Chapter 892
Building
As Zheng Yi listened, his gaze swept over a five-story wooden and stone building on the side of the street. The exterior walls of the building were covered with icicles, the ground floor shops were crowded with people, but most of the windows on the second floor and above were tightly closed, and occasionally smoke would come out of the chimney, like a sickly wheezing.
“The rent is indeed cheap at one tael,” Zheng Yi said. “But the premise is that the city is safe and sound, cultivators do not cheat mortals, craftsmen have work to do, and mortals have hope.”
Han Wuhen nodded repeatedly:
“What you say makes sense, sir. Our Hanyuan City has relied on furs and iron ore for survival over the years, and the conflict between cultivators and mortals is not small. I had three copies of your ‘New Laws of Great Fortune’ copied back, and I’m planning to modify them for use in our city.”
As they spoke, they arrived at the city lord's mansion.
Two iron lions stood guard at the mansion gate, their eyes glaring, icicles hanging from their mouths, like two ferocious beasts just crawling out of the snow. The mansion's courtyard was vast, with a three-story main building in the center, its roof covered in a thick layer of snow. Copper bells hung from the four corner eaves, tinkling in the wind. Rows of holly bushes lined both sides of the courtyard, their green leaves heavy with snow, hanging limply down.
Han Wuhen led Zheng Yi into the warm pavilion.
The walls of the warm pavilion were made of white jade, and the floor was covered with a thick Persian carpet. In the center was a three-foot-diameter bronze brazier, in which fine sandalwood incense burned, its smoke curling upwards with a faint, sweet sandalwood scent. Inside the pavilion was a rosewood octagonal table, on which sixteen dishes—eight cold and eight hot—were already laid out. Beside it was a freshly opened jar of thirty-year-old aged wine; even before the aroma had fully dissipated, it was already enough to make one's tongue tingle.
Han Wuhen personally poured wine for Zheng Yi:
"Please try this, sir. I dug this wine out of an ice cave in the Tianshan Mountains. It was buried for thirty-seven years. It tastes like a knife when it enters your mouth, like fire when it goes down your throat, and finally turns into a warm current that goes straight to your dantian."
Zheng Yi took the wine glass and took a small sip.
The wine was icy cold, with a very faint cedar flavor, but after swallowing it, it felt like swallowing a ball of fire, burning his chest. He put down the glass and nodded:
"Good wine."
Han Wuhen smiled so hard his eyes narrowed into slits:
"I'm glad you like it, sir."
He sat down opposite Zheng Yi and lowered his voice:
"To be honest, the main reason I invited you here is for one thing—the building."
"Winter is long in Hanyuan City, and the old houses simply can't withstand it. I had three copies made of the blueprints and formations for your ten-story dormitory, but I still feel like something is missing. I would like to ask you to give me some pointers, and perhaps... help us build a few more."
Zheng Yi looked at the amber-colored liquid in his glass, his voice calm:
Building a building is not difficult.
"The difficulty lies in the follow-up."
"Once the building is built and ordinary people move in, won't cultivators be envious? Won't they forcibly rent or occupy the space? Won't they take advantage of their higher cultivation levels to arbitrarily raise prices?"
Han Wuhen's expression changed slightly, then he smiled bitterly:
“Sir, you have hit the nail on the head. The conflict between cultivators and mortals in our city is already greater than in Hongyun City. I have read your new law, and it is indeed effective, but in Hanyuan City... we have a weak foundation, many cultivators and few mortals, so I am afraid that there will be greater resistance to its implementation.”
Zheng Yi looked up at him:
"If there is great resistance, start with small steps."
"Build one first, for ordinary people to live in."
"The rent is fixed at one tael of silver per month. Whoever raises the rent will be forced to leave the city."
"Whoever forcibly seizes it will have their cultivation destroyed."
"Establish the rules first, then gradually implement them."
Han Wuhen's breathing became rapid:
"Sir, you mean... to establish authority first?"
Zheng Yi nodded:
"Establish authority."
"Use the ruthless methods to establish the most stable rules."
"Hanyuan City should learn from Hongyun City, not by building skyscrapers, but by how to make mortals dare to hold their heads high."
Han Wuhen remained silent.
After a long silence, he slammed his hand on the table:
"it is good!"
"I'll listen to you, sir!"
"I've already chosen the land, it's that vacant lot in the south of the city by the river, 3.7 acres, backed by the Hanyuan River, so it won't be flooded. I had it cleared a few days ago, and I'm just waiting for your word, sir, to start construction tomorrow!"
Zheng Yi put down his wine glass:
"Construction will begin tomorrow."
"I'll revise the blueprints again tonight, incorporating the climate characteristics of Hanyuan City. The bottom floor will be thickened by two feet to create ice cellar shops; a 'heat-gathering array' will be added every three floors to save 70% of charcoal in winter; and a rain and snow collection array will be installed on the top floor to store water for the entire building."
Han Wuhen's eyes lit up:
"Sir, you are truly...a divine being!"
Zheng Yi shook his head:
"Not a god."
"I just... don't want to see anyone freeze to death again."
Han Wuhen's Adam's apple bobbed as he raised his glass:
"This toast is for you, sir!"
Zheng Yi raised his glass.
Han Wuhen put down his wine glass, rubbed his hands together, as if he were cold, or perhaps excited:
"Sir, I've already had the land fenced off, the surrounding shantytowns relocated, and a 30-step-wide road cleared out, leading directly to the Hanyuan River wharf. If you feel the location isn't suitable, I'll find another one tomorrow."
Zheng Yi shook his head:
"It's good to live near the river."
"Water transport is convenient, and building materials can be shipped directly here, saving time and effort."
"Moreover... it's windy by the river, but the wind can also generate electricity."
Han Wuhen was taken aback:
"Generate electricity?"
Zheng Yi took out a small piece of paper from his sleeve. On the paper, he had drawn a rough outline with charcoal: a towering iron pole with four windmill-like blades at the top, connected to a copper coil, and a stone base engraved with runes at the bottom.
“Wind-powered array,” Zheng Yi said, pointing to the diagram. “In the winter, the winds in Hanyuan City are strong and almost never stop. By using the ‘Wind-Gathering Array’ to concentrate the wind and rotate the blades, the blades drive the copper coils to cut the magnetic field, which generates a stable current. The current is then introduced into each floor of the building to make heaters, water heaters, and even small flour mills.”
Han Wuhen's eyes widened even more:
"Sir, you mean... you can keep the whole building warm without charcoal?"
Zheng Yi nodded:
"The ground floor shops use charcoal fires, while the upper floors residents use wind power."
"Saving coal also saves lives."
Han Wuhen slapped his thigh hard:
"Great! This is an excellent idea! In winter, our Hanyuan City spends 30% of the city's tax revenue just on buying charcoal! If we can really save that much..."
He suddenly stopped, his voice lowering:
"Sir, could this wind array... be destroyed by a cultivator?"
Zheng Yi's gaze remained calm:
"meeting."
"Therefore, each level must be equipped with a 'protective array lock'."
"Anyone who dares to break this will trigger the entire building's warning array."
"At that time... all the cultivators in the city will know that touching this building is touching my bottom line."
Han Wuhen's breath hitched, then he nodded vigorously:
"I understand."
"Rest assured, sir. This building... I, Han Wuhen, guarantee with my life that anyone who dares to touch it will be the first to fight me to the death!"
Zheng Yi looked at him.
a long time.
He nodded:
"it is good."
"Take me to see the land at Chenshi (7-9 AM) tomorrow."
Han Wuhen immediately stood up:
"Alright! I'll have someone prepare the blueprints and materials list tonight, and we'll go together tomorrow morning!" Zheng Yi nodded and stood up.
Han Wuhen personally escorted him to his guest room.
The guest room was located in the east courtyard of the city lord's mansion. Several wintersweet trees grew in the courtyard, and the plum blossoms were in full bloom, filling the air with a subtle fragrance. When the door was pushed open, the floor was already heated by the underfloor heating, and three layers of new cotton mattresses were laid on the bed. A glass lamp was placed on the bedside table, with a landscape painting on the lampshade, and the light was soft.
Han Wuhen stood at the door, not going in:
"Please rest early, sir. I will be waiting for you in the main hall at dawn tomorrow."
Zheng Yi clasped his hands in a fist salute:
Thank you.
The door closed.
Zheng Yi walked to the table.
Several new sheets of paper were already spread out on the table, with writing brushes, ink, and purple-gold sand brought back from Broken Sword Valley beside them.
He sat down.
I pick up my pen.
Start revising the drawings.
On a winter afternoon in Hongyun City, the sunlight, always carrying a strained warmth, peeks through gaps in the clouds, illuminating the steel exterior of the new dormitory building in the east of the city, reflecting a cold, hard metallic sheen. The ten-story building is already topped out, and the foundation runes on the exterior walls gleam faintly in the sunlight, like countless tiny blue veins running across the stone surface. The plaza below is piled high with newly arrived black stone blocks, their surfaces still covered in damp moss from the mines, emitting a faint smell of rust and earth. Craftsmen, their stones bound together in small hemp ropes, squat in groups of three or five beside the piles, hammering them to test their hardness. The clanging of hammers echoes throughout, as if a blacksmith's shop from afar has moved here ahead of time.
Zheng Yi stood in the center of the open space downstairs, wearing a thin cotton robe over a gray-blue cloth shirt. The hem of the robe was lifted by the wind, revealing the scabbard of the purple-gold longsword at his waist. In his hand, he held a fist-sized piece of black rock-like stone, his thumb slowly rubbing its surface. The stone's texture was rough, with extremely fine metallic particles, and it felt cold and heavy to the touch.
Guo Tianyou stood to his left, his hands tucked into his sleeves, his breath condensing into a small puff in the cold air.
"Sir, this batch of black rock was transported from the black iron mine upstream of Hanyuan City. Each truckload weighs fifty tons and only arrived last night. City Lord Han sent people to escort it, saying that he gave it a 20% discount because of your reputation."
Zheng Yi held the stone up to his eyes and examined it closely in the sunlight. At the broken edge of the stone, faint silver-gray metallic wires were embedded in the rock strata, like frozen lightning.
"It's hard enough," he said in a low voice. "Its compressive strength is 40% higher than the blue bricks in our city, and its fire resistance is also better. It's the perfect replacement for wooden beams and rafters."
Guo Tianyou scratched his head:
“Sir, wood is light and easy to use for scaffolding, but black rock is so heavy… If we just replaced the beams and pillars of a ten-story building with black rock, how much weight would that add? Could the foundation support it?”
Zheng Yi handed the stone to Guo Tianyou, letting him weigh it himself:
"The foundation has been reinforced. The twelve black iron piles are driven three zhang deep into the earth's veins, and the tops of the piles are connected by the 'Thousand-Jin Earth-Solidifying Array'. The weight has increased by 30%, and the array can withstand it."
He paused, his gaze shifting to the horse-drawn carts unloading their cargo:
“But the amount of black rock needed is too large. For a ten-story building, the main beams, secondary beams, floor slabs, load-bearing walls... alone require at least three hundred tons. Our city’s stock is only enough to build two floors, and we will have to buy from outside for anything beyond that.”
Guo Tianyou weighed the stone in his hand, his brow furrowed:
"The black iron ore is located four hundred miles upstream from Hanyuan City; black rock is a specialty of that area. Lord Han wrote last time saying he was willing to supply it long-term, but the price..."
Zheng Yi took the stone, placed it back in the pile of samples, and said calmly:
"When we last met, he quoted a price of thirty taels of silver per ton."
Guo Tianyou gasped:
"Thirty taels! Our blue bricks are only eight taels a ton! This isn't selling stones, it's selling gold!"
Zheng Yi didn't respond to that, his gaze sweeping towards the foreman in the distance who was directing the unloading. The foreman was a man in his forties, his face purple from the cold wind, yet he was still loudly shouting at the workers to stack the stones neatly.
"Go ask," Zheng Yi said. "What's the foreman's name?"
Guo Tianyou walked over quickly, asked a few questions, and returned shortly after:
"His name is Lao Du, nicknamed Du the Iron Hammer. He used to work at the Black Iron Mine in Hanyuan City for fifteen years. Later, the mine collapsed, and he lost three fingers, which is why he came here."
Zheng Yi nodded and walked towards Lao Du.
When Old Du saw Zheng Yi approaching, he slammed the iron hammer he was holding onto the pile of stones with a loud thud, quickly wiped his hands, and made a rough, grinding sound like a grinding wheel.
"Sir! Why did you come in person? We can handle this job, you can rest..."
Zheng Yi waved his hand, squatted down, picked up a piece of black rock, and pointed to the silver-gray metal wire at the break:
"Old Du, what's in this?"
Old Du leaned closer for a look, grinned, and revealed a set of teeth stained yellow by smoking:
“Sir, you have a good eye! This is ‘cold iron crystal silk,’ the most valuable stuff in black iron ore. High-grade ore can sell for over fifty taels a ton. Our batch is low-grade, with fewer crystal silks, so it’s only twenty-eight taels a ton.”
Zheng Yi nodded and put the stone back in its place.
"Is the mine in Hanyuan City still stable?"
Old Du sighed, his voice lowering:
“It’s unstable. The main mine upstream collapsed halfway last year, killing more than twenty brothers. Now the remaining mine is being dug deeper and deeper, and roof collapses and water inrushes are happening every few days. City Lord Han is in a hurry to sell his goods because he is afraid that if the mine closes down, the city will have no way to survive.”
Zheng Yi was silent for a moment, then looked up at Lao Du:
"Would you like... for the people of Hanyuan City to also live in ten-story buildings?"
Old Du was taken aback, his rough fingers unconsciously rubbing the hammer handle:
"Of course I want to...who wouldn't? I've lived in Hanyuan City for half my life. In winter, the house is like an ice cave. Even burning charcoal for a whole day won't warm it up. Your building, sir...I've seen it in the east of Hongyun City. The chimney doesn't even need to emit smoke. The house is like springtime."
Zheng Yi stood up, his voice very soft:
"Then please pass on a message to Lord Han."
"Black Rock, I want a thousand tons."
"Price... twenty taels per ton."
Old Du's eyes widened instantly:
"Twenty taels? Lord Han asked for twenty-eight taels last time! Will he agree to that?"
Zheng Yi looked at the city wall in the distance, where several teams of workers were reinforcing the arrow emplacements. The sound of hammering echoed one after another, like someone's heart being pounded.
He will agree.
"Because... Hanyuan City is even more short of houses than we are."
Old Du swallowed hard.
"Sir... I'll write back right away! I still have a few old brothers at the mine; I'll have them go and persuade Lord Han!"
Zheng Yi nodded:
"it is good."
"Write the letter, find Guo Tianyou, and he will arrange for it to be sent by express horse."
Old Du clasped his hands in a deep fist salute, then turned and ran towards the workers' shed, shouting as he ran:
"Old Li! Old Zhang! Come quick! The sir wants a thousand tons of Black Rock! Twenty taels a ton! If this deal goes through, we can all live in warm houses this winter!"
Zheng Yi watched Lao Du's retreating figure.
The snow has started falling again.
Fine and dense.
It fell onto his cloak.
It landed on the exterior wall of the steel structure.
It fell on the artisans' faces, which were red from the cold.
He turned to Guo Tianyou and said:
"At dawn tomorrow, lead the team to Hanyuan City."
Guo Tianyou was taken aback:
"Will you go in person, sir?"
Zheng Yi nodded:
“Go in person.”
"Some things...carry more weight when said face to face."
Guo Tianyou clasped his hands in a fist salute:
"Yes!"
Thirty li north of Hongyun City, the official road begins to narrow, and the pine forests on both sides become increasingly dense, their trunks straight as spears. (End of Chapter)