Chapter 349: First Volume, Chapter 349: Prospecting for Water Sources

First Volume, Chapter 349: Prospecting for Water Sources

Qin Feng was merely a minor ten-household leader, with no connection to officials and zero interest in becoming one.

Yet Li Lang's martial prowess greatly impressed Qin Feng.

"No wonder he's the Ming Prince's son!"

Facing Qin Feng's unprecedented praise, Li Lang beamed with pride: "I inherited my father's martial arts, surpassing him in skill. My elder brother, Li Zhang, inherited our father's command abilities—he has reached a level of mastery in military strategy that borders on the divine."

"It's just that we never got the chance!"

"Otherwise, my brother and I would have charged onto the battlefield and slaughtered the Northern Di until they were utterly routed—there'd be no endless, grinding war year after year."

Qin Feng did not doubt the Ming Prince's family's strength—but so what? The Liang Emperor feared them; the more capable they were, the more they were buried in obscurity.

After all, great merit threatens the sovereign!

As Qin Feng reflected on the Ming Prince's family's fate, Li Lang suddenly dropped a bombshell: "Qin Da Ge, you're someone who can speak directly to the Heavenly Court. Why not petition the Sage to send me to the battlefield, to earn glory and merit?"

At this, Qin Feng shook his head like a rattle drum: "Don't get me involved!"

"I won't even speak well of you—just mentioning your family's name, the Sage could kill me with his gaze a hundred times over."

"It's strange—there are so many princes in Jingdu, yet why does your family draw the Sage's special attention?"

Hearing this, Li Lang's eyes dimmed slightly as he sighed: "Don't bring it up—it's a long story."

Qin Feng was about to ask more, but Wu Wei returned, so he cut the conversation short.

Wu Wei looked as if he hadn't slept all night; he dismounted and bowed: "Young Master, Prefect Chen has agreed—the Supervising Official will arrive in Changping County soon."

Qin Feng snorted lightly: "Good thing that old ass showed sense—if not, I'd have paid him a visit myself."

Hearing this, Wu Wei couldn't help smirking: "When Prefect Chen heard it was you, he didn't dare say a word—he was terrified you'd get angry and move into the Zhou Fu for a few days. Though I only saw Prefect Chen in the Guest Hall and never entered the Back Courtyard, even just going in and out of the Front Courtyard, I saw several maidservants."

"They were called maidservants, but dressed in gold and silver—clearly concubines. I got curious and inquired around the Zhou Fu—would you believe it? Prefect Chen, at sixty, has taken on twelve concubines."

Qin Feng sneered, visibly disgusted: "This old bastard's body is in better shape than mine!"

"But such things are too common—we don't care, and we can't control them. We just focus on our own work."

"Go meet up with Qin Xiaofu and Zhao Yuxiong."

Wu Wei was about to leave when Zhao Yuxiong rode up.

"Qin Brother, it's done—I only visited two counties and recruited five thousand strong civilian laborers. Qin Xiaofu is holding the rear; they'll arrive soon. If we need more men, I'll go to other county cities."

Five thousand? More than enough!

Qin Feng waved his hand, signaling Zhao Yuxiong and Wu Wei to rest after their day-and-night journey.

Soon after, Qin Xiaofu led a dense crowd heading toward them.

Seeing such a massive group, Qin Feng was satisfied: "Good efficiency. Keep the remaining five thousand liang of silver."

Qin Xiaofu's eyes sparkled as he grinned: "Master, my admiration for you is like the Yellow River flooding—"

Qin Feng glared: "Flooding your mother's leg—get lost. I've no patience for your flattery. Sort through these five thousand men—there'll be plenty of rascals and idle men. Isolate them."

Qin Xiaofu looked surprised: "Master, are you planning to kick out these troublemakers to avoid disruption?"

Qin Feng flatly refused: "No. I have my own use for them."

Though Qin Xiaofu was cunning, lazy, greedy, and slothful, Qin Feng greatly admired one trait: he obeyed orders.

No matter what Qin Feng told him to do, he never asked questions—he just did it.

In no time, nearly a thousand rascals and idle men were filtered out.

What counted as a "rascal and idle man"? There was no standard—just guess: anyone who looked menacing or spoke like a thug got pulled out.

Qin Feng ordered the thousand rascals to stand by, then divided the remaining four thousand into ten teams, each of four hundred men. Teams One through Nine were sent to the pre-marked locations for temporary garrison. Team Ten became temporary craftsmen, heading to nearby abandoned villages.

They were to dismantle the roof beams and haul them back.

Once the Liang Wood piled up like a small mountain, Qin Feng climbed onto the Workshop Cart and pulled out two sacks of iron nails, tossing them onto the ground.

Since Qin Feng had already known Changping County's situation, he'd prepared in advance.

These two sacks of iron nails were, more precisely, box-shaped Grab Nails, designed specifically to join wooden beams. Though iron already existed in this era, and Grab Nails had been invented, the scarcity of iron compared to copper meant iron was far more expensive—so Grab Nails were rarely used. Only wealthy households used them when building homes; most still relied on Sun-Mao Structure.

The Sun-Mao Structure, later revered as a marvel of wisdom, was in this era the only affordable construction method for commoners.

Meanwhile, the despised Grab Nails were merely playthings of the rich.

Such was the cycle of the age.

Besides Grab Nails, Qin Feng had also prepared two Drill Bits.

All were products of the Tianji Camp—excellent quality, fair price, trustworthy for young and old.

Under Qin Feng's command, Team Ten began assembling the Drilling Rig.

First, they drilled holes and carved grooves at one end of the Liang Wood.

Then they mounted the Spiral Drill Bit onto the bottom of the Liang Wood—thus creating a simple yet practical drilling tool.

The Drilling Rig was transported to the pre-marked locations, where Teams One through Nine began construction.

They erected the Liang Wood with the Drill Bit, inserted wooden rods into the pre-drilled holes, and had two to four civilian laborers grip the crossbar and rotate the beam together. Under the drill bit's guidance, the beam slowly sank into the ground. Once it reached sufficient depth, they removed the used Liang Wood, connected it to a spare one using the mortise-tenon grooves, secured the joint with Grab Nails for added strength, and continued drilling downward.

Three Liang Wood segments reached the practical limit.

First, the Liang Wood lacked sufficient strength—drilling deeper might snap it.

Second, the laborers lacked sufficient strength; the deeper the drill, the greater the friction.

Thus, the depth of three Liang Wood segments was only meant for prospecting underground water.

They withdrew the Liang Wood and judged whether an aquifer lay beneath by its moisture level.

If the Liang Wood was relatively dry, they abandoned the site and moved to the next location.

If the Liang Wood was damp, they began excavating a Deep Well on the spot.

Thus, they would surely locate a suitable water source.