Thump, thump, thump…
Aiden hurried over. Seeing Lucas's serious face, his heart skipped a beat, wondering what had gone wrong.
"My lord, you were looking for me," Aiden said respectfully.
"Mhm," Lucas said, his dark eyes fixed on Aiden as he asked in a deep voice, "In the past few years when it has snowed, has Sedona City ever flooded?"
"Huh?" Aiden was stunned for a moment. He frowned in thought, then shook his head. "My lord, Sedona City has never had a flood."
"Was the snowfall in previous years as heavy as this year's?" Lucas asked another question. He was genuinely afraid of a major flood; the losses to Sedona City would be enormous.
"It's the same, not much different from previous years," Aiden answered honestly. He didn't know why the lord was asking this, although the snow had arrived a few days earlier this year than last.
"Phew…" Lucas let out a small sigh of relief. If that was the case, the chance of a major flood hitting Sedona City itself was much smaller.
"However…" Hearing the mention of a major flood, Aiden seemed to remember something and quickly said, "My lord, Sedona City hasn't had a major flood, but some places far from here were flooded last year. I heard many people died."
"What? Is that true?" Lucas's dark eyes widened slightly.
"It's true. A merchant told me," Aiden said, nodding affirmatively. He remembered the incident.
According to that merchant, over a hundred cities had been submerged, many people had died, including a number of nobles, and some cities had even been washed away by the water.
"When? When did you hear this news last year?" Lucas asked, his expression grave.
"Around summertime, I think," Aiden answered honestly.
"No," Lucas said, rolling his eyes in exasperation. "I mean the time the flood occurred."
"Oh, oh…" Aiden suddenly understood. "I think it was around the same time as now."
"Around the same time as now?" Lucas muttered to himself. He turned to look at the Whispering River and sighed inwardly.
He had a theory. Downstream, the meltwater from all over would converge into the Whispering River. This would cause the water level downstream to rise faster than it could drain away. If the water overflowed the riverbanks, it would be a major catastrophe for the low-lying areas.
"My lord, it's time for the ribbon-cutting," Aiden reminded him in a low voice.
"Alright," Lucas nodded. He temporarily set aside the matter of the flood. Today's primary task was land reclamation, and the pontoon bridge was a shortcut to the reclamation area across the river.
The pontoon bridge was over two hundred meters long and a dozen meters wide. Both banks were supported by massive stones, which had taken a great deal of effort to move. Now that the weather was warming up, those stones would be reinforced with cement. The bridge was primarily connected by large iron chains, which had also taken a lot of effort to forge, all hammered by hand.
Below, boats were used as piers—a structure similar to large wooden boxes. Besides the iron chains, the main supports also included thick hemp ropes, the width of an arm, on top of which ironwood planks were laid to form the bridge deck.
Such a bridge would certainly be considered crude on Earth, but it was practical. Lucas was willing to spend generously on infrastructure. After all, tangible assets were better than letting gold coins sit in a warehouse and break the teeth of rats.
But for the people of this era, a bridge like this was a shocking sight. Everyone who saw it for the first time was left dumbfounded, and then let out exclamations of amazement.
"Th-this is a bridge? It's incredible!"
"Heavens, a bridge on the Whispering River? Am I seeing things? How is this possible?"
"So what the Lord said was true. He really built a bridge over the Whispering River."
"..."
Lucas walked to the entrance of the bridge. A red linen ribbon was tied across it. A maid stood nearby, holding a tray with a pair of scissors. "Ahem…"
Lucas coughed lightly and scanned the chattering crowd. Once everyone had quieted down, he spoke slowly. "Everyone, you can see the pontoon bridge behind me. Today is its ribbon-cutting ceremony."
Snip!
As soon as he finished speaking, Lucas took the scissors and cut the ribbon. He wanted to get this over with quickly; he was still quite worried about the potential flood.
He then shouted, "The pontoon bridge is officially open starting today! Everyone is welcome to experience it."
After speaking, Lucas was the first to turn and step onto the bridge, walking towards the middle. As he walked, he could feel it swaying slightly. Mina, Annie, Chris, Aiden, and the others immediately followed.
The crowd began to surge onto the bridge. After about a hundred people had entered, the soldiers standing at the entrance immediately stopped the others behind them.
"Everyone, the first group is one hundred people. The rest of you, please wait a moment," A soldier shouted.
"Damn it, a step too late," Bryan said, stomping his foot. He had left home a little late today and could only wait helplessly.
He was now completely convinced by Lord Lucas. He had actually built a bridge over the Whispering River. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he would never have believed it.
Among the first group on the bridge were Lucy and Jones. Right now, the two of them were touching the iron chains and the thick hemp ropes with looks of utter shock on their faces. It was truly unbelievable that someone had actually built a bridge over the Whispering River.
"Jones, this is too incredible," Lucy said hoarsely. She thought back to what she had said after reading the newspaper and felt like her entire worldview had been challenged.
"A miracle," Jones said in a deep voice. Even with her mindset, she had to admit she was impressed. Building a bridge over the Whispering River—if you told anyone, nine times out of ten they would laugh at you, for being a delusional daydreamer, or call you a fool.
"I'm suddenly starting to believe what Dahlia and Catherine said," Lucy said softly. If he could even build a bridge over the Whispering River, such a person must have pride and would not do anything beneath his status.
"You're going to see him now?" Jones's red eyes narrowed slightly. She was a little surprised by Lucy's decision.
"No, I still want to see Elisa first. To just show up and visit like this would be too rude," Lucy said with a radiant smile.
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