Wizard: I am a goblin

Chapter 104 Gebu Construction Team

The Dwarf Master Craftsman's Surface Construction Manual

Author: Samo-Stonehammer

This book is a guidebook written by a dwarf master craftsman.

"Interactions between dwarves and human kingdoms are becoming increasingly frequent: some dwarves support cooperation with humans, while others oppose it. As for me, I am a pragmatist. I don't care about politics; I wrote this book simply to help dwarven master craftsmen who want to take on projects on the surface world, and how to conduct engineering work within human society."

"Making money is nothing to be ashamed of."

"Construction on the surface is completely different from underground: apart from the differences in construction cycle, materials and construction methods, in my decades of experience in surface engineering, I feel that the biggest difference between the two lies in the people."

"Humans have relatively short lifespans, fickle minds, and are easily tempted by short-term pleasures. Their tastes are ever-changing."

"Houses built in the past hundred years have become tiresome, requiring constant repairs, and sometimes even demolition and reconstruction. This is unimaginable in dwarf society."

"This rapid construction and rapid obsolescence method has fostered very bad habits among human craftsmen and workers. From craftsmanship to quality control, everything is done haphazardly, with 'good enough' being the norm. Laziness and shoddy work occur daily. They are pleasure-seeking, gluttonous, and lazy… (This series of derogatory terms is translated from Dwarven language; the original is much harsher. It has been revised by the editor to avoid upsetting human readers.)"

"In this book, I will cite some common bad habits of human workers and how to deal with these problems as a supervisor."

"First rule: Absence and tardiness. Humans generally lack credibility and have no sense of time. This is incomprehensible, because they don't have many days to live, and in those few short decades, they waste a large part of their time on inefficiently waiting for others. It's really hard to imagine how such a society can accomplish anything."

"For any construction project primarily staffed by human workers, it's essential to budget for 'absentee' personnel in advance and hire more people. Because no matter how many times you emphasize not to be absent or late, there will still be people who don't show up for various reasons—this number is around 10-20%. If it happens after a holiday, this number will increase even further, as people's alcohol tolerance is low, they love to drink heavily, and being unable to get out of bed due to hangovers is common..."

-----------------

Gebu told the workers to stand in two rows and counted their numbers—fourteen laborers, one master carpenter, and five apprentice carpenters.

The halfling frowned.

"Where did the other master carpenter go?"

"You mean Old Timmy? He has some family matters to attend to, so he won't be coming today."

Hey, what's meant to happen doesn't happen. Gebu thought. Only one skilled carpenter is left; can he finish the job in a day?

Besides, too many laborers have come; ten would be enough. A few need to be let go.

Gebu walked through the crowd with his hands behind his back, as if inspecting someone. He stopped in front of a young man, looked at the boy who still looked quite young, and asked:

"How old are you?"

"I'm twenty-one," the boy sniffed and said in his newly changed, hoarse voice.

This kid is at most fourteen years old. You're kidding me.

Just then, a bald man next to him interjected, "He's twenty-one."

Gebu frowned. "Twenty-one years old? He hasn't even grown any stubble yet."

"He's a late bloomer," the bald man said to Geb.

"Who are you to him?"

"I am his father," the man said.

"How old are you?"

Thirty-one.

"You fucking gave birth to him when you were ten?" Gebu glared at him. He can't even make up a lie, what a useless piece of trash.

"Uh... I'm precocious." The man scratched his head.

Gebu glared at the man, grabbed the "twenty-one-year-old" boy by the collar, and kicked him away.

"Those who are just there to make up the numbers, get out of here!"

Gebu picked and chose, dismissing several who were clearly not good at working, and gathered ten relatively strong laborers.

After waiting for another ten minutes or so, seeing that the master carpenter had not arrived, Gebu ordered the workers to set off. He took Dulin with him, and the group rode in a donkey cart, heading out of town in a grand procession.

They hadn't taken two steps when the group was stopped by the guards at the town gate. Gebu argued with them for a while, using a mix of boasting and persuasion, and finally managed to slip each of the two guards five gold coins before they were allowed to pass.

These bastards can make money off other people's hard-earned money with just a wave of their hand... They become corrupt as soon as they have a little power. Humans are really no good.

The convoy followed the road for a few kilometers outside the town, crossed a field, and arrived at a clearing in a grove of trees. Gebu urged the laborers to get out of the trucks, unload the goods, and clear the site. Following the advice in the "Construction Manual," Gebu divided the workers into two teams, each working separately within their field of vision.

This way, it's immediately obvious which side is lagging behind, putting invisible pressure on the workers.

"Come on, one team, follow me and sort out the prefabricated parts, arranging them by size—then prepare the leather and cork. The second team, under the foreman's direction, go and erect the scaffolding. Hurry up!"

The workers agreed and gradually took their places to begin work. The dwarf Dulin, far from the crowd, adjusted his crossbow in a secluded spot.

The quiet forest clearing quickly became lively.

-----------------

"...Article 4: Humans will find all sorts of reasons to slack off—it's hot, they're thirsty, it's raining... So, as a supervisor, you must be prepared in advance. That way, when someone makes a request, you can immediately shut them up: otherwise, if one person complains, everyone will complain, and the work will become impossible."

-----------------

The old carpenter watched the rising sun and made some plans. He stealthily climbed down from the scaffolding, found a shady spot under a tree, and wiped the sweat from his brow.

"Hey, laborer, get me some water..."

Before he finished speaking, Gebu came over with a bucket of water.

Clang.

"Here, have some water."

The old carpenter paused for a few seconds, then the halfling took a wooden bowl, filled it with water, and handed it to him. He gulped down the whole bowl.

Gebu quickly served him another bowl.

The old man drank it again.

Gebu served another bowl.

The old man held the bowl tremblingly, took a sip, and put it down.

"Still thirsty, buddy? There's plenty of water."

"No... I'm not thirsty anymore."

Gebu nodded, put his hands behind his back, and stared at the old man without saying a word.

The old carpenter felt uncomfortable under their gaze, unsure whether to stand or sit, and said somewhat guiltily.

"Uh...it's hot, I'll take a break."

"Take a break, I'm not stopping you from resting," Gebu said with a smile.

"..." The old man leaned against the tree for a while, looking slightly embarrassed. The halfling stayed by his side the whole time. The more the old man stood there, the more uncomfortable he became. He casually walked around to the back of the tree, avoiding the halfling's gaze.

Just two seconds into the comfort, the halfling whistled, put his hands behind his back, and turned around.

Tree shadows, cicada chirps.

The sound of a hammer hitting a nail.

The halfling stared at the old man, at a distance that was neither too close nor too far, remaining in the old man's peripheral vision, making him impossible to ignore.

Two minutes later, the old man couldn't take it anymore:

"I...I'm going back to work."

"Not taking a break?" Gebu asked casually.

"I can't take a break... It's even more painful than working."

"Hmm." Gebu nodded, grinning broadly. "That's right."

Watching the old man walk away to the construction site, Gebu snorted.

Trying to fight me? You're still too green, old man!