With a new territory secured, pottery successfully fired, and plenty of food at hand, this night was destined to be a sleepless one for the Spark Tribe.
Everyone sat around the bonfire, singing and laughing, gnawing on fragrant roasted meat, sipping bone-and-vegetable soup, and chewing on soft, glutinous ground fruits. Their hearts were filled with immense satisfaction.
At this exhilarating moment, Yang Yi brought out a generous amount of seasonings to roast the meat.
Although he’d been able to enjoy fresh meat since moving in with these people over the past two days, the cooking methods here were too primitive. The roasted meat was only sprinkled with a pinch of salt.
While the meat from animals here was indeed tender and delicious, it inevitably carried a bit of a gamey, musky odor. Cooking it with spices would make the flavor much better.
Yang Yi had been so busy the past couple of days that he hadn’t had the time to think about how to improve the food. But today held special meaning, and he wanted everyone to enjoy a proper meal.
At the moment, all the tribe’s food was cooked centrally and then distributed. Though private ownership had begun to emerge, the community still largely operated under a system of collective ownership.
Yang Yi took out quite a few seasonings and even prepared a batch himself by hand.
In the past, whenever the mood struck him, he would cook. He was the kind of person who had a natural talent for it. Just watching a few food videos would allow him to recreate the flavors with pretty decent accuracy.
The meat of the giant-horned bull and bristleback pig could rival the finest beef and pork of later generations with an excellent texture and mouthfeel, perhaps even surpassing them.
A flurry of recipes flashed through Yang Yi’s mind. But at the moment, the only thing he could make was grilled meat skewers.
He first marinated the cut meat pieces with oyster sauce, light soy sauce, cumin powder, and salt. Then, once the skewers hit the grill, he carefully sprinkled chili powder, sesame seeds, and other seasonings on them step by step. As the meat cooked, an enticing aroma wafted through the air.
“What is this? Why does it smell so good!”
People who were still busy were drawn over by the aroma, unable to stop themselves from swallowing their saliva.
“What did the Divine Envoy make? This smell could drive someone mad!”
Mao jumped and cheered, “That’s the smell! It was the Divine Envoy’s roasted rabbit that first lured me over!”
These past few days have been the happiest time in Mao’s life. He’d been able to eat so much delicious food, but the thing that left the deepest impression on him was still the first time Yang Yi gave him roasted rabbit.
Thinking about that delicious rabbit, Mao’s gaze toward Yang Yi burned even hotter.
Yang Yi hadn’t grilled too much. After tasting a bite and finding it pretty good, he handed it off to the person in charge of food and had them begin grilling according to his method.
When it came to controlling fire, Yang Yi wasn’t as skilled as these people.
Back then, he always used charcoal when barbecuing, not open flames like this. If he wasn’t careful, some parts would easily end up scorched.
“Try it out. See if you can get used to this kind of flavor.”
Yang Yi sliced the meat into very thin strips, letting everyone taste the flavor first before deciding whether to add chili powder to the batch of grilled meat later.
“It’s so delicious! What is this? The flavor is amazing!” Jiao was the first to eat it, and her eyes lit up.
She was getting older, and her sense of taste had started to fade. She often couldn’t tell flavors apart. So each time, she would volunteer to take the worst-tasting parts, since to her, it didn’t make much of a difference anyway.
But now, she could taste flavors she had never experienced before. It was somewhat intense. But once she got used to it, it felt amazing! It was no longer like before, when no matter how good the food was, everything tasted bland in her mouth.
A tiny strip of meat. She chewed it for a long time before finally bringing herself to swallow it.
The others began trying it as well. Without exception, everyone praised it.
A group of primitive people who had never tasted “spicy” before were all captivated by this magical and stimulating flavor.
“My whole body feels warm after eating it. It’s so comfortable!”
“I believe this flavor is no less than the wine brought by the Eastern Great Road caravan!”
“I never knew there could be something so delicious in this world. We truly are the chosen ones favored by the gods.”
But there simply wasn’t enough of it. It wasn’t satisfying at all.
Everyone hurried off to grab the already-marinated meat, eager to start grilling it themselves. The sooner it was grilled, the sooner they could eat.
Today was a big day for the tribe. Everyone could eat to their heart’s content. However much they wanted, there was no limit.
After several days of bountiful harvests, the people of the Spark Tribe finally had the means to do this.
“Chili is very intense. You’re all trying it for the first time, so don’t use too much,” Yang Yi reminded them. He didn’t want everyone coming down with stomachaches the next day.
Jing laughed and said, “Our stomachs aren’t that fragile. When there’s no food, we can even eat rotting meat.”
Even so, everyone still refrained from adding too much. Not because they couldn’t handle the spice, but because it was a gift from the gods, and therefore incredibly precious.
“If only we could taste this flavor all the time,” Kun said as he gnawed on a freshly grilled piece of meat, eyes squinting with satisfaction.
The person next to him rolled his eyes. “Keep dreaming. This was a gift from the gods. That’s already the greatest blessing.”
Everyone felt a bit of regret. But when they thought about how even the people of the Blackstone Tribe had never tasted such delicious food, their hearts swelled with pride.
See? You said we were useless and would eventually be abandoned by the gods. But look at us now. Our days are far better than yours!
“In the future, it won’t be hard to taste this flavor again,” Yang Yi said, just as everyone was fully immersed in the taste of the grilled meat.
Shua shua shua—
All eyes turned toward Yang Yi with burning intensity.
“These seasonings can all be produced. They’re made from certain plants. As long as we start cultivating those plants, we’ll be able to enjoy this flavor from now on.”
“Cultivate?” Many people didn’t quite grasp the concept.
Jiao spoke up: “I’ve seen other tribes do it before. They would clear a plot of land and move plants there. When it was harvest time, they could just pick the fruit right there instead of going far to find it.”
“Yes, that’s how the tribe I lived in as a child did it,” said an elder from the tribe.
Those who had heard of this practice also chimed in, confirming that such a thing existed.
“Divine Envoy, can we also plant things?”
“Of course,” Yang Yi nodded firmly. “As long as the plant can grow in nature, if we learn the right method, we can cultivate it ourselves.”
Everyone cheered in unison. This meant an incredible amount to them.
Collecting didn’t demand too much physical strength. As long as someone could walk, they could do it.
But they had to climb mountains and cross ridges in search of plants. If the place was far, it became very dangerous, which in turn limited how many people could go.
In the past, the Blackstone Tribe had too many people, and the nearby areas had already been thoroughly foraged. They had to go farther and farther out.
That made collecting a dangerous task, especially unfriendly to those with weaker physical strength. In dangerous situations, they could even become a burden.
If they could grow crops, then that problem would be solved. More people could participate in the work.
Yang Yi didn’t forget to warn them in advance. If they wanted to grow crops successfully, they would very likely encounter failures.
Seeds from Earth might not adapt to this world. As for the local plants, Yang Yi knew very little about their growing habits. Weather, soil, pests, everything was unknown. It was all like crossing a river by feeling for stones.
But everyone’s attitude was the same as Jiao’s earlier. Not the least bit concerned about failure. They couldn’t wait to get started right away.
After celebrating for the whole night, the next day, everyone got back to their busy labor, even more tiring than before.
There was simply too much to do. Everyone wished they could split themselves in two. Except for the babies in swaddling clothes, anyone who could move was already working with something in their hands.
Food was still scarce, so the hunting and collecting teams had to resume their original duties.
The houses weren’t finished yet. Someone had to cut grass to wrap around the walls. And there were far too few houses. A group of people had to be sent out to chop and transport lumber.
They also had to send out a team to till the soil and begin seed cultivation. Spring planting was crucial and could not be missed.
The clay supply was also far from enough. More people had to be sent to dig it.
Not just for making pottery, but also for building sturdier, more insulated, and wind-resistant houses, as well as digging a large water reservoir for future irrigation and other uses.
Every task was urgent and needed to be dealt with immediately, but the number of available hands was limited.
Yang Yi and Jiao were overwhelmed trying to allocate the manpower reasonably. Everywhere was short-staffed!
At this point, Yang Yi couldn’t afford to be cautious anymore. He took out quite a few things from his storage space to help improve efficiency, many of which couldn’t have possibly fit into a normal backpack.
For example, solid rubber two-wheel axle wheels, and tools like plows and harrows.
The lumber team had the fewest people assigned. Since they were only building temporary shelters, they didn’t need large lumber; just using machetes would do. The difficult part was transportation.
Carrying by hand wasn’t feasible. Too little could be moved at once, which severely hampered efficiency. And the forest wasn’t exactly nearby.
So Yang Yi decided to teach them how to make hand carts. The terrain along the way was relatively flat, and this group of people had great physical strength. Even without proper roads, carts could still travel fairly well.
There were no wooden planks for now, but they could use tree trunks as substitutes, so long as they were bound tightly enough.
Yang Yi first drew out a diagram of the cart, then discussed with everyone how to build it.
This not only got people involved in the process, but also made up for the fact that Yang Yi only had theoretical knowledge and wasn’t good with hands-on work.
Jing turned out to be especially talented in this area. Just one look at Yang Yi’s cart drawing, and he already had a rough idea in his mind. After listening to Yang Yi explain some of the basic principles, he quickly took over the lead from Yang Yi.
He only had one usable hand at the moment. The other was still injured and hadn’t healed, so there were many things he couldn’t conveniently do himself.
But that didn’t hinder his performance at all. Everyone had already gotten used to working with him, and the efficiency of building the cart was remarkably high.
The very first flatbed hand cart was completed on the first day!
The moment everyone saw the cart, they couldn’t help but exclaim, “Waaah—!”
Ever since the Divine Envoy arrived, they had been surprised with something new every day. But no one ever felt it was too much.
“Let the kids get on and try it out. See if it’s sturdy,” Yang Yi said.
The children gathered around immediately, lit up with excitement. Mao was the first to dash onto the cart. Seeing him, the others all scrambled up after him.
Jing smiled as he pushed the cart single-handedly, easily moving the few children along.
“Waaah! Waaah!!”
The entire tribe was filled with the shrieks of excited children.
After one round trip, Jing set the cart down. “They’re too light. Let’s try with adults.”
The kids were reluctant to get off. Riding the cart felt so strange and fun!
Yang Yi noticed what they were thinking and said, “You don’t need to get off. The adults getting on can just hold onto the children and sit steady.”
The small flatbed cart was quickly packed full. Over twenty people were squeezed onto it. The sight was almost on par with an Indian military parade.
At this point, the cart started to feel the weight, but it held up admirably. No issues at all, and the wheels bore the load just fine.
This time, a different warrior stepped in to push the cart. Jing only had one good hand and couldn’t manage the balance well.
“Wow, this is so easy! I can’t feel the weight at all!” the warrior exclaimed, pushing the cart at a surprisingly fast speed.
Though the cart itself jolted and bumped quite a bit, the people on it sat steadily. None of them even looked close to falling off.
Then an ordinary person tried pushing it. Though it was a bit strenuous, they could still manage to move it.
“This is truly incredible!” everyone exclaimed in amazement.
Jing stroked the cart, his gaze deep and thoughtful. “Ever since the Divine Envoy arrived, has there been a single day that hasn’t felt like a miracle?”
With the cart completed, the Spark Lumber Transport Team was officially established.
