Chapter 108: The Secret Exposed

Xiao Ding was overjoyed to hear that the workers had discovered black stones, immediately identifying them as coal. Following the workers to the place where they had been digging for clay, he confirmed that there was indeed black coal beneath the pit. This was a treasure! Whether in ancient times or the modern era, coal has always been an excellent fuel. He never expected that a coal mine would exist behind Luoxia Village.

The villagers had no idea what these black stones were or what they could be used for, but Xiao Ding knew perfectly well. If he could claim this mine for himself, he would make a fortune! So, this is what it meant to "have a mine at home!" However, Xiao Ding was well aware that keeping it for himself was impossible. In this era, once the local authorities caught wind of it, they would immediately seize the mine. How could the government let a commoner like him walk away with such a lucrative asset?

With coal in hand, Xiao Ding felt even more confident about producing primitive cement. At the very least, he no longer had to worry about fuel for calcining the limestone. He had Uncle Niu lead the men in building a brick and stone kiln on an open patch of land. Because it was mid-winter, the freezing cold made construction difficult; the clay mortar would freeze easily, so Xiao Ding had to instruct them to boil the water before mixing it.

Once the kiln was finished, Xiao Ding had the limestone loaded inside, followed by a layer of coal. After igniting the coal with wood, he sealed the kiln door. Several hours later, the fire died out. The next morning, Xiao Ding ordered the kiln to be opened and the thoroughly cooled limestone to be removed. At this point, the stone would crumble at the slightest tap. He borrowed stone mills from the village to grind the calcined limestone into fine powder, and he did the same for the clay blocks. He then sent Zhao Laixi to the blacksmith shop in town to purchase iron ore slag, which was also ground into a fine powder. Only then did he begin mixing these three raw materials in various proportions. Since it was too cold outdoors, he brought small amounts of each material inside to conduct experiments and determine which ratio produced the best cement.

Xiao Ding’s method was simple: he would mix different proportions of the cement powder, apply it to a corner of the floor, and observe its condition after it dried, comparing them to see which one most closely resembled the cement of the future. After repeated testing, Xiao Ding finally determined the optimal formula for his primitive cement: 75% lime powder, 15% clay, 1.5% iron ore slag powder, and 8.5% coal ash. The addition of coal ash was intended to improve the workability of the cement. Due to the lack of gypsum, the setting time for this formula was significantly longer.

Although Xiao Ding had successfully developed the formula, winter was already in full swing. The freezing weather was clearly unsuitable for outdoor construction. He instructed Uncle Niu to have the workers focus on gathering materials throughout the winter so that when spring arrived, they would have plenty of cement and lime ready for the courtyards and houses he had planned.

For the past two days, Zhao Laixi and Zhao Hu had been handling the vegetable sales, as Xiao Ding had stayed behind. After delivering vegetables to Xiangman Tower, they would head to the blacksmith shops in the north of the city to purchase large quantities of iron ore slag. By now, the villagers knew about the coal mine behind the village and that coal was an excellent fuel. Every day, they would go to the mine to dig up coal to use for cooking and heating at home. Xiao Ding had discussed the mine with Village Chief He, hoping he would assign people to guard it to prevent outsiders from coming to dig. He also hoped the Chief would warn the villagers not to sell the coal privately, as the mine belonged to all the people of Luoxia Village.

One day, while Xiao Ding was grinding stone powder at home, a group of government officials arrived, led by Clerk Cai.

"Is this the home of Tian Xiaoding?" Clerk Cai asked one of the workers.

"Yes, Tian Xiaoding is over there," the worker replied, pointing to where Xiao Ding was working.

Clerk Cai and the officials approached Xiao Ding. "Tian Xiaoding, do you know your crime?" Clerk Cai demanded, seeing Xiao Ding covered in dust.

Xiao Ding was stunned. What crime could he have committed? Why had the officials come to his house? "This commoner does not know," Xiao Ding replied, bowing respectfully, wondering if the government had discovered the coal mine.

"You have harbored fugitives, colluded with bandits, and brought disaster upon the local area. Do you still dare to claim innocence?" Clerk Cai waved his hand and ordered, "Take him away!"

"And arrest those bandits as well!" he added. Without further explanation, chains were clamped onto the necks of Xiao Ding and the five men led by Zhao Hu, and they were dragged toward Luoxia County. Even Fan Sanpang was mistakenly identified as a bandit and chained along with them.

Xiao Ding finally realized that his act of sheltering the bandits had been exposed. The workers were terrified, and Uncle Niu immediately sent someone to notify Zhao Laixi and Tian Dabao. The Tian family was shocked to hear the news, but Zhao Laixi remained calm. He knew that Magistrate Hu had always treated Xiao Ding with respect. Though he didn't understand why, he believed that even if Xiao Ding were brought before the magistrate, he would not be harmed.

News of Xiao Ding's arrest spread quickly through Luoxia Village. Tian Caishen and his wife, Zhou, heard the news and congratulated themselves on their wisdom in severing ties with Tian Dabao’s family, fearing that if the charges were proven and the entire family executed, they would be implicated.

When they arrived at the county courtroom, Xiao Ding finally understood why his secret had been revealed. He saw an old acquaintance there: Xue the Beast. Xue had been punished with twenty strokes by Magistrate Hu for harassing Han Lu'er in the street. Nursing a grudge, he had investigated and discovered that Xiao Ding was from the same village as his ancestral home. He had sent someone to gather information, and the butler, who had visited Xiao Ding’s house during his housewarming, had spilled the beans about the bandits. Xue then reported this to his uncle, Clerk Cai. As a seasoned official, Cai knew that colluding with bandits was a serious matter, so he reported it to Magistrate Hu. Fearing that he would be implicated if he protected Xiao Ding, the magistrate ordered Clerk Cai to arrest him and the bandits.