Lidong was a rough man, but he was generous and fair, not someone who quibbled over small things. He treated Zhang Qi with respect, not looking down on him even though he was about ten years younger.
Everything went smoothly, so Sophia let him take charge.
Soon, construction started with a loud rumble next to Sophia's house.
Excavators moved in and out, small dump trucks kept coming and going, and the road in front of the house turned muddy.
At first, Four-Eyes, the dog, saw so many people at the site and them digging up their land. He barked fiercely at Lidong's group.
After several days, seeing Sophia did not stop them and seemed to give permission, Four-Eyes stopped barking but kept a close watch, standing at the door on all fours with sharp eyes.
Sophia handed the construction supervision to Ronin. She took her pickup truck and Four-Eyes and drove to the town factory.
The last batch of camouflage clothes arrived, along with wolf-proof gear, stun batons, and pepper spray. These items looked harmless but were effective surprises in battle.
Also, there were 300 first-aid kits, fully packed with tweezers, cotton, bandages, gauze, alcohol, Yunnan Baiyao, burn ointment, and medicinal wine for injuries.
Sophia watched the truck unload all the supplies.
"Boss, you should get some carts or forklifts. Even though the unloading dock is near the freight elevator, moving things inside is still a distance," one worker said.
Sophia agreed and made a note.
At the end, there were square, flat, green woven bags, as big as a quilt.
"These are the packed camouflage uniforms, five thousand sets," the delivery person told Sophia.
Looking at the bags, Sophia realized autumn was starting. Nights were getting cooler, so they needed to order quilts too.
Just quilts wouldn't be enough.
She registered orders for ten thousand quilts with covers and ten thousand military coats.
These took longer to make, so they needed to order early.
After the truck left, Sophia locked the door, tied Four-Eyes nearby, and opened the pig trough hidden in the supplies to start loading items inside.
General Yves had indeed made progress with ten excavators.
Working together, messages from King Chen's land showed wells were dug, ensuring daily drinking water for city people.
The two drilling machines sent to Zhao Kingdom even had specialists and workers skilled in drilling sent with them.
But news wasn't good.
Zhao Kingdom was further north.
General Yves looked troubled and called his strategists and generals to discuss.
Everyone had opinions. Some said since people in Zhao were suffering from drought and hunger with many dying daily, the capital should move to King Chen's land first.
Others argued to press on attacking Wu and Zhao Kingdoms, then push south to Wei Kingdom and move the capital there later.
They argued fiercely, almost coming to blows because their families were still in Zhao, and they were very anxious.
Suddenly, more supplies arrived out of nowhere.
General Ulric, Assistant Hanra, and the strategists knelt down immediately.
"May the gods protect Zhao Kingdom! Please bless our people!"
Sophia watched everything quietly, ready for the next step.
General Yves looked at them kneeling but did not stop them. He only signaled the guards at the door to bring in and organize all the supplies.
"Commander! Can you write to the gods? When will they send holy water to the Western Continent?"
One of the officers, General Ronin, had tears streaming down his face, full of pain.
When they left home, the land in Zhao Kingdom was already cracked and dry.
Others also knelt before General Yves, begging him to write to the gods to send rain.
General Yves agreed, calming everyone's hearts.
At first, General Yves led the troops in counterattacks to protect their homeland. But Zhao Kingdom had just stabilized from near collapse when the drought quietly arrived.
The northern region was already short of water, and the drought made it worse immediately.
More and more people were dying by the roadside; corpses were everywhere. With no way to save themselves, they had to break through and escape.
This was also why General Yves sometimes won battles against many enemies; the soldiers risked their lives because family was waiting for them to save.
After his officers and strategists left, General Yves started writing letters.
Since Sophia had a powerful drilling machine, this highly advanced world might also have ways to solve drought.
After sending many requests, this time, instead of gifts of gold and jewels, Sophia sent back a thin letter. The handwriting was still wet.
In the north of the Western Continent, drought was severe; dry, withered corpses everywhere. In the south, floods often happened, with floating dead bodies on the water.
"Goddess, how can I save the people from water and fire?"
While writing this letter, General Yves knew Sophia was just an ordinary person in another world. But seeing the suffering of the people, disasters, and war, his eyes turned red, hoping Sophia could help.
Because of this letter, Sophia learned how serious the disaster was on the other side.
After reading the letter, Sophia's first thought was to transfer water from south to north.
The south had frequent floods, but the north lacked water. If water could be moved from south to north, it would be great.
Not knowing much about this, Sophia started studying many materials to understand.
General Yves waited anxiously for Sophia's reply.
About ten days later, General Yves was suddenly awakened at midnight.
Sophia had sent ten water trucks filled with water.
At that moment, General Yves and his guards looked at these huge machines but didn't dare to move.
General Yves took a lantern from a servant, stepped forward slowly, and tapped the big iron tank, making a dull sound.
Then Sophia sent a thick letter explaining what these things were and how to use them.
After reading, General Yves relaxed and even smiled a little.