Luis wasted no time.
If the machine parts would take three weeks to arrive, then those three weeks could not be wasted.
He had a lot of work to do.
The first thing he did was look at the sawmill with new eyes.
Now that he had a complete project in mind, the place seemed… inadequate.
Old.
Worn out.
Poorly organized.
The floor was constantly covered with accumulated sawdust.
Tools were scattered everywhere.
And the standards of cleanliness and organization were, at best, tolerable.
For Luis, that was simply unacceptable.
The next morning, he gathered all the workers from the sawmill.
Eight men in total.
Strong men, used to hard labor, but not very used to change.
Luis crossed his arms and looked at them.
"Gentlemen, we are going to renovate this place."
One of the workers scratched his beard.
"Renovate… how, young master?"
Luis answered simply:
"First, by cleaning everything."
And so began a week of work completely different from normal.
For a few days, the sawmill workers stopped being sawyers.
And became improvised builders.
They dismantled parts of the floor.
Reinforced structures.
Cleaned entire areas that had not been touched for years.
Organized tools.
Built new workbenches.
Rafael watched all of this with curiosity.
"Young master… you're transforming the entire sawmill."
Luis simply replied:
"Not yet."
Because, in truth, Luis wanted to do something far more radical.
At one point, he even began speaking seriously about tearing down the entire sawmill.
And rebuilding it from scratch.
In the same location.
When Augusto discovered this idea…
He almost had a heart attack.
He walked into the sawmill with firm steps.
"Luis!"
All the workers immediately stopped what they were doing.
Luis turned calmly.
"Father."
Augusto pointed around.
"I heard that you want to tear down the entire sawmill."
Luis replied naturally:
"Yes."
Augusto's eyes widened.
"Have you gone mad?"
Fortunately, Miguel was present.
And he quickly intervened.
"Mr. Augusto…"
He calmly explained part of the project.
Without revealing all the details.
But enough to show that Luis was not merely playing engineer.
After a few minutes of discussion…
Augusto finally sighed.
"Very well."
He pointed to the floor.
"But you are not going to destroy this sawmill."
Luis opened his mouth to protest.
But Augusto continued:
"If you want to build something new…"
He gestured toward the surrounding property.
"Build it somewhere else."
Luis blinked.
Augusto shrugged.
"You've already spent quite a bit of money on this project."
He gave a small smile.
"Spending a little more won't make much difference."
What Augusto didn't know…
Was the scale of what he had just authorized.
Luis chose a nearby plot of land.
Flat.
Spacious.
Perfect for what he had in mind.
And then the real work began.
The new building would be twice as large as the old sawmill.
Luis planned every space carefully.
There would be an area for storing raw timber.
Another for already-cut wood.
A small space for workers to rest.
An area for meals.
An organized storage room for tools.
But the largest of all the spaces would be reserved for something very specific.
The engine room.
The heart of the new sawmill.
Rafael looked at the plans with excitement.
"This is going to be incredible."
Matheus, on the other hand, looked at the size of the building with concern.
"This is… enormous."
Luis simply replied:
"We need to think about the future."
Training the Workers
But building the structure was not the only problem.
Luis realized something important.
The new machine would be far more complex than anything the workers had ever operated.
If no one knew how to use it properly…
The entire project could fail.
Fortunately, Luis still had the miniature model he had built.
So he began training the workers.
At first they were confused.
"Is this a saw?"
"It looks like a toy…"
Luis then began explaining patiently.
How the power would be transmitted.
How to feed the wood into the machine.
How to avoid accidents.
How to maintain a constant workflow.
Little by little, the workers began to understand.
But Luis realized something else.
Training only the operation of the machine was not enough.
So he went further.
He began teaching the workers.
First, cutting quality standards.
Speed control.
Wood flow organization.
Storage logistics.
Even more efficient ways to transport boards inside the sawmill.
Rafael watched all of this with admiration.
And so three weeks passed.
Three weeks of construction.
Training.
Planning.
And growing anticipation.
Until finally…
The first wagons began to appear at the farm gate.
Loaded with heavy wooden and metal crates.
One after another.
The parts of the machine were arriving