Chapter 642: No Stealing Food

Gao An, who had just intended to fabricate something, immediately dismissed the thought and could only answer truthfully: "I only know how to hunt."

The official gave a hum, then wrote the two characters "None" in the skill column, without further description. After all, the skill of hunting could be said to be completely useless in Huaxia, unless his ability was stronger than a Long Bow and a Crossbow. Furthermore, Huaxia's emphasis on hunting was gradually declining, and for the current hunters in Huaxia, it was already completely sufficient; there was no need to value this Slave for this skill.

Once the registration here was finished, the identity tag on the side would not list what skills he possessed; instead, the Arabic numerals 0001 were written on the back of the tag, and it was then handed over.

"This tag is used to prove your identity. You must not lose it. Hang it around your neck. If the string is about to break, say so in advance, and it will be replaced for you. The punishment for losing it is very severe. Then, remember the location of the Tent where you live. From now on, you can only live there until you have new arrangements."

"You are not allowed to wander into other Tents at will, and you are not allowed to swap Tents with others. Alright, put on the tag and follow along to collect the things needed for your Tent. Five people live in one Tent."

The official had Gao An hang the identity tag around his neck, and then a Soldier guided the few people who had already registered over to identify their Tent, while also collecting the pots, bowls, and such that they needed, and they even received a portion of rations.

For the next period of time, the five people in each Tent would live together and cook together. The few people who had registered now were not in the same Tent, and it was absolutely impossible for men and women to live together.

Gao An followed the Soldier full of anticipation and arrived at a place piled high with Pottery and grain. This incredible scene shattered Gao An's perception directly. Since when could such large Pottery jars and such exquisite Pottery bowls be used by Slaves like them? Moreover, they looked brand new at a glance, without a single chip; they were incredibly new.

In such a dazed state, Gao An received one Pottery jar, five Pottery bowls, ten strange sticks, five small Pottery spoons, two large Pottery spoons, and a bamboo shovel.

Gao An had never seen spoons before, but after hearing the person distributing the items say it, he remembered the name, and at a glance, he knew what they were used for.

After they had collected all the items, the official found the corresponding Tent number in the notebook and placed a checkmark, indicating that this Tent had finished collecting.

Subsequently, the Soldier took them to their respective Tents. The Soldiers had them place the items in the correct positions and then called the few of them together to lecture them: "You few are now the temporary people in charge of your respective Tents. You are responsible for counting the people every day to see if everyone is there. If someone is missing, it is your responsibility. If someone runs away, then your heads will be chopped off."

"Second, you are responsible for distributing food. In a moment, you will be given about five days' worth of food. When mealtime arrives, start a fire and cook for yourselves, then distribute it equally. Remember, it must be distributed equally. If you are reported to the management by your companions in the Tent because it wasn't distributed equally, your authority will be gone, and you will receive punishment."

"Third, take good care of the items distributed to you. There must be no damage. If you accidentally damage something, report it immediately. After each item is used, put it back in its original place."

"Fourth, that is to manage yourselves well. For shitting and pissing, there are fixed places. You are not allowed to relieve yourselves inside the Tent, and you are not allowed to relieve yourselves outside the Tent at will. Otherwise, the punishment will be very severe."

"There are other things that specialized people will come to teach you carefully later. I will only tell you this much. Do you understand?"

Gao An asked with some timidity: "We, what do we need to do? What kind of work do we need to do?"

The Soldier looked Gao An up and down and said disdainfully: "You tell me what you can do. You are so thin and have no strength at all. This Winter, you don't need to do any work, but someone will come to teach you things, so just learn. I don't know the specifics very well either. As for real work, it will be next year. That is, after Winter ends and the weather warms up, arrangements will be made based on what you can do and how your health is. You don't need to worry about it now."

Gao An and the others nodded repeatedly, not daring to ask any more questions now.

The Soldier also said: "Alright, follow me now to collect your food. Let's go."

Hearing "food," Gao An and the others' eyes shone with golden light, and they quickly followed the Soldier. They didn't expect that they would really be given food as soon as they arrived, even though they hadn't done any work yet.

The Soldier brought Gao An and the others to the previous location, and the official took out several large Pottery jars, which were already filled with oil dregs. This was the food for these Slaves. For Huaxia, the cost of this stuff was extremely low, and the output was extremely high.

But for the Slaves, it tasted good and could help them put on weight; it was the best food possible. They would never know that the food they were eating was the same as what Huaxia fed its livestock.

After the food was collected, they returned to the Tent and placed it securely. The Soldier warned them again: "You are not allowed to steal food, and you are not allowed to let others in your Tent steal it. The daily mealtime is fixed, and the amount allowed to be eaten is also fixed. If your food is already gone before the next distribution, then you will be punished. It might be several days without food. You had better think it through."

After hearing this, Gao An and the others swallowed their saliva, glanced at the grain jar, and reluctantly withdrew their gaze. They had already been thinking about stealing a little bit while their roommates hadn't arrived yet, but after being warned like this, they lost the nerve.

The Soldier didn't care about their thoughts. Even if they stole some now, he wouldn't bother with it. Once they were discovered to have run out of food before the date, and were punished by going hungry for a few days, they would definitely learn the rules. People can't be taught by people, but events teach people without needing to be taught twice; they had experience with this.

The Soldier no longer bothered with them: "Alright, go back there one more time and collect your water jars. I'm going to go pick up the rest of your people."

Gao An and the others agreed repeatedly. Once the Soldier left, the few of them still stood in place without moving, staring at each other, but their gazes would sweep toward the grain jar in the Tent. They remained motionless, and they were getting more and more anxious, but no one dared to be the first.

Finally, Gao An couldn't hold back. He held up one finger and pointed at the grain jar: "Just one piece?"

The others nodded repeatedly, and after confirming that the Soldier was not coming over, they immediately rushed toward the grain jar.