Chapter 312 - 310: Brick Factory Planning and a New Fuel Discovery

Chapter 312: Chapter 310: Brick Factory Planning and a New Fuel Discovery

In this world, buildings were primarily constructed from wood and stone.

Although some regions used fired bricks, their use was mostly concentrated in areas lacking sufficient stone and timber. Red bricks were not widespread.

Duane’s idea to use red bricks stemmed mainly from the fact that Black Forest Island’s high-quality stone was concentrated in the Hot Spring Mountain Range and the Heavenly Mountain Range, making quarrying and transportation difficult.

But red bricks were a different story.

The clay here was abundant and of high quality, perfect for firing excellent red bricks. Furthermore, the nearly complete rail cart system would allow for the rapid transport of bricks out from the Hot Spring Mountain Range.

Moreover, red bricks had a uniform size, allowing for rapid masonry work. Their high flexibility in construction could significantly shorten the castle’s completion time.

Firing red bricks was an excellent choice.

However, Duane currently only planned to use red bricks for the new castle and some buildings in Dawn Town. He had no intention of having the common folk use them as well.

First, there wasn’t enough manpower for the task. After all, brick-making involved digging clay, shaping the bricks, preparing fuel, and other labor-intensive processes.

Second, his subjects lacked the financial means to purchase red bricks, and Duane certainly wasn’t going to provide them for free.

So, he permitted his subjects to make mud bricks—the kind from the rural villages of his previous life in the 90s, which didn’t need firing and only required pounding, tamping, and sun-drying.

Although the mud-brick houses the people built wouldn’t be as sturdy as red-brick ones, they would be a significant improvement over the houses they currently constructed from rough granite, irregularly shaped stones, and wood.

Moreover, Duane provided designs for eaves and roof beams and had the territory’s potters use earthen kilns to fire gray tiles, which were then sold at a relatively low price.

With these improvements, he believed the mud-brick houses should have no problem lasting for twenty to thirty years after completion.

After twenty or thirty years—or perhaps even sooner—once the people’s standard of living had risen, upgrading to more beautiful and sturdier houses would be no problem at all.

In a simple tea shed, Duane explained his ideas and plans to Yanger, instructing him to first meet the demand for red bricks for the construction of the castle and Dawn Town.

Secondly, if there was surplus manpower to fire more red bricks, they could be sold to certain individuals within the territory, such as Duane’s more well-off followers and officials.

They had the funds and the desire to improve their living conditions, and Duane didn’t feel right about them living in houses with leaky roofs.

As for the price of red bricks, it would be set at two Copper Coins per brick.

This price wasn’t high, but it wasn’t low either.

Building a house of just over one hundred square meters would require approximately twenty thousand red bricks, totaling four Gold Coins.

Among Duane’s followers, only Warriors of Human Tier and above earned more than four Gold Coins per year. The others would have to save for a year or even several, without spending anything on food or drink.

If one factored in the maintenance of weapons and Armor, the purchase of various materials, and living expenses, even people like Gaius might not be able to save enough for a house in a single year.

During their conversation, a thought occurred to Duane. ’Should I get into the real estate business?’

The Lord’s Mansion could take the lead, or perhaps he could establish a construction company to build houses in the territory, sell them to the populace, and offer services like loans...

However, he temporarily abandoned the idea.

His subjects were all very poor, and there weren’t many of them.

In the future, when Black Forest Island became prosperous and powerful and the land became valuable, it wouldn’t be too late to venture into real estate.

During their talk, Yanger also presented his own ideas.

The director of the Red Brick Factory naturally wanted to expand his operation. Recently, on his own initiative, he had surveyed many areas and even had Simone guide him deep into the mountain range to prospect.

He had discovered five or six locations suitable for building new red brick factories. The quality of the clay and some of the stone was particularly good the deeper one went into the Hot Spring Mountain Range.

Duane was generous with his praise for such a proactive subordinate. He affirmed Yanger’s actions but also warned him not to venture deep into the mountains alone. Duane had no desire to lose such a capable factory director to the jaws of a Demon Beast.

As for building a new factory, after some thought, he only agreed to a minor expansion of the first one, rejecting the request to build new ones in other locations.

After all, the first factory’s operations hadn’t even stabilized yet, and they had yet to train many skilled technicians. Thinking about building a second and third factory was rushing the expansion.

Duane had always been a methodical person who rarely rushed to achieve results.

Of course, he also promised Yanger that when new brick factories were built in the future, Yanger would still be appointed as the overall director.

Until then, Yanger’s task was to cultivate more skilled talent, optimize the details of the kilns, and improve the quality of the red bricks.

Yanger knew he had been too forward. He expressed his apologies and eagerly affirmed that he would focus on getting the first factory’s operations right.

After discussing the plans, Duane went inside the brick kiln to have a look.

In his past life, he’d had no contact with this kind of knowledge, so he had no constructive suggestions to offer. He only reminded everyone to be mindful of safety and urged the workers to drink plenty of water during strenuous labor to prevent dehydration and fainting.

By the time he left the Red Brick Factory, more than two hours had passed.

Duane mounted his warhorse and, since it was on the way, headed to the Blacksmith Shop.

After Yanger took charge of the Red Brick Factory, the Blacksmith Shop was handed over to his eldest son, Taine.

Following in his father’s footsteps, twenty-five-year-old Taine’s skills had already surpassed his master’s. He was fully capable of independently crafting common items like farming tools, weapons, and Armor.

Although the Guards were now fully armed and equipped, these items were strategic resources that needed to be stockpiled in advance.

Thus, the current division of labor at the Blacksmith Shop was that less-skilled blacksmiths were responsible for Manufacturing farming tools, highly skilled blacksmiths forged weapons and equipment, and the apprentices helped the Guards repair and maintain their weapons.

As soon as Duane arrived at the Blacksmith Shop, Taine reported the results of an experiment—

Plowshares cast directly from pig iron smelted with Black Demon Vines as fuel were tougher than those smelted with coke and were no longer as prone to breaking.

The blacksmiths only needed to process and forge it slightly, and its properties were virtually identical to wrought iron.

Duane guessed that the carbon content of the pig iron was reduced when the Demon Vines were used as fuel.

In short, the decarburization process was completed directly during smelting due to some kind of Magic Element.

This was a major discovery. It meant that the Black Demon Vine was not only an excellent fuel but could also significantly reduce the difficulty and time required to forge weapons and equipment.

Once the weapons and equipment obtained from the King were all depleted, Duane would be able to rely on his own blacksmiths to forge more than enough weapons!

Of course, the limiting factor was the same as before: the Black Demon Vine needed to be cultivated on a much larger scale.

Fortunately, the dangers within the Secret Realm had been eliminated, the Qingming Medicine Wine was being brewed, and large-scale cultivation and harvesting were already on the agenda.

"My Lord!"

Beside the furnace, John stood bare-chested, his bulging muscles giving him a powerful and imposing look.

"How is your training with the Blazing Fire Breathing Skill coming along?" The main reason for Duane’s visit was to check on John’s progress with the Breathing Skill.

John said humbly, "I can already feel a change in the Fighting Qi within my body. Compared to before, it seems to have a warm sensation to it now."

Ryo stopped what he was doing and listened intently.

He could use John’s experience training the Breathing Skill as a reference, since he would also learn it once he became a Middle Level Warrior.

John continued, "Also, ever since receiving your guidance last time, I have successfully mastered the Fighting Qi Slash."

"Simone was coaching me a few days ago, and he also noticed that my Fighting Qi Slash is more powerful than that of an average Middle Level Warrior. I think this is also because I’m practicing the Blazing Fire Breathing Skill."

Back at the Silent Shore, Duane had told John not to try learning Combat Techniques for the time being, but to first focus on learning how to control his Fighting Qi.

It seemed John had heeded his advice and had already passed that threshold.

Duane nodded in approval. "This is a sign that you have reached the Entry stage of your Breathing Skill."

After fully mastering the Blazing Fire Breathing Skill, one’s Fighting Qi would gain a scorching effect.

The current "warm sensation" was clearly an indication of having reached the Entry stage.

He clapped John on the shoulder. "Not bad. Keep up the good work. I have high hopes for your future!"

John said excitedly, "Thank you for your confidence, My Lord! I will not disappoint you!"