After the busy large-scale farming during the cold season, the tribe convened a grand assembly. The managers of each department had to attend, mainly to summarize and report on this round of farming, and to plan the work that lay ahead.
Ever since the tribe began developing, Yang Yi had often spent his days in meetings of all sizes.
In the past, he had always felt annoyed that companies or governments held endless meetings. But only after becoming a manager himself did he realize their importance.
Even so, Yang Yi still tried his best to avoid meaningless, repetitive meetings. Each meeting had to have a clear theme, and the participants were required to come prepared, so efficiency would be improved.
“Currently, the farmlands cultivated by the residents of the resettlement site and those within the moat are about the same in number. However, the residents of the resettlement site had to reclaim wasteland from scratch. They also have fewer farming tools than those living within the moat. Overall, though, their enthusiasm for work is higher than that of the moat residents, and they have overfulfilled their tasks.”
Qing reported on the overall farming situation and affirmed the labor efforts of the new residents at the resettlement site.
Now, everyone uses the word “resident” to refer to individuals. Broadly, the groups were divided into those at the resettlement site and those inside the moat.
Because the resettlement site also had managers and technicians sent over from the Spark Tribe, and the moat likewise had Spark reserve members, the labor results were calculated by the assigned regional groups.
At present, the new immigrants at the resettlement site still cannot truly be considered Spark people. They did not yet have the special “green card” of Spark members, and thus could not enjoy many of the benefits.
“How is the quality of their work?” Yang Yi asked.
Qing answered truthfully: “It’s their first time doing this, and they aren’t very familiar with the tools, so compared to others, their results are not as good. Still, they meet the requirements.”
Because of the sheer number of people, the Spark Tribe could not yet supply that many farming tools. Some still used stone implements.
And of course, when it came to distributing tools, Spark people were given priority. Those who had not formally entered the tribe had to wait at the back of the line.
“That shows their attitude is very positive.” Yang Yi was quite satisfied with this.
Someone said with great pride, “Who wouldn’t want to become a Spark person? Of course, they have to work hard and prove themselves.”
“But don’t exploit them too much,” Yang Yi reminded. “It must stay within the limits of what the body can bear. The focus should be on improving efficiency.”
“Divine Envoy, rest assured on this point. During the large-scale farming, we really did push ourselves, but that was only for that short period. Now we’ve already returned to a normal pace,” one of the people in charge of the resettlement site promised.
“Divine Envoy, this time the efficiency of the large farming effort was clearly higher than before,” said the person responsible for farmland records, full of pride.
The planting and harvesting seasons were always very busy. Although many crops here could be grown throughout all four seasons, if they were cultivated according to their natural seasonal characteristics, yields would be much higher than off-season planting, and they would be easier to tend.
The residents of the resettlement site also wanted to prove that they were useful, to show the Spark Tribe their value.
So everyone worked with great effort, not just with their hands, but also actively thinking of ways to make the work both better and faster.
With these people pushing themselves so hard, the Spark people weren’t about to fall behind either. They too worked diligently and seriously, far more efficiently than in the past.
“It seems that healthy competition really does have its benefits,” Yang Yi nodded, jotting something down in his notes.
At present, everyone still worked together, and meals were served in one big communal pot.
Although distribution was made according to labor, it still belonged to a collective operation model.
From his knowledge of past history, Yang Yi understood very well that this kind of public ownership had its advantages: in times of severe scarcity, it allowed for reasonable macro-level adjustments to ensure that most people could at least have enough to eat.
But if one wanted to truly activate things, to make efficiency rise even higher, and allow each person’s talents and wisdom to be put to greater use, then when it came time to separate, they still had to separate. Private ownership had to be implemented.
It wasn’t that people were lazy. Human nature was simply like this.
Earlier, Qing had thought that after a few adjustments, she had already grasped the amount of tasks everyone could complete within a reasonable timeframe. But when Yang Yi laughed and said that wasn’t the main point, she still had her doubts.
Now, with competition introduced, and this competition even fiercer than the earlier contests between small groups, things were different.
After all, one side still wasn’t considered Spark people. Such a difference carried its own weight.
Everyone’s potential was stirred up even more, and the efficiency far exceeded the expectations of Qing and many others. It was truly astonishing.
In the end, the amount of farmland cultivated surpassed the original targets. If not for the fact that they could still go to the Green Python Tribe to collect manure and some humus, as well as gather plenty of animal droppings from poultry and the wild animal gathering grounds on the plains, they really would have run short on fertilizer.
At this point, the new residents of the resettlement site also finally understood why the very first thing built there had been latrines, and why people were even willing to trade delicious, expensive brown sugar ginger tea for such things.
Especially after learning that this fertilizer could make grains and vegetables grow better, everyone’s enthusiasm rose even higher.
Once the general report on the farming work was concluded and the various leaders had a rough understanding of the situation, Hei Lie began assigning the next tasks.
“Next, the leaders of the various workshops should begin preparing to recruit new workers and expand production,” Hei Lie said.
His eyes gleamed with excitement: “Our caravans keep bringing back good news. We don’t have to worry at all about finding buyers for our goods.”
The caravan led by Han Bing was still doing very well. Of course, it definitely wasn’t as easy as he made it sound in his pigeon letters, but the trade itself was still being carried out smoothly.
The name of the Spark Tribe had already spread far and wide. Aside from the most remote little tribes, all the tribes along the way had heard of the Spark Tribe’s great reputation.
Whether poor or wealthy, every tribe showed a strong interest in goods produced by Spark, and trade proceeded smoothly.
They basically encountered no trouble, and no one dared covet their goods.
After all, the Spark Tribe had dared to march far away and attack the Blackstone Tribe. It had been a crushing, overwhelming victory. Everyone carefully weighed their own strength before daring to provoke them.
On top of that, the caravan’s armed force was extremely strong, deterring anyone from entertaining greedy thoughts.
So, Han Bing quickly exchanged the goods he had brought from the Spark Tribe for other desired resources. But instead of rushing back, he carried the traded goods onward to other places, continuing investigations and exchanges.
After this journey, Han Bing finally understood why so many caravans from the Western Continent would travel such long distances to reach the Eastern Continent.
This business was simply too easy! There was absolutely no need to worry about sales.
There weren’t many large tribes on the Eastern Continent, but the countless scattered small tribes were innumerable. Some tribes even lived fairly well.
Certain tribes were unwilling to leave their homes to conduct trade, but they were very interested in goods from the outside world.
Someone raised a hand to ask: “Are the people from the resettlement site also being recruited?”
“Carry out the relevant testing work. As long as they pass, they’ll have the same qualifications as Spark people. However, the review process must be done carefully. Their wage levels also have to be lower than Spark people’s. As for the exact figures, draft a plan according to the regulations and submit it to me and the Divine Envoy for approval.”
Someone voiced a concern: “But they’re still not Spark people. What if some of them are spies? What if they learn our skills and then no one trades with us anymore?”
“I can guarantee that those who pass the review will absolutely have no problem!” the leader of the resettlement site said passionately, unwilling to lose this opportunity.
“I can’t say that every single person has no problems right now, but for those who are allowed in, I can guarantee it!”
Some people still felt worried, as everyone was well aware of how important technology was.
With the population exploding, the reason they were still able to hold on was largely because they had good enough products—porcelain, fine wine, paper, and so on—to trade with.
The head of the black pottery workshop shook his head: “It’s not that easy to steal technology. At the beginning, they can’t access the core techniques at all. They can only do odd jobs. Besides, our black pottery isn’t something you can just fire with any kind of clay.”
Those in charge of technical matters also spoke up, saying they would do a good job of keeping secrets. And their work was not nearly as simple as it seemed. Still, capable people could be selected from among them.
Even so, some still felt uneasy, since after all, these people were not yet Spark members.
“These people being able to stay here already shows our recognition and trust in them. So naturally, we should also give them corresponding opportunities to prove themselves,” Yang Yi stated his view.
Hei Lie voiced his agreement: “Preventive measures must be taken, but we should also give proper recognition. Most of these people will become our clansmen in the future.”
At present, everyone is quite satisfied with the performance of the new residents at the resettlement site. The troublemakers had already been removed, so deep down, they all understood that these people could already be considered members of the Spark Tribe.
In the end, everyone passed this proposal, allowing the more intelligent newcomers from the resettlement site to have the chance to engage in work beyond mere manual labor.
Whether or not they could handle it would depend on their own abilities.
Each department’s recruitment exams would be designed by the department itself. But they would only be approved if Yang Yi and Hei Lie gave their consent.
The exam results also had to be made public, with special overseers appointed. If anyone had objections to the exam results, they could report the situation to the overseers.
The overseers would investigate and review the results. If it were confirmed that the examiner had shown favoritism or made mistakes, punishments would be given according to the severity of the case, ensuring the fairness of the exams.
At present, although many people didn’t think technical work was particularly easy, in reality, technical jobs, especially the foundational ones, were also very demanding.
For anyone wanting to climb higher, they still needed to go through all kinds of learning. If they didn’t even know a few words, unless under special circumstances, it would be difficult to survive.
For most people who had spent a long time running wild in the jungle or on the grasslands, this kind of technical work wasn’t necessarily easier than digging up dirt. Using one’s brain was often harder than physical labor.
Right now, every kind of work carried no distinction between noble and lowly.
But as the tribe developed, the future might not necessarily remain the same. Making preparations in advance to prevent cheating and maintain fairness was very necessary.
As the meeting moved into its later stages, Jiao put forward her proposal.
“I think the territory within the moat can be called a ‘city’. We should give it a name.”
After the cold season, people from other tribes once again began gradually coming to join them.
Although it wasn’t as exaggerated as before, this phenomenon was unlikely to decrease in the future.
The strength and prosperity of the Spark Tribe attracted people from many places. Especially since many regions had suffered natural disasters last year, forcing them to leave their original homes in search of new places to survive.
The Spark Tribe’s reputation for kindness toward outsiders had already spread. Its strength was plain for all to see, naturally drawing many individuals and weaker tribes toward them.
This past winter, everyone had enough to eat and drink, and the number of pregnant women also increased significantly.
At present, the tribe has over a thousand pregnant women. It is a truly astonishing number.
What’s more, most of the people who had made it here were in their prime years of strength. They no longer had to risk their lives in dangerous hunts. They lived in a safe place, so the mortality rate had dropped drastically.
Most people liked raising descendants. The women here didn’t worry that having children would hinder their careers or other pursuits.
Raising children was also relatively easy. Most were raised freely. With the tribe’s subsidies, the cost of child-rearing was very low.
As a result, the population would only grow larger and larger. With the way these numbers were developing, in just a few years, they would need to build another city.
Besides, establishing the concept of a city would distinguish them from other tribes on the Eastern Continent, giving them a more grand and imposing image.
Compared to others, Jiao thought further ahead, so it wasn’t surprising she made such a proposal.
Yang Yi had actually thought about this as well. But with so many pressing matters on his shoulders, he didn’t consider it that important and had never remembered to bring it up.
“Just call it Spark City then,” someone suggested.
“The Spark Tribe is the entire domain, but this city is only one part. If you call it that, it makes it sound like this is all we have, when everything outside the city is ours, too!”
The group argued for quite a while without reaching a conclusion. Everyone turned out to be terrible at naming, coming up with all sorts of odd names like Tiger-Head City, or Duck City, and so on.
Seeing that they weren’t going to get anywhere, Hei Lie finally spoke up: “This city was established by the Divine Envoy. The right to name it should be his.”
“Yes, yes! The Divine Envoy is also more cultured. It should be him!” everyone echoed.
Yang Yi was instantly dumbfounded. He shot Hei Lie an annoyed glare. He was terrible at naming! Even “Spark Tribe” had taken all his brainpower to come up with.
Something this important, and no one had discussed it with him beforehand. To spring it on him like this, he hadn’t even had the time to flip through dictionaries or pore over old texts.
Yang Yi now began to suspect that something so significant wasn’t just a spur-of-the-moment idea from Jiao, but rather something she had already discussed with Hei Lie in advance.
“I think calling this city Yi City would be a fine choice. Divine Envoy, what do you think?” Hei Lie quickly added.
The others immediately echoed: “That’s a great name! This city was built by the Divine Envoy’s own hand. Using his name is the most fitting!”
“Spark – Yi City. It sounds grand already!”
“To us, it was an easy city to build. We’ll be able to build even greater cities in the future!”
Everyone chimed in, even standing up to applaud.
With that kind of momentum, it was impossible to refuse.
Hei Lie smiled at him, eyes narrowed with mirth. Yang Yi understood. This was Hei Lie’s way of ensuring that generations to come would remember his contributions, the greatest recognition of everything he had done.
“Fine, then this will be its name.”
After the meeting was dismissed, Yang Yi rolled his eyes at Hei Lie, speaking with certainty:
“You planned this all along, didn’t you?”
Hei Lie just smiled without denying it: “I thought this would be the greatest motivation for all your hard work. If we left the naming to you, you’d never use your own name.”
Yang Yi couldn’t help but laugh. Indeed, that was true.
Although his contributions were indeed immense—bringing in more advanced technologies, tools, and so on—suggesting that his own name be used still felt rather awkward.
“Thank you.”
Hei Lie slung an arm around his shoulders, his bright eyes almost speaking on their own:
“This is what you deserve. But if you really want to thank me, I won’t refuse.”
Yang Yi calmly removed his arm, took out a folder, flipped to a blank page, and said:
“Come, let’s discuss something. Now that the moat is finished, should we start on the city walls?”
Hei Lie looked disappointed, but quickly adjusted his mood. Pulling a chair over to sit beside Yang Yi, he seriously considered the matter.
“Safety comes first. Now that the large farming season is over, the workload isn’t as heavy or urgent. It’s time we began thinking about building walls.”
Yang Yi frowned slightly. “But we’re still in a stage of food shortage. Constructing city walls is a massive project. On the other side, the canals are still being dug. Undertaking such large works might place enormous pressure on the tribe.”
Building city walls would, of course, increase their security by another level. Though they already had the moat, with fierce beasts like crocodiles raised inside, that didn’t mean they were completely safe.
Right now, while the Spark Tribe was strong in military might and large in numbers, making others reluctant to provoke them easily, that didn’t mean they could grow complacent.
They possessed too many treasures that made others envious, and they had already interfered with the interests of the Western Continent.
In truth, the biggest losers at the trade fairs were the Western Continent. For now, things were fine, since not that many tribes had taken part yet.
But as the Spark Tribe’s influence grew larger and larger, it would attract more and more tribes to come here, unwilling to spend expensive resources on trading with the Western Continent for fine wine, porcelain, black pottery, and the like.
In addition, the Spark Tribe had begun forming its own caravans. Based on Han Bing’s reports, their scale could only grow larger, not smaller.
This, in turn, further harmed the interests of the Western Continent.
Although the Eastern Continent was full of internal conflicts, compared to trading with Westerners, they still preferred trading with their own people, not to mention that Spark Tribe’s goods were both better and much cheaper.
On the surface, the Western Continent put on a friendly front. But once their interests were violated, whether they would continue to tolerate the Spark Tribe was another matter entirely.
Yet building city walls was an enormous project. To be able to withstand outsiders, the walls would not only have to be tall but also thick. It will be an intense test of both manpower and resources.
“There’s nothing more important than safety. Even if we go hungry, this must be our first concern. We’re right next to the wilderness. Last year we were lucky not to encounter a beast tide, but no one knows what the next time will be like.”
Hei Lie voiced his worries. In truth, he never feared they would starve. The resources nearby were abundant. It was simply a question of whether life would be good or hard.
What he always feared most was safety.
Back when he had decisively left the Blackstone Tribe, it was precisely because he had sensed danger and, without hesitation, let go and walked away.
“Last year, many regions were struck by all sorts of natural disasters. From past experience, that often means beast tides are likely to come.”
Yang Yi’s heart trembled. The beasts here were terrifying. If a beast tide really came, human power would seem minuscule.
“Will it come this year? Even if we put all our strength into building city walls, we couldn’t finish them in time.”
“Don’t be too nervous,” Hei Lie replied. “It’s only about being prepared, just in case.”
Yang Yi rubbed his temples. “Let’s hope we have good luck.”
“Whether it comes or not, we must always plan ahead when it comes to safety. Back in your former country, didn’t history prove just how important and necessary this was?”
Yang Yi let out a helpless laugh, knowing Hei Lie was talking about decades ago, when his homeland was in extreme poverty, yet still poured enormous effort into developing its military. Many people had criticized it at the time, but facts had proven it to be crucial. It was something tied directly to having a voice on the world stage.
There were some things that simply could not be postponed.
Yang Yi was deeply impressed by Hei Lie’s speed of learning and his dedication. The man was truly intelligent. Within just a year, he had already learned to recognize a vast number of characters, read various documents fluently, and was now even able to apply the knowledge flexibly.
There were certain materials Yang Yi wasn’t comfortable showing to others. But with Hei Lie, he didn’t mind at all.
Yang Yi also wanted someone here to understand the culture of his world. Ordinary lessons weren’t enough, so he gave Hei Lie some history books to read, most of them about China’s past.
This not only broadened Hei Lie’s perspective and vision but also drew the two of them closer.
Hei Lie was also very eager. With Hei Lie’s excellent memory, Yang Yi sometimes couldn’t even answer his questions. Yang Yi couldn’t remember which dynasty a certain person had belonged to.
How could that be tolerated? He, someone who had lived in China for over twenty years, was actually being surpassed in historical knowledge by a so-called primitive man. It was truly a humiliating shame.
And so, it spurred Yang Yi to keep studying relentlessly, enriching his knowledge.
“You’re right. It’s just that this matter needs careful planning,” Yang Yi said, tapping the paper with the end of his pen before letting out a long sigh.
The canal project couldn’t stop. Water was a matter of survival.
The farmland absolutely had to have enough manpower. Food was just as critical as ever.
As for the workshops, things were relatively easier there, but at most, they could avoid assigning too many new members. It was impossible to pull people out of them.
They were already extremely busy, and demand was still greater than supply. To exchange for more goods, many items produced by the Spark Tribe hadn’t even been owned by their own people.
But those were generally the more expensive and difficult-to-make products—mostly ornamental or status-symbol items, not ones with practical use.
“Don’t worry so much. We have enough manpower now.”
“It sounds like a lot, but when you really count it out, it’s just so-so. There are still many people in the city who haven’t moved into spacious and comfortable houses yet.”
“People have lived in caves, under animal hides, and in grass huts for so long. What’s the harm in waiting a little longer? Besides, even the mud-and-thatch houses we build now are far better than before. What is there to complain about? If lives are lost, then no matter how nice the houses are, no one will live in them.”
“That’s true.”
“Letting people feel a little bit of change and progress isn’t a bad thing. That way they’ll be more hopeful and more easily content.”
Hei Lie was very open-minded. He didn’t think there was anything wrong with life quality improving a little more slowly than before.
Their lives were already the envy of many. It was time to enter the stage of protecting their wealth.
Defeating the Blackstone Tribe hadn’t made Hei Lie relax. It had made him even more cautious.
A former dominant power had been toppled so easily. Who could say what fate might await them?
Perhaps another tribe, like theirs, might gain the blessing of the gods and suddenly grow powerful overnight. Anything was possible.
“Since we’re going to start building the city walls, they must be strong enough to truly withstand outside enemies. Aside from natural cement, we can also add glutinous rice. Right now, we have quite a lot of glutinous rice, so we can mix it in optimally to create the toughest mud walls.”
Previously, the tribe had already borrowed from ancient methods of wall construction, mixing glutinous rice with the natural cement found here to produce mud walls harder than stone. But later, because the cost was too high and natural cement became available, they adjusted the formula, no longer using it widely or only in small amounts. As a result, the walls weren’t made with the strongest possible mix.
Hei Lie said regretfully, “Looks like we won’t be able to eat tangyuan very often anymore.”
![The Villain’s Golden Age of Beauty[Quick Travel]](https://novels.space/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/53343s.jpg "The Villain’s Golden Age of Beauty[Quick Travel]")
