The Taylor Camp has already been destroyed, and the 500-meter area outside of Redwood Ridge that originally belonged to them naturally now belongs to Harper.
In the Harper Territory, there are three Ice Trees.
Adding Taylor's six Ice Trees, there are a total of nine.
According to previous estimates, each Ice Tree can produce about 6,000 kilograms of Crystal Fruit every harvest, with three harvests a year, totaling around 160,000 kilograms annually.
It sounds like a lot, but keep in mind, the current total population of the camp is 341.
On average, one kilogram per person per day means that, as long as the nine Ice Trees grow normally and the harvest goes smoothly without any accidents, they can more than sustain the entire camp.
But the problem is, no one can guarantee that there won't be any accidents.
Humans are manageable, given the current strength and reputation of Harper.
Under normal circumstances, other camps in Redwood Ridge won't randomly cross borders to harvest unless they encounter extreme situations.
The main issue is the Cold Beasts.
There are just too many Cold Beasts in Redwood Ridge, and their range of activity seems to be spreading outward continuously.
Originally, within that 500-meter range of Harper Territory, Bruce only discovered four Cold Beasts.
After the last Golden-eyed Demon Sheep was killed, it was assumed there shouldn't be any more Cold Beasts in the Harper Territory temporarily.
But in reality, he just hunted an adult Snow Mane, which, without a doubt, came over in the past few days.
Crystal Fruits aren't just edible for humans; Cold Beasts eat them too.
With these nine Ice Trees, as long as they bear fruit and aren't promptly harvested, Cold Beasts could eat them at any time.
So before there's an option to transplant them, the only way is to frequently check on the Ice Trees.
Once the result schedule is confirmed, they can be monitored every three to four months afterward.
Bruce actually wanted to make Cold Beast meat the main food supply for everyone in the camp, but it's not feasible.
It can only remain the same as before, supplying a portion of people.
The recent hunt for the Snow Mane showed that even with the Shock Frost Saber, he couldn't hunt low-level Cold Beasts alone and still needed others to help.
Additionally, as long as there's hunting, there's risk, and even if he's there, he can't guarantee no one will get hurt.
Furthermore, he's only encountered three types of Cold Beasts so far, and if he comes across others he's never seen, even he can't guarantee absolute safety.
Thus, making Cold Beast meat freely available in the entire camp is still a long way off for Harper.
However, considering even the Rogel Camp can't achieve this, Bruce felt a bit relieved.
After all, he's only had Harper for a little over three months, and reaching this level of development is already quite an accomplishment.
Soon, Bruce and the other two finished inspecting all six Ice Trees.
They had harvested them a few days ago, so there were no fruits on the trees.
But after observing their growth, two should be close to bearing fruit.
After marking their positions, the three of them returned to the camp together.
Now the camp doesn't need to seal the entrance at night, so the campfire is visible from over a hundred meters away.
Outside the cave, some older people were collecting relatively clean snow into wooden buckets, while the younger ones played around.
"It's been a long time since I've seen this sight!"
Upon hearing Tony's sigh, both Bruce and Charlie felt a bit emotional.
Letting ordinary people in the camp come and go as freely as before.
They had worked hard for more than three months just for this goal.
Moreover, there were times when they almost lost their lives.
In fact, if it weren't for the second-level Iron Refining Furnace, he might still not dare to open the cave entrance.
After all, even with that Wooden Puppet Monster gone, who knows if there are other mimicking Monsters?
"Brother, should we distribute Cold Beast meat to William and his group?"
As they approached the cave entrance, Charlie suddenly asked a question.
Bruce turned to look at him and Tony without answering, instead asking:
"What do you guys think?"
The two exchanged a glance, still appearing a bit hesitant.
But soon, Tony nodded and said, "We should share it. They're part of the camp now."
Charlie also nodded, but hesitated for a moment and said, "I agree we should share, but the rules should be changed. We can't distribute it like before in the 3-5-2 pattern anymore.
Now that we have iron tools, we should be able to steadily acquire Cold Beast meat in the future. We need to use it strategically and not distribute it all at once."
Upon hearing this, Bruce looked at Charlie with a hint of admiration in his eyes.
"It seems you have some ideas. Tell me about them."
Encouraged by Bruce, Charlie showed a bit of confidence on his face.
After thinking for a moment, he said, "My idea is to consolidate all future Cold Beast meat, and then divide the recipients into four levels.
The first level is the leader, which is you, Brother. You can allocate the Cold Beast meat reserves according to your training needs, as the camp's acquisition of Cold Beast meat mainly relies on you for now…"
At the mention of the first level, Bruce slightly furrowed his brows but didn't interrupt Charlie, quietly listening.
"The second level is the Hunting Team. Although we all participated in hunting the Snow Mane today, to be honest, we didn't contribute much.
We should follow the regulations of the Rogel Camp: only those who break through to the Earthripper Realm can officially be considered Hunting Team members, so there are currently no members in the second level.
The third level is the Axeheart Team, which includes members of the Axeheart Realm. Currently, there are ten people, and I'm one of them.
Based on circumstances, five kilograms per person per day should be enough for our steady improvement.
The fourth level is the Axeheart Team reserves, divided into two categories based on basic strength: one kilogram per day for those over 1,000 kilograms, and two kilograms per day for those over 3,000 kilograms.
Additionally, the conditions for being in the Axeheart Team reserves should be relaxed a bit. I suggest setting the age range from 15 to 25 years old. I've calculated that, at present, the camp has a total of 69 people in this age range.
Based on this four-level division, our monthly consumption of Cold Beast meat would be roughly 4,000 kilograms. As long as we successfully hunt three to five times, we can maintain operations, which should be more than sufficient for us at the moment.
If there's any surplus later, it should all be reserved. The leader can use it to reward those who contribute or further relax the age limit for the reserves, all depending on the Cold Beast meat reserves."
After hearing Charlie's four-level division method, Bruce couldn't help but admire it greatly in his heart.
"Could this kid be possessed by a mimicking Monster?"
He was almost beginning to suspect that Charlie was not himself anymore.
It's not that Charlie's idea was that impressive.
Bruce had also intended to change the food distribution rules, and his general idea was similar to Charlie's, just not as detailed.
The key was that his own ability to come up with this wasn't surprising, given his past life's knowledge as an advantage.
But Charlie was only sixteen years old, and he'd lived in the Harper Camp all his life.
How did he come up with such intricate ideas?
Even thinking of leaving some Cold Beast meat for the leader to reward or easing the age restriction for reserves—he considered all of this?
"How did you come up with this?"
Bruce couldn't resist asking.
Perhaps noticing Bruce's inner surprise, Charlie chuckled and turned to look at Tony beside him.
Tony, seemingly aware of the backstory, smiled and said, "Leader, this was taught by Leader George at the Rogel Camp the night before yesterday.
Charlie asked him how the Rogel Camp distributed meat, and after George told him, we also shared our 3-5-2 rule with him.
After hearing it, George said that the leader, being strong and capable, made Harper have great potential in the future, and he came up with this rule together with Charlie."
It was taught by George.
Bruce was taken aback, feeling a bit puzzled in his heart.
Why did George teach Charlie these things?
"Brother, what do you think of my proposal?"
Bruce, who was pondering George's intentions, was interrupted by Charlie.
He decided not to speculate further and made a rough calculation in his mind before speaking:
"Let's go with the rules you suggested, but I want to add two more points: the age limit for the reserve can now be relaxed to thirteen to thirty; and for those under thirteen, we'll give them five kilograms of Cold Beast Meat every month."
Seeing Charlie's anxious expression immediately after hearing this, Bruce raised his hand, signaling Charlie to continue listening to him.
"I know the population structure of the camp well. The age group from thirteen to thirty should total just over one hundred, which is about thirty more than what you originally set, and counting them in would consume only about an additional thousand kilograms of Cold Beast Meat each month.
Those under thirteen are a bit more, roughly one hundred and fifty, and with five kilograms per person per month, it adds up to just over seven hundred kilograms. So, my two additional points would only require us to hunt two more Cold Beasts a month to achieve that."
According to Charlie's calculations, successfully hunting four adult Cold Beasts a month would sustain consumption.
Adding these two points, hunting six in total a month would be completely sufficient.
"Are you still worried that you won't be able to hunt six Cold Beasts a month?"
Upon hearing Bruce's rhetorical question, Charlie and Tony both showed a hint of hesitation on their faces.