Chapter 1203, Yan Jiao’s Boldness

Translator: Silavin

 

“Shaman, with this arrangement, does that mean the entire forest needs to be converted into farmland?” Yu Ying asked.

 

Looking at the plans spread out before her, that was roughly what the layout suggested. The area behind the Tribe looked to be almost entirely open ground.

 

“No, no. Those areas are set aside for building houses. The farmland is not going there.” Su Bai shook his head quickly.

 

He had no intention of turning the area behind the Tribe into farmland. That would be a waste of land. Reserving it for houses was making the best use of it. And being closer to the Tribe made it easier to manage.

 

“For houses? Does the Shaman mean all of those areas are to be used for cement houses?” Yu Ying widened her eyes, looking out at the land beyond the floor-to-ceiling window.

 

Yu Ying could hardly believe the plan. In her view, the current land was enough for everyone to live on.

 

“Yes. If the Flame Dragon Tribe is to become a city, the land area we have now is nowhere near enough.” Su Bai nodded seriously and rose to stand before the floor-to-ceiling window. “The Tribe’s area must continue to be expanded outward. So that land must be used for houses.”

 

He had planned all of this long ago. He had simply been waiting for the right moment to act on it.

 

The Tribe had not been fully settled in the first two years. Now, the Tribe was completely stable and properly on track. It was time to put this plan on the agenda.

 

“That really is quite a grand plan. Building cement houses across such a large stretch should be quite a sight.” Yu Ying remarked.

 

“Indeed. It certainly will be. When the time comes, this place will be the heart of the city. There will be even more that the Flame Dragon Tribe can develop from then on.” Su Bai exhaled deeply.

 

He had so many plans within him. Only none of them had found a suitable moment to be carried out yet.

 

The limitation was precisely that the land was not large enough. That was why he had no choice but to expand the Tribe’s territory first.

 

“Is the plan going to be set in motion now then?” Yu Ying asked curiously.

 

“Yes. I’ve already asked the Chieftain to come by. It’ll be moving forward very soon.” Su Bai nodded.

 

Speak of the devil and the devil appears. Yan Jiao was already waiting outside the door at that very moment.

 

He received permission and walked in, bowing his head in greeting. “Shaman, what arrangements do you have for me this time?”

 

“I need you to gather the people who built houses before. We’re starting construction again.” Su Bai said in a firm, steady tone.

 

“More houses? But Shaman, our Tribe has no remaining space left to build cement houses.” Yan Jiao said, puzzled.

 

This was because the walls surrounding the Flame Dragon Tribe had already begun to go up, meaning there was no spare room left within the designated area.

 

“There is. Look, all of that area over there is the best possible land.” Su Bai pointed toward the forest beyond the Tribe’s gates.

 

“The Shaman wants to build the Tribe across the forest? That will be a great undertaking. I’ll begin gathering people immediately. We’ll need to bring in more this time, though.” Yan Jiao scratched his head.

 

When the houses within the Tribe had been built before, there had already been several dozen builders.

 

And the expanse of forest was even larger still. It amounted to roughly five or six times the size of the Flame Dragon Tribe.

 

The Flame Dragon Tribe’s area was already equivalent to a small village, with dozens of football fields’ worth of land.

 

By that reasoning, the forest came to several hundred football fields in area. One could imagine just how staggering a scale that was.

 

“It’s fine. The numbers aren’t a problem. Anyone without particularly urgent work is to be assigned to building houses. I hope to have it completed before next year’s snow season.” Su Bai said earnestly.

 

“The timeline is tight, but looking at the experience we’ve built up, this should be doable.” Yan Jiao felt the weight of it pressing down on him at once.

 

“As long as it can be done. By the time construction is finished, we’ll be welcoming many people into our Tribe. That will also be the moment our Tribe truly rises.” Su Bai nodded.

 

“Understood. Over the next two days, I’ll have the Warriors pause their training and first help pull up all the trees and stack them. They’ll still be of use when we get to the building.” Yan Jiao answered.

 

“Good. Push as hard as possible to work quickly, but the quality of the construction must be guaranteed. An extra meal can be given in the evening when necessary. After all, it’s physical labour.” Su Bai added.

 

He thought it was especially fitting to have Warriors doing infrastructure work. Their Strength and Stamina were many times that of ordinary people. One Warrior was worth four or five regular people. The pace of work would naturally be much faster as a result.

 

Had all the construction within the Flame Dragon Tribe last year been left to ordinary people, it would likely still not be finished even now.

 

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Yan Jiao nodded.

 

“Over the next two days, have people get the trees and ground sorted out first. I’ll give you a design plan before long.” Su Bai instructed with great care.

 

Although he wanted the houses built quickly and in large numbers, the layout and distribution still needed proper attention.

 

Otherwise, the houses would end up scattered around, one in this spot and one in that, with no overall coherence. It would look dreadful.

 

And the roads had to be planned carefully as well. That had a bearing on how well the Tribe could continue to develop.

 

“Understood.” Yan Jiao nodded again.

 

“There’s also the matter of the farmland. The farmland will now need to be pushed further out. That also needs to be arranged.” Su Bai added.

 

In truth, many things within the Tribe were already being handled by Yan Jiao. Su Bai rarely needed to concern himself with them.

 

But there were times when a reminder was still needed. Keeping a hand on the broad direction was never wrong.

 

“The farmland, right. Of course, if the forest is going to be used for houses, the farmland will have to be moved further out. I’ll arrange all of this over the next two days. Please don’t worry, Shaman.” Yan Jiao said reliably.

 

He knew well enough what to do. Choose the right ground, assess the soil and the surroundings, then assign people to begin clearing and sowing.

 

One could say Yan Jiao had become something of a part-time agricultural hand himself by now. Whenever he had a spare moment, he would go and tinker with these things.

 

“I trust you to handle it. The main thing is to keep the Tribe’s people settled in their feelings.” Su Bai said mildly.

 

“If the Tribe is developing better, they’ll accept it willingly. The Shaman need not worry.” Yan Jiao, by now, understood his own people well enough.

 

“Good. Nothing else then. Go and make the arrangements.” Su Bai said quietly.

 

“Yes.” Yan Jiao nodded, bowed, turned, and left.

 

“The Chieftain seems so capable now. Completely different from how he used to be.” Yu Ying said softly.

 

She knew all of it was thanks to Su Bai. Without the Shaman’s guidance and support, he likely would never have had this kind of decisiveness and style in handling matters.

 

“He is. He saves me a ton of trouble.” Su Bai smiled.