CH 178

The scenery of Changshan County at four o'clock in the morning belongs to me alone!

Changshan County does not allow any more outstanding workaholics than me.

When Sheriff Lin is working, all you can do is lie down and watch!

With this belief in mind, Lin Wen immediately left Changle Town and went to Huai Town to find Zhao Minggong and ask which project is currently facing the greatest difficulties.

After pondering for a while, Zhao Minggong said, "It should be the embankment repair. After our inspection, the quality of most of the dry embankments in Changshan County is very poor. Cutting corners is a common phenomenon. Many places not only do not use standard concrete, but also do not have reinforcement. They only insert a few bamboo sticks. According to the Tianjiang flood control standards, these areas need to be rebuilt."

"But we don't have professional embankment construction personnel. Even with the guidance of engineers, many operational details are not standardized, and the construction progress is very slow. Yesterday, a laborer accidentally fell into the river."

Lin Wen frowned and asked, "Did you compensate them?"

Zhao Minggong replied, "Yes, according to the imperial standards, twenty thousand."

"Not enough."

Lin Wen said, "Changshan County should have its own rules. For those who die in the line of duty, the compensation should be 30 times the average annual income of Changshan County residents. And it should be calculated with appreciation. For example, if the average annual income increases next year, this part should be supplemented."

Worriedly, Zhao Minggong said, "Will this bring financial difficulties?"

Lin Wen said, "Then focus on safety. People cannot be brought back to life. No matter how much money is compensated, it is useless. I don't want the people building Changshan County to die in accidents. Do you understand?"

Zhao Minggong's expression changed, "I understand, Sheriff Lin. I will immediately mobilize safety training, set up safety officers, and establish a complete set of construction safety standards."

"That's great."

Lin Wen smiled.

He truly lived up to his reputation. He was only limited to the confines of this world. Once given a new perspective, he could immediately seize the high ground.

With him in the rear, Lin Wen could confidently proceed with his plans.

"Now, tell me the most dangerous and difficult embankment. Get all the people on that embankment to evacuate and assign them other tasks."

Zhao Minggong was surprised, "Have you found a professional embankment construction team?"

Lin Wen nodded, "Yes, I will lead the most professional engineering personnel in the entire empire to handle these dangerous embankments. Also, rank the embankments that need to be rebuilt according to their difficulty and danger, and make a list for me. I will handle them one by one."

Zhao Minggong said, "Sheriff Lin, let them work with us. They can learn a lot. The professional engineering teams have ignored my invitations, so we also need to cultivate our own engineering team."

That won't work, and no one can learn it.

Lin Wen's mind turned and he came up with an excuse, "I am not almighty either. The condition for inviting them is that strict confidentiality is required during construction."

Zhao Minggong's face didn't look good. He felt that the construction team was being too fussy. Construction techniques are not imperial secrets. Is it necessary to hide them like this?

But now the embankment project is too slow and dangerous. As various projects are being carried out, Changshan County has already started to experience a shortage of manpower.

At this time, having a professional engineering team to help is indeed a very good optimization plan that can free up some manpower, reduce danger, and improve efficiency.

Zhao Minggong nodded and agreed with Sheriff Lin's suggestion.

He quickly made a ranking list of the dangerous embankments and attached all the information about the embankments.

After receiving the list, Lin Wen left in a hurry.

Zhao Minggong called Li Xiaoli and his deputy Zhang Song, and arranged for the laborers on the embankments to be evacuated and reassigned.

He also asked Li Xiaoli to send the new standard for work injury compensation to the finance department, but told her, "Don't announce the standard for now. The compensation will be paid in three years. Just say that the compensation has been increased, and there will be some vague words about additional compensation subsidies."

Li Xiaoli asked curiously, "Why?"

Zhao Minggong's expression was somewhat heavy.

"I have investigated. Most of the laborers who are willing to come here are desperate and poor men. Their previous income was very low, and their lives were very difficult. Some of them even bear huge family pressures. The 800 yuan salary in Changshan County can be seen as high pay."

"If this compensation standard is calculated in detail, it can amount to over two hundred thousand. With such a large sum of money, I'm afraid some people will not be able to resist the temptation and take risks."

Li Xiaoli covered her mouth, "Are you saying that they will deliberately sacrifice their lives in exchange for compensation?"

Zhao Minggong nodded.

"If we announce it like this, there will definitely be people who will do that."

"We will not only lose a large amount of funds, but also cause the unnecessary deaths of many people. Are their wives, children, and parents really willing to exchange this money for the loss of their sons, husbands, and fathers?"

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"I have always believed that the future of Changshan County will be better. I have always believed that if they continue to work here, they will eventually overcome the tragedies of life and achieve happy family lives. But they don't know that if they die like this, it will be a tragedy caused by our own hands."

"Do you understand?"

Li Xiaoli's expression became solemn, as if she could also feel the bitterness and pain in their hearts, as well as their deep love for their families. "I understand."

Zhao Minggong gently touched her head and smiled, "Xiaoli, that's why I said that handling matters is not easy, especially when it involves thousands of people. There are too many examples in history where good intentions ended up causing harm. Every time I see such things, I feel deeply saddened."

Li Xiaoli nodded in understanding. It is indeed despicable when bad people do bad things, but when good people do bad things, it is even more regrettable."Child, you have a good heart and potential, but unfortunately I don't have much time to nurture you. I just hope that before I die, you can learn to handle things well and bring about good results. That would put my mind at ease."

Li Xiaoli lowered her head, but quickly raised it again, wearing a sunny smile. She said, "Yes! I will."

---

Lin Wen first arrived at the Eastern Road Embankment to the west. It was said to be the first embankment of Changshan County, and behind it were vast tobacco and tea fields.

Once the Eastern Road Embankment collapsed, the meager output of Changshan County would be lost.

Later, the Imperial Engineering Team came and made temporary repairs, filling the gap and then leaving. Only the crumbling embankment and the accumulated silt remained.

When Lin Wen arrived, the laborers on the embankment were orderly retreating.

"Ah, we were doing so well and suddenly we were told to stop."

"Clearly, I had already thought of a solution."

"It will definitely work."

"What a bunch of nonsense, not letting us see."

"Yes, what's so great about it? I have money now, and my son has already returned to school. He's doing very well. I'll have him study engineering in the future and come to Changshan County as an engineer. Those outsiders can go to hell."

"Haha, Old Yang, aren't you afraid of working under your son in the future?"

"Fuck off, at that time, I was already a captain! Even if that kid comes, he still has to listen to me."

"Why do you deserve to be a captain?"

"Because I'm strong! I can carry 200 kilograms of soil! Don't you believe me?"

"I don't believe you!"

The group of people argued and left. Although they were quarreling, they moved quickly without any delay, quickly packing up everything and leaving Lin Wen with a bare embankment.

Very well.

Lin Wen smiled faintly and leaped onto the embankment.

The Eastern Road Embankment was much larger than the Longpai Village Embankment. It was 21 meters high and 2600 meters long, a standard dry embankment.

Standing on top of it was like standing on a tall building. The wind howled, and looking out, the height was chilling.

At this moment, it was already the dry season, and the water level of Tianjiang River was very low, already below the embankment. But the water flow was still turbulent.

Lin Wen flipped through the information and knew that the Eastern Road Embankment had the most serious cutting corners. Only a small part of it was made of concrete, while the majority was clay. The concrete was also of the lowest quality, C5, and the steel bars inside were all made of bamboo.

The most difficult part of the project was the location where the Eastern Road Embankment collapsed. The flood tore open a super large crack in the middle of the embankment, measuring 61 meters long. The Imperial Engineering Team only used stones and soil to fill it, without any reinforcement measures. As long as the river water rose in the coming spring, this location would inevitably collapse again.

Lin Wen walked around the Eastern Road Embankment and already had an idea in mind.

He immediately called the Finance Department and asked Old Xie to urgently purchase a "large piston" and a "large column" for a 10,000-ton forging press, and have them delivered to the foot of the Eastern Road Embankment.

The "large piston" was an iron hammer used by the 10,000-ton forging press to forge large metal parts, and the "large column" was the handle that supported it.

Although Old Xie was surprised why Sheriff Lin suddenly wanted to buy parts for a forging press, in his thinking, any task personally assigned by Sheriff Lin must be completed meticulously, even if it meant not sleeping or eating.

He immediately contacted several major businessmen in Yaojing, their excellent partners, but Yaojing was the city of commerce and trade and did not have such large machinery.

However, although they didn't have it, they knew someone who did.

Soon, they introduced a high-quality seller to Old Xie.

This was a machinery manufacturing factory in Zhongzhou, whose director was almost bankrupt. Not to mention products, they couldn't even sell the machinery equipment in the factory. When they heard that someone wanted to buy parts for a 10,000-ton forging press, it was like finding a savior.

They quickly contacted Old Xie and managed to sell the entire forging press to him, even though it weighed 5,100 tons.

Old Xie saw that they were close by, delivered quickly, and had a low price, so he reluctantly agreed.

Therefore, within a day, this massive thing weighing over 5,100 tons arrived in Changshan County by waterway.

It took another half a day to deliver the "large piston" and "large column" of the forging press to the foot of the Eastern Road Embankment.

The delivery driver grumbled for a long time about why he had to deliver such a huge piece of metal to this desolate and uninhabited embankment, but he didn't expect that as soon as he left, Lin Wen would jump down from the embankment.

Now, in front of him was a 1.96-meter diameter steel block weighing over 200 tons. The 10,000-ton forging press used it to forge large metal parts, so its own strength was also very high.

The large column was just a large steel pillar, 12 meters long and weighing over 70 tons.

Lin Wen patted these two things that seemed unrelated to humans, then activated his [Strength of Nine Bulls and Two Tigers].

Dao Law State: Heavenly Law, 45% reduction in consumption of spiritual energy.

Spiritual energy consumption: 8%.

Remaining spiritual energy: 52%.

Lin Wen tried to lift and move them. The large column had no problem and felt comfortable in his hands. If it were a bit longer, it would be a real 40-meter longsword.

The large steel block was very heavy and had a smooth surface, making it difficult to handle due to its large size.

But it didn't matter, Lin Wen had already thought of a solution. He circled around the large steel block and quickly found the "gate" used for leftover materials.

Lin Wen jumped down and lifted the large column. With a loud bang, he inserted it into the gate.

However, the gate was too shallow and tight, so the large column could only be inserted a little.

Lin Wen forcefully inserted it a few times, causing sparks to fly and his arm to go numb, but he couldn't make any further progress.

But it didn't matter.

Lin Wen activated his [Qi Forbidden Divine Power].

Spiritual energy consumption: 14%.

Remaining spiritual energy: 38%.Lin Wen once again lifted the 12-meter-long steel column, took a deep breath, roared, and thrust it downward with all his might.

A loud explosion echoed, accompanied by a maddening, piercing noise. Countless sparks splashed wildly, bouncing off Lin Wen's body. The massive steel column was indeed thrust downward.

Only when the double force could no longer penetrate any further, was Lin Wen's exclusive giant hammer considered complete.

Lin Wen examined the joint. The high temperature caused by the terrifying friction had even melted the steel at the joint. Indeed, heat was the best lubricant.

Lin Wen waited for a while until the molten steel solidified, then he jumped down to try lifting the giant hammer.

A soft sound echoed, the sound of stress being released from within the steel. The nearly 300-ton hammer was lifted by Lin Wen. It felt very handy, just the right weight.

Due to the long handle of the hammer, Lin Wen had to adjust to the balance issue before he could carry it up the embankment.

The river wind blew in his face, but Lin Wen, who now weighed 300 tons, remained unmoved.

Each of his steps left a deep footprint on the embankment, and several times he sank into it entirely.

Lin Wen walked to the western corner of the embankment, aimed at his target, adjusted his balance, lifted the hammer, and with a deafening roar, the 300-ton hammer, with a force that could move mountains and seas, broke through the air and landed on the embankment.

Boom!

The entire embankment trembled, and countless small stones and dirt fell.

Lin Wen took another breath, lifted the hammer, and smashed it down with all his strength for the second time.

Boom!

The entire embankment seemed to jump, and the place where it was smashed sank more than a meter deep.

The third hammer.

The fourth hammer.

Loud noises kept echoing on the embankment, like a warrior in the giant king's court beating a drum.

This was Lin Wen's long-planned scheme.

Using a human-powered ten-thousand-ton forging machine to forge the embankment, hammering out all the impurities in the embankment, and compacting all the loose soil.

Then, he would carry out the final step of his plan, casting an eternal embankment that would stand for all eternity.