The Mysore settlement meets its food needs with a self-reliable system. The lake that surrounds the settlement from the outside is the main source of food. The lake stretches for about 2 km from the settlement towards all over the direction and is home to many aquatic species. Fishes are the most abundantly found species in the lake. The system of the lake is well-defined—everyone in the settlement eats fish three times a day. The fishes reproduce quickly and can last a lifetime, as long as no unexpected situation occurs .Still, the settlement strictly controls fishing—how to fish, how much to fish, and who is allowed to do fishing are all decided by the settlement management. The amount earned by selling the fish must also be handed over to the settlement management.
The lake water is the only water source for the settlement, and it can be used after slight filtering. People are strictly prohibited from swimming in the lake—if anyone tries, they will be shot down by the soldiers.
The settlement has huge walls above the ground surface. Inside these walls, plants, food crops, and grains are also grown, but this too is strictly managed by the settlement authorities.
Manu looked at Srini, who had fallen asleep soon after they came inside the house.
"I think he was tired and couldn't sleep properly on the chair," Manu thought.
Then Manu started getting ready to sleep. While he was preparing, an aluminum bowl fell onto the floor.
"Clang… clang… clatter!" it made a loud sound.
"Oh no, I think I woke Srini up," Manu thought and looked toward Srini.
But Srini didn't move an inch, he was sleeping as if nothing had happened.
"What? I can't believe it. If anything fell and made a sound, he would usually wake up to check it, but now he's sleeping like nothing happened," Manu thought. But he didn't bother about it and went to sleep.
While lying on the mat, he thought,"Why am I not getting any ideas to earn money? I should think faster. Besides earning money, I also need to pay my dues. What to do? How can I get a large sum of money?"Thinking like that, Manu slowly fell asleep.
The next day, Manu opened his eyes and got up. When he looked around for Srini, he saw that Srini was still lying in deep sleep.
"What? He didn't wake up yet? Usually, before I even open my eyes, he's already outside in the town center, getting sunlight and creating some kind of trouble by roaming around the same place," Manu thought.
Then Manu began his morning routine and went to the bathroom. After a while, he returned and saw that Srini was still sleeping. "Did something happen to him?" Manu thought, and he started moving toward Srini.
Manu sat beside him and slowly moved his hand toward Srini's forehead to check his temperature. As soon as Manu's hand touched him, Srini suddenly opened his eyes.
Seeing Srini's eyes wide open, Manu was shocked and quickly pulled his hand back.
"Ah! You scared me to death!" Manu said.
"Haaaaa… sorry, I was in a deep sleep," Srini yawned and replied, Then he got up from the mat.
Just then, "grrrowl…" — a sound came from Manu's stomach.
"Oh, sorry! I should have given you this," Srini said and handed some cash to Manu."You can keep it," Manu replied.
"If I keep it, I'll just end up spending it on useless things. Just take it," Srini insisted.
Manu took the cash without counting and stuffed it into his pocket.
Then "grrrowl…" — another sound came, this time from Srini's stomach.
"You do what you need to do; I'll wait for you here. We'll go to the shop after that," Manu said.