However, the heavens did not align with Jiang Yuan's plans. Just as he finished picking Cherries and was about to log out of the game to get some sleep before returning to chop wood, a large raindrop suddenly fell with a "plop."
This drop, landing squarely on the tip of his nose like an ice-cold vanguard, led the way as Copper Coin-sized raindrops began to pour down in torrents, quickly soaking the once-parched ground.
Jiang Yuan hurriedly ducked into the thatched hut for shelter, staring blankly at the pouring rain. How was he supposed to chop wood now? He didn't even have decent rain gear—is it possible to get sick if you get rained on in the game?
The good news was that he wouldn't have to water the strawberry patch on a rainy day. Overnight, the seeds he planted yesterday sprouted with lush green leaves, unfurling in the rain to a more vibrant green.
Looking up, he suddenly realized that even during the day, the Divine Mountain Statue offered its protection. The dome noticeably deflected part of the downpour, making the raindrops in the courtyard much gentler than those outside.
Meanwhile, beyond his homestead, the river and undeveloped jungle were enshrouded in a white mist rising from the rain, merging with the rivers in a scene as grand as a painting; the wind bent small trees into arcs, and the wild grass took on a wave-like motion, generating a sense of an illusory personal paradise amidst the vastness of nature.
"This is it, with rain this heavy, today's likely going to be a washout…" Jiang Yuan was fretting about how the rain would delay his tasks when suddenly, he paused and thought—why not sleep in the game? After all, there's nothing he can do on a rainy day, and is there any weather better suited for sleeping than heavy rain?
He opened the door to check that there was no risk of flooding in the courtyard before shutting it again, then he nestled into the pile of dry straw on the wooden bed, inhaling the rich scent peculiar to hay. It reminded him of the comfort of crawling into a straw pile for a nap when he was a tired child.
With no work pressure or troublesome social interactions, Jiang Yuan lay on the bed in his secret base, completely his own, dreaming of a bright future. This instilled a rare sense of security in him, someone who had never owned a house of his own while drifting through the city.
The downpour outside the door served as the ultimate natural white noise, and combined with the fatigue from a night's work, he soon fell into a comfortable sleep, enveloped in the smell of hay.
The villagers of Riverfront Village watched the torrential rain with concern.
They couldn't just relax at home and sleep soundly like Jiang Yuan; they needed to quickly gather the tribute offerings, with every family having to contribute. Even with the rain pouring down, they couldn't afford a break. After all, the sooner they received the Divine Statue's protection, the sooner they could enjoy a peaceful night's sleep.
"Truly, when it rains, it pours. I just hope the crops in the fields won't be washed away by the heavy rain." The village chief stood at the mouth of the cave, inspecting the village records cradled in his arms by the dim light.
This was a legacy only the incumbent village chief could receive, with detailed records of important past events, including how much initial tribute was needed and how the rituals were to be performed to gain the Guardian God's favor.
"Rice, flour, oil, quality meat all count. We still have sixty-three households left, and each one needs to contribute at least five hundred pounds of supplies to be enough. Five hundred pounds…" The village chief spoke with a lack of confidence.
The barren mountains and harsh waters—where there could be such a plentiful harvest?
It's unknown how long the ancestors had to stockpile supplies before they gathered enough tribute—only for all that years of effort to go down the drain overnight!
"Five hundred pounds per household?!"
"How many seasons' harvest would that take?"
"The Wilderness Descent ruined quite a few fields that can't be farmed anymore—how are we supposed to survive?"
"The strong labor in the village was already scarce—after the fires and the raids, we don't even know where the next meal's coming from—and yet we're being asked to squeeze five hundred pounds of tribute from our midst? They're trying to kill us!"
"At least those who can hunt have it better—five hundred pounds of quality meat isn't too hard for them, but for us who can only scrape a living from the fields, it's a nightmare!"
Upon hearing the comparison, many villagers' gazes turned to Wan Mingchuan and a few other young men who occasionally hunted to supplement their household incomes.
"I say those who are capable should do more; us older folks don't have as much strength for labor, and we can't handle bows for hunting. Back in the day, Riverfront Village thrived thanks to our generation's contribution after decades of effort, so now it's time for the young ones to put in some work."
The thin, goat-bearded elder from the He Family sighed, "Let the young people contribute more and let the old, weak, sick, and frail do what they can—after all, the village belongs to everyone. Engage in teamwork and not quibbling, and we'll rebuild sooner."
These words garnered majority support; the village chief frowned slightly, observing the two hundred villagers, of whom one-third were elders and one-third were children. The remaining youths were mostly women, considering that most of the young men who had been captured by the Rat Spirit had been eaten. Reviving this village with the remaining elderly and feeble seemed impossible.
"I don't oppose the idea of the capable doing more." Wan Mingchuan spoke up as many eyes turned towards him, supporting himself against the stone wall to stand.
The wound on his back seemed to ache more fiercely, but he could only grit his teeth and endure, after the grandfather he depended on, who knew how to find herbs, had died while fleeing the Rat Spirit.
"Now, more than ever, is the time for all of us to unite and overcome the hardships. Everyone should contribute as much as they can, but we also need to be reasonable, not just focus on responsibilities."
Clearing his throat, Wan Mingchuan spoke up, "Redistribute the land; the young and strong will do more work, plant more fields, and pay more tax. For instance, when I lived with my grandfather, he and I only had under two acres—all in the mountains.
We had to hunt whenever the harvest wasn't enough to eat; risk it to catch wild game to make ends meet.
Now, with the village's reduced population, yet clinging to old land allocations, the old, weak, and sick can't handle the work, and there's not enough land for the young and strong to farm—how is that fair?"
His words found resonance with a few villagers; the major clans, having more people and higher survival rates, previously secured plenty of good farmland due to their noble status, and were loath to let go of what they had.
"There's nothing wrong with distributing land according to headcount. If you have no land to farm, you can hunt more! You're young; just hunt a few deer and wild boars, and you can easily gather thousands of pounds."
"Yeah, even hunting is easy for you! Just shoot an arrow and hit the mark, get the meat and sell the skins—why be greedy for more farmland?"
"We already have so many elderly and weak here, and you heartlessly want them to farm less and work marginal lands—do you want people to starve?"
"Young people shouldn't be so greedy. You grew up under the Divine Statue's protection thanks to our contributions, and now when it's your turn to contribute, you cry for excess—no conscience at all!"
Voices of dissent grew, with some elders suggesting that hunting youth should shoulder all the tribute, shamelessly claiming that two wild boars per person would be sufficient, all while ignoring hunting's dangers.
"Considering headcount allocation could work too." Wan Mingchuan raised his right hand to his lips to cough a few times, speaking in a slightly hoarse voice, "From as far back as I can remember, the village claimed there was no extra land to allocate; hence, someone like Chunxi was landless.
Now, with many families having lost members who are laid to rest, isn't it unnecessary for the deceased to be holding onto fields?
If the village chief records the population and available farmable land, and redistributes it accordingly, each person would have more land, while we young people can make up the tribute before summer by hunting."
With the Divine Statue's protection, we could develop new fields and wouldn't have to worry about the changing seasons bringing further destruction."
Qiao Mei nodded silently at these words.
After her in-laws passed, their land was taken back. When she married, the village clearly ceased land distribution even though, with two children, the family was entitled to more. With only her husband's share, they scraped by, relying on odd jobs from the major clans to make ends meet.
Now, with so many villagers lost to calamity, if land were redistributed by headcount, she and her children would get three shares; with hard work, they could survive.
"Why redistribute? Faced with disaster, you should think of contributing to the village, not benefit while you can. How selfish are you?"
"Stop jabbering. Your family originally had two plots; now with your grandfather gone, you'd be down to one. Don't you know how to do the math? You're benefitting now!"
"You're only complaining that your land isn't in a good spot. If a young person like you doesn't want it, how do you think senior folks would manage? How can you be so petty…?"
…
Outside, the torrents fell while inside conversations clashed, boiling down to one sentiment: no one was willing to give up their advantages, yet responsibility was the least desired.
The youth had enjoyed the village's protection, and now it was time to demonstrate their worth through action—fear not hardship; after all, it was the village affording the chance to contribute offerings. Without such opportunities, even with resources, you'd remain without celestial protection.
If you want to stay in Riverfront Village and gain the privilege of paying tribute, you must comply!