TPWBI Chapter 65

Based on Ye Huo’s performance, Hei Lie judged that he was a person worth trusting.

After carefully asking him about the environment where the coal mine was found, he discussed with Yang Yi and thought that the reserves there should be considerable, and most of them were exposed on the surface.

The back-and-forth journey would take about ten days, so this process was not short. They organized a team of a hundred people to survey and transport the coal, bringing along quite a few handcarts.

As it turned out, Hei Lie’s judgment was correct. Apart from a few warriors responsible for security who carried nothing, the others were either pushing carts or carrying bamboo baskets filled with coal.

“Divine Envoy, the mineral resources there are extremely rich!” Teng put down his cart and excitedly ran up to Yang Yi.

Teng was now in charge of the excavation team. Give him an iron shovel, and he could practically dig through the entire planet.

He was becoming increasingly familiar with the underground conditions. Like Hong Guang, he had an Earth-type talent, though the direction of his talent was quite different.

“What’s the situation over there?”

Hearing this, Yang Yi felt a surge of excitement in his heart, eager to know the details.

“It’s a vast area of coal, just deeply buried under decayed soil. We’ve only dug a small corner, yet we’ve already unearthed a huge amount of coal. I believe that even tens of meters down, it’s still all these minerals!”

Teng felt this task was even easier than digging the moat. Although the decayed soil was thick, it was very loose, and it didn’t take much strength to make an opening.

Below it lay the dark coal, seemingly endless, no matter how much they dug.

Hei Lie glanced at the coal and asked, “Did you dig this coal directly, or did you sort it first?”

“Directly dug. I didn’t notice much difference in appearance, so we just dug it straight out,” Teng replied.

Hei Lie and Yang Yi exchanged a look, both able to see the surprise in the other’s eyes.

The quality of this coal was excellent, with very few impurities, just like what Ye Huo had brought back—top-notch quality.

Some coal dug even deeper was of even better quality, burning very easily and providing ample heat.

“Good work. You all go wash up and rest for a bit. The hall will open soon. Today we have chicken, duck, and goose from our own farm. You’ll be back just in time,” Yang Yi said.

Teng’s eyes widened. “From our own farm?!”

“Yes, everyone should try some.”

Previously, the tribe’s meat came only from hunting or trading with the Green Python Tribe. They had never touched poultry that they raised themselves.

The poultry were still in their growth period, so they hadn’t been touched.

However, as the team grew larger, the pressure on the farm also increased.

Food wasn’t a concern. The vegetable fields were thriving, providing plenty of food for the poultry.

The problem was that there were simply too many birds, which made them prone to disease and difficult to manage.

The current number had already exceeded what Goose King could handle. On top of that, the tribe’s defenses were not fully built. Manpower was seriously insufficient.

Wild beasts were increasingly targeting the flock, causing daily losses. Although most of these beasts ended up as food for the farm, the situation still exposed underlying problems.

Once the first batch of poultry began laying eggs and successfully hatched chicks, and after observing them for a while without major issues, Yang Yi decided to cull some of the unruly male birds first.

This would, first, reduce the pressure on the farm, and second, allow everyone to have a taste.

During this harvest season, letting everyone eat food completely grown and raised by themselves would also serve as a strong encouragement for future work.

Teng and the coal survey and transport team cheered as they dispersed. Just like the others in the tribe, they, too, are eagerly looking forward to tonight’s feast.

“Now what we’re missing is manpower.”

Looking at the huge pile of coal, Yang Yi sighed. Excited as he was, he also clearly understood that this meant even more challenges.

The site was far from the tribe. Many areas weren’t suitable for pushing carts, so a road needed to be built.

According to Teng, the coal lay below a slope, making transport quite difficult.

If they wanted to move large quantities of coal, transportation was the first priority.

This meant they needed a lot of manpower, not just for building the road, but also for transporting the coal. With only a few thousand people now, there weren’t nearly enough to assign.

Everywhere, people were clamoring for manpower. It just hadn’t reached Yang Yi’s attention yet. Hei Lie, as a result, didn’t know how many duels he had ended up in.

It wasn’t just Hei Lie. Various departments were fighting over manpower, and their leaders had fought many times as well.

Especially now, with the harvest underway, a large workforce was needed to pick, gather, and dry the crops in the fields. Many people had been redirected from other departments, making it so that whenever Hei Lie stepped out, he was immediately swarmed by requests for help.

This time, Ye Huo had taken a hundred elite men with him, leaving manpower even more scarce.

Hei Lie, as chieftain, had tried his best to organize everyone, but with the numbers they had, even the most skilled organizer couldn’t make do without enough resources.

Even winning a duel didn’t mean everyone would just leave it at that. Hei Lie still had to worry about the lack of manpower.

They had already reached a bottleneck: even if labor efficiency improved, they were still constrained by too few people, making large-scale operations difficult.

After this trade fair, although they had exchanged for many goods, their own stock had been completely depleted.

They could clearly produce more, but progress was slowed by the shortage of hands. Leaders everywhere were so anxious that they were practically fuming.

“I’ll borrow some people from Jin Huan,” Hei Lie said, letting out a deep sigh. Even a great harvest came with its own set of headaches.

“Will the Green Python Tribe even lend us people? Last time, they nearly withdrew all of them,” someone asked.

The Green Python Tribe was now on very friendly terms with the Spark Tribe. The success of this trade fair owed much to their help.

But borrowing more people would be difficult.

It wasn’t that the Green Python Tribe needed manpower to maintain its own operations. According to Yang Yi’s estimates, the tribe likely had over ten thousand people, a very large population.

The problem was that some of the workers previously sent by the Green Python Tribe had gotten along well with the Spark Tribe members… and had formed couples!

Some of the Green Python women were even pregnant, and among them were warriors.

This posed a huge challenge to the rules of the Green Python Tribe.

The tribe strictly rejected outsiders. Intermarriage with people from other tribes was forbidden. Yet now, such a thing had occurred.

And the number was not small, which made them extremely angry.

Some elders even believed that no more Green Python people should be allowed to work outside, and all of them should be summoned back.

It was only because they had previously signed an agreement with the Spark Tribe, with huge penalties for breach, that this wasn’t executed immediately.

They also didn’t want to burn bridges with the Spark Tribe, especially since Spark now had even more attractive resources, so they had no choice but to compromise.

However, those who had broken the tribe’s rules and married outsiders were all summoned back.

Yang Yi had no idea how they were doing now, but he feared the outcome was grim.

The Spark Tribe tried to communicate, but the Green Python Tribe was firm in its stance, absolutely refusing any outsider interference.

As a result, no one really knew what was happening. This even affected the men and women in the Spark Tribe who had paired with Green Python Tribe members. But before tribal law, they were powerless.

For this reason, Jiao held a special meeting to warn all members of the Spark Tribe: strictly observe the rules of the Green Python Tribe. You can be good brothers with them, but absolutely must not form unions with them, to avoid harming both others and yourselves.

The Spark Tribe also provided considerable compensation to the Green Python Tribe for this matter, as they bore some responsibility as well.

After this incident, Yang Yi, who had originally wanted to request more people from the Green Python Tribe, found he could no longer bring it up.

It was already very difficult that the Green Python Tribe had not recalled the current thousand or so people.

Although this matter had temporarily passed, it had made the relationship between the two tribes somewhat delicate.

Now, the housing for the Green Python Tribe members was arranged in a separate area, far from the young and able-bodied members of the Spark Tribe.

Tasks were reassigned, so the two tribes no longer worked mixed together, and mealtimes could be staggered.

Moreover, the Green Python Tribe specifically sent an elder to supervise. If anyone showed the slightest sign of trouble, they would be sent back immediately.

“This time it’s different,” Hei Lie explained.

“We only need them outside to help us build roads. They don’t need to live within our tribe or spend every day with our people. This way, we avoid attachments forming over time.”

“I hope they can accept these conditions. I don’t mind offering a bit more,” Yang Yi sighed.

“The people we send over can all be those who already have partners or are older. Sigh… we’re still too passive right now.”

The Spark Tribe had far too many things the Green Python Tribe wanted. Although they gave the Green Python Tribe the most they could at this trade fair, the total was still very small.

It wasn’t that Yang Yi was deliberately practicing scarcity sales. It was simply that they were just getting started and were themselves in short supply.

For example, paper and ink were currently only used for copying books. Students in the school who wanted to practice writing had to use sand trays instead.

Even the textbooks couldn’t really be called books. They were just loose sheets of paper. Students would receive a few at a time, learning a little at a time. There was no way to advance.

As for iron tools, there weren’t actually that many on display. Some had even been taken from Yang Yi’s space, purely for show.

Yang Yi had already taken out a considerable amount from his space. As it emptied, his urgency to develop grew stronger.

If they could free up some manpower to build roads for them, Yang Yi didn’t mind giving up some of their own resources in exchange.

With coal, they could produce more iron tools, paper, pottery, and so on. Their current shortage was understandable and justified.

“You don’t need to be too anxious. The tribe’s growth in such a short time is already a miracle. Don’t push yourself too hard.”

No matter who saw the Spark Tribe as it was now, they were amazed. If they hadn’t seen it with their own eyes, it would have seemed impossible.

But rapid development also brought countless crises, especially for a tribe as prosperous as theirs.

After this festival, more and more tribes would learn about the Spark Tribe.

Opportunities came hand in hand with danger, leaving Yang Yi uneasy. That sense of urgency was even stronger than when they were still in poverty.

Yang Yi smiled but said nothing.

He understood the reasoning, yet he still found it difficult to remain calm.

During the festival, he had seen the surprise in the eyes of the other tribes’ people, but he had also seen the fire within them. The desire to claim everything for themselves.

Though they restrained themselves, aware of the consequences, Yang Yi still sensed the threat.

“Trust me, I can protect everything we have.”

Hei Lie grasped Yang Yi’s hand. The warmth spread through Yang Yi’s body.

It was as if he could feel the other’s strong, steady heartbeat. Inexplicably, Yang Yi’s restless heart gradually calmed. He smiled at Hei Lie.

“I trust you.”

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