Cao Dashan stood in front of the blue brick wall that was as tall as a person. He took a deep breath and stretched out his hands to push the wall hard.

"Hey!"

He chuckled softly and pushed the wall with both hands, but did not push the wall down.

"Da Shan, didn't you have breakfast? Why don't you have any energy?"

Someone among the craftsmen watching laughed.

Cao Dashan was happy in his heart, and he was not angry when he heard the man making fun of him.

He stepped aside, pulled the man forward, pointed at the wall and said, "Hey, I'm not energetic? Come on, come on! Push as hard as you can!"

The man was just talking casually. After being pushed forward, he didn't hesitate. He rolled up his sleeves, stood with his legs forward and back, and squatted slightly.

Then, "Bah! Bah!" he spat into both palms twice, wiped his palms, and stretched his palms flat against the wall.

"Hey!" With a sound, someone pushed hard against the wall.

The wall shook slightly, but stood firm.

The craftsmen who were watching all said "Huh!", a little surprised by the result, and then started talking among themselves.

Cao Dashan walked up to Qiao Ran excitedly, his tanned face flushed with excitement.

"Miss Qiao, this glutinous rice mortar is really good! This wall is much stronger than the lime mortar used before. Some of the walls built with lime mortar before could be pushed down the next day, and some would shake even if they did not fall. It's amazing. The one made with glutinous rice mortar will only shake slightly at most. If the durability is better than that of lime mortar, then you can use it with confidence."

Qiao Ran nodded: "Don't worry, Uncle Cao. I'm telling you the truth. I heard the recipe for this glutinous rice mortar from my uncle. He said that when we were fighting at the border, he heard that the country of Dayan next door used this glutinous rice mortar to build bricks." The city wall is strong and durable."

In order to let Cao Dashan use this method to build the wall, Qiao Ran could only carry out his uncle. Anyway, it was impossible for Cao Dashan to go to General Zheng for confirmation.

Qiao Ran also thought about telling her uncle how to build a wall when he came back, so that the border wall of Dai Viet Kingdom would be stronger, making it impossible for the enemy to attack and reducing his own casualties.

According to historical records, glutinous rice mortar has been used since the Northern and Southern Dynasties. Because of its high cost, it was only used by royal families and nobles to build tombs.

The Great Wall of the Ming Dynasty remained standing because of the use of glutinous rice mortar technology.

Although glutinous rice mortar is expensive, it is very meaningful if it is used for city wall construction and repair.

Cao Dashan was very happy to hear that someone had verified this method: "Okay, if you agree, then we will use glutinous rice mortar instead of lime mortar."

Qiao Ran nodded and said, "No problem. I'll go back and discuss it with the village chief. I'll have someone make glutinous rice soup and bring it over later."

"Okay! Okay! Then let's continue digging the foundation and wait until you have cooked the glutinous rice soup before continuing to build."

Qiao Ran immediately left the valley, returned to the tent area, found the old village chief, and asked him to follow her back to Qiao's tent, saying that she had something to discuss with him.

The old village chief didn't know what Ran Yatou wanted to discuss with him, so he told his family and followed Qiao Ran to Qiao's tent.

"Ran Yatou, do you have any good ideas again? Just say it, grandpa believes that your ideas are all good ideas that others can't think of!"

The old village chief, like the Qiao family, has an obsessive trust in Qiao Ran and believes that as long as it comes from Qiao Ran, it must be a good idea.

Qiao Ran also told the old village chief about the glutinous rice mortar, and pointed to a pile of grain in his tent and said:

"Grandpa, the village chief, my grandma gave my family two bags of glutinous rice, saying that it would allow my mother to make some cakes when she has time. Now that we need glutinous rice to build a house, let's use these two bags of glutinous rice from my family first! I will come in tomorrow I’ll go to town and buy a few more bags.”

The old village chief had the same reaction as Mrs. Qiao last night. His first impression was that using glutinous rice to build walls was a waste of food.

"Girl Ran, how much glutinous rice should be used for this glutinous rice mortar? This glutinous rice is a rare thing. Most people rarely grow glutinous rice, and there are not many sold in the city. If you want to use it to build a house, won't it be too extravagant? ?”

Qiao Ran knew that the old village chief also cared about food and money, so she said:

"Grandpa Village Chief, although this glutinous rice is very expensive, the amount used to mix the lime mortar is not large, accounting for less than 10% of the proportion! And it is mixed with cooked glutinous rice soup, so the glutinous rice used Less. Just these two bags of glutinous rice can be used to build a small courtyard. For the houses in our whole village, only eighty to ninety to one hundred bags of glutinous rice are enough."

She added: "Grandpa, village chief, yesterday I asked my mother to boil two pots of glutinous rice soup, and asked Uncle Cao to build a wall with glutinous rice mortar. Today, Uncle Cao and the others have tried to push it, and the wall is better than what they used before." The lime mortar is much stronger. I think if we want to build this house, we can just build it a little better. It can be passed down to several generations in the future, which is quite cost-effective. And we live in the mountains, so the house is a little stronger. It can withstand flash floods, heavy rain, hail, etc., as well as damage from wild animals or bad guys, and is safer."

The old village chief was not a person who didn't know how to adapt. After hearing Qiao Ran's words, he only hesitated for a moment and nodded:

"Okay, then I'll do as you say! You've already helped everyone save a lot of money when buying bricks and tiles. Yesterday, you brought us back so many bison and helped Everyone saved money on buying cows. After saving so much money, it doesn’t matter if we use it to buy some glutinous rice. You are right, our house is so beautifully built, if it is more stable and durable, we can live in it for many years. , it can even be passed down to several generations without any loss at all!”

Seeing that the old village chief agreed, Qiao Ran smiled and said:

"Then, I will drive the carriage into the city tomorrow, go to the grain store to ask how much glutinous rice is available, and buy as much as possible. If we don't buy enough, I guess we will have to plant it ourselves. Although we will start planting rice in a few days, but now It’s not too late to start planting glutinous rice. You can grow the sprouts and throw them into the fields without transplanting them. As long as you manage them properly in the later stages, the harvest will be good.”

This is the first time the old village chief has heard of this sowing model. Thinking about it, it seems pretty good:

"Well, then you go to the city and ask around. Buy everything you can. If it's not enough, we'll find another way. You still have the village's money, so you can buy it as you see fit. Otherwise, let my Tieniu join you tomorrow. Go into town and let him drive the car, and you will have to do everything else by yourself."

Qiao Ran shook her head and said with a smile: "Grandpa, village chief, it's not hard. Don't worry, I can do it alone."

The old village chief sighed, feeling happy and guilty at the same time. He felt bad that Ran Yatou was troubled by everything in the village!

Qiao Ran knew that the old village chief felt she had been wronged, but she didn't want to bring anyone with her because it would be inconvenient for her to do things when there were people around, so she always liked to be alone.

Qiao Ran moved out a bag of glutinous rice, and the old village chief arranged for several families with larger pots to help make glutinous rice soup. After it was boiled, it was sent to the Devil's Valley construction site.

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