Chapter 40 - 040: Step two
Anaria listened as the two sides explained their arguments.
One group wanted the available food divided immediately among the villagers, while the other wanted to keep a portion aside in case the supply became low.
Anaria listened to both sides without interrupting. After a moment, she frowned.
"You’re both thinking about the same problem from different sides."
The council members looked at her.
Anaria tapped her fingers against the table. "Why not do both?"
Kenai looked at her. "Explain."
"We don’t have to choose between distributing the food and saving it," Anaria said. "We can separate the food according to its purpose."
One council member leaned forward. "What do you mean?"
Anaria frowned. "We’re only discussing how to distribute the food. What happens when something unexpected happens?"
One of the council members looked confused. "Unexpected?"
"Yes. A bad harvest, an attack, or anything that prevents the village from getting food."
Kenai’s expression became thoughtful.
Anaria continued, "If you use everything you have now, you’ll end up with the same problem again."
The council members exchanged looks, Kenai asked, "Then what do you suggest?"
Anaria pointed at the table "We divide the food into three groups."
She held up one finger "Emergency stock."
A second finger "Daily use" Then a third "Newly harvested food."
One council member immediately understood "The emergency stock would only be used when there’s a shortage?"
"Exactly," Anaria said. "It shouldn’t be touched for normal meals."
Another council member nodded. "And the daily-use food would be what the village consumes normally."
"Yes."
Kenai leaned forward. "What about the newly harvested food?"
"We don’t immediately mix it with everything else," Anaria explained. "We inspect it first, then decide how much should be kept for daily use and how much should be added to the emergency stock."
The room became quieter.
Kenai looked toward the council members. "What do you think?"
One of them rubbed his chin. "It could work, but we would need someone to keep track of the emergency supplies."
"We could assign two servants to check them regularly," another suggested.
Anaria nodded. "That’s a good idea."
Another council member spoke up. "We should also keep food that spoils quickly away from the emergency stock."
"Exactly," Anaria said. "The emergency stock should mostly contain food that can last."
Kenai nodded. "Then the reserve should also be separated according to how long each food can remain usable."
Anaria looked at him and smiled. "Now you’re thinking."
A few council members laughed.
The discussion became more lively as everyone began adding their own suggestions.
Anaria listened carefully, only correcting them when something didn’t make sense.
One council member suggested recording how much food was taken from the emergency supply.
Another suggested checking the stores every few days.
Someone else suggested setting a minimum amount that must always remain untouched.
Anaria immediately agreed "That one is important. Once the emergency stock reaches that minimum, you stop taking from it unless it’s absolutely necessary."
Kenai nodded. "We’ll use that."
The council members continued discussing the idea, and Anaria found herself surprised by how quickly they had accepted it.
She hadn’t expected them to contribute so much At first, they were nagging and complaining about her idea but now they were building the system together.
Kenai watched Anaria as she responded to each suggestion, clearly impressed by how easily she handled the discussion.
She noticed him staring "What?"
Kenai shook his head. "Nothing."
Anaria narrowed her eyes "You were definitely staring."
"I was listening."
"Same thing."
Kenai almost smiled.
Anaria returned her attention to the council, unaware that something inside Kenai had already begun changing.
The council continued discussing the new arrangement, and Anaria found herself becoming more interested in the conversation.
One of the council members raised another concern "What if the emergency stock is used during a shortage? Won’t it take too long to replace?"
"That’s why newly harvested food needs to be checked first," Anaria replied. "Once the harvest comes in, we decide how much is needed for daily use and how much goes back into the reserve."
Kenai nodded. "That would keep the reserve from disappearing."
"Yes"
Another council member spoke. "Then we should also know how much food the village consumes each day."
Anaria looked at him "That’s actually important, you should appoint who will record how much food is taken for each day’s meals. After a few days, they will know roughly how much the village needs."
Kenai looked thoughtful. "Then we can set the daily amount based on what the village actually consumes instead of guessing."
Anaria smiled. "Now you’re getting it."
The council members began discussing how they could keep the records simple enough for the servants to maintain.
Anaria listened and occasionally pointed out small problems "No, don’t make the records too complicated."
One council member frowned. "Why?"
"Because if it’s too complicated, nobody will bother using it after a few days."
The council looked at her, Anaria crossed her arms. "I’m serious."
Kenai nodded. "She’s right. The method needs to be simple enough for everyone to follow."
The council members agreed.
Soon, they had settled on a basic arrangement.
The emergency stock would remain untouched unless the village faced a real shortage.
Daily-use food would be taken from the regular supply.
Newly harvested food would be inspected and divided before being stored.
The appointed personnel would keep track of what entered and left the storage room.
Anaria looked around at the council "This is much better."
Kenai nodded. "It is."
The fox system suddenly chimed inside her mind..
[Heyy host, good job]
[Kenai’s affection has increased by 5%.]
[Current affection: 15%.]
Her eyes widened slightly.
Fifteen percent???
She quickly lowered her gaze so nobody would notice her reaction, she couldn’t help smiling. At least, her mini plan actually worked.
Anaria glanced toward Kenai, he was still listening to the council, completely unaware of Anaria’s glaze, she looked back at the table and smiled again
One council member suddenly asked, "What about the food that is already stored?"
Anaria immediately answered, "We sort it according to which group it belongs to."
"And the oldest food?"
"Use that first."
Kenai nodded. "Then nothing will remain forgotten at the back."
"Exactly."
Another council member smiled. "This is much easier than what we were doing before."
Anaria gave him a look "That’s because what you were doing before was a mess."
The room went silent for a second then several council members laughed, even Kenai let out a quiet chuckle.
Anaria rolled her eyes "What? It’s true."
The council continued discussing the arrangement, but this time, Anaria didn’t have to explain every little thing.
They were already thinking ahead and that’s what she wanted.
She didn’t want Ravenfall to fall back into its old habits while she was still there, if they could maintain the system themselves, then the work she had done would actually matter.
Kenai looked at the council members "We’ll put this system into place immediately."
Anaria nodded in satisfaction.
She thought about the system notification again" fifteen percent!!" Her lips curved into a small smile, maybe she could increase that number faster than she expected.