New Rules

Xia Hong was never one to compromise easily.

Just like in his previous life, when he was in the late stages of ALS and felt his mobility slipping away, rendering him completely useless, he chose to take his own life.

If life was devoid of dignity, it was better to die a glorious death.

However, in this perilous Endless Winter world, achieving that goal was extremely difficult.

Hunger, cold, daylight, Frost Beasts, Grotesque...

Any one of these could claim countless lives.

It was impossible to achieve this alone.

Only by uniting the strength of more people could this goal be achieved the fastest and best. This was Xia Hong's most profound realization since his transmigration.

Xia Hong believed that all humans, by nature, yearned for a decent and dignified life. This was the most basic and essential need in the human heart, without exception.

He was like this, as were Xia Chuan, Yuan Cheng, Yue Feng, and others.

The rest of the Great Xia Camp was also like this.

And Frost Beast Meat was the ticket to such a dignified life.

Before, when they didn't get their share of Frost Beast Meat, Xia Hong would return to a camp filled with despair. Except for the few who could cultivate with Frost Beast Meat, everyone else would lie listlessly by the bonfire.

But ever since Xia Hong started distributing Frost Beast Meat, they had changed.

Almost everyone, after eating their fill, would find opportunities to train, wanting to improve their strength, join the Lumber Team reserves, and get a portion of Frost Beast Meat.

The sudden resurgence of vitality in these people made Xia Hong realize that everyone in the camp yearned for change. Given the opportunity, anyone could unleash tremendous energy.

When countless individuals unleashing tremendous energy formed a group and moved towards the same goal, no difficulty could stop them.

"Many hands make light work" was not just an empty phrase.

The size of a camp was determined by its population, which was proof of this.

All camps knew that increasing their population made them stronger.

But due to resource and strength limitations, they couldn't achieve it.

However, now, the Great Xia Camp, by taking a different path with the Small Torch, could achieve it.

Naturally, Xia Hong couldn't stick to the old rules.

Letting go of personal gains and losses, distributing a portion of Frost Beast Meat to increase the camp's vital forces, absorbing more people, expanding the camp's scale, and repeating this cycle was the best route for developing the camp.

Xia Chuan, Yuan Cheng, and the others were not stupid. But limited by their past knowledge and experiences, their vision was inevitably short-sighted.

Moreover, as the saying goes, "Profit moves the heart."

Letting go of personal gains and losses was never an easy thing.

Fortunately, Xia Hong was there to set an example for them.

When Xia Ding and the Lumber Team met with disaster, Xia Hong brought back Frost Beast Meat and distributed it to them.

This was why Xia Hong had the confidence to ask them to do the same now.

In reality, Xia Hong could have made all the decisions himself. He believed that under his strict command, whether it was Xia Chuan, Yuan Cheng, Yue Feng, or anyone else in the camp, no one would oppose him.

With his current prestige, he could absolutely do it.

But he didn't. Instead, he chose to present facts and reason with Xia Chuan and the others.

Abolishing an old system and establishing a new one was simple.

But making everyone understand the logic behind it, ensuring the system truly functioned, and even making people willing to jointly maintain the system was not so easy.

The purpose of any system was to regulate and develop an organization.

If the implementation of the new system caused Xia Chuan, Yuan Cheng, and the others to develop grievances towards the rest of the camp, or even lead to conflict, it would be counterproductive to this goal.

Mainly, Xia Hong had clearly felt in the past period that this group led by Xia Chuan, who were the first to break through to the Lumbering Realm, truly had issues with the rest of the camp, and these issues were indeed developing towards conflict.

This was why Xia Hong was so patient in explaining clearly why he was doing this.

What benefits this would bring to them and to the camp.

After Xia Hong laid out all the pros and cons, he saw Xia Chuan, Yuan Cheng, and the others fall into deep thought. He didn't disturb them, remaining silent, waiting for them to fully comprehend his words.

After a long while, Yuan Cheng was the first to look up.

"Leader, I understand now. Only when everyone becomes stronger can we truly not fear those Frost Beasts, nor will the previous tragedies happen again. I am willing to listen to you and distribute the meat according to the three-five-two ratio."

"No matter how strong an individual is, it cannot change the overall environment of our camp. The Leader is right. Only when everyone plays their part can we live better and longer. I also agree that the meat distribution rules should remain unchanged."

"Exactly. We now have the ability to hunt, and there is more Frost Beast Meat than before, enough to cultivate more battle power in the Lumbering Realm. If we still cling to the old rules, Great Xia will at most return to its previous state. I also agree with the Leader's opinion, the meat distribution rules will not change."

Yue Feng, Lin Kai, and the other five also voiced their agreement one after another. It was clear that Xia Hong's words had not only been heard but truly understood.

"Prioritizing the cultivation of more battle power in the Lumbering Realm is indeed more important right now!"

Unexpectedly, the last one to understand was his younger brother, Xia Chuan.

Seeing the sincerity on everyone's faces, knowing that they genuinely recognized his words from the heart, Xia Hong felt a sense of relief and a faint smile appeared on his face.

This matter, while not a major issue, was certainly not a minor one either.

The distribution of benefits had always been a timeless problem.

There was never a definitive answer as to whether the individual or the collective should be prioritized.

But one thing was for sure: at present, Great Xia absolutely had to prioritize the collective.

A group of people without strength, who couldn't even venture out at night, not only offered no help to the camp but would also drag down those in the Lumbering Realm.

Even picking Crystal Fruit carried a certain risk.

Abandoning them was out of the question, but endlessly picking Crystal Fruit to support them was even more unfeasible.

As the old saying went, "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime," and Xia Hong wholeheartedly agreed.

Helping them become stronger, improving their survival capabilities, was the right path.

Furthermore, as everyone in the camp grew stronger, resources would accumulate faster. With more resources, more people could be supported, and this cycle would continue, making the future of the Great Xia Camp limitless.

Of course, more importantly, the resources for upgrading the Camp System were now secured.

Although currently, only a Small Bonfire was available as a system building, judging by its upgrade requirements and the conditions for unlocking other buildings, the resources Xia Hong would need in the future would undoubtedly be a colossal amount.

Without the support of a stable and massive camp population, Xia Hong himself would certainly not be able to acquire so many resources, so he had to rely on more people.

The establishment of the new regulations was Xia Hong's challenge to the inherent concepts of this world, and also his first practical application of his development philosophy for the Great Xia Camp.

Fortunately, with the prestige he had accumulated in the early stages and a considerable amount of persuasive effort, everyone had listened to him.

"After all, it's just a makeshift team of over a hundred people. We'll take it slow. With the first time comes the second, and the day it runs like clockwork isn't far off!"

With the new regulations established and the knots in everyone's hearts untangled, Xia Hong no longer dwelled on it.

"It's almost dark, prepare to go out."

The others nodded at the sound, turning to retrieve their weapons.

Only Xu Ning, who had just broken through, knew he was about to venture out for the first time. He touched the Stone Axe already hanging at his waist, his expression one of sheer excitement.