Volume 8: The Sword Points to the Far East Chapter 247 Saladin's Conflict
Farm No. 1 was closest to the Fire Tribe, but there was no ride available, so the tribe leaders from Farm No. 2 arrived half an hour later.
Farm No. 3 was neither far nor close to the Fire Tribe, and there were no rides available, so I left early in the morning and didn’t arrive until almost noon.
The local big cats, who had parted on bad terms the last time they met, were not hostile this time. Instead, they sat together in solidarity... and stared at the new big cats with eager eyes.
In the Fire Tribe's large conference room, there were two groups of big cats sitting on either side with a large open space in the middle. Seeing this, Elder Saladin felt a stomachache... After traveling thousands of miles, this Minotaur elder never expected that the most troublesome hurdle would be here - it was not the question of whether the Snow Wolf Tribe could properly arrange the cat tribe, but the question of whether the local cats would accept cats from other places!
Logically speaking, the Tauren are very clear about the nature of the cats, and Elder Saladin would not fail to think of this, but... who asked Xia and Arthur, the two cat chiefs, to "confuse" him? !
Elder Saladin looked worried with a grim look on his face, but the Snow Wolf Man who was chairing the meeting was like a blind man and had no reaction to the atmosphere on the scene.
Today, not only the cat tribe but also the gray dwarves were to be arranged together. At this moment, Xiao Yun solemnly followed Baru who came from the Hilly New District to introduce the new gray dwarf representative, and solemnly handed the gray dwarves rescued from the Tiger Tribe mining area to Baru.
As for the goblins that were picked up, they were not sent to the new hilly area, but directly replenished to the goblin quarries of Baron and Gar... The goblins were the easiest to arrange. They were well fed and well nourished along the way. After arriving at the Fire Tribe, they were given three days of rest. Today, they have gone to work with Baron, Gar and the other local goblins.
This group of humble green-skinned halflings have never been strong, nor do they have the strength to occupy land and become king, so naturally there is no problem of regional discrimination.
"Please rest assured, our Hilly New District is completely different from the Underground City and the Tiger Tribe's Royal Court. We have a standardized work system. The daily working hours shall not exceed ten hours. If it exceeds, overtime pay will be calculated by the hour. A rotation rest period will be arranged every six days. Newcomers will receive a meal allowance in the first month. If you come to work on time, do not be late or leave early, and do not be absent from work, you will receive a full attendance bonus of 5% of your salary. If you have outstanding performance or special skills, you can participate in the technician assessment. You will enjoy a 20% salary increase for every level of technician level..."
Under the gaze of a large group of cats, minotaurs, snow wolves, and gray dwarves, Baru was not at all shy and fluently described the welfare benefits of the new hilly area...
Even when you are trying to fool people, you have to talk about the Basic Law. You have to consider the occasion when throwing out big promises about whether they can be implemented or not, whether they can be eaten or not. If you are deliberately trying to fool the other party, then the more exaggerated the better. For example, those who engage in pyramid schemes or sell health products will dare to say anything.
If you invite the other party sincerely, then there is no need to play tricks. Talking about benefits and treatment first is the most sincere and effective approach.
Several of the oldest former slave gray dwarf representatives were very excited and said on the spot that they would sign employment contracts immediately...
Baru was in a hurry to go back to work, so he waved his hand, said hello to Xiao Yun, and took the people away immediately. Before leaving, he did not forget to say goodbye to Elder Saladin who had taken care of them.
After neatly arranging more than a thousand gray dwarves and letting the tauren and new cats feel the efficiency of the Fire Department, Xiao Yun looked at the two groups of big cats who had been fighting for a long time and said with a smile: "Dwarves, goblins and centaurs are not suitable for farming. In the system of our Fire Department, they are not engaged in farm management."
"The Cat Tribe, the Snake Tribe, and our Snow Wolf Tribe can engage in farm management. Our Fire Tribe is fair and impartial in its farm support policy for the three tribes, and treats them equally."
"We will select land with water conservancy facilities according to the scale of the farm production team for reclamation. For land without water conservancy facilities, our Fire Department's engineering team will arrange people to lead the farmland water conservancy construction project. This is the first point."
"Advice on crop selection, guidance on agricultural technology, and provision of seeds, pesticides, fertilizers and agricultural machinery is the second point."
"We in the Fire Department guarantee to provide comprehensive support to the farms run by each race. During the production period, operations will be completed by each family. The amount of harvest depends entirely on how carefully you manage your own farms and fields."
These words were to set the tone first - the new cats would run the farm with the help and support of the Fire Department, rather than relying on the help of the local cats on the farm they went to!
Wake up, everyone. All farm production teams are essentially serving the Fire Department!
No matter how the local cats felt, with Xiao Yun's words, the new big cats did feel a lot more at ease... They were willing to follow because they believed that the minotaurs' words were reliable, and they also longed for the stable life described by Xia and Arthur.
The care they received along the way made them increasingly look forward to the magical multi-ethnic tribe called the "Fire Tribe".
It was not until they arrived at the Fire Tribe that Xia let them know that they had to live in the cat farm with the local cats and learn how to run a farm together. These big cats were simply the worst of the cats - although there is no saying that there can't be two tigers in one mountain, the big cats also care about their own territory, okay? !
Who can stand squeezing in with "foreign cats"!
Well... Actually, the big cats of the Fire Tribe and Xiao Yun knew that such an arrangement would cause problems in the early stages, but there was really nothing they could do about it - there were only a few big cats that could organize production on the farm, and there were not enough to go around!
As soon as Patriarch Arthur and Xia came back, they rushed to the farm to check the work without even taking a breath.
Apart from these two and Qingyan, who else can take on the responsibility?
Not even fish bones!
The local cats were a little embarrassed. Xiao Yun didn't say it explicitly, but they could hear the tone.
That's right, they are the ones who run the farm and cultivate the crops, but if it weren't for the water conservancy project led by the engineering team and the seeds, pesticides, fertilizers and agricultural machinery provided by the Fire Department, they would not be able to expand the planting scale to such a large scale and still guarantee a certain yield.
After all, the only people who can make a fortune from farming without the help of pesticides, fertilizers, and agricultural machinery are probably the Tauren...
When the Snow Wolf people first started farming, Xiao Yun tried his best to find ways to make homemade fertilizers and pesticides to assist production!
Countless hollowed-out beast nests, hollowed-out swamp mud, and flattened forest humus layers all tell of the hardships the Snow Wolf Tribe went through in the first few years of farming...
Subtly suppressing the momentum of the local cats, Xiao Yun continued to talk, looking at the new cats gently: "Regarding the distribution of farm output, I think Xia should have mentioned it to everyone. In this regard, our Fire Department has two distribution models. One is the work system, 40% of the farm output is paid to the Fire Department as seeds, pesticides, fertilizers, agricultural machinery costs, house rent, and land use fees, and 60% is paid to the farm operator as remuneration. Of the 60% of output, the part that exceeds the living needs can be exchanged with the Fire Department for other living supplies, or exchanged for currency."
"This is the distribution system implemented by our No. 1 Farm." Xiao Yun spread his hands to the seven clan leaders of No. 1 Farm, "If you prefer this distribution model, you can join the Sunny Sky Tribe, the Xiu Tribe, the Amber Tribe and other seven tribes."
"The second distribution model is the contracting and cooperative model, where all the harvest from the farm's output belongs to the farm operator. However, if the farm is contracted, it is necessary to fully repay the funds invested by the Fire Department in the early construction of the farm, and in future production, it is responsible for the farm's profits and losses, and purchases seeds, pesticides, fertilizers, and agricultural machinery by itself."
After a pause, giving the new cats some time to understand what he said, Xiao Yun continued with a smile: "Of course, this repayment process can be carried out in installments. The Fire Department will give them three years to adapt. During these three years, you can share the profits just like the employment system. After three years, when they have stabilized and adapted to the work rhythm of the farm, they can use the harvest every quarter to initially repay the Fire Department's investment."
"The contract cooperative model is harder than the labor system. It requires the whole tribe to work, shoulder debts together, and endure several years of hardship. But it is not without value. For example, the Kong tribe of our No. 2 farm switched to the contract cooperative system after adapting to the labor system for a year. The whole tribe worked together to reclaim nearly 6,000 acres of land more than other tribes and cultivated cash crops. In just one and a half years, they paid off their debts, transferred the 40 houses where their tribe lived to the Kong tribe, and successfully obtained the first priority farm land use rights."
Chief Kong felt a little embarrassed, and several clan members who had followed him to attend the meeting all puffed out their chests proudly.
"If you prefer the contracting cooperation model, you can work with Farm No. 2 where our Kong Tribe is located, or with Farm No. 3 which follows the same model." Xiao Yun concluded with a smile.
Without making a sound, Xiao Yun suppressed the farm settlement rights that the local cats thought they had, and the right of independent choice that the new cats thought they had.
There is no need to explain the former, but the principle of the latter is the same as an old mother asking her child "Do you want to eat celery or coriander?"... If you ask "Do you want to eat celery?", then you are falling behind.
Are all these new big cats really willing to work on the farm?
Don't think too much - among the more than 200 big cats in the Fire Tribe, only Chief Arthur, Xia and Qingyan have the means to hold down the heads of these guys and force them to jump into the farming pit!
Why did Xia deliberately bring up the arrangement of having new cats and old cats live together after he had tricked people into the place? It was just to make sure that these new cats didn't mind the high-intensity agricultural labor that went against their attitude towards life...
The big cats never expected that Xiao Yun would play tricks here. The local cats were too embarrassed to continue to raise the issue of "private territory being invaded by foreign cats" because the farm was not originally their territory; the new cats subconsciously ignored Xiao Yun's only mention of "suffering for a few years" and seriously discussed with the tribesmen which model would be beneficial to them...
Saladin, the minotaur elder who saw through everything belatedly, said: "..."
The red-eyed Bull Demon King turned his head silently and looked at Xiao Yun deeply.
Xiao Yun winked at him.
Saladin was very worried: Is it really okay if we don’t explain to them clearly how hard farming is?
Xiao Yun said: The boat has already sailed into the sea, can the people on board still jump off?
Saladin, who had just completed the radio communication with Xiao Yun for the first time, was shocked. Although he could not accurately interpret the information transmitted by the snow wolf cub, Saladin instinctively felt that this guy was not holding back his fart...
Xiao Yun naturally could not receive the Minotaur's radio waves. He just guessed what the Red-Eyed Bull Demon King was worried about... Couldn't the Minotaur not know how hard farming is?
Regarding this point, Xiao Yun said: Which woman who becomes a widower after marriage, helps her husband's family with poverty and has to take care of children, wasn't a spoiled girl before marriage!
Intelligent creatures have their weakest limits (physical fitness), and human women can hold up half the sky despite numerous difficulties. So, there is nothing that cats, who are several times tougher and more durable than humans, cannot endure!
If these new big cats are "sensible" and know what to do, they will get used to the hardship on the farm after a year or two at most; if they are not sensible, we have places for them to stay - they are always welcome at the construction site of the Grand Canal!
After Xiao Yun's efforts, the first group of big cats that migrated from the central region did not show any signs of being ungrateful. Nearly half of them chose the seemingly easier working model, and the other half were dispersed to farms No. 2 and No. 3.
After the new cats made their choice, Xiao Yun smiled and began to educate the local cats. To sum it up, a harmonious environment is conducive to production, and mutual help is beneficial to development. He put the good words first, and then threatened at the end - whoever disrupts the normal production order will have to stay away from the beautiful and harmonious life on the farm temporarily, and go to the Grand Canal construction site for half a year to transform and sublimate his ideological realm.
Although they didn't object out loud at first, the local big cats showed their rejection clearly on their faces and were convinced at once.
Elder Saladin who was watching the whole process: "..."
The red-eyed Bull Demon King turned his head again and looked at Xiao Yun deeply, deeply.
Xiao Yun blinked innocently.
As an elder of the True Holy Mother Minotaur clan, Saladin really couldn't stand seeing oppression and bullying happening before his eyes.
A group of big cats can be convinced by just one sentence "labor reform education at the construction site". Saladin is very suspicious about how much psychological trauma Xiao Yun, a guy who seems less and less like a good person the more he interacts with them, has caused to these cats.
But with the simple worldview of the Tauren, Saladin also intuitively discovered that the spirits and complexions of these local cats were quite good, and their clothes, shoes, belts, hats and other accessories showed that they lived a more prosperous life than when they went to their own tribe to beg for money, so his doubts were not quite justified...
With such confusion in mind, after the arrangements for the new cats were finalized, Saladin decided not to rush back to his hometown, but to go to the cat farm to see it with his own eyes.
"Of course, that's no problem." Xiao Yun immediately asked the centaurs in the tribe who were doing short-distance land transportation (mostly the old and weak) to send the minotaurs to Farm No. 1 first. (The new cats had to carry their own supplies after the Fire Tribe had equipped them with basic living supplies.)
After following a small convoy pulled by a group of half-grown Centaurs for two hours, they arrived at the cat farm. Saladin and the several accompanying Minotaur warriors' eyes lit up.
The work atmosphere at Farm No. 1 is not as good as that at Farm No. 2 and Farm No. 3, but these big cats have been squatting in this farm for two and a half years and have managed their living environment well:
Flowers and plants are planted wherever they can be grown, and onions, garlic, green vegetables and other vegetables are planted together with the flowers and plants; the gray cement exterior walls of the buildings are carefully painted with a self-mixed outer layer of paint (mixed with colored minerals + lime), and the color matching is quite particular; the areas reserved between the various living areas in the farm are arranged with seats for people to rest, and the places where people can sit are patiently polished with picked up wood roots to make them especially smooth.
In addition to these visible life interests that are much more refined than those of the Fire Department, the "bourgeois style" of the big cats is even more vividly reflected in the details: all the dormitory windowsills are decorated with flower pots, wood carvings, beautifully shaped fruit cores and other decorations, all the doors are etched with patterns using tools such as claws and knives, and all the branches of the big trees that have not been removed and exist as landscape trees are tied with homemade simple swings...
Saladin walked into a living area at random, picked a dormitory window and looked inside, and found that the cat tribe even made the interior of the dormitory particularly exquisite and warm - not to mention the mats, pillows and bedding that matched the Fire Tribe, the kang they slept on even had its own "nest"-like isolation. On the wall side of the kang, there were some wooden racks to place personal belongings and clothes, and on the wall were decorations woven with colorful wool and feathers!
From the perspective of the snow werewolves, these so-called "life interests" that the cat tribe engages in on the farm are just a waste of time; but in the eyes of the minotaurs who are visitors, it is completely different - these are things that people can only engage in when they have a sufficient and stable life!
"It seems that the cat tribe is living well with the snow werewolves." A minotaur warrior following Saladin said with appreciation.
"Yeah, I used to think that only the cat tribe leader could dress so neatly. Now it seems that the cat tribe living with the snow werewolves have no shortage of clothes to wear." Another warrior also said.
Elder Saladin did not say anything, but judging from his constantly nodding chin and satisfied look, he also agreed deeply.
The canteen in the farm was run by the Snow Wolfs, and there were also special dormitories for the Snow Wolfs. Elder Saladin stayed there for two days and ate in the canteen. He chatted with the cats working in the farm whenever he had time. During this time, Chief Arthur, who was in charge of Farm No. 1, did not interfere at all and let the Taurens do what they wanted.
After a "visit", it was found that what was passed on from the cat tribe to Elder Saladin's ears was indeed no bad words about the Snow Wolf Tribe and the Fire Tribe. Instead, it was all dissatisfaction with certain management and clan leaders in his own family - the farm and the Fire Tribe had smooth communication, and compared with the dedication of the clan leaders of the Fire Tribe, the clan leaders of his own family were very outrageous!
As the saying goes, what is worrying is not the lack of supplies but the inequality. The big cats on the farm have had plenty of supplies in the past two years and have everything they need, but they are worried about the "inequality"!
After hearing this so many times, Elder Saladin naturally said, "Why doesn't the Fire Department take care of this matter?"
"Chief Arthur said that the Fire Tribe believes that interfering in other tribes' internal affairs is a bad thing, and hopes that we can solve it ourselves." The cat warrior who came to complain to Elder Saladin during lunch break said with an unhappy look on his face, "We have been fighting for so long, but we only got Chief Arthur to support us. The distribution of farm harvests cannot be decided by the chief alone, and all managers must agree."
Elder Saladin frowned deeply. He already felt something was wrong. A strong sense of disobedience kept dancing in the mind of this wise Tauren: allocating tribal resources was originally the power of the patriarch. Why was it that the patriarch was not responsible for allocating daily necessities on the cat farm, and even now the farm output is not decided by the patriarch? Why would he feel a sense of identity with this?
But thinking about it, whether it is the daily necessities provided by the Fire Tribe or the output of the farm, they are all obtained by the sweat of these big cats. Elder Saladin thinks that there is nothing wrong with this, and even vaguely feels that the clan leaders who only do light work are taking advantage...
The cat warrior didn't notice Saladin's dilemma. He had been to the Hor Tribe many times before to collect money for his own tribe, so he was familiar with Saladin. He kept complaining, "None of the chiefs of the Fire Tribe live an easy life. Last time, I heard from the centaur cubs who were delivering goods that even their chief (Sael) went to the human kingdom to make money. He sent back a lot of gold coins last winter and built several good houses for the centaurs to live in in the northeast of the Fire Tribe."
"Where is our tribe's chief, Sunny Day? I guess he doesn't think about anything else except how to make everyone in the tribe listen to him!"
Saladin nodded and said from the bottom of his heart: "This is indeed not good. A patriarch who wants to gain the respect of his people should work harder than them."
"You think so too, Elder Saladin. Then please help us talk to Chief Arthur." The cat warrior pleaded.
"This..." Saladin hesitated, and after thinking for a while, he said, "The Fire Tribe believes that they should not interfere in the internal affairs of other tribes. They have their reasons."
The cat warrior was unable to convince the minotaur to help, so he had to leave with regret.
The minotaurs stayed there for another two days, and then eight new cat tribes came to the farm carrying their own supplies and a group of snow wolves who helped guide them in building houses.
The entire engineering team was busy working on the Grand Canal project and could not spare any manpower. Fortunately, building a single-story house did not require much technical difficulty and anyone who had worked in the engineering team could do it. In addition, it was now the slack season after summer planting, so Xiao Yun drew people from various farms and formed an amateur engineering team to build houses for the cats.
On the day of their arrival, the group of snow wolves who came to help organized the new cat tribe to select a site and dig the foundation.
Saladin was also curious about how the snow werewolves of the Fire Tribe would organize the work of the cat tribe, so he went to visit.
After watching for a day, Saladin was very silent...
The Snow Wolf Tribe did not force all the cat tribe members to participate in the work. All the tribe leaders just watched from the side.
In the past, Saladin didn't care whether the work distribution of other tribes was fair or not. But after learning about the cooperation and profit-sharing model between the Fire Tribe and the Cat Tribe, and hearing the complaints and requests of the cat warriors, Saladin felt uncomfortable when he saw the tribe leaders standing on the construction site pointing and criticizing...
It’s not to say that all cat tribe leaders are lazy and hate work, but to be honest, after listening to the two cooperation profit-sharing models given by the Fire Department, the tribe leaders who chose the working model without hesitation basically have no ambition to lead the tribe to conquer the country and be the master of the family. They just want to bully others in their own nest...
Xiao Yun specifically asked Saladin to come to Farm No. 1, just to let the minotaur understand from the side the difficulties faced by the Snow Wolf Tribe in being the decision-makers of the grassland and leading the people of the grassland to work and get rich: When faced with a patriarch who clearly wants to ride on the heads of his people and enjoy himself, as the guide, what degree of interference should the Snow Wolf Tribe take?
You, the Tauren, are the Virgin Mary, but your assistance to other races has not reached the level of providing all-round support for others to stand up on their own, so you have no idea how big the conflict and conceptual differences are between those who are eager for development and the conservative old forces that are holding them back. Now, please take a good look, experience, and think about it!
When the minotaur, who had been staying at the cat farm for ten days, returned to the Fire Tribe and said goodbye , Elder Saladin became particularly silent and did not even show that deep look in his eyes.
Xiao Yun didn't seem to have any intention of trying to find out what the Minotaur was thinking. He politely packed up the gift and sent the Minotaur away, then turned around and continued packing.
Yu was not good at speaking and not very clever, but he was direct enough. He sent Elder Saladin out of the Fire Tribe territory, then turned back to find Xiao Yun and said, "Ah Yun, don't you even ask about the Minotaur's attitude?"
"No need to ask. It's true that our Fire and Flame Tribe hopes to unite all the races on the grassland, and we can't get around the Minotaur, but not every action of ours needs the Minotaur's approval." Xiao Yun stopped packing and explained patiently, "As long as they know that the path chosen by our Fire and Flame Tribe is different from that of the Tiger Tribe and them, and that we make every choice and do every thing after careful consideration and consideration for the sake of harmony and stability, then even if the Minotaur don't understand our approach, I think they won't oppose it too fiercely."
"If we directly say this kind of thing, people will be disgusted. Let them see and feel it for themselves and let them think about it for themselves. This is much more useful than us saying it ourselves."
Yu scratched his head. It was a bit difficult for him to understand this truth which could only be understood but not expressed in words, but he had not wasted all these years and seemed to have understood something.
Xiao Yun smiled and patted Yu's arm: "Don't worry about it. You will figure it out after thinking about it slowly. Go back and prepare your things first. We have to go to Isaac to perform the war ball show."
If the Fire Tribe unified the grassland by peaceful means, the Tiger Tribe was the first hurdle, and the Minotaur was the second hurdle.
Xiao Yun has always maintained a distant but not close relationship with this group of grassland Virgin Marys. The reason is: although this group of true Virgin Marys are indeed very influential, being friends with the Virgin Mary is not a good thing!
The saintly lady betrays her teammates, but the real saintly lady will also betray her teammates!
So it’s better to just be acquaintances!
Of course, this doesn't mean that Xiao Yun can just ignore the Minotaur and treat it as a nobody who can be dismissed or dealt with casually. Even if he doesn't seek support, he must get the Minotaur's understanding... Otherwise, how frustrating would it be to have another Minotaur blocking his way out of nowhere?
Therefore, Xiao Yun must show Elder Saladin: We, the Snow Wolf Clan, are definitely not hegemonic tribes that interfere in the internal affairs of other tribes. We, the Snow Wolf Clan, also have our own difficulties... Since you, a bunch of true saints, sympathize with everyone, then sympathize with us who are doing organizational work!
