Under the temptation of money and favorable treatment, a few more people could not hold back and walked out of the team next to them and came to Han Zhen's side.
Feeling the heavy copper coins in their arms, the group of people left the house with complicated emotions.
Han Zhen counted the names and found a total of 11 people recruited.
The number is so small that they can barely form a small team.
However, Han Zhen is not in a hurry. As long as all the benefits he promised are fulfilled, the villagers who joined the army will spontaneously help him promote it.
After waiting for a while and seeing that no one came to join the army, Han Zhen pushed the pen and paper in front of Zhu Zhengze: "If any villagers come to join the army, you should register them together."
There are still a lot of things waiting for him, and he really doesn't have time to waste them here.
"Monkey, follow me!"
With a greeting, Han Zhen strode out of the hall.
Passing through the hanging flower gate, and all the way out of the house, I saw thirty villagers squatting in the shade of the trees.
Seeing Han Zhen, they all stood up.
"Come on, follow me to the kiln factory."
Han Zhen didn't talk nonsense. He waved his hand and led a group of people to the lime kiln.
The lime kiln is located on the west side of the mountainside, in a relatively remote location, far away from the village.
This location was chosen because when the lime kiln was opened, large amounts of dust would be raised to avoid contaminating the village.
The second is that it is close to the mountain, and it will be more convenient to go up the mountain to cut limestone.
The lime kiln was built a few days ago. There are three kilns in total. This thing is just a simple earth kiln with no technical content.
In the early stage, lime can be burned, and in the later stage, when the workers are proficient in the operation, they can also try to bake cement.
Since the coarse salt has not been shipped yet, Han Zhen temporarily dragged the workers from the salt factory to the lime kiln.
Thirty workers were divided into two groups, one to burn the lime and the other to cut the limestone in the mountain.
The fifteen lime-burning workers were divided into three shifts, with each shift working for four hours.
That’s three eight-hour shifts.
There is no way, burning lime is different from burning shells. With the current backward technology and conditions, one kiln of lime needs to be burned for at least eight or nine days. When calcining, someone must always watch to prevent accidents.
After explaining the operations and precautions to the workers in detail, Han Zhen pulled the monkey aside and ordered: "I will leave the lime kiln to you for the time being. Please be more careful."
Monkey looked confused: "This... Second Brother Han, I have never done this before."
He had never burned lime before, and he had no experience in managing so many people. He had no idea at all.
Patting him on the shoulder, Han Zhen smiled and consoled him: "You should take care of the villagers how I usually take care of them. If you encounter problems that cannot be solved, come to me again."
Among the five, Monkey is the smartest, and his temperament is not too out-of-touch, so he can be trained as a manager.
The monkey was still unsure, and said with a sad face: "What if it burns out? Why don't you, Brother Han, find someone else?"
"It's okay if it burns out. You'll always succeed if you try more."
Even if Han Zhen operates it himself, he may not be able to guarantee that hydrated lime will be burned in one go.
Limestone costs nothing anyway, the only cost is just a little salary.
Compared with the huge profits brought by white sugar and refined salt, these costs are almost negligible.
"Then... let me give it a try."
Seeing what he said, Monkey could only reluctantly nod in agreement.
Han Zhen held his shoulders and imparted his experience: "Observe more on weekdays. If you feel that any worker is more diligent, you can give some rewards and promote some people to help manage."
The monkey said thoughtfully: "I understand."
"Good job!"
After giving words of encouragement, Han Zhen hurried back to the house and led another group of villagers to the hilltop not far from the village entrance to build a cottage.
There are many villagers building the cottage, both men and women. There are more than fifty people in the first batch alone, and more villagers will come one after another.
It looks like there are a lot of people, but in fact, it’s less than two thousand dollars’ wages per day.
Tools such as axes and hoes are also brought by the villagers.
This hill is not high, but it is full of rocks. There is only a winding and rugged path passing through the mountainside.
In terms of architecture, Han Zhen is a pure layman.
But there is someone in the village who understands, that is Carpenter Huang.
Although this man's carpentry is not as sophisticated as Carpenter Chen, he knows a lot. He designed and built the three lime kilns in the village.
After a group of people arrived, Han Zhen first told the villagers to rest where they were for a while, while he and Carpenter Huang selected a suitable construction site.
After walking for a while, he saw a road section that was widened on both sides. Han Zhen couldn't help but ask: "How is this place?"
Hearing this, Carpenter Huang observed carefully for a moment, then dug several holes in succession with a hoe, then shook his head and said: "This place is not good, there are too many stones in the ground, and piles cannot be driven."
Ancient buildings also had to lay foundations, but unlike the reinforced concrete foundations of later generations, wooden piles were laid now.
The stamping method is used to ram the wooden piles into the ground, and finally a layer of gravel is laid to reduce shock and dissipate force.
After some searching, he finally found a suitable place. Huang Carpenter muttered: "There are still stones in the ground. I guess the stakes won't be driven deep, so we can only work on the rammed earth. If the village chief is willing, we can use Sanhe earth was used to ram the foundation and walls of the village.”
Sanhe soil, as the name suggests, is soil mixed with three materials.
It is generally made from fermented mature soil, sand, slaked lime, and mixed with glutinous rice water.
The foundation and walls made of Sanhe soil are very hard and highly resistant to water.
There are many advantages, but the disadvantage is that it is time-consuming, labor-intensive and expensive.
Han Zhen waved his hand: "No, just use raw soil to tamp it."
Carpenter Huang just assumed that he was reluctant to spend money and said nothing more.
As everyone knows, Han Zhen has other plans in mind.
After the cement is burned out over a period of time, just reinforce it with cement.
With cement, there is no need for Sanhe soil.
After determining the location, Carpenter Huang began to draw the baseline according to the drawing given by Han Zhen.
After drawing the baseline, he called on the villagers who were resting to cut down trees, cut stones, and dig foundations.
Suddenly, the originally silent hilltop became bustling with activity, and birds and beasts fled in all directions.
Looking at the construction site in full swing, Han Zhen said seriously: "Carpenter Huang, I'll leave the cottage to you."
"Village chief, don't worry. I've repaired all the walls in the county. It's just a cottage."
Huang Carpenter was beating his chest and fighting to ensure his vote.
"Then I have to thank Carpenter Huang for working hard. If the repair is done well, you will be rewarded with money."
Leave professional matters to professionals, and Han Zhen knows this very well.
When he heard that there was a reward, Carpenter Huang's eyes lit up and he was full of energy.
Han Zhen couldn't help much in terms of construction, so he patrolled the area with a simple knife to prevent frightened beasts from hurting people.
At early ten o'clock in the morning, Ms. Han and Zhang drove a bullock cart from the village to the construction site. An Niang and Fang Sansan were also brought with her.
There are several large wooden barrels on the oxcart, containing cooked rice porridge.
"It's time to serve food!"
After parking the bullock cart, the three of them opened the lid of the barrel and shouted while holding the spoon.
When they heard that the meal was being served, the villagers immediately put down their hands and rushed to the bullock cart.
For a time, the bullock cart was surrounded.
"Everyone line up!"
At this moment, a loud shout sounded.
Seeing Han Zhen striding forward with a simple knife, the villagers immediately lined up in a long queue.
Mrs. Han Zhang said softly: "Don't be anxious, everyone has it. You can come and get more after you finish eating."
The villagers who received the rice porridge sat on the ground in twos and threes, sipping the rice porridge in small sips.
After putting the meal, An Niang came to Han Zhen and handed over a cloth bag: "Erlang, eat quickly."
The cloth bag contained cooking cakes. Han Zhen picked up one, took a big bite, and asked, "Are you used to living here?"
An Niang joked: "Erlang is relieved, such a magical life, I never dared to dream of it before."
"Where's Xiaodouzi?"
"Playing with the village children."
Hearing this, Han Zhen nodded and concentrated on eating the cakes.
