Chapter 112: Chapter 111: Sampans

Ehrelo looked at Lynn in surprise and exclaimed incredulously, "An iron mine?"

"Master Lynn, did you find an iron mine on your trip?"

Lynn nodded calmly, "Yes."

Receiving Master Lynn’s affirmative answer, Ehrelo’s heart began to race.

It’s really an iron mine!

According to Master Lynn, it can be directly extracted!

That obviously means an open-pit iron mine.

With an open-pit iron mine, it means Lynn’s blacksmith shop will have endless, inexhaustible iron ore!

Thinking of this,

Ehrelo’s breathing became rapid.

Without hesitation, he quickly replied, "Master Lynn, I’ll immediately arrange personnel and start forging iron products."

"Three days, in three days, I can deliver you three hundred cross pickaxes!"

If it were before, Ehrelo wouldn’t have dared to agree rashly.

But now, he has nearly fifty blacksmith apprentices.

Moreover, after his teaching during this period, these blacksmith apprentices have already learned the most basic forging and quenching.

Using them to forge simple iron products is entirely sufficient.

Lynn nodded and gave a few more instructions before leaving the blacksmith shop.

Excavating iron ore isn’t easy.

Lynn must complete all the preparation.

The principle of sharpening the tools before doing any work is clear to Lynn.

As he walked out of the blacksmith shop, he saw Colin approaching from afar.

Colin arrived and explained, "Master Lynn, according to your instructions and requirements, I’ve built six waterwheels, one of which is empty and can be used as a spare."

Lynn nodded, "Well done, but there are two more things I need you to do next."

Colin bent slightly, "Master Lynn, just give the orders."

Lynn was direct and to the point, "I found an open-pit iron mine, but it’s far away, at least forty miles."

Colin’s eyes also showed a hint of surprise.

However,

compared to Ehrelo as a blacksmith, Colin was much steadier.

Lynn continued, "The best and easiest method is to produce punt boats."

Colin understood what he meant and asked, "Master Lynn means for me to produce the punt boats?"

Lynn nodded, "Yes, I need at least twenty medium-sized punt boats."

The approximate size of a medium-sized punt boat is eight meters long and two meters wide, with a carrying capacity of around two thousand pounds.

They are very suitable for transporting goods over slightly longer distances on inland rivers.

Colin’s face showed a trace of helplessness, "Master Lynn, I’ve never made boats... I’m afraid..."

Lynn replied with a smile, "Neither have I, but... I will soon! Let’s go to your carpenter’s shop first."

Despite feeling a bit puzzled by the master’s words,

Colin had no doubts.

Lynn and his group headed towards the carpenter’s shop.

Colin’s carpenter’s shop was simpler compared to Ehrelo’s blacksmith shop.

The main focus was the saw racks and various iron tools for making things.

As they approached, the rich scent of raw wood filled Lynn’s mouth and nose.

It was the smell of resin.

Without hesitation, Lynn picked up a nearby iron saw and began sawing the raw wood.

Buzzing sounds!

The deep and continuous noise kept echoing in the carpenter’s shop.

[Production Experience +1]

...

Bit by bit, the experience increased.

Bit by bit, fragments of shipbuilding knowledge appeared in Lynn’s mind and quickly merged.

After a short while,

the complete knowledge of shipbuilding had already merged with Lynn.

The carpenter’s shop stored a lot of oak wood, used for making items requiring hard materials.

It’s perfect for making transport punt boats.

Under the watchful eyes of Colin and more than ten carpenter apprentices, he began making boats.

The punt boat dimensions were already decided by Lynn beforehand.

Now he could directly start constructing.

The hull of the punt boat is roughly divided into the keel, ribs, and planking, with oars and rudder as well as sealing and waterproofing treatment.

The keel is the foundational skeleton of the punt boat, as crucial as the spine of a house.

Lynn had four apprentices bring over a longer and sturdier raw wood and processed it according to the memories in his mind.

Using iron saw and planer, he made it smooth and curved, transforming it into the shape needed for the punt boat.

The shape of the keel basically determined the overall direction of the hull.

Time passed little by little.

An hour later,

A finished keel appeared before everyone.

Lynn did not pause, continuing with his busy work.

Spacing along the keel, he began installing the ribs.

The purpose of the ribs is to support the sides of the hull and enhance the structural strength of the boat.

Simply put, the strength of the ribs determines the loading capacity of the punt boat!

Due to the hardness of oak, Lynn had to use fire to assist in processing raw oak into appropriate curves.

The ribs gradually accumulated with the help of Colin and others.

Hours later,

Lynn began installing the ribs.

The ribs were inserted and fixed into the keel.

Like fishbones sprouting fish spines.

With the ribs installed, Lynn started installing the planking!

There were already many sawed raw wood planks in the carpenter’s shop.

After Lynn’s processing, they could be used.

As Lynn continuously hammered, assisting with iron nails, plank after plank was installed.

The small skiff gradually started taking shape in everyone’s eyes.

Colin, who had seen Master Lynn build a waterwheel with his bare hands, thought it was alright.

Those newly joined carpenter apprentices had expressions full of shock on their faces.

Master Lynn actually managed to create a small skiff!

Lynn still didn’t stop, and began installing the oars and rudder.

He selected a thin log as thick as a thigh, nailed two planks onto it, turning it into the rudder.

Then he selected some fine logs and planks, making them into oars.

Lynn stood up, and just as Colin wanted to step forward, a figure strode in.

Red came, holding a clay pot, and walked up to Lynn.

"Master Lynn, the resin you requested has been cooked!"

Lynn nodded, took it from Red, grabbed a pig bristle brush, dipped it in the resin, and began waterproofing the skiff.

Until night fell.

A fully completed skiff was displayed before everyone’s eyes.

All that was needed was for the resin to dry, then the skiff could be launched!

Lynn looked at Colin and the others, and asked, "Have you learned?"

Colin didn’t hesitate at all and responded quickly, "We’ve learned, Master Lynn."

After a demonstration and operation by Master Lynn, if he, as an old carpenter, couldn’t learn, then he might as well change his profession!

Lynn nodded in satisfaction, "Then get going, twenty skiffs in five days!"

The making of the skiff seemed somewhat complicated, but it wasn’t too difficult to make.

If there must be something difficult and complex, Lynn felt the toughest part was the resin used for waterproofing the skiff.

The territory doesn’t have cattle or sheep yet, so there’s no animal fat for waterproofing materials.

Linseed oil and tung oil are even more out of the question.

To get resin, one must go into the forest to find pine trees and then collect it.

However, the edge of the forest has plenty of pine wood!

It’s enough to make the skiffs.

After instructing Colin.

Lynn then walked out of the carpenter shop with heavy steps, under the admiring gaze of the carpenter apprentices.

By this time, the sun had already set.

Lynn sat on the bench in front of the wooden house, letting the fragmented golden sunset rays sprinkle over his face.

Beyond that.

The distant fields, the waterwheel by the river, the Acadia River, and even the majestic mountains beyond...

All were tinted a shade of gold by the sunset.

Lynn straightened slightly, enjoyed the view for a while, and continued planning the excavation of the iron mine in his mind.

The tools for transportation and excavation were already resolved.

The most important issue now was solving the labor problem.

The population of the village reached 2,200, but Lynn felt everyone had their respective roles.

Mining the salt mines required labor, as it was crucial for the survival and economy of the territory.

Mining coal required labor, which was crucial for the territory’s basic development.

The only solution Lynn could think of was deploying the 500 slaves Grayson brought a while ago to the iron mine!

With a thought, Lynn opened [Resource Management].

[Red Bricks]: 250,000 pieces

With these quantities of red bricks, let alone rebuilding the entire territory.

It’s not even sufficient to build a large red brick factory!

Lynn couldn’t help but sigh internally.

The current labor force was still too small.

It was barely enough to support the development of large industries in the territory.

He needed more labor force!

...

The next morning.

Lynn still woke up early.

Long periods of early rises had already formed a habit in his biological clock.

After leaving the wooden house, he ate the wheat bread and meat porridge Kuisi personally cooked for him.

Lynn called over a burly man.

A string of text appeared before Lynn’s eyes.

[Name]: Garcia Paul

[Age]: 35

[Ability]: Collection Level 2, Level 2 Production, Planting Level 2

[Attributes]: Attack F, Defense F+, Speed F-, Constitution E, Energy F-

[Talent]: Planning - Possesses certain planning abilities

[Skills]: Two-Handed Axe - Lumber efficiency doubles when using a two-handed axe

...

Looking at the exceptionally sturdy burly man barely standing at 1.5 meters tall, Lynn was slightly surprised.

Not because he resembles a goblin’s stature.

But because of his talent and abilities.

Paul was one of the few Lynn had seen among the slaves with skills and talents.

Lynn looked directly at Paul and spoke, "Paul, I need your help!"

Hearing Lynn’s solemn words, Garcia was stunned.

But in the next second, Garcia’s expression turned solemn, and he spoke deeply, "Lord, feel free to command, no matter if it costs my life Garcia is willing."

"Just please take care of my wife and eighteen-year-old daughter..."

Lynn couldn’t help but chuckle, "You’ve misunderstood, I mean I need you to lead thirty men into the depths of the forest and clear a wide path for paving a lime road later!"

Garcia relaxed his expression slightly, "Lord, there’s no problem with clearing."

Lynn nodded.

He instructed Kuisi to select thirty relatively sturdy villagers from those making red bricks.

Equipped with harvesting tools and daily necessary living materials along with a chef.

They headed into the depths of the forest under the escort of two guards.

There’s a three-mile distance from the open-pit mine to the Acadia River, and the thirty or so of them needed at least several days to complete the clearing.

The logs in the depths of the forest were not like the ones at the edge; those pine woods were only two to three centimeters thick.

In the coming days, they’ll be living in the forest depths!

Before leaving, Lynn instructed Garcia to start from the open-pit iron mine and choose the closest, flattest direction for clearing.

This was all for the convenience of paving roads later, saving the labor of ox carts and horse carts for transporting iron ore.

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