New Gods of North America.

Chapter 567 Supporting Chapters
The Beaton family, or rather, "Papa Beaton," appears quite generous in their actions.
It was said that Wayne would be "lent a mill and the land around it," but what was actually marked out on the plantation was an area several hundred meters in circumference centered on the mill, almost the same size as "a farm" in the west.

Although the land area is only about a hundred acres—and that's in American units, with one acre equivalent to more than six acres in Wayne's previous life—land on the East Coast Great Plains plantation, even if only rented out, is much more expensive than uncultivated wasteland in Kansas.
Such a large area is indeed a bit extravagant to use solely as a factory area.

While "Brother Brook" and his entourage discussed specific modifications to the mill, Wayne took a short stroll around the neighborhood.

Virginia has abundant waterways, and good plantations often have easy access to water, with rivers running through them. The mill itself was built next to a small river, and not far away there were some ready-made wooden houses enclosed in "yards".

The wooden house had already been partially "cleaned" by this point; for example, there were no pots, pans, or utensils visible next to the semi-open earthen stove.
However, judging from the traces of life, this place was probably a "dormitory" for some slaves in the plantation. Some things were still left behind, and the density of the bed frames was quite impressive.

It wasn't dirty, but it smelled quite strongly. The bedding was mostly made of straw, pressed down until it was shiny and deformed; I even felt there might be bugs in it.
Wayne felt a little guilty and turned to Sanders, who was standing next to him: "Wouldn't it seem too rudimentary to use this place as the daily living quarters for the production staff?"

Sanders rubbed his nose and looked around. "Actually, it's not too bad. At least this place can shelter us from the wind and rain, which is better than camping. However, these straws may need to be burned and replaced with new ones."

“Really?” Wayne was unsure. “I think the restaurant is a bit too crowded right now, and it’s inconvenient to keep horses. If it’s feasible, I’m thinking of moving the detective agency’s Richmond base here. We can’t keep sleeping on the ground floor of the restaurant every night.”

Sanders' answer became noticeably more cautious after the unexpected shift to "living alone":
“It would be best to do some minor repairs—the interior of the house is still all dirt floor, some of the wooden planks on the walls are rotten, and the structure is too simple, it can only be called a ‘shed with wooden walls’, which may not be suitable for long-term living… It would be better if there were a more convenient water supply system, at least we wouldn’t have to go to the river to fetch water every time.”

After listening, Wayne roughly understood the situation. "Then let's renovate it according to the specifications of the 'headquarters'."

Although no specific lease term was discussed, judging from the Beeton family's generous gesture, they shouldn't be so stingy as to want to take it back after just a few months.

If things go smoothly, the detective agency will leave them some decent infrastructure as a token of reciprocity and a small way of repaying their kindness.

When I mentioned my ideas to the plantation manager, he still maintained a "no interference whatsoever" attitude.

"You are free to do whatever you want with this land during your stay, including the mill, and we will not interfere as long as Mr. Basque and his people have no objections. However..."

“But what?” Wayne asked.

Meeting Wayne's questioning gaze, the steward continued:

"We will remind the slaves on the plantation that this area is off-limits to unauthorized entry from now on, and we will also have people build wooden walls around it. However, there are occasional escaped slaves on the plantation who may pass through here. If possible, we hope that your people will refrain from directly killing any slaves who intrude, and would rather hand them over to us for disposal..."

Ah this...

Wayne was slightly speechless, but quickly nodded, "No problem."

"Thank you for your understanding." ...

After inspecting the venue, Wayne and Miss Mary's brother quickly returned home.
Knowing that Wayne wanted to meet the deadline, Alex Brook seemed quite cooperative:

"I've roughly taken the dimensions, and I can start designing when I get back. Unfortunately, I need to attend His Holiness the bishop's memorial service and funeral tomorrow, which may affect the progress a bit. The production of the corresponding parts will also take at least a few days."

"However, the staff for the initial renovations will be able to come and start work tomorrow. If everything goes smoothly, trial production should be able to be arranged within half a month."

Wayne was quite satisfied with the progress, and while he was at it, he also inquired with the local tycoon about whether he knew any carpenters, so he could take care of the house renovations at the same time.
The detective agency would have to foot the bill for this themselves. Fortunately, building a few simple wooden cabins wasn't too expensive, and the East Coast was closer to the so-called "primeval forest" than the West, making it easy to buy rough timber. Wayne had plenty of money and even planned to pay for the construction of a wall himself, making it a bit higher.

It's called a "wall," but it's really just thin wooden stakes driven into the ground one by one, and then wooden planks nailed horizontally to secure it.

Large, high-quality timber is now a rare find in the Old World. Only America still has vast forests of giant trees that have been growing for countless years. The cost of ordinary timber is only about equal to the labor cost of felling, transporting, and processing it. It's not a big deal to use it to build walls. Even many frontier towns in the West often have "no shortage of timber, only a shortage of nails".

The water tank and piping are a bit more complicated; you really can't do it without a factory or a blacksmith. Wayne even prefers rusty pipes to the increasingly popular lead pipes, so he has to be even more selective.

But this request was nothing to Alex Brook. Since Wayne was willing to pay, he could easily find someone to help him, and might even be able to get Wayne a discount.

However, this guy also had a strong thirst for knowledge: "Recently, some people in the medical community have indeed raised questions about the safety of lead products, but according to historical research, the Roman Empire highly valued lead products. They not only used them as water pipes, but also enjoyed eating 'lead sugar.' Why are you so resistant to them?"

Wayne couldn't recall exactly how this heavy metal affected his health, so he opted to rely on an authority figure: "I'm a history student, okay? At the 'Academy.' Believe me, the Roman Empire was destroyed because of excessive use of lead. You'd better not use it in your home either."

“What about lead white? I’ve seen that the cosmetics my mother and Mary use are made with lead white.”

“Same,” Wayne said casually. “You saw Inessa and Lina that night, right? They don’t use lead-based products anymore.”

"Hmm? What are the skin whitening powders they use made of?"

Well……

Wayne wasn't sure either, and could only guess, "It's probably herbs."

(End of this chapter)