Chapter 43

### Chapter 43: Basic Living Facilities Construction

Yesterday, after Chen Xie told Yu Huan about it, the girl refused to go along with it. How could they just give things away for free? The things we have aren't just falling from the sky. Besides, if people get used to getting things for free, they'll become even more demanding. In the future, if you don't give them things for free, they might even come to your house and take them by force. This made Chen Xie break out in a cold sweat, as he had seen many such ungrateful events on the internet.

Anyway, since he was used to being a hands-off boss, the doctor decided to leave it to her. "This is all yours to handle. I don't care. Just make sure everyone in the village has new clothes for the New Year and can eat steamed buns on New Year's Eve." Yu Huan, with a dismissive attitude, said, "Is that all? It's a piece of cake. Just wait and see, I'll make sure everything is done perfectly."

Chen Xie never expected that his well-intentioned plan to set up a workshop would turn into a complete sweatshop in Yu Huan's hands. No pay for work, and a little bit of sorghum would send people away. In modern society, such practices would have workers surrounding you, and you'd be drowned in their spittle.

What was Chen Xie doing at this time? While Yu Huan was establishing her authority, Yuzhu found the hospital. The hospital, which usually had few patients, now had a group of people. Chen Xie led the way, followed by Wen Bajin and two apprentices. Wen Bajin, the top craftsman in Dengzhou City for construction, had been having a great time recently.

Working for the divine doctor was a joy. As long as the work was done well, the silver would come quickly and cleanly. Yesterday, someone called him to see the divine doctor, and he was waiting at the door early this morning. He and his two apprentices waited in the cold for half an hour, and the sun was up when he finally saw the divine doctor.

Chen Xie held a rough sketch and said to Wen Bajin, "Follow me." The four of them entered the hospital and went to the bathing room. The so-called bathing room was just a room, cleared out with a drainage ditch, where people used wooden buckets to bathe. This bathing room was for hospital use only, and others were not allowed in.

"Do you see? This room, the left side is for men, the right side for women. The middle part, I left it empty on purpose for this project," Chen Xie explained, pointing and gesturing. Wen Bajin, who knew a few hundred characters, held a notebook and a pencil given by Chen Xie, ready to take notes.

Unfolding the sketch, Chen Xie pointed to the drawings and said, "Here and here, we need to dig pools, brick them up, and tile them. Here, we need to make a hole for the water pipes to come in, and then we'll have hot water."

Wen Bajin couldn't understand the sketch at all, but he knew that as long as he asked, the divine doctor wouldn't be angry.

"Divine Doctor, what is this?" He pointed to the spot under their feet. Chen Xie explained, "This is a boiler for heating water. This is a water pool, and this is a water well. Look, the water pool must be built higher, on a platform, using the principle of a communicating vessel. Oh, you don't understand that. Here, this is a water well, built along the wall, with a six-foot platform, and another water pool on top. We'll use a water wheel to pump water from the lower pool to the upper pool. Then, the water pipes will come out here and go into the boiler. Alright, stop taking notes. This time, I'll do it with you, and next time, you'll know how to do it."

"Alright, can I take this sketch back and look at it?" Wen Bajin still felt he needed to study the sketch and remember it for future reference. Chen Xie casually handed it to him, never imagining that years later, this sketch would become a family heirloom, framed and hung in the main hall, and many people would try to buy it but fail.

Wen Bajin called all his workers and followed Chen Xie, learning carefully. Chen Xie, who had studied for several days in modern society and conducted on-site investigations, naturally knew where to dig for water and that the water source was not deep.

"Dig down ten feet, use a Luoyang shovel, don't make a large hole." Pointing to a spot in the yard, a few young men started digging. Then Chen Xie went to the bathing room and directed Wen Bajin and the others to dig the water pools. With many hands, the work progressed quickly. Thirty strong laborers worked on different tasks simultaneously, digging holes, building platforms, and everything proceeded smoothly.

The ten-foot-deep hole was quickly dug. Before they could call Chen Xie, two young men carried a pipe with a pointed end. No one had seen such a thing before, and many were secretly criticizing the waste of good iron.

The pipe was about twenty feet long. They stood it up in the hole, and a young man climbed a ladder while two others held it steady. A large wooden hammer was swung, and the pipe was driven into the ground. When only three feet remained above ground, Chen Xie called a stop. He took out a strange object, removed the thick paper covering the top of the pipe, and revealed the threads.

He wrapped it with waterproof tape and, with a few grunts, the water pump was basically formed. Chen Xie looked at the five or six helpers, all middle-aged men with families. Working with Chen Xie was an opportunity for them to learn skills. Everyone watched carefully, and Chen Xie was very patient, giving reminders each time.

"Go, get a bucket of water and pour it in until it overflows." Everyone rushed to fetch water, and soon a dozen buckets were lined up. Chen Xie, amused but not saying anything, had someone use a ladle to pour water into the water pump. After using less than two buckets, the water overflowed. Chen Xie called a stop, pressed the handle, and started pumping water.

"Wow! The divine doctor is truly amazing!" The shouts of admiration rose as the water pump was successfully completed.

Next, cement made its grand appearance. Mixing sand and cement, the walls were built quickly. By noon, the platform and the water pool by the well were completed. In the afternoon, the inside and outside of the water pool were smoothed with cement.

Chen Xie didn't bother to explain further. He just told them what to do. After a day's hard work, the project was only half done. He announced a break, telling everyone to come back early the next morning. On the way out, they could eat dinner in the kitchen. They could choose to be paid in ten pounds of millet or three pounds of flour, or if they preferred, sorghum or beans.

Everyone left satisfied, and Chen Xie returned to his courtyard. After a bath, he hesitated to return to his bedroom but finally steeled himself and went in. As expected, a small head was under the quilt, grinning. Yu Huan was much braver than Yuzhu, not pretending to be asleep, just waiting.

So, she stayed. The treatment was the same. Just don't complain about sore cheeks like Yuzhu.

The next morning, Chen Xie left the courtyard, feeling refreshed. The life of a landlord in the Ming Dynasty was indeed very comfortable. Whether it was Yuzhu or Yu Huan, they did whatever he asked and let him touch wherever he wanted. Finding a wild girlfriend in this place was too difficult. The entire moral and social system oppressed women deeply. In modern society, Chen Xie would still criticize some chauvinistic behavior (online), but now, even if he wanted to improve women's status, people might not be willing.

Take Yu Huan and Yuzhu, for example. He had to talk their ears off to convince them to give up the idea of starting to prepare for having children immediately.

On the second day of Chen Xie's project to improve and build living facilities, all the craftsmen were in awe. After just one night, the water pool on the ground had dried and hardened. No one had ever seen such a miraculous thing, and the craftsmen pressed their hands on the cement surface, which didn't change at all.

While the craftsmen were excitedly gathered around the water pool, Chen Xie led a dozen people to bring out a small boiler from the warehouse. This was an old small boiler that Chen Xie had obtained from a construction site through Zhang Haisheng, which he had specially refurbished to boil water efficiently. Following the diagram, he directed everyone to lift the boiler onto a cement base.

Boards and pipes were brought out, and under Chen Xie's leadership and direction, everyone worked enthusiastically. With many hands, the pipes were laid and covered with soil in a day. The original drainage ditch was cleared and cemented, and stone bricks were placed on top. The workload was not too large.

Everyone was divided into several groups. In general, the wall-building group learned how to use cement, the well-digging group learned how to dig wells, and the pipe-laying group learned how to install pipes. The rest was simple, just waiting for the water pool on the platform to be completed.

When Chen Xie announced the end of the day's work, he asked Wen Bajin what he had learned. Wen Bajin, who had been following Chen Xie closely, was a practical person. He tilted his head and thought for a moment, then said, "I learned a lot. There's too much to remember, so I need to think about it more. However, the way the divine doctor divided the people into groups was very helpful. In the future, when there's work to be done, I can divide the people into groups, assign tasks, and start multiple tasks simultaneously to save time."

Chen Xie gave him a thumbs up and said, "Smart, this is called the统筹法 (coordinated method). Do you remember how I arranged it? First, I had you dig the pools in the bathing room, then I led people to dig the well, and at the same time, directed others to build the water pool and clear the drainage ditch. This is called being organized and orderly. Remember, for any task, you need this concept. Plan ahead and organize the work. Take your time, you'll learn a lot."

Wen Bajin left, deeply grateful, and firmly remembered these words. The divine doctor had said that even larger projects were coming. After building the living facilities in the house, they would build a school, and after the school, they would repair the old earth walls. They would build brick walls and a few watchtowers, as the world was too chaotic, and they needed a safe place to live. Oh, and there was also the dock and the new village. These projects would keep him busy for a year or more, and he would earn a lot of silver.