There can't be a Harvest Moon in the RimWorld.

The fat guard rushed out with a clatter, looking at me with a big smile, his hands rubbing together like a restless fly.

"Baldy, what's this guy doing?"

I turned around and asked the bald man behind me. He whispered, "He is the chief slave warden here, Lucouler Wiska. He is also in charge of the slave plantations and animal farms. Or you could say that he is in charge of all the two-legged and four-legged animals on this land."

The bald man's last sentence succinctly explained the situation. Guarding slaves alone wasn't much, but adding the plantation and animal husbandry farms made those two jobs extraordinary—definitely cushy jobs!

“But your harvest here…has never been very good, right?” I continued to ask.

The bald man said, "That's right. During the time this guy was guarding this place, the town experienced food shortages every year, and the animals' growth was also unsatisfactory."

"But you can't find the problem either, right?" I continued.

The bald man exclaimed in surprise, "Boss, you know about this too? Indeed, the lord has sent people to inspect this place many times, trying to find evidence that he's slacking off. But no matter when they come, they can always see him diligently forcing the slaves to work."

He thought for a moment and then said, "For a while, I heard that a strict slave overseer was brought in, who whipped half the slaves to death, but that year's harvest was even half as bad as before! The lord was furious and executed that man, and in the end, Luca Visca continued to work here."

Chapter 341 Majestic and Magnificent

After listening, I remained silent for a while, then ignored the bald man, letting him ponder the reason with a puzzled look on his face. Thinking is a good thing, but if one lacks sufficient knowledge or fails to see things from a broader perspective, one will end up like the bald man, forever clueless.

Just to clarify, my analogy was not meant to imply that he was bald. I am very friendly to people with hair loss and would even be happy to join in if necessary.

The reason he and the lord couldn't see through this problem was because they both adhered to a reformist ideology, without reflecting on the existing system, always feeling that it was good enough, and if it wasn't enough, they could just make some repairs and continue.

But what rules in the world are unchanging? When the rules themselves can no longer reflect the problems, the outward manifestation is that the rules become less and less effective, and the opposition from those affected becomes less and less.

I never expected that this place would still maintain such a primitive system.

Slaves were generally prisoners of war, natives of occupied territories, debtors, and criminals, and some were trafficked from places like Africa to the slave market.

Slavery ushered humanity into the age of civilization, greatly promoting the development of social productivity and representing a significant historical advancement. However, slavery was also one of the most barbaric systems, as clearly demonstrated by the characteristics of slave-based production relations and the plight of the vast majority of slaves.

For example, their workshop model clearly skipped the stage of slavery and directly transitioned to an apprenticeship system based on personal employment. This was something the workshop owners discovered: only these people could dedicate themselves fully to their work, learn skills, and maintain enthusiasm.

If slaves were put in charge of things like cooking, they would either be beaten to death or the residents would be poisoned within a month. No one could accept that.

The biggest problem was that the relationship between the slave-owning class and the slave class was one of naked exploitation and being exploited. Slaves were deprived of all rights and forced to perform the most intense and arduous labor under violence.

The fat man in front of me, the best slave overseer mentioned by the bald man, probably understood some of the essence of the system. He managed the slaves by using a balance of leniency and oppression, which allowed him to ensure a stable food output under this primitive system.

Was it because he couldn't force the slaves to produce more food? Obviously not, but if he had done so, the delicate relationship between him and the slaves would have been broken, and their stable cooperation would no longer have been maintained.

Were slave owners powerful? Absolutely. For example, a unique aspect of the ancient Greek city-state of Sparta was their reliance on Helots for almost all economic activities. This allowed the Spartans to dedicate themselves fully to military training and war preparations, which in turn could be used to prevent slave revolts.

However, in the long run, war is no longer about superior equipment and elite troops, but about sufficient manpower, resources, and a logistical supply line that can be guaranteed at any time and place.

No wonder the lord reluctantly agreed to let me take the slaves as compensation. In fact, he had long suspected that these two-legged beasts could no longer keep up with the pace of the territory's development and would eventually become a burden that hindered the territory's progress.

I can only say that while slavery was primitive and backward, the feudal class represented by the lords was nothing but a bunch of frogs in a well, completely oblivious to their own greatest threat, and allowing the seeds of the bourgeoisie to blossom everywhere in this territory.

So far, I haven't met the town merchants the bald man mentioned. But I can imagine that this group must be from the bourgeoisie in a more commercially developed region. Only they could carry out such a subtle and precise strike, planting seeds that quietly sprout in this impregnable desert.

By the time the lord discovers all this, the artisans in the workshops will likely have grown up and gradually taken control of the town's lifeline. Unless the lord has the courage to destroy everything he has built, the best outcome for him will be to flee in panic with his elite troops.

"I'm here to take away slaves."

I ignored the fat guard's pleasantries and went straight to the point, telling him why I was there.

The fat guard took a step back dejectedly, turning to look at the gray-robed man and the old man in the flowery clothes behind him. The gray-robed man nodded slightly with a gloomy expression, while the old man in the flowery clothes stood there frantically making eye contact, afraid that the fat man would do something impolite.

Seeing this obvious signal, the fat guard said no more, and with a fawning smile, led the way: "Honorable guest, the slaves you requested are all in the houses over there. It's afternoon now, and the sunlight is too strong, which could easily cause them to faint and die, so I had them stay in the animal shed to look after the animals."

He wiped the sweat from his cheeks with his fat hand and opened the iron gate leading to the slave quarters.

"By the way, distinguished guest, the smell inside might be a bit strong. If you feel uncomfortable, I can have the slaves come to the door for you to choose from. Also, some immoral things often happen in the barn. Please allow me to go in and take a look..."

After saying this, he nervously slipped into the low doorway. Then came the sound of whips cracking and animals squealing, followed by a long delay before the painful, low cries of humans could be heard.

Hearing this, I glanced at the bald man and noticed that he also had a strange sense of embarrassment on his face, as if he were constipated.

"What are you doing? Do you have an upset stomach and need to pee?"

The bald man said awkwardly, "I heard a rumor from my master, I don't know if it's true... it's that some of these slaves secretly have illicit relations with animals... I just heard the warden mention it, and it suddenly reminded me..."

Is there also a mournful wind here?

The old man in the floral shirt quickly stepped forward, trying to cover up his behavior of spreading such vulgar gossip. He slapped the bald man on the head: "You bastard, is that what I told you? I told you that when these slaves were captured, all the women and children were killed, leaving only men to work as laborers. The gender imbalance could lead to riots, so we need to be careful!"

The bald man said aggrievedly, "Master, you clearly said they wouldn't get aroused without women, and there's a bunch of animals over there... and then you and your drinking buddy were laughing and groaning for ages..."

The old man in the flowery clothes still wanted to hit the bald man, but the slaves inside the house had already been slowly driven out and lined up at the door. Most of them were shirtless, exposing their thin, bony ribs, and looked like vagrants with disheveled hair and dirty faces. Their eyes were all staring blankly at what was in front of them, showing no curiosity about the people watching them. Their mouths were slightly open, and they didn't say a word.

One man with several whip marks on his body stood out. Not only the two unscrupulous master and apprentice, but even I couldn't help but take a second look at this horseman, thinking to myself how majestic and powerful he was!

"Honorable guest, these are fifty of our youngest and strongest slaves. Which one would you like?"

The fat guard kicked one of the slower walkers, then stood in the front row with his belly protruding and introduced the situation in a loud voice.

Chapter 342 A Marvelous Person

When I proposed taking the slaves with me, I intended to use this opportunity to visit the slave warehouse of the loader's territory and see if I could find those who had managed to escape from Shisong Village.

But to my disappointment, none of these people were the ones I wanted.

"Guard, why are there no women or children here?"

I looked down at the fat man in front of me and interrogated him. Although I wasn't much taller than him, my imposing presence made him feel as if Mount Tai was pressing down on him, and he could only look up at me.

The fat warden swallowed hard and said cautiously, "Honorable guest... what we need here is a sufficient workforce. Those women and children are not suitable help, and we do not intend to allow slaves to reproduce. Therefore, from the beginning, there has only been..."

Hearing his answer, I guessed there must be some unfortunate stories behind this, and that this rule was probably established long before this place was even built. The fate of those women and children was self-evident.

But this surprised me a little.

According to Burnett, he discovered evidence of the abduction of a group of women and children in his secret hideout beneath the granary. In that moment of crisis, all the men had gathered in the square of Ten Pine Manor, undoubtedly prioritizing the hiding of the defenseless women and children.

But the loader's leader never kept female or child slaves, so where could these missing people have gone? Has the trail gone completely here?

I glanced at the sunlight in the sky, assessed the time, and realized that I didn't have much time left in my plan. If I delayed any longer, more variables would arise, so it seemed I had to speed things up.

I pretended to be annoyed and shoved the fat guard, yelling at him furiously, "You damned ant, how dare you stop me? Do you want me to tell your lord the whole truth?"

After the fat warden fell to the ground, he crawled forward for a short distance, then awkwardly circled around me and hid behind the row of slaves, saying in terror, "No... I have absolutely no idea... what you mean!"

I swung my steel halberd, the cold blade slicing past him and tearing off a piece of his clothing.

"What do you mean? You put this garbage in front of me because you think I can't even tell the difference between good and bad?"

Seeing that things were not going well, the old man in the flowery clothes behind me quickly came up to me and pleaded, "Honorable guest, you must have misunderstood something! Lucole Wisca has always been recognized as an honest man in town, and these are the youngest and strongest slaves here. He didn't mean to make excuses!"

I glared at them coldly and said in a somber tone, “Honesty? I think you might need to redefine your understanding of honesty. He brought out young men, that's true, but are these qualified slaves? They're probably not even livestock.”

It's not that I discriminate against any of the people present, nor that I have any prejudice against the believers in front of me, but from what I see, it's clear that they all have problems, big and small...

"The person in front of you."

I pointed to the man standing in the front row, and as I stared intently, a semi-transparent panel slowly unfolded in my field of vision, revealing information that others could not see without reservation.

"Depression! This person is never happy and has a moderate tendency to self-harm. Even if everything else is fine, it must be very difficult for him to have a good mood!"

I used my halberd to lift his filthy arm, which was covered with countless knife scars. Throughout the process, the gloomy man stared at me with a lifeless expression, like a long-decaying corpse.

"The second one!"

I approached another man with slightly distorted features, took a candle from the house, and saw that the slave's eyes were filled with a morbid and greedy expression. His previously dormant eyes instantly came alive.

"An arsonist! This person is obsessed with fire because of his unhappy childhood and never puts it out. To relieve stress, he often wants to set fires everywhere in a frenzy, which is more frequent when he is depressed."

Through his movements, everyone present could see a large, gruesome scar on his disheveled face, left by flames.

"The third one!"

I walked up to the third man. He stood motionless, like a marble statue, seemingly frozen in place, as if he had stopped breathing. But as I kicked him to the ground, causing him to collide with the fat guard, everyone present saw that the man suddenly opened his mouth, and saliva dripped down his blackened teeth…

"A cannibal! This man grew up in a desert town and learned from a young age that cannibalism is a terrible and wrong thing. But during a famine a long time ago, he tried it once... and then he found it tasted pretty good."

I took a quick look around and found that all the young adults here were all kinds of eccentric characters with bizarre personalities. The only thing they all had in common was that none of them had a positive attribute.

Some have addictive tendencies, psychological abnormalities, severe neurosis, poor health, personality disorders, slow thinking, cowardice, work laziness, and even the most extreme attributes of being utterly ugly.

According to the colonist system's description, people with this attribute are extremely ugly, their faces resembling the drawings of mentally challenged children, making them unbearable to look at and causing people to avoid them at all costs. Even if they do nothing, people who see their appearance can't help but want to beat them up.

After reading this description, I didn't want to see what he looked like anymore, for fear that I might impulsively beat him to death.

And now, all these human wonders are gathered before me, waiting for my selection, euphemistically called "strong and capable slaves".

If I didn't have the magical abilities of the colonizer system to see through the true nature of these people, I might very well have just returned to the tavern with a bunch of oddballs and lived the happy life of a mental hospital director and a disabled school principal, exhausting myself every day surrounded by a group of freaks.

The cannibal had probably not eaten meat for too long. Suddenly, a plump piece of food appeared in front of him, and the aroma of the food wafted over. He couldn't control himself and pounced on it, tearing and biting wildly.

The fat guard was wearing a leather guard's armor, which protected the main parts of his body. He only needed to cover his head with his hands to protect most of his organs.

However, for a starving person eager for food, such defense is actually no different from the shell of a spicy crayfish, except for adding a bit of pre-meal fun. He tried to tear it apart but failed, and finally bit down on the fat guard's protruding buttocks, letting out a scream that pierced the sky!

"Help me, help me... Help!!!"

He was in so much pain that his voice was broken and intermittent, and he rolled around on the ground trying to break free from the biting. Suddenly, he felt the pain in his buttocks disappear, and he quickly sat down on the ground, no longer daring to stick his buttocks up and lie on the ground, his eyes filled with tears as he kept moving backward.

Just now, I ended the cannibal's life with a single halberd strike.

It wasn't that I wanted to save the fat man, but the follower of the Sorrowful Wind behind me had somehow raised his head and was staring at the fat man's buttocks with shining eyes.

I have a feeling that if I don't stop it, something really bad might happen...

"Fatty, don't have any improper thoughts. I know everything you're thinking, even the slightest one!"

Chapter 343 Jewish Jokes

"Honored guest..."

My incredible "mind-reading" ability instantly shocked everyone present. Even the bald man, who already knew I was no ordinary person, looked at me with a look of panic, as if I were a human-shaped CT scanner in front of him, capable of seeing through everyone present from the outside in with a single glance.

This illusion of omniscience and omnipotence is a very effective deterrent. Who can stand upright and honestly in front of someone who can see right through you and understand your true nature? And who doesn't have secrets they don't want others to know?

I could tell from their expressions that they misunderstood my ability to see through people's attributes. In reality, under normal circumstances, I can only see a person's name, age, experience, and characteristics; nothing else is displayed.

Only the bald man's concerns were justified, because I had already seen through his admiration for me! In just a short while, I saw that he had added "Completely impressed +5" to his evaluation of me.

The gray-robed man immediately hid himself. As a spy and envoy, he knew the town's secrets and the lord's privacy the most. If he were to accidentally leak everything, he probably wouldn't be able to save his life.

However, among those present, only the old man in the flowery clothes had to stand up and plead for the warden. One reason was that he felt it was normal for everyone to have their own ulterior motives. Even though the man before him wasn't as honest as he'd imagined—he'd originally thought this unambitious person was only holding onto the job of slave warden because of laziness—it was indeed unexpected.