Chapter 69: Building
After He Ying's single hand was restrained, she stopped struggling.
The battle had come to an end.
"You didn't draw your sword, so let's call it a draw."
"I can afford to lose."
They exchanged pleasantries, and Chen Mu retrieved his weapon. He Ying rubbed her wrist; the circumstances of her two failures were surprisingly similar.
She could tell that Chen Mu's physical abilities were still at an ordinary person's level, but when it came to using supernatural powers, he was indeed much better than her.
Deep down, He Ying was still a strong-willed person. Being able to afford to lose didn't mean she accepted the loss. Clearly, this guy's abilities should only be supportive in nature!
However, she also knew that unless she quickly surpassed her opponents in terms of supernatural abilities, the gap would only widen.
Dong Junwei smiled and said, "You guys are so interested? Practicing early in the morning?"
"We happened to meet each other, so we played a bit."
"It's not a bad idea. Real combat is the best way to train."
"I think so too."
"..."
Since the fun was gone, everyone dispersed.
...
After breakfast, everyone once again immersed themselves in the massive water diversion project.
With the completion of the reservoir, the next grand task was to manufacture the pipelines.
For Chen Mu, the difficulty of the pipelines themselves wasn't great, but when the quantity reached a certain level, it was still a challenging task.
"The difficulty of the pipeline itself isn't high; it's just tedious. However, the supporting brackets are an issue. How high should we set the water intake of the rainwater pipe?"
"About thirty centimeters should do. This pipeline is an auxiliary one, normally it will self-connect and self-discharge. Only when we need to fill the water tank will we open the water outlet on top of it."
Tang Jing spoke and pointed upwards, saying, "The issue of the support bracket is not a big problem because, in any case, we have to make holes in the door, which will naturally act as a pipe rack."
"What should be the height of the holes on the door?"
"About twenty-five centimeters. The initial section of the water intake pipe doesn't need to have a steep slope. It's best if it can be perpendicular to the rainwater pipe. This way, it can prevent large particles and impurities from entering with the water flow to the greatest extent. But after passing through the door, we need to create a ninety-degree bend. The quality of this bend must be excellent because it will endure the most significant impact."
"Then, connect another vertical pipe that goes down to the ground and let the water flow out through the gap in the door?"
"Correct, it seems like you understand what I mean," Tang Jing smiled.
"I'm not as professional as you, but I have a rough idea," Chen Mu smiled. "Actually, I was initially thinking, could we directly connect a water pipe from some water source to here, like the water dispenser in the classroom with the large water tank on top? If it's full, it could last us for a very long time."
"The water volume may be sufficient, but that's not practical."
"Is it because the project is too massive?"
"The scale of the project is one aspect," Tang Jing turned her gaze towards the direction of the teaching building and continued, "Even if you could create such a pipeline, it wouldn't be possible to bring it here."
"Why?"
"If the pipeline is too wide, by the time the water from the water dispenser fills it, there won't be any left. That's obviously not useful. But if the pipeline is too narrow, it won't work either. When the diameter of the pipe is small enough, water flow becomes difficult due to surface tension and atmospheric pressure issues. Additionally, the smaller the diameter, the greater the head loss along the flow path. So, when the water flows halfway, it will stop moving."
"Head loss... what does that mean?"
"Head loss" is a term used in water supply and drainage engineering, which roughly refers to the resistance water faces inside a pipeline. So, this might be another counterintuitive aspect, not to mention that pipelines laid outdoors are likely to be vandalized."
"Alright."
At this point, the people around them had become petrified, not paying any attention to their conversation.
Once the construction officially began, everyone stopped overthinking.
Tang Jing assigned each person their tasks, even herself and the other girls were given some less physically demanding work.
Chen Mu's first task was to drill a hole at a height of twenty-five centimeters on the door, with a diameter of approximately one centimeter.
Tang Jing decided on this diameter after considering the workload and Chen Mu's capabilities.
A height of twenty to thirty centimeters wasn't a big issue for Chen Mu at this point. He effortlessly climbed up while casually crafting a handle. However, drilling a one-centimeter diameter hole in a 4.5-centimeter thick wooden door did require some effort.
Meanwhile, the others below were busy transporting various materials.
Since it was wood, which isn't very dense, Chen Mu managed to complete the task in about half an hour, taking two breaks in between.
Following the same procedure, he climbed up the rainwater pipe.
The plastic PVC pipe with a diameter of 50 and a wall thickness of 4.5 mm was even easier than the wooden door.
...
The key to determining the completion time of the entire project still lies with Chen Mu.
The remaining work involves manufacturing pipelines, connecting them, and smoothing and repairing the gaps. Additionally, there's the settling tank and the grille, as mentioned by Tang Jing. These two items are relatively simpler.
The so-called settling tank is a plastic box taller than the water storage tank but with a smaller and elongated base. Once the water collects inside, it flows a certain distance and then leaks into the water storage tank from a higher outlet. This water has undergone some settling, so while it may not be very clean, it is sufficient for bathing purposes.
After all, with the reduction in industrial and vehicle emissions, the amount of sulfides in rainwater has also decreased significantly. In a few more weeks, the water quality will further improve.
The most time-consuming task is manufacturing the pipelines. Although Chen Mu no longer strives for perfectly smooth pipes, there wasn't much production on the first day.
Regardless of the situation, Chen Mu never exhausts his mental energy too much. Even at home, he stops when he feels about one-third of his mental energy is remaining. This is, of course, to cope with unexpected events.
Of course, quantifying the amount of mental energy is challenging, and each time it's only based on feeling.
...
The first day's results were impressive.
According to Tang Jing's estimation, it would take about six days for their water diversion project to be completed. After that, as long as there isn't a continuous dry spell lasting over a month, they would have a continuous supply of water for daily use. Even He Ying would no longer need to go outside to look for dew to wash her face in the morning.
Fortunately, Shang City is located in the southeast coastal region, where rainfall is abundant, especially during the summer, so there is no need to worry about a lack of rain.
During the afternoon break, Tang Jing gathered everyone together.
"I have roughly drafted the regulations and responsibilities of various positions within the Qi Ming organization. Let's all vote on it," she said.
She had promised to present the regulations within 24 hours.
"Do we need to write them down?" Du Jiajia asked.
"Yes, we do," Tang Jing smiled. "But there's no rush. First, let everyone listen, and if they find no issues, we can put it in writing later."
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