Chapter 350

First Volume, Chapter 350: I'm Afraid You Won't Learn It

After a full day of work, only three of the fifty-plus locations marked by Qin Feng met the standard.

Qin Feng was already satisfied with this result.

That same night, the construction teams began work.

To dig the Deep Wells as quickly as possible, Qin Feng instituted an eight-hour work shift with three squads rotating.

A Deep Well, as the name implies, must be deep.

It must be dug down to the Aquifer deep underground.

It could be as little as twenty to thirty meters, or as much as over one hundred meters.

This depth was a near-hellish test for the engineering capabilities of this era.

Therefore, identifying the Aquifer was only half the battle; the depth of the Aquifer determined whether a Deep Well could be successfully dug.

Qin Feng set a standard: dig no deeper than thirty meters.

Any Aquifer deeper than thirty meters would be abandoned.

First, because engineering capacity was insufficient; second, because lives were at stake, and collapse could happen at any moment.

The diameter of each Deep Well was two meters, to allow Civilian Laborers room to dig below.

As they dug, they reinforced the well walls with stones.

Each construction squad had four hundred men—seeming like many—but every task relied entirely on human labor.

Including digging, reinforcing, hauling, and removing soil…

Add to that the need for twenty-four-hour continuous operation to shorten the timeline, requiring three squads to rotate—when spread out, manpower was still tight.

Qin Feng walked casually to one construction site, looked down at the Deep Well already dug seven or eight meters deep, and said gravely: "Pay attention to construction safety! Safety! Safety!"

Important things must be said three times.

"The well can go unfilled, but no one must die—did you all hear me?!"

The eyes of the Civilian Laborers and hired workers burned with intensity.

At first, when Qin Xiaofu went to the county to hire laborers, they didn't believe it, thinking he was a fraud.

After all, in this era, scams came in countless forms, and impersonation cases were too numerous to count.

Only when Qin Xiaofu cheerfully handed out one Liang Silver as a deposit did they agree to give it a try.

Qin Feng's name had already spread through the Folk.

Now that they saw the real man, how could they not be stirred?

A man in his early thirties wiped sweat from his brow and grinned foolishly: "Young Master Qin, our Commoner lives are worthless—the Deep Wells we dig are what matter."

Hearing this, Qin Feng didn't care whether he knew the man or not—he kicked the rough fellow squarely in the buttocks.

All the Civilian Laborers froze.

They thought Young Master Qin was furious and stopped working, terrified.

After all, Qin Feng was the son of the Supervisor of War—his status and rank were undeniable.

Under the silent, fearful gaze of the laborers, Qin Feng pointed at the rough fellow and shouted: "Nonsense!"

"Who says your lives are worthless? Everything in this world can be measured—except life."

"To me, all of you are Liang's wealth."

"If you don't value your own lives, who will?"

"Snap to attention! If any of you get injured during work, I won't just scold you—I'll beat you!"

"Your families trusted me, Qin Feng, to send you to Changping County to help—so I will return each of you to them, whole and unharmed."

The fear in the laborers' eyes gradually gave way to excitement.

They had seen countless Officials and Country Gentlemen—but a nobleman like Qin Feng was unprecedented.

After all, in an era where human life was as cheap as grass, who else besides Qin Feng cared about Commoners' lives?

The rough fellow, flushed with excitement, said: "Young Master Qin, rest assured—even if you paid us nothing, we'd still be happy to work."

"Who in all of Shedynasty doesn't know you're the only one who truly helps us Commoners?"

"A benefactor like you—each one is a blessing to all the people of Liang."

The other laborers' eyes burned just as brightly.

The rough fellow had voiced the thoughts of everyone present.

Qin Feng sighed, unable to feel joy: "I won't withhold a single coin—you earn your pay, that's only right."

"I've set a ten-day deadline: if you dig even one Deep Well, I'll give each of you an extra one Liang Silver as labor compensation."

"Don't worry—this money isn't from my own pocket; it's been donated by the sons of ministers in Beijing."

Hearing this, a teenage boy in the crowd burst out laughing: "Hahahaha! Those royal heirs would never be so generous! Young Master Qin, what trick did you pull to make those stingy bastards part with their silver?"

The laborers all looked on expectantly.

After all, Qin Feng's legendary exploits of swindling the sons of Beijing's elite were already well known.

Countless commoners had turned the story into gossip, embellishing it as dinner-table chatter.

Even storytellers had turned Qin Feng's clever defeat of Grand Commandant Gao into a spoken tale.

Of course, Qin Feng didn't care about any of that.

He even glared at the teenage boy: "Shut up! I am me, and you are you!"

"It may sound harsh, but you're commoners—when you must bow, bow. As the saying goes: preserve the green hills, and firewood will never run out. Commoners fighting Officials never win—these are hard times; speak carefully and act prudently."

The laborers bowed deeply, grateful for Qin Feng's lesson.

The rough fellow, thrilled to finally meet the legendary Young Master Qin, couldn't stop talking, one sentence tumbling after another.

Besides, Young Master Qin was approachable—he answered every question from the common folk without hesitation.

Who would be so arrogant as those high-ranking officials, petty bureaucrats whose heads swell to the heavens?

"Young Master, the method of drilling this Deep Well is something we've never heard of or seen before."

"Folk wells are usually one zhang wide and two zhang deep, relying entirely on seepage from surrounding soil. Even wealthy households dig private wells—four chi wide, two zhang deep; three zhang deep is the absolute limit."

"But you? You're aiming straight for ten zhang. What's the trick behind this?"

Qin Feng didn't hide anything—he spoke loudly before all the Civilian Laborers: "No water on the surface doesn't mean no water underground."

"Underground has multiple layers. Our target is the Deep Water Layer. Once we break through it, water will flow endlessly, inexhaustible—more than enough to irrigate farmland."

The Civilian Laborers exchanged glances; the term "Deep Water Layer" meant nothing to them.

The rough man scratched his head: "If the Young Master says it exists, then it must exist. After all, everyone knows anything from Tianji Camp is exquisitely precious—Common People never even get to touch it. But… Young Master, why reveal the drilling method for this Deep Well so openly? Aren't you afraid we'll steal your technique?"

This rough man's words were all irritating—but they hit the mark exactly.

Qin Feng, arms behind his back, snapped: "I'm worried you won't learn it!"

At these words, the Civilian Laborers stared at each other, their eyes filled with utter disbelief.

Artisans always hide their skills—how could anyone be so careless as Qin Feng, afraid they wouldn't learn?