Hearing that Yan Shouyi was here to solve the pile-driving problem, Qiu Jian didn't say anything, but his junior and senior students couldn't help themselves.
"I say, young master, although you are our funder, it's better to let us professionals handle construction matters. This can't be done carelessly. If even a single data point is wrong, and the building collapses, you yourselves will be the ones to suffer!"
As a junior spoke, Qiu Jian should have reprimanded him, but he waited until they finished before giving a token lecture:
"Don't say that. Mr. Yan has studied carpentry, so perhaps he has some exceptional skills?"
Long Feicheng chuckled, perhaps he had some exceptional skills?
If you knew our Brother Yan's capabilities, you'd wet your pants from fear!
Descendants of Lu Ban did not just do carpentry, but were also sculptors, architects, and bridge engineers!
When Yan Shouyi was building the King's Tomb, he relied on his powerful three-dimensional construction ability to guide everyone.
He could tell whether the load-bearing structure of a house was stable or not at a glance, without needing any instruments.
This was all thanks to the wisdom passed down from his ancestors!
Yet, this wisdom was now being questioned by his descendants.
Yan Shouyi sighed. In fact, his profession was somewhat similar to that of ancient doctors. Due to the lack of inheritance and promotion, the industry had gradually shifted towards Western practices.
Nowadays, people's aesthetic for houses was increasingly leaning towards Western styles, while traditional architecture was scorned, seen as a symbol of being rustic and feudal.
Little did they know, true traditional architecture possessed thousands of years of heritage. Every corner was the crystallization of millennia of craftsmanship wisdom, and every design had its purpose. It was just that times had changed, and things that were once very important were no longer considered so crucial.
But this did not negate the spirit and wisdom of those ancient craftsmen.
Yan Shouyi snapped back to attention and said calmly, "I don't doubt your professionalism, but the matters here are beyond your ability to solve."
Qiu Jian's juniors took offense: "How can it be beyond our ability? We'll show you how it's solved today!"
Lin Zitong, who had been silent all along, suddenly said, "Alright, then you show us how it's solved. Let's start with the simplest thing, driving the piles!"
Long Feicheng also added, "Yes, don't do anything else. Just drive one pile into West Lake today, and we'll leave immediately, and won't interfere with your business anymore!"
In fact, the three of them already knew that the trouble at West Lake was caused by the赊刀人 (She Dao Ren -赊刀 people). This kind of malevolent force could not be overcome by brute strength. Therefore, no matter what methods Qiu Jian and his team used, they would never be able to drive the piles.
At this point, even Qiu Jian couldn't stay calm. He half-jokingly, half-seriously said to Yan Shouyi:
"Mr. Yan, concerning our profession, I must say a few words. Are you serious about the pile-driving matter?"
Yan Shouyi nodded: "Let me lower the difficulty for you a bit. Just find any spot within the West Lake area. As long as you can drive the pile more than one meter into the lakebed, we will absolutely not interfere with the construction."
"Good, you said it!"
Qiu Jian still felt that Yan Shouyi and his group were just unlearned rich second-generation heirs, and he couldn't wait to find a way to drive them away.
Thus, the agreement was made. Qiu Jian confidently called for geological survey instruments.
Since Qiu Jian was a top architectural designer in the country and the Lin family was not short of money, all the equipment at the West Lake construction site was of the world's top-tier quality.
Just like the instrument Qiu Jian was holding, by throwing an egg-sized component into the lake, they could use ultrasonic sonar to detect the entire lakebed's topography and geology.
Through this method, they could easily find a place to drive piles.
Therefore, in the eyes of Qiu Jian and his colleagues, Yan Shouyi and his group were destined to lose today!
Yan Shouyi and his companions were not flustered at all and didn't take the matter seriously. Instead, they leisurely admired the beautiful scenery of West Lake.
Admittedly, the surface of Rongcheng's West Lake was calm as a mirror, and the towering buildings in the distance gave it a sense of tranquility amidst the hustle and bustle. It was unknown how much benefit the Li family had gained from this place in the past.
Seeing Yan Shouyi and his group so relaxed, Qiu Jian and his team couldn't help but sneer inwardly: In a few minutes, after the results came out, they would be kicked out!
A bunch of unlearned rich second-generation heirs!
Soon, the detection results from the equipment came out.
The results showed that the bottom of West Lake had only scattered rock formations, with most of it being thick silt and sand. Driving a pile one meter deep wouldn't require any equipment adjustments; they could do it with their bare hands!
So, Qiu Jian got some thick wooden poles from the workers, found a shallow spot, and prepared to start driving the piles.
They didn't even need to call the workers; they grabbed several sledgehammers themselves and prepared to do it personally.
"Mr. Yan, watch closely!"
Qiu Jian stood aside, directing a few of his juniors to start driving the piles.
Yan Shouyi stood not far away, leaning on the railing with both hands, and said calmly, "Begin."
"Alright, begin! Hit it!" Qiu Jian immediately shouted.
The three juniors, all over 1.8 meters tall, were tanned and strong from working on construction sites. They looked like they were from African brothers.
They rolled up their sleeves, raised their sledgehammers high, aimed at the wooden pile standing in front of them, let out a muffled grunt, and smashed down hard!
Bang!
With the first hammer, the wooden pile sank half a meter deep!
Seeing this, a smile appeared on Qiu Jian's lips. Based on his experience, this half-meter was likely into the silt, which meant they had chosen the right spot, and driving it to one meter was just a matter of time.
Bang!
The second hammer fell, and the wooden pile sank more than twenty centimeters, leaving only the height of a mineral water bottle to the one-meter red line.
"Mr. Yan, these two hammers have caused so much depth. Do you think there's any need to continue?" Qiu Jian said with a smile.
Yan Shouyi didn't even lift his eyelids: "Continue."
Qiu Jian's lips twitched, and then he turned back and shouted, "Continue!"
The third junior's arm was much thicker than the other two. He clearly spent a lot of time at the gym lifting weights. He raised the heavy sledgehammer with his bulging arm, let out a roar, and swung with all his might!
Bang!!
This time, the wooden pile sank much less than they had expected.
It only sank a few centimeters. If you didn't look closely, you wouldn't even notice.
A junior in front couldn't help but say, "Didn't you put any effort in? We both hammered so deeply, how come there's no change with you?"
"Yeah, with all that muscle on you, did you just eat protein powder to get it?"
The muscular junior also didn't understand: "This is wrong, I clearly used all my strength..."
"Forget it, forget it, let's hit it a few more times!"
Everyone didn't take this matter to heart and swung their hammers a few more times.
However, to their surprise, the wooden pile, which had been so easy to drive moments ago, now seemed to have hit concrete, and it refused to go any deeper!
There was still a significant distance to the one-meter red line, but there was no change.
"Something's not right!"
"This is truly bizarre, why can't it be hammered in?"
"Is the equipment malfunctioning? Is there a rock layer underneath?"
"That's impossible. The silt in West Lake is already more than a meter deep. How long is this wooden pile? It shouldn't have even penetrated the silt layer!"
"Then what exactly is going on?"
Qiu Jian's juniors and seniors started to get confused. No matter how hard they tried, the wooden pile wouldn't go any deeper.
Qiu Jian, unwilling to believe it, stepped up himself. He hammered several times, gasping for breath, and even strained his back in the end.
The wooden pile remained stubbornly unmoving.
"There must be a problem with the equipment!" Qiu Jian shouted. "Deploy the equipment again and check the geology underneath thoroughly!"
"Senior, there's two meters of silt underneath, and below that is the soil layer. It shouldn't be impossible to drive it in!"
"Yes, we've measured it several times, there's no mistake!"
Listening to the replies from his juniors and seniors, Qiu Jian was also puzzled.
Why was West Lake so unscientific!
Yan Shouyi had been watching the show all along.
In fact, he had a rough understanding of the conditions at the bottom of West Lake. After all, he was the man who once caused West Lake to stop flowing!
If the situation required it, he could make West Lake stop flowing again.
The fact that the wooden pile couldn't be driven in was clearly not a problem with the instruments, nor was it a lack of strength from Qiu Jian and his team.
This was all because the 赊刀人 was causing trouble behind the scenes, placing a煞 (sha - malevolent influence) on the construction site!
Therefore, no matter how hard Qiu Jian and his team tried, this pile could never be driven in!