Chapter 2360: A Sincere Heart, A Promising Future

"Yes, Elder Monien is correct. Even if the owner of a workshop disappears, the workshop can continue to exist. But what I am talking about is not just a sudden disappearance; it is about the craftsmen taking full control of the workshop. Can the workshop still continue to exist then?"

"How would the craftsmen take control of the workshop?"

"They could purchase it with past savings, they could purchase it by borrowing money from several Elders with an agreement to repay it later, or they could simply violently kill the original owner. In any case, they have taken the workshop into their own hands."

"It shouldn't be able to continue to exist, right? How could a mere group of craftsmen possess a workshop? Without the original owner as a backer, they would soon be swallowed up by other workshops."

"What if legislation prohibited all forms of unfair competition?"

"Is that possible? Isn't the law determined by those Upper Families? Would they ever designate laws that are disadvantageous to themselves?"

"Several Elders, I am currently talking about Evereska, but also not just Evereska. For now, it is just a hypothesis. Do you understand? A hypothesis."

"Understood. If the law were indeed effective, then that workshop taken over by the craftsmen should be able to be maintained. It is just that if they wanted to expand the scale later, it might require a certain amount of time for accumulation."

"Very good. Then, returning to what we said before, what is the significance of the existence of the so-called original owner of the workshop? Is the only use really just to increase investment? Can't the craftsmen, after taking over, borrow the same amount of capital from several Elders with an agreement to repay it later to increase investment? Since they are useless, isn't what they obtained before a complete plunder of the value created by the craftsmen?"

"It seems so!"

The eyes of the several Elders shone brightly, as if they had discovered a great secret hidden in Elf society for a long time. But with this, their doubts grew even more, "Then how exactly did they plunder, and how did they make the craftsmen completely unaware of it?"

"This is a question that you Elders should be able to figure out. You just said it yourselves: having lost the original owner and having no backer, they would suffer suppression. This is actually the key to the plunder, but it is also just one manifestation."

"If we think carefully, it is not hard to find that all those plunderers are unnecessary. A society can function perfectly well without them."

"A society can function perfectly well without plunderers?!"

Such a conclusion truly shocked the several Elders. Their long-held perceptions told them that while the Upper Families certainly had a thousand faults, it was indeed they who were protecting countless lower-class Elves.

No.

The lower-class Elves never needed their protection; the lower-class Elves were always just appendages and sacrifices for the High Elves to display their ambitions.

The youngest among the several Elders had lived for at least nearly a thousand years, and some had spent most of their lives displaced by war. Most of them, born into the lower class and having always held onto prejudices and discrimination, were better able to empathize with the lower-class perspective that Xia Duo had deliberately shaped.

In the past, they were always muddled. Although they understood that the High Elves were not good things, they always understood where exactly the evil lay too superficially, and sometimes they were even moved by the kindness of individual High Elves, even to the point of being willing to die for them.

But now, they understood completely: everything those so-called High Elves possessed was built upon the plunder of the lower class.

If not for them, the lower-class Elves would not perish; the lower-class Elves would only live better!

Such a dark and terrifying truth once caused the several Elders to fall into despair—not only for the Demon Descendants, who were themselves war victims suffering from prejudice, discrimination, and even persecution, but also for the countless lower-class Elves who were being exploited and plundered.

It is imaginable how desperate that feeling is when the whole world is against you.

But in their moment of deepest despair, they saw their leader, whose expression remained calm. At this moment, they seemed to see light, to see the hope that would change everything.

Yet, after they asked that question which left them nearly desperate, Xia Duo only asked back in a calm tone with an exceptionally cold question:

"Are you unwilling because you cannot become High Elves, or do you truly want to contribute to the liberation of the lower class?"

Is it unwillingness because you cannot become High Elves, or do you truly want to liberate the lower class?

Facing such a question that interrogated their inner hearts, the expressions on the faces of the several Elders varied, but without exception, they all fell into silence. I do not know how much time passed before Suoermante broke the stalemate first:

"I admit that in the past I once fantasized about the scene of myself becoming a High Elf, but after hearing the leader's analysis of the essence of the High Elves, I now feel only hatred and disgust toward the High Elves. The Chixin Tribe cannot have the existence of Upper Elves!"

"I also believe the Chixin Tribe does not need Upper Elves!"

"It is not enough for only us to think this way. We can control ourselves from falling, but that is only for now. What about the future? What about other Executives in the future?"

"Actually, the leader has long been prepared for these questions!"

Ma'aoshi, who had the most contact with Xia Duo, suddenly exclaimed. His gaze of Wisdom seemed to pierce through time, "Before, I didn't understand why the leader insisted on formulating written laws, and why he insisted on letting all the people learn the law. It was to let everyone know the law, abide by the law, and at the same time, most importantly, supervise the Executives!"

"I thought of it too, and there is the rotation of Executives. Although a hundred-year term is a bit long, at least it won't form a nearly eternal rule by Upper Families like the traditional Elf society of the past."

"And, and the oversight system. I couldn't figure out before what there was to supervise regarding the Executive Council and its subordinate administrative teams. Now it seems this is the most powerful support for ensuring that the Executives do not change their colors in the future."

"And that's not all! The Popularize Magic is the most significant feature that distinguishes us from traditional societies like Evereska. Only by popularizing Magic can the people truly grasp their own destiny."

The several Elders spoke one after another, analyzing all the various plans Xia Duo had formulated over the past year. The conclusion reached was that the leader had long ago seen through the truth of Elf society and had practically put it into action.

At this time, Xiwate, who had previously come to oppose Xia Duo's addition of benefits for newborns, no longer opposed it. At this moment, he not only realized that children were the hope of the future, but also understood the significance of the Executive Council's investment in the future.

It was absolutely not like those Upper Families, who acted entirely based on financial gain; rather, it was more like wanting to develop the big family of the Chixin Tribe rapidly. Appropriately overdrawing the future was not unacceptable.

As long as the expectation for the future is positive, one can even overdraw more. So, is the expectation for the future positive? Xiwate had never been as full of confidence in the future as he was now!

To explain it using the Domain he was in charge of, it was this: in traditional Elf society, a large amount of social resources were plundered by the High Elves. They might invest some into development to maintain their rule, but it was absolutely impossible for them to be like the Chixin Tribe, investing the vast majority of the proceeds from creation and production into development and improving people's livelihoods.

At this moment, he finally understood why the leader always said things were difficult, yet remained full of confidence in the future!

He finally understood why the New Homeland was developing so fast, yet the leader was still not satisfied and insisted on Haste and more Haste. It was truly because that kind of future was too worth looking forward to; now, he also wanted to Haste!