress like that? When we had the accident, we were still on the Yangtze River. In the blink of an eye, we ended up here. Where are we? By the sea! In the Southern Hemisphere!"

Xiao Mingli was at a loss for words. Sometimes, when you're down on your luck, even drinking cold water can get stuck in your teeth. He had finally managed to take a leave and was slowly returning home to visit his family on a ship. He thought this journey would be a rare pleasure, but fate had other plans.

Liu Dafa was also at a loss for words. He looked at the sun hanging in the northern sky and thought about the wooden arrows the Indians had shot at them yesterday, shivering involuntarily.

"Don't think too much about it!" Xiao Mingli was a go-with-the-flow kind of person. Since things were already like this, it was better to settle down. He patted Liu Dafa on the shoulder and comforted him, "The ship has plenty of food for all 568 of us. Let's get to work and not worry about the rest."

"Ring, ring!" A man in blue military uniform, with dragon patterns on his cuffs and wearing sunglasses, rode a bicycle slowly past. He carried a high-precision hunting crossbow, and his basket held crossbow bolts and steel balls. This was the newly established Security Squad.

After Peng Zhicheng's efforts, the squad's size was set at 62 members. Peng Zhicheng was the captain, and Wang Qian was the temporary deputy captain. The squad was divided into four teams, each with 15 members, all equipped with high-precision hunting crossbows. One team was a rapid response unit on mountain bikes, responsible for patrolling the perimeter. The other three "infantry teams" were deployed to protect the logging team on both sides and the construction site on the north bank of the river. Each team was also given two telescopes, kept by the team leaders.

In the ship's hold, they found only a few handsaws and a dozen axes. The logging team worked in pairs with these outdated tools. Most were inexperienced and afraid of getting hurt or damaging the equipment, so progress was slow. By noon, only about 60 to 70 trees had been felled and stacked at the riverside. These trees would be stripped of branches and bark at the stacking area and then transported across the river to be processed into planks on the other side.

Fresh wood should be naturally air-dried or kiln-dried before use to prevent warping and bending, but for now, they just needed temporary shelters. In the committee's plan, their future homes would be brick houses. Making bricks was not a high-tech task. They just needed to build a kiln, find some clay, make the bricks, let them dry, and then fire them.

According to "expert" Gao Mo, the area around Uruguay had plenty of rocks rich in calcium carbonate, such as limestone and marble. There was a small hill made of limestone on the south bank of the river, which excited Shao Shudao when he discovered it. With limestone, they could produce cement. This "artificial pozzolanic cement" was more resistant to corrosion than ordinary Portland cement and could harden in both air and water, making it suitable for damp or underground environments.

Perhaps his luck was turning. In the afternoon, he found a clay deposit, completing the set. Excited, Shao Shudao decided to find the other committee members to discuss allocating resources and start building the brick and lime kilns.

On the north bank, the ship's cook, Old Zheng, and a group of older uncles and aunts were serving lunch. In the morning, the tugboat owner, Old Zhang, and his relatives had caught some fish, which they cooked into a large pot of soup, giving everyone a small bowl. The main dish was white rice, and the side dish was canned luncheon meat. There was plenty of rice, and each person got one can of meat.

After getting his lunch, Shao Shudao found the other committee members and, while eating, said, "I need more people. Let Qian handle the temporary housing; he studied architectural design. I plan to build the brick kiln first. We need bricks for all the construction. We also need to start the lime and cement kilns as soon as possible. With these, we can speed up many projects."

"What materials do you need for the kiln?" Ma Jia asked.

"Mainly bricks, for the kiln walls, chimney, and hearth. Also, some refractory powder. Ideally, some refractory insulation materials."

"We have some bricks, including refractory bricks. But we can't give you all of them. We'll need them for iron and steel production. Do you understand the importance of steel? It's the foundation of our survival! Everything else has to take a back seat." Ma Jia, a tech enthusiast, was always thinking about his steel industry.

"I don't need much. I'll just build a small kiln for now. This is a temporary solution. In the future, we'll need to consider more efficient kilns like ring kilns or tunnel kilns." Shao Shudao ignored the latter part of Ma Jia's comment. He knew Ma Jia was a tech enthusiast with excellent technical skills but poor interpersonal skills.

"Where can we find more people now?" Ma Qianzu sighed heavily, glancing at Liu Weimin.

Liu Weimin understood Ma Qianzu's thoughts but knew this was a time for cooperation. He decided to take the lead. "We have 352 able-bodied men. Subtract the 62 in the Security Squad and 10 on the ship, leaving 280 available. Currently, 50 are in the logging team, 12 in wood processing; 60 in construction, mainly laying foundations, digging water reservoirs, and toilets; 10 in sanitation and disinfection; 10 in fishing; 20 in building temporary houses, mainly due to a lack of planks; the rest are in agriculture, clearing land, leveling the ground, and digging ditches. I think we can transfer some people from the agriculture team."

"Clearing land can be done by women and can be postponed." Ma Qianzu, having achieved his goal, quickly followed up, "Let's transfer 80 people from the agriculture team. Lao Shao, ten people should be enough for the small kiln. I'll take the rest to mine limestone. What do you think?" Ma Qianzu felt threatened by his current role and wanted to take on more responsibilities to strengthen his position.

This proposal suited Shao Shudao. Limestone was crucial, and starting the mining sooner would help with future projects.

Wang Qian and Xiao Bailang had no objections, but Liu Weimin was concerned about the reaction of the agriculture team leader, Jin Kela. Ma Jia, considering the future need for these materials in the blast furnace, agreed. Peng Zhicheng supported it wholeheartedly, as cement and brick structures would greatly enhance their defenses.

The decision was made. After lunch, Shao Shudao and Ma Qianzu went to the agriculture team to request the transfer. Jin Kela, though reluctant, understood the importance and agreed.

Shao Shudao chose three people with masonry experience and seven laborers to start the kiln site. The site was on the south bank for easy access to soil. Ma Qianzu's mining team brought the bricks, refractory powder, and cement needed for the kiln and left a group to help Shao Shudao level the kiln base. The rest continued mining to the southwest. The mining team would operate in shifts, with one group mining and the other on guard with hunting crossbows.

With the help of the mining team, the kiln base was quickly leveled. Shao Shudao then directed the laborers to mix the refractory powder and personally worked with the masons to lay the kiln base and build the kiln walls. By evening, the kiln base and hearth were complete, and the kiln walls were halfway done. The next steps included the kiln door, tunnel, chimney, flue, sloping feed opening, and ceiling, as well as making and drying the clay bricks. This would take time.

The progress on the temporary houses was slow, with only five or six built in half a day. Qian Hao was anxious but helpless, as the supply of planks was limited. The logging team had only about 20 saws and axes, and most were inexperienced, slowing down the logging and plank processing.

The women collected branches, bark, and scrap wood for fuel. Burning bricks would require a lot of fuel, and using coal would be too costly. They had only a few thousand tons of coal, and many future projects would need it. The women also organized teams to gather grass and other materials.

As the last rays of sunlight on October 8th disappeared on the horizon, the hundreds of people on both banks began to pack up. Most still lived on the ship due to the slow progress of the temporary houses. The logging and limestone mining sites would be unattended, with tools stored at the brick kiln site. A team of the Security Squad would guard the kiln site, and Old Zhang's son, Xiao Zhang, with a wolf dog named "Xiaohu," would also stay to enhance security. On the north bank, another team of the Security Squad would guard the temporary houses, with Old Zhang and his wolf dog "Huahua" in charge.

"Two handsaws were damaged in the logging team today," Ma Jia reported at the evening meeting, sounding pained. "Not only that, two people suffered arm injuries and will need to rest. Many have blisters on their hands, so progress will likely be even slower tomorrow." Ma Jia, used to heavy work in the steel plant, found this light work easy, but his team was inexperienced, mostly office workers.

The other committee members discussed their respective tasks and coordinated their efforts. Peng Zhicheng and Wang Qian, responsible for security, had little to report.

Xiao Bailang had fished all day but with limited success. He planned to fish upstream tomorrow but was discouraged by safety concerns from the other committee members.

Ma Qianzu discussed the limestone mining, noting the lack of experience among his team. He had to explore and mine simultaneously. He was then asked by Shao Shudao to lend more people.

Starting tomorrow, Shao Shudao would prepare the clay bricks. After making the bricks, they would need to dry in a shed for about half a month before firing, given Uruguay's current weather.

Liu Weimin, responsible for logistics and agriculture, had the agriculture team leader, Jin Kela, handle the farming. His main task was to collect fuel. According to Shao Shudao, the small brick kiln would need several thousand pounds of fuel for a 3-4 day firing at 900-1000°C. This was a daunting amount, and the current daily collection was less than a thousand pounds. The kiln would be completed in a few days, and they needed to start drying the bricks soon.

After some casual chat, everyone dispersed, tired from a long day's work and with more to do the next day.