The ration system began the next morning.
Under Old He's authority, but guided entirely by Li Fan's strategy, the village divided itself into groups:
Harvest Team
Hunters' Team
Repair & Construction Team
Water & Firewood Team
Each team received food based on contribution, not age or status.
And the change was immediate.
For the first time in years, the lazy villagers moved.
The drunkard Liu Bao—who used to lie under the tree all day—now worked until sweat soaked his back.The bickering couple stopped fighting and joined the harvest team.Even the village's strongest men, who relied on being fed simply because of their muscles, pushed themselves harder.
Because if they didn't work…
They didn't eat.
Li Fan observed everything from the sidelines, pretending to be a quiet child holding a wooden bowl.
Inside, he was analyzing.
Humans fear hunger more than death.Use hunger, and any society can be reshaped.
Within three days, the fields looked greener, more orderly.Not because the crops were revived—no, they were still dying—but because the workers had revived.
Fear became discipline.Discipline became strength.Strength became order.
But power always births resentment.
On the fourth day, the trouble came.
A group of five villagers cornered Old He, shouting aggressively.
"You're letting a child control the village!""This ration system is unfair!""We demand equal food!"
One man, an angry butcher named Huo Shan, pointed at Li Fan with a trembling finger.
"This brat thinks he can starve us? What does he know?!"
Old He's expression darkened—but Li Fan stepped forward before the chief could speak.
His calm voice cut through the shouting.
"If you want equal food… then earn equal results."
The angry men turned toward him, expecting fear.
But Li Fan looked at them like a teacher scolding children.
"You say the food distribution is unfair?""Then I have one question."
He walked in a small circle, hands behind his back like a miniature strategist.
"What have you contributed?"
Silence.
Li Fan pointed at Huo Shan.
"You sharpen knives, yes. But you haven't touched a blade in a week."
Another man—a fisherman—lowered his eyes.
"You claim you want equal food, yet you bring no fish."
Li Fan's voice grew sharper.
"Equal results require equal effort.If you do the same work as everyone else, you will get the same food."
Huo Shan gritted his teeth.
"You… little demon…!"
Li Fan smiled gently.
"No demon. Just logical.""Work more, or eat less. That is the rule of Heaven and Earth."
The villagers who had gathered nodded in agreement.
The resistance crumbled.
No one dared challenge the boy again.
Because he didn't shout.He didn't threaten.He simply exposed the truth.
And truth is the sharpest blade.
That night, Li Fan sat outside as the moonlight touched the village roofs.
His father approached him slowly.
"Fan'er," he said hesitantly, "why do you speak like an adult?"
Li Fan just smiled.
"I listen… and I learn."
But inside, a deeper thought stirred.
The village had accepted the ration system.Fear had stabilized.Order had been established.
Now came the next step: Loyalty.
Li Fan quietly began choosing people.
The sharp-eyed hunter who worked silently.
The calm girl who organized water and firewood.
The young man with a strong back but a cautious mind.
The shy boy who listened to everyone and spoke little.
Not the strongest.Not the loudest.Not even the smartest.
But the most influenceable.
Those who could be shaped.
Those who needed direction.
Those who would follow him not out of fear……but out of belief.
This was how every empire began:
Not with soldiers.Not with armies.Not with power.
But with people who trusted the Leader more than they trusted themselves.
Li Fan whispered softly to the night:
"A single person is weak.A network is unstoppable."
The wind carried his words away, as if the heavens themselves were listening.
By the end of the week…
The villagers spoke of Old He as their chief……but they already looked at Li Fan when making decisions.
The hunters asked for his opinion.The mothers watched their children obey his words.The young men mirrored his discipline.
A child on the outside.A ruler on the inside.
Li Fan had not taken control of the village.
The village had given it to him.
And this was only the beginning.