Chapter 9

Time flew by, and it was already late January 1631. After more than three months of arduous efforts, the area on both banks of the Big Fish River had undergone a significant transformation. First, the industrial zone on the south bank was now dotted with chimneys. Brick kilns, cement kilns, lime kilns, and wood-drying kilns were continuously supplying various materials to the settlers. The logging sites and lime quarries had also been equipped with beautiful and sturdy brick buildings.

Construction of the simple wooden houses on the north bank had ceased, and the approximately 300 completed units had all been allocated to the settlers, with two people per unit. Since the production of building materials had stabilized, the settlers no longer favored these structurally simple, drafty, and leaky wooden houses. The Executive Committee, in response to public opinion, began to look for a new site to concentrate on building brick houses. The original residential area would be demolished after the new houses were built, and the land would be used for commercial development.

The small stream wetland, which had been the sole source of irrigation and daily water for the settlers, was decided by the Executive Committee to be transformed into a small reservoir. Additionally, the construction of the port access road, the dredging of the Big Fish River, and the construction of a new bridge across the river were all underway, making everything appear vibrant and promising.

The port access road had been completed ahead of schedule. Of the 160-strong construction team, most had been idle after leaving a few to finish up the remaining work. Given that these laborers, who had been used like beasts of burden, had been working continuously for a long time, the Executive Committee took their emotions into account and gave everyone a few days off, awarding each person 120 points.

The concept of points was proposed by Tang Yuan, the finance commissioner. According to Tang Yuan, the 568 modern people who had been transported here included men and women, old and young, with varying personalities and abilities. In the early days, everyone was focused on survival and working together, so they didn't have the time to think about other things.

However, now that the settlers had established a foothold and life had gradually stabilized, problems began to arise. Since a rationing system was in place, everyone's food, clothing, and daily necessities were roughly the same. Some people started to wonder why they should do all the hard work, such as mining, road construction, and bricklaying, while others did easier tasks and received no benefits. This kind of thinking would definitely spread, leading to a negative impact on work.

To address this, Tang Yuan suggested implementing a points system. Those who did heavy physical labor, technical work, or high-risk jobs would receive double points to boost their motivation. After all, it wasn't practical to give them money at this stage, as gold and silver coins were crucial "foreign exchange" resources for purchasing essential supplies from the outside world. Even if they were given money, there was nowhere to spend it, as the settlers were still on a communal system with no market for goods.

The Executive Committee had to think hard about how to use these points. After all, this was an internal credit currency for the settlers, and it needed to have a cash value, meaning it had to be exchangeable for something.

Initially, someone suggested exchanging points for goods. However, the settlers currently produced very few items, mostly building materials, which were not useful for eating or wearing, and no one would want to exchange points for these.

Next, someone asked if points could be exchanged for land. This involved issues of land ownership, and there was no consensus on this matter, so it was put on hold.

Finally, Tang Yuan suggested that in the next batch of brick houses to be allocated, those with more points would have priority. Additionally, points could be used to exchange for paid food items, such as dried fish and alcohol. As the range of goods increased in the future, the scope of exchanges would gradually expand.

After some thought, everyone agreed that this was the best solution, and the points system was established.

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On January 30th, the construction team, which had been on a five-day break, resumed work.

After Xiao Bailang and Wang Tietui's efforts, the Executive Committee finally agreed to address the long-delayed issue of the stranded ships, including the Yunsheng No. 1.

The initial plan approved by the Executive Committee involved several steps: 1) building dams upstream and downstream of the stranded ships; 2) digging a diversion channel to divert the water from the upstream dam; 3) organizing manpower to clear the silt and dredge the river. The Yunsheng No. 1 had a draft of about 4 to 4.2 meters, while the water depth at the stranded section was less than 3.5 meters, causing it to be stranded by about 0.5 to 0.7 meters. Fortunately, the engineering work was not particularly massive.

This time, the Executive Committee mobilized a record 200 people. The first day's work was to dig the diversion channel, and the excavated soil was bagged and used to build the dams. The 150-meter-long diversion channel took the settlers a week to complete, while the dams upstream and downstream, about 100 meters apart, were also roughly in place.

"The dams need to be compacted," said Shao Shude, a former construction contractor, who took on the role of chief construction supervisor. "We don't need to worry about the downstream dam, but the upstream one must be well-built. This isn't a one-time dam; the Executive Committee has decided to build a concrete dam upstream. As you know, the Big Fish River has a slow current, making it difficult to utilize. Some industrial departments have proposed building a permanent dam to harness the water resources for water mills and water-powered hammers."

"Commissioner Shao, building the dam is easy. The key is how to construct the water channel," Liu Dafa asked Shao Shude in a low voice. He was now a small team leader in the construction team but still had a cautious personality.

"I've thought about the water channel. I plan to build several large brick culverts inside the dam," Shao Shude replied. "This will also facilitate the construction of new sluice gates in the future."

After inspecting the dams, Shao Shude personally went down to the riverbed. The water in the riverbed had been drained, and the settlers had caught a lot of fish and shrimp during the drainage process, which was a pleasant surprise. After several days of sun exposure, the riverbed had dried and hardened. The construction team laid a large number of wooden planks or reed mats on the riverbed to prevent people from sinking.

The nearly 200-strong construction team was divided into several sections and began clearing the silt and digging the mud simultaneously. After careful observation and estimation by Shao Shude, one person could dig about 2 to 3 cubic meters of silt per day, which was not very fast. According to the Executive Committee's plan, the river depth had to be dredged to 5 meters, meaning they needed to dig about 1.5 meters deeper. The total volume of earthwork was roughly 5,000 cubic meters, requiring the settlers to work for more than ten days.

Sighing lightly, Shao Shude stopped talking and took a shovel to dig the silt himself. The excavated silt was transported to the brick kiln site and used to make bricks.

On February 18th, the silt-clearing work was officially completed. At Shao Shude's command, the wooden temporary water gates between the dam culverts were removed. Water surged out of the four culverts, and as the water level rose, the tugboats and barges floated first. When the water level reached over 4 meters, the Yunsheng No. 1 also slowly floated up.

At the downstream dam, the crowd began to dig the water channel reserved for the ships to pass through.

Wang Tietui had already started the cargo ship's engine. When the water level stopped rising, he began to move slowly. At this point, Old Zhang's tugboat had already towed several barges through the reserved water channel. The channel was relatively wide, and the tugboat and barges were not large, so Old Zhang's tugboat team passed through smoothly after careful navigation, heading for the river mouth.

When it was the Yunsheng No. 1's turn to pass through the water channel, everyone was very anxious. The 2,000-ton Yunsheng No. 1 had a width of 12.5 meters, and the reserved water channel was only about 15 to 16 meters wide. If it hit the dam, everyone would be in trouble. Fortunately, Wang Tietui's skills were good, and the Yunsheng No. 1 passed through the water channel smoothly, sailing all the way to the river mouth and then anchoring at the dock built by the settlers.

When Wang Tietui dropped the anchor and shut down the engine, the dock erupted in thunderous cheers!