Ang Lee rode his horse slowly. From time to time, a cloud of dust would hit him in the face, causing him to choke and cover his face with his sleeves to prevent the dust from entering his mouth and nose.
There was no need to mention the workmen who were working. Their positions were much lower than Ang Lee's, so they were more susceptible to the dust. Their mouths and noses were filled with dust, and even their faces were covered in a thick layer of dust. They looked rather dirty.
This was what it meant to be a laborer. They did the hardest and most tiring work, but their income was not high. However, they were very satisfied and did not feel that they were working hard.
Among these workmen, most of them were soldiers who had temporarily joined. Although their skills were not good enough, paving the road did not require too much skill. As long as they had the strength, they would be able to do it well.
About 50 steps away from the road, there was a river that was almost parallel to the road. The existence of this river made the construction much more convenient. It also allowed the craftsmen to wash their faces and make themselves comfortable when they took a break.
Other than the road that had been used for a long time and the large-scale construction that was going on, which would cause dust to rise, the rest of the road had vegetation and the scenery was very good.
Ang Lee rode slowly and soon arrived at a location near the limestone mine. He dismounted his horse and walked to a small hill at the side.
Standing on the small hill, which was not very high, one could see the construction scene in front of them. Fifteen hundred people were gathered in an area that was only one li in length. It was very densely packed. Because they were well organized, there was no delay in the work, and the progress of the work was very fast.
The soil and stones from the higher areas were moved to the lower areas and compacted to a certain extent to prevent the road from becoming loose. It would not be able to withstand the long-term rolling of vehicles and become a piece of work.
When the subordinate in charge of coordinating the work saw Ang Lee standing on the small hill, he hurriedly put down his work and ran up the small hill.
"Assistant Minister Li."
The subordinate panted as he greeted.
"Not bad! Fifteen hundred people gathered together and working in an orderly manner. This is because of your good organization. This official should record your merit. "
Ang Lee looked at the subordinate and said.
"This is what this official should do. I dare not take the credit."
The subordinate said modestly.
"Based on the current progress, when will this section of the road be completed?"
Ang Lee asked with great concern.
"Assistant Minister Li, the foundation of this section of the road will only take two days to finish. After that, if we want to build half of the cement road, it will probably take another three to five days. In total, it will not take more than a week."
The subordinate said confidently.
Ang Lee nodded with satisfaction. It only took a week to pave a road like this. No matter how one looked at it, it was very good. It was impossible to pave it any faster.
Of course, all of this could only be achieved if there were sufficient manpower. If there were insufficient manpower, it would not be possible to complete the road construction in a short period of time.
Because the distance of this section of road was only one mile, the moving of earth and stones required manpower instead of the help of vehicles. However, when compacting the road, it couldn't just rely on manpower because the weight of a person was very limited. It had to rely on the strength of machinery to make the road as solid as possible.
"Tell everyone that they must ensure the quality of the road. When compacting the road, they must first use manpower to step on it, and then use machinery to compact it. They have to do it a few times to ensure that the road is completely compacted."
Ang Lee requested.
"Assistant Minister Li, don't worry. I will personally supervise the work. There will be no problem. The quality of the road is absolutely solid enough."
The subordinate said.
In order to ensure the progress of the construction, the investment in all aspects was relatively large. Not only did they prepare sufficient manpower and resources, but they also greatly improved the supply level of the craftsmen, allowing them to eat more nutritious and abundant food. This allowed them to have more energy to work, and also allowed them to be more willing to work hard and not play tricks.
The previous 20 miles of road was filled with dust during the construction. However, the road in front of them didn't have any dust at all during the construction because there was no dust at all.
Because this section of road was a mountain road, it was uneven and there was a lot of vegetation on it. The soil was moist, and the soil that was dug up was even more moist. There was no dry soil on the ground, so of course, there would be no dust on the ground. This allowed the craftsmen working here to be protected from the dust.
While laying the foundation, some people were moving cement, gravel, sand, and other building materials. As long as the foundation was laid, they could begin to lay the cement road.
Laying a solid foundation was the first and most important step in laying the cement road. As long as the first step was completed, the next step could be started. The next step was to lay gravel and sand on the foundation, as well as semi-dry cement, and flatten it with a machine. The purpose of this was to further increase the firmness of the foundation. Because the previous foundation was made of soil material with poor hardness, if concrete was laid directly on it, the bottom support of the concrete would be insufficient. Once vehicles passed through it for a long time, it would easily cause the road to collapse and crack. Adding a thick layer of gravel mixture between the two could solve this problem very well, thus making the road stronger and could be used for a longer time.
Moreover, laying the gravel mixture was not just laying one layer, but many layers, layer by layer. Every layer would be flattened with a machine. After laying to a sufficient thickness, concrete could be laid on the top. After the concrete dried, cracks of a certain depth and width needed to be cut on it to resist the cracking of the road. After that, the cement road could be used.
Now, it was still in the first stage of laying the foundation. It would take a long time for the road to be opened to traffic. Even if the cement road was completed, it would take a long time to wait for the road to dry. However, only half of the cement road needed to be laid for the time being. The remaining half of the width was a dirt road, which could be used temporarily. It would not delay the output of lime resources. When the cement resources could also output lime, they could start to build the other half of the cement road.
Because Ang Lee came to inspect in person, his subordinates were all very active in commanding. The craftsmen were also working very hard. There was no sign of laziness.
Before noon, the cook in charge of cooking began to cook for the craftsmen nearby.
When the smoke floated up, Ang Lee walked over to inspect. He wanted to see the craftsmen's standard of food with his own eyes and whether it was sumptuous enough.
"Good morning, Assistant Minister Li."
The cook greeted with a smile.
"It smells very good! This Red Braised Pork is very good. "
Ang Lee praised and gestured to the cook to serve him a piece.
"Assistant Minister Li, please."
Of course, the cook did not dare to neglect. He served the best few pieces of Red Braised Pork in a small bowl and respectfully handed it to Ang Lee with both hands.
"Mm, very good. It's very delicious. You guys have some too."
Ang Lee was very satisfied with the taste of the Red Braised Pork and gestured to the subordinates behind him to eat some too.
Of course, the subordinates did not dare to take the initiative to ask for it. However, the cook was very clever. He immediately filled a bowl for each of the officials and passed it to them.
In addition to the Red Braised Pork, there were stir-fried vegetables with eggs, stir-fried mung bean sprouts, and other vegetarian dishes. There was also a vegetable bean sprouts soup with a layer of sesame oil floating on top. It was very oily and smelled very fragrant.
The food was better than the craftsmen's meals. There were more dishes and the quality was better. For example, the Red Braised Pork. Under normal circumstances, ordinary craftsmen would never have the chance to taste it. This time, in order to boost the morale of the craftsmen, the Red Braised Pork was provided every day so that the craftsmen could eat to their heart's content.
When it was almost noon, Ang Lee's stomach unknowingly started to feel hungry. After eating some delicious Red Braised Pork, not only did his hunger not disappear, it became even more intense.
"This official is hungry. Prepare the food. Let's eat first."
Ang Lee led a small number of subordinates into a tent not far away. The tent was simple. There was only a table and a few chairs inside. It could be considered a small dining hall for managers to eat and rest.
Ordinary craftsmen did not have this kind of treatment. When they rested, they could only sit on the ground or find a random stone to use as a stool. When they ate, they could only hold their bowls and eat while squatting or standing up.
The main reason was that the conditions of the port were relatively poor. There were not many resources, and many resources were in a state of shortage. There was also a lack of manpower. Therefore, they could not deliberately mobilize resources to make enough tables and chairs. They could only let these craftsmen suffer. In any case, these craftsmen were already used to it and did not feel that it was a problem.
When noon arrived, all the craftsmen stopped their work on time and began to come over in an orderly manner to get food. Because there were too many people, the places to get food were divided into five places. Each place had three hundred people.
In addition, there were also a small number of tables and chairs in the dining hall. There were also some benches. However, compared to three hundred people, this number was too small. All the benches were used as tables. All the tables were filled with craftsmen eating. In other words, these craftsmen were either standing or squatting. None of them were eating while sitting.
However, because the quality of the food was excellent, they could add rice if there was not enough. There was also an unlimited supply of soup. Therefore, the craftsmen were very happy. They were all honest people and valued the real things the most. They would not care about the fake things.
The so-called real things were the quality of the food. They were very happy to eat. The fake things were the dining environment. They did not care much about the dining environment. Even if they were to eat while standing, they would not have any opinions. Anyway, no matter what kind of environment it was, the quality of the food would not change. It was not to the extent that the braised pork would become more delicious in a good environment.
If the quality of the food was lowered and they were given a better dining environment, they would definitely choose to maintain the status quo or eat inferior food in a better environment. They would definitely choose to maintain the status quo. The food in their mouth was the best. As for the environment, it was not too important.
Looking at the craftsmen eating, Ang Lee patted his stomach and strode over.
Many of these craftsmen had joined temporarily. They were soldiers who had taken off their armor. Naturally, they recognized Ang Lee. When they saw Ang Lee coming over, they quickly saluted him with their eyes to show their respect to Ang Lee.
"Don't mind me. You guys continue eating. You've been tired for the whole morning. Eat more. Hurry up and eat!"
Ang Lee said gently.
Some of the craftsmen continued eating. However, there were still some who looked up at Ang Lee after taking a bite. There were also some who were smiling foolishly as if they did not know what to say.
"How's the taste of the food? Are you satisfied?"
Ang Lee asked with concern.
"Good, it's delicious. Haha!"
"Delicious, very delicious."
"Delicious."
These fellows did not know how to speak. Other than 'delicious', they did not know how to say anything else.
Ang Lee smiled and nodded. "Very good. As long as it's delicious, it's fine. Only when you're full and eat well will you have more strength when you work. Don't you think so?"
"Yes …"
Everyone was in high spirits. They were in a good mood after eating good food.
"Everyone, rest assured. From today onward, the food will be like this every day. It will only be better than today's food. Everyone, do your best. Don't be lazy."
Ang Lee encouraged.
"Ooh ooh ooh …"
All the craftsmen were excited.
"A bunch of foodies."
Li An chuckled and led his subordinates to the lime mine not far away. The craftsmen there were also eating. However, Li An didn't go there to watch the craftsmen eat. He wanted to see the lime mining and the construction of the cement workshop. The production of lime and cement as soon as possible was extremely important to the construction of Anzhu City. He had no choice but to pay attention to it.
There was no technical difficulty in mining lime. One only needed to build some rooms next to it for storing tools and living quarters.
The cement workshop was also not difficult. It only needed some basic equipment. It could be built and put into use in a few days.
At this moment, some craftsmen had already begun to mine lime. They placed the extracted lime in an open space and piled it up in the open.
"It's not good to pile it up in the open. It will be troublesome if it rains. The construction of the port also needs lime. Have someone transport the lime to the port!"
Ang Lee casually ordered.
"Assistant Minister Li, the roads aren't ready yet. Even the foundation isn't ready yet. With so much limestone, it won't be easy to transport it to the port. Let's wait for one more day. Once the foundation is solid, we can transport it over!"
The subordinate glanced behind him and awkwardly refused.
Li An was taken aback. He smiled and said, "It's fine. One more day won't make a difference. It's my fault for not considering everything thoroughly. Let's wait for one more day. We'll ship them tomorrow!"
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