Chapter 85: Team and New Residence |
"Four goat horn chisels, ten saws, five hammers, three iron knives."
Goat horn chisels for mining, saws for logging, hammers for forging tools and building houses, iron knives for daily cutting of Frost Beast meat—as these four types of tools were laid out before him, a glimmer of light flashed in Xia Hong's eyes.
During his first time using the Grinding Stone for forging, he had considered creating some practical tools for the camp, but the problem was the limited iron ore, so he had to prioritize weapons first.
Iron tools might seem like small items, but actually putting them to use was no easy task; let alone making them widespread—that was even more difficult.
The fact that Rogge Camp had mining capabilities for over ten years yet only possessed these twenty-plus small tools spoke volumes about the challenge.
Beside the twenty-plus small tools were neatly stacked 3,000 jin of iron ore and 4,500 jin of coal. After calculating in his mind for a moment, Xia Hong turned to Xia Chuan beside him and said:
"Chuan, go notify all Lumberjack Realm members in the camp to come here."
"Yes, leader."
After having people move all the coal and iron ore near the Iron Smelting Furnace, Xia Hong added coal and directly placed iron ore on top to begin smelting. Then he brought over the Grinding Stone, sat beside it, reviewed the Frost Beast scroll given by Luo Ming while quietly waiting for the iron ore to melt.
Xia Chuan, Yuan Cheng, Yue Feng, Lin Kai, Qiu Peng, Lu Yang, Xu Ning, Xu An, Liu Yuan, and Li Yuankun—the original ten from Great Xia stood on the left.
As the fifteen people from Rogge Camp on the right all arrived, through Xia Chuan's introductions, Xia Hong learned their names: Luo Yuan, Cheng Feng, Bai Wuting, Bai Dongying, Tong Xinglong, Li Yun, brothers Li Pingkai and Li Longkai, Zou Yuankai, brothers Ying Xuan and Ying Yi, the three Zhao brothers Zhao Long, Zhao Hu, and Zhao Bao, and Lu Sheng.
Among the fifteen on the right, Xia Hong immediately recognized the person standing at the front—Luo Yuan, the same man who had openly questioned whether he could deliver when announcing the meat distribution rules earlier.
Luo Yuan and the three Zhao brothers were all equipped with large knives and bows, while the four Li and Ying brothers also carried bows on their backs, with the final bow carried by Zou Yuankai.
Noticing how the other fourteen stood half a step behind Luo Yuan, clearly regarding him as their leader, Xia Hong's mind stirred slightly as he raised an eyebrow.
"Everyone sit down first!"
Seeing all twenty-five people sitting on the ground, Xia Hong fiddled with the iron ore in the smelting furnace while speaking: "According to previously established rules, only those at Digging Realm can join the hunting team, but obviously that's not feasible right now, so I need to select some from among you to temporarily join the hunting team first..."
Here, Xia Hong paused briefly before continuing:
"Hunting team members will receive a daily ration of ten jin of Frost Beast meat."
Hearing this last part from Xia Hong, the breathing of the ten people on the left—Xia Chuan and others—instantly grew heavier, their eyes burning with intensity;
Meanwhile, the fifteen people on Luo Yuan's side showed relatively calm reactions, clearly not believing Xia Hong could hunt that many Frost Beasts.
Xia Hong naturally understood Luo Yuan's group's thoughts, but he didn't explain, simply continuing: "The specific selection method will be announced three days later. The evening after tomorrow, Xu Ning, Qiu Peng, Luo Yuan, Zou Yuankai, the three Zhao brothers, the four from Li and Ying families, and... Xia Chuan—these twelve will come with me for hunting."
Hearing the first eleven names, Luo Yuan and others showed no surprise on their faces. Aside from the large knives carried by him and the three Zhao brothers, the camp currently only had eleven bows total, and these bows were all in the hands of the eleven people Xia Hong had just named.
Only when they finally heard Xia Chuan's name did a trace of surprise appear on their faces, but after glancing at Xia Chuan and considering his relationship with Xia Hong, they said nothing, simply lowering their heads in silence.
On the other side, those not selected—Yuan Cheng, Yue Feng, and others—showed anxious expressions on their faces.
Seeing the anxiety on Yuan Cheng's group's faces, Xia Hong gently waved his hand:
"Don't worry, people from Huang Zhao and Dachuan Camp haven't arrived yet. This isn't the final list. After three days when everyone is gathered, I'll hold a fair and just selection process. Whether you can join will depend entirely on your strength."
After saying this, Xia Hong turned his gaze to Luo Yuan's group of four:
"However, weapons are limited, so I'm stating this clearly in advance: aside from this knife in my hand, the camp only has five large knives and eleven bows total. These thirteen weapons will only be available to those who make it into the hunting team!"
Hearing Xia Hong's words, Luo Yuan and the others all changed expressions simultaneously.
Luo Yuan even took a step forward as if wanting to say something, but meeting Xia Hong's gaze, he lowered his head and remained silent.
Public use of resources with no private property—this was how things worked in every camp, including Rogge Camp before, especially for precious resources like iron weapons.
The weapons Luo Ming left behind before departing weren't meant for them.
Luo Yuan and his people had privately claimed these weapons, and while Xia Hong hadn't called them out on it, he certainly wouldn't indulge them by letting them keep their claim.
"The remaining Lumberjack Realm members will temporarily serve as lumberjack team members. While we're out hunting, your logging work cannot stop. From now on, picking Crystal Fruit will also fall to the lumberjack team. During the selection three days later, you'll also participate, and a captain will be chosen based on strength. The captain will arrange all logging and fruit-picking matters going forward and will receive the same benefits as hunting team members."
The resource gap for system buildings always existed, so wood accumulation definitely couldn't stop—the same actually applied to coal and iron ore.
The coal mine previously mined by Rogge Camp was located at Redwood Ridge, with its position clearly marked on the map Luo Ming provided; the iron ore was even more convenient, located in a cave on the south side of the valley. With goat horn chisels available, theoretically mining these two resources shouldn't stop either.
The problem was, currently only Xia Hong had reached Digging Realm. Forging weapons, hunting, and all major and minor camp affairs all depended on him alone. Forget mining coal and digging iron—even his own cultivation was becoming difficult to maintain.
One person simply couldn't be in multiple places at once, so he could only prioritize what was most important.
Having already made bold claims before the entire camp, hunting became the most critical task at hand. Otherwise, when people from Huang Zhao and Dachuan Camps arrived, if Frost Beast meat supply couldn't keep up, it would be a slap to his own face.
"In the short term, trying to improve hunting capability through cultivation definitely isn't feasible—we can only find solutions through iron tools."
Xia Hong looked at the nearly melted iron ore in the furnace, thought for a moment, then took the Grinding Stone in hand and began shaping it according to his ideas.
Before he could work for long, Luo Yuan approached with another person.
"Leader, this is Mu Dong!"
Xia Hong looked up to see a roughly forty-year-old middle-aged man with honest features step out from behind Luo Yuan, bowing respectfully to him.
"This humble Mu Dong pays respects to the leader."
Unsure why the two were seeking him out, confusion showed in Xia Hong's eyes.
"Leader, Mu Dong is our camp's only remaining carpenter. He says this wooden house has hidden dangers and needs to speak with you personally."
A carpenter?
Hearing Luo Yuan's words, Xia Hong's eyes immediately lit up, his gaze toward Mu Dong becoming much more intense.
"Leader, because this wooden house was temporarily built after the disaster, focusing only on speed, stability and concealment weren't considered. The wood was also randomly selected. Over time, even if not discovered by Frost Beasts from the mountains, it will collapse under snow accumulation. It can't house people long-term—we need to build new houses quickly."
Xia Hong nodded. He had noticed the wooden house's problems earlier, but with limited timber available, he planned to wait until more wood was accumulated.
"Besides building wooden houses, what else can you do?"
Hearing this, Mu Dong looked somewhat awkward, explaining: "Leader jests. This humble one hasn't even reached Lumberjack Realm strength—I can't even move those trees. How could I build wooden houses? I just learned some wooden structure knowledge from following previous carpenter masters for a while."
Seeing the confusion on Xia Hong's face, Luo Yuan quickly explained: "Rogge Camp previously had three Lumberjack Realm carpenters. Two died in the Wood Puppet Abomination incident, one of them being Mu Dong's master."
Xia Hong didn't need to ask to know the other must have left with Luo Ming. After thinking for a moment, he said to Mu Dong: "From today onward, you'll join the lumberjack team with lumberjack team member benefits. Before breaking through to Lumberjack Realm, stay in the camp. Regarding the wooden house matter, let me first tell you my concept..."
Hearing he'd joined the lumberjack team, Mu Dong was already thrilled, not to mention not having to go outside before breaking through to Lumberjack Realm. He quickly pricked up his ears, attentively listening to Xia Hong's following words.
For the camp's new residence, Xia Hong already had ideas in mind, but previously lacked professional people to handle it while being overwhelmed with various tasks himself. Now that he finally had a semi-expert, he naturally intended to make full use of this opportunity.