Yang Yi didn’t expect that Qiu Yuan’s actions would be so fast. In just ten days, he had made this group of ostriches behave so obediently.
At least in his experience, ostriches were not easy to tame. On Earth, there had probably never been a precedent of using ostriches to transport goods.
His sudden idea was also based on Goose King. As the dominant figure of the farm, the little animals there were very obedient. So it was still possible to achieve.
“Are you sure they can transport goods in the wild in an orderly manner?” Yang Yi, surprised, quickly calmed himself as well.
“The wild is different from the tribe. If they aren’t obedient enough and get scared, they’ll leave the group. That wouldn’t just cause losses for the tribe, it would also make them easy prey for predators.”
The wild was full of dangers. For this group of ostriches, transporting goods was not the only task. They had to obey. They couldn’t get distracted along the way and break formation.
Qiu Yuan pursed his lips, then spoke firmly:
“They can do it! But to be safe, I hope that for the first few transports, we bring Goose King along.”
Qiu Yuan was able to tame these ostriches so quickly not only because of his innate talent and the bond he had already established with them, but also thanks in large part to Goose King and other colleagues who were good with animals.
Although he was full of confidence, he also understood the difficulty of the task and didn’t dare to be overconfident.
“Sure, as long as you can convince Goose King.”
Goose King had never left the tribe since it was born, only occasionally rushing out when chasing away or driving off thieves.
Although it was now the dominant figure and extremely powerful in battle, Yang Yi couldn’t be sure how it would behave outside the tribe, nor whether it would even be willing to leave.
Goose King was growing increasingly intelligent, with a strong personal will. It was more headstrong than ordinary humans. Nothing could be forced upon it. The only way was friendly negotiation.
Qiu Yuan quickly reached an agreement with Goose King, though it cost quite a lot of treats.
“Hopefully, the ostrich transport team will be reliable.”
Yang Yi watched as the group, along with the ostriches, left the tribe in a grand procession, feeling uneasy.
Without proper roads, the journey from the tribe to the coal mining area was far from easy. Thorny paths, steep slopes, and more awaited along the way.
Although some clearing had been done earlier, it was nothing compared to a proper road.
Even the handcarts used before could make the trip, but it was extremely arduous, slowing them down considerably and causing more wear and tear than usual.
Some sections even required lifting the carts by hand—a truly exhausting task. It would have been much simpler to carry the goods directly.
The journey was also fraught with hidden dangers. Animals were always more alert than humans. It was uncertain whether these domesticated ostriches could withstand external threats without panicking and scattering. If that happened, the loss would be not only the goods but also the ostriches themselves.
The accompanying personnel could easily become disorganized as a result, leading to heavy losses.
Hei Lie comforted him: “Yan Shi is a very experienced warrior. He’ll manage everything. Besides, there’s still Goose King. At worst, the biggest loss would just be these ostriches.”
“Let’s hope so.” The situation had already occurred. Yang Yi knew that worrying wouldn’t help.
“We still need to find a way to repair the road. Otherwise, it’s too inconvenient and not safe enough.”
The current path was extremely inconvenient for both people and ostriches. Obstacles had to be cleared along the way, and some sections were very steep.
Without a proper road, it was also easy to get lost in the forest and be attacked by hidden creatures.
“I’ll continue negotiating with the Green Python Tribe. Their stance isn’t very firm. There’s still a chance to persuade them,” Yang Yi said.
“If these ostriches really work out, we can free up manpower in many areas,” he hoped.
Most of the personnel had now been reassigned to the harvesting team. The weather had become unpredictable, sometimes suddenly raining.
Without clear skies, drying the harvest would be extremely troublesome.
Because of this, more manpower had to be deployed to rush the harvest. Otherwise, a sudden rain could easily knock the ripe rice and other crops to the ground.
Now, entering the busy farming season, the pottery workshop, lumber team, paper-making workshop, pit-digging team, and others had all tightened their staffing and flooded into the fields.
During the festival, a lot of dried meat had been traded, so the hunting team had temporarily stopped hunting in recent days.
Aside from their daily fixed training, they were also assigned to help with the harvest.
The clerks had it even harder, recording everything while lending a hand. In just a few days, Yang Yi watched helplessly as everyone grew darker-skinned and thinner.
Although work had always been hard, it had rarely been such high-intensity, high-frequency labor. It was very different from the past.
The cafeteria had recently put in a lot of effort, preparing not only three meals a day but also snacks that were easy to eat and replenished energy.
This ensured that everyone’s expended energy could be replenished in time and that nutrition kept pace with their work.
“There won’t be any problems,” Hei Lie said confidently. This wasn’t blind confidence. As a hunter with years of experience, he knew the condition of these animals very well.
Six days later, the ostrich transport team returned in a grand procession.
They carried two large bamboo baskets of coal on their backs, yet the heavy baskets seemed weightless as they strolled along gracefully.
The formation was as orderly as before, though noticeably steadier than when they had left.
Goose King held its head high, exuding an air of “I’m not the same as before. I’m a goose who has seen the world”.
It strolled up to Yang Yi, its small eyes radiating pride.
“Goose King, you’re truly amazing!” Yang Yi handed over a piece of candy very tactfully.
After taking it, Goose King twisted its tail and flew off, heading straight for the farm.
The ostrich transport team began to stir noticeably. Qiu Yuan, sitting atop one of the ostriches, quickly blew a bamboo whistle, and the commotion finally ceased.
Earlier, Yang Yi had known the ostriches would allow him to ride on their backs, so he had the logistics team make a dedicated saddle for him.
It wasn’t just equipped with stirrups but also reins, making it easy for Qiu Yuan to sit securely without falling off.
Yang Yi also tried to let others ride, but aside from Qiu Yuan and the few breeders who had raised the ostriches since they were young, no one else could sit on them.
Anyone else trying would definitely be thrown off and trampled severely.
If the person attempting it hadn’t been a warrior with exceptionally agile skills, they would have been injured for sure.
From Goose King’s attitude, Yang Yi knew that these ostriches also had temperaments, much like spirited horses.
To sit on their backs, one first had to earn their approval.
This approval wasn’t about violent taming. It was about making them feel friendly, just like Qiu Yuan and the others had done.
Animals were extremely perceptive, and the ones here were quite different. They placed great importance on mutual understanding.
Because of this, Yang Yi took out some ostrich eggs from the spatial space. Once hatched, the warriors began raising them from a young age, cultivating bonds with them.
They didn’t have horses now, but if they could form a group of ostrich cavalry, their combat power would be greatly enhanced.
Ostriches couldn’t fly, but they ran incredibly fast and had excellent endurance. If they could be tamed, their utility would be absolutely comparable to that of horses.
Qiu Yuan jumped down from the ostrich, a radiant smile on his face, and walked up to Yang Yi.
“Divine Envoy, we did it!”
“You did great!” Yang Yi extended his fist, acknowledging his contribution according to local custom.
“Was the journey smooth all the way?”
“When we went, we encountered a pack of shadow wolves, but everyone stayed calm. Under the protection of the escort team, we didn’t suffer any losses.”
Qiu Yuan was downplaying the situation. In reality, the ostriches’ performance had been impressive.
Shadow wolves preferred to appear at night and were very skilled at hiding. They would strike suddenly when their prey was unaware, killing them instantly.
They often surrounded their prey gradually without being noticed. Their combat ability among beasts wasn’t particularly strong, but they were like phantoms, making them extremely troublesome.
The ostriches, however, were very alert and sensed the wolves’ movements. They buried their heads in the ground, accurately perceiving the direction of the wolves’ approach, and provided precise information to the warriors.
This allowed the escorting warriors to trap and eliminate the wolf pack completely.
For the past few days, the transport team’s food had come from this pack of shadow wolves. All the rations that were supposed to be transported were left with the people guarding the coal mining area.
The coal mining area had now been set up. Since it was located in a mountain hollow, it required climbing to reach.
The area below had been cleared earlier by Hei Lie and his team. There were no wild beasts nearby, making it very safe.
However, finding food there was extremely difficult. Every time, the transport team had to bring a pile of supplies, deliver them, and then bring coal back on the return trip.
Now, pulleys had been set up on the mountaintop, and baskets were being lifted little by little from the mountain hollow to the top.
This method was much more convenient and efficient than climbing the mountain to transport. People were handled the same way.
“How are they handling the weight?”
“These weights are nothing for them. We could even add a bit more.”
Yang Yi thought for a moment and said, “Add a little more next time. You decide the specifics, but remember not to overwork them.”
“Yes!” Qiu Yuan smiled. The Divine Envoy was indeed as kind as everyone had said.
“During this period, you’ll need to make a few extra trips. Make sure the team members get used to this route. Train them so that even when you’re not there, they can work well. I believe you can train even more working ostriches.”
“I can do it!” Qiu Yuan said confidently, full of vigor. His previously twisted features now looked much more appealing.
At night, Yang Yi talked with Hei Lie about the ostrich transport team. He couldn’t help but smile.
“They performed even better than I expected!”
Yan Shi praised and admired the ostriches greatly and had already applied to adopt one.
The ostriches were tall. With their long necks, they could reach over four meters in height. Even though they hadn’t fully matured yet. Once fully grown, they would be even taller, estimated to be roughly twice the height of Earth’s ostriches.
This gave them a far-reaching view, making it easier to spot danger in the jungle and harder to lose their way.
Their legs were long and slender, allowing them to move steadily on steep paths, less constrained by the terrain.
This round trip took only six days, precisely because, unlike before when pushing carts, there was no need to specially search for suitable routes or make detours.
“Yan Shi said that next time it’s best not to bring slower ordinary people. They can’t keep up with the ostriches. Even level one warriors struggle. These ostriches run so fast that, if not for Qiu Yuan controlling them, they could vanish in a flash.”
The ostriches weren’t willing to carry just anyone, so some people ended up slowing the team down. Otherwise, the group could have moved even faster.
Yang Yi hadn’t expected the ostriches to be so adept in the forest. After all, Earth’s ostriches didn’t live in forests and had grown up in flat areas.
Hei Lie laughed. “It seems there’s no rush to build proper roads. A little clearing along the way is enough. The more people walk it, the more it gradually becomes a proper path.
The Green Python Tribe still hasn’t shown any signs of relenting. If we rush, it could work against us.”
“This situation does allow us to temporarily set road construction aside. Right now, our manpower and resources really aren’t sufficient. Building another road would put tremendous pressure on us.”
Hei Lie nodded. “At present, we have over five hundred ostriches. If we can put them all to use, they would be an immense asset for the tribe.”
“I’ve provided the hatchery with another three thousand ostrich eggs! Once these hatch, in addition to forming the transport team, anyone in the tribe who’s interested can adopt one. The goal is for everyone to eventually have their own ostrich.”
Initially, Yang Yi had set aside ten thousand fertilized ostrich eggs. Other common poultry—chickens, ducks, and geese—were even more abundant, generally around fifty thousand. Ostriches, crocodiles, and other less commonly raised animals were relatively few.
Previously, he had been concerned that ostriches were too large, required too much food, and had longer breeding cycles than chickens or ducks, so he hadn’t set aside many.
Now things were different. It was possible to try expanding the breeding program.
Ostriches reach sexual maturity at 2–2.5 years old and generally only begin laying eggs afterward. During this period, hatching had to rely on the ostrich eggs stored in Yang Yi’s space.
If there weren’t concerns about diseases or other accidents, he would have to wait for the first batch of eggs before feeling truly confident, at which point he might consider using more.
“That’s a very good idea!” Hei Lie’s eyes lit up. “Ostriches have considerable combat potential. If we can tame them, they won’t just be useful for transport. They’d also be formidable in battle.”
The ostriches’ legs were incredibly powerful, capable of killing leopards with a single stomp. They are truly formidable creatures.
“Our tribe has gained a few more members,” Yang Yi said with a smile.
It was a silver lining: things hadn’t worked out with the Green Python Tribe, but it had led them to find another group of companions.
These new companions belonged to their Spark Tribe, so there was no constant worry about when they might leave.
“The Western Continent trade caravans will also try to help us,” Hei Lie added.
Yang Yi raised an eyebrow. “Has any news come back?”
“This festival has reached the ears of other trade caravans on the Western Continent. They know that En’s team took away quite a lot of valuable goods. They’re also aware of our needs.”
Jing and Ye Huo had left with a large team. Hei Lie had not only assigned them this task but also instructed them to gather information and promote the tribe’s situation along the way.
Some of the pigeons they had previously raised had now been trained. Jing had taken quite a few with him when leaving. They would carry messages back whenever there was news.
These pigeons were remarkably reliable. Most of them returned safely to the tribe. The numbered slips of paper tied to their legs made it easy to see if any had gone missing.
“So you mean a trade caravan is already on its way here?”
Hei Lie sneered. “These merchants are only after profit. Wherever there’s something valuable, they’ll swarm in like flies.”
Previously, those caravans didn’t know much about the Spark Tribe, so they weren’t in a hurry. Now that they’ve learned En took a large amount of rare goods from the Spark Tribe, they absolutely won’t miss the opportunity.
“Hopefully they’ll bring us good news.”
“If what they bring isn’t exactly what we need most, I’ll refuse the trade outright,” Hei Lie said firmly.
Yang Yi looked at him. “Just metals and livestock, then?”
“Yes, only from them,” Hei Lie replied.
Yang Yi immediately understood: no compromise at all would make the next caravan comply obediently.
The Spark Tribe now had an absolute advantage and could naturally set the terms.
Just like how trade caravans from the Western Continent had previously dealt with the Eastern Continent Tribes, merchants, being naturally profit-driven, are easier to negotiate with.
Based on the behavior of these people and the analysis in the books, Hei Lie was very confident about this.
“That’s a good idea.”
There was no shortage of livestock. The tribe still had vast stretches of empty land, enough for raising animals.
Although this would require many hands, it would also free up a lot of manpower elsewhere.
“Not just the Western Continent, but other tribes have also heard the news and will come over. After the harvest, we’ll need to assign more people to extract sugar and brew alcohol.”
Sugar and alcohol were luxury goods on the Eastern Continent. Many large tribes were willing to pay high prices for them.
In this trade, the Spark Tribe offered prices significantly lower than those brought by the Western Continent caravans, and the quality was better.
Compared to the Western Continent’s wines and fruit liquors, they preferred the Spark Tribe’s stronger rice wine, wheat wine, and sorghum wine, finding them more potent and satisfying.
Not much had been offered before, as the tribe had just completed the harvest and hadn’t yet gathered all the crops from the fields.
Even a small amount was enough to amaze the other tribes, who managed to acquire some through persistent negotiation.
When they carried it away, it was as if they were holding golden jars, extremely careful.
At that time, Hei Lie promised that during the trade fair after the harvest season, they would provide more wine for exchange.
Everyone also saw that the crops in the fields hadn’t been harvested, so they didn’t press further. As they left, each one reminded them not to forget to brew more wine.
Sugar was equally popular. It didn’t just add flavor to food, but it also replenished energy.
However, previously, no plants with such high sweetness as sugarcane had been found here, so most sugar had to come from honey.
The local bees were extremely aggressive, making honey collection very risky, with a high mortality rate. This was why sugar was so expensive.
“I’m planning to go take a look tomorrow. This harvest has been relatively easy, but the next one might not be so simple,” Yang Yi said, frowning slightly.
This time, the threshing was completed using a pedal-powered threshing machine that Yang Yi had taken from his space, greatly improving efficiency.
Currently, local technology can only produce rice beds, which require people to constantly beat them to thresh the grain. It is a much slower process.
Yang Yi had the blueprint for the pedal-powered threshing machine and could also disassemble the existing one for analysis.
But this required skilled blacksmiths to hammer and shape the parts. Even though they had their own iron ore for only two or three months, their techniques were still quite backward.
Even with specialized training, this remained a skill that demanded accumulated experience.
Especially for these delicate components, pure craftsmanship was absolutely necessary.
And the same problem persisted. There weren’t enough hands. The blacksmiths couldn’t even keep up with the tribe’s weapons supply, so there was no way to spare anyone to study other things.
Safety was even more pressing under the current circumstances.
“The threshing machine won’t break that easily. If it lasts through this year, it should be fine.”
Hei Lie remained optimistic, but Yang Yi didn’t share the same view. Ever since the first batch of items taken out started to break, he had been filled with a strong sense of urgency.
He was used to the convenience brought by modern technology. Even though he was prepared, he still worried about falling behind if he lost it.
“Even without those machines, we still have our own strength. Tools are useful, but that doesn’t mean we can’t manage without them.”
Hei Lie gently rubbed Yang Yi’s temples, soothing him.
Yang Yi gradually relaxed, thoroughly enjoying the massage.
By now, Hei Lie had not only developed the habit of cooking for him every day but also often gave him massages before bedtime, allowing Yang Yi to feel proud and relaxed.
Perhaps it was also because he had suddenly grown taller during this period, making his body prone to soreness, leaving him feeling uncomfortable all over.
It didn’t exactly hurt, but everything just felt uncomfortable.
During the day, it was fine. There was too much to do to notice it.
But at night, when he relaxed, the discomfort became very noticeable.
It was different from when his body had been weak before. It was a bit like growing too fast during puberty without enough nutrition, which can lead to cramps, but without the actual pain of cramping.
Whenever Hei Lie was free at night, he would talk with Yang Yi about the day’s events, helping both of them better understand the tribe’s situation.
He quickly noticed Yang Yi’s unusual state and studied massage techniques even more carefully to help him relax.
This made Yang Yi feel much more at ease. Every time Hei Lie massaged him, he would drift off to sleep, completely unaware of when Hei Lie left.
Originally, Yang Yi didn’t want to trouble Hei Lie so much. His own tasks weren’t fewer than Hei Lie’s, so he tried having someone trained in the medical team help instead. Strangely, while it felt pleasant, it didn’t relieve that particular sense of discomfort.
“Do you use divine power when you massage?” Yang Yi asked.
Hei Lie paused. “What do you mean?”
“I used to think the people in the medical team just weren’t as skilled as you, so it didn’t feel as good. But now I feel it might not be that simple.”
“I haven’t done anything,” Hei Lie said, shaking his head firmly. “What did you feel?”
Yang Yi grabbed Hei Lie’s hand, stopping him, and the two faced each other.
“I feel that you have a stimulating effect on me.”
“Stimulating?” Hei Lie pondered for a moment. “You mean my actions can influence your body?”
Yang Yi nodded. “I don’t have concrete evidence, but the changes over this period make me think it’s possible.”
“You mean your rapid growth and becoming stronger than before?”
Although Yang Yi was still a weakling in the tribe, he had changed a lot since arriving.
In terms of height, he had already grown eight centimeters.
Physically, he was stronger than before, faster, and his vision had improved.
These changes weren’t immediately obvious. Each day brought only a little increase. Unlike height, which has a strong visual impact, the changes could easily be overlooked.
But when performing the same actions as before, Yang Yi felt the difference and realized it.
At first, he had thought it was just the influence of the environment, similar to the effects of the things he had brought.
But the difference in the massage’s effects, along with some everyday observations, made Yang Yi feel that this was very likely closely related to Hei Lie.
Especially recently, during the festival, everyone had been extremely busy. Hei Lie had no time to cook for Yang Yi. Yang Yi subtly felt that something was off, as if something was missing.
It wasn’t uncomfortable. Just a subtle sense of something being different.
Yang Yi hadn’t paid much attention at the time, but now, looking back at everything together, it all felt unusual.
“I think you must have unintentionally used your power and awakened my potential.”
![The Villains Are All My Reserve Food [Quick Transmigration]](https://www.freenovels.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Villains-are-Reserve-Food-1.jpg "The Villains Are All My Reserve Food [Quick Transmigration]")
