TPWBI Chapter 124

When Yang Yi first arrived, he had brought along quite a few fruit seeds. Over the years, all of them had been planted, and the survival rate was remarkably high.

Because of that, the Spark Tribe now had a vast fruit forest, both in area and in number of trees, filled with all kinds of fruits. They never had to worry about running out of fruit throughout the year.

Still, the harvest season was when fruits were at their most abundant. No other season could compare.

As time went by, those fruit trees not only bore fruit, but their yield also grew larger year after year. Now, they had collectively entered their peak fruit-bearing stage. Once the harvest season arrived, the sheer amount of fruit was astonishing.

During this time of year, everyone’s table would be piled high with all kinds of fruits. They could eat to their heart’s content.

“Don’t exaggerate so much,” Yang Yi said, his attention successfully diverted. Just thinking of that vast fruit orchard lifted his spirits and filled him with happiness.

“We can make dried fruits and jams,” he continued. “That way, we can still enjoy the taste of these fruits even in other seasons.”

Starting two years ago, the Spark Tribe had already entered a period of fruit surplus. That was when they began processing fresh fruits into dried fruits and jams.

Dried fruits were light, tasty, and kept well, so they had always sold very well, especially among people from the Western Continent, who loved them.

Jams were equally popular. Spread over bread or other foods, they were absolutely delicious.

It just takes a certain level of skill when storing them. Otherwise, they spoil easily.

During harvest season, these fruits aren’t worth much. But once the season passes, they can be sold for a pretty decent price.

However, the profit isn’t particularly high. For the Spark Tribe, it’s more about not letting things go to waste.

Among all the fruits, grapes are still the most profitable. They never have to worry about having too many grapes that can’t be used up.

The Spark Tribe’s wine is extremely popular. No matter how much they bring out, it always sells out.

Especially in years when the grapes grow well and the wine turns out particularly good, plenty of discerning buyers will purchase some to store away.

Although the winemaking process is always the same, the flavor of the wine varies greatly from year to year because the quality of the grapes changes.

When connoisseurs come across a particularly good batch, they tend to buy more to stock up and enjoy slowly over time.

If other fruits are left over, they’ll also try to ferment them into fruit wine, but the most popular one is still grape wine.

“This year’s yield has increased by thirty percent compared to last year. Even after making dried fruit and jam, we’ll probably still have some left by next year,” Hei Lie explained.

Yang Yi was astonished. “That much?”

Hei Lie: “The fruit trees planted later have all reached maturity now. With the good weather this year, every tree produced a lot.”

Yang Yi said, “In the future, we should still prune and pinch off the shoots. It’ll help ensure better quality.”

Here, even without pruning or pinching, the fruit trees could still produce plenty of good-quality fruit. They not only grew large but also yielded abundantly, without issues of nutrient deficiency affecting the size or quality of the fruits.

However, if the trees were properly tended, the taste of the fruits would still show a noticeable improvement.

In the past, they had focused on quantity, so they didn’t pay much attention to that. But now that they had more fruit than they could handle, they could aim for better flavor next time.

Hei Lie nodded. “Let’s do that next year, then. But what should we do with all the leftover fruit this year?”

Yang Yi smiled. “That’s easy. Just put them into my storage space. It’ll even offset a bit of my debt.”

Since coming here, Yang Yi had mostly taken things out of his space, rarely putting anything into it.

After all, when everyone was still struggling just to have enough to eat, there hadn’t been much to store in the space to offset the debt he’d incurred from the items he brought earlier.

Yang Yi figured there was still plenty of time before they reached the target population, so there was no rush to fill up the space now.

He had once thought of putting in some golden nanmu wood to test how much of his debt such valuable timber could offset.

But when he tried, only one log disappeared into the space, and it was valued at merely a hundred credits. Yang Yi was speechless.

After several experiments, he discovered that items that had been processed by human hands were worth more, while raw materials taken directly from the local land, no matter how precious, were assigned very low value by the space and accepted in only small amounts.

These fruits were the result of everyone’s careful planting and management, so the Transmigration God would also accept them. The price wasn’t particularly high, but it was still decent.

Since they had an overflow of fruit anyway, it was better to hand them over to the Transmigration God to offset his debt.

Hei Lie paused for a moment before remembering that matter.

“Then we should process them all into jam or dried fruit before putting them in. That way, they’ll be worth more.”

Yang Yi nodded. “We can start thinking about making canned fruit now. Our glass-making skills have already reached the point where we can produce in large quantities, so we don’t need to worry about the cost anymore. Canned fruit will definitely be more popular out of season. If we use beautiful glass containers, the nobles from the Western Continent will love them even more.”

The nobles of the Western Continent had already brought considerable profit to the Spark Tribe. As trade between the two sides deepened, the tribe grew more familiar with the Western Continent and even gained direct contact, allowing them to better understand what products to make and sell to appeal to Western tastes.

The nobles of the Western Continent were extremely extravagant. The difference between them and ordinary people was like heaven and earth.

Lan had also been tempted by that kind of lavish lifestyle. His own treatment had already been quite good. After all, he was the lord of a city, the face of an entire settlement, and naturally couldn’t appear shabby.

When it came to food, clothing, and daily necessities, his standard of living was among the highest in the tribe. But compared to the indulgent, luxurious lives of the Western Continent nobles, his lifestyle still seemed plain and lacking in grandeur.

“That’s a good idea.”

As they spoke about food, Yang Yi suddenly thought of something. “Let’s dig an ice cellar this year to store ice.”

“Ice storage?”

“Yes! That way, when summer comes, we’ll have ice to use. It can not only cool down the rooms but also be made into delicious ice cream, shaved ice, and more. If we add our homemade jam to it, it’ll taste absolutely amazing!”

This year’s hot season had been scorching and stiflingly humid. Yang Yi had to bathe several times a day, pouring cold well water over the floor again and again just to feel a hint of relief from the heat.

Fortunately, the temperature would drop at night. Otherwise, it would have been unbearable.

That was when Yang Yi thought, if they could dig an ice cellar and store blocks of ice from the river during the cold season, the summer wouldn’t be so miserable.

In ancient China, wealthy families used to do exactly that. As for how to dig and store the ice properly, it would require some careful planning.

Yang Yi had already drawn up a plan for it before. But as the temperature dropped later on, he gradually pushed it to the back of his mind.

Now that he thought about it again, having an ice cellar wouldn’t just make the hot season more comfortable. It could also be used to make all kinds of delicious foods for everyone to enjoy.

The population of Port City and Yi City kept growing, and their appetite for good food was tremendous.

Ever since the first person applied to open a private shop, more and more people have followed suit, wanting to start their own small businesses.

Many of them ran food stalls, offering all sorts of snacks and dishes. They were much more flexible than the canteens and available to eat anytime.

It had even become a kind of custom: the first thing people did upon arriving in the Spark Tribe was eat. If you hadn’t tried the Spark Tribe’s variety of foods, it was as if you hadn’t truly been there.

Part of it was due to Yang Yi’s deliberate marketing, but part of it was also because everyone had truly been won over by the food.

Each city’s shops offered their own unique dishes, with almost no overlap. This wasn’t something Yang Yi and his team deliberately controlled. People just naturally avoided repeating others’ menus.

“It’s a pity ice cream isn’t easy to carry around. Otherwise, the profits would be huge,” Hei Lie said with some regret.

Yang Yi smiled. “That’s alright. The recipe itself can be sold for money. It’ll also help our jam sell better.”

He firmly believed that no one could resist the temptation of ice cream in the heat of summer.

“It’ll also boost our milk pack sales,” Hei Lie quickly added.

Every year, the Spark Tribe purchased a large number of livestock from outside. Ever since they started bringing in dairy cows, their numbers had grown rapidly. Now, cows had become the most numerous livestock in the tribe. The annual milk yield was extremely high. Besides keeping enough for the tribe’s own consumption, there was always plenty left over, which was processed into various dairy products.

Among them, milk packs were the most commonly sold to outsiders. They had a long shelf life and were easy to carry.

Because of this, Yang Yi had even asked the chefs to study how to make pure cream and to teach people how to bake cakes, both as a way to promote the use of milk packs.

Yang Yi rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Now we just need to figure out how to persuade the Western Continent folk to build proper cellars so they can store ice during the cold season.”

“No need to rush this year,” Hei Lie replied. “Once they’ve tasted ice cream next year, they’ll definitely start doing it on their own.”

Yang Yi looked at Hei Lie. “You make it sound like you’ve eaten it before.”

Hei Lie choked for a moment. “I haven’t eaten it, but I’ve seen pictures. It looks delicious!”

But before ice cream even appeared, some people from the Western Continent caught wind of their plan to dig ice cellars and came over to ask about it.

Yang Yi explained, “Storing ice makes the hot season much more comfortable. It can also be used to make a kind of food that’s both delicious and refreshing.”

“What kind of food?”

“You’ll know once it’s made. It’s something you’ll definitely love,” Yang Yi replied with a smile.

Hearing that, the Western Continent caravans, who often traded with the Spark Tribe, went back and advised their city lords, or took the initiative themselves, to start storing ice.

After so many years of dealing with the Spark Tribe, they had learned one important lesson:

Whenever the Spark Tribe decided to create something new, it always turned out to be incredibly popular.

If you acted too late, you’d miss your chance.

This was a sign of the deep trust they had in the Spark Tribe. Even without knowing the full story, they would still follow along without hesitation.

Caravans from places like En and Maple Leaf City immediately chose to imitate them without a second thought.

After all, it was just about storing some ice. It didn’t cost much, and it would make the summer cooler, so there was no harm in following the trend.

When summer finally arrived and everyone got to taste the cold, delicious ice cream, those who had collected and stored ice successfully were so overjoyed they could have jumped for joy.

“This is absolutely delicious! What kind of genius could have come up with something this wonderful?!”

The Spark Tribe had created many delicious foods, but none of them brought as much happiness during the hot season as ice cream did.

With just one bite, not only was it incredibly delicious, but the body’s temperature seemed to drop instantly, filling a person with a deep, soothing sense of comfort.

Because of the popularity of ice cream, the sales of jam and milk packs both soared, especially the milk packs, which even began to fall short of demand.

In the Western Continent, it wasn’t only the nobles. Even ordinary people with a bit of money were deeply captivated by its charm.

They were more than willing to spend generously just to taste such a delightful treat.

It was during this hot season that Yang Yi decided to travel to the Western Continent together with Hei Lie.