Chapter 762: Green Sparrow Tribe Commendation Ceremony Looks like the roads need repairing again. This was the decision made by Han Cheng as he came down from the wall, warming his hands by the firepit while pondering matters. Once the field roads are fixed, the tribe can extend further outward and cultivate more land. Besides that, the Tongshan residential area also needs more manpower. There’s plenty of unused land there that people can farm, and the crops grown will belong to the tribe as well. Moreover, with more food produced there, once there’s a surplus, the Green Sparrow tribe will no longer need to transport grain there from the prominent tribe, and they can even send the excess food back to the main tribe for storage. This not only subsidizes the Green Sparrow main tribe but also helps the main tribe maintain control over its branches. Money and food have always been the most direct and effective means for central authorities to control local areas. After all, the Green Sparrow tribe is still in its infancy, and this is the time to establish and perfect rules. Many of these rules, once set, will continuously affect the tribe’s future, and as the tribe grows, their impact will become more obvious. Besides these, a residential area can also be built at the Salt Mountain. The importance of salt goes without saying. With the Green Sparrow tribe’s growth and the spread of salt usage, Salt Mountain, ten miles from the tribe, is becoming strategically more important. Together with the salt traded externally, the tribe now consumes a substantial amount of salt daily—almost two people have to spend every other day making salt to keep up with consumption. That means half the year, two people are dedicated solely to salt production. Under such circumstances, building a small residential area near Salt Mountain is necessary. This would help guard Salt Mountain, facilitate salt production, provide a safer environment for the salt makers, and also take advantage of the relatively flat, lush land a little farther from Salt Mountain that would be good for farming once cleared. This approach of land reclamation, expanding from points to areas, solves the problem of insufficient farmland around the tribe. Compared to a single tribe before, this kind of branching out is more suitable for the tribe’s survival. To put it bluntly, if one tribe suffers a disaster, other branches exist, so the Green Sparrow tribe won’t be completely wiped out—at least the legacy will be preserved. Once Han Cheng understood this about the land, he felt a wave of relief. Besides land, the tribe’s construction can’t be neglected. After two years of development, the tribe is nearly complete; only a few finer details remain. But these small details will still take considerable effort to finish correctly. Plus, with so many from the semi-farming tribe flooding in at once, basic infrastructure like housing, toilets, and bathhouses needs to be built to ease the tight situation. Additionally, outside the tribe, an area should be designated specifically for trade with external tribes. This would enhance the tribe’s security and help prevent leakage of tribal secrets… All these assorted, trivial things need to be done. Fortunately, there are enough capable hands in the tribe to handle these tasks. Besides these major projects, encouraging people in the tribe to have more children is also very necessary… Sitting here constantly writing, Han Cheng suddenly showed a pleased expression. He put down his brush and rubbed his hands as he paced the room, mulling over a sudden inspiration from earlier, feeling happier the more he thought about it. An opportunity has come! At the quarry outside the Green Sparrow tribe, huge flames blazed as stones were being baked. Someone, after gauging the temperature and time carefully, shouted out. Prepared nearby, others immediately threw ice-chipped cold water from their jars onto the flames and the scorching stones. Amidst the rising white steam, continuous ‘sizzling’ sounds mingled with occasional cracking noises. When the sounds stopped and the steam gradually dissipated, the scene before everyone’s eyes was revealed. Several cracks had appeared in the large stones, the widest wide enough to fit two fingers at once! Though it wasn’t the first time seeing this, Daya still couldn’t help feeling shocked and amazed. These were huge, immovable stones, yet they had been forcibly split apart. How could one not be stunned! It was Caogen speaking. As soon as he finished, he inserted a flattened wooden stick into the crack and pried hard. A large chunk of stone immediately broke off and fell to the ground. After living in the tribe for several years, Caogen had changed greatly. No longer timid, he had become a capable Green Sparrow slave. He had mined stones during winters more than once and was used to it. But just because he was used to it didn’t mean others were—like Daya, who had been a Green Sparrow slave for only a short time and was now moving heavy stones onto the donkey-drawn sled. Mining was impressive, but hauling heavy stones back and forth in such cold weather was no joy. In their old tribe, they did nothing during winter; though they were hungry, life was easier. But now… Feeling somewhat resentful, after loading the sled with stones alongside others, Daya led the donkey and set off into the distance. The donkey, unused to pulling sleds, struggled to shake it off. Daya tugged hard on the rope around the donkey’s head to keep it steady—if the sled overturned, he’d have to carry all those heavy stones back onto it one by one. As he led the donkey, Daya’s eyes fell on some people wandering around, not working much, and he felt both respect and dissatisfaction. Those people were Green Sparrow tribe citizens, dressed warmly and reportedly eating three meals a day. Yet in this cold season, they did little work while people like him, eating only twice daily and not as warmly dressed, did the hard labor! In the past, they would be sleeping indoors at such times… Such feelings were not unique to Daya; most newly joined semi-farming tribe slaves felt similarly. However, Caogen and other slaves working with them had no complaints; they followed the Divine Child’s orders and worked diligently. At the corner near the main gate, Han Cheng, wrapped in a cloak, stood silently watching the scene of labor in the snow. Han Cheng was aware of the feelings harbored by the semi-agricultural tribe slaves. After all, it was not the first time the tribe had new slaves joining. Mining stone in the heavy snow and transporting it to the tribe and fields was Han Cheng’s idea—a chance to put many slaves through a trial. Generally, those newly joining the Green Sparrow tribe lacked a strong spirit of endurance and tended to resist many of the tribe’s labors. This was because, in their original tribes, their tasks were more straightforward and more monotonous. If they were to develop endurance and quickly adapt to the Green Sparrow tribe’s pace of life, the most direct and effective way was to have them participate in heavy, grueling labor. It’s much like training a hawk. To get better work from them, hardening was necessary. At this moment, these newly joined semi-farming tribe slaves were like donkeys pulling sleds for the first time—both being tempered and learning. Nothing tested a person more in such cold weather than mining and hauling stones. Once they endured this ordeal, other tasks would seem more straightforward since they would have experienced something more challenging. As for any resentment or negative emotions that arose, Han Cheng wasn’t too worried—because this was actually part of the opportunity he intended to create. When these people were physically and mentally exhausted by the hard labor, their dissatisfaction gradually rose and reached a breaking point. Han Cheng would then publicly release slaves from the Flying Snake tribe who had performed well in these and previous labors. This would solve Han Cheng’s primary concern—the gap between the number of slaves and citizens—and at the same time dissipate much of the negative feelings these new slaves had developed during the snowy trial. Moreover, it would vividly demonstrate with solid facts that being a slave in the Green Sparrow tribe was not a dead-end. As long as you work hard and contribute to the tribe, sooner or later, you could be freed from slavery and become a citizen of the Green Sparrow tribe… This was the opportunity Han Cheng had been seeking. If he freed a batch of slaves without creating such an opportunity, the effect wouldn’t be nearly as powerful. This shows that when doing things, one cannot just blindly push forward; timing and strategy are crucial… Of course, the degree must also be carefully controlled—otherwise, a single misstep could lead to disaster. Therefore, Han Cheng devised two contingency plans: while carefully tempering the slaves, the eldest Senior brother quietly strengthened the defenses inside the inner wall, ready to swiftly suppress any new slaves who couldn’t withstand the trial and tried to cause trouble. This preparation was done silently; on the surface, the tribe’s defenses appeared unchanged… Yes, this was loose outside, tight inside. Time passed second by second. Between the old and new walls, the number of piled stones on the empty land for new housing kept increasing daily, eventually accumulating a large pile outside the tribe. Meanwhile, Daya’s dissatisfaction also grew along with the accumulating stones. More and more people shared his thoughts. At this time, Daya often glanced at those slaves who had long joined the Green Sparrow tribe, sincerely admiring their endurance. Daya, whose hands had grown thick calluses, picked up a stone and slammed it hard onto the pile to vent his frustration. He felt he had had enough of the heavy, endless labor and was nearing his limit. Just then, the young Divine Child appeared, ordering everyone to pause their work and gather in the plaza between the inner and outer walls. Upon hearing this, Daya immediately dropped his stone and, feeling lighter, happily followed the crowd back to the tribe. When he arrived at the tribe, Daya was surprised to find that at the plaza, beneath a Green Sparrow flag frozen stiff, a stage had been set up at some point, covered with a layer of red dyed hemp cloth. Behind the stage were three backed chairs where the three leaders of the Green Sparrow tribe were seated. The young Divine Child sat in the center, with the elderly shaman on the left and the strong chief on the right. Thɪs chapter is updatᴇd by n̷o̷v̷e̷l̷f̷i̷r̷e̷.net In front of them were steaming, exquisite pottery cups printed with characters Daya did not recognize and could not understand. Just as Daya wondered what the Divine Child and the others intended to do, the Divine Child in the center stood and spoke in Chinese, leaving Daya feeling so confused that it was as if his hair was falling out. After listening for a while, Daya barely understood it was about the stone work in the snowy weather. While still puzzled, a good translator jumped out, loudly repeating and excitedly conveying the Divine Child’s words. Gradually understanding what was happening, Daya was utterly stunned. Slaves being freed and becoming citizens? He had heard rumors about slaves becoming citizens in the tribe before, but never believed them. In his original tribe, the female shaman never mentioned turning slaves into equals. Not just him—many semi-farming tribe slaves were left speechless…