Harrison entered the room and immediately noticed Li De's beaming smile. He felt a little puzzled. Why was the Patriarch, who had seemed somewhat displeased just now, suddenly so happy?
"Patriarch, did you succeed in improving a spell again?"
Li De waved his hand. "No. I think we can start building the running water system right now."
As he spoke, he grinned and shared the idea of using stone to make water pipes.
Harrison listened, dumbfounded.
He was clearly stunned by this wild idea as well.
Stone water pipes?? What kind of strange idea was this? And it was actually so feasible.
A broad smile appeared on his face.
"Patriarch, this idea is brilliant! If that's the case, not only Dawn City, even our farming zones could be supplied with running water!!
We just need to have the Dawn Mage Tower send people, and we could completely create the automated farmland you mentioned before. We'd never have to worry about drought again.
Our food production efficiency could increase by thirty percent!! We could even use the running water to fertilize the fields."
Harrison's thoughts soared as soon as this possibility was opened.
Li De laughed heartily.
That was exactly why he'd been so delighted a moment ago. Since he could forge water pipes for Dawn City with stone, why couldn't he forge them for the farmland too?
On Earth, due to cost constraints, unless it was a huge plantation, ordinary people could never afford automated facilities.
But here, with just one running water project, he could directly create a semi-automated prototype for his lands. That was an enormous leap forward.
In grain production, water sources were often the most critical factor. If wheat got sick or infested with insects, there were ways to handle it, but prolonged drought or flooding had no solution.
This was why agriculture depended on the weather.
Large-scale farming could avoid these two issues only by relying on automated systems.
Now, as long as he could find enough water sources, this plan could absolutely be realized.
The image of turning a faucet to irrigate fields was about to become reality in Glory's magical world.
Just thinking about it felt thrilling.
"Right, running water can now be put on the agenda.
Harrison, notify the Construction Department and inform them we're going to build the running water system. Also, have Emi come over. In this project, the spellcasters of the vampires will be the main force."
"Yes, Patriarch."
Harrison was very excited. He had been managing Dawn City for a long time, so he knew exactly how much this would boost the city if they really achieved what they were discussing.
"Now the first problem is solved. The second problem still needs to be addressed," Li De said, after a slight pause, looking at Harrison.
"The water source."
"The water source?" Harrison was slightly taken aback, then also fell into thought.
Constructing running water wasn't some high-difficulty endeavor. Just by observing it a bit, one could grasp the basic principle.
But finding a suitable water source was another matter altogether, especially one capable of supplying tens of thousands of people with daily water.
Glory didn't have electricity. Unlike Earth, they couldn't pump water from underground up to a water tower dozens of meters high and rely on gravity to pressurize the supply.
They had to think of another way.
Currently, Dawn City had over ten thousand residents and was projected to expand to hundreds of thousands in the future. Relying on the little streams from the surrounding mountains was clearly out of the question.
And there was also the farmland irrigation plan.
That would require an even larger water source.
Dawn City didn't lack water, but all of it came from ground-level springs, which couldn't be transported up into elevated water towers.
If they used magic to solve this, the energy and costs would be astronomical.
So this problem immediately stumped Harrison.
"Patriarch, should we use magic to solve it?" Harrison asked tentatively.
Li De smiled faintly. "No, no need. The cost of using magic is too high, it's not worth it.
We have a great project called the South-to-North Water Diversion."
Harrison was completely bewildered. A great project??
Li De raised a hand and pointed out the window toward the mountains on the horizon.
"These mountains stretching out in one continuous range, are you telling me there isn't a single river among them?
And even if there isn't enough water in one place, can't we divert ten streams, one hundred streams, into Dawn City?
I want to borrow the water of the heavens for my own use!"
When Harrison heard Li De's words, his heart surged with excitement.
The terrain around Dawn City was shaped like a gourd, surrounded by mountains.
Stretching for hundreds of miles, all the surrounding peaks were thousands of blades high.
Dawn City was like a gap cut into the side of a cake, and that cake was continuous all around, not split into isolated ranges.
So Li De's plan was simple: fly over the three-thousand-blade-high peaks, search the snow-covered summits for streams or rivers, then directly cut open the mountains and channel the water in with magic.
If one stream wasn't enough, then ten, if ten weren't enough, then a hundred.
With such a vast expanse of mountains around them, Li De didn't believe he couldn't find enough water.
The plan was simple in outline, but it exuded a grandeur that stunned Harrison to the core.
It was too overbearing.
Utterly unreasonable.
"Your Majesty, th-this is probably an unimaginably massive project."
Li De laughed heartily.
"To supply daily water for hundreds of thousands of people, of course it won't be a small undertaking.
But this is only a preliminary idea. The specific situation will be handed over to the Construction Department for on-site surveys to determine whether it's feasible."
Feasibility was certain, but the resources it would consume were another matter entirely.
"Besides, there's no need to rush to build such a vast water system right now. For the moment, the most urgent thing is to get Dawn City's own running water installed first.
The rest can wait until after the Months of Deep Winter.
For now, the mountain springs around us are enough to meet Dawn City's needs."
You couldn't eat a fat man in one bite. Although the plan was tempting, carrying it out would involve countless difficulties. For the moment, it was best to first solve Dawn City's immediate problem.
"Have the Construction Department confirm the water sources in the surrounding area. Once they confirm them, have them draft a plan. The Dawn Mage Tower will cooperate with them unconditionally in the construction.
I want to see results before mid-October."
Li De issued the order bluntly.