The warmth of winter in the shaman's room made it quite lively.

The source of this liveliness was the numerous rabbit kits.

For example, at this moment, a large portion of the bed was divided into small 15 cm squares using bricks.

Each square was lined with soft, dry grass, and the baby rabbits, each covered with a layer of fur, were on top of the grass.

The animals raised in the Green Sparrow tribe were, in many ways, quite fortunate.

Not only did they not need to worry about predators, but even in the winter season, they didn’t have to worry about food. They could eat their fill without hesitation.

The abundant food supply had a direct effect: the animals raised by the tribe were all quite energetic.

Therefore, many rabbits, which usually didn't reproduce during winter, broke this pattern.

While the temperature was low, the female rabbits didn’t behave like the neutered rooster in the tribe, always dutifully guarding the eggs they hatched.

Instead, they stayed in their nests while nursing, and after feeding, they would casually cover the kits with dry grass and wander off.

Such a carefree attitude wouldn’t have been a problem in other seasons, but not in winter.

After two litters of newborn kits were frozen to death, the shaman, heartbroken by the sight of the tiny rabbit corpses, began to think of a solution.

He was, of course, upset. After all, the meat from seven or eight baby rabbits combined didn’t even equal that of a single adult rabbit.

The current situation in the shaman’s room resulted from his thinking.

He began capturing the pregnant female rabbits and kept them in the room to give birth in a warmer environment.

After the kits were born, he moved them to the warmer bed.

This way, no baby rabbits would freeze to death.

The female rabbits that had already given birth were not released but kept in the room.

The front half of the room had been transformed into a small rabbit enclosure.

After some time, he would take one of the female rabbits from the enclosure and bring it to the bed to nurse.

He tracked which rabbit had which litter and never made a mistake.

Of course, even if he did, it didn’t matter—rabbits couldn’t talk.

Before the shaman, even if he brought the wrong litter to the wrong mother, the rabbit would lie there and nurse the wrong kits without protest.

Once the kits reached a certain size, the shaman moved them from the bed to the rabbit enclosure near the front wall.

After being raised a bit longer, the mother and her kits would be returned to the main rabbit enclosure.

During this time, the male rabbits in the tribe often gazed at the shaman or the little furry rabbit kits with confused thoughts.

They couldn’t understand why a female rabbit would return with a group of baby rabbits after being taken away by this two-legged creature who frequently fed them.

And these kits were now large enough to run around.

What had happened during that time was something that these male rabbits pondered deeply.

At that moment, Han Cheng gently tapped the head of one tiny rabbit kit, which was greedily sucking on the nipple despite being nearly crushed by the other kits and was still eating happily. He found it quite amusing.

After feeding the rabbits a while, the shaman reached under the mother rabbit to feel her belly. Finding she wasn’t producing much milk, he grabbed her by the ears and returned her to the rabbit pen by the front wall.

One greedy little rabbit, still holding on to the nipple and unwilling to let go, was dragged along and flipped over in the process.

“Shaman, I’m planning to have Chang Tui manage the slaves,” Han Cheng said while holding a small, soft, and barely furred rabbit, playfully squeezing it a little.

In the tribe, once Han Cheng decided to do something, it was rare for anyone to oppose it. However, he still preferred to discuss matters with the shaman first. If the issue were more significant, he would gather the high-ranking members of the Green Sparrow tribe—Master Brother, Second Master Brother, Junior Brother Sha, and Shang—to consult with them.

On one hand, this was out of respect for the shaman, Master Brother, and the others. On the other hand, it was easier to make decisions after discussing things clearly with them. Moreover, he didn’t want to turn the tribe into a dictatorship.

While a dictatorship could effectively resolve matters and increase efficiency, it had a critical precondition: it required a wise and decisive leader. If the leader were rash, inept, or foolish, a dictatorship would quickly lead the tribe into disaster.

Han Cheng felt that, as an outsider, he had more knowledge and experience than the people in the tribe. A dictatorship didn’t pose much of a problem while he was around.

If this were a later time, especially during the Xia dynasty and beyond, he wouldn’t dare speak so arrogantly. But in this era, he had no hesitation in making such bold statements.

The critical issue was that everyone eventually died. When he grew old, who could guarantee that his successors would all be wise and capable?

This was, of course, a somewhat shameless thing to say.

But the reality was what it was, and its logic was clear.

As someone from a later generation, Han Cheng had a great chance to raise the second and third generations properly. If he lived long enough and his descendants were capable, even the fourth and fifth generations could be hopeful. But what about after those generations passed? What would happen then?

Humans are inherently unstable, so systems need to play a role.

A person can’t be entirely reckless or act without restraint. There must be some limitations, especially for those who hold great power.

Without checks and balances, it’s easy for someone to become arrogant and out of control.

Han Cheng always discussed essential matters with the shaman or Eldest Senior Brother.

Of course, given his current status in the tribe and his forward-thinking mindset, most of the major decisions would still align with his wishes, even if he spoke with the shaman or the others. But the process was now in place. He had planted a seed, ensuring that all paths wouldn’t be closed off entirely.

As the tribe grew, with increasing education and enlightenment, perhaps the situation would change. Future leaders might face dissent when making significant errors, and those in power might hear different voices.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay