TPWBI Chapter 78

The population of the Spark Tribe had skyrocketed, an outcome that Yang Yi had never been able to foresee.

In such a short period of time, so many people had been gathered. If placed a few months earlier, it would have been nothing but a pipe dream.

In Yang Yi’s shallow knowledge of history, it seemed that with the current level of productivity, achieving this was extremely difficult.

Although the sudden surge in population brought immense pressure to the tribe, making the once plentiful food supplies no longer sufficient, it did not affect the normal functioning of the tribe.

This was greatly related to the continuous and active cultivation of talent during this time. They took up their posts quickly and soon stabilized the situation.

Most crucial of all, the area they were in was extraordinarily rich in resources.

That endless stretch of wasteland was full of food. As long as there was enough fighting power, there was no fear of starving.

However, the population’s exponential growth still brought quite a few problems that required constant improvement.

Almost every evening, Yang Yi held a large meeting, where the various managers would report the problems in their respective domains, discuss them, and then work on solutions.

At present, all of Yang Yi’s new industrial plans have been temporarily halted. His entire attention was focused on the management and arrangement of the newly added people.

According to the set time, Yang Yi and Hei Lie arrived at the meeting hall. Many people were already there, offering congratulations to the new father, Jing.

Just two days ago, Rong had successfully given birth to a baby girl, her voice especially loud and resonant—stronger than any other newborn.

At the moment of birth, her cry resounded through the skies, as if afraid that people might not know she had arrived in this world.

Even at such a young age, it was already clear that she was gifted in voice.

“Jing, congratulations!” Yang Yi also stepped forward to offer his well-wishes.

When everyone saw Yang Yi and Hei Lie, they quickly made way, clearing a path so Yang Yi could sit at the main seat.

Jing hurriedly stood up from his chair, his face beaming with a bright smile. He handed over a small pouch woven from grass:

“Divine Envoy, have some candy!”

Previously, Yang Yi had set a rule: whenever a newborn was born in the tribe, the tribe would distribute plenty of candies to the newborn’s parents, so they could share them with those offering congratulations.

This allowed everyone to partake in the joy and welcome the arrival of the newborn.

For the development of a tribe, children were the most crucial reserve force.

These candies were produced in the tribe’s sugar workshop, made by pressing sugarcane and other ingredients. The workshop leader had volunteered for the position himself.

He was among the first group of people Yang Yi had met, and he had never forgotten the rock sugar Yang Yi once distributed. After learning basic literacy, he began studying books on how to make rock sugar, full of confidence that he could manage the sugar workshop well.

And indeed, this proved true. The sugar workshop could now produce high-quality rock sugar—even clearer and sweeter than the kind Yang Yi had brought.

At present, aside from making the most basic brown sugar bricks, the workshop mainly produces this rock sugar, which was extremely popular.

The Green Python Tribe had taken back quite a lot of it and had already reserved an even greater quantity for the next bountiful harvest, insisting that it must be more than this time.

Sugar had become another hard currency for trade. In recent times, scattered tribes had come to trade for it, and it was highly sought after. Even at high prices, they were eager to exchange, bringing greater profits to the tribe.

Yang Yi happily accepted it and immediately ate a piece on the spot:

“How are Rong and the child? Didn’t I give you three days off? Why did you come here?”

In the tribe, when a woman gave birth, not only was the mother given maternity leave, but the child’s father—or any man willing to take responsibility for raising the child—was also granted leave, making it easier to care for both mother and newborn.

However, the leave time wasn’t long. Even those three days had been something Yang Yi fought hard to obtain.

Here, not to mention the father, even the mother usually had to start working immediately after giving birth. The idea of maternity leave simply didn’t exist.

Parents often had to work even harder than before to raise their children.

“Divine Envoy, Rong asked me to tell you, if you don’t let her work soon, she feels like she’ll suffocate to death,” Jing said helplessly.

Rong was simply not someone who could stay idle. Even when her labor pains had begun, she was still there training new recruits.

It took an experienced elder noticing that something was wrong to forcibly drag her into the birthing room. She gave birth as soon as she entered.

In her late pregnancy, Hei Lie had arranged for her to be assigned to train new recruits. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to bear the idleness.

Right after giving birth, Rong wanted to get up and return to her unit, but Ting, who had now become the head of the hospital, firmly pressed her down on the bed.

Although Rong’s health was indeed good, childbirth still caused damage to her body. If it wasn’t well cared for, the aftereffects would become very apparent later on.

Because of this, Yang Yi directly set a clear rule: after giving birth, mothers had to rest. Even when they first returned to work, they were not allowed to immediately take on high-intensity labor.

Most people here did not value postpartum care and therefore couldn’t understand this point. But they also knew Yang Yi was thinking of their well-being. Besides, right after childbirth, they truly were weak, so they obediently complied.

Very few people were as restless as Rong.

“The body is nothing to joke about. If she really wants to work, then assign her some tasks that aren’t so strenuous,” Yang Yi said, glancing at Hei Lie.

Yang Yi understood Rong’s temperament. A mother’s mood after childbirth was extremely important. If she was forced to do nothing at all, her bad mood would also harm her body.

Hei Lie nodded. “Rong’s cultural studies have always been terrible. This is the perfect time for her to study more.”

“……”

Yang Yi practically felt as if Hei Lie bore a grudge against Rong.

But the topic didn’t continue. This meeting had been called to discuss some of the current problems of the tribe, with the main focus on food.

“At present, the beastfolk are already able to obtain food through hunting. Combined with the tribe’s allocations, their needs are basically being met,” the head of the Finance Department reported.

Beastfolk were also known as the barbarians. But the name “Barbarian” carried a heavy sense of discrimination, so they were all called Beastfolk instead.

Although the tribe had just enjoyed a bountiful harvest, and the poultry had begun gradually laying eggs, with the males now able to be slaughtered for meat, it was still impossible to meet the needs of so many people relying solely on farming and animal husbandry.

After all, these things required time. With too few people before, the output had naturally been limited.

The yield here was high. The livestock grew fast, but the natives’ appetites were also huge.

The Beastfolk representative, Hu Wen, also spoke up: “With the weapons provided by the tribe and everyone’s cooperation, hunting has become very easy for us! We can feed ourselves!”

After undergoing military training, most of the Beastfolk had found weapons suitable for themselves and were becoming increasingly adept at using them with flexibility.

Compared to the past, when they relied on hand-to-hand combat, their hunting efficiency was now much higher.

With ample salt supplies, their food requirements had also decreased significantly compared to before.

Moreover, with the advent of cooked food, even Beastfolk with the natural instincts of carnivorous animals were now able to eat staple foods like rice or potatoes soaked in meat broth or boiled together. This not only enriched their diet but also made it much easier to fill their stomachs.

“The Beastfolk’s combat power is very strong,” Hei Lie affirmed.

The Beastfolk were skilled at using brute force but were not very good at employing traps and other methods. Their ability to cooperate was also weaker than that of the people from the Eastern Continent.

Tribes with herd-animal traits were better in this regard, but even then, their cooperation was limited to their own groups. They didn’t know how to work with different tribes to complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses.

But now things were different. Having come to the Spark Tribe, they not only possessed the finest weapons on the entire Eastern Continent but also learned how to make traps and such. There were even specialists assigned to arrange cooperation based on their individual traits.

On top of that, the wasteland held herds of prey in abundance, unlike in the forests, where animals were hidden and hard to spot, and once they fled, difficult to catch.

Although cooperation had only begun recently and still required further honing, the results were already significant.

“As for this group of new arrivals in the tribe, their main food source is still what they brought with them, plus the tribe’s supplies. Some of them are experiencing a bit of acclimation issues, but they’ll soon be able to begin hunting as well,” Jing said.

The people Jing had brought back mostly came from relatively arid regions. Since it was more humid here, they still needed time to adapt to the environment.

And compared to the Beastfolk, they were even more destitute. It was only because they could no longer survive that they had seized this final hope and followed along, essentially starting with nothing at all.

It was just that compared to the Beastfolk, they had a few more tools. But in the Spark Tribe, that didn’t really amount to much.

The journey had also been extremely long. Their bodies had already reached their limits.

“How is their food situation?” Yang Yi asked.

The tribe’s distribution principle was not based on headcount. That would have been unfair to those who had previously contributed to the tribe.

And if newcomers immediately divided up what the tribe members had earned, leaving the original members without enough to eat, it would naturally cause them to reject the new arrivals.

Therefore, for now, the priority was to continue ensuring food stability for the existing tribe members, while the newcomers were provided for using the stored grain.

Currently, the tribe has a total of ten canteens. Canteens One and Two were reserved for the veteran members and the Green Python Tribe, while the others were for the Beastfolk and the newcomers who had just arrived two days ago.

The Beastfolk had already been here for some time and had passed the military training assessment, so their food was richer than that of the newcomers.

Those who sought refuge in the Spark Tribe were allowed to keep whatever they originally possessed, unless it was contraband. The tribe would not confiscate anything.

As for whether they could receive tribe allocations, that depended on whether they passed assessments and made contributions.

“Their situation is still tight, but compared to before, it’s already much better,” Jing said, recalling the places he had visited and letting out a deep sigh.

“The places those people lived in before were terrifying. Sometimes, even water was nearly impossible to find.”

Jing had once lived in the Blackstone Tribe. As a strong man, his life had always been fairly good.

Though there had been a rough patch in between, he soon joined the Spark Tribe, so he had never truly experienced deep poverty.

This long journey made him realize just how fortunate he was, and made him cherish the tribe all the more.

“In the past, it wasn’t like that over there,” Ye Huo couldn’t help but speak. “Although there wasn’t as much water as here, there were still streams and springs sufficient for everyone to drink. I don’t know what happened recently. Could it be that the heavens are angry?”

The others, upon hearing these words, also felt worried.

If the gods were angered over there and brought about drought, would they also become angry here and bring other disasters?

Dong, dong, dong—

Hei Lie tapped the tabletop with his fingers. “If soldiers come, we block them; if floods come, we dam them. What’s there to panic about!”

“This is exactly why we are pushing to increase production. We absolutely cannot become complacent just because of past achievements.”

Yang Yi said this because he had already noticed that the people of the tribe were starting to get a little carried away. The last great harvest had shocked everyone. It was the first time they had ever seen so much food.

And they had never imagined it could be obtained in such a simple way, without the fear of being harmed by wild beasts.

With the second great harvest approaching, the fruits in the fields seemed to tell everyone how abundant their tribe was.

Inevitably, this gave people the sense that food was very easy to obtain. Although they still cherished grain and did not waste it, they had begun to grow somewhat arrogant and complacent, feeling that reaching this level was already remarkable. Thus, they lose a bit of their drive to strive further.

At a time when everyone else was relatively weak, such emotions were hard to avoid.

The group of people Jing had brought back gave the tribe a great shock, cooling down many who had been getting carried away.

They began to understand the meaning behind Yang Yi’s constant emphasis that the tribe must continue to expand and develop to have stronger risk resistance.

“Divine Envoy is right. Everyone only sees the current harvest, but hasn’t noticed that in fact we are in a state of reduced production,” Qing said.

“Reduced production? Isn’t this harvest greater than the last one? We planted more than double what we did before!”

Qing’s sharp eyes swept toward Chi, who had just spoken: “You only remember eating, and forget what I told you before!”

Chi sheepishly rubbed his nose, not daring to make a sound.

Qing was usually a gentle person. But once her reverse scale was touched, she would explode, becoming particularly fierce.

Especially when it came to Chi, she simply couldn’t rein in her temper because the two of them were now mates.

Although Chi had been scolded openly, he didn’t show any displeasure. He took it lightly and didn’t let pride get in the way of his mood.

“The seeds the Divine Envoy brought from the gods are very high-yielding, but the second-generation seeds weaken significantly, producing only about seventy to eighty percent of the original yield. The third generation is also not looking good. At most, they can only maintain seventy percent.”

Qing’s brows were tightly furrowed. While the others were celebrating the harvest, she had been worrying because she understood the situation.

“Heavens, doesn’t that mean by the fourth and fifth generations, the yield will get less and less, and eventually nothing will grow at all?!”

Chi exclaimed. The others’ expressions also darkened.

Yang Yi looked toward Qing. “Has there been no improvement in the seed selection work?”

“There’s been some progress, but the results are not very obvious. At best, we can maintain about sixty percent of the yield of the original seeds.”

“You should’ve said that earlier! Sixty percent is still something, isn’t it? As long as we plant more, the problem’s solved. Now that we have so many people, there’s nothing to worry about,” Chi said with a chuckle.

The others also relaxed. Most of them were very optimistic, which made Qing’s face flush red with anger.

Yang Yi laughed. “Optimism is still important. Everything has to be done step by step. Being able to achieve this much already is not easy at all.”

They had only just begun planting. To have achieved such results already, Yang Yi didn’t know how to express his excitement other than by giving a big thumbs-up.

Although the yield had clearly decreased, it was still extremely high. What came before had simply been too abnormal.

Even if it dropped to fifty percent, compared to the food consumption here, it would still be equivalent to a rice yield of over a thousand jin per mu on Earth, which was very impressive.

Although there was no machinery here, manpower was incredibly strong, and the land was fertile and easy to cultivate. Overall, the god of fortune still looked kindly upon them.

“This time, many people have joined the tribe. We must ensure that everyone’s food supply is secure. We cannot allow the newcomers to live a life harsher than before!” Hei Lie pulled the topic back on track.

A Beastfolk representative, a small and thin old man, timidly raised his hand.

Yang Yi saw him and smiled. “Tu Meng, what do you want to say?”

“Those of us who have herbivore talents prefer eating vegetables. But each time the tribe distributes to us, we get a lot of meat. Some people privately exchange meat for vegetables. Are such actions allowed?”

At present, with the tribe’s population growing larger and contributions varying, it is no longer possible to distribute resources strictly by attribute as before.

That would be unfair to those who contributed more. And from both historical experience and observation of the people here, Yang Yi knew that with the current level of productivity, egalitarianism would not last long.

Differences could still exist, as long as the minimum was secured and the maximum fulfilled their obligations. This way, the contradictions arising from disparity could be reduced.

If, to avoid conflict, social development was obstructed, in the end, conflict would erupt anyway.

Thus, about a month ago, after discussing with everyone, Yang Yi began to implement a ration ticket system in the tribe.

It was just like the grain ration ticket system once used in China, except that no additional money was needed for purchases.

Everyone was allocated ration tickets according to their different contributions as well as their personal attributes.

All goods, such as food, clothing, and other supplies, could only be collected using ration tickets. For now, the system was still registered under individual names.

They couldn’t make too big of a leap all at once. Otherwise, the situation would become unmanageable.

The ration tickets were made from a special type of wood, which only grew in the marshlands. The wood had a faint reddish tint and was quite distinctive.

On the front and back of the tickets were carved unique Spark Tribe patterns, designed by Han Bing. The design wasn’t complicated, but it represented the Spark Tribe.

A section at the bottom was left blank for “punching holes”, with each hole representing one unit.

When collecting supplies, each portion taken meant one hole would be punched.

Each ticket carried either ten or twenty “holes”. Every punch meant one less portion.

Currently, wages are distributed once every ten days. If the period were too long, they worried that some careless people would take all their supplies at once, binge eat and drink, and then suffer later on.

Many hadn’t yet developed the habit of planning, so ten days was easier to manage.

This way, they could gradually build awareness without truly being left to starve.

In the future, as the population grows, the period might be extended. But for now, they would adapt step by step.

Each month, the person in charge would submit the payroll to the Finance Department. The Finance Department would then prepare all the ration tickets and hand them to the supervisors, who would then distribute them to their holders.

If the number of holes exceeded the amount that should actually be distributed, and the number didn’t match an exact multiple, then during distribution, the excess holes would simply be punched in advance.

On each ration ticket, a designated official would write the owner’s name and register it. Once all the holes had been punched, the ticket would be reclaimed for record-keeping.

Weapons and tools, however, were not included in the system. These were communal property of the tribe, and everyone had the right to use them.

Distribution depended mainly on the position one held and actual needs, rather than the contributions made.

These items did not belong to individuals. After use, they had to be returned to storage.

Weapons were somewhat special. Some people, because of their significant contributions, could have weapons exclusively assigned to them. But even so, their distribution remained under strict control.

Within the entire tribe, only Yang Yi had the authority to grant such weapons. Even Hei Lie, the chieftain, did not.

At present, the most beautiful decorations in the tribe were not only the red stones representing honor, but also these ration tickets that symbolized wealth.

Here, there was no saying of “keeping wealth hidden”. Nor did anyone resent the rich or find it distasteful if others showed off their wealth.

Just like showing off one’s powerful combat ability, it inspired admiration and envy. But it was almost always a healthy form of motivation.

Especially now, with the real-name system, theft was practically nonexistent.

If anyone attempted to threaten others for resources, all one had to do was go to the Secretariat or the Guard Squad to file a complaint or ask for help, and it would be resolved immediately.

Such behavior was punished very severely in the tribe. The lighter punishments included reassignment to the hardest departments and having white paint marked on one’s face.

If there was a second offense, regardless of severity, the person would be expelled from the tribe.

If the case was serious, they would be either expelled outright or executed on the spot.

Therefore, incidents of robbery have not happened so far.

After the beastmen joined, some of those with ferocious beast talents, relying on their strong combat ability, had once tried to threaten others.

Now, all of them had already been expelled. Among the more than ten thousand beastmen who came, nearly fifty had been either driven out or directly killed.

These were all those who refused to mend their ways, who disrupted internal unity, or were extremely arrogant cancers. The beastmen had no dissatisfaction with such punishments. It only made them more cautious in their words and actions.

Although incidents of threats had not happened, some people wanted to exchange on their own.

Tu Meng hurriedly explained: “They really do want to exchange. It’s not that they were forced. Like me, I like eating the vegetables grown in the tribe even more, especially radishes and carrots. They’re just too delicious! Even raw, they taste really good.”

“If not for the need to replenish salt in the past, I wouldn’t even have wanted to touch that meat. Now that we have salt, the amount of meat given to us is really too much.”

Compared to people of the Eastern Continent, most of whom eat anything, with warriors simply preferring meat more—but only as a matter of taste, not bodily need—they were relatively satisfied with the current distribution.

Beastmen, however, were different. Because of the different talents in their bodies, it led to this result.

“This was our oversight,” Yang Yi reflected.

Tu Meng was startled. He directly jumped up from his chair, spinning in place: “No, no, no, Divine Envoy, don’t say it like that. It’s us who have too many demands.”

“Don’t be nervous,” Yang Yi said with a smile. “This truly was something we hadn’t considered carefully before. What you brought up is very good.”

Hu Wen reached out his finger and poked Tu Meng on the head: “You old rabbit, at your age, you still haven’t made the slightest progress.”

Tu Meng bared his teeth in anger, his pair of large front teeth extremely conspicuous.

Although beastmen did not have beastly forms, nor would they grow certain parts of their gifted beasts, some features would still be reflected.

For example, Tu Meng, who possessed a rabbit talent, had slightly longer ears. Not as exaggerated as a rabbit’s, but clearly longer than an ordinary person’s. His two front teeth were also especially large.

Not only that, their hind legs were extremely powerful, able to jump very high. They are very skilled at digging, and their fertility was also very strong.

Tu Meng now had so many children and grandchildren that even he himself could not count them all, nor recognize them all.

After coming to the Spark Tribe and starting household registration, it was discovered that he had a total of seventy-six rabbit children and grandchildren. That number could truly be called astonishing.

“Exchanging according to individual needs is fine. This is everyone’s freedom,” Yang Yi said.

“It’s not that simple,” Jiao remained skeptical. “Once trading begins, it can easily trigger all kinds of conflicts.”

Yang Yi pondered for a moment. “What you say makes sense. Whether one is willing to exchange, and how the exchange should be done, both could lead to problems.”

Now that the number of people in the tribe had increased, and with the mix of backgrounds, it was inevitable that bullying the weak through strength might appear.

This was something unavoidable anywhere. It could only be monitored and controlled.

Even before, Yang Yi didn’t dare to pat his chest and guarantee that nothing bad would ever happen.

Let alone in this world where might makes right, even on Earth, in places with sound laws, no matter how developed, no matter how good the welfare, there would always be some bad things.

“This truly is a problem,” Yang Yi nodded.

“Want to avoid being bullied? Then you have to stand up for yourself.” Hei Lie, however, was indifferent.

“The tribe has already provided a good environment. If he himself doesn’t know how to fight for it, then even if we help him avoid risks in this matter, he will still be oppressed in other matters.”

“The Chief is right. The Divine Envoy said before that everyone must rely on themselves. If they’re this cowardly inside the tribe, how can they face those fierce beasts outside?” Chi echoed.

The others also agreed one after another. This was only an issue in the Spark Tribe. In other tribes, such things simply wouldn’t even count as a matter.

Though such words were cruel to the victims, in this social environment, for now, they were still fairly reasonable.

To survive, one must have blood and guts. Otherwise, they’d be gnawed to the point that not even scraps remained.

If they didn’t even have the courage to speak up for their own lawful rights, how could they dare face the dangerous world?

In this world, life could only be seized through life-and-death struggles. If, even when there was already a platform and environment of protection, they still didn’t dare to make use of it, then it could only be said that they brought it upon themselves.

Everyone present felt there was no need to be so cautious, including Tu Meng, who also agreed with this viewpoint.

“Alright then. If everyone has no objections, private exchanges of items can be allowed. However, everything must be based on voluntariness and on fairness and justice. Later, related laws and regulations must still be established to ensure exchanges are standardized. There must not be deliberate price suppression or price inflation.”

“Divine Envoy, I agree!”

Everyone raised their hands one after another to show their stance, agreeing to this proposal.

Yang Yi looked toward the Finance Department: “If we open up exchanges between the people and the tribe, will it cause pressure?”

“Most likely, yes. Right now, the tribe’s food supply is extremely tight. If we open up exchanges with everyone, we don’t know what the situation will be, and we won’t be able to control the final outcome. Our population has skyrocketed too much.

Even a great harvest can’t solve the problem of so many mouths to feed, because what follows right after is the hard-to-plant Cold Season. In the Wet Season, we can plant, but we won’t harvest until the Autumn Season. The gap in between is too long.”

The head of the Finance Department was deeply troubled. While the whole tribe was celebrating the arrival of so many new people, they were staring at the numbers one by one, feeling only panic in their hearts.

“Daily limited exchanges. The exact amounts should fluctuate according to the actual situation. If there are still people who can’t exchange, then they can do so privately.” Hei Lie suggested.

Yang Yi nodded: “That way we can maintain relative balance, and the exchange rate in private trades won’t get too outrageous.”

While following the rules of the market, macro-control from the tribe was still necessary.

Setting prices within the tribe was also to prevent people who didn’t understand the market from making reckless moves and causing trading chaos.

Tu Meng actually didn’t quite understand, but he knew that as long as exchanges were allowed, he was very happy. Right then and there, he set aside the earlier quarrel and said to Hu Wen:

“I know you guys have hoarded a lot of vegetables and radishes. Let’s trade with you!”

At this moment, Ting raised her hand. Yang Yi gave her a nod.

“Divine Envoy, the Harvest Season trading fair is almost here. Can the people in our tribe bring these things to trade with other tribes?”

Ting was someone who had contributed greatly to the tribe. Not only was her medical skill becoming more and more outstanding, but she had also trained many apprentices and discovered some with natural medical talent.

She was also the great beauty of the tribe. She was becoming more and more beautiful, her charm even more captivating.

In the past, she fell a step short of Jin Huan in terms of aura. Now, because of her confidence, her gentleness carried a touch of resilience, making her all the more likable.

Because of this, she was never short of admirers around her, though she had never had such intentions herself.

Due to her hard work and great contributions, she had always received a large number of ration tickets. On top of that, her admirers constantly offered her tokens of affection—

On the Eastern Continent, this was a way of expressing admiration. Even if the other party didn’t agree to accept their feelings, no one felt like they had lost out. As long as their gift was received, they were very happy.

Because of this, ever since the ration ticket system started, Ting had stockpiled a large amount of tickets, but hadn’t found a chance to use them.

There were quite a few people like Ting. Some had accumulated many because of great merit, others simply liked to hoard, while still others felt indifferent toward certain goods and didn’t bother redeeming them, and so on.

For those who had been in the tribe the longest, the welfare was still very good, and saving a little didn’t affect their work.

And ration tickets weren’t just for food. They also included clothing, paper, pottery, and other daily necessities.

“As long as it’s not weapons or similar items, personal belongings can be freely traded.” Yang Yi affirmed.

Hei Lie didn’t forget to add: “But it must never be below the tribe’s internal prices! And if someone trades their essential goods for useless things, they won’t be qualified to receive the welfare stipend.”

The tribe did have a welfare stipend, guaranteeing everyone’s most basic rights.

Although very few people used it, and currently no one does, everyone still thought it shameful.

In the tribe, as long as you were diligent enough, there was simply no need to claim it.

The tribe had large amounts of goods that needed to be exchanged with other tribes. They couldn’t let personal trades disrupt the tribe’s normal exchanges, nor allow some people to swap necessities for flashy, useless things, only to end up hungry and cold and then turn back to the tribe.

At the time, such individuals were unlikely to appear, but given enough time, it wasn’t guaranteed.

Everyone present immediately understood, and their emotions stirred:

“This is a must! If anyone dares to do that, taking advantage of the tribe, then he isn’t worthy of being a Spark tribesman!”

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