Therefore, only after receiving a nod of approval did he begin to exclaim:

"It seems your sister is indeed lucky! Right now, in Anping County, you can count the number of houses that haven't collapsed on two hands."

And those were all owned by wealthy families. When they were built, the foundations were well-constructed, and the beams were made from trees that were over a hundred years old.

Even so, those houses still developed cracks to varying degrees.

Chi Qiao immediately chimed in, "That's right!"

It is precisely because of all these reasons that the Chi clan has placed even greater trust in Xiaoyu.

I believe she is the blessing of my Chi family!

Xiaoyu was a kind-hearted child. She felt extremely sad when she saw the villagers' houses destroyed.

Seeing that they wanted to rebuild their house but were struggling to find glutinous rice paste, they devised a way to make a substitute.

Look, this gray blob is what Little Fish figured out after countless attempts, day and night.

The little fish said that this can be used with river sand, or crushed old terracotta tiles and gravel.

If you can add some glutinous rice paste, the effect will be dozens of times greater than before.

As long as the bricks and tiles don't break, it will remain sturdy and won't need to be repaired.

Of course, if we compare glutinous rice paste with cement, cement is naturally superior.

Xiaoyu also said that if you want even better results, you don't need glutinous rice paste; you can use limestone, clay, and plaster.

The cement produced is better than that made from glutinous rice paste.

She didn't understand the specifics of how to operate it or the proportions required.

The reason she knew that crushed old ceramic tiles and gravel could be used as substitutes for river sand was because, as she was talking, she suddenly remembered a video she had seen before.

It was done by a foreigner in a forest or some kind of woodland.

They talked about things like how to make cement from wood ash if we entered a primitive society.

She had only skimmed through that video at the time and then forgot about it.

It was only now that I realized it was almost identical to what Xiaoyu made.

It seems that Xiaoyu suddenly remembered how cement was made after watching that video.

However, Xiaoyu is a science student, and she said that there must be a reason behind her saying that clay, limestone, and plaster are all the same.

The cement used today is the result of continuous improvements on the original materials.

However, this plant ash cement will do for now. Although the effect is not as good as the kind that Xiaoyu has been longing for, it can save money and food.

Fang Shizhong was confused, but he didn't interrupt Chi Qiao.

After she finished speaking, he said, "Can we make a sample of the cement's finish so I can take a look?"

Fang Shizhong never put on airs when facing the Chi family.

They addressed each other with "me, me, me," clearly to shorten the distance between them.

Chi Qiao wasn't ignorant, so as soon as Fang Shizhong finished speaking, she started operating without saying a word.

Even after he finished making it himself, he made Fang Shizhong do it himself.

After finishing all that, she thought for a moment and then casually asked:

"Lord Fang, when will this year's forced labor begin?"

Fang Shizhong was incredibly intelligent; how could he not understand the underlying meaning behind Chi Qiao's question?

He wanted to win over the intelligent and lucky Chi Yu, and the Chi family had made many contributions since the disaster began last year.