The next day, as dawn was just breaking.
Xu Fan brought Xu Chengbo down the mountain on foot and arrived at Shopkeeper Qian's brick and tile workshop's backyard.
The backyard was very large, with a small mountain of yellow clay piled on one side and a black coal heap on the other. In the distance, there were several huge brick kilns.
Shopkeeper Qian was indeed trustworthy; he had already arranged for a Master Fang to wait early.
Master Fang was over fifty years old, with dark skin and calloused hands. One could tell at a glance that he had dealt with dirt for many years.
He squinted at Xu Fan and Xu Chengbo. Seeing their delicate skin, a hint of disdain flashed in his eyes. He was clearly looking forward to a good laugh.
He lazily pointed to a pile of clay: "Here, the first step in making bricks is mixing the mud. I've already mixed the soil and water in the correct proportion."
"You two, take off your shoes and go down to stomp it with your feet. When it's sticky but doesn't fall apart, soft yet firm, and doesn't stick to your hands when you grab it, then it's done."
After speaking, he walked to the eaves of a nearby house, found a small stool, sat down, and closed his eyes to rest, clearly not wanting to bother with them.
Xu Chengbo looked at the pile of earth, somewhat at a loss: "Big Brother, how... how do we stomp this?"
Xu Fan smiled, took off his shoes, rolled up his pant legs, and stepped into the mud pit.
A cold, slippery sensation came from the soles of his feet.
[You are attempting to mix mud, unlocking a new skill: Brick Making (Beginner 0/100)]
[Brick Making proficiency +1]
It's done!
Xu Fan's eyes lit up, and he began to stomp rhythmically.
Initially, his movements were a bit clumsy.
But as his proficiency continuously improved, every one of his movements became standard.
[Brick Making proficiency +1]
[Brick Making proficiency +1]
His feet seemed to have eyes, always stepping on the places that needed the most force.
Under his feet, the mud became uniform and fine at a visible speed.
Xu Chengbo watched for a while, then imitated his Big Brother and jumped into the mud pit.
But he didn't grasp the technique; mud splashed everywhere, spattering his face, and he was drenched in sweat from the effort, yet the results were far inferior to Xu Fan's.
An hour later, when Xu Fan had finished mixing the entire pile of mud.
His Brick Making proficiency had already risen to 89.
He now felt as if he were a master who had been mixing mud for years, thoroughly understanding the soil.
"Master Fang, please come and take a look. How's the mix?" Xu Fan called out.
Master Fang, who was dozing against the wall, lazily opened his eyes and reluctantly walked over.
He was still muttering to himself, 'How long has it been? How good could it possibly be?'
It's probably just a pile of sloppy mud soup.
He casually grabbed a lump of mud, ready to just say a few words and dismiss them.
But the next moment, the laziness and disdain on his face instantly froze.
"This... you mixed this?" He looked up, staring at Xu Fan in disbelief.
This mud was mixed too well!
The moisture was just right, the viscosity was impeccable, and there wasn't even a tiny lump in it!
This skill... this skill was even better than if he, an old master who had been immersed in this Dao for thirty years, had done it himself!
This boy... is he a Genius rarely seen in a hundred years?
"Hmm, I just stomped it casually. I don't know if it's suitable," Xu Fan replied casually, as if it were a trivial matter.
"Suitable! It's perfectly suitable!" Master Fang's attitude did a complete 180-degree turn. He looked at the pile of perfect mud, his eyes filled with awe and disbelief, "Young man, no, Mr. Xu, you... have you done this before?"
"No, this is my first time," Xu Fan said truthfully.
Master Fang's mouth twitched, and the way he looked at Xu Fan changed.
In this world, are there truly Geniuses who are born with knowledge?
"Then... the next step is molding the bricks," Master Fang's attitude became much more respectful. He proactively picked up a rectangular wooden mold and personally demonstrated, his movements ten times more serious than before.
"Fill the mixed mud into it, press it firmly, especially the four corners. Then use a scraper to remove the excess mud, ensuring the surface is flat. When demolding, be steady; don't rush."
As he spoke, he deftly produced a standard brick blank.
"Did you understand?"
"I understand," Xu Fan nodded.
[You are observing brick blank production, Brick Making proficiency +2]
He picked up a mold, scooped up a lump of mud, his movements flowing like water.
Pressing, leveling, demolding—all in one smooth motion.
A brick blank with distinct edges and a smooth surface appeared before everyone.
Its regularity was even more perfect than the one Master Fang had made.
At this, not only Master Fang, but even Xu Chengbo, who had always thought his Big Brother was fooling around, was dumbfounded.
He rubbed his eyes, leaned in to examine the brick blank carefully, then looked at his Big Brother's calm face.
Big Brother... how many more abilities does he have that we don't know about?
The subsequent work became Xu Fan's personal show.
His speed in making brick blanks was astonishingly fast, and the quality of each one was perfect.
Xu Chengbo and his father, Xu Chang, who arrived later to help, were only responsible for carefully moving the finished brick blanks one by one to an open space to dry.
[Brick Making has entered the beginner stage, advancing to: Brick Making (Proficient 0/500)]
[You have gained new insights into shaping, mastering a new skill: Shaping]
More knowledge about Brick Making instantly flooded Xu Fan's mind.
How to adjust drying time according to the weather, how to stack brick blanks so they heat more evenly, how to improve the clay formula to fire stronger and more durable bricks.
He looked at the bluestones piled not far away, and a bolder idea began to form in his mind.
Making bricks was just the first step.
What he wanted was not just a large tiled house made of bluestone that could shelter them from wind and rain.
What he wanted was something unheard of in this era, and even in this world.
Cement!
Once cement was introduced, what would that mean?
Sturdy roads could connect the village and the town, allowing goods transportation to no longer be affected by weather.
Indestructible dams and irrigation canals could solve the drought problem for the village and even the entire Qingyang Town.
He could even build taller and stronger Construction.
Xu Fan's gaze involuntarily drifted towards the distant Qingyun Mountain, shrouded in mist.
He knew that this world had cultivators and Spiritual Beasts.
The power of Mortals was, after all, limited.
But knowledge was another kind of infinite power.
"Big Brother, what are you thinking about?" Xu Chengbo's voice pulled him back from his thoughts.
"Nothing."
"I was thinking about what our new house should look like."
With Xu Fan, the human brick-making machine, efficiency was terrifyingly high.
In just three days, thousands of brick blanks, enough to build three large tiled houses, were all completed and neatly stacked in the backyard's open space, a spectacular sight.
Shopkeeper Qian came to see it once and was so shocked he was speechless.
His shop employed seven or eight workers, and even working for ten days to half a month, they might not achieve this efficiency and quality.
He immediately decided that the brick kiln would be free for Xu Fan to use, and even the coal would be sold at 80% of its cost price!
This was no longer just doing someone a favor.
He believed that Xu Fan, this true Dragon, would sooner or later soar to the sky.
Waiting for the brick blanks to dry would take a few days, but Xu Fan didn't idly.
While guiding his family to continue tending the vegetable garden, he put his new plan into action.
He had Xu Chang and Xu Chengbo take the money they had just earned to the village and nearby mountains to buy large quantities of limestone and clay, which were considered worthless by others.
These two things were readily available in the mountains near the village and were very cheap.