TPWBI Chapter 9

Yang Yi used the water quality tester he had bought from the online store to check the groundwater. The results showed that it met the standards for drinking water. There were no issues such as hard water or heavy metal contamination. In fact, it was a naturally mildly alkaline water that was suitable for human consumption.

With the water quality confirmed to be safe, Yang Yi was completely at ease. He led a group of people back to the new site, preparing to clear an area to get ready for the migration.

The grass there was dense and overgrown. The fastest way to clear it was to burn it.

The resulting ash could both fertilize the soil and help drive away or kill venomous snakes, insects, and ants, laying a foundation for future farming and construction.

However, the vegetation here was too lush, so it was necessary to create firebreaks. Otherwise, if a fire broke out, it would be extremely troublesome to contain.

Although there weren’t many people right now, the area Yang Yi wanted to fence off was quite large.

On one hand, this was to prevent wild beasts and poisonous snakes from hiding nearby; on the other hand, it was also to prepare for land reclamation and farming.

There was no need to rush everything at once. They could proceed step by step, first opening up an area suitable for temporary residence.

Each time, they would mark off a small section and cut a firebreak around it, then burn that area down before moving to the next. This would prevent large-scale fires from getting out of control.

Yang Yi took out the scythe blades. The night before, he had everyone make handles for them using hardwood.

Everyone was already used to him pulling out things from time to time, and never asked questions, which gradually made Yang Yi less guarded than he had been at the beginning.

Yang Yi didn’t want his excessive caution to slow down their development.

Everything was starting from scratch. They were not only fighting against nature, but also racing against time.

With the right tools, their speed increased significantly. Very quickly, they cleared and burned one section, then opened up another and continued.

“Divine Envoy, have some water.” Mao handed Yang Yi a bowl of water that had been boiled and left to cool.

Normally, someone like little Mao wouldn’t have been brought along to this place, but he insisted on following Yang Yi.

This journey wasn’t particularly dangerous, and since Mao had enough physical strength, Yang Yi let him come along.

Yang Yi now held considerable authority, so he required everyone, whenever possible, to drink only boiled water. Although it was troublesome, everyone followed his instructions.

As soon as they arrived, they used the aluminum buckets they had brought to draw water from the well, boiled it, then lowered it back into the well to cool, making it convenient for everyone to drink.

“Thank you,” Yang Yi said with a smile, patting Mao on the head.

Everyone else was busy working hard, and the most idle one was actually Yang Yi. Even Mao was bouncing around, helping out wherever he could.

It wasn’t that Yang Yi was trying to avoid the work. His stamina and ability simply wouldn’t allow it.

He was the one who had taught everyone how to use the tools, but in the end, everyone turned out to be better and faster at cutting than he was.

He was far too slow, and the gap between him and the others was huge. Not only was he unable to help, he actually ended up dragging them down. He even got his hand cut by wild grass.

So Yang Yi simply handed the tool over to someone else, allowing the tool to be put to its best use. He stopped making things difficult for himself and instead focused on surveying and planning the surrounding area.

Even though they didn’t have many people for now, things still needed to be arranged reasonably.

How the houses should be built, where they should be located, how to ensure defense, how to lay out the farmland. These were all matters that needed careful consideration.

Right now, they were laying the groundwork. Only with a solid foundation could future development and expansion proceed more smoothly.

Although Yang Yi had already abandoned the goal of reaching a population of one million, he still hoped the tribe would grow stronger.

It was for safety, and also for the ambition that comes with being a man.

“You’re saying that from now on, the temperature will only keep rising?” Yang Yi asked.

Jiao nodded. “The cold season has already passed. We’re now gradually entering the hot season with the light rains. After the hot season comes the harvest season, when food is most abundant. Then it returns to the cold season again.”

Yang Yi could feel that it was warmer now than when they had first arrived. It was gradually getting warmer.

This was similar to the spring-summer-autumn-winter cycle on Earth, which meant it was currently spring, the season for beginning cultivation and planting.

However, Jiao only knew about the conditions near the Blackstone Tribe. She wasn’t familiar with this area and didn’t know the specific climate variations here.

Jiao said, “So far, it seems this place is hotter and more humid than the Blackstone Tribe. Over there, the winters are extremely cold, the summers are extremely hot, and it’s much drier. The soil isn’t as loose as it is here.”

“This place has a big temperature difference between day and night. I’m not sure if the seedlings can survive it.” That was Yang Yi’s biggest concern.

The new location wasn’t as cold and damp as the area near the Black Forest; the temperature was one or two degrees higher.

Especially during the day when the sun was out, the difference was very noticeable. But at night, the temperature here still drops quite low.

Yang Yi had bought a lot of plastic sheeting, which could help prevent frost damage caused by low temperatures. But these were industrial products requiring petroleum, machinery, and technology, and would be far too difficult to reproduce.

Unlike metal tools, which could be produced using ancient techniques as long as they could find metal ore.

At most, the quality and efficiency might be lacking, but it wouldn’t be something completely out of reach.

So Yang Yi didn’t want to rely too heavily on such things, lest the people here skip over essential developmental steps and end up unable to adapt or solve problems in the future.

Still, he wouldn’t completely abandon them either. These tools could be used for the initial stages of development to make their lives a little easier.

Once everything was on track, they could slowly begin transitioning away from these hard-to-replicate items.

“Divine Envoy, I’d like to give it a try,” Jiao said.

Farming didn’t exist in the Blackstone Tribe, but Jiao wasn’t unfamiliar with it.

She had seen it before in other tribes. People would scatter seeds of edible plants into the soil, and after some time, they would bear fruit.

There was no need to travel far to forage, making it much safer and more convenient.

But the Blackstone chieftain had refused to try, believing it was a foolish method.

With so much food in the forests, why bother planting? With that energy, it would be better to just go raid other tribes.

At the time, Jiao had also heard that those farming attempts hadn’t gone well. Sometimes nothing grew at all, just a bunch of weeds. All that effort and fruit had been wasted, so she gave up on the idea.

Now that the Divine Envoy had brought it up, saying that as long as the right methods were used, there would be a harvest—and he even described the beauty of farming—

A field full of fruit right outside your door. What a wonderful sight that would be.

Jiao couldn’t wait to try, not even afraid of failure.

Since the Divine Envoy said it was possible, then as long as one was willing to put in the effort and use their mind, it could definitely be achieved!

“After the tribe migrates here, we can start with seedling cultivation first, and then transplant them into the fields. The survival rate should be much higher.”

Yang Yi planned to have the disabled and elderly handle these tasks. Those who had survived up until now had relatively good physical condition, and they could manage some basic fieldwork. When the time came, they would divide up the labor based on everyone’s capabilities.

His storage space couldn’t bring in living creatures, but it could carry fertilized eggs, which could later be hatched and raised.

Although those poultry might seem a bit small to the people here, they were still far more reliable than risking their lives to hunt.

The domestication of wild animals was a long-term process. Until then, raising these would serve as their primary means of animal husbandry.

They still needed to solve problems like building houses, digging wells, and couldn’t neglect daily hunting and gathering either.

“We need people… We’re short on people.”

Yang Yi shook his head and muttered to himself. Looking at the rough plan in his notebook, he deeply felt that just over a hundred people were far too few—nowhere near enough!

Fortunately, this group was highly efficient. In just one day, they cleared out a large area, enough for all hundred-plus of them to set up camp.

The well they dug yesterday was now usable, and it could supply drinking water.

“We can move over tomorrow!” Jiao said excitedly, unable to wait to come here. That would mark the official establishment of their new tribe.

Yang Yi originally felt that moving the very next day might be too rushed, but when he thought about how they had nothing anyway—completely destitute with nothing to pack—he agreed.

Moving earlier would also make construction more convenient, saving them from having to run back and forth, wasting time and manpower.

When they returned to the camp, everyone was in high spirits, full of laughter and cheer.

Perhaps the heavens knew that their Spark Tribe was about to have its own territory and wanted them to enjoy a hearty meal. The hunting team had an incredible harvest today. They had caught one giant-horned bull and four bristleback pigs!

Bristleback pigs weren’t very large, about the size of an average pig on Earth. But they were covered in spines, which made them harder to hunt.

Those spines were poisonous. Once stabbed, one would quickly become immobilized. They were also extremely hard and sharp. People here often used them as arrowheads.

The giant-horned bull, on the other hand, was extremely difficult to capture. It was massive in size, with terrifying horns that served as its deadliest weapons. Its hide was so tough that ordinary stone axes could barely cut through it.

But the meat of the giant-horned bull was exceptionally delicious. More importantly, its tendons could be made into the finest bowstrings! Its hide could be turned into clothing that offered a certain degree of protection.

The bull’s horns could be crafted into tough, razor-sharp weapons. So, despite how dangerous it was, people still couldn’t resist the temptation to hunt it.

“This is all thanks to Rong!”

“When the giant-horned bull was about to break free from the ropes, Rong charged straight at it and used two metal axes to strike its head. She cracked the skull in one blow!”

The members of the hunting team excitedly recounted Rong’s bravery to everyone.

Rong stood in the center of a crowd, two axes slung over her shoulders, beaming with pride. She is very satisfied with her performance today.

However, she didn’t let it get to her head. She was fully aware of who had made the biggest contribution.

“This is all thanks to the Divine Envoy. If he hadn’t given us ropes that were strong enough to trap it, I never would’ve had the chance. And these two metal axes. If I’d only had stone axes, there’s no way I could’ve smashed through its skull.”

“Yeah, this is all thanks to the Divine Envoy!” the others echoed with cheers.

Especially the ones who had caught the four bristleback pigs. They were shouting the loudest.

Even though their bodies were covered in wounds, they didn’t seem to feel any pain at all, hopping around with excitement.

They were all ordinary people once deemed useless, yet they had managed to capture four bristleback pigs working together!

And without any help from the warriors!

This gave them a huge boost in confidence. They firmly believed that as long as they had the right weapons, they too could become the main fighting force of the tribe.

Just as Hei Lie had told them back then, as long as they had strong willpower and suitable weapons, they could do just as well.

The Divine Envoy generously gave them the best weapons, giving them the chance to showcase and prove themselves. They were not useless!

Their hearts were filled with deep gratitude, far more than if he had simply given them food.

“It’s everyone’s achievement,” Yang Yi said with a smile. “As long as we’re willing to work hard, our days will only get better and better!”

Jiao held back her excitement and took this moment to solemnly announce to everyone:

“Tomorrow, we move to our new territory. With our own hands, we will build our very own tribe!”

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