Chapter 844

Eloise liked being complimented but didn't want to be in the spotlight. After hearing what Ryan said, her face turned red, a stark contrast to her serious demeanor while sketching the design earlier. "You're flattering me, Ryan!" He patted his thigh and said, "No, I'm not! On the contrary, I'm not done complimenting you yet! I'm sure you're popular for being pretty and knowledgeable!" Then, he told Camelia, "Ms. West, you can't let go of such a talented person. You must hire her with a great salary when we get home." She nodded with a smile. Ryan finished the last piece of meat and dusted his hand before walking to the blackboard. Then, he took a closer look at Eloise's design. "Let's dig the cellar based on this design tomorrow. Since we have iron shovels and iron hoes now, we should put them to good use. Otherwise, we can't experience how advanced they really are. These iron tools are from the stars, like the unique tools we often see in movies." After that, Ryan assigned tasks to each of the five women. There wasn't much to do on the farms, so he called Camelia, Eloise, Nina, and Sherry over. Ryan would dig the ground, and they were in charge of moving the soil away. The next day, after breakfast, Ryan grabbed the iron tools and found an elevated spot at the bottom of the mountain. He decided that would be the site for their new cellar and marked the spot with lime. Since they needed to store a lot of food, they would need to build a huge cellar, which would also be exhausting. If they only had a wooden shovel, Ryan could only dig a little every day. Now that they had iron tools, he could dig a hole almost seven feet wide and three feet deep. According to Eloise's design, the cellar needed to be 13 feet deep. So, Ryan continued to dig for two more days before it was deep enough. The women moved the soil he had dug up to the farms using baskets. Since they were weak, they were all running out of breath. Even Nina, the tallest woman in the group, was covered in sweat like everyone else. She silently cursed at the person who suggested they needed a cellar. When she found out that Camelia had come up with the idea, she didn't dare complain anymore. Instead, she started complaining about Eloise, who drew the design. "Why must it be 13 feet deep? How are we going to get down when it's that deep?" Eloise answered seriously, "Do you see the secret entrance that Ryan has dug? We can get into the cellar through that. Also, once the cellar is completed, we'll need to build a ladder. That'll make it easier for us to get inside. "I've designed it to be 13 feet to prevent water from getting inside. We'll place the corn around six feet off the ground, and there'll be charcoal beneath it. Our food won't get mouldy with enough charcoal to absorb the moisture." Nina touched her waist and looked like she was in great pain. "Hmph! You're just looking for something to do for no reason. What a shitty design!" Eloise was embarrassed and frustrated at the same time, and she didn't know how to react. Instead, she just started blushing as she endured being scolded. Camelia couldn't take it anymore. Even if Nina was her supporter, she still had to say something, "Just take a rest if you can't handle it. No one is forcing you to do this! Besides, Ryan isn't even complaining when he's the one doing the digging in the cellar, so who are we to say we're tired?" That was all it needed to shut Nina up. Although she was upset, she wouldn't dare to express it in front of Camelia. Freya joined the soil-moving team after she had taken care of her pheasants and wild ducks. She picked up Nina's basket and said, "Take a rest first. If you're tired, take a nap in the cave. Ms. West is right. We're doing this on our own accord, and no one is forcing us." Nina hurriedly snatched her basket back and said embarrassedly, "I should just do it myself!" She left with the basket and didn't dare to look Camelia in the eyes at all. After Ryan was finally done digging, he made some ventilation holes according to Eloise's design. Then, he placed some logs that were six feet tall in the cellar. After that, he covered the walls with lime until there was a thick layer of it to prevent water from getting in. He made a cover with some wood and placed it over the cellar. Then, he got some leaves and covered the cellar with a tight seal. That way, even if it rained, they wouldn't have to worry about the water leaking into the cellar as well. With that, the underground cellar was completed! To create more space in the cave, Camelia wanted to move some of the dried corn into the cellar. Since she didn't want to trouble the other women, she asked Ryan for help instead.