Almost home, Eric suddenly came to his senses.
Oh my god, how could I be so stupid? This refined salt was clearly a gift for Max's family, yet he had calmly taken it back. He turned around, intending to stuff the bamboo tube into Max's arms.
"I said it was a surprise for you, so you should still take it back, Max. When Luci gave it to me just now, I was so distracted I didn't react in time," he said in embarrassment.
Max took it, but had no intention of bringing it home: "We'll talk after we get back."
Without the refined salt, you don't need to walk me home anymore, Eric thought to himself.
Today, he had been engrossed in molding clay and had worked a bit late.
Most of the Snow Wolves in the tribe had already finished their meal; only he and Leo were still starving. So, he had Max stay for dinner, which was a perfect opportunity for him to try the sweet rice wine he had made.
Eric ladled a bowl of sweet rice wine for Max, while he himself began to knead dough. Boiling sugar water was poured into glutinous rice flour, and he kneaded it with force until it became a smooth, pliable dough, which he then cut into small balls.
The fermented sweet rice was put into the iron pot, with water and sugar added and brought to a boil. Then, the glutinous rice balls were dropped in one by one. A steaming hot pot of sweet rice ball soup was ready.
Eric served a bowl to both Max and Leo, adding a little thorny beast jam on top. The sweet rice ball soup had a rich flavor, sweeter and more fragrant than the plain rice wine they had just drunk.
Max chewed on the springy glutinous rice ball; it was the first time he had eaten a dish with such a complex flavor profile.
When he first drank the sweet rice wine, Eric had treated it like a soft drink. Only after getting drunk with Leo did he learn that this wine's strong after-kick was no rumor. He was careful not to drink much, only pouring a few more bowls for Max.
But he didn't expect that the sweet soup made with fermented rice could also get him drunk.
Eric felt lightheaded.
Could it be that I added too much fermented rice?
Leo was once again drunk by his brother's hand. As for Eric, he saw two blurry images of Max in front of him and began to talk nonsense:
"In consideration of me cooking delicious food for you all every day, could you exile me somewhere a little closer in the future? Boo hoo hoo... I can't even win a fight against a pig..."
Max burst out laughing. His gaze softened as he gently picked Eric up and placed him on the grass mat, then laid Leo down beside him.
Covering the two little drunks with an animal hide, he saw that tears were actually welling up in the corners of Eric's eyes.
"We won't kick you out, don't be afraid," he whispered comfortingly in Eric's ear, gently wiping away his tear. He couldn't resist pinching the soft cheek again.
He waited until Eric had gradually quieted down and fallen asleep before leaving silently.
Rounding a bend, his excellent night vision allowed him to immediately spot the three figures of Michael, Kevin, and Sam hiding sneakily.
"What are you doing here?" Max asked in a low voice.
Michael gave a few forced laughs: "We're just taking a walk. The sky is beautiful tonight."
The truth was, Sam had smelled the fragrant aroma and wanted to come over for a free meal. Who would have thought that upon reaching the door, they would see only Max and Eric? So, he and Kevin had forcefully held back the drooling Sam and hidden here to watch the show.
Of course, they couldn't tell Max any of this.
With everyone's concerted effort, the brick kiln was finally completed. Eric told Chief Joseph the formula for cement.
He only knew the components were limestone, clay, and iron ore. He couldn't remember the specific ratios, but the Dwarves were professionals; they would figure it out after a few tries.
After hearing the formula, Chief Joseph was eager to have his tribesmen begin experimenting.
Eric thought of the Hobbit houses from the movies, both dreamy and adorable. Perhaps the Dwarves could also build in that style. He saw that although these Dwarves were waiting for materials, they had already begun digging basements.
It seemed they were determined to stay here.
Eric was visibly pleased. The Dwarves were such skilled blacksmiths; with them here, many things he only had a rough understanding of could be brought to fruition. Thinking of building houses, he suddenly remembered their glass with impurities and ran off to find Chief Joseph again.
"Chief, the glass you make, do you use sand or quartz sand?"
Joseph was amazed: "Sometimes I really suspect you're the Dwarf! How do you know our ingredients for making glass?"
"We use quartz sand. It's purer than using regular sand," Luban answered for him.
Clapping his hands together, Eric said happily: "When making glass with quartz sand, if you add a little soda, the glass will come out with a much higher transparency!"
With a "swoosh," both Joseph and Luban grabbed his hands, their two pairs of eyes filled with longing.
"What is soda? Please, you must tell us!"
"Soda can be made from kitchen ash. Mix the ash with water and let it settle. Pour the water on top into a pot and boil it. What's left at the very end is soda," Eric answered.