Chapter 1488: Sacrifices and Festivals

However, since it was those women who were organizing and searching for food, they naturally would intentionally hide some food or throw it to those children; after all, children also needed food to have a greater chance of survival.

Women definitely have more affection for children than men do, as women know these children were born from their own wombs, but men are different; who knows which child is their own?

There were only a few Wujian, so there were naturally places they couldn't oversee, and the women were bolder; they dared to do this, not afraid of being discovered.

As for livestock, sheep were the main type, with some cattle, though the number of cattle was relatively small; this was very normal, as the breeding cycle of cattle is long and the speed is also quite slow. Although cattle have more meat, the wild people naturally preferred sheep, which grow fast and also reproduce in large numbers.

Zhang hoped to find some different, unseen livestock among these, but unfortunately, his idea fell through; there was nothing here but cattle and sheep, no other livestock. The creature he wanted to see, which might have been a horse, was not here. Even though the Wujian had already said so, he still held onto a tiny bit of wishful thinking; now that they weren't there, they weren't there, and these were enough.

The Wujian also received their first full meal today because they had successfully and very well completed their mission; this was Zhang's reward to them, and also the fulfillment of his promise.

Of course, meat definitely could not be given to them; as Lowly Slaves, how could they be qualified to eat such precious meat? They could only eat the food brought from Huaxia, and those foods were rich in nutrients and fat, with an even better taste; these Wujian were overjoyed.

Given that the Wulenge Tribe had a lot of dried meat searched out, Zhang collected that dried meat to eat himself, while distributing the food they brought to these wild people to eat. Although the Soldiers also had a certain meat quota, the experience of being able to eat until full and satisfied was still quite rare in Huaxia.

Only on some major, important days would dozens of sheep be allocated to the Battalion for them to slaughter themselves and then eat together; this was a special reward for the Soldiers.

Huaxia did not yet have a National Day or an Army Day, because there was no calendar, so there was no way to specify a particular day; there were only the Winter Solstice and the Autumn Harvest, which were two important festivals that could be celebrated.

The earliest festival in Huaxia, a festival derived from cattle hunting, was now also merged with the Autumn Harvest for celebration. After all the grain in all of Huaxia was harvested and put into storage, Huaxia would issue a notice of celebration; meat would be supplied in large quantities, Wine would be supplied without limit, and then there would be a three-day holiday for everyone to celebrate.

This festival was very close to the Winter Solstice, and now there were only these two festivals in a year that could serve as celebrations. People across the country were very expectant; for Huaxia, the most important busy farming season had ended, and letting everyone celebrate at this time would have no negative impact, which is why it was so.

At the same time, on these two days, Huaxia would also hold sacrifices and worship Heaven; after all, in this era, sacrifice was very important. Although the number of sacrifices in Huaxia was small, every single sacrifice was very grand and very solemn, so whether they were new or old Huaxia people, they would not overthink the small number of Huaxia sacrifices; after all, one sacrifice was so grand and solemn that it was worth dozens of sacrifices of other tribes.

Those who had newly joined Huaxia would even feel that sacrifice should be like this; their previous sacrifices were just fooling the gods and had no meaning.

Other occasions where there would be sacrifices were large-scale military expeditions and the Sports Meet.

The Huaxia Sports Meet had never stopped; this was a good opportunity to select elite Soldiers for Huaxia. However, to prevent the Soldiers from winning all the awards, it was divided into the Military Sports Meet and the Sports Meet. The Sports Meet was for ordinary people to participate in, and this also included Slaves. All Slaves, during these few days, possessed the same rights and treatment as ordinary people; for no other reason than that when competing, what is needed is fairness.

This Sports Meet competition was not just for honor, but to select elites and usable talent for Huaxia; in this, Slaves could not be excluded, as Slaves were also a massive group.

If Slaves could stand out in the Sports Meet, they could naturally obtain the qualification for promotion, become an ordinary citizen, obtain civil registration, and have the opportunity to join the army and serve Huaxia.

Usually, Slaves who rose up in this way were even more loyal to Huaxia, willing to die for it; no matter what they did, they were willing to give 130% effort, so no one would express doubt about Slaves being able to participate in the Sports Meet.

Ordinary people would certainly have different thoughts, but after a long time, it would naturally make them change their thinking, as long as more excellent examples appeared.

The holding of the Sports Meet was always prepared more than a month in advance, and notices would be sent to every place; as long as the distance was sufficient and there was enough time, anyone could participate.

However, to avoid some unnecessary waste and losses, there would be screening and elimination in advance to prevent people without ability from coming to waste time and resources. At such times, even Slaves digging in mines could receive notice and obtain an opportunity; after screening, those who passed could obtain a holiday and then head to Huaxia City to compete.

During the grand competition, it was inevitable that there would be a sacrifice, but after the perfection by the Ministry of Rites, the methods and procedures of the sacrifice were different for different occasions.

In these few years, many good seedlings had been selected, and many Slaves had thus obtained the qualification for freedom. The success of every Slave inspired the remaining Slaves; it was precisely because there was such an opportunity, and a sliver of possibility, that these Slaves would not have other dangerous thoughts, but were willing to continue working hard for this kind of opportunity.

After commoners won, they were not forced to join the army; it was just an invitation, and whether they came or not was their own business, which they decided themselves. But if they did not pass the training, they would likewise be eliminated, only the rewards and honors they obtained would not be taken back.

The Military Sports Meet was to encourage Soldiers to train and work hard continuously, and it was for competing for strength and dominance. Besides simple basic competition events, there were more military events. As long as one won an award, that was Military Merit; winning an award in military events was the best way to obtain First Class Merit when there was no war.