“Ding ding dang, ding ding dang…”
In a corner of the Green Sparrow Tribe’s courtyard, Stone Craftsman Mu Tou was squatting there, hammer in one hand and chisel in the other, working tirelessly.
In front of him was a large stone slab nearly two meters long, half a meter wide, and over thirty centimeters thick. The stone slab’s surfaces were relatively flat, and some characters were written with a brush.
Mu Tou was slowly chiseling along these inscriptions meticulously. This task was much more difficult than his previous work chiseling stone mortars because it was a precise job that required careful attention.
However, Mu Tou was patient, something he never lacked. While his chisel strikes were not fast, with his continuous efforts, many characters were already chiselled to completion.
After three days of such rhythmic work, the Green Sparrow Tribe again sounded the call to gather.
With the booming sound of drums and the crackling explosion of fireworks, several strong laborers lifted the large stone slab that Mu Tou had intricately carved out of the tribe and placed it outside the tribe’s gates.
A platform, more than a meter long, half a meter wide, and half a meter tall, had already been constructed with stones and cement. In the middle of this platform, a forty-centimeter deep depression was left.
After securely supporting the slab with stone, cement was poured into the gaps to fix the stone in place firmly. The stone was draped with red cloth made from red vines, giving it both a celebratory and solemn appearance.
The three large characters—“Collective Punishment Law”—were carved on the upper part of the stone slab. Beneath that were rows of smaller characters detailing the law’s content.
At the bottom, the words “Established in the eighth month of the eighth year of Green Sparrow” were inscribed.
“Anti-False Accusation Law” was engraved on the back of the stone slab.
Once the laws were set and inscribed on the stone, they were placed in a location where everyone could see, emphasizing their importance to the people.
In front of everyone, Han Cheng pointed at the characters on the stone and solemnly read them aloud, one by one.
“Remember, don’t think I’ll show mercy once you violate these laws!”
After finishing, Han Cheng reiterated to the crowd.
The slaves were silent, but they felt a heavy weight in their hearts, as if the stone slab and the laws engraved on it were weighing down on them. None dared to look down on these rules.
Third Senior Brother took his team and some of this year’s freshly harvested grain, escorting the fugitive Meng back to Copper Mountain to continue the mining work.
Tián and Jiǎo, the newly promoted citizens, stayed at the main tribe.
First, because they had already gained citizenship, sending them to Copper Mountain would increase the number of citizens there more than Han Cheng had anticipated. Second, keeping them in the tribe was an excellent example of inspiring the slaves in the Green Sparrow Tribe.
So when Third Senior Brother left, Han Cheng selected three slaves and sent them to Copper Mountain. This way, the fifteen slaves at Copper Mountain could be divided into three groups.
As the Third Senior Brother’s group departed, the unrest caused by the fugitive slave gradually subsided, and the tribe returned to its routine.
Autumn was a season of harvest and a time for storing food.
In previous years, the people of the Green Sparrow Tribe were entirely focused on storing food for the cold winter.
However, since they had begun farming, they no longer had to do this, because the largest harvest had already been gathered and stored in the tribe’s warehouses, filling up many rooms.
The people felt much more at ease with such an ample food supply.
While many tribes were out in the fields collecting food, the Green Sparrow Tribe still had a significant portion of its labor force focused on building the outer walls.
Harvesting fruits was mostly left to the women, the elderly, and children who were less physically strong.
Now, fruit harvesting in the Green Sparrow Tribe was much easier and faster, as the fruit trees planted around the tribe had grown, many already bearing fruit.
The original orchard had expanded significantly under Han Cheng’s guidance, with the help of the gardener Ba Ge.
Many of the trees planted earlier had begun to bear fruit, and with proper pruning, weeding, fertilizing, and watering, the yield had increased significantly.
Under the vast blue sky, wild geese could sometimes be seen flying in formation, leaving behind loud calls as they flew.
In the tribe’s goose pen, the sound of wild geese in the air would occasionally be met with a few calls in response.
There would also be the sound of wings flapping, though it was futile because the geese’s wings had been clipped.
There are over thirty wild geese in the Green Sparrow Tribe’s goose pen.
After almost two years of being raised in captivity, these geese had changed. Most notably, the gray feathers on the younger geese had almost disappeared, and some had even developed white feathers, which stood out against their gray plumage.
Han Cheng did not know why this change occurred but saw it as a good sign, as the geese increasingly resembled domesticated geese.
Moreover, these geese, which had been raised in captivity from birth, were not afraid of humans. They did not react strongly when hearing the wild geese calling from above.
Fire Two was carrying a basket and, enjoying the fragrant fruits, picked them along with the others in the tribe.
Although Fire Two was older, her body remained strong. While she could no longer climb trees to pick fruit, she could still carry a basket and collect fruit from the ground.
Bending down, she picked up a fruit partially eaten by birds, wiped off the dirt with her hand, and slowly chewed it.
The sweet juice of the fruit filled her mouth, causing a smile to spread across her wrinkled face.
She had lived through many hard times, so she appreciated food more than others in the tribe. Even though the tribe no longer lacked food, she still hated to waste even a little bit.
Chewing slowly, her clouded eyes scanned the surrounding grass, unwilling to let any fruit go to waste.
Before long, her eyes stopped at where two fallen fruits were partially hidden in the grass.
Spitting out the pit from her mouth, Fire Two placed the basket on the ground, then cautiously grabbed some bush, trembling slightly as she descended the slope toward the fruits…