Chapter 77: Mu Gai Work

In the blink of an eye, a week passed. Under the soldiers' notification, the herders of the tribe came to the tribe one after another to hold a grand meeting. When each soldier notified their own household, they would bring the grain accumulated over this week back home.

Due to the tight schedule, everyone could only carry two bags of grain; Ha Ming was one of them.

He was seen untying the two bags of grain from the horse's back and handing them to his mother, but his mother did not accept the grain. Instead, she asked in panic: "Ha Ming, tell your mother the truth. Is this your selling price? You must return this grain immediately, say some good words to the steward, and don't let him take you as a sacrificial offering."

Ha Ming, at a loss between laughter and tears, said: "Mother, what are you talking about? This is grain issued by the new Shaman to us who protect the tribe. It has nothing to do with a selling price."

"Why does he issue grain to you?" Ha's mother asked, unable to lower her guard, puzzled.

"The Shaman, my lord, said that we are the people who protect the tribe's lives and property, so we should be issued grain. Of course, we must complete the Shaman, my lord's training first. Oh, Mother, please take the grain quickly." Without waiting for a reply, Ha Ming handed the grain to his mother, then mounted a swift horse and left.

Watching Ha Ming depart, Ha's mother's old tears flowed freely. Ha Shi, standing nearby, asked in confusion: "Mother, the tribe is issuing grain now; why are you so sad?"

Ha's mother immediately scolded: "Son, you are still young and do not understand. We are not afraid of the Shaman and the lords squeezing our bones and sucking our marrow in daily life; we fear them suddenly becoming kind to us. Generally, if a tribe is willing to issue grain, it must be because war is coming soon, so they want people to eat their fill. But your brother left his food for us. How can we fight those who have eaten their fill on the battlefield?"

"Then I will give these two bags of grain to my brother," Ha Shi said hurriedly.

"No need. If you take these two bags of grain, they won't reach your brother's hands. Nine times out of ten, the lords' servants will extort them from you." Ha's mother refused directly.

Ha Shi stamped his foot in anger. At this moment, he felt truly useless. If he had the ability, how could he let his brother trade his life for grain?

As night fell, countless herders came to the main tent, bustling and extremely crowded. After ordering the soldiers to arrange the order, Guo Jing slowly spoke: "Elders and fellow villagers, making you travel a long distance to come here and hold meetings twice in just seven days has truly been hard on you."

The herders below the stage did not know how to reply at that moment. After all, since birth, the nobles had never spoken a polite word to them. How should they answer? Would they really not be punished if they answered like neighbors, saying "it's no problem"?

Seeing no one reply, Guo Jing had to continue: "Some time ago, the Mandate of Heaven sent me here to serve the broad masses. However, after my observation during this period, almost all of you live in poverty, yet the tribe possesses vast amounts of cattle, sheep, and treasures. Therefore, seven days ago we counted the population of each herding household. Next, we will issue cattle, sheep, and living supplies according to the population of each household. In a moment, please have those whose names are called come up to collect your cattle and sheep."

"Nulu Hui Adai"

"I am here!" A middle-aged man in the crowd raised his hand high, then ran in a small jog to the stage.

Guo Jing flipped through the register in his hand and asked: "Your household consists of your wife, your son, your old mother, and yourself, totaling four people. According to our regulation of eight sheep and two cows per herder, your family can be allocated approximately thirty-two sheep and eight cows. After the grand meeting concludes, you can take this to the Mu Gai department to collect the cattle and sheep belonging to your family."

"Alright, you may go down now. Do not delay others from collecting their family's cattle and sheep."

After handing the stamped document to Adai, Guo Jing began calling the next name. With an excited heart, Adai hid the document inside his collar, fearing that a strong wind might blow the paper and damage it, leaving him unable to collect his cattle and sheep.

Seeing Adai do this, everyone followed suit one by one. After the Mu Gai work was completed, it was already late at night. At this time, almost all herders would have gone to sleep early, yet not a single person present showed the slightest sign of fatigue.

Not only were they not tired, they were very excited. Or rather, since birth, they had never been as excited as they were today, because from today on, they all owned cattle and sheep belonging to themselves.

"Alright, elders and fellow villagers, I know you are very happy, but I have more matters to announce. Please quiet down for a moment." Guo Jing waved his hand, signaling everyone present to be silent.

Everyone looked silently at Guo Jing on the stage. In their hearts, the cattle and sheep Guo Jing gave were enough to buy their lives. If one's life ended but these cattle and sheep could be left to their family, then dying would be worth it.

Everyone waited silently for Guo Jing's words. As long as he did not take back the cattle and sheep, they could do anything for Guo Jing.

"I would like to ask: when I just handed you the documents for issuing cattle and sheep, how many of you could read the text on them?" Guo Jing asked.

The herders below the stage shook their heads one after another. Guo Jing sighed and said: "This will not do. Please put yourselves in our shoes. If I wrote on them not to issue cattle and sheep but to order you to sell your own cattle and sheep to me at a low price, or if I wrote a certificate stating you voluntarily sold yourselves to me, what would you do?"

"Or, if you took these items to the Jin people's market to trade and, because you could not calculate accounts, were cheated by someone weighing less than they should, what would you do then?"

Everyone fell silent. Suddenly, several stood up and shouted loudly: "Shaman, my lord, you would not do such a thing. If you were to do so, you would never have mentioned distributing cattle and sheep to us in the first place."

Others chimed in immediately: "That's right. Shaman, you are a rare good person, a good person I have never seen since birth. It is impossible for you to do such a thing."

"That's right. Someone who can give us freedom and prevent us from being buried alive cannot do such evil deeds."

"Alright, everyone quiet down and listen to me first." Guo Jing then continued: "Everyone, answer me first: has the situation I mentioned appeared around you? And have you thought about why?"

"Is it because we cannot read, because we cannot calculate, so we are deceived?" A child in the crowd timidly raised his hand and asked.

"That is correct. What this child said is absolutely right." Hearing Guo Jing's words, the child looked around proudly. "See? The Shaman, my lord praised me!" Facing the child's proud expression, others felt envy mixed with regret. Such a simple question; they could have answered it too. If only they had known, they should have been bolder.

"Because we cannot read, because we cannot calculate, we must learn. Considering that everyone needs to work during the day, we plan to open a night school to encourage everyone to come here at night to learn knowledge and eliminate illiteracy. Currently, only I and Shaman Nie can read, so we plan to first eliminate illiteracy among those in the main tent, and then arrange for those who have been literate first to eliminate illiteracy for everyone else."

After Guo Jing finished speaking, thunderous applause erupted at the grand meeting. Everyone clapped with all their might, as if pouring all their strength into this applause. They slapped their hands hard, as if trying to spark fire from their palms, until their hands turned completely red, yet they still refused to stop.