While busy with planting, Bruno led a construction team consisting of Dwarves, Snow Wolves, and Horned Goat people to build a factory.
These past few days, they were building additional dormitories in the dairy cattle area of the breeding farm. Besides small dormitories for couples, there was also a warehouse used for fermenting milk.
Although it bore the name of a factory for dairy products, in reality, it was just a warehouse with a pile of pots and pans, not orderly at all.
The human slaves working here were very enthusiastic. No place had ever treated them so well, and they were even willing to teach them how to make chewy yogurt.
They were also given a share of the chewy yogurt produced; there truly wasn’t a better day than this.
But Eric brought them even better news.
"Those who work well, after completing three years, can receive a reward."
Eric stood in front of the large crowd of slaves:
"At that time, you can choose to return to the human world to be commoners. I will ask President Corbin to take you back and abolish your slave status."
Hearing these words, the astonishment in the slaves’ hearts rose like a tidal wave. They couldn’t help but let out cries of surprise; some were even so excited that they burst into tears on the spot.
Gas became a slave midway through life, so at least he had memories of being a "person," but the majority of slaves were born slaves. They had never thought of becoming normal people in their entire lives. This reward was truly too unbelievable for them.
Eric continued: "There is also another choice. You can bring your other relatives from the human world to live here together, and they will also no longer have slave status."
This was an idea he had tossed and turned over for several nights to think up.
He couldn’t and didn’t want to accept the slavery system. Within his ability, he wanted to give these poor slaves a chance to choose a free life.
Whether returning to the human world to be a normal person or bringing relatives back here to live, abolishing slave status required paying gold coins, which Eric considered as paying remuneration for their upcoming three years.
At the same time, this was also an incentive measure. Like a carrot hanging in front of a donkey, these humans would definitely work hard for it.
The cotton-planting slaves were the same. Wait until they had worked for three years; whether they left or stayed, beastmen could take over their work.
Gas had no relatives. Over twenty years ago, his parents were killed by a noble passing through on a hunt, and because he was young and strong, he was captured as a slave.
No longer a slave...
Just thinking about it, Gas breathed rapidly. His whole body felt like it was submerged in a sweet fruit coated with thorn-beast honey; a dizzying, sweet sensation washed over him.
All the slaves were like they were dreaming, not daring to say a word. The excitement and joy on their faces couldn’t be hidden as they looked expectantly toward Eric.
This young beastman chief, who looked so gentle, actually said that as long as they worked well, he would give them freedom in three years. Wasn’t this the most beautiful dream that could only appear in sleep?
Among them, more than half of the slaves had never lived a normal life. They thought they had long become callous, but when hope truly arrived, they discovered that it turned out their hearts could still beat, that they were still living humans with hope.
Couples with partners were the most excited.
They were called husband and wife, but slaves didn’t have the qualification to marry; it was more like living together to scrape by.
But now it was different. They had the hope of becoming normal people. Most importantly, this way, their future generations wouldn’t have to continue being slaves.
Destiny, at this moment, had finally bestowed upon them a massive gift.
After announcing this news, Eric let these people digest it themselves. He took the finished chewy yogurt and left.
...
Old Jack had taught many types of desserts. within a short time, Eric couldn’t remember all the recipes. Fortunately, there was the parchment scroll recording the process in detail.
He didn’t remember the formulas clearly, but Eric had practiced the key points of making desserts over and over again many times.
Old Jack had said that as long as one mastered these important details, any dessert could be made.
He had tried making them a few times in his own courtyard, successfully recreating the simplest soft sponge cake, butter cookies, and brownies with added nuts.
Eric was overjoyed. Before, he had fumbled along with online guides, and he couldn’t even make the simplest cupcake - it either cracked on top or collapsed at the waist, making him lose all confidence.
Having a good teacher truly made a difference. With the same ingredients, this time he made a finished product alone that could be called perfect.
The fresh cream Evan left behind previously had been eaten by Eric, but the tribe now had milk they couldn’t finish drinking every day, perfect for making butter and fresh cream.
Pure fresh milk was put into a pot and heated over low fire. Waiting until tiny bubbles began to float on the milk’s surface, he added a moderate amount of refined salt, then used the egg beater to stir rapidly and continuously to separate the fat.
Before long, the milk first turned into a paste, then separated into whey. The part floating on top was the butter.
Eric carefully scooped the butter into a basin with a spoon.
Making fresh cream was even simpler. He directly used the fatty whey, also stirring rapidly with the egg beater to thicken the whey. After getting the semi-finished product, he used magic to create a pile of ice cubes, placing the cream bowl in it to chill.
While waiting, Eric made a few large sponge cake bases first.
Without an oven, the fire in the earthen stove was very hard to control.
Old Jack had reached a level of mastery over fire; he knew when to take the cake out with his eyes closed. Eric, on the other hand, had to rely entirely on Fire magic to avoid burning the cake.
It had to be said, magic was truly a perfect cheat tool in every aspect. If he didn’t know Fire magic, just the step of controlling the fire would have taken a year of practice.
When he taught Old Jack how to make steamed buns and other main dishes, the man reciprocated by teaching him a few ways to make bread.
The difficulty of making bread by hand was no less than beating egg whites; both were exhausting tasks.
Luckily, Eric was now physically strong. Otherwise, after finishing a batch of bread, it would be strange if his arms didn’t break from fatigue.
There was no high-sugar tolerant yeast here. Eric let the dough proof first before adding sugar, kneading it evenly, then adding butter. Next came the process of kneading and slamming the dough vigorously.
Only when the dough was kneaded until the surface was very smooth and could be pulled into a thin film like a glove was the kneading considered finished.
Old Jack also gave him many types of nuts used for baking. Eric crushed hazelnuts and walnuts, kneaded them into the dough, placed them on an iron tray, and put them into the oven.
The bread molds he asked Uncle Luban to make weren’t done yet. After all, they were for the canteen family; it didn’t matter if the shape was a bit ugly.
If only one or two molds were needed, Luban would have finished long ago.
Considering that the canteen would also have desserts in the future, Eric had asked Uncle Luban to make a few more (Luban roared: It was a few hundred!).
By the time the bread was also finished baking, the fresh cream had mostly chilled. Eric whipped the fresh cream with the egg beater until it almost stiffened, then piped it onto the cake base and the bread which had been cut in half.
Now there were several types of edible fruits in the forest. Although the taste wasn’t very sweet, they looked very beautiful, perfect for cutting up and placing on the fresh cream for decoration.