Chapter 348: The Core of the Problem
Shi’s question was excellent, voicing his doubts and leaving the decision-making to Lin Ye, even seeking his opinion, which showed Lin Ye great respect.
Observing Lin Ye’s line of questioning, it was likely that Lin Ye had already devised a plan. Lin Ye had been staring at the cook for so long, probably contemplating how to deal with the Caoqian Tribe.
Lin Ye asking him now was likely to make him understand the dangers involved and to draw out his thoughts, making Lin Ye’s direct questioning the best approach among all possible methods.
Seeing Shi inquire, Lin Ye’s lips curved again, and he secretly nodded at Shi’s intelligence. This fellow had a good mind, able to guess Lin Ye’s intentions, which was why Lin Ye… among so many people.
He liked talking to Shi more than anyone else, because Lin Ye liked Shi’s intelligence, and he liked Shi’s intelligence.
So Lin Ye chuckled and replied to Shi’s question, “Therefore, these Caoqian Tribe people cannot be kept, at least not within our Beast-eared Tribe!” He had made up his mind. Yes, how should the Caoqian Tribe be dealt with? That was the core of the problem. Shi was stunned by the question.
After a moment’s pause, he looked back at Lin Ye. At this moment, Shi had no solution; only Lin Ye did. If he didn’t ask Lin Ye, should he just come up with a random idea?
That idea would probably be terrible. Besides, Shi believed Lin Ye already had his own plan.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have asked him like this. He was just waiting for an opportunity, and after Shi asked, he would present his plan to Shi in a seemingly collaborative tone.
But what had been done, had been done. If they didn’t do this, would they just let the Caoqian Tribe go?
You must understand, everyone held grudges. Especially within primitive tribes, if they were to let the Caoqian Tribe go directly, the Caoqian Tribe might even counter-attack the Beast-eared Tribe.
The number of the Caoqian Tribe was of no concern to the Beast-eared Tribe. In a direct confrontation, these people would be no match for the Beast-eared Tribe, as the previous encounter had clearly shown the difference.
But what about a surprise attack? A surprise attack was a different matter. Regardless of how outnumbered the Caoqian Tribe was compared to the Beast-eared Tribe, they could still carry out a surprise attack.
After all, the Beast-eared Tribe wasn’t always vigilant about safety, and even if they were, as long as the Caoqian Tribe was determined.
Coupled with their hatred, if they chose their moment, they could still launch a surprise attack on the Beast-eared Tribe to some extent, making it impossible for the Beast-eared Tribe to fully defend against them.
Surprise attacks were something everyone feared. Being targeted by surprise attacks almost daily by a tribe? That would be disastrous. Therefore, after analyzing Lin Ye’s words, Shi knew that direct analysis was not feasible.
Since this analysis told Shi that the Caoqian Tribe could not be simply released, what should be done? How could this problem be avoided?
If they were not released, and not to be incorporated into the Beast-eared Tribe’s citizenry, how should they be dealt with? Could it be? Could they be eaten?
The mere thought sent a shiver down Shi’s spine again.
It was true that Shi loved to eat, but when it came to eating human flesh, he was instinctively strongly opposed. Eating human flesh, how disgusting! Only degenerates like the Caoqian Tribe could do such a thing.
Thinking of this, Shi couldn’t help but glance at Lin Ye. Seeing no expression of a human-eating pervert on Lin Ye’s face, Shi felt a slight relief. If he didn’t intend to eat human flesh, it meant Lin Ye’s character was still normal.
Originally, Shi had a doubt he wanted to ask Lin Ye: did Lin Ye have some intention of eating them? Then, the words reached his mouth, and Shi retracted them.
This question had already been asked once. Asking it again would be inappropriate. At first, Lin Ye might not have minded, but asking it again now would imply that Shi believed Lin Ye genuinely had such an intention, wouldn’t it?
Who knew if Lin Ye would get angry? Who knew how Lin Ye would vent his anger, or how he would deal with Shi? Thus, Shi, who was usually very smart, made a very smart decision this time: to abandon this question.
Fine, Brother Lin didn’t really plan to eat human flesh; it was just his own fleeting thought. So Shi pulled back the words that were on the tip of his tongue and no longer intended to ask Lin Ye this.
“Then, Brother Lin, what do you plan to do?” Shi asked Lin Ye with doubt. Since he didn’t know what to do, he could only ask Lin Ye. … Seeking flowers.
This repeated questioning, for Lin Ye, or for Shi, showed how much Shi valued Lin Ye’s opinion. At least Shi believed that Lin Ye’s ideas might be better, which was why he asked.
Lin Ye saw Shi eagerly questioning him, and his gaze towards Shi was noticeably different. After all, this indicated that Shi had a distinctly different view of Lin Ye’s ideas. “You must understand, these people cannot remain in our tribe.”
Lin Ye said simply, then continued, “And they cannot be let go, lest they pose a threat to our Beast-eared Tribe. So, what do you think should be done?”
As Lin Ye spoke, he inquired of Shi, leaving Shi puzzled for a moment. What did Lin Ye mean by saying this?
Shi didn’t understand Lin Ye’s intention, but he suspected Lin Ye wanted to see his opinion. So Shi braced himself and said, “How about we sell them as slaves?” If all other answers were incorrect, this method of disposal could be considered the simplest and most direct. What else could it be if not this? Should they be used for labor as slaves?
The Beast-eared Tribe had so many people now; what use would they have for these slaves? It would be better not to have them, as they would consume food and yet not bring any benefit to the Beast-eared Tribe. Sending them out to hunt? That would be absurd.
If they were released and given enough food to regain their strength, these people would undoubtedly turn their weapons against themselves, not against the beasts.
Given this, all other possibilities could be discarded. Shi believed his current suggestion was absolutely the most correct.
Lin Ye quite agreed with Shi’s answer. Upon hearing Shi’s response, Lin Ye nodded and continued, “That’s right, I thought so too.
Now that there are no other options, we can only sell them. This will bring certain benefits to our Beast-eared Tribe.
These people can be exchanged for a considerable amount of food, which can solve our food shortage for many days.
