The bright moon hung high, and the earth was shrouded in darkness.
On both sides of the great road that stretched across the entire Spark Tribe’s settlement, tung-oil lamps enclosed in cicada-wing lanterns adorned the path, keeping the tribe from falling into complete darkness.
The cicada-wing shades were made from the transparent wings of a kind of giant cicada. They were extremely light and thin, yet strong and tough, and also possessed excellent fire resistance, with outstanding translucency.
If not for the fine, delicate lines on them, they could practically be mistaken for glass.
These cicada wings were the most suitable material for making lampshades, especially since the creatures were very easy to catch and had strong reproductive ability. Now, they were already being specially captured and raised in large numbers.
Nowadays, tung-oil lamps can be found throughout the central areas of the tribe. The one who had discovered that cicada wings could be used as lampshades had since become the person in charge of lighting and extinguishing the lamps. The work was both easy and highly important, drawing much envy.
Ever since the advent of tung-oil lamps, the Spark Tribe no longer relied solely on the bonfire at the tribe’s center for light.
Although the lamplight was far less bright than daylight, it still allowed everyone to clearly see one another in the dark, preventing little creatures that thrived on nighttime mischief from sneaking in.
The scattered points of light also brought a sense of safety through their glow.
At night, many people would gather beneath the lamps, chatting with laughter and joy, while also keeping busy with tasks such as weaving vine baskets.
Each day before dawn, the people of the Spark Tribe would rise with the aid of this faint light, washing and preparing for a day of labor.
“Teng, you’re up this early again?” Huo Qiu of the Green Python Tribe let out a huge yawn.
Teng was one of the main forces in the Spark Tribe’s pit-digging team, and also one of the earliest members of the tribe. Ever since he had received a military shovel bestowed upon him by the Divine Envoy, he had found the work he was most skilled at and loved for life—digging pits.
He was just an ordinary person, without the strong physique of a warrior. Yet for some reason, as long as a shovel was in his hand, it was as if he were divinely aided.
Clearly, his physical strength was far inferior to that of warriors, yet when it came to digging pits, both his speed and the quality of his work surpassed theirs.
At first, he hadn’t understood why this was so. It wasn’t until many other ordinary people awakened their own talents that Teng realized his talent was digging pits.
Although this talent sounded far less dazzling than others, even a little strange, Teng was delighted with it and proud of his gift.
He had always worked hard to improve his ability, wanting to do more for the tribe.
“Recently, quite a few houses have had their foundations completed. I need to hurry and dig more clay. Once the houses are all built, I’ll be able to move in, too!”
Teng’s eyes sparkled, already able to envision the beautiful life that awaited him.
Such a beautiful house. Soon, that would be his own dwelling!
Before, he had thought that the thatched mud huts they currently lived in were already very good. But after seeing such tall, beautiful houses being built, he realized just how shallow his former understanding had been.
When Huo Qiu thought of the newly built houses, even his drowsiness was swept away, his expression full of envy.
“You all are truly too lucky. I’ve never seen such fine houses. Not even our chieftain has one!”
Nowadays, everyone’s favorite place to visit is the new residential area. Just strolling around it once a day was a kind of enjoyment.
Anyone who stepped into that place would instantly become unusually well-behaved. They wouldn’t dare get too close or do anything destructive. It wasn’t only because of the tribe’s rules but also because they couldn’t bear to defile such a beautiful place with their own hands.
The moment people arrived there, their footsteps would unconsciously grow lighter. No matter how tired they were, just standing there would ease their entire being.
There, rows upon rows of houses stood. Though none of them had tiled roofs yet, one could already feel how comfortable it would be to live in them in the future.
The houses were all built in a row, with a long corridor in front. From the corridor, one could enter the individual rooms.
At first, the houses were all two stories high. Later, with more experience and solutions to load-bearing and other issues, the newly built ones became three stories tall.
Each house came with a balcony, which could be used for drying clothes, cooling off in the breeze, and so on.
The sizes of the houses also varied. There were single rooms of about ten square meters, and there were also two-bedroom-one-living-room or three-bedroom-one-living-room units built for the convenience of families with children.
For now, the arrangement was that two people lived in each room. Later, when there were enough houses, it would change to one person per room.
Once children were born, one could apply for a larger room.
The rooms were not private property but public, and the overall system was quite similar to the old housing allocation system used by state work units.
For easier care, there were special residential areas designated for childhood, adulthood, and old age.
However, if someone was unwilling to move away, they could also apply to stay in their original place, though they would have to bear the inconveniences that came with it.
After all, all the special zones were facilities set up to match the needs of the majority. For example, the elderly or those who were weak, sick, or disabled would be arranged on the first floor, closer to the temple hospital.
Each building was equipped with a dedicated washroom and restroom, set at some distance from the living quarters, though not far enough to be inconvenient.
Yang Yi had once considered whether they should build washrooms and sewage facilities inside every building, but with the current technology, it was still quite difficult. It would consume a great deal of labor and work hours.
The underground drainage system would require much higher standards than they currently have. They could not yet build a water plant, nor could they guarantee sanitation and hygiene.
If handled poorly, it would easily result in foul odors spreading everywhere. So, it was better to build washrooms and restrooms nearby. Even though it required a short walk, it was still quite convenient.
Especially in comparison to now, whether it was the Spark Tribe or the particularly fastidious Green Python Tribe, everyone exclaimed that these toilets were even better than many people’s homes!
Exquisite, far too exquisite.
And unlike the current housing areas, the new residential district even had garden planning.
In many places, fruit trees and flowers had been planted. Although for now nothing could be seen except the shapes of the flower beds, everyone could still easily imagine what it would look like in the future.
Not to mention, at the main entrance of the new residential district stood a huge picture.
It was a concept drawing of the new residences, sketched out by Han Bing, showing leafy trees heavy with tempting fruit, with beautiful flowers adorning every corner.
Comfortable and beautiful. This was the goal pursued by the new residential area.
The people of the Green Python Tribe were envious every single day, turning into sour “lemons” day after day.
When they saw those beautiful houses and the life one could imagine living in them, they practically wanted to defect from their tribe.
Although they were also learning construction techniques, everyone clearly understood that the Green Python Tribe could never build like the Spark Tribe.
Leaving aside other matters, their tribe was full of towering trees everywhere, which meant they could not build houses as freely and willfully as the Spark Tribe.
Cutting down a vast forest was not only a massive project but also went against their tribal customs.
Those great trees were their cover, their protection, allowing them to hide themselves better.
They would make use of some open spaces and cut down a small number of trees to build such pretty and practical houses, but they would never have construction on the scale of the Spark Tribe.
What’s more, building such houses required enormous labor and resources, something that demanded both great courage and strength.
So this also meant that quite a number of people in the tribe would not be able to live in such houses.
Huo Qiu understood very well that he was just an ordinary person, and he was not qualified either.
Teng, who often spent time with people of the Green Python Tribe, also knew this clearly, and he felt very proud and smug.
Their tribe was different!
“In the future, you can come visit my house!”
This was their Spark Tribe—a place that even a powerful tribe like the Green Python envied!
On the way to the place where he dug, Teng had to pass through the new residential district. A few people stood in front of the nearest houses, gazing at them with yearning faces.
“Can we really live in there?”
An old man asked in disbelief. Even though he had already been given a definite answer, every time he came here, he still found it hard to believe.
“Of course you can! You’ll even be among the first batch to move in. I saw the list with the shaman.”
“How could that be? For someone like me, even being able to live where I do now is the blessing of the gods. How could such a beautiful house be given to me? It should go to the greatest warriors.”
“The chief already said, everyone will have one. Just move in with peace of mind. It’s all been arranged.”
“This is truly… the divine envoy is truly a kind person.” The old man’s eyes filled with tears. “I will work hard. I will definitely not make things difficult for the divine envoy, nor let anyone think he is unfair!”
Teng smiled knowingly. Who would ever make things difficult for the divine envoy? That would be far too ungrateful!
What they had now had already far surpassed anything they could have ever accomplished on their own.
Teng carried a military shovel over his shoulder, humming a little tune as he walked along the smooth, broad road. This road had been built by the tribe’s construction team. He dared to say that on the entire Eastern Continent, there was no other tribe like theirs—one that even had people specially assigned to build roads!
Back in the rainy season, other tribes would be mired in mud everywhere, but here, that problem simply didn’t exist.
Beside the roads were drainage ditches, where rainwater would flow into reservoirs, which could later be used to irrigate the fields. Truly, not a drop went to waste.
What’s more, the roads were extremely neat. The tamped earth wasn’t so easily turned to mud.
Now, some of the roads were even made with natural cement. That way, even if soaked in water for many days, they wouldn’t turn muddy. In daily life, they wouldn’t kick up dust either.
“Little White!”
A flash of white flew past in front of Teng’s eyes. He immediately recognized what it was.
Little White, the goose raised by the divine envoy. Small in size, but famously ferocious.
Wherever Little White was, the divine envoy was sure to be nearby.
Excited, Teng looked around. Sure enough, he saw that familiar figure.
“Respected divine envoy, good morning.”
Yang Yi saw the man before him and smiled. “Good morning, Teng. You’re certainly up early.”
Teng’s face instantly flushed red. The divine envoy even remembered his name!
“I—I want to d-dig more c-clay… b-build more houses,” Teng stammered as he spoke.
Little White flew onto Yang Yi’s shoulder, giving Teng a once-over before arrogantly turning its head away.
“Your diligence is the quality the gods love most. But you must also remember to rest. Your body is the foundation of your hard work.”
“I-I kn-know… th-thank… thank you, d-divine envoy.”
Teng’s face turned even redder. The divine envoy was, as always, gentle, treating everyone as though they were his own children.
He always spoke unhurriedly, never raising his voice, and nothing he said would ever make one angry.
Unlike them, who would start fighting at the slightest disagreement, he always wore a smile, resolving conflicts with ease.
Gathering his courage, Teng asked, “Divine envoy, why are you here today?”
And so early, too.
Now that the Spark Tribe had joined with the Green Python Tribe, everyone knew the divine envoy usually got up rather late—though Yang Yi himself felt that was terribly unfair. In truth, he always rose a little after seven.
On Earth, that would have been unthinkable; he had often been late to school, and he had never managed to keep up such a routine of early rising for this long.
Even so, aside from those who worked night shifts, he was always the last to get up.
“Today we’re going to start digging new trenches, so I came to take a look.”
Digging wasn’t done haphazardly. It began by choosing the directions from which enemies would be most likely to approach.
At first, only short segments were dug. Then, in the end, they would all be connected together.
Today’s trench would face the wilderness, so that in the future it could ward off attacks from wild beasts, serving as the first defensive wall.
Yang Yi always made sure to appear at important moments like this.
Because of how busy he had become, he now had fewer interactions with the people, always surrounded by the same small group.
He didn’t want to become separated from the broader masses. If he wanted their support, he had to show himself from time to time to refresh his popularity.
“Divine envoy, it’s wonderful that you came! Everyone will definitely be so happy.”
Teng was overjoyed, his whole being filled with even more motivation.
Ever since the number of people in the tribe had grown and matters had become increasingly complicated, it had become harder and harder to see the divine envoy.
Opportunities like this were now especially rare.
Yang Yi smiled. “You’ve all worked hard. The tribe and the gods will remember your contributions. May fortune surround you.”
As an official “divine trickster”, Yang Yi was now thoroughly skilled in the art of putting on a godly act.
Ever since he discovered that a casual blessing from his lips could make someone happy for days, he had not held back on praise.
“N-not hard at all! To serve the people!” Teng suddenly straightened, his voice firm and powerful.
Yang Yi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, silently marveling at how brainwashing Hei Lie’s training was—and how very much it resembled that of his own homeland.
He had long known about Teng’s special ability. Teng had been discovered early on to possess a certain talent. In that area, he surpassed even stronger, faster warriors.
But even so, seeing it with his own eyes had left Yang Yi astonished.
Teng had been among the first to use the military shovel, back when Yang Yi himself had given them a demonstration.
He still remembered this young man, who had shown his skill even then.
Now, though only a short time had passed, Teng had clearly improved tremendously. The moment he picked up the shovel and started digging, he was like a groundhog, instantly burrowing deep into the earth.
His speed was so fast that he left behind nothing but afterimages, forming a stark contrast with those around him.
Truly, no talent was to be underestimated. As long as it was applied in the right place, it could bring about great surprises.
“It’s a pity we still haven’t found a suitable fish fry.”
Yang Yi couldn’t help but feel regret. He had previously tried catching fish from the river to bring back and raise.
But this place was quite far from the great wilderness river. The fish over there were extremely fierce and also very large in size.
The big ones were hard to bring back. There weren’t containers large enough, and besides, they wouldn’t obediently stay inside. They would leap up and bite people.
If not kept in water, they would die before even reaching the tribe.
The small ones, on the other hand, were hard to keep alive. Even if by some effort they made it back to the tribe, within just a few days they would all float belly-up.
So until now, these trenches and large pits could only serve as reservoirs and for raising lotuses and other plants, along with some turtles and terrapins. It felt like such a waste.
Perched on Yang Yi’s shoulder, Little White stretched out its neck and called out: “Gwa-gaa—Gwa-gaa—”
[Just wait and see what your young master can do!]
Yang Yi laughed and said, “Alright, when you grow up, you can help me bring them back.”
Little White shook its head in dissatisfaction, flapping its tender wings with such force that Yang Yi couldn’t open his eyes.
It might not look very big, but its strength was tremendous.
“Alright, alright, stop flapping. Our Little White will always be the strongest!”
Only then did Little White stop, stretching out its neck proudly and haughtily.
The older it grew, the more it resembled Goose King. If not for the fact that both had hatched from eggs bought from the marketplace, one could almost believe they were father and son.
It was just that, for some reason, Little White’s size never seemed to grow. Ever since Yang Yi had brought it back, it had stayed the same. No bigger than before.
Worried he might have raised it wrong, Yang Yi even took it to see Goose King.
Goose King, utterly disdainful, lifted his long neck arrogantly and said indifferently:
“Just raise it however you like.”
But although Little White’s size hadn’t changed, its abilities had clearly been improving.
By now, it could already fly at low altitude for quite a long time, and its speed was getting faster and faster, gradually catching up with how fast it could run on the ground.
Its tender little wings, when flapping, produced a power completely out of proportion to their size. It was downright unscientific.
Its awareness was also becoming sharper, and it had begun to communicate with Yang Yi.
The little fellow’s deadliest sore spot was being called small. Say that, and it would absolutely flip out.
Mao often teased it this way, and then the man and the goose would brawl endlessly.
Yang Yi would hold Little White in his arms, stroking its feathers the way one would pet a cat.
The little one also enjoyed it like a cat, its whole body melting limply into his embrace, which was quite a hilarious sight.
Still, fisheries had to be developed. Such a large expanse of water couldn’t be wasted, and fish would enrich everyone’s diet.
Yang Yi had eaten the fish here before. The taste was simply exquisite.
Just boil it with a bit of ginger to remove the fishy odor, and it becomes wonderfully fresh and delicious.
If used to make dishes like spicy boiled fish or pickled cabbage fish, it was so good that one could practically swallow their own tongue.
Although they were freshwater fish, they didn’t have many bones.
There was only a single row of large spines in the middle, very sharp and hard. The tribe often used them to pierce holes and make needles, which were not much worse than the iron needles Yang Yi had brought.
At first, Yang Yi thought this was a matter of species, but after eating several kinds, he discovered they were all the same.
What’s more, many of the fish here were like sharks, with sharp teeth. They were extremely fierce and could also serve as guardians in the moat.
Fish skin could be used to make clothing with excellent waterproofing effects, while fish bladders could be used like plastic bags.
Although the great river in the wilderness was full of fish, the area nearby was very dangerous. By the time the fish were brought back, they were already long dead, with their meat quality much reduced.
Such fine fish, if not raised on a large scale, would be a complete waste!
“This problem must be solved,” was the very first thing Yang Yi said to Hei Lie when he returned, and it was about developing fisheries.
If rice could be grown successfully, and if suitable fry could be found, then just like on Earth, fish could be raised together with the rice, forming an ecosystem.
Not only would the rice grow better, but the fish would also grow fatter, both serving as food sources for humans.
After a moment’s thought, Hei Lie said, “After the harvest season, not far from here will be a trading fair. We can take a look then.”
The Green Python Tribe had salt. To trade with them, about a three-day journey from their tribe, a trading event was held after the harvest season.
That place had once been the old site of a tribe, but it later disappeared for various reasons. Over time, it gradually became a spot for everyone to trade.
Since the trading was not conducted inside any tribe’s territory, each tribe felt relatively at ease, which also largely prevented forced buying and selling.
At that time, the various tribes would bring all sorts of goods to trade.
“Will there be anyone selling fish fry?”
Hei Lie chuckled. “There will be plenty of people selling dried fish.”
Yang Yi shot him a sideways glance.
Hei Lie’s expression turned serious. “Some tribes live by the water and live on fish. They’ll know more about them.”
“I really hope we can have such talent!”
Yang Yi had now experienced firsthand the convenience that talents could bring. For example, in raising so many poultry, diseases spread very easily.
Some of those diseases couldn’t even be cured on Earth. Once they appeared, all one could do was watch helplessly as large flocks of poultry died.
When Yang Yi had crossed over, pork prices had doubled because of a highly infectious disease. Every time he went home, his mother would complain that she couldn’t afford pork anymore.
As for pig farmers, they were devastated. Whole herds were wiped out at once.
That was why he always placed great importance on disease control. Fortunately, in their breeding team, there was someone with the talent to sense poultry. As soon as anything seemed wrong, they would notice immediately, quarantine at once, and quickly contain it.
The poultry brought from the marketplace had mutated. Not only had their appearances changed, but their habits and lifestyles had also altered quite a bit.
With someone possessing such talent, they could accurately grasp the animals’ needs, allowing them to be fed until they were fat and strong.
If they were to raise fish, having someone with a similar talent would save them from countless detours.
“As long as such a person exists, they will become part of our tribe.”
Hei Lie smiled faintly. No matter how one looked at it, that smile was a little chilling.
“Our tribe is a civilized tribe,” Yang Yi emphasized.
“Of course,” Hei Lie grinned. “Our tribe will make them willing to join us of their own accord. Not every tribe is like the Green Python Tribe.”
The people of the Green Python Tribe had a strong sense of belonging to their tribe. But in truth, many other tribes were not like this.
Some larger tribes had been formed through annexation or merging. Those people did not feel such a strong tribal identity, especially those who were forcibly incorporated.
They were merely attached to a powerful tribe. If presented with a great enough temptation, there was a high chance they would leave.
One big reason the Green Python Tribe remained stable was that they did not plunder outsiders, nor did they intermarry with other tribes. Their bonds with one another were deep.
Having always been isolated from the world, their entire tribal culture made their people unwilling to leave, whereas other tribes did not hold this concept as strongly.
Some weaker tribes, when faced with the need to survive, were willing to leave their original tribes.
Although this didn’t usually happen, under special temptations it was nothing unusual.
And since they were willing to pay a high enough price, the other tribe might even be willing to let people go.
Hei Lie was confident: as long as their tribe became strong enough, weaker tribes would be willing to submit.
At that time, it would not just be a single talent they gained, but the allegiance of an entire tribe.
Even the people of the Green Python Tribe, seeing their development, were already itching with envy. How could it be possible that weaker tribes would not be tempted?
Yang Yi, though pleased, also grew more cautious. “But we can’t take in those fence-sitters, people who run away the moment trouble comes. That kind of person is better not to have at all.”
“We must unite with every force that can be united. For this kind of person, we don’t need their loyalty, only their ability.”
The corners of Hei Lie’s lips curled into a smile, his dark eyes glinting with a bloodthirsty cruelty.
“If he doesn’t know what’s good for him, I have plenty of ways to make sure he never gets the chance to betray.”
