The group discussion came to a halt when the allocation list reached the seventh cart.
It was not hard to establish who owned each cart.
There were also records of how often its wheels had broken and who had repaired them.
What could not truly be divided with a stroke of the pen was what the carts carried.
The carpenter Jino had built his grain cart himself.
Yet the thirty-two sacks of grain inside were reserves the migration group had earned through their collective labor.
If the entire cart went to the Settlement Faction, those continuing the journey would immediately lose ten days' worth of rations.
If the grain was unloaded and divided equally, Jino would have no way to transport the elderly and children when he headed to the farmland settlement site.
Luma proposed dividing everything directly according to headcount.
Ling added another column beside the supply ledger.
First, they had to distinguish personal property, communal supplies, supplies designated for specific purposes, and outstanding collective debts.
The grain cart itself belonged to Jino.
The thirty-two sacks of grain were allocated according to each group's actual numbers and the minimum requirements of its journey.
The grain allotted to the Migration Caravan would be carried in two empty carts, whose owners would receive payment for three days of transport.
If they were unwilling to rent out their carts, the Migration Caravan could choose to carry less or use communal funds to hire other vehicles.
Ownership did not disappear because of a collective need.
Nor could anyone use ownership of personal property to take communal grain along with it.
The two crates of medicine were more complicated.
The medicine was not to be distributed by headcount, but according to the needs of seven patients and any reactions that might develop later.
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