On the wedding day, my wife was abnormal

The sky is slightly bright at the mouth of the Yangtze River.

Lead-gray clouds hung low, and the sea breeze, carrying salty water vapor and the chill of early winter, whistled across the newly formed mudflats of Chongming Sandbar.

The turbid river water and the gray-blue sea water meet and collide here, stirring up layers of white foam and emitting a never-ending roar.

However, in the northwest corner of this once desolate and silent sandbar, a completely different and powerful roar is tearing apart the silence of dawn!

A huge and rugged port, like a steel behemoth awakening from its slumber, is gradually revealing its majestic outline!

The wooden pier, hundreds of feet long, stretches firmly from the newly leveled mudflats into the deep water like a giant's arm.

The main body of the pier is made of Nanyang ironwood piles that are as thick as a man's embrace and are deeply driven into the seabed, supporting thick hardwood planks.

On both sides of the pier are wider loading and unloading platforms that extend like ribs.

At the edge of the platform, dozens of huge cranes made of fine iron and hardwood stand like a steel forest!

A thick iron chain hung down, with a huge iron hook and a net bag hanging at the end.

These crane arms have a simple but extremely sturdy structure and are driven by a manual winch. They are a "transitional" weapon designed by Chu Xiling based on ancient records and actual conditions.

At this moment, the port has become a bustling construction site!

"W-W-W-!"

The low and long whistle sounded through the sea fog!

A huge ship with a dark black hull, flying the Panlong flag of the Zhenbei Palace and with billowing black smoke spewing out of its chimney, slowly sailed into the main channel that had just been dredged, like a moving mountain!

It was the first large steam cargo ship, the "Polang", that had traveled day and night from the Wuqing Special Zone!

Its steel hull gleams with a cold and hard luster in the morning light, forming a sharp contrast with the surrounding wooden piers and sailboats, symbolizing the impact of industrial civilization on ancient farming!

"The Wavebreaker has arrived! Prepare for docking!!" At the end of the pier, a foreman (transferred from a veteran of the Jinwu Guard) wearing indigo work clothes and a rattan helmet was waving a red pennant and shouting in a hoarse voice!

The sound was instantly shattered by the sea breeze, but was then relayed by countless shouts of response!

"Clang! Clang!" The heavy iron anchor fell into the turbid sea water with a harsh sound of metal friction, stirring up huge waves!

"Throw the cable!!" the sailors on the ship roared and threw the hemp rope as thick as a bowl towards the pier!

"Catch it! Quick!" The workers on the trestle were as nimble as monkeys, quickly catching the cable and tying it around the thick cast iron bollards! Their movements were quick and coordinated, and they worked in perfect harmony!

"Open the hatch! Unload the cargo!!" Following another command, the huge side hatch of the "Wavebreaker" that looked like a monster's mouth slowly opened with the hissing sound of the steam valve!

A strong and unique smell, a mixture of rust, engine oil, lime and some pungent chemical smell, instantly spread!

Inside the hatch, there was a mountain of cargo! The most conspicuous thing was the gray-black sacks neatly stacked like a city wall!

The sacks were printed with eye-catching black letters - "Wuqing 325 Portland Cement"!

Each bag weighs over 100 kilograms!

Behind the sack wall, you can vaguely see bundles of threaded steel bars, thick cast iron pipes, boxes of bolts and nuts, and even a few small steam-driven machines with complex structures wrapped in oilcloth!

"Cement! It's cement!!"

"Rebar! And iron pipes!"

"Oh my goodness! So many!"

The workers waiting on the pier couldn't suppress their exclamations!

Most of them were able-bodied men recruited from Hu County, or refugees fleeing famine from surrounding counties and prefectures. How could they have ever seen such a vast amount of supplies symbolizing the "new world"?!

"Labor Battalion! Go!!" The foreman's voice was like thunder!

Hundreds of laborers who had been waiting in line on the pier immediately moved like soldiers hearing the order to charge!

Most of them were shirtless, wearing only a pair of coarse cloth shorts, and wearing straw sandals or simply barefoot. Their bronze skin was taut in the cold wind, and their muscular arms and backs were already covered with purple bruises and thick calluses left by carrying heavy objects.

"Hey yo! Hey yo! Hey yo!!"

The deep and powerful horn sound instantly drowned out the roar of the wind and waves!

Like the sacrificial war songs of ancient tribes, it is full of primitive power!

The first group of workers surged onto the wide gangplank of the Wave Breaker like a tide!

Work in pairs and cooperate well!

One person bent down and held the bottom of the sack tightly with his arms like a pair of pliers; the other person grabbed the top of the sack and exerted force with his body!

"rise--!!"

With a roar, the cement bag weighing a hundred pounds was lifted steadily and placed on the shoulder!

"Walk!!"

The laborers took heavy steps, stepped onto the solid gangplank, walked down the freighter and onto the pier!

With every step taken, the thick wooden boards of the pier creaked and groaned under the heavy weight!

Sweat instantly gushed out from their bronze skin, steaming into a faint white mist in the cold morning breeze!

They lowered their heads, veins bulged on their necks, their teeth were clenched, but their eyes were extremely firm!

The heavy sacks bent their waists, but could not crush their will to survive!

They know that what they are carrying on their shoulders is not only cement, but also the hope of survival for themselves and their families!

It was the "three full meals a day" and "copper coins to take home at the end of the month" promised by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!

"Hurry! Hurry! Move to the B area! Don't block the road!!" The foreman waved a whip to intimidate and gave orders at the top of his voice.

The laborers carrying cement bags were like ants moving house, forming two flowing rivers of people on the pier!

One gets on board, one gets off! Continuous flow!

They carried the cement bags to the designated yard, where the ground had already been leveled with cement and covered with moisture-proof tarpaulin.

The worker in charge of stacking immediately stepped forward, took the sacks, and stacked them layer by layer, staggered, like building blocks, into neat square formations!

"Rebar group! Go!!" The foreman's voice sounded again!

Another group of specially selected, exceptionally burly men immediately stepped forward!

They worked in groups of four, shouting even heavier slogans, and used thick wooden bars and ropes to lift bundles of rebar as thick as their arms out of the cabin!

The steel bars were so heavy that they made the wooden bars creak!

Every step the strong men took was extremely difficult, their feet sinking deeply into the wooden boards of the trestle, and sweat flowed down their dark backs like streams, dripping onto the cold wooden boards and instantly condensing into frost!

But their eyes were fierce and their teeth were clenched, as if they were fighting an invisible monster!

"Be careful! Slow down! Don't hurt your feet!!" the foreman yelled nervously.

"Bang!" With a muffled sound, a bundle of steel bars fell heavily on the yard!

The ground shook slightly!

"Pipe group! Connect it!!"

The third group of laborers is responsible for the thick cast iron pipes.

These tubes are longer and heavier, requiring more people to work together.

In groups of six, shouting in unison, they slowly and heavily moved them out of the cabin and transported them to the yard, as if carrying the skeleton of a giant dragon.

The entire port is like a sophisticated and huge machine, running at high speed amid the symphony of horns, chains, steam hissing, foremen's roars, and waves crashing!

The figures of the laborers shuttled through the morning mist and steam like tireless worker ants.

Sweat, panting, heavy footsteps, trembling muscles... all converge into a primitive and majestic life force!

With their flesh and blood, they carried the first cornerstone of this emerging port, and also carried the heavy hope for the rise of the Huxian Special Economic Zone!

Chu Xiling was wrapped in a thick indigo cotton cloak and stood on a makeshift wooden observation deck at the end of the pier.

The sea breeze ruffled her hair and made the tip of her nose red from the cold, but she was completely unaware.

She held a hardcover notebook and a charcoal pencil in her hands, and her eyes, sharp as a hawk, scanned the entire port operation area.

Sometimes she lowered her head and quickly wrote down something (unloading efficiency, manpower allocation, safety hazards), and sometimes she raised a simple brass megaphone and issued instructions in a cold and clear voice:

"Team A3! Speed ​​up! The ship behind us is about to enter the port!"

"C-shaped area! The spacing between the steel bars is not enough! Readjust! Pay attention to the anti-rust oil!"

"T-zone! Add blocks at the end of the pipe to prevent it from rolling!"

"Prepare the steam crane unit! The next batch is precision machinery! Must be stable!"

Her voice cut through the clamor, reaching the ears of the supervisors of each work area with pinpoint accuracy. This young project commander, with her astonishing professionalism, calm demeanor, and meticulous attention to detail, earned the respect of all foremen and workers.

Mao Mengji stood at the entrance of the pier like a black sculpture, holding a knife.

His skinny figure remained motionless in the cold wind, with fine water droplets condensing on his black fish-scale armor.

His eyes, sharp as an eagle's, scanned the port vigilantly, and no suspicious movement could escape his sight.

Behind him, teams of Jinwu Guards stood like javelins, their cold armor gleaming in the morning light, silently proclaiming the absolute order and safety here.

They are the stabilizer of this boiling port, ensuring that this huge machine operates safely and efficiently under high pressure.