Chapter 112 The "Half the Sky" Project in Hope Town: Construction in the Suburbs...
Construction sites in the suburbs are consuming massive amounts of resources and manpower at an almost frenzied pace every day, while simultaneously forging a new skeleton and flesh for the city.
Li Ge was standing on the wooden command tower that he had built himself, hands on his hips, looking down at the bustling land below.
Under his command, hundreds of once numb and desperate refugees, destitute craftsmen, and even slaves sold as livestock have transformed into disciplined and well-coordinated construction workers. Shouting robust and powerful work chants, they push wheelbarrows, wield shovels, and precisely deliver loads of bricks and cement to every corner where they are needed.
Rows of sturdy red brick foundations stretch across the planned land like bamboo shoots after a spring rain, making the outline of homes clearer and more tangible.
That afternoon, a painful groan and a gasp of surprise came from the construction site.
A young stonemason named Al was prying a huge granite foundation stone with his companion when he was momentarily distracted and slipped. The heavy foundation stone slipped from his hands and slammed hard onto the instep of his foot.
"Awooo—!"
El was in so much pain that he rolled on the ground clutching his foot, his forehead instantly covered in cold sweat.
"El, how are you?" Li Ge rushed over immediately. He carefully lifted the stone and saw that El's instep was swollen high and covered in bruises.
"What are you all standing there for? Go and fetch Mr. Herman!" Brother Li roared at the several terrified workers beside him.
Soon, old Herman arrived, panting, carrying his herb box. After examining the wound, he breathed a sigh of relief: "Thankfully, no bones are broken, just severe bruising. But he'll need to rest for ten days to two weeks."
Just as everyone was busily preparing to carry El back to rest, this usually taciturn and hardworking young man suddenly teared up, his voice choked with emotion, and said, "Li... Brother Li... I... I'm fine... I can still do it... I can't rest..."
“Nonsense,” Li Ge glared at him. “Your foot is so swollen, how can you do any work? Go back and lie down.”
“But…” El could no longer hold back her tears, which slid down her dusty cheeks. “But… my mother… she’s sick… we… we’re out of money for medicine… I was hoping… hoping that my wages from these few days would be enough to get some cough medicine from Mr. Hermann… if I don’t work… my mother…”
The faces of those around him showed a heavy expression of empathy.
El's predicament is the predicament of all of them.
Hopefully, the canteen solved the problem of having enough to eat. But a family is more than just eating. When you're sick, you need to buy medicine; when your children grow up, you need new clothes; and during holidays, you need to buy things for the family... all of these require money.
In this city, the only way they can currently earn money is through this physically demanding work on construction sites. If they collapse, it means the entire family's source of income will be completely cut off.
That evening, when Aunt Leah was distributing dinner in the dining hall, she keenly sensed that something was amiss.
The men, who were usually so boisterous and loud, were all silent today, simply burying their heads in their soup. Their wives, meanwhile, huddled in a corner, sighing and looking worried about the future.
"...My husband twisted his back while lifting stones a few days ago, but he just endured it and didn't dare say anything..."
"...The child's father too, his hands are covered in blisters, he can't sleep at night because of the pain..."
"...When will this ever end...?"
Aunt Leah saw all of this and kept it in mind. Silently, she ladled an extra large spoonful of thick meat sauce for each craftsman who came to get his meal.
The next morning, she went directly to Lin Yue, who was scratching his head in his office while looking at a sketch of a hydraulically driven multi-functional machine tool covered with all sorts of strange gears and levers.
“Mayor,” she placed a steaming bowl of wheat porridge on Lin Yue’s table, “I’ve heard about what happened at the construction site.”
Lin Yue looked up and rubbed his throbbing temples: "Yes, I'm also worried about this. Although our medical station can provide basic herbal medicine, many diseases can't be treated with herbal medicine alone. And people always have their limits. It's not a long-term solution for men to work themselves to the bone. But we have enough staff in the canteen for now."
“Mayor, that’s exactly what I wanted to say.” Aunt Leah’s eyes gleamed with a resolute light that was quite different from her usual gentle demeanor. “A family can’t rely solely on men to hold it up outside. Although we women may not be as strong as them, we also have hands and feet, we can work, and we can earn food for this family.”
She pointed to the women hanging clothes to dry and looking after children outside the window: "Mayor, look, their hands are more skillful and patient than any man's. Isn't our town's success today partly due to the sewing skills you taught us? Why can't we bring those skills to Blackrock City?"
She took a deep breath and solemnly proposed: "I suggest building a textile factory next to the new district. We can recruit the families of artisans and other women who want to earn an income through labor but have no other way to do so, so that they can also have their own work and wages. This will not only reduce the pressure on men, but also give every family more security and more ability to withstand risks. Only then can the family truly be stable."
Looking at the wise and responsible woman in front of him, Lin Yue felt full of admiration.
“Auntie, you’re absolutely right,” he slapped his thigh. “Actually, I’ve thought about this a long time ago. When we were discussing cooperation with Young Master Ryan, we had already included the establishment of a textile factory in our long-term plan. But then we were busy with war and construction sites, and I forgot about it. Your suggestion today really reminded me, and now is the perfect time.”
He stood up and solemnly announced in his capacity as the mayor of Hope Town and the big boss of Hope Trading Company: "The Hope Textile Factory Blackstone City branch project will be launched immediately. Aunt, you will be in full charge of this matter. If you have any needs, contact Brother Li and Manager Kawen directly. I give you the greatest autonomy."
He then had Kailan's woodworking workshop rush to produce the first batch of simpler, easier-to-use [Hope Brand Manual Spinning Wheel] and [Simple Foot-Operated Loom] overnight. These were made based on blueprints he had previously obtained from the [Path of Civilization] quest rewards in the system shop.
The raw materials for textiles include wild flax found in the Cursed Lands, which the agricultural team is also trying to cultivate artificially; the other part is a large amount of unprocessed raw cotton and animal hair that Lin Yue directly purchased at low prices from the Fat Grain Merchant's channels by leveraging his cooperative relationship with Ryan.
The textile factory was located on an open space next to the new district. Li Ge personally led the team to build several rows of spacious and bright wooden factory buildings as quickly as possible. This made it convenient for the female workers to get to and from work, and also made it easier for them to go home with their families at the construction site after work, so they could take care of each other.
Anna, El's wife, was a quiet and submissive young woman who was the first to sign up in order to help her injured husband.
Under the personal tutelage of Aunt Leah and Mia, these women, who had never touched a machine before, demonstrated an amazing learning ability and a spirit of hard work and perseverance.
Their fingers deftly weave between the rapidly spinning spindles and the interlacing warp and weft threads. Rough hemp threads and fluffy clumps of cotton gradually transform into smooth, fine rolls of cloth in their hands.
Those with quick hands and feet were responsible for operating the machines to weave. Those who were better at needlework, like Eileen, were assigned to the garment workshop, where they were responsible for cutting and sewing the woven fabric into garments.
When they first saw the women's underwear that they had sewn themselves, the best-selling underwear in Hope Town, the entire workshop erupted in a burst of barely suppressed gasps and good-natured laughter.
“Oh, Sister Leah,” a young girl said, blushing, holding up a newly made corset with delicate hemp rope and lace trim, “I finally understand. No wonder the ladies from Hope Town have such great figures and walk so gracefully. So… so they have this secret weapon.”
Aunt Leah was both amused and annoyed by their comments, but her face was filled with pride. This was more than just a piece of clothing; it represented a healthier, more confident lifestyle.
The textiles, which had been difficult to distribute due to limited production capacity in Hope Town, finally began mass production. The first batch of Hope-colored cotton fabric and garments produced by the textile factory were immediately purchased by Hope Store No. 1 at a fair and uniform price. A portion was distributed to the residents of Hope Town and the artisans of Blackstone City as part of their wages and benefits. The other portion was placed on the shelves for sale as exclusive merchandise. Here, there was not only Hope-colored cotton fabric made with Hope Town's unique dyeing techniques—using madder to create a warm crimson, indigo to create a deep sea blue, and ginger yellow and unknown flowers to create a bright marigold color—but also various garments that had already been sewn up.
For the male residents, there were durable indigo-dyed coarse cotton work pants and linen shirts, with a loose cut for easy work; while for the women, there were long skirts made of fine cotton dyed in soft colors, with simple floral patterns carefully embroidered on the collar and cuffs.
The most eye-catching collection was the "Hopeful Splendor" series, designed specifically for the city's wealthy ladies and heiresses. These garments employed more refined weaving and dyeing techniques: floor-length gowns made from multi-dye gradient fabrics, their colors as vibrant as the sunset; lightweight, breathable jacquard cotton blouses adorned with exquisite vine patterns; and even a small selection of fitted jackets made from wool blends, perfect for the cooler months. These garments were not only novel and unique in style, but also far superior in comfort and practicality to the currently popular, heavy, and restrictive ornate dresses.
When these colorful and stylish garments appeared, they immediately caused a sensation among the wealthy ladies of Blackstone City. They had never seen such soft, skin-friendly, and richly colored fabrics, and were captivated by the beautiful and practical designs. They were willing to bet that these styles were among the best even in the surrounding major cities, so they took them all home, whether they were for the season or not. Within just a few days, the ready-to-wear section of Hope No. 1 Store was packed with people, becoming another incredibly profitable and wildly popular product in the city, following Snow Salt and Starlight Wheat Flour.
Lin Yue didn't hesitate to reinvest the profits from the textile factory into the construction of the new district and the welfare of the workers.
Thus, a perfect, self-sufficient internal economic cycle is formed.
Two weeks later, Al's foot injury had almost fully healed. When he returned to the construction site, he was full of energy. That evening, his wife Anna returned from the textile factory, humming a tuneless little tune. She carried a small bag of herbs in her hand, her face beaming with a confident and radiant smile.
With the first wages she earned in those two weeks, she traded them at Old Herman's Hope Medical Station for medicinal herbs to cure her husband's and her sick mother-in-law's ailments.
When she brought the bitter-smelling medicine to her husband and mother-in-law, the three of them looked at each other, their eyes filled with relief at surviving such a disaster.
In the distance, the foundation of the first three-bedroom, one-living-room red brick house with an independent courtyard in the Hope New District has been built up to half a person's height.
Further away, a Hope No. 1 heavy truck, fully loaded with goods, slowly drove into Blackrock City. The old man traveling with him looked at the wasteland outside the city being revitalized and slowly beginning to recover, and couldn't help but sigh to his companion:
"It feels... different here."
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