Chapter 668: You Will Have No Chance to Touch an Axe in the Future

By the time of the noon break, a portion of the timber had still not been salvaged, and those Slaves simply stood on the bank waiting, standing in the cold wind, having done nothing at all.

The Workers could not take a lunch break, because the wood had already reached the Matou; if you didn't salvage it, by the time you came back from a nap, the wood would have long since drifted off to who knows where, so they had no choice but to work overtime, though fortunately there wasn't much left, just a matter of a large half-hour.

The Slaves also had to wait; only when everything was transported back could they return; it was impossible to let the Huaxia Workers do the labor while letting the Slaves rest; the daily schedule was merely a requirement for regularity, not an absolute necessity, and it would change according to actual circumstances.

Besides, these Slaves wouldn't have food to eat if they went back at noon anyway, so it was better to wait for the wood to be moved back first, and they could even get a short nap in.

The Slaves, who had been working for a long time, were required to stop their work once the time was up and, following the order in which they had received their tools, line up to return them.

Throughout the morning, seeing that there were no unusual situations with the Slaves, the Soldiers' tense moods relaxed; it was good to have nothing happen like this; not everyone hoped for a riot and then to trade their own life and safety for merit; they could die at the hands of an enemy, but they could not die at the hands of a Slave—that would be too shameful.

Moreover, the Company Commander was also very clear that if the Slaves rioted, even if they suppressed it, they likely wouldn't get any credit and would instead have to be held accountable for lax supervision and poor instruction; they spent every day training the Slaves and providing them with mental education, and if a problem still arose, wouldn't that just mean their own abilities were insufficient?

Finally, all tools were returned, not a single one lost; the Slaves cleaning the camp had already finished cleaning it once, and they were also permitted to cook and rest early.

Just while cooking, Yinyang's thoughts were still on those Iron Axes; a drill instructor happened to pass by, and upon seeing this, he was suddenly startled, then felt that his opportunity might have arrived, so he stood straight and bowed to that instructor.

"Greetings, Instructor!"

That patrolling instructor was taken aback; they hadn't ordered them to greet instructors at this time, but their impression of Yinyang was actually quite good, and such a sudden greeting made him involuntarily stop his steps.

However, before he could ask anything, Yinyang spoke first: "Instructor, may I ask, can I, can I go and chop wood with them this afternoon?"

The instructor was even more confused now: "Is cleaning not good enough? Such an easy job, why would you think about going to chop wood?"

Because Yinyang's abnormal behavior made the instructor vigilant instead, he looked Yinyang up and down, and upon seeing his eyes constantly darting toward the place where the axes were kept, he knew the reason.

"What, are you wanting an axe?"

Yinyang's intentions were pinpointed, but he was also very clear that an axe could never be given to him; he could only use it briefly to satisfy his craving, so he used a clumsy lie: "I, I just feel that a grown man like me should go chop wood, rather than sweeping the floor here."

The instructor's impression of Yinyang instantly worsened significantly; a former leader of a defeated tribe, still physically strong—in the tribe, even if he had now become a Slave, he still possessed a certain level of leadership and influence—and he wanted to touch an axe and labor alongside others carrying axes; this could not help but make him take it seriously.

The instructor pointed his finger at Yinyang: "Ha, you are not being honest; don't even think about it; originally, you might have had a chance to touch an axe in the future, but now, you will never have that opportunity again."

"Ah, Instructor, I, I have no other intentions; I just like axes, I just want to use one." Yinyang was shocked by the sudden turn of events; he had thought his request would be easily agreed to—after all, who wouldn't want an extra person to work? How was it that not only now, but in the future, he wouldn't even have a chance to touch an axe?

The instructor flashed the Changdao at his waist at Yinyang, said nothing more, and then walked away directly; he had to report to the Company Commander; all of them had to pay close attention to this Yinyang; this kid was still a dangerous element.

Yinyang lost his spirit in an instant; Cangyun, who had been startled by the conversation just now, hurriedly supported Yinyang; she knew what Yinyang was thinking—no man could refuse a powerful and exquisite Weapon—but she also felt that Yinyang was a bit too impatient; his status now was not that of a Soldier, but of a Slave—a Slave who proactively requested to touch a weapon; no matter how simple his thoughts were, in the eyes of the master, this was not a good thing.

Yet Cangyun had no way to comfort Yinyang, and could only pull his arm to help him calm his mood, while keeping an eye on the Paste Porridge in the pot, which was almost cooked; once Yinyang ate a mouthful of hot food, he should be able to forget about what just happened.

The aforementioned Soldier also hurriedly found the Company Commander and reported the matter; after a moment of thought, the Company Commander said: "Hmm, no matter what this Slave is thinking, as long as he has the intention, we must take precautions, especially since his status is quite special; you did the right thing; in the future, you all should pay more attention to observing this Slave; if there is any abnormality, don't worry about whether he has any 'love' or not, just report it directly and send him to the mines; stability here is more important."

The few Soldiers listening all replied that they had received the order; they also hadn't expected that Yinyang, who looked relatively obedient, would actually have such thoughts; sure enough, one shouldn't give them a friendly face.

A large amount of split firewood had already appeared at the construction site; a rough estimate suggested that if all the wood were processed, there would be no need to worry about the usage for these Slaves this Winter; however, the Company Commander had just received another task, which was to have the Slaves make chopping wood a part of their daily work in the time to follow; just practicing formation discipline couldn't be done for an entire Winter—a whole Winter could train a team of qualified Soldiers—so it was time to let them do some work.

And the wood chopped by the Slaves would be distributed to the Residents in the city to use, allowing ordinary people to enjoy the convenience brought by the Slaves; after all, these Slaves would have little to do with them in the future and would all be the property of wealthy families, but the current expenditure for raising the Slaves came from the National Treasury, so ordinary people should also enjoy some benefits.

In view of the fact that the Dahe would freeze over in the future, the people from the Ministry of Works could only work overtime to continue sending wood down from the mountains, and the Slaves' work for the next few days would be to salvage the wood from the river and throw it onto the open ground, so that firewood could be taken directly in the future.