Chapter 49 Resource Allocation: Regarding the future division of labor...

Li Tie already had a plan in mind. He said, "Make one-third of the chicken, duck, and rabbit; five fish; and use one-third of the wild vegetables, mushrooms, and eggs as you see fit. Don't cook the wild boar meat; divide it up after we finish eating. I'll explain the specifics later."

Before dinner was ready, Li Tie continued to inquire about the exploration team's progress.

Lu Xuan didn't say much, so Wu Cheng did most of the explanations, with the others adding details as appropriate, including why they decided to head towards the waterfall, how far they had gone, and the geographical environment along the way.

"The waterfall we found is huge. Even if there is a drought for several months, the water source should not be completely cut off. Moreover, there are big fish in the pool under the waterfall, so we can catch fish to eat often."

"Only one wild boar nest was found nearby, and there were no signs of other wild animals. The women in the village can also go and gather some wild vegetables and mushrooms."

"Don't be fooled by the fact that we brought back several baskets of wild vegetables today. Actually, we mainly went hunting. We didn't have time to pick many wild vegetables, and we didn't search every place carefully. If we searched more carefully, our harvest should be several times greater than today!"

The surrounding villagers listened with increasing satisfaction.

Abundant resources are good; with abundant resources, they won't have to worry about running out of money.

It would be even better if there were no wild beasts.

Although living in the cave is safe, the space for movement is limited, and after a while, they inevitably feel suffocated. If they could, they would love to go out and explore.

The exploration team even took out their new weapons to show to the others.

Previously, everyone's attention was focused on the prey, and they hadn't paid much attention to the change in weapons. Now, seeing Li Jing, Zhang Chengming, and others who had never shown hunting skills before easily pierce the tree trunks outside the square with bows and arrows, they immediately erupted in uproar.

"Amazing!"

"No wonder you were able to hunt wild boars without sustaining any injuries."

"With such powerful weapons, we could probably take down even bears and tigers."

Someone borrowed an arrow and examined it. "This arrow is quite useful, but it will wear out eventually if used too much, right? What if it breaks?"

The explorer said, "Lu Xuan said we can exchange them with him. The minimum exchange is ten arrows, and each arrow is worth one pound of meat or two pounds of grain."

Ten jin of meat or twenty jin of grain.

It sounds a bit expensive as a consumable, but the arrows they used during their hunt today are still like new, even though they've used them more than once. The arrowheads are noticeably more durable than ordinary iron arrows, so they probably don't need to be replaced often.

Moreover, without new weapons, their harvest today would be meager, so exchanging arrows is both necessary and worthwhile.

Who can say that having weapons for self-defense and the ability to obtain a large number of prey in the deep mountains is expensive?

For this reason alone, everyone in the exploration team, whether they were of the same generation as Lu Xuan or of the same generation as Wu Cheng, respected Lu Xuan and held him in even greater awe than before.

...

With the concerted efforts of all the women, dinner was ready in no time.

Because this meal had the flavor of a celebration feast for the first successful hunt (exploration), and it featured the game that had been hunted, the four members of the Lu family did not eat separately from the villagers.

Today's staple food is still brown rice, and most of the dishes are meat-based.

One dish was made for each type of meat: stir-fried duck, braised rabbit, and pheasant stewed with mushrooms. Five relatively small fish were steamed together.

The wild vegetables we picked, along with cucumbers from various households, were used to make several large bowls of refreshing and palate-cleansing cold dishes.

The soup was made with freshly processed wild boar bones, with some meat left on the bones. Lu Xuan also kindly provided pepper and mushroom powder that Lu Qing had previously dried to enhance the flavor of the soup. The taste was indescribable; just smelling it made your mouth water.

All the wild eggs were made into steamed egg custard, and each of the village kids got a bowl.

The viewers in the live stream were practically drooling.

[There's so much food, what's wrong with giving me a bite?!]

[Share (creeping in the shadows)! Share it now (twisted scream), I really can't take it anymore!]

[If we had a taste-sharing system, I can't imagine how cheerful and happy I would be!]

Lu Xuan: You guys are making a racket in my eyes.

After the food was served, everyone ate heartily while continuing to share their afternoon's experiences.

Previously, it was the exploration team members who were talking, but now it was the villagers who stayed behind to talk about their afternoon's achievements.

For example, they found a lot of thorns nearby and wrapped them around the fences around the square. The men who stayed behind also dug a circle of pits and traps outside the fences, further increasing the safety of the living area.

The women used vines and branches cut from the trees used to build the square to make many wicker baskets for storing supplies, fish baskets, and straw hats with wide brims for sun protection.

Originally, the fish baskets were intended to be placed by the stream to catch small fish and shrimp, but now that they know there is a more suitable waterfall and pool, the women have decided to make some larger fish baskets to take to the waterfall to catch big fish.

They also worked with carpenter Ye to make a lot of rough cabinets, so that households with limited space could put their still-wrapped items inside, making them easier to access and taking up less space.

We also made about ten wooden beds, giving priority to families with elderly or weak members, so that they wouldn't have to sleep on the cave floor which was only covered with weeds for insulation and their bodies couldn't take it.

Because the raw materials were not dried, these wooden furniture pieces do not last long and are prone to warping and rotting. However, they do not intend to live in the cave for a long time, so they only need what they have for now.

In addition, they also made a lot of wooden basins, buckets for fetching water, and other daily necessities.

The viewers in the live stream were deeply moved.

Although technology had not yet emerged in ancient times, they still managed to survive by relying on their wisdom. Indeed, humans are resilient creatures regardless of the era.

After the meal, the women cleared away their bowls and chopsticks, but instead of washing them, they sat back down and looked expectantly at the village chief, waiting for him to distribute the meat to everyone.

Li Tie stood up, looked at everyone, and said, "You've all seen the results of the exploration team's expedition. Lu Xuan's contribution to the large number of prey we caught today is undeniable. Therefore, I plan to give Lu Xuan three-tenths of the remaining prey. Does anyone have any objections?"

Everyone shook their heads repeatedly, "No objections!"

"Of course!"

“If it weren’t for Lu Xuan, how could he have killed four wild boars in one go? He deserves it.”

According to the other members of the exploration team, Lu Xuan hunted all three pigs himself, and he could have kept at least four or five hundred catties of meat on his own.

They only got 30% now, so they still benefited.

Li Tie: "Lu Xuan is much stronger than the others. From now on, whenever he goes hunting, the distribution will be the same as today's. In addition, 20% will be kept by me as common village supplies."

The villagers were confused. "Village chief, what does 'public supplies' mean?"

Li Tie explained, "For example, when we asked Lu Xuan to replace the security door and the spatial ring, didn't we ask each family to provide food? Including the chainsaw we borrowed from Lu Xuan when we were cutting down trees, those all had wear and tear. We can't always expect Lu Xuan to provide both labor and supplies, can we?"

The villagers nodded.

Li Tie: "But it's a burden to ask each household to contribute grain every time, so I thought it would be better to take 20% of the daily hunting or gathering harvest. In similar situations, this public resource can be used to exchange for things, so that everyone doesn't have to touch their own stored grain."

The villagers' eyes lit up – what a great idea!

The harvest from hunting and gathering is essentially free, so the 20% that is taken away can be considered as if it never existed in the first place. They also don't have to give away 20 or 30 kilograms of grain every now and then. No matter how you look at it, they are the ones who have gained.

"No objection! I think this is great!"

"That's right! I believe the village chief's decision!"

Li Tie smiled and said, "If everyone has no objections, this rule will be implemented starting today. Also, let's discuss the specific division of labor within the village."

Li Tie then moved on to the second topic, "I have discussed this with several elders in the village, and we will divide the village into three teams: a hunting team, a gathering team, and a guard team."

The hunting team was responsible for exploring the environment and obtaining prey. It was composed of able-bodied young men who volunteered. Of the harvest, the team members received 50%; 20% went to the village as supplies, and the remaining 30% was divided equally among each household in the village.

"Because Lu Xuan's abilities are too outstanding, if Lu Xuan also goes out, then Lu Xuan will receive 30%, the other team members will share 30%, 20% will still be shared, and the remaining 20% ​​will be divided among households."

"The gathering team was mainly composed of women, who were responsible for finding as many edible wild vegetables, fruits, mushrooms and other foods as possible in the safe areas identified by the hunting team. The distribution method was the same as that of the hunting team: half of the harvest was given to the team members, 20% was confiscated, and the remaining 30% was divided among the households."

The reason for allocating a portion to each household is mainly to take care of the elderly, weak, sick, and disabled who cannot be included in either team, or to prevent villagers from having no source of income if any family has special circumstances.

Li Tie continued, "The guard team is mainly responsible for the security of the Great Cave and the Giant Tree Square; they also accompany the gathering team when they go out to collect materials; the people on night watch are also selected from the guard team; in addition, they also help with some physical labor when needed. The guard team's wages are paid by the village using public resources and distributed according to their work."

Those who join the hunting party can also join the guard team. However, because hunters have to juggle both roles, their guard duties will be less, resulting in lower pay compared to those who only join the guard team.

Li Tie looked at the few households that seemed hesitant to speak, "I will make up for the meat that was distributed to the people who kept watch a few days ago."

The families who had been thinking about this matter immediately showed satisfied smiles.

Li Tie thought for a moment and wondered if there was anything else he wanted to add.

"By the way, considering that some people join hunting/gathering teams to get more prey but don't work hard, I ask the other team members for their opinions every now and then. If I find someone trying to slack off and slack off, they are kicked out of the team without question!"

Those few who did indeed have this intention immediately shrank back, realizing they had been predicted.

Li Tie: "Hunting and gathering teams don't have to go out hunting or picking wild vegetables every day. They can be divided into two or three teams to take turns going out, depending on the number of people. On days when it's not their turn, they are free to do as they please. If they catch any game or find any wild vegetables during their free time, they don't have to hand them over; they belong to the individuals themselves. Correspondingly, if they encounter any danger, they are also responsible for it themselves."

It all belongs to me!

The exploration team members, who had achieved remarkable results, all had their eyes light up.

With their new weapons, they wouldn't dare to hunt wild boars alone, but surely it wouldn't be a problem to catch a few pheasants to add to their meals?

"Including the guards protecting the gathering team, if they hunt prey during the protection period, it is considered their personal gain. Similarly, if the hunting team gathers any wild vegetables, they belong to the individual. However, we must not get the priorities wrong and should prioritize the responsibilities of our respective teams."

Li Tie said, "Furthermore, everyone was still getting used to the mountain a few days ago, and setting up the square was tiring, so we've been eating from a communal pot. This afternoon, the people who stayed behind set up a lot more stoves. Although it's not enough for each family, it's enough for them to use in rotation. Starting tomorrow, each family can cook for themselves."

"Alright, that's all I wanted to say. Any additions or improvements can be made later. Now let's start dividing the meat!"

The villagers, whose minds were still a bit confused, immediately put aside the question of which team to join when they heard the words "distribute meat".