"Ha ha ha!" Sam laughed heartily.
"Sam, can you control your strength a little..." Eric spat out two mouthfuls of dirt and said helplessly.
"Let me," Max, who had been observing quietly for a while, said as he took the basket from Sam’s hands.
He used the basket to scoop up a small amount of dirt himself, controlling his strength as he tried shaking it up and down. He only tossed it slightly high, ensuring it didn’t fly out. After a couple more shakes, he had figured out how much force to use, sifting out the stones and hard clumps from the pile of dirt and pouring them to one side.
Worthy of a top protagonist, his mind is truly sharp, Eric thought to himself. He was one of the few Snow Wolves who was good at using his brain.
It was also Eric’s first time firing bricks, so he didn’t know how many adobe bricks the wood-fired kiln he built could hold. He decided to just make a bunch first.
He gathered the sifted dirt together, dug a hole in the middle, and poured river water into it. Eric gradually mixed the outer dirt into the center until the entire pile was filled. Keeping the whole mound moist without excess water was the first step in aging the soil.
Next came the time to stomp the mud. He had made a bit too much mud. Stomping with one foot made it hard to apply force, but if he put his whole body on it, the aged soil was sticky and not easy to stomp.
As he was hesitating, a voice came from beside his ear, "What do you want to do next? I’ll help you."
Eric was startled. It turned out to be Max, who had appeared behind him at some point.
"I want to stomp this pile of mud until it’s like the dough from yesterday," Eric replied.
Max lifted his long, strong legs and began stomping the wet mud for him.
When it was almost done, Eric told him to stop, looking with satisfaction at the mound of mud before him.
He lifted the large mass of mud over his head and then slammed it back onto the ground, repeating this several times. Sam, watching this, couldn’t help but say, "This looks fun, let me try!"
He also lifted the mud ball over his head. Just as he was about to slam it down, Eric hurriedly stopped him. A Snow Wolf in beast form stood nearly ten meters tall; he didn’t want it smashed to pieces, forcing him to pick them up from all over the place.
"Lower, lower, just half as high!" he shouted.
Sam obediently lowered the height and threw the mud ball in his hands down. He repeated the motion a few more times.
With that kind of force, the mud was probably as well-worked as any produced by modern industry.
Satisfied, Eric used the mold to form these mud masses into individual adobe bricks, placing them a distance away from the river so they wouldn’t be too damp to dry.
In the eyes of the little beasts, this activity was even more interesting than stomping and slamming the mud earlier. They clamored to help.
After handing the mold over to these little beasts, Eric showed them how to make neat-looking adobe bricks. After that, the group of kids happily became his unpaid laborers.
Eric himself began to research making clay tile blanks. He only remembered two methods. One was to use specialized wood to make a tile mold, which seemed to be adjustable, but this method was too difficult for him.
The other way was to wrap mud around a round barrel to form a hollow cylindrical mold, leaving a slit on both sides. After it was fired and dried, it could be split into two tiles.
He found a suitably sized rock and ground it into a cylinder. He first rolled the mud into a thin sheet, wrapped it around the rock, and used a wooden plank to cut it to size and leave the gaps. Then he removed the rock, and a mold was complete.
This work required patience and care. The clumsy Sam fumbled with it for a while, realized he really couldn’t do this kind of work, and gave up.
Max watched and learned for a bit, and also helped make quite a few tile blanks.
It was best for these adobe bricks and clay tile blanks to be dried in the shade. Direct sun exposure would make them brittle when fired.
After the little beasts finished making the adobe bricks, Eric used straw to cover all the earthen blanks.
I hope it doesn’t rain in the next few days, or all this effort will be for nothing, Eric prayed silently.
After finishing everything, the Snow Wolf group was covered in mud. Leo, the most mischievous, was caked in mud from head to toe. They had to go down to the river to wash themselves clean before heading back.
On the way home, Eric also discovered some wild onions. He delightedly dug up a large handful and found some other wild vegetables to bring home.
The two carnivores standing by and watching couldn’t understand why Eric loved eating grass so much.
During their busy time, the tofu had also finished pressing.
Eric lifted the large stones off the baskets, removed the cloths, and revealed the tender white tofu.
They had made a very large amount this time. Eric kept a portion for himself and Leo, and gave the rest to Max and Sam, putting them in charge of distribution.
Especially since Sam had collected beans from many families yesterday, now that the tofu was ready, it was a perfect opportunity to let those Snow Wolves who had contributed beans have a taste, to show that he really wasn’t deceiving them.
Max took one basket, leaving the rest for Sam to carry and distribute.
This morning, Eric and Leo had already drunk soybean milk and eaten delicious tofu pudding, so they weren’t hungry now. He suddenly remembered that he had forgotten to share some of the fruit jam he made yesterday with the two of them, so he took Leo and chased after them.
Adult beastmen were incredibly fast. Even though the two were carrying tofu, by the time they ran outside, there was no sign of them. They had no choice but to go directly to their homes.
Luci and Thomas were both not at home. Max set the tofu down, turned his head, and saw Leo walk in carrying a bowl filled with something red.
Leo timidly handed the stone bowl to him and said in a small voice, "This is the fruit jam my brother made. My brother said to let Aunt Luci and Uncle Thomas have a taste. It’s very sweet, and it’s delicious mixed with water."
A sweet fragrance wafted into his nose. Max took it and lowered his head, saying, "Thank your brother for me."
He had wanted to ask something more, but in the end, he didn’t say it, watching as Leo skipped away.
Eric and Leo split up. Eric happened to meet Ms. Jessica, who was resting, and asked her for Sam’s location. The kind Ms. Jessica pointed him in a direction.
Sam was showing off his tofu to the Snow Wolf warriors he knew, conveniently giving them a few pieces. He was implying that this was made from the beans collected at his house.
He had been showing off like this the entire way, sharing and boasting. Eric caught up with him and handed him the fruit jam.
"Here you go, Sam. This is fruit jam I made myself. It has sweet thorn beast honey mixed in. You can mix it with water to drink or eat it directly. There’s also a portion here for Michael and Kevin. Could you help me give it to them?" Eric said.
Sam placed the stone bowls on the basket in his hands and took an intoxicating sniff of the sweet aroma in the air. He said with emotion:
"It smells so good. When Kevin and the others get back from their hunt, I’ll share these two bowls with them."