Chapter 93
Lu Yu and Tai Lie returned to the village.
Last night, the panel had silently completed all the work. At this moment, the village and the valley had already become a small city.
The Matai people had grown accustomed to Lu Yu’s mysterious abilities, and even the people in the valley did not overreact after being amazed. As the saying goes, the ignorant are fearless.
Primitive people believed in gods but had no concept of “science,” so they wouldn’t consider these things as “unscientific.”
Instead, they saw Lu Yu as a legendary deity, so everything seemed quite natural.
Lu Yu and Tai Lie entered through the main gate of the city. Excited Matai people swarmed around, chattering about the appearance of the new tribe.
Tai Lie instructed Shan Pu to tell everyone that he and Lu Yu had gone out for something. Some of the simple-minded Matai people believed it, but others… let’s just say, Lu Yu’s body bore traces that couldn’t be completely covered by clothes.
Some innocent Matai people, noticing this, worriedly asked, “Witch, what’s wrong with you—”
Before he could finish his words, he was silenced by his companion and dragged away.
Lu Yu had mentally prepared himself for this moment. Although he blushed slightly, he still forced himself to say, “It’s nothing.”
Shan Pu and Xia Hua exchanged meaningful glances.
Tai Lie’s expression was solemn. “Go to work, or you want to be punished? Xia Cao, Le Shui, Shan Pu, come here.”
No one dared to disobey the King’s orders, and the Matai people scattered like birds and beasts.
Xia Cao said gently, “Witch, don’t you need to rest?”
Lu Yu waved his hand. “I’m fine, I’m fine.”
Xia Cao said no more.
The group looked at the city wall and then took a look around the inner city, where the Matai people lived.
Tai Lie’s original stone house had now become a four-story high-rise, with what seemed to be an additional layer of lime paint on the outside, giving the whole building a solemn and dignified appearance. Rather than being a residence, it seemed more suitable as a meeting hall.
However, the furniture inside was still scarce, with only the simplest stone tables and stools, and not much else.
But no one minded that.
Lu Yu and the others sat down, and Lu Yu wanted to discuss the establishment of a management system with them.
Although there weren’t many people yet, it was better to establish it early on, which wouldn’t hurt.
Xia Cao pondered for a moment. “Witch, I don’t quite understand this, but we Matai people did have division before, and everyone had their own tasks. Is that what you mean by ‘system’?”
Lu Yu smiled. “Yes, but we need to make it more specific. We also need to add a system for rewards, punishments, and a system for treatment, so that everyone understands their responsibilities and obligations, what they can get, what they need to do, and let everyone know that the more they do to help, the better food and life they can have, and everything can be obtained through their own efforts.”
Xia Cao said, “Please continue.”
Lu Yu took a sip of water. “We don’t have many people now, so let’s not make it too complicated. Let’s set a few simple rules. First, we’ll divide food distribution into several levels. For example is the hunting team that goes out, it’s very dangerous, so their level is relatively high, and they’ll get more food. Other people, like those who make stone tools or build wooden sheds, will have slightly lower levels, but enough to meet their daily needs. If they do their work well, they’ll be rewarded with extra food, so that when people don’t feel like working, they won’t have to worry about going hungry and can relax for a few days.”
Lu Yu explained it simply, and Xia Cao and the others understood it all.
Lu Yu continued, “Doing well is rewarded, but if someone does poorly or deliberately slacks off, there should also be punishment. So what constitutes slacking off? This requires someone to lead everyone, like the hunting team led by Le Shui. He will assign tasks to everyone, giving everyone a clear goal and standard. Of course, the leader must be someone who is particularly good in this area, so in the future, whoever completes the task well might become the leader.”
Lu Yu paused and glanced at Tai Lie, then smiled. “As for who will be the leader for the first time, Tai Lie and I have discussed it. Le Shui will lead the hunting team, and Shan Pu will lead the guard team. The guard team is responsible for protecting our village, while Xia Cao will lead everyone in other activities.”
Le Shui had no objections. Although Shan Pu was more eager to go hunting, he knew the importance of protecting the village, and after all, it was the Witch’s arrangement, so he didn’t object.
Xia Cao hesitated. “Witch, does this include everyone…”
Lu Yu shook his head. “You’re not too familiar with the affairs on the other side of the valley, so I plan to find two leaders in the valley first. When you’re all familiar, I’ll let you take charge.”
“That’s good,” Xia Cao breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. “I really don’t understand those things over there.”
Lu Yu reassured him, “Don’t worry, I’ll help you, and Shan Pu too. You can come to me if you have any questions. In addition to this, we’ll sit down together every five days in the future and hold a meeting to discuss how everyone’s tasks are going.”
Le Shui and the others all nodded in understanding. “Got it!”
After finalizing matters here, Lu Yu went to the valley area because the city walls had just been built, and everyone was still excited. Since it was early, no one had gone out to collect food or anything yet.
Lu Yu thought, “Perfect, it makes it convenient for me to talk about things.”
He first told them about some of the things he had discussed with Xia Cao earlier, asking everyone to slowly digest them in their hearts. Then he mentioned the matter of the Blackwater Tribe becoming their affiliated tribe.
Because everyone was happy yesterday, Lu Yu left this news until today. He still felt a little worried in his heart because, after all, the people here, except for the newly added Er Dai, were all former slaves of the Blackwater Tribe.
Everyone definitely didn’t like the Blackwater Tribe and even rejected it. But Lu Yu had already promised, so he couldn’t hide it from them.
The originally happy crowd began to feel uneasy.
Many people had expressions of fear on their faces.
They thought they would never encounter people from the Blackwater Tribe again. Why did the deputy Chief want to form an alliance with them?
Would the Tai Yu Tribe also become like the Blackwater Tribe in the future, enslaving them…
Although Lu Yu had told them about the new system in advance, people still had such thoughts.
Lu Yu also saw it from their faces. He quickly spoke up, “Everyone, rest assured, the Chief of the Blackwater Tribe is no longer the same as before. He has promised me to go back and reform the Blackwater Tribe. If anyone dares to bully you again, we won’t let them off, and for the time being, they won’t move near us.”
After hearing his words, the atmosphere gradually calmed down.
If it were someone else saying this, people would probably still have doubts, but because it was Lu Yu, whose prestige among the valley people was almost unquestionable, they would believe whatever he said without reservation.
Lu Yu breathed a sigh of relief and added a reassurance, “Since I’ve brought you all out, how could I let you go back to your old lives? In the future, our tribes will become better and better, and no one will become a slave. As long as everyone works hard, not only will they have enough to eat and wear, but they will also be happy every day.”
Lu Yu had already decided that after everything was on track, he would promote some group sports and other recreational activities to enrich everyone’s daily lives.
Finally, the valley people relaxed, and soon they were attracted by another thing Lu Yu mentioned.
“In three days, I will choose two leaders. As for what these leaders will do, I’ve already mentioned it earlier. If anyone is interested, you can prepare for the next three days.”
The people immediately began discussing excitedly.
“Da Qing, are you going to participate?”
“Of course! Apart from anything else, we’ll see the deputy chief more often in the future!”
“You’re right! Then count me in too!”
“I want to join too!”
—
Seeing everyone discussing enthusiastically, Lu Yu smiled and didn’t interrupt. Instead, he turned to find the old man who often reported to him in the Dream Training Ground and asked him to lead him to see the fields they were planting.
The old man readily agreed and introduced as they walked.
“During the time you were away, although no rice has grown in the fields like before, some seedlings have sprouted. Everyone is watching closely. Several children take turns staying here every day, afraid that birds will peck away the seedlings.”
Lu Yu smiled, “Thank you for your hard work.”
The old man waved his hand, “It’s not hard, not hard at all. The children are still young and dare not go to the forest to find food. Doing a little work makes them very happy. They’ve learned to water and fertilize regularly, and they do it better than adults.”
“All good children. By the way, I brought back some seeds this time and plan to find a place to plant them. In the future, we’ll have more varieties of food.”
“Great, great.” The old man laughed heartily, “If you have any orders, just say it.”
Lu Yu also smiled and explained some planting matters. Wheat and soybeans were different from rice and required different planting methods.
After discussing these matters, the old man also briefed him on the recent situation in the tribe.
Since he had just returned and takes time to get back because he was captured by Cha Zhe for two days before, Lu Yu hadn’t communicated with the old man in the Dream Training Ground for several days and he never heard any news to the valley people.
Now, he listened attentively to the old man.
The old man said that because they hadn’t learned any new skills recently, everyone had been practicing their previous tasks.
“Oh, deputy Chief, would you like to see the boat San Qiu and his friend built? It’s on the big river over there.” The old man pointed.
“Okay!” Lu Yu immediately agreed.
The two people, along with the Matai people who were following Lu Yu to protect him, turned to the river as the old man had said.
“The boat is much sturdier than the wooden raft and much larger, and it’s even covered with the animal skins sewn by Yu’er. They say it can move by itself with the wind, but San Qiu and the others haven’t able to entered the dream these days and haven’t figured out what’s going on. It seems there are still some problems… There it is! San Qiu and the others are almost there all day, and if it weren’t for the danger at night, they wouldn’t be willing to come back.”
From a distance, Lu Yu saw the boat the old man was talking about
—
It was a single-masted wooden triangular sailboat, with a straight mast pointing straight up to the sky and a large animal skin sail fluttering in the wind. Compared to the small wooden raft they had used before, this wooden boat was simply a behemoth, easily accommodating a dozen or so people.
Lu Yu was somewhat amazed. He was about to go over to praise them, but he saw San Qiu and the others with worried expressions, not knowing what they were doing…