"Fan'er, why are you buying so many stones that won't burn?" Xu Chang looked at the limestone piling higher and higher in the yard, completely puzzled.
"Father, these are treasures." Xu Fan smiled mysteriously, "You'll know when the time comes."
He mixed the limestone and clay in specific proportions, then used a large hammer to slowly break them into pieces and grind them into powder.
Thus, cement raw material, not belonging to this era, was born.
This was a tedious and physically demanding process.
You are attempting to make Construction Materials, unlocking a new skill: Forging (Beginner 0/100)
Forging proficiency + 1
Forging proficiency + 1
For several days, the "clanging" sound echoed through the Xu Family yard.
This sound, naturally, drew more discussion from the villagers.
"Have you heard? The Xu Family isn't firing bricks anymore; they've started smashing stones!"
"What are they smashing stones for? Sharpening knives? Their stones are piled up like a small mountain; when will they ever finish sharpening?"
Under the big locust tree at the village entrance, Xu Laosan found new material for gossip.
He spat out the grass root from his mouth and, with spittle flying, said to a group of idlers, "I knew it all along; that kid just loves to make trouble! He changes his tricks every few days, and nothing ever lasts!"
"You'll see, once he wastes all his money, he'll settle down."
"Third Brother is right. All this brick and stone work, how much money must it cost? What a waste!"
"Exactly, with that money, wouldn't it be better to buy a few acres of land? Why bother with all these superficial things."
The Xu Family had already learned to ignore these rumors.
They just quietly went about their work, following Xu Fan's instructions.
A few days later, the brick blanks finally dried.
On the day they were loaded into the kiln for firing, Master Fang personally came to help. He originally thought he was there to guide, but he soon found that he couldn't get involved at all.
From stacking the brick blanks to preheating the kiln and controlling the heat, Xu Fan arranged everything in an orderly manner. His professionalism made Master Fang, an old hand, feel inadequate.
He could only squat by the kiln entrance, watching the roaring flames with a complex expression.
He felt as if his decades of craftsmanship had been for nothing.
During the days of waiting for the bricks to fire, Xu Fan was not idle either.
He mixed the ground cement raw material in proportion, piled it in a corner of the back courtyard of the shop, and covered it with a tarpaulin for later use.
Finally, the day of opening the kiln arrived.
All the shop assistants, Master Fang, and Shopkeeper Qian himself gathered around.
As the kiln door was slowly opened, a blast of scorching Qi rushed out.
When everyone saw the situation inside the kiln, gasps of cold Qi rose one after another.
Inside the kiln, rows upon rows of blue bricks were neatly stacked.
Each brick displayed a uniform and deep bluish-gray color, pure and free of impurities.
When one was picked out with tongs and tapped, the sound was crisp and pleasant, like the sound of metal and stone.
"Good bricks! Excellent bricks!" Master Fang was the first to rush forward, picking up a brick and turning it over and over, his face flushed with excitement, "Heavens, I've been firing bricks my whole life, and I've never seen such perfect color!"
Shopkeeper Qian's eyes also lit up; he knew he had made the right gamble this time!
With the bricks fired, the next step was tiles.
With the experience of firing bricks, Xu Fan made tiles even more skillfully.
He even personally improved the molds, producing tiles with elegant curves and tight joints.
Another kiln of perfect finished products completely convinced Master Li, who even wanted to apprentice himself to Xu Fan.
With bricks and tiles complete, everything was ready.
Next, it was time to level the foundation and prepare to build the house.
Just as the Xu Family was immersed in joy and preparing for a big undertaking, a new storm was quietly brewing.
The great drought became increasingly severe.
The stream in the village dried up, and the river ditch at the foot of the mountain also ran dry, leaving only some hard, dry pebbles.
At this, the entire Xu Family Village and other villages fell into panic.
Without water, the crops in the fields were completely ruined.
Without water, even survival became a problem for people.
For a time, the village was shrouded in gloom, and people were in a state of anxiety.
In stark contrast to the despair of the entire village was the small courtyard of the Xu Family.
Because the Xu Family's well was dug deep enough, its water source was abundant, and the clear well water seemed to be inexhaustible.
The Xu Family's vegetable garden was still a vibrant green.
This contrast was like a thorn, deeply embedded in the heart of every villager.
Jealousy, fueled by thirst and despair, quickly fermented.
That night, the village chief gathered all the men of the village for a meeting in the ancestral hall.
"...That's the situation. The river ditch is dry. If we don't find a solution soon, we'll all die of thirst!" The village chief said with a worried face, tapping on the table.
The ancestral hall was filled with Death Qi; everyone sighed, and no one could come up with an idea.
Just then, a discordant voice rang out.
"It's not that there's no solution!" Xu Laosan stood up, casting a sinister glance at everyone, "Why is our village's well dry? Haven't you ever thought about it?"
He slapped his thigh hard, his voice suddenly rising: "It's because of Xu Fan's well! His well is very evil; a few days after it was dug, our river ditch dried up!"
"I think that's not a well at all, but a water eye, using dark magic to absorb all the Dragon Qi of our village's water veins!"
Although these words were absurd, they were inflammatory in such a panicked atmosphere.
"That's right! Ever since his family dug that well, their lives have gotten better and better, but our village's land has gotten drier and drier!" A man said with red eyes, "My child fainted from thirst today!"
"He must have used some dark magic!"
"His family has water to drink, why should we die of thirst? It's unfair!"
The villagers' emotions were instantly ignited.
Seeing this, a hint of triumph flashed in Xu Laosan's eyes. He raised his arm and shouted, "Xu Fan's family is also part of the village, so he should hand over the well for everyone in the village to use! This is only right and proper!"
"Right! Make him hand over the well!"
"Let's go! Let's go to his house and demand it!"
A group of villagers, driven mad by thirst and jealousy, instigated by Xu Laosan, rushed towards the Xu Family, holding torches.
Meanwhile, in the Xu Family courtyard, Xu Fan was just about to clear the weeds.
Loud noises and banging on the door came from afar.
The firelight cast a reddish glow on the courtyard wall.
"Xu Fan! Open the door! Open the door quickly!"
"Hand over the well!"
The Xu Family's faces changed drastically; several younger siblings, scared, hid behind Yan Aini.
Xu Chang and Xu Chengbo grabbed hoes and carrying poles from the yard, nervously guarding in front.
Xu Fan frowned slightly.
He walked to the courtyard gate, and through the door panel, he calmly asked, "Uncles, what brings you here so late at night?"
"Stop talking nonsense!" Xu Laosan's voice was extremely arrogant, "Your family has drained the village's water veins, so now you must hand over the well for public use! Otherwise, we'll smash open your gate!"
"Smash open the gate?"
Xu Fan's voice came through the door panel, without a trace of anger, yet it instantly quieted the noisy crowd outside by a few degrees.
"Uncle Xu San, if you say that, does the government know?"
That one sentence made Xu Laosan choke.
Gathering a crowd to attack a private residence was a crime against the king's law.
He shouted, putting on a brave front, "Don't use the government to scare people! We are doing this to survive! Your family has cut off the lifeline of the entire village; we'll fight you to the death!"
"Right! Fight to the death!"
The crowd stirred again; despair had overcome reason.
Xu Fan didn't waste any more words with them. He turned to his nervous father and younger brother and said, "Father, second brother, open the door."
"Fan'er!" Xu Chang exclaimed in alarm, "There are so many of them; if we open the door, we..."
"It's alright." Xu Fan gave him a comforting look, "There's no hiding from it; it's better to just talk things through."
Looking at his son's calm demeanor, Xu Chang gritted his teeth, and together with Xu Chengbo, slowly unlatched the door.