Thomas’s eyes went wide, his jaw nearly hitting the floor as he stared at the two bamboo tubes, each as large as a small bucket, filled to the brim with sugar and placed before him.
He pointed a trembling finger at Eric’s storage shed, where dozens of identical bamboo tubes lay.
"In... in all those bamboo tubes... it can’t all be sugar, can it?" His voice cracked.
"That’s right," Eric answered calmly, conveniently flipping a nearly-cooked fish skewer and placing it on a wooden board for everyone.
Luban had already been astonished the day he watched Eric make sugar, so he was quite calm now, leisurely feeding a piece of fruit candy to his son. As for the boy, Robin, his eyes sparkled as he looked at Eric with utter adoration.
This Snow Wolf brother is so amazing!
Leo sat beside them, gnawing on a non-spicy grilled fish skewer, thinking proudly to himself, Of course my brother is the most amazing, I was the first to know it!
After finishing his piece of fish, Eric felt a pang of guilt.
Oh no, how am I going to explain this?
This was clearly not a dish the original owner of this body knew how to make. He secretly glanced at Max, only letting out a silent sigh of relief when he saw that Max had no particular reaction.
Thank goodness, this stone-faced guy didn’t notice.
"I made them a few days ago and just left them there and forgot," he scratched his head, saying shyly: "I only remembered today when I was making the fruit candy. Thomas, please take them with you when you leave." He truly hadn’t forgotten on purpose; it was just that Thomas happened to lead everyone out for a few days, and after storing the sugar in the shed, it had completely slipped his mind.
Flower nestled against Grass, happily sucking on her candy, even taking a bite out of Jessica’s half. Jessica just smiled gently, waiting for the little girl to finish before she preciously placed the remaining piece of candy in her own mouth.
"All of this... is for the tribe?" Thomas was once again astounded. Something this valuable, Eric could have easily kept for himself.
"Of course. I can’t eat this much sugar anyway, and besides, everyone has helped me so much," Eric said with a smile.
If he kept all this sugar, he, Leo, and the kids in the tribe would probably get cavities in all their teeth.
This much sugar could be traded for many things for the tribe, especially with the Ox-Head tribe, who were born with a sweet tooth. Thomas laughed heartily, patting Eric’s small head in delight.
At that moment, Kevin suddenly exclaimed: "Hey, what’s this bright red stuff?" He curiously extended his chopsticks toward the basin of glossy, fiery red, and spicy fish heads.
"Don’t!" Eric hurriedly tried to stop him, but it was too late.
Kevin had already picked up a huge piece of fish head and put it in his mouth. His face instantly flushed red, and he choked violently from the spiciness, tears and snot streaming down his face.
Yet, he stubbornly refused to spit out the fatty piece of fish head, craning his neck to swallow it down.
Eric was dumbfounded and quickly handed Kevin a bowl of thorny beast jam water: "You need to taste this dish first. These are chili peppers I found in the spice crate."
The others looked at the basin of fish heads with a mixture of fear and curiosity. Luban’s family, however, had shining eyes as they reached their chopsticks over to try. The familiar spicy flavor blended with the sweetness of the fish amazed them.
"Mom, this is even more delicious than what you make!" Robin exclaimed.
Seeing them eat with such enjoyment, the other Snow Wolves were stirred to action. Luci tried a small piece, and the spiciness that spread through her mouth made her eyes light up.
The others followed suit and tried it. Except for Thomas, who really couldn’t handle it, the rest found it acceptable. Even the two cubs, Flower and Leo, ate it with great relish.
After the meal, as Luban’s family was leaving, he stroked his long beard and said to Eric with hidden meaning: "You’re still just a cub!"
"Huh?" Eric, his head full of question marks, saw them off.
What did he mean by that?
Oh well, if he couldn’t figure it out, he’d just drop it. He helped Max pour the sugar into a wooden barrel, keeping one bamboo tube of each type for himself.
As Max was leaving, he looked directly into Eric’s eyes and said solemnly: "Thank you for what you’ve done for the tribe."
"It’s nothing to thank me for. Everyone is working very hard," Eric said with an embarrassed smile.
Max gave a slight smile, then pulled the wooden barrel and left.
Wow, Max is even more handsome when he smiles!
Eric couldn’t help but praise him silently in his heart. There was no helping it; he was a sucker for a handsome face. As the elders say, the infatuation with handsome men doesn’t end even after reincarnation.
Early the next morning, Eric was already up and checking the temperature of the earthen kiln.
The body of the kiln had cooled. He eagerly broke open the layer of yellow mud, dug through the earth, and took out the bricks and tiles he had fired himself. The fired bricks were a bright red color, sturdy and beautiful.
Excited, he hugged a few red tiles and bricks and ran to find Luban.
He had already thought it through. He would build a house first to show the Snow Wolf tribe the benefits.
Now with the addition of the skillful Dwarves, they would surely understand what he was doing.
It had to be known that bricks were an invention that had been used for thousands of years, enough to prove their superiority over temporary houses made of stone, earth, or wood.