While they were talking, the pieces of fish Eric had put in the ceramic pot were almost cooked, the fish skin had turned a charred yellow.
He scooped the fish out, arranged it in a stone basin, and then pushed it to Kevin and the others who were waiting impatiently.
Max didn't come with them; it was unknown where he had gone. Eric didn't ask either. Max disliked the original owner, so he probably didn't want to come to his house for a meal.
Michael and the others smelled the overwhelming aroma from the basin, and their last bit of suspicion vanished. They hurriedly stuffed the fish into their mouths, gobbling it down.
Oh my, they never expected fish to be so delicious. For so many years, they had guarded this river without ever thinking of eating the fish in it. What a waste.
While they were engrossed in eating the fried fish, Eric added new fish to the pot to fry, and at the same time, he skewered the large, deveined shrimp with a branch and placed them over the fire to grill.
The number of shrimp he caught in the net wasn't large, only five or six, but each one was over two meters long. He didn't peel the shrimp. Under the heat of the firewood, the large shrimp made "pop pop" sounds, their hard shells slowly roasting to a crisp, locking the fresh, savory juices inside.
The meat of the large fish was devoured by the three Snow Wolf tribe members, leaving only a gigantic fish head.
Eric couldn't bear to throw away a single one of the large fish's bones. He planned to keep the smaller ones to make needles, which would be even better than the bone needles the tribe was currently using. As for the others, he planned to dry them and grind them into fish bone powder. A little could be added during cooking to enhance the sweetness, making it a decent seasoning.
In Eric's eyes, the river's seafood was truly a treasure trove.
The remaining fish head was chopped into small pieces. It could be used to make fish head soup tomorrow. If he had pickled chili, that would be great; he could even make steamed fish head with pickled chili. A fish head this big would surely be very fresh and delicious. Eric's mouth watered just thinking about it.
This time, the magic beast that the three Snow Wolf tribe members had brought wasn't even needed. This was the first time he could treat them to a full meal, Eric thought with pride.
The person who deserved the most thanks was the female beastman, Grass. So, when Flower was about to go home, he wrapped up the cooked large shrimp for her. He figured these Snow Wolf people had never eaten shrimp before, so he peeled the shrimp first, giving the little girl only two large peeled shrimp.
He had originally intended to pack some fried fish for Grass as well, but unfortunately, the fat in the pot was all used up. Towards the end, Michael and the others were eating pan-fried fish. Well then, tomorrow, when the people from the tribe came to learn how to prepare fish, he would bring some to Grass then.
After eating their fill, Michael and the others left the food they had brought and departed, also leaving the large magic beast for him. Thinking that Eric probably couldn't handle it himself, they had thoughtfully skinned, butchered, and cleaned the magic beast before leaving.
They had truly left him a mountain of meat. Eric peeled the remaining large shrimp, gave one large peeled shrimp to Leo to eat, and with exactly three left, he had Leo take them to Luci's house.
The peeled shrimp didn't need much seasoning; adding salt was enough to make it delicious. The large peeled shrimp were fragrant and tasty, the shrimp meat resembling cloves of white garlic curled together. Although Eric and Leo were both very full, they still managed to stuff it into their stomachs.
He placed the remaining fish bones on the fire, slowly roasting them until crisp. He then used a stone to grind all the hard shells of the large shrimp into a fine powder and stored it in a large bamboo tube.
Whether it was shrimp shell powder or fish bone powder, both could enhance sweetness. Whether in soup or stewed vegetables, adding a little could improve the flavor. It was a completely natural and unpolluted seasoning.
The fish bones on the fire slowly turned from white to yellow. Eric broke off a few of the smaller, crisped bones and chewed them in his mouth.
When he was a child, materials weren't as abundant as they are now. If his family cooked fish, they couldn't bear to throw away the fish bones. His grandmother would place the fish bones on the lid of the stove at home, letting them slowly roast.
The whole family would gather around the wood stove, chatting happily, waiting for the fish bones to be cooked. His grandmother would then gently give the fish bones to Eric to eat. They were crispy and crunchy, a rare delicacy in his memory.
This stuff also seemed to be a good source of calcium. He saved some for Leo, and the rest he also ground into powder and stored in another bamboo tube alongside the shrimp shell powder.
Flower brought the large peeled shrimp home for Grass and her mother to eat. She vividly described to them how delicious today's fried fish was, that she had never eaten such tasty fish before.
The shrimp meat was incredibly delicious. But as for Flower's description of how tasty the fried fish was, the two of them were half-believing, half-doubting.
"It's really delicious, sis, mom. Eric also said that tomorrow everyone can come and learn from him how to prepare fish to make it tastier. Mom, you should go too. I want to eat delicious fried fish every day!" Flower whined coaxingly to Jessica and Grass.
Grass disliked Eric. It wasn't just because Eric was always hostile towards her, but also because the former Eric was always idle and good for nothing.
A young beastman as old as him was clearly able to go with the tribe's gathering team to collect food, yet Eric did a shoddy job every day, only knowing how to trail after Max.
Grass hated that kind of person.
But for the past two days, she had indeed rarely seen Eric following Max anymore. Moreover, for the past few days, a fragrant aroma would spread through the tribe at mealtimes, and it was said to all be Eric's doing.
She remembered the heavy rain a few days ago. They had gone out hunting together, and Eric had insisted on following Max, but he couldn't keep up halfway through. It was raining heavily that day, and Max had Kevin take him back to the tribe. It seemed that ever since that heavy rain, Eric was rarely seen by Max's side anymore.
For the past few days, the tantalizing smell of food wafting from within the tribe had made the Snow Wolf people unbearably hungry. Yesterday, Eric caught so many stinky fish, and yet he managed to make a fragrant dish out of them, which made everyone's curiosity itch even more.
Therefore, as soon as they heard that Eric would be teaching them how to prepare fish, they eagerly rushed over. Those who didn't know were told by others, and a large crowd of Snow Wolf people gathered.
In the morning, Eric lightly fried the fish head pieces, then added clean water to cook a large pot of milky-white fish head soup. When the fish head was tender, he cut the remaining tofu that was soaking in clean water into pieces and added them to the soup.
When the aroma spread, he added a handful of chopped wild scallions and coarse salt.
After several days of being nurtured by delicious food, Leo had completely become Eric's loyal fan. The little one sat right next to his brother, holding a large stone bowl, happily slurping the fish head and tofu soup.
The sweet, fresh soup with the smooth, tender tofu slid down his belly. If Leo were in his beast form at this moment, the fur on his tail would probably be standing on end with delight.
Completely opposite to the adult beastmen, when food was plentiful, the young cubs usually maintained their human form to eat. Their beast forms were too small, and they would be full after just a few bites.
Eric thought of the original owner's memory, of how every winter Leo would maintain his beast form like a little kitten to reduce his food intake, and his heart ached again.
To raise Leo to be healthy and strong, he must work hard, so that Leo would dare to eat to his heart's content even in winter.