Anna and Phong had been busy helping in the canteen recently, so they hadn’t had time to visit the farm.
Because there were no adult beastmen to supervise, the warriors couldn’t conveniently bring large magical beasts back to raise, as a single slip-up could destroy the entire farm.
Adult magical beasts had very strong destructive power, while cubs were too rare. Eric regretted deeply not bringing back the litter of spine piglet they found that year for the tribe to raise.
But at that time, the tribe was too poor, and winter was approaching. There wasn’t even enough food for the tribesmen, let alone a spine pig that could grow to the size of a truck; the amount of food they consumed in the process was immeasurable.
There were too few people in the tribe who knew how to cook. Now that Anna and Phong were both working in the canteen, Eric had to find someone else to manage the farm.
Currently, the farm only raised wild chickens, mallards, and white rabbits - animals that small beastmen could also care for. Recently, their numbers had increased significantly.
Without a dedicated manager, management could only rely on warriors passing by to clean up and feed them on the way, which inadvertently added a lot of burden to them.
Before, when the numbers were small, it wasn’t a problem for someone to feed and clean a bit in passing. But over time, in addition to animals being continuously caught, the first batch of animals had begun to reproduce, causing the numbers to multiply several times.
After some consideration, Eric decided to find about a dozen small beastmen to work at the farm for now. Wait until the warriors caught larger prey, then he would transfer a few people from the Horned Goat tribe to assist.
Work on the farm, apart from the most important task of feeding the livestock, involved cleaning the pens every few days. Livestock manure also had to be collected separately for composting. These tasks were not light but not too strenuous either, very suitable for small beastmen and the Horned Goat people.
The Horned Goat people had joined the Hadu tribe for some time. In terms of hunting, they couldn’t help much.
Eric realized that the Horned Goat people still had a sense of insecurity in their hearts, which was why they worked so desperately when clearing wasteland. Their figures also always appeared in other tasks of the tribe.
The combat power of herbivorous beastmen was not equal to the Snow Wolf tribe, and their meticulous dexterity was not equal to the newly arrived small beastmen, so farm work was very suitable for them.
It was only a matter of time before the farm would have large animals, and the Horned Goat people could definitely handle it.
After calculating in his head and skimming through the personalities of each Horned Goat person, he quickly found suitable candidates, only waiting for the warriors to bring back prey.
When humans are busy, time passes very quickly. In the blink of an eye, spring was almost over.
In his previous life, Eric liked spring the most, especially the times he occasionally went on business trips to the South by train. The scenery of early spring peach blossoms and apricot blossoms blooming along the railway was truly dreamlike.
Of course, spring was also the season when all things grew, and many types of wild vegetables also sprouted, such as shepherd’s purse. If not picked, one would miss the best season to eat them.
It just so happened that he had free time in the next day or two, because in a few days, they would have to start planting potatoes, followed by sowing seeds.
While spring hadn’t passed yet, he could organize a picnic and pick some wild vegetables to change the tribesmen’s taste. He was sure the Rabbit tribe and Horned Goat tribe would love it.
Thinking of this, Eric eagerly went to the brick kiln to find Leo and A Mat, telling them he would take them on a picnic and pick wild vegetables to eat along the way.
The two children naturally didn’t understand what a "picnic" was, but hearing about picking wild vegetables, Honey still had a cute bewildered look, while Leo understood. The boy hurriedly washed his and A Mat’s hands and prepared to go with Eric.
When the other children saw this, they naturally wouldn’t agree. Flower and Tullte decisively threw themselves into Eric’s arms to act spoiled, and as a result, he had to lead a small tail behind him.
On the open ground used for making adobe bricks, many adult beastmen and Dwarves were also taking the time to work.
Everyone laughed heartily seeing their little patriarch, who occasionally was as playful as a child, leading a group of kids away.
Among them were idle Tiger tribe warriors, saying they were here to help but actually just flinging mud everywhere.
"Why did you guys choose a child like that as the patriarch?" A Tiger person didn’t understand, asking while wiping a smudge of mud from his face. This little patriarch, once integrated into the group of children, revealed his childishness clearly.
Beastmen were straightforward; they asked straight out about such things. The Dwarves present were silent, but their expressions clearly showed disagreement.
Beside this Tiger person was a Snow Wolf person. He didn’t see it as a big deal and answered loudly:
"Don’t look at Eric being young; he is the smartest person in our tribe. Last winter, none of us went hungry, and we even have a canteen. The food there was all taught by Eric; other places don’t have it."
Mentioning this, the Tiger people all perked up: "Are these dishes all thought up by your little patriarch? They are more delicious than food made by humans!"
"I used to think the food of the kingdom was delicious enough; I didn’t expect the food here to be even better!"
"I once followed Sunflower to eat with a human baron; the food of the nobility didn’t have the good taste of this place."
After all, the Tiger people came from the Golden Kingdom, so they were more knowledgeable. They began to compare the flavors of the dishes.
The Snow Wolf people and Horned Goat people were brothers who had gone through adversity together. Before, their way of eating was no different from primitive people; they only knew the food in the canteen was delicious but didn’t know how human food was.
Anyway, in their eyes, no place had food as delicious as their home.
In this regard, the Dwarves had more right to speak. They had lived in human society for hundreds of years. When they had high status, what delicacies hadn’t they tried?
"We haven’t not eaten meals cooked by good human chefs. But in my opinion, Eric’s and the canteen’s food is better. Let’s not talk about the flavor of what others make; basically, I couldn’t get full." A bearded Dwarf pouted, looking disdainful.
The female Dwarf sitting next to him laughed and said: "Human food looks beautiful, true. The plate is so big but they only put a tiny bit on it. Finished before even tasting the flavor. Some chefs even deliberately let the meat rot before processing, saying it’s to remove the gamey smell. Ew, it really made it hard for me to swallow."
Hearing about eating rotten meat, the Snow Wolf people who used to have to gnaw on dried meat through harsh winters frowned deeply, and even the Tiger people were no exception. The kingdom hadn’t been established for long; the Tiger warriors here had all experienced life like the Snow Wolf people, and long-stored dried meat had become their nightmare.
Yet even that kind of food was hard to come by in winter.
Beastmen ate rotten meat out of necessity; it was better than starving to death. But why did humans with enough food go eat rotten meat? Could the smell of rot be more fragrant than the gamey smell?