Protect Our Clan Leader

Chapter 368: Chapter 78: The Struggle of Destiny! The Wind Rises in Fallen Eagle Gorge_1

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In the small deep-water port, a young man in his twenties had been waiting, leading a group of people. Although his appearance wasn’t extraordinary, his demeanor exuded a sense of calm and competence.

Upon seeing Wang Shouzhe come ashore, he immediately led his group to greet him, bowing to Wang Shouzhe and saying, “Wang Gui pays his respects to the Family Head.”

There was a hint of excitement in his voice.

That’s right.

This young man is Wang Gui, who grew up alongside Wang Shouzhe.

After Wang Shouzhe got married, it wasn’t suitable for Wang Gui to continue staying in the courtyard. Consequently, Wang Shouzhe sent him out to establish a secret production base and organize investment and production.

His loyalty coming from growing up together, coupled with being part of the Wang family’s sideline lineage, was unquestionable. Even when he was out doing his duties, no one dared to underestimate him.

Now, he was the Great Steward here, indirectly managing things for Wang Shouzhe.

“No need for formalities.”

Wang Shouzhe was quite pleased to see Wang Gui.

He quickly scanned Wang Gui and noticed a significant improvement in his energy compared to their last meeting, a clear sign that he had made significant progress in practicing the Wang Family’s Xuan Yuan Technique.

A faint smile crossed his face as he praised, “It seems that you’ve been diligent in your cultivation, even breaking through to the seventh level of the Qi Refinement Realm. However, you must press on, aiming to advance to the Spirit Platform Realm as soon as possible. That way, you can amass more resources for your children’s future.”

“Yes, Family Head.”

At the mention of children, Wang Gui also showed a gratified smile.

Years ago, Wang Gui had his eyes set on Wang Mei.

However, as Wang Mei’s strength and status rose, and her temperament proving to be something he could not tame, he gradually gave up.

Eventually, Wang Shouzhe played matchmaker, marrying Wang Gui to a woman from the sidelines of the Lu Clan of Yingxiu who possessed the capability for cultivation.

Over the past six or seven years, they had two children. The older one is now attending clan school, while the younger one is still nursing. His wife is still caring for them at home.

“Family Head, please come inside.”

After exchanging pleasantries, Wang Gui led Wang Shouzhe to the interior.

Keeping his head down and half a step behind Wang Shouzhe, he answered some of the questions Wang Shouzhe asked from time to time.

It was clear that he was taking his role as the head steward of this secret base seriously, answering every question precisely and demonstrating a thorough understanding of his domain.

Even though the last time Wang Shouzhe visited this base was about eight or nine months ago, before attending the Purple Abode school, he still maintained a firm grasp on the happenings in this base, thanks to his excellent command.

Walking through the long corridor, they reached an open area.

It was a gorge.

This gorge was natural, but had been significantly expanded through excavation by the Wang family. Its scale has increased, taking on an industrial appearance.

Several caverns had been hollowed into the mountains on either side to store water-sensitive raw materials and finished products. Some were even prepared as dwellings.

On the open ground, numerous large warehouses were built against the mountains, storing mountains of raw materials.

The most critical feature was several large kilns erected in the gorge.

The kilns burnt coal.

In this world, coal was not valuable due to its limited applications besides kilns and furnaces.

In winter, commoners used charcoal for heating, while prominent families used top-quality smokeless charcoal.

However, if coal was used to heat the water in a boiler system, distributing the warm water through a network of pipes and radiators to create central heating, the effect would be much more efficient than burning charcoal.

Wang Shouzhe had ordered the artisans to design a small boiler heating system as a prototype, to test its functionality in his own house.

The winter climate was always damp and chilly, which wasn’t comfortable at all.

Although cultivators at the Spirit Platform Realm far surpassed normal humans in terms of physical condition and tolerance for cold and heat, why not take measures to make oneself more comfortable whenever possible?

Leaving that aside for the moment.

Now, this secret base was operating around the clock, primarily producing “cement”. The cement kilns were working non-stop, year-round, in shifts, never stopping.

Speaking of which, the production of cement actually had a simple process.

It just needed limestone, iron slag, and clay to be ground into powder, mixed in a certain ratio, and then subjected to high-temperature combustion in the coal kiln. The result, after one more round of grinding, would be cement.

This was called the “two-grinding one-calcination” process.

Additionally, raw materials such as limestone, iron slag, clay, coal, and gypsum were extremely cheap, easily obtainable.

After processing, the market price of cement could reach half that of grain, which indicated a ridiculously high profit margin.

The process in the base was even simpler. The limestone and iron slag were delivered already ground into powder. All that remained were the steps of calcination and subsequent processing.

The disappointing factor was the production yield.

Despite the combined efforts of the Lu Family, Liu Family, Gongsun Clan, and Wang Family, the total annual production of the entire cement system could only reach 100,000 tons.

100,000 tons might sound like a lot, but compared to Earth, the production was far behind.

Wang Shouzhe vaguely remembered that, before he traveled to this world, the per capita annual cement consumption in China was around one and a half tons. The gap was immense.

There was nothing to be done about it.

The current cement production process was behind in various aspects, especially in the excavation and grinding of raw materials. Most of the methods were primitive, still using animal-powered grinding mills.