Chapter 140: Sun Licheng's Intentions

The earthen pot was not large, and once every chieftain, including the shaman, had taken a bowl, the stewed cassava and snow-rat meat was finished. There was nothing for it; Sun Licheng had to keep cooking until all the ingredients were exhausted, and only then did the feast come to an end.

Barrett licked his bowl and said to Sun Licheng, "The food you make is truly delicious, but there was so little of it. Everyone could barely manage one bowl—it wasn't satisfying enough."

The other chieftains nodded in agreement.

Sun Licheng smiled and replied, "There is plenty more food, but you must do as I say."

Barrett pondered for a moment before nodding his consent.

The next day, the prisoners were released from confinement. They stood nervously in a large circle formed by the ogres, facing Sun Licheng, who wore a broad smile. There were thirty-eight of them in total, mostly goblins, with the remainder consisting of goat-folk, minotaurs, rat-folk, and even a single dwarf.

"None of you have to die!" Sun Licheng shouted to the unlucky souls.

The captives, clearly able to understand the goblin tongue, exchanged bewildered looks, then stared at Sun Licheng as if he were a fool. But after a while, seeing that the ogres made no move, expressions of pleasant surprise slowly dawned on their faces.

"However," Sun Licheng bellowed, "Chieftain Barrett has decreed that you must trade your labor for your lives. As long as you work enough, you may leave. If anyone wishes to object, speak up now—the Red Flame tribe's lunch will be made of you."

"We are willing!"

"We are willing to work!"

Dozens of captives scrambled to answer; no one in their right mind wanted to die.

This was the authority Sun Licheng had requested from Chieftain Barrett: the right to form a labor squad. Although ogres could perform some labor, the grueling task of digging for cassava was not suited for such hot-tempered creatures. Without sufficient manpower, Sun Licheng could not dig up enough food on his own, so he had turned his gaze toward the prisoners.

Faced with a choice between long-term suffering and a short-term headache, the ogres made a wise decision: they were prepared to go hungry for a few days to let the prisoners do the work. Of course, thirty-odd weaklings could not harvest enough cassava on their own, so at Sun Licheng's request, a significant portion of the ogres joined the labor force as well.

There is no performance metric more effective than the threat of death. Under the immense pressure of survival, the captives displayed unexpected enthusiasm. Within a few days, with the cooperation of the ogres, they had dug up over twenty tons of cassava and captured hundreds of snow-rats.

Looking at the small mountains of cassava and the squeaking snow-rats, Sun Licheng patted Chapman the rabbit-folk on his trembling shoulder and encouraged him, "Not bad. When there is time, I will have Chieftain Barrett issue each of you a 'May Day Labor Medal.'"

With that, he left the bewildered rabbit-folk behind and went to find the ogre chieftain, humming a tune about the joy of the common people.

Barrett was feeling very relaxed these days; he no longer had to worry about the tribe going hungry. Seeing Sun Licheng approach, he cheerfully ushered him into his great tent.

"Sun Licheng, although we have an agreement that I would let you go once you found enough food, we don't know how to cook all these cassava and snow-rats. Could you stay with the Red Flame tribe a bit longer?" Barrett asked before Sun Licheng could even speak.

Sun Licheng smiled and replied, "Actually, I have another proposal."

Barrett froze, then began to listen as Sun Licheng explained.

Sun Licheng claimed to be a chosen one of the God of Magma, burdened with the task of resurrecting the deity. Due to an accident during his mission, he had ended up stranded with the Red Flame tribe. Helping the tribe develop was a trivial matter to him, and he now wished to cooperate with the Red Flame tribe, hoping they could provide him with soldiers, equipment, and other forms of assistance.

Beyond being conscripted into the Goblin Kingdom's armies, ogres had a tradition of working as bandits or mercenaries. Furthermore, although the Red Flame tribe was located in a desolate region, they were local power players who could help Sun Licheng secure necessary resources. Thus, Sun Licheng wanted to establish a partnership: he would help the tribe develop, and they would provide him with warriors as helpers and assist in trading goods within the Goblin Kingdom.

"So you are a chosen one—no wonder you are so capable. I think your proposal is excellent. Let us do it."

Chieftain Barrett thought it over and, seeing no downside for his tribe, nodded in agreement.

With a consensus on cooperation reached, Sun Licheng put forward several suggestions.

The first was to establish a base for cultivating cassava and raising snow-rats. Although the surrounding area was rich in these resources, such extensive foraging and hunting were not sustainable. Even if it were enough to feed the tribe now, a well-fed tribe would inevitably see rapid population growth. In this world, there was no such thing as family planning, so one had to plan ahead and establish basic agriculture.

The second suggestion was to build a smithy to produce bronze and simple ironware. Sun Licheng had observed that although the tribe looted many items, their tools and weaponry were primitive, likely due to a lack of processing capabilities. Ogres were a bit dim-witted but not stupid, and their great height and strength gave them a huge advantage in labor-intensive tasks like blacksmithing.

The third suggestion was to establish a caravan to trade with other tribes and even more distant lands. Although Sun Licheng had found food, he had not found salt. Salt was essential for everyone, and since the tribe could not produce it, they had to trade for it. Instead of waiting for others to come and take the lion's share of the profits, Sun Licheng believed they should take the initiative.

"Sun Licheng, your ideas are excellent, but we have no experience in these things," Chieftain Barrett said, his excitement cooling as he realized the difficulty. His men were experts at killing and burning, but he had no confidence in their ability to engage in production.

Sun Licheng smiled; he already had a plan for Barrett's concerns.

"The cultivation and breeding bases can be started by the prisoners, and then the tribe can purchase some serfs from elsewhere. As for the smithy, I think Henry is quite suitable. I will train him for a while, and I believe he will become an excellent blacksmith. As for the caravan, we can let Chapman the rabbit-folk invest in it, and by assigning him two ogre bodyguards, he can start operations," Sun Licheng explained.

Barrett was overjoyed. He slammed his hand onto Sun Licheng's shoulder and laughed, "This is a great plan! We shall do exactly as you say. It is a pity you are a goblin—too small—otherwise, I would have betrothed our tribe's pearl, Caroline, to you. Alas, a pity you cannot be my son-in-law."

Hearing Barrett's heartfelt words, Sun Licheng, who had been feeling quite smug, nearly collapsed on the spot. He screamed internally: *I haven't gone insane yet, and I have no interest in riding an ogre!*