Chapter 377: Chapter 377 - 254: Initial Construction (Part 2)

Some had red eyes, while others pressed their lips in a smile, as if holding their breath to stop themselves from calling out on the spot."It's true.""If we follow him, we can truly have our own land.""Master Louis has always been true to his word."Low murmurs rose in the fields, but no one stopped working.They all knew in their hearts that this time, as long as they could endure, build the roads, clear the fields, and plant the first batch of seeds.Their children, their names, could take root on this new land.They did not ask for much, nor did they expect any rewards or glory. What they wanted was truly their own land, food to fill their stomachs, and a lord who kept his word and could shield them from the wind and snow.They worked desperately, not because they were forced, but to fulfill Louis's promise and to repay him for this trust.A lord gave them land, and they were willing to give him an entire spring.Thus, under Louis's promise and plan, the development of Mai Lang Territory entered an intense building period with clear division of labor.The pioneers started from the most primitive tasks, cleaning up the environment.They chopped down twisted fir trees in the forest, cleared the giant rocks and permafrost soil on the ground, filled in the beast dens, melting pits, and abandoned insect disaster holes.If they found decaying bones or magical beast claw marks along the way, it was searched and cleared by designated knight squads.Every shovel that turned up the permafrost seemed to tell them that this land no longer belonged to monsters, but to humans.New homes were being built simultaneously.The "semi-underground communal dwellings" patterned after the Red Tide Territory prototype quickly rose from the valley floor.This was a residential structure integrating insulation, windproofing, and rapid construction, resembling mounds of grass on the outside, yet warm and compact inside.Logs served as the bones, grass mud was the skin, and the half-subterranean design could isolate the piercing cold of the Northern Territory.During the day, they allowed light and ventilation, while at night, fires could be burned without losing heat.For these people who had experienced the wandering of insect disasters, these earth mound houses were temporary havens and also the embryos of future hope."It's sturdier than my old house.""When spring comes, plant some onions and yellow root grass by the door, and it will feel more like home."And of course, there was a water source team, as this was the lifeline of everything.Survey teams set out early, exploring the groundwater veins at the foot of the mountain, and began constructing water collection pools and canals along the streams.On one side was a clean water well specifically for drinking, secured with filter cloth, sand, stone, and purification stones.On the other side, there were planned irrigation canals, connecting future fields and nurseries."This year we won't rely on the heavens, but on this canal system."The roads were also gradually being laid out.Mountain paths were leveled, and the original muddy paths leading to various villages and the main Red Tide roads were widened and restructured. Inside, a "cross-axis" road layout was planned for future district and market development."This isn't just setting up a shelter for survival, it's building a city."Thus, under countless shovels, hoes, and bonfires, this once-dead valley began to take shape.Roads connected, canals formed, and semi-underground dwellings mushroomed out of the ground, with wooden stake fences watching over the newborn boundaries in the wind and snow.People were no longer refugees fleeing disaster but pioneers about to cultivate their homeland.And it was already late March, time to prepare for spring sowing, the most important period of the year.So Louis decided to hold a spring plowing mobilization conference to boost the enthusiasm of the people.The temporary administrative hall was a building converted from an old granary, with crude wooden beams still bearing the smoke marks from burning pest corpses.But now, it was painted with the Red Tide emblem, equipped with new glass windows, and the walls hung with symbols of the Red Tide.Although the meeting had not yet started, the crowd had already gathered.Some were elders from various villages, some were capable hands brought in from the Red Tide Territory, some were blacksmiths, foremen, and agricultural officials, and there were farmer representatives with frostbitten faces sitting up straight.And just as the sun shone perfectly into the porch, Louis Calvin, draped in a black cloak and carrying a sword, entered.He did not let any formal ceremony usher him; he simply walked steadily to the front stage, standing firmly and gazing at the full hall.In the eyes of everyone, Louis, cloaked in black, walked up the dais, his steps steady and powerful."I know everyone is very busy."