Chapter 22 Land Enclosure Movement! Safety Fences Urgently Deployed! And…
After their first close encounter with the despicable scavenging gang, the Black Rock Gang, Xiao Guan's previously leisurely farming and infrastructure-building routine was instantly overshadowed by a sense of insecurity.
Lin Yue now sees everyone as a potential robber, and he needs to listen to Xiao Fen's snoring twice at night to feel at ease before he can sleep.
Gray also noticeably increased his vigilance, spending longer periods patrolling each day, and his eyes became sharper, resembling a lone wolf ready to pounce on its prey at any moment.
Even Uncle Stone Fist, though still cursing, started using his good leg to stroll around the small restaurant with his cane, occasionally picking up a stone and weighing it in his hand, as if looking for a suitable throwing weapon.
"No! This can't go on!" Lin Yue exclaimed, heartbroken at the sight of everyone's heightened state of panic.
"We can't let a bunch of petty thieves keep us on edge all day, ruining our mood for infrastructure projects! We must strengthen security measures! We need to give our Lin's Restaurant an 'ironclad' protective shield!"
Given their current conditions, the so-called "iron shirt" fence couldn't possibly be a real steel wall. Lin Yue's goal was pragmatic: to build a sturdy fence first!
At the very least, it should be able to keep out ordinary wild animals and also serve as a deterrent and deterrent to those with ill intentions! You can't expect people to swagger into your yard and drool over your potato field and freshly roasted meat, can you?
Therefore, the first phase of the Lin's Restaurant security system project – the basic wooden fence project – was urgently put on the agenda!
Lin Yue once again demonstrated his talent as the "chief designer," combining the blueprint for the [simple wooden fence] provided by the system with some defensive fortification experience from Uncle Stone Fist. Dwarves are said to be good at digging holes and building fortifications, and he drew up a design that... well... looks pretty decent.
The core idea of the design is: dig deep trenches, drive in dense piles, build high walls, and add some small surprises, such as disguised pits and spikes.
The location was naturally chosen around their already established Lin Family Restaurant residential area and that precious experimental field.
"Comrades!" Lin Yue, holding his "design blueprints," summoned his two core employees, Gray and Stone Fist, as well as the mascot Xiao Fen, for an emergency meeting on the safety of Lin's Restaurant.
"Given the dire security situation we face, I've decided! Immediately! Right now! To build a sturdy, reliable, and aesthetically pleasing... well, aesthetics aren't important, the most important thing is that it's sturdy and reliable!"
Lin Yue explained his grand plan with great enthusiasm,
"We'll dig a trench at least half a meter deep! Then we'll plant countless sharpened wooden stakes in it! The stakes should be taller than a person! And we'll connect the stakes tightly with vines or animal sinews! We'll also dig several camouflaged pits around the perimeter! And we'll plant sharpened bamboo in them! So that anyone who dares to offend us will never leave alive!"
He became more and more excited as he spoke, as if he could already see the future enemy falling into the pit and howling in pain.
Gray listened attentively, nodding occasionally, clearly showing strong support for this kind of project that could enhance a sense of security.
Uncle Stone Fist stroked his thick beard and offered his expert advice: "Wooden stakes alone won't do! Wood rots easily and is easily burned! It would be best to build a layer of stones around the stakes! Or you could char the bottom of the stakes with fire to make them more durable!"
[System Notification: Received [Dwarven Basic Defensive Construction Experience: Wooden Stake Reinforcement Techniques]. Knowledge Base [Architecture - Defensive Construction] module experience points +20.]
"That makes sense!" Lin Yue's eyes lit up, and he quickly added Shi Quan's suggestion to the "design drawing." "Uncle, you're so experienced!"
Stone Fist snorted smugly.
Xiao Fen was very interested in the patterns with spikes and pits, and kept pawing at them with her little paws, as if she thought they were new toys.
With the plan finalized, the arduous construction phase begins.
This project requires a lot of timber! And it has to be thick, hard, and suitable for making piles!
The Lin family's logging team is on the move!
This time, Lin Yue was smarter. He didn't challenge those iron birch trees that were as hard as stone. Instead, following Shi Quan's advice, he chose "Quercus glauca," a type of wood that grew faster, was relatively tough, and was easier to cut.
Although they captured several inferior pickaxes and hammers, they didn't have any axes. Therefore, their main tool for chopping wood remained the [effort-saving lever stone axe].
Lin Yue looked at the small stone axe, and then at the oak trees in front of him that required two people to hug them, and felt a dull ache in his liver.
"This will take forever to cut..." he couldn't help but groan.
Without a word, Gray picked up his stone axe and got to work. He was indeed strong; each swing of his axe pierced several inches into the tree trunk, sending wood chips flying. But even so, it would take him most of the day to fell a large tree that was as thick as a person's embrace!
Lin Yue wasn't idle either. He used the captured hammer and chisel to try and carve a groove around the base of the tree trunk, hoping to speed up the felling process. The effect... was better than nothing.
Xiao Fen, meanwhile, excitedly chased after the falling wood chips and startled insects.
Uncle Shi Quan also came this time, leaning on his crutches. Although he can't do heavy work, he can provide technical guidance from the sidelines.
"Idiot! Chop here! Chop along the grain! It'll save you effort!"
"The axe's dull! Sharpen it! Don't you even have that much sense?"
"That tree is crooked! Don't cut it down! If you cut it down, it might fall and hit someone!"
Lin Yue and Gray were completely at his mercy, but they could only grit their teeth and accept it. After all, he was an experienced senior and also an injured veteran.
The logging process fully exposed the predicament of their outdated tools. Lin Yue cried out in his heart more than once, "Where is my iron axe?! Where is my chainsaw?! Give me a modern tool, and I can shave this whole forest bare!"
[System notification: A strong desire for advanced tools has been detected in the host. It is recommended to upgrade smelting technology as soon as possible, or attempt to trade with other civilizations.]
"Nonsense! I want to too!" Lin Yue retorted to the system irritably.
Besides felling the trees, the subsequent processing of the timber was also a huge undertaking. The rounded trunks needed to be cut into suitable lengths, and then one end needed to be sharpened. Without saws, they could only rely on stone axes and stone knives to chop, whittle, and sharpen bit by bit... the efficiency was appallingly low.
Lin Yue felt like his hands were about to spark from being rubbed together.
After finally gathering the first batch of wooden stakes, they began digging trenches and planting the stakes. Digging trenches was also physically demanding, mainly done by Gray. Lin Yue was responsible for measuring, marking, and... handing Gray water and wiping his sweat.
When driving in the stakes, in order to drive the heavy wooden stakes into the ground and make them firmly fixed, they first have to dig a hole, then put the stake in, then backfill with soil and stones, and tamp it down hard. Every stake is a testament to their blood and sweat.
Uncle Shi Quan wasn't idle either. He sat to the side, directing Lin Yue to char the bottom of the wooden stakes with fire, supposedly to effectively prevent rot and insects. He even personally taught Lin Yue how to use flexible vines to tightly bind and connect adjacent wooden stakes together, forming a more stable whole.
As for the pits on the outside... Lin Yue originally wanted to dig a few deeper ones and insert sharpened bamboo sticks into them.
However, considering the sheer size of the project and the potential for serious trouble if one of their own or Xiao Fen accidentally fell in, they ultimately only dug a few shallow pits, lined them with some dead branches and leaves, and stuck in a few sharpened sticks, mainly to serve as a psychological deterrent.
[System Notification: Construction progress of the basic wooden fence +5%. Current defense level: E- (better than nothing). Please continue your efforts, host. Do not cut corners just because the project is large; otherwise, you will bear the consequences.]
Lin Yue looked at the system's notification and blushed. Okay, well, they had indeed cut corners a bit. The main problem was the poor quality of their tools and the limited manpower!
Thus, with extremely outdated tools, a severe shortage of manpower, and constant complaints from an honorary supervisor, the Lin's safety fence project progressed little by little in an extremely slow, arduous, and patience-testing manner.
Every day when he finished work, Lin Yue felt as if he had been repeatedly trampled by a hundred bison, his whole body ached and his bones felt like they were falling apart.
But as he looked at the wooden stake fence, which was not yet complete but was gradually extending, his heart was filled with hope again.
This is not just a fence; it is a symbol of the small safe space they have carved out for themselves in this perilous world.
"We must get the iron tools out as soon as possible!" Lin Yue secretly resolved. "Without good tools, everything is twice as difficult and half as efficient! This inefficiency is too torturous!"
His desire for a successful smelting had never been stronger.
A note from the author:
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