In times of chaos and famine, I traded one pound of rice for two royal flushes.

"Why should I!" A middle-aged man, who was dressed reasonably well, suddenly slammed the bowl in his hand to the ground.

"We all fled here together! Why do they get to eat meat while we only get to drink water!"

His words instantly ignited the anger of all the Class C personnel.

"Exactly! It's unfair!"

"We're not slaves! Why should we work for you!"

"Hand over the meat! We'll divide it equally!"

A dozen or so people started shouting and even tried to storm the campfire where food was being distributed.

Wang Tiezhu and Zhao Wu, along with their men, immediately stopped them.

"Who the hell dares to move!" Wang Tiezhu glared, his eyes blazing with murderous intent.

"Who dares disobey Mr. Qin's rules!"

"Rules? What bullshit rules!" the leader sneered. "Who does Qin Shaolang think he is? He just got lucky and killed a bunch of pigs, right? Does he really think he's an emperor?"

"He's exhausted and lying in the house like a dead dog, and you guys actually listen to him?"

"Brothers, the meat's right there, we'll go get it ourselves! Anyone who tries to stop us, we'll kill them!"

The crowd stirred again, and the situation was on the verge of erupting.

Su Jin stood not far away, her palms covered in cold sweat.

She knew this was the most crucial moment.

If he can't control this group, everything Qin Shaolang has built will collapse instantly.

Just then, a cold voice came from behind the crowd.

"Tell me, who do you want to kill?"

The crowd automatically parted to make way.

Qin Shaolang, supporting himself on the door frame, walked out step by step.

His face was still pale, and his steps were unsteady.

But as soon as he appeared, the temperature in the entire valley seemed to drop several degrees.

All the commotion came to an abrupt halt.

The man who had led the disturbance took a step back in fright when he saw Qin Shaolang come out.

But then, seeing Qin Shaolang's pale face and unsteady steps, his courage returned.

He shouted, his voice trembling with fear, "Qin Shaolang! Don't think we're afraid of you! We're all human, why should we be divided into different classes? If you don't bring out the meat and divide it equally today, we... we won't accept it!"

"Yes! I disagree!"

"Split it equally! Split it equally!"

Once someone took the lead, the others followed suit and started shouting.

Qin Shaolang did not look at them.

He simply walked to the campfire and took a still-dripping cleaver from Zhao Wu, a cleaver used for butchering pork.

He flicked the blade lightly with his finger.

hum-

The crisp sound of the knife rang out, drowning out all the noise.

"I was inside the house just now, and I heard it very clearly."

Qin Shaolang's voice wasn't loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears.

"You say it's unfair."

He looked up at the man who was leading the group.

"Where were you when I led my men to fight over thirty wild boars?"

The man was speechless.

Where were you when Zhao Wu and his men risked their lives to build the wall and block the wild boars' retreat?

Where were you when those women and children were gathering firewood for us under the scorching sun?

With each question Qin Shaolang asked, he took a step forward.

He walked slowly, but every step felt like he was stepping on everyone's hearts.

"You did nothing but hide in the valley, waiting for someone to bring you food."

"Now you're talking to me about fairness?"

"You think you're worthy?"

As he spoke the last three words, his tone suddenly rose, and an invisible killing intent emanated from him.

The man in the lead was intimidated by his imposing manner and retreated repeatedly until his legs gave way and he collapsed to the ground.

Qin Shaolang walked up to him and looked down at him.

I'll give you one more chance.

"Or, pick up your bowl and go drink your boiled water."

"Or, I'll send you on your way."

The man's body trembled violently, and his crotch was wet and hot.

He was so scared he wet himself.

The surrounding crowd was deathly silent.

They had no doubt that if this man dared to say "no," his head would be separated from his body in the next second.

"I...I'll drink...I'll drink water..." The man, his voice trembling with sobs, scrambled back to the group, picked up a broken bowl, scooped up a bowl of boiling water with shaky hands, and gulped it down.

It was as if it were a precious elixir.

A conflict that could have sparked a riot was thus resolved by Qin Shaolang with remarkable ease.

There were no excessive words, no complicated reasons.

Only the most direct and primal form of violent deterrence.

Qin Shaolang returned the knife to Zhao Wu, then turned to everyone and said, "I will only say what I have to say once."

"In this valley, you have to work to survive."

"If you want to eat meat, you have to risk your life."

"Starting tomorrow, the hunting team will be expanded to thirty people, jointly managed by Zhao Wu and Li Si. All first-class food will be given priority to the hunting team."

"The infrastructure team has been expanded to thirty people, with Wang Tiezhu in charge. They are responsible for the construction of fortifications and accommodations in the valley and will be provided with second-class food."

"The remaining women, the elderly, and children were all assigned to the logistics team, with Su Jin in charge. Their tasks included harvesting and processing food, sewing, and caring for the wounded. They were graded as either B or C based on their workload."

"Every morning, Su Jin will announce the tasks. Every evening, she will announce the ratings and food distribution based on the completion status."

"Is there a problem?"

The entire room fell silent.

No one dared to ask any more questions.

Qin Shaolang nodded in satisfaction.

What he wanted was this absolute obedience.

A stable and efficient system is being rapidly established in a rather brutal manner.

He ignored those people and turned back to the cabin.

He needs rest.

Su Jin watched his retreating figure, her heart filled with mixed emotions.

She knew that from this moment on, she was completely bound to Qin Shaolang's chariot.

She was no longer simply a recipient of protection.

She became the...head steward of this autocratic kingdom.

……

Silent all night.

The next day, just as dawn was breaking, the entire valley threw itself into the intense work with unprecedented enthusiasm.

Having learned their lesson from yesterday's bloodshed and been tempted by the lure of meat, no one dared to slack off anymore.

In order to join the hunting team and get to eat the best meat, the men even competed in strength with Zhao Wu.

The women would compete to do the hardest work just to get a sip of meat soup.

The entire valley is teeming with life.

Qin Shaolang, on the other hand, devoted all his energy to processing pork.

Tens of thousands of kilograms of pork must be processed in the shortest possible time.

Under his direction, people built a dozen simple smoking houses on one side of the valley using stones and mud.

The so-called smoking room is actually a semi-enclosed earthen kiln with a stove at the bottom and a frame made of wooden sticks at the top.

The pork was cut into long strips, washed with clean water to remove the blood, and then dried.

Then, Qin Shao-Lang had people light the cypress and pine branches that had been cut down and put them into the stove below.

Instead of letting them burn with open flames, the meat strips hanging on them are slowly smoked and roasted with thick smoke.

Soon, a unique aroma, a blend of the fragrance of pine and cypress and the scent of meat, began to permeate the valley.

This smoking method was something Qin Shaolang learned from an old hunter in the mountains when he was surviving in the wild in his previous life.

Meat smoked with pine and cypress branches not only preserves itself for a long time but also develops a unique flavor.