After passing through a forest, Hua Bozheng saw several crudely made earthen kilns the size of tombs, with black smoke coming out of their chimneys.

A group of shirtless men were smashing white stones with hammers next to the kiln, and then grinding them into powder with a stone mill.

"Are you burning lime?" Hua Bozhen couldn't help feeling disappointed when he saw this.

"Brother, don't look down on lime burning. This is a traditional art of our Chinese nation. It is very noble." Zhao Hao said seriously:

"Have you not heard of Yu Shaobao's poem: 'Thousands of hammers and chisels have been used to carve out a mountain, and the raging fire has burned it with ease. I am not afraid of being crushed to pieces, as long as I can leave my innocence in the world.'"

"That's just burnt lime..." Hua Bozhen said with a wry smile, "This thing is not very useful and not valuable. It's better to ask Liu for money directly."

"This thing is worthless, but if processed with scientific methods, it can be transformed into something magical." Zhao Hao shook his head and laughed, "It can even change the world!"

"Change the world?" Hua Bozhen couldn't believe it.

"Words are not enough, seeing is believing." Zhao Hao smiled and did not explain, and asked Yu Ben who was in charge here:

“Are there any finished products?”

"My Lord," Yu Ben took off his big mask and replied hurriedly, "The first batch was cooked this morning and several bags have been sold."

"Very good." Zhao Hao ordered him to get a bag and open it for Hua Bozhen to see.

Hua Bozhen reached out and picked up a handful of gray fine powder, and said with a smile: "You mixed something into this lime powder."

He was the supervisor of the construction of the Hua family's garden in Dongting, so he was naturally familiar with all kinds of building materials.

"I know what I'm doing." Zhao Hao smiled without explaining. He asked someone to carry the bag of gray fine powder back to the camp wall that was under construction outside the village.

Under the supervision of the militia, the prisoners laid a layer of bricks, applied a layer of mortar, then laid another layer of bricks, applied another layer of mortar, and laid another layer of bricks...

Several prisoners were mixing slurry. They were mixing lime powder, clay and sand together, stirring them into a paste that was ready for use.

This is also traditional cement mortar. The city walls of Nanjing and Beijing are built with this mortar.

Zhao Hao asked people to pour the ash powder they brought on the ground, add three times the amount of lake sand and water and mix them evenly, and then use this new type of mortar to rebuild a section of the wall.

"Let's come back and see it in two days." Zhao Hao winked at Hua Bozhen.

"How can two days be enough?" Hua Bozhen said with a smile, "The mortar needs seven or eight days to dry."

"Mine will be very solid tomorrow, but the effect will be better the day after tomorrow." Zhao Hao patted the dirt on his hands and said with a smile: "Let's go around in the next two days and see if there are any good things on the island."

"Okay, now that we're here, let's make the best of it." Anyway, Hua Bozhen had to wait three days for Liu Yuanwai to get the results before going back, so he readily agreed.

~~

Meanwhile, Liu Zhengqi returned to Dongshan and asked someone to invite all his fellow villagers from Xishan to his home for a drink.

When everyone arrived, it was already time to light the lamps. Mr. Liu held a grand banquet and toasted his fellow villagers three times, tears streaming before he even opened his mouth.

"What's wrong with the president?" The merchants and wealthy people in Xishan looked at each other. "What difficulties have you encountered?"

"Hurry up and tell me, we are all brothers from Xishan, we will definitely help!"

"That's right, those who have money contribute money, and those who have strength contribute strength!" The unity of Dongting merchants was undoubtedly demonstrated at this moment.

"Wow..." Mr. Liu was so moved that he blew his nose hard and said, "I would like to thank all my fellow countrymen for their generosity. It is really hard to express my gratitude."

"Just tell me." Everyone urged, "The president is not usually so shy. Come on!"

"Okay, then I'll be frank." Mr. Liu took a deep breath, bowed deeply to everyone and said, "I have a favor to ask, and I hope you guys will agree to transfer all your land and houses in Xishan to me."

"Oh?" Everyone was surprised. "There's not even a decent piece of farmland in Xishan, it's just barren mountains and wilderness. What does the president want that thing for?"

"I have a compelling reason. Since we are brothers, please don't ask me." Liu Zhengqi couldn't say, I let a kid pinch my balls and kneel down to him, right?

It is really too embarrassing to talk about it, and I can't tell it to outsiders.

"This..." The fellow villagers looked at each other and understood each other's intentions.

"Okay, then don't ask. How much will the president brother pay?"

"The market price in Suzhou is one tael of silver per mu of barren hill." Liu Zhengqi then tried to test it out: "The price of our land in Xishan is only half of that. I certainly can't let my brothers suffer a loss. How about we also calculate it at one tael of silver per mu?"

"One or two taels..." Everyone started to calculate.

Their ancestors have been going out to do business for generations, isn't it because the West Mountains are all mountainous areas where neither rice nor mulberry trees can be grown?

In recent years, the West Mountain has been deserted and those lands have become completely barren and even less valuable.

They were naturally happy to accept Liu Zhengqi's offer of one tael of silver to buy one acre of land.

But you may be happy about it, but if you don't take advantage of others' misfortunes, can you still be considered a qualified businessman?

Someone said with a sad face: "President, if you want to buy it from somewhere else, one or two taels is fine. But our Xishan... that is our ancestral property passed down from the previous dynasty, it is really hard to give it up."

"Yes, President. My family is planning to pack up and move back in the next two years."

"President, my ancestral graves are still on the mountain. How can we sell all our ancestors?"

"Alright, alright." Liu Zhengqi naturally knew what they were thinking, and waved his hand impatiently, "I'll pay more!"

"How much?" the Dongting merchants asked in unison.

"Add another half tael." Liu Zhengqi's cheeks trembled a few times.

"Two taels per mu, not a penny less!" Everyone held up two fingers together. Their shameless look made Liu Zhengqi almost curse.

"Okay, two taels is fine!" However, this price was within Liu Zhengqi's expectations. Time was limited, and he couldn't take care of mushrooms, so he said unhappily: "Bring the deeds here before noon tomorrow. If you miss the deadline, I won't accept this price!"

"Don't worry, Brother President, I'll deliver it tomorrow morning."

"It won't affect your business." A group of Xishan merchants were overjoyed. Each of them had thousands of acres of mountain land, and it would be a waste to leave it uncultivated in Xishan year after year. Being able to sell it at such a high price actually relieved a big worry.

After a quick drink, everyone went back home to look for their own land deeds.

Liu Zhengqi also asked his servants to move out all the silver in the cellar and count it to see if it was enough for tomorrow's delivery.

Seeing the white silver piled up in the yard, his wife Ma cried and said, "Master, if you really want to use all the money in the family to exchange for the wasteland in the West Mountain, what kind of madness have you gone?"

"What if I don't exchange your son? What about our family?" Liu Zhengqi sat down on the steps dejectedly, as if all his strength had been drained. "Just consider it as a loss to ward off disaster."

"Which immortal did you offend?" Ma asked puzzledly, "How could you force our family into this state?"

"Don't worry about it." Liu Zhengqi buried his head in his crotch depressedly.

That guy should have called me father-in-law...

Alas, it’s just a matter of one thought, and it makes a world of difference!

ps. The second of three consecutive updates is here, please give me double the monthly votes~~

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