She really had no idea how she managed to survive the next two days. Ever since the "Farmland Rest" project started, she had been going through the same routine every day. She would wake up at 4: 50 am and lie down for a while, feeling weak, hungry, and dizzy. Then, she would gather enough strength to get up and eat a food ball.
At 5 am, the four farmers had already started plowing the fields. They worked all the way until 10 am before they could replenish their food ball and take a short nap. Lu Hua used this time to repair the farming tools. Just like that, they divided their work into three parts. They would work for five hours before they could rest for an hour. Lin Sanjiu always felt that this short rest did not help her recover her energy. Instead, it made her work even longer and more difficult. Not to mention, she would work an extra hour at night so that her grand prize could rest a little longer.
At nine o 'clock in the evening, after a day's work, she was often so tired that her brain was muddled. Once, she even thought that Han Suiping was still alive. It was not until she saw the body covered in a blanket in the corner that she woke up with a start.
Compared to the farmers, the life of the workers and the tax collectors was much better. The workers still had a few hours to work every day, but the tax collectors only needed to make one trip a day, and it would take them less than an hour to go back and forth. Other than Haust's occasional mutterings, "I should have chosen the tax collectors," the only sounds in the room were Lu Hua and Jian Sheng's low whispers. After all, for the farmers, the strength to even open their mouths to speak was a burden.
The biggest source of comfort for Lin Sanjiu was the increasing number of food balls around Silvan. They were all wrapped in paper and stacked neatly on the ground. Every time Lin Sanjiu felt that she could not hold on any longer, she would look at them. The more food balls there were, the closer she would be to the end of her grand prize's project. Regardless of the grand prize's real motive, at least her bitter days would come to an end.
On the fifth morning of the "Farmland Rest" project, Lu Hua suddenly called out to Silvan, who was sitting far away from the room.
"You only eat three food balls a day. Surely that's not enough, right?" Lin Sanjiu and Jian Sheng sat side by side beside the field, far away from Han Suiping. "We can't even stand it if we only eat four food balls a day … You have the biggest responsibility, shouldn't you eat a few more?"
Why was his responsibility the heaviest? The thought flashed across Lin Sanjiu's mind, but she was too tired. The farming task occupied most of her mind, so she didn't think too much about it. If it was the heaviest then so be it.
Ji Shanqing, who was not far from her, stopped what he was doing. Only then did she turn around as well.
Silvan was leaning against the wall. It seemed like he had not moved for a long time. Even though Lin Sanjiu couldn't see his face clearly, she could feel that he had lost most of his energy and stamina. Ever since they met, this was the first time she saw him so pale and frail.
Hearing Lu Hua's question, he paused for a few seconds before he finally opened his mouth.
"No … there's no need." His originally smoky voice became even deeper and hoarser, as if it would scatter into sand and be swept away by the wind with a single touch.
"But won't it be difficult to speak with just three of them?" Jian Sheng asked.
Silvan looked like he wanted to shake his head, but in the end, he did not move. "I'm fine … don't worry about me." It was obvious that it was a little difficult for him to speak, but at least he could open his mouth. He lowered his eyes and said, "We need to hold on for another two to three days."
Both of them nodded and looked at each other.
"Then … if there's no problem," Lu Hua seemed to find it difficult to speak her next words, so she grabbed the corner of her shirt and stuttered for a long time, "Do you mind replying to the words on the wall?"
'What words?'
Lin Sanjiu was stunned. Then she remembered that she had been farming with her head lowered for a long time. She had not looked up for a long time. It seemed like she was not the only one. When the grand prize looked up, he sucked in a deep breath. It was obvious that it was also his first time seeing the words on the wall.
In the anonymous worry zone that had been quiet for a few days, a new worry popped up.
"How can he survive on just three food spheres? He's not a vegetable. It's fine if he just lies there without moving. He still needs to work and talk. Without a fourth food sphere, he can't do that, right? "
Silvan's movement of turning around and looking up seemed heavy and powerless. He stared at the wall quietly for a while. Everyone could only see his golden hair. For a moment, they were all anxious and no one spoke.
"What … does this mean?" he finally opened his mouth and chuckled softly. "Is someone suspecting that I secretly ate the fourth food sphere?"
Lin Sanjiu immediately thought of Lu Hua, who had raised the question. However, when she thought about it again, she realized that other than her and Ji Shanqing, the other two farmers did not seem to be surprised when they saw the worry. 'Could it be that they already knew about it?'
"Under pressure and fatigue," Jian Sheng said as if he was trying to smooth things over, "It's inevitable that someone will overthink it. Why don't you explain it to them so that they won't worry? "
"How do I explain it?" Lin Sanjiu had always been a mild person. However, for the past few days, she felt as if there was a vicious aura poking at her. She immediately asked, "His stamina is better than others. How do you explain that?"
Jian Sheng glanced at her. He seemed to be angered by her tone, "If you have such stamina, why don't you use it on farming? If you don't solve your problem, why don't you just keep it to yourself? "
"There's no need to argue." Ji Shanqing's face darkened. He retorted on behalf of his sister, "Do you think this is a problem? In the past, we have a clear count of how many food spheres we have stored every day. If you think that Silvan has secretly taken the food spheres, you can just go over and count them. "
Perhaps he had lost his cool because of the environment, so he added, "Anyway, you are the one who has the most free time."
Jian Sheng's face instantly darkened. His forehead turned red. "It's not that I don't trust Silvan. It's just that some of us think that way. I'm just trying to solve the problem. What's the point of showing your loyalty to me? You should find that person and ask him to count them. "
"There's no need for that."
Silvan snorted coldly, telling them to shut up. After everyone quietened down, he slowly stood up with the help of the wall. He bent down and took a food sphere from the pile. "Don't … look for that person. I will spread out all the food spheres. You can count them from across the room. "
... It was a needless waste of his strength. Lin Sanjiu looked at his slow and sluggish movements. She was so anxious that she wished she could find the person who had that thought in his mind and yell at him.
Every time Silvan put down an orb, Lu Hua would count it off. After all the food orbs were counted, there was indeed a total of 64 orbs that had been saved over the past few days.
"We have already wasted half a day," Lin Sanjiu said with a sullen face, "Since there's no problem, let's get back to work."
"Yes, the numbers are right," Jian Sheng nodded.
Ji Shanqing turned to look at him but did not say anything.
"As long as the numbers are right, it's fine. What else is there to say?" Lin Sanjiu picked up her farming tools impatiently. Seeing that, Nü Yue and Haust also picked up their tools. The words "The numbers are right" lingered in the room for a while even after the voice disappeared.
"Sis," Ji Shanqing called her softly, "Can you say something to them? It would be best if you can distract them … "
Lin Sanjiu frowned and thought for a while. "Why? What's wrong? "
Ji Shanqing sighed. "Forget it. It's useless to distract them for a while. What will come will come …"
"What will come?" Lin Sanjiu was getting more and more confused.
"Theoretically speaking, if Silvan wants to eat all the food spheres, there is another way." Coincidentally, just as Ji Shanqing said that, someone suddenly shouted, "Look!" Lin Sanjiu followed everyone's gaze and turned around. She noticed that the anonymous message in the Worry Zone had been updated.
"Even though the numbers are right, we won't be able to find out if he eats a little from each food sphere."
After reading the message, Silvan looked up. His eyes were a deep green and cold. "Are you done?"
Everyone couldn't help but shiver.
"Actually, we all believe in your innocence," Nü Yue said in a hoarse voice after being silent for a long time. "You don't have to worry that some scoundrel is hiding something in his stomach."
Everyone looked at each other, but no one objected.
Just when the atmosphere became awkward, the message on the wall changed again. This time, it wasn't the anonymous message in the Worry Zone. Instead, there was a new line next to the date and time. It read, "Attention, if anyone in this room neglects their duties or uses their position for personal gain, they will be punished by being stripped of their position."
Lin Sanjiu grabbed her grand prize's hand to stop the dizziness in her head.
'What does this mean?' It was obvious that the message was directed at Silvan. Stripping a farmer of his position wasn't a 'punishment'.
Everyone looked at each other for a while. No one knew who started it, but whispers began to ring out intermittently.
"There's even a message on the wall …" Lu Hua sighed. "Maybe it's a request for us to investigate this matter?"
"If he's stripped of his position, who will be the inspector?" Haust asked as he looked at Jian Sheng. "Should we use the promotion method or find someone else to replace him?"
Silvan sat on the floor and stared at the people who were discussing among themselves.
"I also think it's impossible to get three balls a day, but Silvan is different from us," Nü Yue explained, "I don't know why there are messages like that on the wall …"
"Those who are stripped of their positions will become idlers without a job. Jobs cannot be changed. Those who are willing to make greater sacrifices and take on more positions can register as a candidate. Everyone who has a position will vote to decide if they want to take on the position. "The message on the wall changed again as if it was a response to them.
"Obviously, we have to find out the weight of the food ball." Jian Sheng lowered his head and coughed. "Actually, I have an idea. If the food ball is pinched a little bit lower, the weight will be wrong. You might not be able to tell, but I can use my tax collector's tool to test it."
He didn't dare to look in Silvan's direction, so he scanned the crowd.
"What do you think?" Jian Sheng's voice trembled slightly. "If everyone agrees, I'll go and test it."
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