Eric took out a tube of thorn beast honey from the house and gave it to them, telling them to mix it into honey water and brush it on the meat while grilling slowly, which would give it a flavor similar to the roasted meat they just had.
Max pushed the bamboo tube back, lowering his head and saying, "We don't need it."
Michael quickly slapped Max hard on the shoulder and said, "What he means is, the thorn beast honey is specially reserved by the tribe for the young cubs. The roasted meat made with the method you taught is already delicious enough; there's no need for thorn beast honey. You and Leo should keep it."
He had brought Max over to comfort Eric, not for Max to make Eric unhappy. This morning, Eric had shared delicious food with him, so he wanted to help him too.
Max said nothing more. He wasn't good with words, and besides, he truly held a prejudice against Eric in his heart. But the Eric of today was indeed different from before. At the very least, he no longer followed him everywhere like a leech and also took good care of Leo.
He felt that being a weak beastman wasn't something to be ashamed of, but the old Eric, aside from clinging to him, was also very hostile to his friends, didn't take good care of his own younger brother, and wore a look of blaming heaven and earth every day, when in reality he couldn't do a single damn thing properly.
He had given up on himself and even raised Leo to be a malnourished cub.
Max didn't want to live in the same house with him, but Eric refused to let other clansmen adopt them. Every time the tribe distributed hunted meat, he wouldn't go to get it, and even needed others to bring it to him. In short, he lived a completely messy and disorganized life.
Now that he was willing to change, Max also hoped he could raise himself and Leo well.
Eric wasn't angry either. They meant well, and he could just keep that thorn beast honey.
There was nothing that couldn't be solved with one meal; if there was, then have two. Eric treated them to a meal, and the way Kevin and Sam looked at him became much gentler.
"Is this white thing called tofu? It clearly didn't smell very fragrant during the day, and I remember it looked like water. You're amazing, Eric!" Kevin praised with some curiosity.
"This is made from beans. I call it tofu."
Eric didn't know how to explain how he knew to make tofu, so he covered it up by saying, "I discovered this method by accident. Besides, that liquid is also very delicious when cooked, and it's delicious when made into tofu. In the future, we can gather more beans, and we'll have another tasty dish in the winter without having to chew on dry beans anymore."
"Right, right! When we go on patrol, we'll look for more of these beans and bring them back for you!" Sam also said cheerfully.
For a beastman tribe, having another type of food was an excellent thing, not to mention its taste wasn't bad.
Eric nodded his head eagerly in delight. Many hands make light work. If they gathered more beans, he could even make frozen tofu in the winter. Freezing it outside to make frozen tofu would also be delicious and easy to store. With no green vegetables, he could also use the beans to grow bean sprouts. He would never get tired of eating it.
There was just one thing: the tofu he made with coarse saltwater was fragile and had a bitter taste, and it also used up quite a lot of salt.
He had to quickly brew some vinegar. Using vinegar to make tofu could save coarse salt, and he could also make activated charcoal. Then he could ask the Snow Wolves to take him to the seashore to get some salt. In the future, the Snow Wolves could extract their own salt, and the quality of salt made that way would be better than the coarse salt traded from human merchant caravans.
Max was the chieftain's son. If he went to the chieftain's house to borrow grain, would he be seen as clinging to him again?
Well, he might as well be thick-skinned about it. Anyway, everyone in the tribe knew he used to follow Max around every day, so it fit his image. Otherwise, if he suddenly changed too much, it wouldn't be good, even if the beastmen were simple-minded.
After hesitating for a long time, Eric finally spoke directly to Max after the meal.
"Um... Max." He had difficulty saying the name. "I want to borrow some glutinous rice and wheat from Aunt Luci to brew wine. I don't need much, is that okay?"
Michael, Kevin, and Sam were very used to this. On the contrary, it was the fact that Eric had paid little attention to Max since yesterday that they found unfamiliar.
"You even know how to brew wine?" Michael's focus was on the wine-brewing, and he asked doubtfully.
Eric started making up a story: "When I was little, I heard my mother say that the Elf race seems to brew wine like this. I wanted to give it a try."
Hearing him mention his mother, Michael was convinced. Eric's mother had once been one of the strongest warriors in the tribe and had contributed a lot during the war. When they were young, they all respected her very much. She had had contact with the Elf race, so perhaps she had overheard it by chance?
He also turned to look at Max. At the tribe's market fairs, they would all trade with the Ox-Head tribe for some storable grains. Glutinous rice and wheat were among them.
But the Snow Wolves hadn't learned the Ox-Head tribe's cooking methods, and eating the grains plain was very difficult to swallow, so many Snow Wolf families had some left over, saved for the winter.
Max nodded and said, "Then come with me later."
After thinking for a moment, he added, "Take as much as you want, no need to be frugal. My family has a lot."
The Snow Wolves really didn't hold grudges and were very easy to talk to. Even though Max disliked him so much, he wasn't stingy towards him at all.
Michael was the same. In the past, the original owner had been hostile towards him because he was the closest to Max, but Michael never held it against him.