After several days.

On the Zhuxi Lake, which covers tens of thousands of mu, there are already hundreds of boats working on it.

These boats, including transport ships and dredging ships, are all suitable for calm rivers. In order to collect these boats, Wang Shouzhe also used a lot of personal connections.

Especially on the Chen Clan’s side in Donggang, there are also many waterways in the inland, and there are also many small boats and shipyards.

Speaking of Chen Fangjie, this future brother-in-law is quite good. With his help, Wang Shouzhe has purchased small old boats and customized dredging ships, and he has also taken charge of transportation.

As a future brother-in-law, Wang Shouzhe naturally wouldn’t be stingy. Using the excuse of the other party’s previous help, Wang Shouzhe directly offered five thousand dan of newly produced wheat and grains. As long as they were processed through the mill, they would become good flour.

The bran sifted out was usually used to feed livestock, but it was also in high demand this year.

In previous years, although these five thousand dan of new wheat were quite valuable, it was different this year. The yield of new wheat was very low, which resulted in its value being far from comparable to previous years.

This cooperation with the Chen Clan in Donggang also secretly gained them a huge benefit.

It should be noted that many aristocratic children are used to eating fine rice and flour, and their demands are higher than those of commoners.

In short, both sides were very happy.

The river boats quickly assembled, and Wang Shouzhe’s “century project” also quickly began.

Before this, the family would dredge some of the river channels every winter and use the silt to fill the fields, etc. But at that time, the working mode was to have five people on one boat.

One person would steer the boat, and the other four would use rakes to dredge. Then they would sail to the destination, unload the silt, and then sail back to dredge again…

It sounds like there is no problem, but in fact, this working mode is very inefficient. Small-scale dredging in winter was mainly done during the agricultural off-season, so it didn’t matter if the efficiency was low.

But for a large-scale project like this, saving a little manpower would be a huge savings in the long run.

Under Wang Shouzhe’s instructions, all the dredging workers were strong laborers. They worked in groups of five, and after a group of people boarded an empty boat, they quickly used rakes to load the boat with silt, and then switched to the next empty boat to continue dredging.

The boat drivers were slightly older, and they didn’t need to participate in dredging. They only needed to sail back and forth. After reaching the destination, one group of people would unload the silt, and another group of people would fill the soil.

After emptying the boat, the unloading team would refill the empty bamboo baskets in the boat. The boat drivers would immediately sail back and start the next round of work.

After some trial and adjustment, a streamlined operation system gradually formed.

The rakes used by the dredging workers were very heavy, with iron bars surrounding them, especially sharp iron bars at the edge, and a relatively dense space made of bamboo weaving in the middle. This work required a lot of strength.

But with one rake, they could lift up to fifty or sixty catties of silt, and with three or two movements, they could fill a large bamboo basket. Smaller boats could only hold ten or twenty bamboo baskets.

As for larger boats, the ones specially used for dredging and inland river transportation, they could hold more than one hundred bamboo baskets at once. The largest boat could hold over three hundred bamboo baskets.

A group of five dredging workers, including rest time, could dig and load about eighty baskets in an hour on average. Therefore, for slightly larger boats, several groups of workers would work together, leaving one group of dredging workers to finish the task.

In addition, there were some women, children, and elderly people with weaker physical constitutions. They were responsible for weaving bamboo baskets, cooking, cleaning, and leveling the ground in the silted areas, and other auxiliary work.

Overall, the dredging and soil filling work progressed very smoothly.

At present, there were eighty teams of dredging workers, totaling four hundred people, one hundred and fifty boatmen, fifty unloading workers, eighty soil filling workers, and less than one hundred people in various auxiliary positions.

The total number of workers reached nearly eight hundred.

But even so, the amount of dredging and soil filling done in a day was only about three to four thousand cubic meters, which was equivalent to one two-thousandth of the first phase of the project.

With the current manpower and resources, even if they worked like this every day, it would take about six years to complete the first phase of the project. And this did not include the rainy season, harsh winter, and other unfavorable weather conditions for construction.

However, opening up new land and developing clan property was never an easy task.

The ancestors of the Wang Clan didn’t know how much effort and time they had spent to gradually create the present situation in Ping’an Town. It was not easy for humans to conquer nature in the first place.

Wang Shouzhe’s black sail boat quietly glided across the Zhuxi Lake, looking at the construction site not far away, which was in full swing.

“Shouzhe, my brother,” Liu Yuanrui also exclaimed with emotion, “It is only now that I truly understand the difficulties our ancestors faced in developing the family’s foundation. Every piece of family property carries the lifelong efforts of our ancestors.”

“That’s right. Thinking back to when Ancestor Zhuxuan came south, the entire Ping’an Town area was a wilderness full of fierce beasts,” Wang Shouzhe also couldn’t help but sigh, “At that time, our ancestors had it much harder than us.”

Wang Shouzhe stood at the bow of the boat, looking at the vast Zhuxi Lake. It seemed like a huge project, but the actual construction area only occupied a small part: “We must continue to increase the scale of construction. There are still many people in the Ping’an Town area who cannot eat.”

Currently, among the eight hundred people, many were Wang Clan’s own tenant farmers, and even some Wang Clan collateral descendants who came to participate in the construction and management. The number of recruited personnel was only four to five hundred.

If they wanted to truly alleviate the disaster, it wouldn’t be enough to just recruit so many workers. The team had to expand, and the dredging boats had to increase as well. At least, the entire construction team needed to reach a size of two to three thousand people.

It was not easy to carry out such a large project with low productivity, and it required a large amount of manpower and resources, resulting in slow progress.

But for basic projects like dredging and soil filling, there was no better way besides implementing assembly line construction. Wang Shouzhe didn’t have the ability to manufacture large excavators.

After satisfying Liu Yuanrui’s interest in boating, the black sail boat returned to the main residence.

At this time, Wang Zhong sent someone to report that they had found the hiding place of the scattered cultivator who killed a wealthy farmer before. It was in a secluded warehouse not far from the Dingpu Ferry.

Wang Shouzhe’s eyes narrowed, and his killing intent emerged.

He didn’t discriminate against scattered cultivators, as many of them were also living difficult lives. But what he hated the most were those who committed crimes recklessly and then left with a carefree attitude.

…

Time passed.

In a secluded warehouse, it was a place where a certain clan stored salted and smoked fish.

Recently, the sales of smoked fish and the like were extremely good, and the inventory had been emptied, but the warehouse still had a strong fishy smell.

Several fierce-looking scattered cultivators were sitting there, their morale low and listless.

“Boss, is there still no news from the Liu Clan?” a man in his thirties anxiously asked, “Isn’t it just arranging a boat to cross the river? Why is it so difficult?”

“Wang Shouzhe’s people don’t know what they’re up to. They even had Deputy Garrison Commander Wang Dingzu block the Dingpu Ferry. They even dispatched soldiers to guard even some wild ferries. It’s obvious they’re targeting us,” a scar-faced middle-aged scattered cultivator in his forties said coldly, “Hold on for a bit longer. Once we weather this storm, it’ll be fine.”

“Boss, I heard that the Wang Clan and the Liu Clan are at odds,” another scattered cultivator said worriedly, “Do you think the Liu Clan will kill us to silence us?”

“They dare!” the scar-faced scattered cultivator sneered, “We have done some shady things for the Liu Clan before, and it’s not the first time. I have already prepared various evidence. Once we encounter any trouble, someone will deliver the evidence to Deputy Garrison Commander Wang Dingzu. With the relationship between the Wang Clan and the Liu Clan, they won’t let it go easily.”

Scattered cultivators wandered around the world, and wherever there were benefits, they would go. Naturally, they were often used as pawns by some clans, and they were used to seeing scenes of people burning bridges after crossing them and killing to silence witnesses.

Therefore, scattered cultivators were not idiots. They could do things for money, but it was almost impossible for them to eat their fill and wipe their mouths afterward. Those scattered cultivators who could survive to their forties were all shrewd, and they had experienced more dangers in their lives than the children of aristocratic families.

“Boss, you’re wise. You’re wise. After we catch our breath, we must take a piece of flesh from the Liu Clan,” the other scattered cultivators all breathed a sigh of relief and praised their boss, cursing the Liu Clan.

Enduring a bit longer was no problem. Once they weathered the storm, the Wang Clan’s people were just putting on a show to gain reputation. It wasn’t the wealthy farmers in their jurisdiction who died.

At this moment.

“Clap! Clap! Clap!”

Applause sounded, and at the same time, a young man’s voice came from outside, “Listen to how these scattered cultivators do things. Learn from them. In everything you do, you must leave yourself a way out. This is a good philosophy for survival.”

“Yes, Fourth Brother,” two boys answered obediently.

“Don’t talk too much, just get to work.”

“Luoqiu, what Fourth Brother said makes sense. Even if you are powerful, there will always be someone more powerful than you in this world.”

The faces of the scattered cultivators turned extremely ugly.

The scar-faced scattered cultivator, on the other hand, remained calm: “Since you have come knocking on our door, I assume you are prepared. Why don’t we have a talk?”

As he spoke.

Wang Shouzhe walked into the warehouse with his two younger brothers and two younger sisters.

He didn’t directly answer the scattered cultivator’s words but continued to speak to his siblings, “You must remember that if you don’t want others to know, don’t do it yourself. Our Wang Clan’s Ancestor Zhuxuan came south to develop Ping’an Town, slaying monsters and expanding our territory, providing a place for the descendants of our Wang Clan and thousands of commoners to live. We, the descendants, dare not claim to be comparable to the achievements of our ancestors, but we must protect our family and uphold our bottom line, so as not to disgrace our ancestors.”

“You must remember that clans like the Liu Clan and Zhao Clan do things without any regard for the law and have no bottom line,” Wang Shouzhe said calmly, “They may be rampant for a while, but they won’t be arrogant forever. Those clan members will eventually bring disaster to the entire family.”

“Yes, Fourth Brother,” Wang Luoqing nodded heavily.

Wang Shouyong and Wang Shoulian were also excited, their faces flushed. Our Wang Clan is a legitimate orthodox family passed down by Ancestor Zhuxuan. We are completely different from the Liu Clan and Zhao Clan, those jackal-like families.

“I, Wang Luoqiu, you don’t need to remember my name,” Wang Luoqiu’s eyes burst with a fierce and fierce aura, “I shoulder the expectations of our ancestors in heaven and the heavy responsibility of the rise of the Wang Clan. You villains are just stepping stones on my path. Experience it!”

“Boom!”

Wang Luoqiu rushed into the group of scattered cultivators like a cannonball.

Wang Shouzhe’s mouth twitched.

Can this young lady please not be so impatient? I haven’t finished educating her about our family’s sense of honor and correct values yet.

This girl’s little temper!