Chapter 1546: The Obedient Slaves

In the Western Development Group, those slaves captured last year are now very obedient after a winter of training. During the winter, it wasn't as if they weren't given clothes or left completely bare; after all, they still had to be kept alive and couldn't be allowed to freeze to death, so they were given some old clothes to wear.

They were not short on firewood either, at least enough to keep them from freezing to death, and they had enough to eat. During the winter, their food rations were increased slightly because people need to ward off the cold; clothing is one thing, but food is even more important. Without food to provide heat, people will die.

Relatively speaking, as long as they eat a little more, it can compensate for the cold caused by their lack of thick clothing. In any case, they are already used to the cold, their cold tolerance is much stronger than modern people's, and their lives are tougher.

During the winter, the work of feeding the cattle and sheep was left to them, as well as the task of chopping grass. When the massive number of cattle and sheep could not be grazed, they had to be fed with collected hay.

The Western Development Group had nothing else, but the collected hay was plentiful, and the stalks from the planted grain could also be used as fodder for the livestock.

The task of chopping grass exists because the collected hay is very long, as are the stalks. If they were put in vertically, that would be fine, just like how they eat in the wild.

But for the sake of easy management, the cleanliness of the pens, and the health of the cattle and sheep, the pens all use feeding troughs—huge troughs dug out of wood or assembled—which allow the cattle and sheep to stick their heads through the fence to eat.

Whole fodder cannot fit, and it would also cause the cattle and sheep to fight; if two cattle eat the same blade of grass, whose mouth does it end up in?

Chopped fodder is also easier to digest, so the fodder is all chopped up and then mixed with a little bean dregs or similar feed to feed the livestock.

The Knife is the tool that consumes the most Iron, because it is truly large; the Iron in one Knife is enough to forge five or six Changdao. However, it is indispensable. Fortunately, its requirements are not high; there is no need to consider hardness or toughness because it is thick enough and long enough, so production is not difficult.

The long Knife is fitted with a handle and mounted on a wooden base. One slave squats to feed the grass in, and another presses the Knife down. Repeating this cycle, a handful of grass is chopped up. If feeding two or three cattle, the grass chopped by two people in one day is enough for them to eat for half a month.

However, the number of cattle and sheep raised here in Huaxia is a bit too high; even with several Knives running continuously, they could barely keep up.

In the end, there was no other way, so wooden Knives were made. Although they were difficult to use, they could at least be used. By making more, even if it was slower, they could still manage. In any case, it was those slaves doing the work.

Because they could eat their fill and had cave dwellings to live in, and were not afraid of freezing or starving to death throughout the winter, these slaves no longer wanted to escape at all. They all wanted to live in Huaxia for a long time and all wanted to become Huaxia people.

Sometimes, while they were working, they would look up at the high houses and watch the children playing on the hillside, feeling very envious; they also wanted to live that kind of life.

It was just that they had no chance. The few Wujian who acted as Leaders and managed these slaves lived better lives because the work was assigned to the slaves by them, and they only ate after they gave the order.

They could even have their own small cave dwellings to live in and could hold a female slave to sleep with. Huaxia would not interfere with them as long as they could manage the slaves well. If there was a problem with the slaves, they would still be held responsible. They were just slaves; even if they were slave Leaders, they could be replaced at any time. A child could even ride on their heads and defecate, and they would still have to say the master was truly kind, for defecating so much and so foully.

As long as they put down their dignity and lowered their status, as slaves, they could live better in Huaxia. The slave Leader did not have to do manual labor himself; he acted as a foreman. If he discovered that the daily quota had not been met, he would make the slaves work through the night to make up for it.

Added to the fact that they all knew how to graze and take care of cattle and sheep, and were not afraid of them, plus some of Huaxia's methods for managing cattle and sheep, the condition of the cattle and sheep throughout the winter was very good.

After spring arrived, the grass gradually turned green, and grazing could begin. These slaves were then separated and followed the Huaxia teams to graze. Some remained in Huaxia to do dirty and tiring work, and they did not have a single complaint; after all, there was no danger, and Huaxia was willing to let them eat their fill.

Although the quality was not as good as what the Huaxia people ate, they could eat their fill, which was a very important thing. In the Wulenge Tribe, how could that be possible? Thus, they were wholeheartedly devoted to Huaxia.

When grazing, if they caught a fish in the river, they would rush to offer it to their master instead of secretly keeping it to eat themselves. They would get nothing more than a word of praise.

Because they were all separated, the Western Development Group was not afraid of them suddenly dropping their disguise and resisting. Without a Weapon, they were nothing.

After the temperature rose, one more thing had to be done: shearing the sheep. The sheep's winter wool is thick, and it is hot in the summer, so it needs to be sheared. Wild sheep have no one to shear them, so they shed their fur slowly, but the wool sheared by humans is long enough and comes in a large pile, giving one the feeling that it could definitely be used for something.

Spinning thread with wool is a bit difficult given Huaxia's current technology because the wool is relatively short. If spun, the thread is very thick, making it impossible to make cloth, or if made into cloth, it would be very thick.

In the future, it will certainly be possible to process wool into various kinds of textiles. Clothes made of wool are of very good quality and have extremely strong warmth retention, but the current Huaxia does not yet have such technology.

Currently, Huaxia's use of wool is very simple: after washing it clean until there is no odor, it is stuffed into clothes to make winter wear. Although it looks ugly and the wool keeps coming out, for Huaxia people who have no grain to buy fur robes, this is the best affordable substitute.

Huaxia is not short of grain, everyone can eat their fill, and cloth is no longer in short supply, so the turnover rate of clothes is not fast, and there is no shortage of single-layer garments. However, fur is very scarce. Huaxia cannot slaughter many sheep in a year, nor can it capture many wild beasts suitable for making fur robes, so fur is relatively scarce in Huaxia. It is indeed for sale, but the price is very high, and ordinary people cannot afford it; at least those below middle-income cannot afford it.

However, the price of wool is very cheap, and everyone can buy it back to use.