The method of collective punishment must be implemented among the slaves of the Green Sparrow Tribe.
Han Cheng was not worried that these slaves, who had developed a sense of belonging to the Green Sparrow Tribe, would feel some resentment towards the tribe because of this.
It wasn’t because he had an aura of invincibility or some protagonist halo that made people fear him; instead, it was because he had the right means to eliminate the potential resentment these slaves might feel and ensure that they would not develop any resistance to the collective punishment system. On the contrary, they would likely welcome it.
After returning from the Copper Mountain residential area to the main Green Sparrow Tribe, everyone, including Third Senior Brother, subconsciously felt a sense of relaxation.
This relaxation was not just physical but also mental.
It was a feeling that the Copper Mountain residential area couldn’t provide.
Though this feeling was intoxicating, Third Senior Brother still decided to return to the Copper Mountain residential area the next day.
This was because the houses in the Copper Mountain residential area were not yet fully completed. As for the land reclamation that the Divine Child had instructed, only a few acres had been cleared.
Since he was thinking about the situation over there, Third Senior Brother, despite enjoying life in the leading tribe, decided to return to Copper Mountain with Meng, the traitor, and resume their work to make up for the lost time.
Under Han Cheng’s leadership, hard work was highly emphasized in the Green Sparrow Tribe, particularly among the earliest members, who were exceedingly diligent.
This was because they had once endured hardship and had experienced the days of escaping those hardships through hard work, so they understood the value of diligence.
That was why they cherished time so much and could resist external temptations.
However, the third senior brother’s plan did not materialize. Just a short while ago, the Divine Child came and told him not to leave just yet.
Standing here, Third Senior Brother looked at Han Cheng’s retreating figure, feeling both joy and conflict.
The joy was that he could stay in the main tribe a little longer. The conflict was that this would further delay the construction of the Copper Mountain residential area.
Unlike Third Senior Brother, Tian and another slave who had returned with him felt uneasy as they looked at the Divine Child’s back.
They had once been companions with Meng, and when Meng tried to escape, he wanted to take them with him.
Just now, the Divine Child said he needed to speak with the two of them, which made them uneasy.
Amidst their unease, the gong calling everyone together echoed again. Tian and the other slave wanted to leave and return to the group of slaves, but Han Cheng stopped them and motioned for them to follow him.
This action left Tian and the other slaves stunned. They thought they were going to be punished.
Before long, when they had punished Meng, Meng hadn’t gone back to the slave group but had instead stayed just a short distance from the Divine Child and his group.
Seeing the two slaves’ reaction, Han Cheng quickly realized what was happening and smiled, saying, “Don’t worry, you haven’t done anything wrong. What you did was right. You won’t be punished; you’ll be rewarded.”
At these words, Tian and the other slaves immediately relaxed.
They were now wondering what kind of reward the Divine Child had for them.
The collective punishment method had not yet spread widely, so most of the people gathered were still confused, unsure of what the Divine Child, who had just summoned them earlier, was planning to do.
Some of the more astute ones, seeing Tian and the other slave following the Divine Child, had a vague understanding of what was going on.
Han Cheng didn’t give them much time to ponder. After a brief pause, he got straight to the point.
He didn’t follow the usual tedious speech structure like, “I have three things to say today, and each will have three major points, with five subpoints for each.” Instead, he got right into the subject.
“Today, I gathered you all to announce the implementation of a new system. This system is called the collective punishment method…”
Han Cheng began explaining the collective punishment method, its purpose, and significance.
As expected, just like the old shaman had anticipated, after Han Cheng’s explanation, some of the slaves in the Green Sparrow Tribe, who had begun to understand the collective punishment method, started to feel uneasy.
They felt that, despite having already considered themselves a part of the Green Sparrow Tribe, the Divine Child was still imposing such a strict measure on them.
Had this been in the past, the shaman might have worried about this situation, but after talking to the Divine Child, all his concerns were gone.
His eyes fell on the two slaves standing not far away, a hint of a smile in his gaze.
After explaining the collective punishment method, Han Cheng didn’t leave the slaves much time to think. He called over Tian and the other slaves and had them stand beside him in front of the gathered slaves.
Many of the slaves, who had just figured out what the collective punishment method was, now looked at Tian and the other slave with concern. They thought these two were about to be punished.
Cursing the traitor Meng, they also started to resist the collective punishment method that was about to be implemented.
“Tian and Jiao,” Han Cheng addressed the two slaves, “after discovering Meng’s betrayal, you didn’t follow him in his escape. Instead, you captured him and stopped this traitor to the tribe. This is a commendable action that all of you should learn from.”
Han Cheng raised his voice to the crowd.
The unexpected words caused the slaves, who were feeling some resistance to the collective punishment method, to freeze for a moment.
They weren’t going to be punished?
Then they quickly realized – of course! They had caught the traitor Meng! They deserved a reward, not punishment!
After announcing this, Han Cheng clapped his hands.
From behind the crowd, Bai Xue appeared.
She was holding a wooden tray, which was covered by a red cloth made of dyed hemp.
Bai Xue Mei walked through the crowd, holding the tray. Her heart pounded as she felt the eyes of the tribe on her. Due to the pressure, her walking posture seemed different than usual.
When she reached Han Cheng, everyone’s gaze was on the wooden tray, filled with curiosity, wondering what could be inside, wrapped so mysteriously!