Chapter 739 - 466: Technology

Chapter 739: Chapter 466: Technology

The group checked their safety equipment one more time.

Once they confirmed everything was in order, they stepped out of the work shed.

Outside, the wind and snow still raged. The biting cold enveloped them in an instant.

Led by the safety officer named Liu Jie, the group walked along the safety corridor toward the construction site at the very front.

On both sides of the corridor, warning signs flickered dimly in the snowstorm, a constant reminder for everyone to be mindful of their safety.

What then unfolded before their eyes was a scene of busy, orderly activity.

On the newly built road.

Four large road rollers were compacting the road surface, moving back and forth. Their massive drums rolled slowly, emitting a deep RUMBLE. Feng Mountain could clearly feel the vibrations under his feet.

Nearby, another safety officer stood in the biting cold wind, continuously waving a signal baton to direct a line of trucks forward.

The trucks stopped slowly on the road. Their beds rose gradually, and a full load of gravel came pouring out.

For a moment, the sound of tumbling stones mingled with the roar of machinery.

Immediately after, a tracked bulldozer sprang into action. It extended its enormous blade and pushed the gravel onto the road in one go, preparing it for the next stage of construction.

Seeing this, workers waiting on the sidelines drove machinery equipped with rakes and skillfully spread the gravel evenly.

Before long.

The pile of gravel was flattened, creating ideal conditions for the road rollers to further compact the surface.

Standing in the safety corridor, Feng Mountain watched the construction site with great interest. He soon noticed a curious phenomenon.

As the road rollers’ giant drums turned, they would occasionally release wisps of white steam.

Before Feng Mountain could ask, Sam, as if guessing his question, began to explain.

"Feng, this is a heavy-duty vibratory roller. It’s equipped with heated drums that keep the temperature consistently above 50°C. When we lay the gravel, it has to be done in three layers. Each layer of gravel is 30 centimeters thick, and the compaction must be controlled to over 93%."

"Why compact it in three layers? Wouldn’t a single layer be much simpler?" Feng Mountain asked, watching the rollers work back and forth. He didn’t understand why they had to go to such great, seemingly redundant lengths.

When Sam heard this, his expression instantly became serious. He gestured animatedly with his hands as he explained the reason in detail.

"No. The reason we do it this way is because we have to lay a layer of insulation between each layer of gravel."

"First, we need to lay a 50-centimeter-thick layer of polystyrene foam board at the base of the foundation. This provides excellent thermal insulation."

"Then, we cover that with a 30-centimeter layer of gravel. After that, we add another layer of insulation, followed by another gravel layer, repeating this to create three layers in total. Not a single layer can be skipped. We do this to prevent water from collecting in the gaps and freezing. If water freezes, it expands, which would damage the road surface and greatly shorten the highway’s lifespan."

"These foreigners are all damn idiots. We stopped using this obsolete technology in China ages ago," Old Li suddenly whispered to Feng Mountain, leaning in and speaking dismissively in Chinese. "Back home, we use thermosyphons and permeable backfill materials now."

"We proposed using Chinese construction methods back in the design phase—it would have been much faster. But the foreigner insisted that using permeable backfill would damage the Tundra’s ecosystem, so we’re stuck using this decades-old technique."

As he spoke, Old Li shook his head slightly, a helpless expression on his face.

"Hey, Li, are you talking bad about me?"

As if he had eyes in the back of his head, Sam suddenly turned to face Old Li, his gaze sharp and a shrewd expression on his face. "I figured it out a long time ago. Whenever you guys talk trash, you switch to Chinese!"

"Absolutely not!" A smile instantly plastered itself across Old Li’s face as he quickly switched to English. He gave a thumbs-up and said loudly, "I was just complimenting you, calling you a ’big smart’!"

"’Big smart’? Bigger than smart, so that means very smart?" Sam’s eyes lit up. He grinned, revealing a set of pearly white teeth, and turned to look at Feng Mountain. "Is that right, Feng?"

Feng Mountain didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

’These two were a real pair, and I couldn’t afford to offend either of them.’

’What could I do? I was stuck in the middle. I just had to appease both of them and make sure this hard-won partnership didn’t sour over such a small incident.’

So he had to bite the bullet and nod in agreement.

"Yes, yes, Sam. Old Li was indeed complimenting you on being exceptionally smart."

After speaking, he inwardly prayed for the topic to be dropped quickly so it wouldn’t interfere with their site inspection.

The four of them continued along the safety corridor, arriving at the foremost section of the construction site.

This was the end of the new highway.

On an open, desolate expanse of Tundra, tall searchlights erected all around illuminated the worksite as if it were broad daylight.

The light scattered through the swirling snowflakes, forming bright pillars of light.

The roars of various construction machines mingled into a deafening cacophony, even drowning out the howling of the frigid wind.

Like a professional tour guide, Sam enthusiastically played the part of a commentator, explaining every step of the road construction process to Feng Mountain in detail.

"Feng, see that machine at the very front? That’s a hydraulic breaker with a heating function. At night, the temperature drops even lower, and the permafrost becomes extremely hard. Using this machine effectively reduces resistance during excavation."

"Once the foundation is excavated to a depth of one meter, the excavator moves the frozen soil to the side. This frozen soil will eventually be used to build the highway’s retaining walls. This both makes efficient use of materials and enhances the road’s stability."

As Sam explained, he pointed toward the hydraulic breaker and excavator that were currently in operation.