King of the Wilderness-Chapter 123 - 116: The Wooden Cabin’s Initial Completion!
Early the next morning, a Foundation Engineering Team formally gathered in Wood Forest Land.
Old George arrived as promised, driving his well-maintained old Ford, with his beloved concrete mixer loaded in the truck bed.
Lin Yu’an had already replaced the Xu Gong loader with the auger attachment rented from Fairbanks.
David and Mike stood ready; they knew that a true hardcore performance was about to unfold!
"Alright, boys!"
Old George shouted loudly, like an experienced foreman.
"Our first goal today is to penetrate all the pile holes! Lin, you operate the loader for drilling, and I’ll be responsible for directing and calibrating the verticality!"
"What about Stan?" David asked curiously.
Stan smiled, "My task is to call for help; with just the two of us old fellas, we can’t get much done."
Now the battle against permafrost officially began!
Lin Yu’an drove the Xu Gong XC760K, aiming the massive auger drill head at the first marked point on the foundation outline.
"Right here, boy, vertically downward!"
Old George held a long-handled level tightly against the drill rod, squinting to ensure the drilling angle was absolutely vertical.
Lin Yu’an operated the hydraulic levers steadily, the auger began to rotate, emitting a low rumble.
The first meter and a half was already thawed active permafrost, which the auger easily penetrated, ejecting a large amount of black sludge.
But as the drill head went deeper to about two meters, accompanied by a piercing "creak——"!
The auger’s speed suddenly slowed, and the loader’s body shook! The engine emitted a dull overload sound.
Old George shouted, "Hit the permafrost layer! Hold steady, Lin! Reduce speed, increase torque! Press down with pressure!"
Lin Yu’an focused entirely on operating the two hydraulic levers, feeling every bit of resistance coming from the drill head.
He kept pecking away like a woodpecker, extracting the hard permafrost bit by bit.
After nearly an hour of tough work, amid the machine’s roar, the first deep five-meter pile hole was finally successfully penetrated!
As soon as Lin Yu’an pulled the drill head out, before he could catch his breath, Stan had already arrived with the "reinforcements".
"Hey, Lin! I brought you some help!" Stan shouted loudly.
The three "reinforcements" jumped out of the car with hearty smiles, stepping forward to shake hands with Lin Yu’an.
Stan introduced them one by one.
Pointing to the tallest man, he said, "This is Hank, the town’s only pilot, responsible for all our air transport and emergency rescues."
"This is Barton, a Native American Athabasca, the town’s best hunter and guide."
"Lastly, this is Cody, who works as a mechanician on the oil fields of the North Slope, also maintains all the town’s generators and pumps."
The pilot, the indigenous hunter, the mechanician—these three almost represent the ’social elite’ of a remote Alaskan town.
"Hello, I’m Lin Yu’an, you can call me Lin, Herman, either is fine." Lin Yu’an shook hands with them one by one.
Pilot Hank said with a smile, "No need to be modest, Lin, Stan told us you’re building a big house here."
"We’re all very curious, and came today to lend a hand and see if you’re as capable as the legends say."
Old George jokingly scolded, "Alright, enough chatter! You’re here just in time, let’s get to work! Within today, complete the drilling and reinforcement cage fabrication and installation for all twenty-one pile holes!"
This crazy plan made everyone gasp, but immediately fierce battle intent ignited in everyone’s eyes.
With the new members joining, the efficiency on the entire construction site instantly doubled.
Lin Yu’an was still responsible for operating the loader for the crucial drilling work.
Old George, like a strict quality inspector, would measure each drilled hole with a long measuring rod to ensure the depth and verticality were completely up to standard.
Stan and Hunter Barton took over all the physical labor.
They took turns using shovels to clear the piled-up soil and ice beside each drill hole, preparing the site for the next drilling operation.
And mechanician Cody, applying his professional expertise, took a keen interest in studying Lin Yu’an’s Xu Gong loader.
One deep pile hole after another appeared continuously on the land of Wood Forest Land.
While drilling was enthusiastically underway, on the other side of the construction site, the reinforcement cage fabrication line was also starting simultaneously!
Old George indeed was an experienced foreman. He didn’t let anyone idle.
He took out his professional rebar bending machine and tying hooks, quickly teaching the three strong laborers technical guidance.
Old George directed, "Barton! You have great strength, you’ll be in charge of cutting! Use that angle grinder to cut all the threaded rebar into six meters and five lengths!"
"Hank, Cody! You two..."
He picked up the tying hook and wires, demonstrating personally, "Watch carefully, rotate your wrist like this, and the wire tightens."
"Your task is to tie these stirrups one circle at a time on the main bar according to my markings. Remember, don’t rush, make sure they’re secure!"
Stan willingly tackled the most meticulous work.
He used the rebar bending machine to bend the ends of each main bar into standard 90-degree hooks, ensuring they would better anchor into the future concrete platform.
