The bricks and tiles were already fired, and the foundation had been leveled.
Logically, the next step should have been to build the walls and raise the beams.
But Xu Fan delayed, instead embarking on new endeavors.
Early one morning, he sought out the village chief, Xu Demao.
"Fan'er, is something the matter?" Xu Demao now looked at Xu Fan with eyes full of admiration.
"Village Chief, I'd like to borrow the village's ox cart."
"Use it, feel free to use it!" Xu Demao waved his hand.
"Do you want me to send a few more people with you, Uncle?"
"No need, Chengbo and I can go by ourselves."
Soon, Xu Fan drove the village's only ox cart, taking Xu Chengbo, towards Qingyang Town.
"Big Brother, why are we going to town? Aren't the bricks and tiles already fired?" Xu Chengbo sat in the ox cart, completely puzzled.
"To get something," Xu Fan looked ahead, "something that will make our house even sturdier than the Landlord's."
Sturdier than the Landlord's?
Xu Chengbo's breathing grew a little heavier, his eyes sparkling with anticipation.
The two arrived at Shopkeeper Qian's brick and tile shop, and as soon as Shopkeeper Qian and Master Fang saw Xu Fan, they rushed out to greet him as if he were their own father.
"Mr. Xu! You've finally arrived!" Shopkeeper Qian's face was wreathed in smiles.
"Shopkeeper Qian, Master Fang, I'm here to pick up the items I left here before, and also to borrow the kiln," Xu Fan stated directly.
"Use it! Feel free to use it!" Shopkeeper Qian was very generous.
When Xu Fan directed Xu Chengbo to move out the pile of powdered limestone and clay, covered with a tarpaulin in the back courtyard, Shopkeeper Qian and Master Fang were stunned.
"Mr. Xu, are you... are you going to fire stone powder?" Master Fang looked bewildered.
He understood firing bricks and tiles, but firing this stuff, he had lived for over fifty years and never heard of it.
"Whether it can be fired or not, we'll only know after trying," Xu Fan still maintained his calm and composed demeanor.
He had Xu Chengbo transport these powders to the front of the brick kiln.
Next, Xu Fan's actions once again left Master Fang dumbfounded.
He didn't directly pour the powder in, but instead directed Xu Chengbo to spread the powder evenly inside the kiln, with extremely strict requirements for its thickness.
Then, he personally inspected the kiln's damper and made detailed arrangements for the sequence and amount of coal to be added.
His posture wasn't like he was firing a pile of useless stone powder; it was more like he was refining some priceless Golden Core.
[You are attempting to forge new Materials, Brickmaking proficiency +5, Construction proficiency +3]
This time, the heat he required was much more intense than when firing bricks.
A raging fire burned in the kiln for a day and a night.
When the kiln was opened the next day, everyone gathered around, eager to see what treasure this stone powder would yield.
However, when the kiln door opened, what everyone saw was a pile of sintered, dull gray, oddly shaped lumps.
Some areas were even burnt green, like burnt waste slag.
"This... this... it's ruined!" Master Fang exclaimed, hitting his thigh in distress.
"The fire was too hot! It's all turned into waste slag!"
Shopkeeper Qian's expression also turned somewhat grim, not out of concern for the Materials, but fearing Xu Fan's disappointment.
He quickly stepped forward to comfort him: "Mr. Xu, don't be discouraged, it's normal for a first attempt to fail..."
Xu Chengbo scratched his head and asked in a low voice: "Big Brother, this... it doesn't seem to have succeeded, does it?"
"Who said it didn't succeed?" Xu Fan, however, showed a satisfied smile.
He stepped forward, used iron tongs to pick out a piece of sintered hard lump, examined it carefully, and nodded: "Perfectly fired."
It's done!
Cement clinker!
Amidst everyone's ghost-like expressions, Xu Fan and Xu Chengbo loaded this cart of "waste slag" onto the ox cart and, to a chorus of "what a pity" sighs, returned to the village.
The news of the ox cart returning to the village with a cartload of "waste slag" naturally became the new topic of conversation in the village.
Xu Laosan had been working more honestly these past two days, but his inherent nature hadn't changed.
Seeing that cartload of stuff, he immediately perked up again, whispering to the villagers working with him: "See? I told you he loves to fuss.
This time he's turned perfectly good stone powder into a cartload of rubbish; let's see how he'll clean up this mess!"
Xu Fan still ignored him.
He had Xu Chang and Xu Chengbo clear an open space in the courtyard and borrowed a stone mill used for grinding tofu from the village.
"Big Brother, you're not going to grind this rubbish into powder again, are you?" Xu Chengbo looked at the hard lumps, feeling his arms already aching.
"Smart," Xu Fan patted his shoulder.
For the next two days, the entire Xu Family courtyard echoed with the "creaking" of the stone mill and the "clanking" of hard lumps being broken.
[Forging (Beginner 78/100)]
[Forging proficiency +1]
Under Xu Fan's guidance, a cartload of cement clinker was ground into fine gray powder by the three of them—father and sons.
With everything ready, the Construction of the house officially began.
The deep pits for the foundation had already been dug.
Xu Fan had people bring water, and he also fetched sand and several large wooden barrels.
In front of all the villagers who came to help, he mixed the mysterious gray powder, sand, and water in a specific proportion.
A gray, sticky paste appeared before everyone.
"Fan'er, are you... going to build a house with this mud?" an elderly villager couldn't help but ask.
"Yes."
"This... will this work? We usually build houses with yellow mud mixed with straw; this... it doesn't look sturdy."
"Whether it's sturdy or not, we'll know after we try," Xu Fan smiled faintly, without much explanation.
He had Xu Chengbo lead the way, pouring the mixed gray paste, which was concrete, barrel by barrel into the pre-dug foundation trenches and the deep pits for the load-bearing pillars.
Although the villagers were full of doubts, out of reverence and trust in Xu Fan, they still followed obediently.
After all, the previous incident of digging the well had already made them understand that this young man's ideas could not be judged by common sense.
"This sticky stuff, like melted malt candy, can it support the roof beams?"
"Who knows, whatever Fan'er tells us to do, we just do it."
"Exactly, as long as there's water to drink, what's a little work?"
In the crowd, Xu Laosan couldn't hold back again.
He hid behind people, muttering sarcastically to a few familiar men beside him: "See? Pointless fuss! They won't use good yellow mud, insisting on using this dull gray stuff."
Seeing people around looking over, he spoke with more vigor, simply stepping out and pointing at the gray mud, shouting loudly to everyone:
"I dare to bet that when this stuff dries, one stomp with a foot will shatter it into dust! Then, the walls they build will collapse with a gust of wind!"
He pounded his chest, swearing with spittle flying: "If this gray mud can be harder than stone, I, Xu Laosan, will walk around him whenever I see him from now on!"
Many villagers who heard him felt there was some truth to it and also started to murmur inwardly.
Xu Fan heard it, but paid it no mind.
He not only had people pour in the concrete but also took several bundles of tough green bamboo from the side, split them open, and placed them crosswise into the deep pits of the load-bearing pillars, then poured concrete over them.
[Construction (Beginner 28/100)]
[Construction proficiency +1]
This action was even more incomprehensible to everyone.
"Fan'er, what is this for now?" his father, Xu Chang, couldn't help but ask.
"Father, these are called 'reinforcements'. With reinforcements, the bones are stronger," Xu Fan explained simply.
In one morning, the foundations for the three large tiled houses were all poured.
The surface of the gray concrete was scraped smooth by Xu Fan with a wooden board.
"Alright, that's enough for today," Xu Fan clapped his hands.
"Let it dry for a day; we'll see it tomorrow."
The villagers collected their respective water and dispersed in twos and threes, discussing nothing but the Xu Family's strange method of building a house.
In the Xu Family courtyard, Yan Aini looked at the gray ground, worriedly: "Fan'er, is this... is this really reliable? Don't let us waste the bricks and tiles we worked so hard to fire."
"Mother, please don't worry," Xu Fan said with a smile, comforting her.
"You'll know tomorrow."
The night passed without incident.