Rafael was not wrong when he said that it could represent a new era for the sawmill.
Steam-powered sawmills had already existed since the mid-nineteenth century. In many parts of the world they had already replaced the old saws powered by water or animal labor.
But what Luis was designing… was different.
Very different.
The machine he imagined was more efficient, more organized, and had a continuous workflow. Wood entering on one side, boards coming out the other, almost without interruption.
In practice, it was a type of sawmill that would probably only truly become obsolete with something that would still take decades to arrive there.
Electrification.
However, imagining something was one thing.
Building it… was something completely different.
The planning took much longer than Luis had expected.
What he thought would take a few days ended up becoming more than an entire week of intense work.
During those days, the small group responsible for the project practically lived between the workshop and the sawmill.
Luis led the work.
Rafael helped transform the ideas into something that could actually be built with the available resources.
Matheus… well.
Matheus had been promoted to the official position of forced assistant.
Besides them, four experienced workers from the sawmill also began helping with tests, measurements, and the construction of the first experimental pieces.
And at some point during that week…
Teresa appeared.
At first, it was simply because Luis had not had time to meet with her.
But after noticing how much her brother was working there, Miguel simply placed Teresa in the same role as Matheus.
Assistant.
At first she complained a little.
But that changed quickly.
Because she noticed something curious.
Luis was… very attractive when he was working.
Focused.
Giving orders.
Explaining ideas.
Handling tools.
Thinking quickly.
Basically, Teresa spent much of the week watching Luis with shining eyes, like a truly dedicated admirer.
Matheus noticed this immediately.
"You're looking at him again."
Teresa crossed her arms.
"I am not."
Matheus pointed discreetly.
"You are."
She blushed.
"Shut up."
Luis, completely focused on the work, noticed nothing.
For him, those days were a real intellectual challenge.
At every new stage, problems appeared.
Some simple.
Others extremely complex.
But little by little, the project began to take shape.
Luis even built a small-scale model of the machine to test some ideas of power transmission.
Small belts.
Miniature pulleys.
Improvised structures.
The tests worked surprisingly well.
The group's enthusiasm only grew.
However, while Luis spent more and more time between the sawmill and the workshop…
Another person began to notice.
Helena.
She watched her son leaving early and returning late every day.
Tired.
Covered in wood dust.
And always carrying some paper full of drawings.
Naturally, she began to worry.
"Augusto… have you noticed how much Luis has been working lately?"
Augusto looked up from the newspaper.
"Yes."
Helena frowned.
"Do you know what he's doing?"
Augusto sighed.
"I tried to find out."
Helena tilted her head.
"And?"
Augusto gave a small smile.
"He said it's a surprise."
Helena looked surprised.
"And you accepted that?"
Augusto shrugged.
"He seemed very determined."
In reality, Augusto had already tried to visit the sawmill once.
But Luis had practically chased him away with a single sentence.
"When it's ready, you'll see."
That only made Augusto even more curious.
After more than a week of work…
The project finally seemed solid.
Organized drawings.
Defined measurements.
Planned components.
Everyone was convinced they could truly build that machine.
That was when Rafael had a realization.
A simple realization.
But a devastating one.
He was looking at one of the drawings when he slowly raised his head.
"Young master…"
Luis was still adjusting a calculation.
"Yes?"
Rafael scratched his beard.
"There's a problem."
Luis looked up.
"What problem?"
Rafael pointed to the center of the project.
"The steam engine."
Luis blinked.
Rafael continued:
"Where are we going to get one?"
Silence filled the workshop.
Matheus lifted his head.
Teresa also stopped handling the tools.
Luis frowned slightly.
Rafael explained:
"The engine needs to be relatively small."
He raised one finger.
"But powerful."
Another finger.
"Durable."
Another.
"Safe."
Another.
"And efficient."
He concluded:
"And most importantly… stable."
He lightly tapped the drawing.
"If it vibrates too much, the entire structure of the sawmill will suffer."
Luis remained silent.
Rafael continued:
"If we were in Europe… we could order a custom machine."
He sighed.
"But we're in Brazil."
Everyone knew what that meant.
Of course there were steam engines in the country.
But most of them were built for a single type of use.
Railways.
Locomotives.
Heavy equipment for rail transport.
Rafael crossed his arms.
"Smaller industrial engines are rare here."
He looked at Luis.
"Very rare."
Luis remained silent for a few seconds.
The entire project was ready.
The plans were finished.
The team was prepared.
But now…
The most important piece of all was missing.
The heart of the machine.
The steam engine.