Chapter 38 Red Bricks Arrive! Can Cement Be Far Behind? The First Time…
The first brick-making attempt ended in a disastrous failure, described as "three seconds of opening the kiln followed by two hours of heartbreak." The small restaurant's brick-making business then entered a vicious cycle of pain and joy: "repeated experiments, repeated failures, and unwavering determination, yet still unable to produce many good bricks."
Lin Yue felt like he was developing kiln-related PTSD. Every day he was either mixing mud and making brick blanks, or studying how to stack kilns and control the fire. At night, he dreamed of the bright red kiln fire and the crackling sound of bricks popping.
His slate notebook, filled with scribbles, quickly expanded from a few pages to over a dozen. It was densely filled with records of the time, temperature, fuel consumption, brick ratio, and kiln stacking method for each firing, as well as... most notably, various failure analyses and improvement measures marked with specially sourced red charcoal.
Gray and Amu became professional wood-adding workers and bellows operators, getting covered in soot every day, but they never complained.
Uncle Shi Quan completely transformed into a grumpy chief engineer, wandering around the kiln all day with his hands behind his back, muttering curses, but his eyes grew brighter and brighter, and his suggestions for improvement became more and more precise.
He even started experimenting with different clay ratios and personally designed several new ways of stacking kilns.
Old Bader and Mia were also busy, leading the women and children to dry and select bricks, ensuring that every brick sent into the kiln was of the highest quality.
Xiao Fen... Xiao Fen is still that carefree mascot.
And so, after countless failures—Lin Yue had grown tired of counting them—the system had given him a hidden achievement: 108 ways to fail at brick-making, which made him want to smash the system. Finally, on a sunny afternoon, a miracle occurred!
When Lin Yue and Gray carefully pried open the now-cooled kiln opening again, a wave of heat, different from before and carrying a hint of pure earthenware aroma, rushed towards them!
Inside the kiln, it was no longer the horrific exhibition of scrap that had been there before!
Although there are still some cracked and deformed bricks, most of the brick blanks have a uniform and captivating reddish-brown color! They are neatly stacked there, with sharp edges and smooth surfaces, exuding a simple yet sturdy aura!
"This...this is..." Lin Yue's voice trembled slightly. He carefully picked up a finished brick, which felt heavy and hard in his hand.
He tapped it with another stone, making a crisp "clang" sound!
It's done!
It's absolutely a success!
The color! The hardness! The sound! This is definitely a qualified red brick!
"We did it! We did it! We've fired red bricks!" Lin Yue jumped three feet high with excitement, hugging Gray, who was equally dumbfounded, and shouting and jumping!
"These are so much better than the adobe bricks we used to dry! Adobe bricks are afraid of water; they'll melt after a few heavy rains. But these red bricks, wow, they're rock hard, almost like stone! Building houses with these is what you call truly sturdy!"
Gray was also infected by this sudden joy, and he grinned, revealing a simple and happy smile!
Uncle Shi Quan darted over, picked up a red brick and examined it closely. He then squeezed it hard with his thick fingers, gave it a heavy hum, and couldn't help but let out a smirk: "...Hmm, not bad. It's only slightly better than those pieces of junk from the previous batches."
Although he still spoke with that same arrogance, his eyes, which were somewhat cloudy from long hours of exposure to the fire, gleamed with an undisguised excitement and pride!
[System notification: Congratulations, host! After N+1 failures, you have finally successfully fired the first batch of qualified [red bricks]!]
[Red brick quality: Ordinary (basically meets building requirements). Attributes: Compressive strength +30, fire resistance +20, thermal insulation +15.]
[Unlock achievement [Yu Gong Burns the Mountain (Bricks)]! Gain 800 experience points and 150 system points! Significantly increase your metallurgy/ceramics skill proficiency!]
[Shi Quan's approval rating of you has increased! His sense of belonging to Lin's Restaurant has grown! His forging spirit is burning brightly!]
"Hahaha! That's great! That's great!" Lin Yue grinned from ear to ear as he looked at the system notification. "Although it's only of ordinary quality, for us, this is already an epic breakthrough!"
The news spread like wildfire throughout the entire restaurant!
Everyone gathered around, their faces beaming with excitement and joy as they looked at the freshly baked, still-warm red bricks!
Old Bader was so moved that tears streamed down his face. He stroked the red bricks and murmured to himself, "Bricks...it's bricks...building a house with these is much stronger than building with mud walls..."
Amu and Mia also curiously picked up the red bricks, feeling their hard texture, their eyes filled with longing for a better future.
Even the refugees who had previously criticized Lin Yue's reckless actions were now silent, and their eyes looked at Lin Yue with more respect and admiration.
These red bricks are not just building materials, but also symbols of hope! They prove that as long as you are willing to work hard and use your brain, you can create miracles even on this cursed land!
Although the number of qualified red bricks produced in this batch was not very large, only about two or three hundred, its significance was extraordinary!
Lin Yue immediately decided to make good use of these first batch of precious red bricks!
Instead of using them to build a new house, he decided to use them first in the most critical area—reinforcement!
The primary target for reinforcement is their wooden stake fence, which has been assembled but is not yet sturdy enough!
Lin Yue directed Gray and Amu to build several simple brick blocks at the corners of the fence and at several key load-bearing points on both sides of the gate, greatly enhancing the stability and defensive capabilities of the fence!
Then, he used the remaining red bricks to repair and reinforce the corners and foundation of the much-criticized communal sleeping quarters, so that it would at least leak less wind and water when it was windy and rainy.
Although it was only a small-scale repair, the effect was immediate!
The fence looks much more presentable now, no longer the rickety thing it used to be. The dormitory-style sleeping area also looks neater and safer.
Seeing these tangible changes, everyone is filled with enthusiasm!
The enthusiasm for brick making is at an all-time high!
However, just as Lin Yue was preparing to make persistent efforts to increase the production of red bricks and achieve the freedom of building a large red brick house as soon as possible, a new problem arose in front of him—adhesive!
To build a wall with bricks, you need something to hold them together!
They're using the most primitive method now—mud!
The mud made of clay and water can barely hold the bricks together, but it's too weak! It's not water-resistant and not sturdy enough; it will easily loosen and fall off after being exposed to wind and rain for a long time.
That won't do! We can't let all the hard work of firing these red bricks go to waste just because the adhesive is bad, can we?
"We must find a better adhesive!" Lin Yue frowned as he pondered.
His architectural knowledge from his time on Earth told him that the most commonly used adhesive was cement!
Cement is simply the soul of modern architecture! It's strong, durable, and waterproof!
If they could produce cement, wouldn't their construction skills take off again?
"System! System!" Lin Yue called out again to his omnipotent but often unreliable cheat code, "Do you have any information on cement production methods? Or... related technical data?"
[System response: A demand for [cementing material - cement] has been detected from the host.]
[Option 1: The host can research ancient cementing materials such as rammed earth, rice mortar, etc., or try to find minerals/plants with cementing properties in nature. Advantages: May discover materials unique to this other world. Disadvantages: Time-consuming, extremely low success rate, and unstable material properties.]
Option 2: Consume 900 system points to directly redeem the [Basic Silicate Cement Firing Process (Concept Version)]. Includes: the proportions of main raw materials such as limestone, clay, and iron ore powder; the firing temperature control range; and the basics of clinker grinding. Note: Cement production processes are complex and have high requirements for raw materials and equipment; please choose carefully.
[Current available points: 880 points.]
Lin Yue stared at the gleaming "900 points," and his lips twitched again.
"Holy crap! Cement is this expensive?!" he couldn't help but complain. "It's six times more expensive than brick-making technology! System, are you deliberately raising prices because you think I've got a bit more money lately?!"
[System Response: The industrial value and technological complexity of cement far exceed that of basic clay firing. Our prices are fair and honest.]
Lin Yue: "..." I don't believe you!
However, he also knew that cement was indeed a highly technical product. The main raw materials were limestone, clay, and iron ore powder… They already had the clay and iron ore powder; the key was the limestone!
Limestone, whose main component is calcium carbonate, can be calcined at high temperatures to produce quicklime. Quicklime mixed with water becomes slaked lime, which, when combined with other materials, can be used to make cement.
“Limestone…” Lin Yue stroked his chin, beginning to recall the areas they had previously explored.
“Gray! Stonefist Uncle!” Lin Yue called the two big shots over. “Have you ever... seen a kind of white or grayish-white stone that is relatively soft and turns into white powder when burned?” He tried his best to describe the characteristics of limestone.
Gray shook his head, indicating that he didn't remember.
Shi Quan frowned, seemingly recalling something. "...White stones? There are quite a few in the mountains...but they turn to powder when burned...I think...there's a kind called snowflake stone, which is rather brittle. We used to sometimes use it to mark mine tunnels, or...grind it into powder for decoration?"
"Alabaster?" Lin Yue's eyes lit up. "What does it look like? Where can I find it?"
Stone Fist pointed in a certain direction: "A little further in from the mountain wall where we found iron ore last time, there's a layer of white rock, and most of the rocks there are of that texture. However, that stuff isn't sturdy and isn't very useful."
"It's useful! It's incredibly useful!" Lin Yue exclaimed excitedly. "Uncle Stone Fist! Gray! Let's go take a look tomorrow! Maybe... that's another key material for building our big red brick house!"
Although I don't have enough points to redeem the cement technology yet, it's always good to find the raw materials first!
He seemed to have already seen the future: they would use the red bricks they fired themselves, along with the cement they produced, to build sturdy, beautiful, warm in winter and cool in summer...luxury villa complexes!
Just imagining that scene is enough to get my heart racing!
Of course, he also knew that there were countless difficulties and challenges ahead of him from finding limestone to actually producing cement and then using it to build houses.
But so what?
For a transmigrator determined to build infrastructure, become a big shot, and incidentally conquer the entire continent with his culinary skills in another world, what are these difficulties?!
"Cement! Wait for me!"
After all, a house built with only bricks and no reliable adhesive is hardly different from one built with building blocks; it might even fall apart in a strong wind! Cement, on the other hand, is the all-purpose glue of the construction world! With it, red brick houses can truly become a reality!
Although the price of the [Basic Silicate Cement Firing Process] in the system shop is as high as 900 points, which makes him only able to look at it with envy, this cannot stop him from paying his respects first and preparing the raw materials!
What if the system suddenly malfunctions and offers a discount? What if he gets incredibly lucky and earns hundreds of points just from completing a task? Opportunities are always for those who are prepared and have the resources!
Thus, following the nationwide brick-making campaign, the Lin Family Restaurant's nationwide stone-hunting campaign was launched in full swing!
Target: The white rock layer, which Uncle Stone Fist mentioned, located deeper in the iron ore mountain wall, is rich in alabaster and may be limestone!
This exploration team boasts a truly impressive lineup.
Lin Yue was naturally the commander-in-chief and chief geologist.
Gray remains the force of choice and trailblazer. His newly fitted spear with an iron tip has become his signature weapon, gleaming coldly and exuding a powerful aura.
Uncle Stonefist, the walking encyclopedia of minerals, has personally stepped in! In his words, "So that you fools won't mistake fluorite for diamonds and dig them up!"
Amu, as a key personnel to be cultivated in infrastructure, also went along to broaden his horizons and gain experience.
As for Xiao Fen... she is now the standard mascot and magic radar for all outings, running around happily along the way, and occasionally letting out a couple of "woofs" in a certain direction to remind everyone to be careful.
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