The scorching sunlight of the dry season caused the water accumulated in the foundation pit to evaporate quickly.

While working in the pit during the day, the indigenous workers could even feel the heat flowing from the earth walls and ground, warming their bodies.

Insects that prefer shade and moisture couldn’t stand this environment and had long since fled.

...

After testing, Chen Zhou determined that the load-bearing capacity of the foundation was unaffected, but to be on the safe side, he still ordered the indigenous workers to dig up a batch of gravel from the river, spread it flat on the bottom of the foundation pit, and then flatten it.

Undoubtedly, this took several more days.

After the foundation pit’s bedding layer was completed, the real highlight began—tie the foundation rebar and install the forms.

The skyscraper rises from the ground, and according to the design, tying the rebar is the most important step.

Regardless, the wooden formwork tolerance could not exceed 10mm.

Chen Zhou was most concerned about this step. While the indigenous workers were tying the rebar, he personally supervised the entire process, occasionally pulling out a measuring tape to check.

If any indigenous worker’s rebar tying did not meet standards, not only did it have to be dismantled and redone, but they also had to forfeit a dish—

Since the start of the formal work, all the indigenous workers enjoyed food they never had before; every meal had meat, vegetables, and beverages, with the occasional two cups of wine.

This lifestyle made them feel like they were in Heaven; no matter how tiring the work during the day, the meal in the evening made it all worth it.

Especially the meat dishes, which were either cooked personally by Chen Zhou or stir-fried on Saturday, complemented with chili, garlic, and other condiments, making them incredibly tasty.

If due to a work mistake they lost a meat dish, the punished indigenous workers could only watch others eat, tempted to drool with envy.

But that’s nothing.

The initial penalty for non-compliance was relatively light; if indigenous workers failed a second time, or even a third inspection was non-compliant, the consequences were much more serious.

Starting from the second non-compliance, a joint liability mechanism was implemented; not only would the non-compliant worker be punished, but others would also have a dish forfeited.

By the third non-compliance, they would face the whip on Sunday, and everyone would face it together.

Under such clear rules of reward and punishment, all indigenous workers, while trying to do their own work well, would consciously supervise their companions.

Especially a few who did the work beautifully who, to keep the evening’s meat dish, wished they could clone themselves, turning into several to help their companions with the work.

...

Though every indigenous worker wanted to do the work well, it was the first time for everyone in this job, and they were not proficient.

When they first started tying rebar, almost everyone made mistakes.

After losing meat dishes for several consecutive days and being lashed twice, the indigenous group finally produced a few skilled "master workers" who could do the job well.

Once those inexperienced workers, under the guidance of these few, gradually improved their skills and achieved zero errors, the work progress picked up.

...

The steel framework stood proudly on the isolated island of the 17th century.

Its pitch-black appearance, neat square grids, looked like a sanctuary from an unknown world, inspiring awe.

Don’t mention the indigenous workers.

When the massive and upright factory framework, devoid of artistic beauty, possessing only a sturdy and industrial sense, cast its shadow in the sunset’s afterglow, even Chen Zhou, a modern person, was mesmerized.

The reinforced concrete jungle represents the coldness of modern society;

Represents the bustling traffic;

Represents the fast-paced life, smog, and nine-to-five, representing life’s pressures and suboptimal health.

It was like a lifeless giant, embracing all individuals, using small squares as rooms, mortgages, car loans, child-rearing, and caring for parents to bind people, extracting hope and freedom.

Chen Zhou once thought he would never again find anything worthwhile to appreciate and reminisce in reinforced concrete buildings.

After resigning due to the pandemic and before working at the cement factory back in his hometown, he worked in a large enterprise in the northwest.

That enterprise was extremely far from the city, forming a building group on its own.

Every day after work, he returned to the dormitory alone—

One identical, gray high-rise after another, making it impossible to feel the colorful world, could only immerse in a monotonous life.

From construction to abandonment, their rigid bodies bathed in wind and rain, ravaged by time, seemingly unchanged.

Chen Zhou thought he would never again find anything admirable or nostalgic in these reinforced concrete buildings.

But here, in this place separated by time, so distant you cannot see any traces of his hometown, he overturned his former thoughts.

The convenience of modern facilities, the safety brought by the solidity of reinforced concrete buildings, and most importantly—the familiarity.

These were what Chen Zhou once longed for while living alone in a cave.

Whether or not there are enemies, he wants an indestructible shelter, even if it’s not aesthetically pleasing.

And this framework standing in the 17th century is the best carrier for a shelter.

Neither indigenous wooden spears nor the firearms and cannons of this era could breach the thick reinforced concrete walls.

At least on this isolated island, unless there are natural disasters like earthquakes, tsunamis, or volcanic eruptions, when facing danger, if he retreats into the factory, he can remain invincible.

Adding abundant food reserves, the energy provided by solar panels and storage batteries, and ammunition produced in batches.

This factory could become a turtle with spikes, capable of both offense and defense—

That’s precisely what Chen Zhou wanted.

...

With the rebar tied, the indigenous workers started installing the wooden forms.