Capito had never considered such a problem before, and for once showed a bewildered expression. After a while, he said helplessly, "Even if the wastewater from refining iron ore is not discharged into the river, it might still end up in the river if we discharge it somewhere else!"
"I have a solution you can try," Maximus said confidently. "Dig several big pits next to the Iron Workshop, and place some charcoal at the bottom of the pits. Discharge the wastewater from iron refining into the first pit, let it settle for a while, then discharge it into the second pit, and let it settle again, then discharge it into the third pit...
This way, after the wastewater has cycled through these pits, most of the mineral residue will have settled in the pits, and the relatively clear wastewater can be discharged into the river."
Capito pondered for a while and asked, "Why put charcoal in the pits?"
"Because charcoal can absorb the mineral residue in the wastewater. You can try it first, and if it works, use this method to treat wastewater from any workshop in the future."
"Alright... I will let them give it a try." Capito showed interest.
"By the way, I remember that the Supply Camp has a large Weaving Team. They make straw sandals, waistcoats, backpacks, tents... they’ve made great contributions to our team. Now that we’re settled, how is your Public Works Department planning to arrange them?"
"Leader, I was just about to talk to you about this. Most of the Weaving Team are women, and a few days ago they all registered for marriage. In the future, they will work the land and take care of their families with their husbands, leaving no time to make these things.
Moreover, now that the tribe members have land and houses, they can plant hemp and raise sheep, weave straw sandals, and wool, and make coats themselves... I think we can disband the Weaving Team."
Maximus didn’t express an opinion and asked, "What about the other sizable team in the Supply Camp—the Transport Team? What do you plan to do with them?"
"Leader, I still say the same thing. Now that we’ve settled, they’ve been allocated land too. Therefore, the Transport Team can also be disbanded, and all the carriages can be handed over to the Finance Department."
Maximus looked at the others and asked, "What do you all think about disbanding the Weaving Team and the Transport Team?"
Volenus spoke up first: "I think Capito’s approach is correct. Now that we’ve settled, the Weaving Team and the Transport Team have lost their functions. Disbanding the teams and letting them focus on farming is the right thing to do. The carriages should be managed by the Finance Department, and the cattle, horses, and donkeys can go to our Agricultural Department for rent to tribe members for farming."
Gaius immediately expressed dissatisfaction: "Your Agricultural Department takes all the livestock, leaving us only the carriages. What use do we have for them? Let them get moldy in the warehouse?!"
Pigeris stood up and said loudly: "I oppose disbanding them! Although families can make clothes and shoes themselves in the future, it takes time and isn’t as good as what the Weaving Team makes. It’s better to retain the Weaving Team to continue making things, sell them to tribe members at a low price, the tribe earns money, and the people save time to focus on farming, isn’t that good."
"Pigeris, you think well, but you must understand that if the tribe members can make things themselves, they won’t spend money to buy them. Besides, those in the Weaving Team now have their land, and won’t want to work for the tribe for free. Can we force them to?!"
Volenus looked at Maximus, seriously reminded him, "Leader, this isn’t just about the Weaving Team. Capito mentioned those Blacksmiths, Potters, Charcoal Makers... they also have been allocated land, so they might prefer to farm for themselves rather than work for the tribe.
Even if a few like blacksmithing or pottery, if they neglect their fields and get poor harvests, they’ll face tribal penalties, forcing them to focus on farming."
Capito’s face changed dramatically. These days he has been busy thinking about how to build bridges and workshops and completely overlooked this issue that could threaten the core of the Public Works Department, causing his mind to be in turmoil, not knowing what to say.
"This problem is actually easy to solve." Maximus’s words immediately gave Capito hope as this young leader calmly said, "The land must be allocated to everyone, as we promised before, and that cannot change!
But for those with skills like Blacksmiths, Carpenters, Potters, and Charcoal Makers, they would actually rather do what they are good at rather than toil tirelessly in farming, and they probably won’t know how to farm, so we need to provide them with this convenience. Let them have land but not worry about farming, allowing them to focus on doing what they love. How to solve it? It’s simple; the tribe will help them farm—"
Does the tribe help them farm? Some in the hall were puzzled, while others were thoughtful.
Maximus, enjoying the attention of everyone, patiently explained, "The reason I introduced the Reserve Tribe Members in the Twenty Peerage System is to have these Reserve Tribe Members help the tribe members who don’t have time to farm.
Our Reserve Tribe Members are now all Skodisqi people. When they were slaves in the Segestica Tribe, they mainly farmed. Letting them farm for the artisans who don’t know how to farm allows the artisans to focus more on Blacksmithing and Pottery, which is a win-win situation.
It’s not just these artisans working for the tribe. Like me, like you, and all the departmental subordinates... all the tribe’s officials are busy with tribal affairs, and they won’t have time to farm for themselves, so they too should have the Reserve Tribe Members farm for them."
Maximus’s words alleviated the concerns of everyone present. Volenus spoke up, echoing everyone’s sentiment, "I think the leader’s idea is great! Now we have over 8000 Reserve Tribe Members, and some Skodisqi slaves will follow mountains from Brochi to join the tribe. Additionally, some Segestica Prisoners may be persuaded by their wives to choose to become Reserve Tribe Members...
With this, our tribe’s Reserve Tribe Members can number up to ten thousand, more than enough to farm for all the Official Tribe Members who work for the tribe, and the excess can assist, open up new fields, build roads, and construct houses..."
Everyone expressed approval, but Karina had some reservations: "I feel... letting these Reserve Tribe Members farm for us and work for us, but getting nothing themselves, seems... like slavery."
"Karina, how can you say such a thing!" Pigeris immediately shouted.
"Hey, Pigeris, watch your words!" Flanitnus immediately stood up to defend his wife.
Pigeris immediately softened his tone, "What I mean is that Reserve Tribe Members are protected by the tribal decree just like us, and no one can harm or insult them. The tribe provides them with food, goods, and shelter, which will not be inferior. Although they might not gain much in two to three years of hard work, they can become Official Tribe Members afterward and be allocated land and houses...
We all have been slaves, and we should know that the life of our Reserve Tribe Members and the abused slaves is like heaven and earth. Don’t you think so, Karina?"
Karina didn’t speak but just nodded.
"Who said that the hard work of the Reserve Tribe Members in these two to three years will gain nothing." Maximus looked around at everyone, speaking with a more serious expression, "The Reserve Tribe Members should indeed gain something for their hard work, to motivate their enthusiasm."