Cement, I Have Cement

The news that anyone who came to work on the city walls for Lord Magnus Valorion would get to drink fine grain porridge spread throughout the town. Whether men or women, young or old, healthy or disabled, all who could work gathered at the construction site.

Magnus welcomed all who came to work. Women and the elderly were assigned to the logistics team, responsible for cooking meals, while young children were tasked with collecting firewood. The more able-bodied were assigned to digging, brick making, and wall building. Even those like the disabled individuals Magnus had met upon entering the town were given white porridge and pickles out of humanitarian concern.

Additionally, Magnus distributed wages every ten days, paid in white rice. Adults earned a pound of rice per day, while children earned half a pound. Families with many members could earn four to five pounds of white rice a day, amounting to forty to fifty pounds over ten days. Magnus' repeated acts of generosity made him revered throughout Green River Town, and the construction site buzzed with activity from dawn till dusk.

Over the past few days, Magnus had been tirelessly organizing the work for over a thousand people, hardly resting. Now, seeing the orderly and efficient work on the construction site, he felt a deep sense of satisfaction.

Neil Thompson, moved by Magnus' dedication, felt guilty for not doing enough. He had a canopy set up for shade and brought a lounge chair to Magnus. Approaching Magnus with a pained expression, Neil said, "My lord, I can't bear to see you working so hard. Please supervise from the shade. We can't afford to let you fall ill."

Magnus, seeing the progress on the site and the piles of bricks being fired, decided it was time to rest. He lay down on the lounge chair and instructed Neil, "Neil, the brick-making must be done meticulously. These aren't just ordinary bricks; they are the lifeline of our people."

"Yes, my lord. I will ensure they meet your standards," Neil replied before heading off to inspect the quality of the bricks.

Even without Magnus' orders, the townsfolk working on the wall were committed to ensuring the quality of the bricks, knowing their lives depended on it.

As Magnus lay down, a cool breeze brushed against him. Turning, he saw his loyal servant, Galen Veritas, fanning him. "Galen, you've worked hard these past few days too. If there's nothing urgent, go rest. You don't need to fan me."

"My lord, I'm not tired. It's hot, so let me fan you," Galen insisted.

Despite Magnus' repeated attempts to persuade him otherwise, Galen remained steadfast. Seeing this, Magnus let him be.

"System, check personal attributes," Magnus thought to himself. Instantly, the system panel appeared before him.

Host: Magnus Valorion

Gender: Male

Wealth: 17 taels of silver

Reputation: 1937/3000 (Eligible for 3 draws)

System Inventory: 3/7 (Upgradeable)

Current Supplies: Rice, Korean Kimchi, Yunnan Baiyao

Magnus' reputation had surged due to the unlimited refills of porridge for the laborers, surpassing the 100, 500, and 1000 milestones. This earned him three more chances to draw prizes.

The next milestone for a draw was set at 3000 reputation points. Considering Green River Town's population didn't even reach this number, it seemed an insurmountable task. While a larger population would be ideal, Magnus focused on completing the city walls with the united effort of the townspeople.

"System, start the draw!" Magnus commanded.

The familiar roulette wheel appeared before him. Examining the prizes, Magnus noted that most were similar to the previous ones, primarily food and crops. Disappointingly, the highly coveted AK47 was not among the prizes this time. However, a powerful new prize caught his eye: an excavator.

"Wow! This could be useful," Magnus thought, recalling the TikTok videos he had watched about excavator operations. Confident in his ability to operate one, Magnus was excited about the possibility of acquiring it.

"System, start the draw! Stop!" Magnus chanted his usual mantra.

The wheel spun and then stopped, but this time Magnus wasn't as lucky. The first draw yielded potato seeds. While potatoes were essential for survival, they were less useful now that Magnus had an abundance of rice.

Undeterred, Magnus initiated the second draw, which unfortunately resulted in water. "Seriously? Water? I don't need this!" Magnus thought, frustrated. Not only was it a common item, but it also took up valuable space in his limited inventory.

For the third draw, Magnus had little hope and casually commanded the system to start and stop. As the wheel stopped, Magnus glanced at the pointer and initially thought he hadn't won the excavator. But when he looked closer, his mood shifted from disinterest to excitement.

He had won cement—an invaluable resource for construction.

"Cement! Hahaha, I got cement!" Magnus laughed aloud on his lounge chair.

Galen Veritas, who was fanning Magnus, didn't understand why his lord was so happy but figured it must be something good.

What Did Ancient People Use to Build Walls and Houses Without Cement?

Ancient people discovered many substitutes for cement as adhesives through their own experimentation. The first method was lime mortar. Burning lime was not difficult, and early on, ancient people learned to use lime mortar. However, the lime mortar made by mixing lime, sand, and gravel was not suitable for constructing very tall or large buildings, as the strength of such structures would be significantly compromised.

The second method was sticky rice-lime mortar. Over 1,500 years ago, a new building material called sticky rice-lime mortar emerged. It involved adding sticky rice soup to lime mortar, creating a new composite mortar. The strength of sticky rice-lime mortar far exceeded that of pure lime mortar, making it extremely robust.

Over 500 years ago, many brick walls were built using sticky rice-lime mortar, and they have stood firm for centuries. The hardness of these walls even surpasses modern constructions, and it is challenging to demolish them with a bulldozer.

The third method was rammed earth, also known as "three-in-one soil." According to "Tiangong Kaiwu," the method involved mixing one part lime, two parts yellow earth, river sand, sticky rice, and the juice of sheep peach vine. The mixture was compacted to create a material known as "three-in-one soil," which acted as a super adhesive with adhesive strength comparable to modern concrete.

Magnus Valorion truly admired the ancient methods of construction. However, both the second and third methods required sticky rice as an ingredient. Before Magnus arrived, the people of Green River Town struggled to find enough food, let alone procure enough sticky rice for building walls. Now that Magnus had cement, his workers no longer needed to use the first method of lime mortar for building walls. With cement, the construction progress of their walls could be significantly accelerated.

Magnus summoned his system attribute panel once more:

Host: Magnus Valorion 

Gender: Male 

Wealth: 17 taels of silver 

Reputation: 1937/3000 

System Inventory: 6/7 (upgradable) 

Current Supplies: Rice, Korean Kimchi, Yunnan Baiyao, Potato Seeds, Water, Cement

Magnus began to understand why the system had provided him with water as a supply. At this moment, the system suddenly reminded him: "Please upgrade the system inventory as soon as possible. If the system inventory has no space, the host cannot draw prizes even if eligible."

Not being able to draw prizes was unacceptable, as it was essential for Magnus' survival in this new world. He quickly asked, "System, how do I upgrade the inventory?"

The system's mechanical voice responded: "The host can use gold or silver to upgrade. The current cost to upgrade the inventory is 100 taels of silver."