The Greatest Estate Designer - Chapter 46.2

‘Good. Fortunately, it’s going well!’

The construction was progressing smoothly.

Lloyd, who was leading the whole process, clenched his fists tightly.

‘The Vertical Drain Method, specifically the Sand Drain (SD) Method, is proceeding as planned.’

Vertical Drain Method was a method used to improve soft soil that was first introduced in 1936. The technology had been advancing since the late 1940s.

In other words, it was a method that facilitated water drainage and accelerated soil consolidation by digging numerous artificial vertical holes in the soft viscous ground and inserting drainage materials. 

‘Naturally, we can’t use modern techniques as is.’

They didn’t have the necessary equipment to do that. Thus, Lloyd used his own ways.

Javier’s technique, Mana Blast, was used to drill vertical holes. With this, the silver-haired knight played the role of a vibration-type sand drain construction equipment. Then, the holes were then filled with the bamboo straws and sand that had been prepared in advance.

Lloyd used his own combination of the Sand Drain and Paper Drain methods for this.

Next, he ordered Ppodong to pack the ground.

“Hey, Ppodong? Let’s pack the ground!”

“Ppo-dong!”

Grkk grkk.

Ppodong was rolling around on the ground with his body that weighed dozens of tons.

His weight entirely pressed the ground.

Just like pressing a pile of wet tissues, the pore-water was squeezed out of the soil. The water then gathered at the piles of sand on the ground.

Rumble….

The ground began to sink a little.

This place had been a wetlands for thousands of years.

Over the years, huge amounts of vegetation had sunk into the water and hadn’t properly decomposed. Thus, the fibers had accumulated and formed a thick layer capable of holding so much water. This thick and soft layer was called peat beds.

Now, however, pressure was applied to the peat beds, forcing the water to get out. Piles of dry sand were made here and there in an orderly manner to further encourage the discharge of the water. 

Rumble…!

The water was drained while the peat beds were compressed. The soil became even more compact and firm as a result of being pressed by its own weight. This phenomenon was known as soil consolidation.

Lloyd then accelerated this phenomenon further with his following command.

“Hey, Hamang? Do you enjoy drinking from bamboo straws?”

“Ha-mang!”

“Then, can you drink from there?”

“Ha-ma-mang!”

Hamang, who had been waiting for Lloyd’s instruction, approached the bamboo straws that were planted all over the ground. Hamang then began to slurp the stagnant water that pooled on the sand bank using the bamboo straw.

“Heu-meung! Heu-meu-meung!”

Hamang drank all of the water inside. This caused him to swell like a giant balloon. More weight pressed the ground, hastening the soil consolidation process even further.

By that time, Lloyd and the Construction Team had begun the next phase of the construction, which was building embankments that’d surround the entire wetlands. 

“Ppodong, go spit it out!

“Ppeu-deung! Ptoeey.”

Ppodong played the role of a dump truck. He carried a large amount of soil in his cheek pockets from time to time.

After the soil had been spat out, the Construction Team members moved according to Lloyd’s instructions. Then, they started shoveling busily to build a strong foundation. The structure obviously had been designed by Lloyd in advance.

‘Naturally, this process is important. If we pile up soil just as is, the embankment slope will begin to erode, resulting in the piping phenomenon1Piping phenomenon: is defined as the progressive development of internal erosion by seepage, appearing downstream as a hole discharging water. Piping is induced by regressive erosion of particles from downstream and along the upstream line towards an outside environment until a continuous pipe is formed.. Soon after, the base of the slope will collapse, causing water to leak from the embankment.’

All of these would lead to the embankment’s collapse. If this happened, water from the flooding river would enter once again, turning this whole land back into damp swamps. 

Therefore, an elaborate design was essential to prevent such a shitty situation that would cause everyone’s happiness index to fall in a steep downward curve.

The slope of the embankment was made as gentle as possible. The height of the embankment was set as high as possible while also taking into account the height of the ground, which would decrease in the future due to the soil consolidation process.

As a result, there was a height difference between the front part of the slope that’d block the river water from entering and the back part of the slope that’d be on the side of the reclaimed land.

Some kind of platform made by piling up soil was slowly and steadily built on the back sides of the slope to help support the pressure.

Lloyd also didn’t forget to pack the soil on both slopes. Thanks to this, Ppodong got busy rolling on the embankment slopes.

“Ppo-do-dong! Ppo-do-do-do-dong!”

Grkk grkkk.

Ppodong’s sturdy body rolled like a bulldozer, or more accurately, a road roller.

After that, the Construction Team was deployed to plant grass in dense lines. The grass roots would firmly grip the soil on the slope. With this, the soil wouldn’t be prone to erosion in the future. 

At last, they meticulously dug channels on the sides to drain the rainwater that fell on the embankment.

Ten days of construction flew by just like that.

Finally, the construction for a section of the land was completed.

‘Woah, it’s finally done.’

Lloyd wiped away his sweat as he took in his surroundings. The damp swamps that had been full of submerged plants ten days before were now gone.

Now, the land he was looking at was full of dry soil and strong embankments. 

The reclamation and construction for a section of the wetlands was finished at last.

Of course Lloyd didn’t become complacent. After all, the area that had yet to be reclaimed was much larger than the area that had already been reclaimed.

“Keep on moving! Once this construction is done, there’ll be a feast of bonuses!”

After being encouraged by Lloyd, the Construction Team was deployed to the next section.

In Maritz Wetlands, the land wasn’t connected by a single swamp.

It was a vast wetlands.

Thus, dozens of swamps were scattered irregularly around the place. Therefore, dividing the land into zones by counting a swamp as one sector and doing construction in one sector before moving to the next was possible.

In short, it was possible to do modular construction2Modular construction is a term used to describe the use of factory-produced pre-engineered building units that are delivered to site and assembled as large volumetric components or as substantial elements of a building. The modular units may form complete rooms, parts of rooms, or separate highly serviced units such as toilets or lifts. The collection of discrete modular units usually forms a self-supporting structure in its own right or, for tall buildings, may rely on an independent structural framework..

Moreover, the summer in this area happened to be dry. The rain hardly came and the scorching sun never stopped shining. 

The weather was perfect for this Wetlands Reclamation Project. Because of this, the construction gained quite a momentum.

“Be careful, don’t get heatstroke! Use your break time to rest thoroughly! Let’s start the construction in the third sector while yelling our slogan! Go!”

“Uwoooh-!”

Lloyd and Javier, the fantasy species and the Construction Team; all of them worked in unison.

Digging, drinking, spitting, scooping, stuffing, piling, and packing; everyone got used to this repetitive process.

They became proficient.

The construction time for one sector, which used to take 10 whole days, gradually became shorter and shorter. 

From 10 days to 9 days, 9 days to 8 days, and 8 days to 6 days.

A month, two months, and eventually three months had passed.

As the embankment grew longer, everyone’s forearms became sturdier. With every drop of sweat, more damp areas in the wetlands became dry. 

Originally, the Maritz Wetlands was an abandoned land. There were muddy swamps all over the place. Inside the swamps, there lived many unknown organisms.

Naturally, it was impossible to construct a building or do some farming there.

A useless land.

A land that couldn’t be developed.

Thus, Maritz Wetlands had been treated as if it didn’t exist for generations.

This had been the case even before the first human roamed around the earth.

For tens of thousands of years, this had been the case.

Therefore, it was believed that this would continue to be the case in the future.

It had been abandoned up until now, and it would continue to be so in the future.

To everyone, it was something natural, just like the sun rose in the east and set in the west.

Now, however, things had changed.

‘Lloyd-nim brings about the change in these wetlands.’

The territory’s residents, as well as the Baron and Baroness, were often busy admiring this amazing sight.

The useless wetlands was being turned into rice paddies and fields. The process took only three months, not decades.

The man who had brought about this phenomenal change was even working together with them.

‘Perhaps, we’re now witnessing a miracle that’s never seen before and impossible to imagine.’

Before he knew it, the people in the territory’s gaze towards Lloyd changed once again.

It evolved into a kind of respect that even surpassed friendliness.

Ding dong.

[Everyone in the Frontera Barony greatly admires and respects you for the miracle you’ve performed.]

[A large amount of RP will be specially awarded as a bonus for this great social achievement.]

Author’s note: Bonus: It’s overflowing! Hold it tight! lol

Tl/n: Sorry for the wait! I thought I’d post it tomorrow, but I managed to finish it today, so….