Chapter 175: The Competition Concludes, One Surprise After Another

Regarding the new six departments of Great Xia, the only ones that truly changed were the Pioneering and Hunting departments; the other four merely had their suffixes altered.

Aside from the Department of Camp Needs needing a new Director, the Directors of the Logging, Gathering, and Craftsman departments remained the same people, with basically no changes at all.

After stating the changes to be made to the six departments, Xia Hong simply washed his hands of the subsequent matters, dumping everything onto Xia Chuan, the newly appointed Chief Administrator.

First, set up temporary dwellings; prepare for the reconstruction of the wooden building in the camp; take inventory of the camp's various material stockpiles; restore pre-war material supplies; urge the camp's reserves and children to return to their cultivation...

Xia Chuan began to arrange the camp's current tasks in an orderly manner.

On the other side, Director Yu Wen Tao also took a portion of the people and began to formulate specific regulations and operational details for the Hunting Department.

The day passed quickly, and the wooden house, which had been silent for a night, began to grow noisy once again.

The three thousand-plus people who had just arrived from the Jingxian Camp were unaccustomed to the new environment and were mostly still in a daze; the people of Great Xia were different—almost everyone had walked out of the wooden house and thrown themselves into the intense reconstruction tasks.

The advantage of having many hands suddenly became apparent.

Half the night had barely passed when another fifty-meter-wide square wooden shed was erected.

The crowd that had been pre-allocated moved in droves from the original building into the new one, and the camp population suddenly felt much less crowded.

"My lord, building one more temporary wooden house is enough; it's only meant to tide us over for a while."

At the front of the valley, Mu Dong found Xia Chuan to report that the temporary wooden house construction was complete, and continued:

"Reconstruction work on the wooden building has already begun. More than half of those in the Earth-Digging Realm are mining in the pits, and another portion is forging iron materials. A large number of those in the Woodcutting Realm have also started heading out. We are using the original ground piles. Barring any accidents, we can start work tomorrow night. With so many people participating, the speed will be very fast."

"So many people" was not just a simple phrase.

Xia Chuan looked around the valley, watching the crowds coming and going—several times more than before—and his expression was very spirited.

"110 in the Earth-Digging Realm, over 1,500 in the Woodcutting Realm, and the remaining 3,000-plus people—as long as there is enough cold beast meat, more people will continue to break through. I estimate it won't even take a month and a half. Let's speed up the time; everyone is likely uncomfortable being squeezed into two wooden sheds."

"Yes!"

After Mu Dong answered, he turned and went to busy himself with his own affairs.

Shi Ping happened to walk over and bowed to Xia Chuan: "My lord, Director Yu Wen Tao and all those with cultivation above the Woodcutting Realm have been registered. The total number of people in the Woodcutting Realm in the camp is currently 1,581. This batch added 982 people, with 599 from the original camp."

1,581!

Anyone who breaks through to the Woodcutting Realm must be included in the contribution value system, and the people from the Jingxian Camp were naturally no exception.

Hearing 1,581, Xia Chuan nodded slightly; the number was about what he had expected.

"The nine hundred-plus new Woodcutting Realm members have all entered the four departments of Camp Needs, Logging, Gathering, and Craftsman. Among them, the Logging and Gathering departments have the most, while the Craftsman and Camp Needs departments only recruited a very small amount."

"By the way, has the material situation in the Camp Needs department been inventoried?"

Shi Ping frowned slightly, his expression heavy: "Animal hides, Rattan-horn tendons, poison sacs, Frostwolf bones, Golden Trauma Powder... the damage to these material supplies isn't too severe. It's just the beast meat—it has decreased a lot. We originally had a reserve of 160,000 jin, but after just taking inventory, we found there is less than 30,000 jin left."

Hearing this, Xia Chuan's expression suddenly became heavy as well.

Although casualties were not high during this cold beast tide, the loss of property was very severe. After those cold beasts trampled the wooden house, the cold beast meat and various properties in the second-floor warehouse of the Camp Needs department were all ravaged.

Cold beasts also eat their own kind, so that much cold beast meat naturally became their primary target for destruction.

Cold beast meat is currently the camp's most important consumable material.

Losing 130,000 jin all at once is no small impact.

"30,000 jin. Based on the camp's current population—1,581 in the Woodcutting Realm, 110 in the Earth-Digging Realm, and the remaining 3,000 people, with reserves accounting for more than two-thirds, and the rest under six years old having a monthly quota of five jin—calculating this way, even if they only exchange for what they need for their own cultivation, the daily consumption of cold beast meat is at least over 10,000 jin."

After Shi Ping roughly calculated the accounts, he continued: "I have already notified everyone. Currently, cold beast meat reserves are tight, and everyone can only exchange according to individual needs; no extra is allowed. Even so, the inventory dropped by over 4,000 jin as soon as night fell."

It sounds like only 4,000-plus, but that is because Director Yu Wen Tao and the others who just merged in have only just been registered and have not yet earned contribution points, so naturally, they cannot exchange.

This means that the original one thousand-plus people of Great Xia consume over 4,000 jin of beast meat daily; once the remaining three thousand-plus people also start exchanging, the consumption will immediately skyrocket.

"Has Director Yu Wen Tao been notified of these circumstances?"

Shi Ping nodded immediately and replied: "As soon as the cold beast meat reserve was inventoried, I went to explain the situation to Lord Director Yu Wen. When I went, he and Hong Guang and the others were discussing the details of the Hunting Department. Results should be out soon."

Xia Chuan's expression finally relaxed a little. Since there is a severe shortage of cold beast meat, the work of the Hunting Department must be restored quickly.

His elder brother has already said that, except for special circumstances, he will no longer interfere with the camp's hunting work, so the future intake of cold beast meat will belong entirely to these people below him.

"Why, is there something you want to tell me?"

Seeing Shi Ping's face full of hesitation, Xia Chuan's heart stirred, and he asked curiously.

Shi Ping hesitated for a moment, and after thinking it over, he spoke with a hint of indignation:

"My lord, Hong Guang, Hong Tian, and the other three seem to have strong opinions about your position as Chief Administrator. Furthermore, they also have opinions about the competition for the Director of the Pioneering Department. Looking at the situation, they feel the leader is biased!"

Hearing this, Xia Chuan's expression lifted slightly.

"Did you hear all this with your own ears?"

"Yes, I accidentally heard it when I went to find Director Yu Wen Tao after nightfall."

"Did Director Yu Wen Tao say anything?"

Shi Ping's originally indignant expression softened a little, and he shook his head: "Among them, I think only this Director Yu Wen Tao is not bad; he stopped them from continuing to talk."

Hearing that Director Yu Wen Tao stopped Hong Guang and the others, Xia Chuan's expression cleared slightly, and he said:

"That is enough. After all, they are three thousand-plus people coming in; it is normal for them not to know their place. As long as Director Yu Wen Tao can recognize it, their mindset will naturally turn around after some time."

Giving the position of Director of the Hunting Department is already the greatest concession these people could make.

Although the Jingxian Camp has three thousand-plus people, they are, after all, the defeated side. By common sense, being given a normal status is already quite good.

This is also because Great Xia is indeed short of people; otherwise, given the previous conflicts between Jingxian and Great Xia, whether these people could receive normal treatment would be a question.

One must know that Director Yu Wen Tao and the others not only had the blood of Great Xia's Earth-Digging Realm members on their hands, but even participated in the siege of his elder brother, Xia Hong.

"In my opinion, they are just ungrateful. The leader is magnanimous and does not hold their previous mistakes against them, but we haven't forgotten. Fortunately, the widows and orphans of Li Yun and Li Kaiping are sensible and didn't come out to make trouble; otherwise, just for the sake of these two families, we should properly discipline them."

"Do not say these things ever again!"

Xia Chuan frowned and interrupted Shi Ping directly.

The two camps had so many conflicts before; this sudden merger will certainly have problems. It seems true integration will still take some time.

Xia Chuan changed the subject and asked Shi Ping: "By the way, are you interested in the position of Director of the Camp Needs Department?"

Hearing this question, a struggle appeared on Shi Ping's face.

"You have basically handled all the affairs of the Camp Needs Office before, and now your strength is sufficient. The leader asked me to choose a successor. For a moment, besides you, I really couldn't think of anyone else."

Xia Chuan saw the struggle on Shi Ping's face and immediately knew what he was hesitating about, so he continued:

"As for the position of Director of the Pioneering Department, let alone Hong Guang, Hong Tian, and the other three, even if Luo Yuan, Yuan Cheng, Yue Feng, and others were interested, you wouldn't be able to compete. My suggestion is that you honestly take the position of Director of the Camp Needs Department. In the future, you will also have a place in the camp's decision-making layer."

Xia Chuan's thinking was already quite mature.

He could clearly see that the reason Shi Ping, Luo Yuan, and these people pursued the six departments' positions was to enter the camp's decision-making layer.

Shi Ping indeed did a good job in the Camp Needs Office and possessed talent in this area.

Now that there is a shortcut to directly become a Director of the six departments, he has no reason to refuse.

The struggle on Shi Ping's face quickly disappeared, and he clearly made a decision in his heart. He bowed to Xia Chuan and said solemnly:

"My lord, I have thought it through. I still want to enter the Pioneering Department. Although I covet the position in the Camp Needs Department, to tell the truth, whether it is to contribute to the camp or to broaden my own horizons, I still yearn more to go to the outside world. I hope my lord can fulfill my wish."

Seeing Shi Ping so solemn, Xia Chuan did not force him further and nodded: "Good, then I will look for other candidates!"

Although the Camp Needs Department has complex tasks, its power is not small, as it controls all the camp's materials and interfaces with almost everyone. There are quite a few people who covet this position.

That Shi Ping could voluntarily give it up proves that he truly yearns for the outside world. Xia Chuan naturally found it hard to say anything more, and his mind began to think of other candidates.

Yuan Cheng is definitely not okay; he is too reckless and cannot handle this delicate work.

Lin Kai, Yue Feng, Qiu Peng, Lu Yang, and Xu Ning—these five are all okay.

After thinking for a while, Xia Chuan decided to go talk to the five of them separately, inspect them first, and then make a decision.

………………

Great Xia Year 1, March 20th.

Director Yu Wen Tao took Hong Guang and the other four and sat around a corner of the wooden house.

The six people, who had discussed for a long time, looked tired, but they all had smiles on their faces, clearly very satisfied with the results of their discussion.

"The details and regulations produced by the Hunting Department are temporarily just these. If there are any changes later, we will talk about them. I will go report to the Chief Administrator first."

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The six people got up and prepared to find Xia Chuan. Upon rising, they discovered that many people in the wooden house were surrounding the stove, and from time to time, bursts of noise came from inside, appearing very lively.

Curiosity appeared on the faces of the six, and they squeezed in directly.

After entering, they discovered Xia Chuan standing above, holding a wooden board facing the crowd, speaking loudly.

"The Timber Ranking has been read out. Now is the Coal Mine Ranking:"

"First place, Yuan Cheng, 1,780 points, reward 2,000 contribution points;"

"Second place, Yue Feng, 1,650 points, reward 1,900 contribution points;"

"Third place, Hong Gang, 1,590 points, reward 1,800 contribution points;"

"Fourth place………………"

This is?

A hint of curiosity appeared in the eyes of Director Yu Wen Tao and the other five. Hong Guang directly plucked a young man from the side.

"Who the hell is pulling me... ah, Dad, Second Uncle, Brother Tao..."

The young man's reaction was a bit big, and he had already started cursing, but upon seeing that it was Hong Guang pulling him, he shrank his neck in fear and hurriedly called out to them.

The young man was named Hong Yu, Hong Guang's eldest son, fifteen years old this year, two years younger than Director Yu Wen Tao. Although young, he had already broken through to the Woodcutting Realm for over a year.

"Little Yu, what is going on?"

Hong Yu had played behind his back since he was a child, and Director Yu Wen Tao also had a very good relationship with him, so he asked directly.

"I heard it's a mining competition Great Xia held a while ago. Today is the settlement period, and they are just announcing the rankings. The Timber Ranking takes the top thirty; first place was rewarded with 800 contribution points, and the thirtieth place was also rewarded with 300 points; coal takes five; first place 2,000, fifth place is 1,500. Now they are announcing the Iron Ore Ranking, listen..."

"Below, announcing the Iron Ore Ranking:"

"First place, Luo Yuan, 3,290 points, reward 2,000 contribution points;"

"Second place, Xia Chuan, 3,210 points, reward 1,900 contribution points;"

"Third place, Zhao Long, 3,100 points, reward 1,800 contribution points;"

"…………"

Sure enough, Director Yu Wen Tao tilted his head to listen, and Xia Chuan above was indeed announcing the Iron Ore Ranking.

"One point can be exchanged for 2 jin of cold beast meat, and rewarding 2,000 contribution points all at once—this is a generous gesture. What is the deal with these mining quantity points?"

Hearing his father's inquiry, Hong Yu immediately stated what he knew.

"I just asked around. Great Xia's calculation of wood, coal, and iron resources is different from ours. They count 1,000 jin of timber as one point; 20 jin of coal stone as one point; 10 jin of iron ore as one point. This competition started on the 27th of the first month. I heard it was held for the leader Xia Hong's breakthrough. I am a bit curious, what does this resource mining have to do with the leader's breakthrough?"

Hearing Hong Yu's final curious question, a glimmer of light flashed in Director Yu Wen Tao's eyes, thinking of the scene where Xia Hong directly made millions of jin of coal and iron disappear at the Jingxian Camp.

"Have you all noticed that the temperature in this wooden house is very abnormal?"

Compared to Director Yu Wen Tao and the other five, Hong Yu's understanding of the camp was clearly deeper.

The six people had spent the previous day discussing Hunting Department matters. Hearing Hong Yu's question now, they suddenly woke up. There was clearly only one stove lit in the wooden house, yet the temperature was terrifyingly high, much warmer than outside.

Director Yu Wen Tao was the first to cast his gaze toward the stove in the center of the room, which was over a meter in diameter. The others followed suit, their eyes full of curiosity.

Of course they had seen coal-burning stoves.

But could a stove with a diameter of only one meter make a fifty-meter-wide wooden house warm?

No, not just the wooden house; there was at least a hundred-meter radius outside the wooden house where the temperature was no different from inside.

"Brother Tao, see it now, right? I heard from Great Xia people that that stove is a divine object brought out by the leader Xia Hong. As long as it is lit, it can raise the temperature within a hundred-meter radius. That is to say, as long as you are within a hundred meters of the stove, you don't need to light a fire at all to keep warm. I tried it myself, and it really is like that. Isn't it magical?"

At this, what was in Director Yu Wen Tao's eyes was no longer just curiosity, but shock.

Hong Guang and the other four were the same. Only now did they discover that this plain-looking stove had such divine effects.

"By the way, besides keeping warm, this stove can also defend against strange monsters. I heard that they previously discovered strange monsters breaking into the camp."

Not just this stove; I asked around a lot yesterday, and there seem to be quite a few magical things in Great Xia.

"A polishing hammer that can be molded into any shape;"

"Wooden dummies that change into the appearance of cold beasts;"

"Green bamboo fences that are very similar to our snow bamboo, and even more powerful;"

"Marker stones that can monitor life signs within a one-kilometer radius;"

"Medicine-boiling pots that can automatically record medicinal materials and generate drug formulas;"

"Small torches, fire-condensing oil…………"

As Hong Yu listed the magical items he had inquired about yesterday one by one, the expressions of Director Yu Wen Tao, Hong Guang, and the other five changed repeatedly, and in the end, their faces were even somewhat incredulous.

This kid, has he lost his mind?

"There is one more thing I heard them say: the leader Xia Hong has a martial arts training ground. Spending 20 contribution points allows you to go in and practice for a day. The efficiency of practicing in there is double that of the outside!"

Hong Yu finally mentioned the martial arts training ground, which directly left Director Yu Wen Tao and the other six stunned, unable to speak for a long time.

Slap…………

In the end, Hong Guang couldn't help it and directly gave his son a slap.

"You kid, are you confused? Where did you hear this, and you dare to take it seriously!"

"It's true, Father, Brother Tao. When I first heard it, I also thought it was fake, but later I asked several Great Xia people, and they all said it was true. And several of them have gone in to practice. I can be sure it is absolutely true. I also plan to save up contribution points. As long as I can go in and practice for a few days, I will definitely be able to break through to the Earth-Digging Realm soon."

Hong Guang saw this and was about to take action again, but was stopped by Director Yu Wen Tao.

"Uncle Hong, don't be anxious yet. Little Yu wouldn't be so easily deceived..."

Although he said so, there was still some disbelief in Director Yu Wen Tao's eyes.

Cultivation efficiency, increased by double?

How could such an incredible thing be possible!

Not necessarily. If the martial arts training ground matter is incredible, then the things Hong Yu mentioned earlier are also very difficult to understand.

"Brother Tao, believe me. I have already seen the torches and the fire-condensing oil. Great Xia has over a thousand people; it's impossible for them to unite to deceive me. Besides, it's not just me asking around; Zhu Kang and Meng Ao were also asking last night. They might know even more than I do. If you don't believe me, ask them."

Zhu Kang is Zhu Ling's son, and Meng Ao is Meng Yi's son. The two are similar in age to Hong Yu and are also at the age where they are lively and love to ask around everywhere.

In fact, Director Yu Wen Tao already believed it seven-tenths in his heart.

He understood Hong Yu, his playmate since childhood, and knew he was definitely not someone who would speak without evidence. Since he dared to say so, he must be sure.

"It seems this Great Xia still has quite a few surprises waiting for us to discover!"

Director Yu Wen Tao spoke slowly, a few glimmers of spirit added to his eyes.

"Director Yu Wen Tao, how is the preparation for the Hunting Department going?"

Coincidentally, Xia Chuan, who had finished the mining competition rewards, also walked toward Director Yu Wen Tao.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 176 =====