Chp11: Construction

November 2, 1630, light rain. The Orange River, an armed merchant ship of the West India Company, had sailed away a week ago. Before leaving, Captain Pieter de Vries tactfully suggested that the time travelers build a formal dock to facilitate his berthing the next time he comes.

The industrial zone on the south bank of the Dayu River has been in full swing these past two days, with papermaking workshops, cement kilns, and lime kilns being put into production one after another. Let's not focus on the papermaking workshops. Strictly speaking, these two earthen kilns are outdated enterprises with low production capacity, high energy consumption, and heavy pollution in modern times. However, the time travelers are currently limited by their conditions and can only launch such earthen projects.

Both kilns are vertical tube kilns, which operate by top feeding and bottom discharge. Batching, grinding, feeding, and discharging are all done manually. The designed capacity of the cement kiln is 10 tons per day, and the designed capacity of the lime kiln is 20 tons per day. Of course, this is a theoretical value that can only be achieved when the raw material supply is sufficient and continuous production is carried out. The biggest problem for the time travelers at present is the shortage of labor, especially the mining of limestone. First, there is a lack of manpower. Second, there are no machines or explosives. Mining is done manually, and the efficiency is shockingly low. When luck is good, two or three tons can be mined a day, but when luck is bad, not even a ton can be mined.

Under such circumstances, the cement and lime kilns can only operate intermittently. The coal consumption per ton of material is astonishingly high, and the little coal on the barge is not enough to last for long. In desperation, the Executive Committee temporarily shut down the two earthen kilns after producing some cement and lime to solve the urgent problem. Once the limestone reaches a certain reserve, production will resume.

Today is the monthly plenary meeting of the Executive Committee, where major matters are generally discussed.

"The successive commissioning of brick kilns, cement kilns, and lime kilns has greatly encouraged everyone," said Ma Qianzu, chairman of the Executive Committee, as he delivered an impassioned speech at the meeting. "In the next period of time, we should make persistent efforts and strive for greater breakthroughs on all fronts. Now, let's discuss the next work arrangements."

"Let me go first. Some of the vegetable seeds sown last month have successfully sprouted and are growing well. They can be successfully transplanted soon. Perhaps in the near future, there will be many more delicious green leafy vegetables on our table," said Agricultural Committee member Jin Kela, who was the first to speak. "But this is not the point. What I want to tell Chairman Ma and all the committee members is that it is now November, and the soybean planting season in South America has officially begun. Due to various reasons, the Agricultural Bureau (the subordinate agency directly under the Agricultural Committee) has not been fully staffed, resulting in unsatisfactory progress in the reclamation of farmland. As of yesterday, only 400 mu of farmland has been reclaimed. We currently have 200 bags of 5,000 kilograms of soybeans, and the preliminary calculation is that the sowing area is 1,000 mu. Therefore, I hope the Executive Committee can carefully consider the situation of the Agricultural Bureau with a scientific attitude, coordinate the relationship between various departments, and implement the reclamation plan of the Agricultural Bureau as soon as possible.

Jin Kela said this, and the committee members, who were eager to try, immediately stopped. Indeed, this matter couldn't be delayed any longer. The food they brought would eventually run out, and the time travelers couldn't just sit back and eat up all the food. So, the focus of their work for the next period of time would definitely shift to agriculture.

The rest of the committee members hastily submitted their plans. For example, Ma Jia, the industrial committee member, proposed the trial production of refractory bricks. Xiao Bailang, the transportation committee member, suggested constructing roads in the harbor, residential areas, and industrial zones. Peng Zhicheng, the army committee member, proposed building red brick cement walls. Shao Shude, the material committee member, suggested constructing formal warehouses, and so on.

Ma Qianzu then coordinated with everyone. "Alright, let's make it happen," he said. "We will focus on agriculture and infrastructure. We'll assign manpower to the Agricultural Bureau and ensure all these projects proceed."

Soon, a temporary army of 100 people was assigned to the Agricultural Bureau. At the same time, as a supporting project for the soybean planting area, irrigation canals were also required to be built.

As the saying goes, "there is strength in numbers." After the manpower mobilized by the Executive Committee was in place, although most of them were novices, it only took 10 days. On November 13, 1,000 acres of land were reclaimed.

At the same time, the brick-lined cement irrigation canal, which was hundreds of meters long, running from the creek wetland to the planting area, was almost completed. Not only that, after getting enough bricks and cement mortar, the construction team also built three biogas tanks and a public toilet in one go.

On November 15, soybean sowing officially began.

Soybeans contain 20% fat, 40% protein, 10% sugars, and are rich in vitamins. They are also extremely versatile. In addition to oil extraction, they can also be used to make soy milk, tofu, soy sauce, bean sprouts, soybean meal, paint, glycerin, and more.

As the largest and most economically valuable crop currently planted by the time travelers, soybean planting attracted a lot of attention. Many women, elderly people, and even children came to help.

"I'm glad to help," one of the women said as she planted the seeds. "This is going to make a difference for all of us."

As a result, by November 17, 1,000 acres of soybeans had been successfully sown, one day ahead of schedule.

After finishing the sowing, the Executive Committee began the second key project—the construction of the wharf.

Although the water depth of the Dayu River is average, the offshore areas on both sides of the estuary are excellent deep water zones, making them ideal for the construction of shore-type wharves. The entire port project currently outlined by the Executive Committee includes an underwater topographic survey, geological survey, waterway, breakwater, port access road, anchorage, warehouse, yard, pier, lighthouse, artillery, and more. The scope of work is vast, but the Executive Committee does not expect it to be completed in a short time.

The port will be located on the north bank of the Dayu River, facing the Atlantic Ocean. For the underwater topographic survey and geological survey, 21st-century data can be directly applied, making it more convenient. Just outside the port is an open deep-water ocean with an average water depth of 8 meters. The seabed is sandy, and large ships can dock directly. It is an ideal anchorage. The only downside is the lack of natural breakwater protection, which will need to be built artificially.

The Construction Bureau, formerly the Construction Team, under Xiao Bailang originally had 60 people. This time, an additional 100 people were mobilized to participate in the port construction. The planned port warehouse and yard will be built first. The warehouse will primarily be a large red brick bungalow. The yard will be situated behind the dock, 200 meters deep, covering 50,000 square meters. However, it is essentially just a flat lawn at the moment. The Executive Committee plans to pour cement on the yard when conditions allow.

The construction of the port access road is also crucial. The initial plan is to pave the road with waste from burning bricks and then compact it. Drainage ditches will be dug along the roadside to prevent potholes caused by road surface softening during rainy days. Similarly, once the material pressure is relieved, the Executive Committee will eventually convert this road into a cement road.

As for the construction of breakwaters, lighthouses, and artillery batteries, these are currently beyond their capabilities and will have to be left for the future.

In the Executive Committee's plan, the entire dock will be completed in stages over two years. The first stage: the yard, warehouse, and simple wooden pier will be finished within two months. The second stage: the port access road will be completed by February 15, 1631, at the latest.