Early in the morning, before the tribe members had gone out, they saw Eric doing something unknown in front of his house again and gathered around curiously.
"What is he doing? This thing he's making looks like beast milk," Kevin said, his curiosity getting the better of him as he poked his head over while passing by.
"My brother is making a delicacy called tofu!" Leo jumped up, raising his furry little claws to be the first to answer.
Eric laughed. This little glutton Leo had been completely won over by him. Seeing that he was planning to make something delicious, the little one had been following him since early in the morning. Even when told to sleep in a bit longer, he refused, wagging his small tail and sticking by his side all morning.
Hearing that a delicacy was being made, the surrounding Snow Wolf people couldn't help but swallow their saliva.
They couldn't help it. The aroma of the grilled meat and chicken soup Eric had made yesterday was simply too rich. Their Snow Wolf Tribe lived in a community, and their sense of smell was keen; almost all the tribe members had smelled the fragrance.
That aroma was completely different from the grilled meat they usually ate. There was no burnt smell at all, only the scent of charcoal-grilled meat and a hint of fruity fragrance. They usually cooked their own meat too, but the cooked meat was not as fragrant as the pot of meat soup Eric had cooked yesterday.
For the keen-nosed Snow Wolf people, last night was nothing short of torture. Now, hearing that Eric was making food again, they remembered yesterday's torment with both anticipation and fear.
However, after watching for a while, the white liquid Eric was making this time only had the fishy smell of beans that they disliked. They were relieved.
But there was a hint of disappointment. They had thought that, like last night, Eric would be able to make something incredibly delicious.
They had no idea how Eric had managed to make that grilled meat and meat soup so fragrant yesterday.
After grinding the soy milk, Eric remembered that the only ceramic jar in the house still contained the chicken soup. Thinking he might as well have it for breakfast, he started a fire nearby and placed the ceramic jar on it to heat up the soup.
Last night, because of the rain and the dampness inside, he had to make a fire indoors to cook and dry the room at the same time. Now that the sky had cleared, he made the fire outside the door.
And so, the nearby beastmen suffered. The aroma, as aggressive as last night's, assaulted their noses again. They were too embarrassed to ask the two cubs for food and were about to link arms and head back to their own homes to find something to fill their stomachs.
Just then, Michael arrived from a distance, looking for Kevin to go on patrol.
The tribe had hunted a lot of prey yesterday, so there was no need to go hunting today. But the daily patrol was essential; they needed to patrol their territory to see if any enemies or high-level magical beasts had intruded.
Eric saw Michael and waved at him happily. He first ladled a bowl of chicken soup for Leo, then picked up the ceramic jar and handed it to Michael.
"Thank you for the Thunderfire Beast meat yesterday. This is a meat soup I cooked myself. Please have a taste."
Michael accepted it sheepishly. Smelling the aroma, he really couldn't bear to refuse. Eric handed him a spoon, which Michael took and hurriedly scooped a spoonful into his mouth.
The chicken and the Thunderfire Beast meat were both stewed until they were incredibly tender. The unnamed green vegetable was slightly bitter but had a sweet aftertaste. The broth was rich. With one sip, the delicious soup and sweet meat almost made him swallow his tongue.
Kevin, who had been drooling at the side for a long time, saw that the ceramic jar was in Michael's hands and didn't hold back. He snatched Michael's spoon, took a bite himself, and was immediately stunned on the spot.
Eric watched as the group of beastmen in front of him—one after another, they took a bite—vied for the chicken soup in the ceramic jar until it was all gone, even regretfully licking the bottom of the pot. He couldn't help but rejoice that he had ladled out a bowl for Leo first.
"I've never had such delicious meat soup! I never expected Eric to have such skills!" Sam, who had been drawn by the commotion and managed to get the last bite, exclaimed.
Michael, who had only managed one bite before it was all snatched away, had a dark expression on his face, his hands itching to hit someone.
Eric quickly said, "I'm making tofu later. Michael, could you all come over and help me taste it?"
He wanted to do too many things and couldn't possibly manage them all by himself. If these beastmen could help him, with their strength, many tasks would become simple.
It was now autumn. He wanted to collect a large number of beans. In the winter, he could sprout them, and he could also make tofu. It would be best if he could save some as seeds to plant next year.
The uses for beans were too numerous. Relying solely on gathering wild beans was not enough. He also wanted to make soybean paste, soy sauce, soybean oil, and various other bean products. All of these required a lot of beans.
To farm, he needed to plow the land. Moreover, he wanted to renovate his house before winter arrived, even if it was just fixing the roof.
Fixing the roof required tiles. The clay for making tiles was easy to find by the river, but he still needed to build an earthen kiln to fire them. It would be best if he could also fire some pottery. Otherwise, things were really lacking right now; he couldn't keep using heavy stone tools.
Besides, pottery was much more practical than stoneware. For example, when sprouting beans, the seal of a ceramic jar was much better than that of a stone pot.
If he wanted these people to help him, asking them directly would work, of course, but it wasn't a long-term solution.
If he could win over these beastmen through their stomachs, it would be easier to command them later. This was all too simple for Eric.
His cooking skills, in the modern era, were probably just average. But in a place equivalent to a primitive tribe, they were incredibly formidable. Just with grilled meat alone, he could make many different styles.
Michael nodded hurriedly.
Kevin and Sam also said with a grin, "We'll definitely come over!"
The other beastmen also nodded eagerly.
Based on the taste of that pot of meat soup, they believed that even though the basin of what looked like beast milk in front of them didn't smell very pleasant, Eric could surely turn it into a delicacy.
They still had to go on patrol, so no matter how reluctant they were, they had to leave.
The other beastmen who needed to go out to gather also left. Autumn meant that winter was approaching, and they needed to store firewood and various foods for the winter.