By the time Balu and Kiet arrived, Eric had just finished burning all the collected magic beast bones into ash.
The two carried large and small bags, looking weather-beaten and tired as they hurriedly sought out the Hadu tribe.
As soon as they stepped into the tribe’s territory, the two saw a group of Snow Wolves and Horned Goat people straining to pull giant plows forward.
"Balu, am I seeing things? Isn’t that the Horned Goat tribe over there?" Kiet rubbed his eyes doubtfully and asked Balu.
A huge question mark appeared on Balu’s reddish-brown ox head: "Did we get lost? But aren’t there Snow Wolves over there?"
The two tall Ox-Head tribesmen carrying bags stood dumbfounded on the spot. After looking at each other, they both harbored doubts, not understanding what the scene before them was all about.
"Balu! Kiet!"
Thomas was leading the plowing at the very front. The superior eyesight of the Snow Wolf tribe allowed him to see the two Ox-Head men immediately. He shook his head, bent down to break free from the farming tool, and shouted loudly while running towards them like the wind.
"Look quickly, it’s Thomas!" Balu nudged Kiet’s bulging bicep.
Kiet swung his arm in response, laughing loudly:
"Thomas, you guys have already started plowing? Balu and I were afraid of arriving late and delaying your work. I didn’t expect you to be so quick and nimble. You look quite professional; this field is really impressive!"
The Ox-Head men were not close to the edge of the clearing area, but with Thomas’s speed, he arrived in front of the two in a few steps.
Hearing Kiet’s praise, Thomas puffed out his chest proudly:
"My young Eric checked it over and over again several times. Only after confirming there wasn’t a single stone or root blocking the way did he let it pass. He also made us plow the uneven spots until they were flat."
The effort of more than a month was not in vain. The tribesmen of the entire tribe were so tired every day that they just wanted to stick their tongues out to breathe, but the plowed fields were square and straight, looking extremely pleasing to the eye.
Seeing Thomas, Balu finally confirmed they hadn’t gone to the wrong tribe. His ox eyes, big as copper bells, widened as he asked in surprise: "Why are there Horned Goat people here? Just now I thought I went to the wrong place."
"It’s like this..." Thomas knew the complex population in his tribe would make people curious. He had prepared an explanation long ago and recounted the story to the two Ox-Head men.
"So that’s how it is." Kiet said sympathetically, "But their staying also helps you with the farm work. Farming is very hard; you are clearing so much land, a few people won’t be enough. There will be a lot of busy work later on."
Balu stood on the ridge looking into the distance, agreeing:
"Farm work is so busy that even our Ox-Head tribe gets exhausted. Plowing, fertilizing, sowing - none of these tasks are light. Especially during harvest season, we are busy until our eyes blur."
Thomas looked at the plowing tribesmen with lingering fear. Just clearing the land now made people exhausted; he didn’t expect there would be so much work later.
"Right, did you apply base fertilizer when clearing the land? That way you save the trouble of turning the soil to fertilize again." Kiet suddenly thought of this and asked hurriedly.
Regarding farming, Thomas could be said to be clueless. He scratched his head in confusion:
"Young Eric arranged for us to bury rabbit, chicken, and duck manure in the ground. I don’t know if that’s the base fertilizer you’re talking about. The manure was too little, not enough for so much land, so Eric is burning magic beast bones, saying that burnt to ash, they can also replace fertilizer."
Balu grinned broadly: "Your little patriarch really knows a lot. Our Ox-Head tribe uses our own manure for composting; the Snow Wolf tribe doesn’t seem to have a centralized composting area yet. You’ll have to collect manure for fertilizer later. As for bone ash, I haven’t heard that it can be used as fertilizer."
"It probably really works. Since the little patriarch is so smart, we’ll stay here to see the effect. If bone ash works, we’ll go back and tell Chief Tu to find people to burn magic beast bones too." Kiet touched his curved horn and said simply.
Thomas didn’t expect the Ox-Head tribe to trust Eric so much. His judgment was truly not bad; look at the patriarch he chose, trusted by both beastmen and Dwarves. The more he thought about it, the happier he became, his smile so radiant that his wrinkles smoothed out.
It was exactly noon, and the scorching sun made the mouths of those working dry. Eric had already gone home early to carry a pot and mung beans over. In an open space, he set up a stove, threw a large fireball underneath, filled the pot with water, and added mung beans and sugar to simmer slowly.
By the time Sam and Kevin returned from the cafeteria, carrying several Dwarves and the cooked rice on their backs, the mung bean soup was stewed soft, just right for dessert after the meal.
Food brought to the fields just needed to fill the stomach; whatever was convenient worked. Today, a group of Dwarves joined forces to make large buns filled with meat and cabbage, each one as big as a Snow Wolf person’s fist.
The buns were wrapped in clean hemp cloth and could be carried away. The Dwarves also used large earthenware jars, the size of water vats, to stew dried meat and potato soup. If the dried meat in the cave wasn’t eaten, it would spoil; these days, the tribesmen’s meals were basically made from dried meat.
Although dried meat had a slightly strong smell, the Dwarves put in a lot of spices to mask it. They also learned Eric’s method: blanching the dried meat in water first, then slicing it and stir-frying it briefly in oil before stewing. The potatoes were also stewed until soft, and the taste was really not bad.
The Snow Wolf people had only lived in plenty this year; in previous years, they usually ate these smelly pieces of dried meat straight. This dish only had a slight gamey smell remaining, so naturally, they wouldn’t complain.
Just as the vegetarian branch of the Ox-Head tribe in the Red Grass tribe would eat the meat dishes of the omnivorous branch, the Horned Goat tribe, having lived with the Snow Wolf tribe for a while, occasionally ate some meat. After all, they weren’t truly just goats.
Moreover, the food of the Hadu tribe was cooked very deliciously; almost no beastmen could resist the temptation of the cuisine.
Recently, with the land clearing, everyone was exhausted, almost falling apart every day. Meat could replenish energy better. Added to these factors, the Horned Goat people now ate together, and the Dwarves gradually stopped separating vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes.
Eric chose a place to cook the sweet soup and eat behind the tribesmen, a distance away from where the land was being plowed, otherwise, dust would easily blow in.
Iris nimbly took down the wooden planks from Sam’s back to use as temporary dining tables. Kevin unloaded the buns from his own body, then transferred the earthenware jars filled with food down from Sam’s body.
The homemade earthenware jars of the Hadu tribe were nearly the size of human water vats, very heavy when filled with food. It was strenuous for Dwarves to carry them, so Kevin did this job.
Only after everything was unloaded did Sam shake his fur, hot from having the earthenware jars pressed against his back. At this moment, he transformed into human form, fastening his belt while grumbling:
"Kevin, you lazy guy, why did you make me carry the food while you carried the buns? The food is heavy and spills easily, while the buns are light as a feather. Why are you as cunning as those merchants?"
"Heh heh, who told you to be slow." Kevin bared his teeth at him smugly.