TPWBI Chapter 11

Yang Yi’s arrival brought countless surprises to the Spark Tribe. But even so, when everyone found out that he could make pottery, they still couldn’t contain their excitement.

The chief of the Blackstone Tribe, however, never valued such things. He believed that nothing was faster than taking what one wanted by force.

They had powerful weapons and great strength and could easily obtain whatever they desired.

That was the mindset of the chief and the war-hungry faction that supported him. But in truth, many people didn’t like killing. It was just that, back then, in that kind of environment, they had no choice but to go along with it.

They were the ‘weak ones’, abandoned and plundered, who were no longer bound by that atmosphere or those rules. Naturally, they didn’t want to rely on robbing others to survive. They were tired of that kind of life.

Besides, they didn’t have that ability now anyway.

Although the divine envoy had brought powerful weapons, their numbers were too small. If they tried to plunder, it could result in casualties they couldn’t afford.

More and more, they wanted to rely on themselves, just like the Blackstone Tribe had done long ago.

The tools Yang Yi had brought before were far too unfamiliar and refined. Everyone believed they were gifts from the gods, something that couldn’t be made by human hands. But pottery was different!

Pottery was something they already had. It was something they could make themselves. Something that truly belonged to them.

The divine envoy had said that the things given by the gods would one day be taken back.

Even those who were injured and unable to do heavy work gathered around Yang Yi when they heard the news. Their hands still busily twisted straw, unwilling to waste even a moment.

To be honest, with so many people watching, Yang Yi was feeling quite a bit of pressure when making pottery for the first time.

He knew the method, but whether it would succeed in practice, no one could say for sure.

Yang Yi carefully recalled the videos and tutorials he had seen before. Only after organizing everything clearly in his mind did he begin to move.

There was still quite a lot of yellow clay left from digging the well last time. Its stickiness was pretty good, too.

It had only been a day, so it hadn’t dried out yet. All it needed was a bit more water and a good mix.

“Divine Envoy, can I try, too?” Mao, watching Yang Yi working with the clay, really wanted to give it a shot.

Jiao looked serious. “This isn’t for playing around.”

“It’s fine. Just follow along and learn together. It’ll be faster that way,” Yang Yi encouraged them, hoping to teach everyone as soon as possible.

Hearing Yang Yi say this, everyone squatted down by the pile of clay and started working.

Yang Yi planned to build a kiln out of clay first. Since this was just a test, the kiln wasn’t very big, not even as tall as a person’s leg.

With so many people helping, it was completed quickly.

There wasn’t enough time yet to make a potter’s wheel, so for now, they could only shape things by hand.

“First, roll the clay into a ball, then slowly pinch it into a hollow shape.”

Yang Yi spoke actively, trying to explain. His spoken language was still very poor, so he needed to speak more and practice often.

He shaped the clay into a shallow, flat-bottomed hollow, then rolled clay into thin strips and pressed them bit by bit along the rim. Layering it upward little by little like this, they could form a rough clay bowl.

Once everyone understood how to make them, they didn’t limit themselves to just bowls. They began shaping jars and other items as well.

After shaping the clay pieces, they let them dry before placing them in the kiln and lighting a fire to begin firing the pottery.

Everyone was full of enthusiasm and made quite a lot. One kiln wasn’t enough, so they quickly built another one.

With the previous experience, this time they made it bigger, large enough to fit more than a dozen bowls and jars of different sizes. They even made improvements to allow the firewood to burn more thoroughly and with greater intensity.

Firing and cooling the pottery would take some time. During this period, no one sat idle. They continued building more kilns and shaping more bowls and jars with the remaining clay, completely unbothered by the thought of failure or wasted effort.

Yang Yi didn’t stop them either. Even though better methods would come later, he didn’t want them to skip over this primitive process.

Only by experiencing each step could they truly understand the underlying principles and fully master the craft. Besides, it didn’t waste much time or materials anyway.

They didn’t stop until all the clay dug up earlier had been used up.

Yang Yi didn’t stand by watching the whole time. After explaining the important points to Jiao, he went to check on the progress of the thatched house construction.

Everyone was working fast. Many of the house frames had already been set up, and people were covering the roofs with straw.

Time was tight today, and materials were limited, so not many thatched houses had been built.

Moreover, only the roofs could be finished for now. The walls around them would have to wait until tomorrow.

At first, the housing would be a bit tight. But if they squeezed in, they could still sleep without worrying about freezing.

Seeing that things were progressing well here, Yang Yi called over two people.

“Kun, Teng, you two bring military shovels and come with me.”

The moment the two heard Yang Yi’s call, their eyes lit up. They hurried over, while the others watched with envy.

“Divine Envoy, is there something you want us to do?” Kun asked excitedly. He had been remembered by the Divine Envoy, personally chosen for a task!

Teng quickly added, “Divine Envoy, we’re strong. We can do anything.”

“Your task is extremely important,” Yang Yi said, face serious.

What was the most important thing after settling down?

It had to be toilets!

The people here relieved themselves wherever they pleased. The temporary camp hadn’t smelled too bad before, mostly because they had just arrived. And with no food, there wasn’t much to eliminate anyway.

But in the past two days, the meals had improved. Now, the problem had come.

Fortunately, they were aware the smell wasn’t pleasant, so they’d started going a bit farther away.

But not too far. After all, going to the bathroom alone in the wild was extremely dangerous.

One of the main reasons Yang Yi urgently needed to join a tribe was because even going to the toilet had become a risky task. One wrong move and a poisonous insect could bite him on the butt!

Back then, even he wouldn’t go too far. He only later learned to bury it with dirt afterward. He even had to mark the spot, so he wouldn’t step on a “landmine” next time. It got to the point he had no mood for making delicious food.

Of course, waste could also be used as fertilizer. It absolutely must not be wasted.

There was no such word as “toilet” here. Yang Yi didn’t explain much at first. He simply led them to a corner far away from the houses.

“Dig a pit here, about this big, about the depth of a person,” Yang Yi roughly gestured with his hands.

Kun and Teng didn’t say a word. They started digging right away without even asking a single question.

The two moved very quickly, especially Kun, who demonstrated the advantage of being a warrior. When digging, his movements were swift and powerful. Plus, the soil here was fertile and loose, so they quickly dug out a large pit.

Yang Yi wasn’t idle during that time either. He carried over the wooden poles and thatch needed for construction.

Mao also came over to help. He didn’t keep playing with the mud over there anymore. He was like Yang Yi’s little tail now.

Once Kun and Teng finished digging, Yang Yi and Mao also brought over the rest of the materials.

The four of them started building together. The toilet didn’t need to be very big, so the construction went quickly.

They laid a few wrist-thick wooden poles across the large pit, leaving a space in the middle and room on both sides to place one’s feet, just like the old-fashioned latrines from rural villages long ago.

To prevent anyone from accidentally falling in, they placed a few extra wooden poles.

However, it wasn’t completely covered. They didn’t have enough wood. They didn’t even have enough for building houses yet.

After finishing the setup, Yang Yi found a rattan basket that had been damaged during transport, filled it with plant ash, and placed it in the latrine.

“What’s this house for?” Mao asked.

The other two also looked completely confused. They really couldn’t figure out what this little house was for.

“This is the toilet. From now on, if you want to relieve yourselves, you must come here. Every time you’re done, you need to sprinkle some plant ash on top to cover it.”

Yang Yi didn’t have a suitable tool at hand for scooping the ash, but he figured there would be some broken pottery after firing. Just a shard would be enough to do the job.

The two adults and one child looked at each other in astonishment. You needed a special place just to relieve yourself? And it had to be inside such a nice house? The Divine Envoy was truly particular about everything!

“No wonder he’s the Divine Envoy!” the three of them said in unison.

Mao, being the most active little loudspeaker around Yang Yi, quickly spread the news to everyone in the tribe that they now had a “toilet”, and explained its purpose.

“If someone’s inside, just flip the half piece of wood hanging by the curtain. If the round end is facing out, that means it’s occupied. Once you’re done, flip it back!”

Mao enthusiastically introduced every little detail about the latrine.

In truth, there wasn’t a strong concept of modesty between men and women here. Yang Yi had even seen a man and a woman handling their business directly on the spot. There was no established sense of shame like what would come later.

Seeing someone’s private parts wasn’t considered a big deal. Regardless of gender, if someone took a liking to someone else, they could directly go up and ask. As long as both sides agreed, they could get together right then and there.

However, coercion was not allowed, and no one, male or female, was allowed to have more than one partner at a time. This was also to prevent conflicts and to avoid confusion in bloodlines.

Yang Yi didn’t plan to deliberately change this way of doing things for now. He would only make sure that people with shared bloodlines did not pair up.

But as for himself, he still couldn’t quite get used to it. So, in order to avoid being disturbed when he went to the toilet, he made this rule.

After hearing it, everyone simultaneously let out a sigh of admiration: “No wonder he’s the Divine Envoy.”

Only someone extraordinary would think of so many things they had never even considered before.

It wasn’t that they didn’t know about bad smells; they were just used to it and had never thought about changing. It was only after the Divine Envoy arrived that they realized that this could be done differently, too.

Even though it was a bit troublesome, everyone still accepted it without needing any explanation from Yang Yi.

The people of the Spark Tribe now trusted Yang Yi deeply. Yang Yi often felt a bit guilty about being too cautious. Many times, he could have brought out tools to improve efficiency, but he didn’t.

Yang Yi still couldn’t fully let down his guard around the people here. He always carried a sense of wariness, the kind that came from being an outsider.

That day, everyone kept busy until the sky had completely darkened. Before dinner, Yang Yi went to open the kiln that had already cooled.

Except for those on patrol, everyone else gathered around, waiting for the moment.

Opening the kiln door, Yang Yi looked inside and immediately saw a broken pottery bowl. His heart sank.

He used two sticks to pick out the broken bowl, and a cheer rose from the crowd.

“It’s pottery! It really is pottery!”

Yang Yi frowned slightly. “Too bad it’s broken.”

“But we fired it, didn’t we? The gods really favor us. We managed to fire pottery ourselves!”

Jiao held the shattered bowl with only the base still intact with excitement. Tapping it to hear the sound, her face is full of satisfaction.

Some people even picked up the broken shards, planning to use them as decorations.

Seeing how optimistic they were, the pressure on Yang Yi’s shoulders eased a bit. He continued using the sticks to retrieve the other pottery pieces.

The second bowl was intact!

They had succeeded!

Though it was rough, it was a success.

The third one, the fourth one…

One by one, the pottery pieces were taken out. Some were damaged, but most of them were intact!

They could hold water without leaking a single drop.

Everyone cheered loudly, dancing joyfully around the kiln.

“We have our own pottery now! We have our own tribe!”

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