Chapter 72: Changing Customs and Habits: Just after a war...
They had just gone through a war, and although Fu Li had gone door to door to appease the people, the tribesmen still couldn't help feeling a bit desolate.
Fu Li sighed inwardly at the sight. He didn't mention the flood control issue first, but instead asked, "Have all your families been settled? If anyone still has any difficulties, please tell me and I'll help you all resolve them."
Everyone said "no" in unison, saying "the compensation given by the chief is already enough."
But Fuli not only uses its ears to listen, it also uses its eyes to observe.
Because she was standing high up and had good eyesight, she could clearly see that several people looked hesitant, wanting to say something but seemed afraid to speak because of the unanimous answers from the people around them.
She simply called out to everyone: "Big Stone, Little Stone, Millstone, Dung Ball, the rest of you, come to the front."
Dashi and Xiaoshi are a pair of sisters, Mopan and Fenqiu are a pair of siblings. The two families are neighbors, and there is another family between them.
As far as Fuli knew, the relationship between the neighbors was pretty good. They helped each other on a daily basis and often acted together when the tribe went hunting together.
Fu Li guessed that what made both families hesitate was probably not their own affairs, but their common neighbor.
Thinking of this, she searched around them and sure enough, behind the two houses, she saw their common neighbor, Guwu.
Fuli remembered this old lady. She thought that when she first came into contact with the tribe, the first person she met was Guwu.
If she remembered correctly, Gu'ou had two sons, but they both died in the flood, and now she was the only one left to guard the house.
Living alone and being older, there are definitely difficulties in life.
In the past, Ge was the chief, and she had no say in how the tribe was led. Now that everyone had chosen her to be the leader, they had to follow her rules.
When it comes to caring for the elderly and the weak, let’s start with drumming up old ladies.
Hearing her call, Dashi and Xiaoshi's eyes immediately lit up, and they immediately parted the crowd and walked forward. Mopan and Fenqiu were a bit shy, but with Dashi sisters as an example, they were a little embarrassed and followed suit.
Fu Li pretended to know nothing and asked gently, "Are there any difficulties between your two families?"
Xiao Shi spoke first: "Chief, it's not us who are in trouble, it's Gu Lao."
"Oh?" Fu Li glanced at Gu Ai, and even though Gu Ai repeatedly waved her hands and said "no problem", she still asked the four of them, "Tell me, what's going on?"
Xiaoshi glanced at her sister and, receiving Dashi's encouraging look, she said loudly, "All the young and strong men in Gu's family are gone, and she is the only one left. She can't do much work, so she can't get much food or supplies.
In the past, my family and Sister Mopan’s family could still help her, but now that my sister and Sister Mopan are both pregnant, and the family is about to have a baby, we can’t help much anymore.”
Fu Li exclaimed in surprise, "Ah!" and said happily, "You two will increase the population of the tribe. You are the tribe's heroes and should be rewarded."
She turned around and told Ge: "For every pregnant woman in the tribe, send a bag of food every month."
Seeing Ge's troubled expression, Fu Li seemed to know what she was about to say and raised her hand to suppress her. "Don't worry about the food problem. It will be solved soon. For the development of the tribe, population is the most important issue and cannot be ignored."
Seeing that she was serious, Ge had no choice but to nod and agree: "Yes."
Fu Li patted her shoulder, jumped down from the high platform, walked through the crowd to the side of Gu Ai, helped the old woman to the front, and asked loudly: "In our tribe, all the lonely and widowed people like Gu Ai, please stand up."
Everyone looked at each other, but no one stood up.
Gu'ao seemed to feel very ashamed and kept pulling at Fuli's hands, trying to break free and return to the crowd.
Fu Li grabbed her tightly and patted the back of her hand to comfort her. Then he asked Xiao Shi, "Xiao Shi, point out any single elderly people over forty years old or single children under twelve years old that you know of."
Xiaoshi's family had just received a favor from Fuli because of his sister, and they were eager to repay her. He nodded immediately, looked around the crowd, and pointed out several people in succession.
When she called out to those who were older, they lowered their heads immediately, while the younger ones first looked up at everyone, and when they saw the adults lower their heads, they followed suit.
Fu Li walked into the crowd and pulled them out one by one. When she met the young ones, she touched their foreheads and gently told them not to be afraid.
Those who were pulled out, perhaps with the intention of "I can't bear it alone", pointed out one after another what Xiaoshi had not pointed out.
Among these people, there were very few widows and orphans over forty years old, only about thirty in total. However, there were more than a hundred children under twelve years old.
As for the reason, Fu Li didn't ask much, and there was no need to ask much.
Due to the poor living conditions and almost no medical care, not many people can live to the age of 40. Moreover, those who are 40 years old already look very old.
If we take them to Fu Li's previous life and tell them they are in their sixties or seventies, no one will doubt it.
People this old not only have greatly reduced mobility but are also very prone to illness.
To ensure the continued existence of a tribe, resources are naturally tilted towards the young and strong and children. They receive less, and without the support of young and strong people in their families, they are naturally more likely to die.
The reason why they felt ashamed, dared not look up, and even more dared not stand up, was that they guessed that Fu Li wanted to help them.
The long-standing concept made them feel that useless old and weak people like themselves should not take up the resources of the tribe, and it was good enough that the leader allowed them to survive.
Fu Li asked Gu Ai, "What do you think we should pay attention to when digging traps to catch animals?"
Gu's mother looked at her blankly, not understanding why she suddenly asked this.
Fu Li looked at her encouragingly: "Just tell me everything you know. I will be able to use it."
Ge also advised: "Gu'er, since the leader asked you to speak, just speak."
Once someone spoke first, everyone followed suit, talking at once. Some told her to speak directly, while others told her to listen to the leader's orders, and so on.
Gu Lao swallowed, her voice trembling slightly. "The trap doesn't need to be dug too deep, but it can't be too shallow either. About half a foot will do. The opening should be small, about one step wide."
It would be better to dig some steps on one side so that after catching the beast, we can drag it out more easily along these steps."
Facing Fu Li's encouraging gaze, she spoke more and more fluently, and her originally stiff back straightened up unconsciously.
"If you don't have time to dig a trap, you can make one with ropes and rocks. Tie the rock to a rope and hang it from a tree. Place the other end of the rope under the rock to create a trap. When an animal triggers it, the rock will fall and kill or injure it, making it easier to catch."
The old man talked eloquently and everyone listened attentively.
Many young people were surprised. After hearing what Gu Lao said, they suddenly realized something and kept saying, "So it can be done this way!"
After Gu Lao finished speaking, Fu Li asked the old people who were good at farming to stand up and talk about their accumulated experience in farming.
Then there are those who are good at polishing stone tools, those who are good at making bone tools, and those who know how to obtain bronze blocks...
After calling on several representatives to speak, Fu Li stood back on the podium and said loudly, "Perhaps everyone is wondering why I asked these elders to speak. Perhaps some people have already understood my intention.
Now, let me be frank with you: they are old and certainly not as physically strong as the younger ones. But they have accumulated rich experience over the years, and passing this experience on to the younger and stronger ones will help the tribe develop better.
She looked around with a piercing gaze and asked loudly, "Tell me, do you still think that the elderly and frail are completely useless?"
Everyone looked at each other, and no one dared to speak first.
Xiao Shi looked around, and despite his sister's attempts to stop him, he raised his hands and said loudly, "I don't think so. They are all useful people!"
"Well said!" Fu Li gave her an appreciative look and said earnestly, "I know that we had to abandon these elderly people in the past because our tribe was poor at that time and we didn't have any extra food to support them.
But things are different now. We have salt and various handicrafts, which can be taken to the Central Plains to exchange for food and various necessities.
I will also bring back more advanced planting techniques from the Central Plains. Our food supply will only grow more abundant in the future, and we won't have to painfully abandon our elderly parents like we did before."
Fu Li believes that although not everyone has sympathy for the elderly, most people would not say things like "When you get old, just find a place to die yourself" if they can help it.
Many times, it is not that humans are unwilling to do good deeds, but that they do not have the ability to do so.
The people of the Jinjiang tribe have just suddenly escaped poverty and have not yet reacted and adapted psychologically to the new living conditions.
Now that Fu Li has revealed it, many people suddenly understand.
This time, without the bold and lively Xiaoshi taking the lead, someone in the crowd spoke out in support: "The leader is right. From now on, our lives will be better and everyone can live in peace."
With one person taking the lead, more and more people followed suit. Perhaps even they themselves didn't realize it, but when they looked up at Fuli on the platform, their eyes became more respectful and gentle.
Because there's one thing no one mentions, yet everyone knows it: Everyone grows old. Sooner or later, everyone will benefit from the tone Fuli sets today.
Since then, under Fu Li's advocacy and leadership, people over 40 years old have received a subsidy of one bag of grain, one bag of refined salt and ten kilograms of meat every month.
They are responsible for passing on their years of experience to young people and helping the tribe do what they can.
For example: weaving, turning and drying grain, and helping to look after children.
The more than one hundred orphans were also gathered together and raised by Fuli. In addition to learning to read and write with other children, they also did some work such as collecting herbs and fishing.
The most important task for more than 30 elderly people living alone is to take care of their lives.
Half a month after Fu Li's return, the Jinjiang Tribe was completely back on track. Everyone, young and old, male and female, was eager to follow their leader and develop the Jinjiang Tribe into the largest tribe in Shu.
Just when Fu Li selected the people to follow Ji Meng out to explore the geography, the envoys from the Fengsui and Langyi tribes arrived almost at the same time.
The envoys from both tribes brought with them a large amount of animal hides that had been saltpetred, as well as some grain, saying they wanted to exchange them for refined salt from the Jinjiang tribe.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
