Huh? Isn't this an adventure kingdom building game?!

Chapter 84: Chapter 84 "Good Deed

The village chief assigned their group the task of weeding today. After a heavy spring rain, the young millet shoots grew quickly, but the wild weeds in the fields grew even faster.

If the emerging weeds are not dealt with in time, in a few days, the weeds will be taller and sturdier than the millet seedlings, robbing the soil of nutrients and sunlight, directly affecting the growth of the crops.

However, the village lacked iron tools, and even simple hoes were scarce. Those not allotted a hoe could only bend over to pull weeds, their calloused hands stained dark green. At this moment, seeing Mingming, who was assigned a hoe but shirking effort, the members of the group were all angry at his rebellious words.

"Damn it, being a slave is your fortune, and you’re still spouting nonsense. Get up and work!" Dogsheng stormed up and kicked him twice more, exasperatedly saying, "Do you think only you’re hungry and tired? Look who isn’t hungry, who isn’t tired, who doesn’t want to live like the three big families, having enough to eat and drink, doing nothing? Isn’t it just because we don’t have the skills to offer to the gods?"

"Since we need others, we must have the right attitude. We’re just tightening our belts for a few tough days, not starving every day. Can’t you see a sacrifice is about to happen? Once the ritual is held, everything will be fine."

"Yes, yes, with Lady Nüwa’s blessing, we’re not harmed by monsters and can sleep well at home. Just bear with it, and life will get better."

The villagers chattered away, not knowing whether they were advising the young man or comforting themselves.

"I understand." The young man shakily stood up, gazing at the village with a bitter smile, "The three big families are treating us like dogs. If we don’t listen, we get a couple of beatings and miss a few meals; only if we obey do we get a morsel to keep from starving. Hahaha...

Their demands get higher and higher, just to see if anyone dares to resist. The more we obey, the more we’re bullied. We should listen to Wan Mingchuan and rise up against them!"

As he spoke more excitedly, with trembling arm pointing towards the houses of the three big families, he shouted, "We have nothing to lose, so why fear them dragging their families along? Without us as slaves, would the three big families stop offering to gods for protection? We have the numbers and strength; it should be they who fear us..."

"Dogsheng! We have elders and children to feed; if you want to die, go by yourselves. Don’t drag us down!"

"Aren’t we too supporting families? He deserves to be beaten to death for saying such things!" Before the young man could finish, more people angrily surged forward to silence him, afraid of implicating their families, accusing his father of not disciplining his child.

Dogsheng, enraged, picked up the hoe from the ground and hurled it, "Shut up!"

The young man, his mouth covered, could only whimper and struggle, unable to make a sound. After taking a heavy blow to the back of his head, blood gushed out, and he fell down stiffly.

The villagers, initially angry, now flocked back in fear, concerned about being blamed for any incident.

Seeing his son’s head instantly dyed in blood, Dogsheng panicked, hurriedly dropping the hoe and rushing over, "Pillar! Pillar, you’re fine, I’ll carry you to Priest He. With Lady Nüwa’s gifted Hemostatic Powder, it’ll be alright!"

No one helped; the villagers withdrew with wary faces, quietly discussing self-preservation.

Should we report this?

If we repeat Pillar’s words to the village chief, would we be punished according to the group unity rule and get exiled from the village?

With the sacrificial ceremony and divine protection soon, no one wanted to stir up trouble at this critical moment.

Dogsheng, eyes dizzy from hunger, attempted several times before finally managing to carry his son, stumbling hurriedly back to the village.

"Priest He! Please save my son. He, he fell while working!" Dogsheng had thought up this excuse on the way.

After all, the village needed strong laborers now. His son, though complaining, worked without fault; he believed Priest He would definitely save him, as he was the most useful laborer and couldn’t be lost.

He Yaozu, just having a small drink, came out, picking his teeth. His eyes lit up upon seeing the blood-covered young man on Dogsheng’s back!

"Hurry, hurry, put him on the kang in the side room!" He called Dogsheng, shouting towards the main room, "Grandpa! Bring the Hemostatic Powder, look at how badly Pillar is hurt!"

Someone injured?

The elder of the He Family suddenly brightened his cloudy eyes, casually responding, while quietly instructing his great-grandson who was playing, "Go invite the Xu and Wang family elders over, tell them it’s urgent."

Seeing their hurried treatment, Dogsheng felt half relieved.

But his son was losing too much blood. Frustrated with his heavy-handedness, worried his son might say something in front of Priest He bringing trouble upon the family, he anxiously paced in the yard, unable to help.

"Dogsheng, how did Pillar fall so hard?" He Yaozu whispered with his grandfather inside for a moment, then walked out frowning, sighing, "Go back to work; he’s lost a lot of blood, and I don’t know if he can be saved. Lady Nüwa’s Hemostatic Powder isn’t an Immortal Pill, even if it stops the bleeding, the blood loss is too much and might make him very weak. I’ve sent someone to borrow game from the village’s sacrificial supplies to make some broth for him to see if he can recover."

"He, he was dizzy from hunger. He suffered this for working hard for the village; Pillar is very capable, please save his life!"

"Got it, got it." He Yaozu impatiently pushed him out, "We’re all in need of everyone’s help after the disaster, especially for young and strong ones like Pillar. How could we let him die? Our Riverfront Village still needs these young people to work, contribute, marry, and have children for future prosperity. I’ll do all I can to save him. Go work, you can’t help here, no need to make your groupmates work extra and get dissatisfied with you."

After finally dismissing Dogsheng, the other two family elders hurriedly arrived.

"Fresh blood, and the young man even came on his own. I’ll fetch a basin to collect it; do you want to take a look?" Old He spoke while eyeing the Xu elder with a slightly ingratiating look.

After all, they held the ancestral Forbidden Technique, making their word the strongest now.

That night after discussions, the three big families quickly decided to take the risk of summoning unknown deities for worship, yet using the Forbidden Technique required the freshest human blood, the younger and more vigorous, the better.

Implementing the group collective punishment plan had the advantage of better managing lowly people but made it difficult to isolate accidents to collect enough blood. Moreover, involving interests and years-old conflicts of the three big families, no one wanted to expose themselves as the murderer for others to seize on. Although the Forbidden Technique was unanimously agreed upon, it couldn’t be officially started for a long time.

And today, such a good thing happened!

"Seems even Heaven wishes us to offer new gods, bringing this on its own; fate cannot be defied," the Wang elder said hypocritically, stroking his beard, though inwardly delighted.

Old He nodded heavily, "Since it’s Heaven’s will, let’s not waste time. Though gods are said to be everywhere, we haven’t seen them yet. Find a deity early and settle the sacrificial ritual, giving an account to the villagers soon. Otherwise, even without causing trouble, many will starve, and that’s a loss to the village."

The Xu elder glanced and shook his head, whispering, "Not enough, not enough, we need at least half a basin."