Chapter 67: Fair Distribution

“There are thirty-five of you, ten more than I had expected,” observed Wu Qingsong.

Upon hearing this, anxiety quickly spread among the houndfolk. An excess of ten? What would happen now? Given such a rare chance to be under a benevolent master, nobody wished to be cast aside.

“Everyone stays,” Wu Qingsong decided after a brief moment of reflection.

Given that he only had to provide basic food like dark bread and dried salted fish, his current finances should support these individuals for several months of training and living expenses. He foresaw his team growing in the future, so having a few extra members now might save recruitment efforts later.

The houndfolk exhaled in relief. But their excitement surged when Wu Qingsong continued.

“All the goods in this cart are for your families. Divide it among yourselves. I have two conditions. First, the distribution must be fair, satisfying everyone. Second, it must be done quickly. Can you finish within half an hour?”

“My lord, are you truly saying this?”

The houndfolk momentarily overlooked his latter instructions. In their minds, it would’ve been gracious if Wu Qingsong allowed them even a fraction of the cart’s contents to take home. After all, he was recruiting the soldiers, not providing for their families.

Many had feigned eating their share, covertly hoarding most of it to share with their families later.

An entire cart’s worth? It was all for them?

“Did you not hear me?” Wu Qingsong pressed. “You have half an hour. If the goods aren’t divided by then, I will take everything away.”

“Yes, my lord! We’ll make sure it’s done promptly,” the houndfolk pledged with urgency.

Harold initially believed he should oversee the final step of the distribution, aiming to bolster the prominence and solidarity of the mercenary group. However, Wu Qingsong wished to assess the dynamics among the houndfolk, to discern potential factions, recognize the genuine and selfless, and spot those with hidden agendas.

After all, a person’s true nature becomes evident when interests are at stake, regardless of their beautiful words.

What was even more crucial to him was identifying who among the houndfolk commanded respect, demonstrated wisdom, and could ensure fairness in distribution.

Would it be distributed per head? Based on each family’s size? Or according to the closeness of relationships? Given the varied sizes of dried fish and bread, and the absence of weighing tools, how should they determine each portion?

Ensuring everyone’s satisfaction was indeed a challenge.

Considering Harold’s age, his roles as an instructor or an administrator seemed appropriate. Expecting him to take up arms and fight, however, was unreasonable. The immediate task was to pinpoint a leader among the houndfolk, one who possessed both the capability and respect to lead.

As anticipated, chaos quickly unfolded among the houndfolk.

For many, the sight of so much food was unprecedented. Merely unloading it from the cart overwhelmed them. When some tried to start the distribution, skeptical voices quickly arose.

“Why do the pieces you’ve chosen for yourself seem larger?”

“What do you mean ‘chosen for myself’? I just grabbed them. You saw it too,” the houndman at the heart of the gathering responded with a trace of guilt in his tone.

Fearful of rebukes from Wu Qingsong and Harold, some began to quarrel in subdued voices. But it wasn’t long before the disputes intensified.

“The pieces of fish you have are clearly larger than ours. This isn’t fair!”

“Why all the fuss? The master made it clear we have only half an hour to divide this. Do you want to miss out by causing a scene?” another person chimed in. “Look at all this. Does it truly matter if someone gets slightly more or less?”

While the statement seemed reasonable, given it was from someone who had a larger share, it only intensified the previous man’s displeasure. He retorted, “So, why do you guys always end up with more, and we get less? If it’s all the same to you, why not swap?”

“You… You’re just being needlessly petty. Why should I switch with you?”

“Your refusing to trade proves there’s a problem!”

Wu Qingsong had to suppress a laugh. Though slightly amused, he watched as their true natures revealed themselves, just as he’d expected.

The houndman who was being questioned grew visibly angry. But after meeting the eyes of Wu Qingsong and Harold, he held back his fury.

“Alright then, you do the dividing.”

“If I have to, then so be it!”

Yet the dilemma remained. Who should get the bigger fish? Giving it to someone else would leave a tinge of regret, but keeping it would risk inviting criticism. And who would get the smaller ones? Can two smaller fish be considered equivalent to one big one? The sizes varied so much. Making such decisions for a small group might be more straightforward, but for thirty-five?

“We’re running out of time,” a voice shouted impatiently.

“How would you divide it?” Unable to hold back his curiosity, Harold turned to Wu Qingsong. He’d set the stage, surely, he must have an answer.

“Ling, Liuli, what are your thoughts?” Wu Qingsong redirected.

“Meow~ Liuli doesn’t know,” she said eyeing the food.

“Always thinking about food!” Wu Qingsong teased, tapping her lightly on the head. “And you, Ling? What do you think?”

“Meow~ Wu, you’re such a tease!”

“We should first find a place to weigh everything,” Ling suggested after pondering for a bit. “Then allocate based on weight.”

“Meow~ Ling, you’re so clever,” Liuli exclaimed in awe.

“But even if we determine the total weight, how would you suggest dividing it among the thirty-five people? Can you do the calculations?” Harold challenged. “It’s impossible to weigh everything in one go. According to your method, we’d need to tally incrementally.”

“I’m not sure how,” Ling confessed after a brief hesitation, her reply genuine.

“Neither am I, and I’d bet they’re in the same boat,” Harold remarked. “This method won’t cut it unless they rope in someone from the merchants’ guild for help.”

A wave of intellectual condescension washed over as Wu Qingsong couldn’t help but snicker, though he quickly contained it.

“Wu, spill the beans,” Liuli urged, clutching Wu Qingsong’s leg and shaking it animatedly.

“It’s rather straightforward,” Wu Qingsong started. “Without the means to weigh, achieving perfect equity is a tall order, but…”

Suddenly, a commotion arose among the houndmen.

“Let Angus take charge!” 

“Let Angus sort it out!”

Multiple voices chimed in with urgency.

Thrust into the spotlight was a middle-aged houndman, Angus, his expression marked by a continuous frown. He assessed the food before springing into swift action.

“Angus, what are you doing?” The first houndman who had attempted the distribution asked. “It took us so long to sort this out, don’t mess it up!”

Nevertheless, Angus promptly disassembled their carefully created portions, then began to hurriedly and somewhat haphazardly divide everything into thirty-five shares.

“You! This is blatantly unfair!”

However, Angus, the houndman in question, didn’t acknowledge the remark. Instead, he methodically adjusted the portions, continually transferring a fish or a loaf from one share to another.

Minutes later, he finally ceased his rearrangement.

“We’ll draw lots now. Those who draw first will pick first. After everyone has made their selection, the remaining share will be mine,” he said to the other houndmen.

His approach to distribution left the others speechless. Since Angus had willingly proposed to pick last, it was evident he’d be left with the smallest and probably the least appealing portion. The rest would have their fortunes hinge on the draw. It might not epitomize fairness, but given the constraints, it appeared to be the most practical solution.

“My lord, could I ask you to supervise the draw?” Angus stepped forward, addressing Wu Qingsong with respect.

“Of course,” Wu Qingsong affirmed with a nod. “You are Angus, correct?”

“Yes, sir,” the houndman replied with reverence. “Lupin Angus.”

“You’ve handled this admirably,” Wu Qingsong commended. “I’ll keep you in mind.”