I Became The Chief Of A Primitive Village

Chapter 252, Population Management Needs to be Prioritised

Translator: Silavin

“That is exactly the effect I was going for. They’ll want to seriously learn soon enough.” Su Bai said with satisfaction. [Only when they see the benefits of learning how to read and write, will they have the motivation to learn and be more willing to study. Forcing them like herding ducks onto a bridge wouldn’t work well. Knowledge learned that way would be forgotten within days. Having them learn voluntarily is definitely far better than when others force them to learn.]

The cat eared girl asked hesitantly, “Shaman, do we really need to teach them? The Black Snake Tribe had occupied this territory for so long…”

The cat eared girl still could not understand why the Shaman was allowing them this opportunity. After all, their Tribe had occupied their Tribal Ancestral Land for such a long time. Moreover, they had treated the Flame Dragon Tribesmen as slaves, which was unforgivable and inexcusable.

If not for the Shaman’s explicit orders to treat them the same as their own Tribe members, Sha Lan would never have let them off.

“The Black Snake Tribe was indeed horrendous and cruel, but most of the common people there were innocent. They did not kill and only sought to survive. Most did not even get to interact with the slaves.” Su Bai said.

He naturally understood why the Flame Dragon Tribesmen would be angry. He also could not be completely sympathetic to everyone.

“I understand that, but Shaman, the rainy season is coming soon, and after that comes the snow season. We don’t have enough dried meat to feed so many people.”

Sha Lan somehow found the courage to speak up about these matters, though her tone remained very respectful.

After speaking, she realised it might have been inappropriate and quickly lowered her head to apologise: “Shaman, I spoke too much.”

The cat eared girl was usually quiet and reserved, but suddenly became quite talkative on this topic. It was unlike her usual self.

“It’s fine, please continue. I actually prefer you to be more active and talkative.” Su Bai gently said.

Today he got to see another side of the cat eared girl – one with opinions and ideas. The cow horned girl was always casual and straightforward, while the fox eared girl was more cautious and timid.

Having another rational person who could help manage the Tribe and analyse problems calmly would naturally be beneficial.

Sha Lan breathed a sigh of relief. [As long as I’m not being blamed, that is already amazing…]. “Shaman, do you have any solutions?”

“Of course. It’s impossible for me to accept everyone from the Black Snake Tribe,” Su Bai firmly stated.

“What does the Shaman plan to do?” Sha Lan grew serious, tucking all her loose hair behind her ears.

“Something I’d wished we need not do. Still, it seems the most practical, considering our situation… Survival of the fittest. We will use the natural system of the wild to reduce their numbers.” Su Bai gravely said, with a dark expression.

This was an issue he had been seriously considering for the past two days, after hearing that the snow season would come twenty days after the rainy season.

The storage of food and construction of cement houses was urgent right now, but the Black Snake Tribe still had nearly two thousand people. Including the several hundred former slaves, the Flame Dragon Tribe only had about eight hundred people.

Together, these two groups would be close to three thousand people. Storing enough food in such a short span of time would be extremely difficult.

The stored food must be sufficient. They could not have people eating one meal but missing the next, as this would cause great distrust within the Tribe. After all, he had promised that everyone would have enough to eat at every meal. If people started missing meals, the Tribe would inevitably become restless.

However, having enough food suddenly appear to support so many people was not realistic. After much consideration, he felt that survival of the fittest, though cruel, was the most appropriate approach.

“Survival of the fittest?” As a Warrior Trainee, Sha Lan naturally understood this concept, and did not seem bothered by it. “Shaman, how will we implement this?”

“The elderly will all have to leave. There would be no point in supporting them. As for those younger, everyone will have to compete in combat. The winners will be allowed to stay, and the losers will be forced to leave.” Su Bai steeled his heart to declare.

He knew this was extremely cruel, but he did not think there was any other option. For the sake of the entire Tribe, he had to implement this system.

When weighing the whole Tribe to the elderly who could not help and children without talent, the Tribe’s welfare had to take priority.

Sha Lan knew this was cruel, but her heart did not soften. After all, this system would be implemented on the Black Snake Tribe. They had treated the Flame Dragon Tribe the same way back then, so this could be considered karma. In fact, she might have felt a slight sense of elation from this news.

“I understand.” Sha Lan became more solemn.

“Tell the Chieftain about this matter and let him handle it. He should know better how to implement this.” Su Bai instructed.

“Alright,” Sha Lan nodded.

Su Bai took a drink of water, put down his wooden cup and asked, “By the way, how did you remember all those people? Weren’t there many people who registered? How do you know who wants to do what work and who wants to work?”

He suddenly realised this issue, since she could not read – how did she record who had registered?

“I memorised everything – what they look like, their characteristics, what work they want to do.” Sha Lan confidently said.

“Oh!” Su Bai almost spat out the water he was drinking and asked in surprise, “Are you serious?”

[Nearly a thousand people had signed up! How could anyone remember all of them!? Our own Tribesmen is one thing, since we see them each day and are familiar with them but what about the Black Snake Tribesmen? She didn’t know any of them, right? How could she remember all of them?] Su Bai realised this and was deeply shocked.

“Yes, Shaman, I remembered all of them.” Sha Lan said matter-of-factly, not finding anything strange about it.

The cat eared girl had shown a great talent for memorising things since childhood. In fact, it was due to this ability that she had never gotten lost in the forest. Moreover, she could remember things clearly after taking a brief look. Sha Hong had even once thought her child had the potential to become a Shaman.

Su Bai was internally shocked by the cat eared girl’s memory. He had thought it was just somewhat better than average. He did not expect it to be this extraordinary.

He drew in a breath and said, “It’s good that you can remember so much. That’ll be extremely useful.”

The cat eared girl’s talent would definitely be useful to the Tribe, at least in this era without identification cards. Being able to remember who was who would be crucial.

Without the cat eared girl’s exceptional memory, it would indeed be difficult to register what work so many people wanted to do, especially since none of them had any identification documents.

However, this was precisely why identity cards and population registration needed to be prioritised – it would help with future development.

“Thank you for the praise, Shaman.” Sha Lan smiled gently.

“Those who want to work can start this afternoon. Give them extra meat for dinner.” Su Bai instructed.

“Shaman, our Tribe doesn’t have much meat left, and the Hunting Team and those that went to the Spotted Deer Tribe have not returned yet. If we give them extra meat, what’s left probably won’t last more than a few days.” Sha Lan worried.

“The Hunting Team and those that went to the Spotted Deer Tribe will be back in a few days. I have plans for the next few days.” Su Bai confidently said.