The vast majority of migrant workers in Star Forging Territory are no longer struggling for survival.

They have food, clothing, hot water for washing, and clear and definite work arrangements.

Because Louis, with the idea of "survival first," gradually established an operational system centered on group responsibility and performance-based rewards.

Miners are no longer slaves driven to work tirelessly but are producers with identity, rules, and security.

Meanwhile, Qimai stones are continuously being transported from the underground rail.

The workers on the first ore sorting line are already skilled at sorting and processing the ore.

Those faintly glowing azure stones are categorized and stored on numbered racks, with some sent to the test furnace workshop for purification preparation.

The remaining raw ore is also beginning to pile up slowly, like a fuse waiting for the flames to ignite.

The entire transport system operates almost perfectly.

Over the past few months, ox-drawn pathways, rail paths, and winter slope routes leading to each mining area and the main processing station have been fully constructed.

Special stone pavement, tamed ox transport teams, guideposts, and nighttime light symbols have been simultaneously implemented to ensure smooth operation even if heavy snow blocks the mountains.

This not only ensures rapid transfer of underground materials but also provides a transportation channel for subsequent bulk equipment, construction materials, alchemy bases, high-temperature furnaces, and more.

Of course, what is extracted is just raw stone, still far from being truly "usable."

Qimai stones are unlike ordinary ores; they carry extremely high magic energy and active structures and using them without processing not only wastes them but may also trigger unstable reactions.

When Star Forging Territory first set foot in this frozen tundra, there wasn't even a decent furnace here.

No workshops, no assembly lines, and even very few houses.

All of this had to be built from scratch.

So Louis relied on the Daily Intelligence System to draw up the first phase of an industrial plan in the most reasonable way.

It was based on the industrial zoning model he was familiar with from a past life.

Everything from ventilation routes, zoning safety, material circulation, to the layout of worker canteens and bath areas, was meticulously calculated.

The site was selected on a gently sloping platform on the southeast side of the mine, close to the water source and main road. It's only five miles from the main mine entrance, facilitating ore transport and easy defense.

In less than two months, a burgeoning smelting and alchemical industrial area arose.

Five main factory buildings stand in a line, forming the core heart-lung system of the entire industrial area.

First is the ore screening line, the first stage of the industrial area, where the raw ore sent up daily is first gathered here.

The factory is equipped with a complete automated vibrating screening track, directly fed by ox-rail.

The raw ore screening station, where Qimai stones brought by ore carts are directly dumped onto a coarse screening platform, separated through a combination of vibrating screens and manual sorting, extracting gravel, dirt, and valuable ores.

Behind the drying shed is a simple ventilation duct, using winter cold wind and manual blowing to dry the moist ore blocks, preventing moisture from affecting subsequent ignition efficiency or storage.

The second, third, and fourth main factories are the main furnace area, equipped with three large furnaces.

In fact, they are crudely built cracking furnaces, structurally similar to coke ovens on Earth.

These furnaces do not refine pure crystals but burn off impurities in the Qimai stones by "burning, crushing, and screening," leaving high-energy slag and medium-purity combustion blocks.

After grading, they are sent to the energy storage station, iron-casting furnace, or the soon-to-be-operational steam drive system, respectively.

The furnace body adopts a double-layer stone structure filled with sand and iron slag to ensure that the high temperature does not leak out.

Each furnace has an exhaust duct for surplus heat, which discharges exhaust gases to the vents or is used for heating water rooms.

The fifth main factory acts as a kind of energy sub-station, responsible for categorizing and storing high-energy blocks, sealed in iron boxes, and wrapped in moisture-proof cloth for packaging.

Though Qimai stones are not highly toxic, their weak energy field, when exposed for extended periods, can disrupt biological orientation and even cause dizziness, hence the clear graded packaging system.

Seven auxiliary workshops are distributed around the main factory area. Although not essential, these workshops assume various functions, including tool repair, cooling pools, worker meals, temporary dormitories, infirmaries, and storage warehouses.

Currently, more than four thousand artisans and technicians have been mobilized in this energy area, operating under a three-shift system, handling nearly fifty tons of Qimai stones daily, and producing over ten tons of standard fuel blocks.

Though seemingly well-ordered, this system is not advanced.

On closer inspection, it's mostly iron sheet-wrapped wooden frames, coarse rope-drawn ox carts, and woodpile furnaces.

After all, the industrial system of Star Forging Territory did not arise during prosperous times.

Unlike old mining areas like the Jade Federation or the southern Empire, which have been developed for decades or even centuries, many factories have undergone generations of improvement, and they have professional stone refining furnaces capable of continuous operation for days.

However, Louis didn't spend much money on buying high-end equipment, as the available ones were exorbitantly priced, and transportation costs were ridiculously high.

Moreover, what's available is mostly outdated equipment retired by others, often missing parts.

Thus, he could only go for cheap goods, slowly dismantling, repairing, and modifying them, using some structural design knowledge learned in a previous life, and discussing with local artisans and alchemists to assemble what they could.

No fancy magic systems were used, nor any advanced arrays; it was simply human cooperation, rational workflow, and detailed division of labor that built a makeshift assembly line.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.