Chapter 44
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Chapter 44: Candidate Confirmed
While everyone was busy moving the camp, Luo Ji took a moment to open the attribute panel and confirm the newly unlocked industrial project…
[Mining Industry (Level 0): Mining efficiency increased by 10%.]
This effect was straightforward and clear.
He had previously earned 2 industry points, and with this current point, he had 3 points in total.
Upgrading in the short term seemed unlikely, and Luo Ji basically had no intention of earning industry points either, so he could only set it aside for now.
However, even if he couldn’t upgrade the mining industry, he would still mine this coal mine!
Did they know how much wood they could save by burning a piece of coal?
Although the logging team at the Mirror tribe was cutting down trees every day to provide materials for defensive structures, the wood they collected along the way still couldn’t support the consumption of the entire tribe.
In such cold weather, they didn’t dare to light many bonfires during most of the daytime because they were worried about not having enough wood for heating when it was time to cook and when night fell.
Under this premise, whether tribal members would catch a cold and get sick due to the extremely cold weather became a worrying issue.
So far, they had been lucky that no one had contracted any serious illness.
When Luo Ji occasionally found a few people with minor coughs, he would immediately tell them to rest and urge them to drink more hot water.
But in the past few days, he had clearly realized that the temperature was gradually dropping, which made his worries intensify.
The discovery of this coal mine was simply a godsend for him!
As long as this coal mine was exploited, even if the tribe’s heating problem couldn’t be completely solved, it could be significantly alleviated.
However, while this problem was being solved, an even more troublesome problem appeared before him, which was the allocation of the tribe’s manpower.
Defensive structures, farming, and fishing were the three development areas where the Mirror tribe currently invested the most manpower.
The importance of defensive structures didn’t need to be said, no matter how Luo Ji shifted people around, he wouldn’t move anyone from defensive structures.
As for farming and fishing, fishing was one of the most important stable food sources for the Mirror tribe right now, so they clearly couldn’t touch that either.
Using this process of elimination, they could only shift people from farming, which had just begun to develop.
According to the White Radish Encyclopedia that Gao Su sent over, white radishes needed to wait until after spring to flower and bear seeds.
Thus, while accumulating fertilizer and cultivating the fields couldn’t be neglected, they didn’t require too many people for the time being.
At worst, they could slow down the farming progress a bit, cultivate fewer plots of land, and assign a few more people to dig coal.
And since they were going to establish a branch city here, they definitely needed to find someone to manage it.
Luo Ji subconsciously thought of Zhou Tao.
After all, Zhou Tao’s talent had a development speed bonus and could even add a little livability, making him a quite suitable candidate.
Moreover, a few days ago, he had also conveniently checked, and Zhou Tao’s loyalty had already reached 85.
This loyalty, in the civilizations of other players, would already be that of a truly loyal subject, but here with Luo Ji, it was just average.
However, at least the chance of betrayal was already suppressed to a minimum, and Luo Ji was also considering whether it was time to let Zhou Tao contribute his abilities.
Of course, another reason was that after such a long time, the loyalty of many people from the original Red Fox tribe was still hovering around 80.
This couldn’t help but make Luo Ji suspect that it was because they had been staying with Zhou Tao the whole time.
This was a good opportunity to move Zhou Tao further away and separate them, which would make it easier for him to further reduce Zhou Tao’s influence as the former chief and boost these people’s loyalty all at once!
At the same time, considering safety, he would also send a few wolf warriors to be permanently stationed here.
Thinking of this, Luo Ji couldn’t help but nod inwardly.
He had more or less finalized the candidate and development plan for the coal mine area.
Next, he just had to implement it…
As he was thinking this, the relocation of the temporary camp here was also proceeding quite smoothly.
After all, there weren’t many tents to begin with, and dismantling them was much faster than setting them up.
After that, they just needed to move the things to the coal mine area, and this land would basically be occupied by them.
It was still early, and they had plenty of time to set up the tents again before dark.
Luo Ji naturally didn’t plan to stay here any longer.
The discovery of the coal mine meant that his whole set of development plans had to be adjusted and changed to a certain extent.
How could he have the leisure to slowly linger here?
To be on the safe side, Luo Ji only had Luo Yong protect him on his return to the Mirror tribe.
The others would temporarily be stationed at the temporary camp here.
Although the possibility of being discovered by other enemies or even having this camp taken during this time was very small, considering the importance of the coal resource, it was still better to be cautious.
They had already gotten the meat into their mouths, they couldn’t spit it out again just because of carelessness, could they?
It was a half-day journey, and there were no dangers along the way.
The two, covered in dust, finally returned to the Mirror tribe before sunset.
The return of the chief made Zhao Pan, who was the city defense general, secretly breathe a sigh of relief.
During the days Luo Ji was away, the safety of the entire Mirror tribe was directly on his shoulders.
It would definitely be a lie to say he wasn’t nervous at all.
The reality was that he had been so nervous he hadn’t slept well for days!
By the end, Zhao Pan even felt a bit on edge.
Now that Luo Ji was back, he could finally hand over this heavy burden.
Looking at Zhao Pan, who stood outside the tribal camp with a look of relief, a hint of understanding flashed in Luo Ji’s eyes, and he then smiled and patted Zhao Pan’s shoulder.
Everything was unspoken.
Returning to the camp, Luo Ji didn’t rest much.
After drinking a bowl of hot water and warming himself up, he had someone find Zhou Tao and bring him over.
Zhou Tao came quickly.
Entering the tent and looking at Luo Ji, who was sitting cross-legged on the animal hide, Zhou Tao respectfully said.
“Chief, you were looking for me?”
“I plan to establish a branch city, and I want to entrust its management to you.”
Luo Ji said directly, without beating around the bush, knowing that Zhou Tao’s loyalty was not an issue.
However, Zhou Tao was full of doubts upon hearing this.
“Chief, what is this ‘branch city’ you speak of?”
“Uh, do I have to start from here?”
Alright, he had gotten used to the backwardness of this ancient era.
He explained the concept of a branch city simply and clearly.
Zhou Tao was also a smart person with 3 star intelligence, and he quickly understood Luo Ji’s meaning, his expression a mix of surprise and astonishment.
He was surprised that such a concept had never been brought up before, and probably no one had ever done it.
And he was astonished that Luo Ji would entrust the task of managing a branch city to him, one of the newest members of the tribe and the former chief of the Red Fox tribe.
At this moment, Zhou Tao felt a feeling of being ‘trusted.’
Slowly exhaling a long breath, Zhou Tao, whose mindset had been readjusted, couldn’t help but show a hint of brilliance in his eyes as he looked at Luo Ji.
