107 Laying the Cornerstone

Serfs have absolutely no concept of "possessing" anything.

This was a vital piece of information that Wu Qingchen kept firmly in mind.

Even young Andre, only thirteen and perhaps lacking a fully developed sense of morality, could state such a thing with such natural ease. This realization gave Wu Qingchen a deeper understanding of the meticulous details in the plan prepared by the Earth team for the serfs:

The grain given to the serfs must be consumed immediately within the livestock shed; any further rations intended for their families must be dispensed day by day, with painstaking care, and in very small portions each time.

"About that..."

Considering the status of the serfs and meeting Andre’s inquisitive gaze, Wu Qingchen carefully weighed his words. "Let’s just forget about the beans this time... After all, I’m still not quite used to the work of a cowherd, and the assistants have only just arrived. Things are prone to going wrong, so if they eat a bit more, let them. A little extra strength will help them get the work done in the shed..."

"Besides..." Wu Qingchen pointed to the simulated practice scene ahead, "No matter how much they eat, it’s just beans. What we are getting is honey—honey that includes a share for you! Honey is far more important than beans, isn't it? Don't you agree?"

Honey!

"Yes, yes, yes..." The constant mention of "honey" instantly crushed the appeal of "beans." Andre’s attention shifted immediately, his eyes crinkling into a smile. "Honey! Honey! Move the hive first, let's move the hive first!"

It was fortunate that a child's enthusiasm only lasted half a minute.

Having successfully diverted young Andre’s well-intentioned meddling, Wu Qingchen felt a wave of relief and refocused his attention on the hive-removal training.

"York, don't lean your body so far forward! Grip the branch! Put some strength into it! Do you want to fall?"

"Harry, stand to the right... ahem, stand towards your eating hand! Otherwise, you'll get hit by the branches!"

"Dean, raise the torch higher, higher still, and get closer. When I shout 'Burn,' you pretend the bees are swarming out and hurry over to smoke them!"

"Alright, everyone is ready... Good, let’s begin..."

"Jared... start with you! Block!"

At Wu Qingchen’s command, a serf immediately raised a wooden pole tipped with wet mud, blocking the entrance of the simulated "hive," which was fashioned from leaves.

"Watch out... Dean, your turn! Burn!"

Following the second command, Dean, who had been prepared, immediately placed the specially crafted, thick-smoke torch beneath the simulated "hive," smoking it convincingly for a few seconds.

"Good, good... York, it's your turn! Cut!"

Clinging firmly to the branch beneath him, York raised the axe high and swung it with force, aiming for the pre-cut gashes in the branch.

With a sharp crack, the branch holding the simulated "hive" jolted downward, only to be caught firmly by four arms reaching up from a lower branch.

"Hold steady! Hold steady! Good... Elmo, Harry, you two did well this time! Now lower it slowly... slower, slower!"

Elmo and another serf carefully maintained their balance, slowly squatting to lower the branch.

"Now, Dean, Rex, shake it..."

Dean and the other serf, having taken hold of the branch, shook it gently with both hands. The simulated "hive" swayed up and down but did not fall.

"Excellent, everyone did a great job this time!"

Hearing Wu Qingchen’s praise, the cowherd assistants and the serfs all broke into smiles.

They had done more than just a good job!

For the assistants and the serfs, who had been completely clueless at the start, the speed at which they had progressed to such smooth and tacit coordination—all in just the time it took to work a small plot of land—was so incredible that the six of them felt a sense of pride in themselves.

Hmm, good. It seemed they wouldn't be too late.

While his helpers were busy congratulating themselves, Wu Qingchen glanced at the sky and breathed a sigh of relief that the progress of the drill was on track.

Yes, what seemed like miraculous speed to the serfs and assistants was, to Wu Qingchen and the Earth team, only barely satisfactory.

The Earth team placed an extremely high priority on the task of harvesting honey.

There were only six people involved in the "hive harvesting" drill. Among them, the cowherd assistant had been identified as a vital human resource, and the four serfs had been carefully hand-picked by Earth.

With such subjects, and through prolonged observation and high-level attention, Earth had gathered extremely precise data:

As for York, all the villagers in the medieval world who knew him viewed him as thin, short, honest, and timid—a completely unremarkable person with almost no distinct traits.

However, the Earth team, represented by Wu Qingchen, knew better than his own mother that this skinny boy possessed remarkable endurance and muscle control.

His ability to effortlessly hold the axe for a long time while perched on a branch, and then accurately strike the pre-cut gashes, was proof of this.

The others were the same: the person with the best vision and arm stability was assigned to hold the pole and block the hive with wet mud; the person with the sharpest reflexes was assigned to hold the torch to prevent accidents; the person with the most strength was assigned to support the branches...

This was the meticulous arrangement of human resources.

Material resources had been considered just as thoroughly.

Walking from the edge of the forest, the trees Wu Qingchen had seemingly walked up to and the branches he had pointed out were actually the best choices in a vast area.

These trees and their branches—the height of their forks, the angle of their orientation, and the thickness of the cuts—all maintained a high degree of consistency. This minimized the interference of accidental factors during training and ensured they were as close as possible to the actual tree where the final harvest would take place.

The level of importance was also reflected in the fact that, in addition to the massive amounts of manpower and material resources, another even more important resource—"Wu Qingchen’s time"—was lavishly allocated to the tune of two hours, almost identical to the time required for the actual practice.

After spending two unforgettable hours with a group of rare, drug-addicted monkeys from a certain Southeast Asian nation—who were doing their best to mimic the intelligence levels of the Aicli villagers—Wu Qingchen found that guiding these six helpers was naturally twice as effective. Practice truly made perfect.

With so many resources poured in, it wasn't just Wu Qingchen and the six helpers who were impressed; even the observing young Andre felt dazzled.

Unlike his usual lessons with the priest or his participation in the various governing actions of Aicli, which he would soon grow tired of as the novelty wore off, Andre felt no impatience. Instead, he found the skilled coordination in the field to be quite a sight to behold.

"Los, you all are learning so fast..."