In the past, even at harvest time,
each person could receive at most a sack of wheat or potatoes, along with a few wilted seasonal vegetables.
Clearly, those bland, flavorless crops could never compare to the food the Divine Tree had bestowed.
Though Sura was in a hurry to get home, he could hardly contain his excitement as he explained:
"Hey, didn't the notice say? From now on, instead of handing out rations directly, the elders and foremen will record how much work we do each day and convert it into 'work points' that we can exchange for food."
"All right, I've got to go. If I don't get back soon, that insatiable little brat will tear the house down!"
Sura squeezed through the crowd and ran home happily, leaving the villagers in an uproar.
People discussed the wealth of information in Sura's words.
Work points were settled daily, which meant that Sura could earn enough food to feed his family of three by working just one day.
And on top of that, there were the vegetables bestowed by the Divine Tree, as well as oil and salt they normally never got to taste!
Some people still doubted whether Sura was telling the truth, while the clever ones had already gathered around the exchange notice and begun reading it carefully.
They soon discovered that it listed far more than food and seasonings. There were also clothes, tools, and other everyday necessities that they could only replace once in a long while.
Most importantly, the list even included "blessing slots."
Word of the Blessed and their wondrous abilities had already spread through the valley.
Anyone who received the Divine Tree's blessing could gain a physique far stronger than an ordinary person's, as well as the ability to use "divine arts."
Now, even those who had not been commended before had a chance to receive a blessing!
All of this could be obtained in exchange for those little "discs," the work points.
These discoveries kindled the enthusiasm of all the villagers, and the previously orderly line fell into disarray.
Everyone wanted to rush to Beruto as soon as possible to check their work points, then exchange them for those enticing goods.
Who wouldn't want to wear new clothes without patches, use handy new tools, eat the "delicacies" from yesterday's feast every day, or even gain the legendary power of the extraordinary?
Only a fool wouldn't!
"Stop shoving! Get to the back of the line!"
"Quit pushing! Are you in such a hurry to feed yourself to the bugs in the Sea of Corruption?"
"Hey, you there! No cutting in line! Have you forgotten all the manners the elders taught you?"
Fortunately, Beruto had prepared in advance, setting up a barrier in front of the granary with hemp ropes and wooden stakes.
The strong young guards were also doing their best to hold back the crowd and maintain order.
Just as Mu En had anticipated, the people of the Valley of the Wind had been suppressed by famine for a long time, and their enthusiasm for a better life had been unleashed.
Replacing equal distribution with work-point exchanges was the first step in Mu En's reforms.
Of course, work points were only a temporary substitute for currency. Once they had the technology to mint coins, these wooden discs, which were difficult to preserve, would be replaced in turn.
Mu En's goal was to make everyone understand that they had to rely on their own labor and feed themselves with their own hands.
In the past, the villagers had worked for the Valley of the Wind and for the chief.
No matter how much work they did, what they received never changed.
Now, though they were still working for the Erdtree, people could live better lives through hard work and sweat.
As it happened, the increase in productivity brought about by the Golden Order provided the material foundation for the reforms.
As for opposing voices, there would certainly be some.
A collective society where everyone worked for everyone else sounded so wonderful and harmonious,
but the reality was often that people became muddleheaded and complacent, passively waiting for their share and for handouts.
Once hunger and unrest struck, this world that existed only in the imagination would instantly shatter.
For example, right now...
"Why? Why did I work myself to death today, only to get one work point?!" A tall, thin farmer waved his arms, his face full of indignation.
"That's right! It only gets us one sack of food. It's not fair!" A craftsman in a leather apron joined in the shouting.
"Elder! There must be a mistake. How come I don't have a single point?" The last man slapped the table, utterly convinced he was in the right.
The men shouted one after another, as though they had suffered an enormous injustice.
Yet Beruto remained perfectly calm in the face of their complaints.
He even took his time sitting back down, leaned back, and propped his leather boots on the wooden table.
Smack!
He threw a thick ledger onto the table in front of the three men.
"The Divine Tree said, 'Distribution according to labor: more work, more reward; less work, less reward; no work, no reward.'"
"Though there are some words I don't quite understand, I do understand what's written in this ledger."
He paused and pointed at the first farmer.
"Your job was to pile the contaminated soil in the woods to the west, right? Then tell me, how many cartloads of soil did you clear today?"
"I-I naturally..."
At Beruto's mention of it, the farmer, who had been bristling with anger just moments ago, began to stammer.
"The record says it plain as day: one cart in the morning and one in the afternoon! Other people can make fifteen or sixteen trips a day. And you? You hid beneath the cliff and took a nap!"
The farmer's lips moved as he tried to defend himself, but under the increasingly disdainful gazes of the people around him, he couldn't get a single word out.
Then Beruto pointed at the miner.
"And you! You made plenty of sparks, but after swinging all day, you barely made a few decent parts. You wasted so many precious steel ingots, and you still want more work points? You're lucky you weren't fined!"
"W-well, I..."
Beruto ignored him. His expression grew serious, and he fixed his gaze on the last man, the one who had slapped the table.
"You're the worst of all. You secretly stuffed wheat into your own pockets while grinding flour, didn't you?"
At those words, the man's face turned pale.
"The Divine Tree is merciful. He decreed that as long as someone shows up for work, even if they're a little inefficient, they'll receive at least one work point a day, enough to keep them from starving."
"But someone like you, stealing what you were entrusted to watch over and breaking the valley's rules... Hmph!"
"Since this is your first offense, I'll only deduct three days' worth of your basic work points. If you're caught again, you won't get off lightly!"
The three men, whose misdeeds had been exposed in public, were roundly cursed by the villagers all around them.
"Pah! Slacking off when it's time to work, but eager enough when food is being handed out!"
"How does a lazy bum have the nerve to complain?"
"Get lost! Stop blocking the honest workers behind you!"
With everyone filled with righteous indignation, they could no longer bear to stay. They turned and slunk away.
Beruto snorted, sat up straight again, and lowered his feet from the table.
He picked up the ledger and the leather bag of work points once more and called to the people waiting in line:
"Next!"
Order returned to the line, which became even more orderly than before.
Whenever Beruto read out the results of a day's labor and placed work points in their hands, genuine joy appeared on most people's faces.
They had earned a tangible reward with their own hands.
This sense of accomplishment was something they had never felt when rations were divided equally by headcount. It even felt more real than going onstage to receive commendations yesterday.
Beruto watched the people hurry happily toward the exchange point, and another thing the Erdtree had said came to mind.
It was only five Chinese characters, yet it seemed to contain boundless power.
He silently repeated it to himself, the corners of his mouth lifting involuntarily.
Labor is most glorious.