Soon, the dried meat had absorbed enough water and salt, and it began to render fat like fresh meat. The scent of meat spread throughout the house, making the dwelling, which was damp from the rain, fill with its aroma.
It was a pity that there were so few things to use now. In his hands, there was only coarse salt. If he had pepper powder, chili powder, and cumin powder like in the modern world, this skewered dried meat would surely be incredibly fragrant.
But even so, Leo had clearly never eaten dried meat grilled this way. The little one in his arms kept licking his lips like a kitten, clearly craving it.
The grilled dried meat carried a distinctive smoky aroma. Although the only seasoning was salt, to Leo, it was still incredibly delicious.
After Eric blew on it to cool it down, the little one eagerly gobbled it up, looking very satisfied.
After feeding Leo, Eric stood up and carefully observed the items in the room.
He was a modern person; he couldn't just become like a beastman overnight, able to go out hunting to support himself and Leo.
Moreover, the original owner's body was not as healthy as others in the tribe; his strength and speed couldn't keep up, making hunting relatively difficult.
But he couldn't rely on the tribe to support him forever. He also had to find a way to ensure his and Leo's survival.
So it begins. Is this the challenge for a homebody who loves farming novels?
He looked toward the only ceramic jar in the house. This jar was considered a significant item in the tribe; trading for such a jar from the Human Tribe required a lot of animal hides.
He had a handful of beans and a jar of coarse salt. He could definitely make tofu; a handful of beans could produce a fair amount of it.
The only issue was making tofu with brine; the coarse salt needed to be refined, otherwise it could increase the risk of poisoning.
He didn't know if these robust beastmen would be poisoned, but Eric was genuinely worried for his and Leo's small bodies.
That's right, how is coarse salt refined into fine salt?
He carefully recalled; this was a crucial element in farming novels, hailed as a necessary skill for transmigrators.
He remembered reading many books that detailed this process and even spent several days searching for videos to see the specifics, but where could he find activated charcoal now?
He remembered. He could make activated charcoal himself. Eric clapped his hands in excitement, startling the little lion who was eating the dried meat. He quickly went over to soothe the little one by stroking his fur.
Making activated charcoal required firewood. Although he didn't have much firewood left in the house, he could go out and gather some. It wasn't winter yet, so this was not a scarce resource for the beastmen. The rain outside had also lightened up considerably, making it a good time to go out and see.
Right now, the tribe operated on a collective system. Every day, there would be a hunting team, a patrol team, and a gathering team going out to search for survival supplies. Firewood was also collected by everyone and then distributed uniformly by the chieftain.
If a household found they didn't have enough, they could go and collect more themselves.
The original owner never did any proper work, only concerning himself with chasing after Max.
Even when he followed the gathering team, he often slacked off. Everyone turned a blind eye, and the things that should have been allocated to their family were never missing. Eric felt too embarrassed to ask the chieftain for more.
Having just arrived in another world, he had to start being busy without a break. Eric was speechless; he was truly fated for overtime work, with not even a transitional period. The moment he opened his eyes, he had to work.
"I need to go out and find some firewood now. Can you stay at home by yourself?" Eric lowered his head and spoke gently to Leo.
Leo couldn't bear to finish the piece of dried meat. The little one took the last piece he was chewing, placed it in Eric's hand, and looked up.
"You eat too. I'll go gather firewood with you."
His voice was clear, like a young boy in an animated film.
Eric's heart melted. A moment ago, it felt like he was raising a pet, but now he truly realized this was his younger brother.
"Such a good boy." No wonder the original owner treated him so badly, yet Leo never held a grudge later on.
Unable to refuse, Eric took a bite of the dried meat Leo gave him and fed the rest to Leo.
Hmm, his craftsmanship was indeed not bad. Although the coarse salt was a bit bitter and the dried meat had been stored for a while, the overall taste was quite good.
Leo wagged his tail happily, looking like a little puppy. This was the first time his older brother had been so gentle with him, giving him delicious dried meat and speaking to him so softly. He was truly very happy.
To be able to go gather firewood with his brother, Leo also transformed into his human form. In human form, his hair was blond. He had elegant brows and bright eyes, a young teenager. His dark eyes looked at Eric, the corners of his mouth shyly forming a smile.
Eric saw that he was so happy he had forgotten to put on his animal skin clothes. He hurriedly grabbed another animal hide and wrapped it around Leo.
He led Leo to lift the animal skin at the entrance and stepped outside, thinking to himself that when he had time, he must make a proper door for their house. At least it wouldn't be so cold in the winter.
Although in the original owner's memory, he understood that his house in the Snow Wolf Tribe was considered to be of a middle-to-upper class, he was still astonished when he actually saw it.
As expected of beastmen, to be able to survive in such a harsh environment. All he could see around were scattered wooden huts and animal skin tents of various kinds. In the entire tribe, only a few could be called houses.
The only remarkable feature one could speak of was their size. Whether they were tents, wooden houses, or earthen houses, they were all very large. After all, they had to accommodate the beast forms of the Snow Wolf people; if they weren't large, they wouldn't fit.
As for private yards, there wasn't a single one. Being beastmen, it was understandable not to have yards, but these houses were truly too makeshift.
Eric remembered from the novel that the beastmen were the poorest and most backward tribe, but their strength was immense. They were innately resistant to magic, and though this also meant they couldn't learn magic, most other races could do nothing to them. Magic couldn't penetrate their defenses, and their physical strength was superior.
The Elf Tribe, with their maximum power, could only manage a draw in the great war against the Beastman Tribe.
The people of the two Eastern and Western continents called the Illusory Dream Continent the Cursed Land.
If they wanted to come here to trade, they had to pass through the blockade of the Elf Tribe or the Golden Kingdom and pay a hefty tax just to enter.