CHAPTER 176: THE DUCK FEATHER SHUTTLECOCK

"Great, great! Brother, let’s raise the big bird!"

The cubs at Eric’s feet cheered excitedly, wagging their tails in joy.

Land-dwelling creatures always had an indescribable admiration for winged species, so as soon as they heard Eric express his intention to raise a Jin bird, the kids were as happy as if it were a festival.

"It’s okay if you want to raise rabbits too! I’ll go find food for it!" Leo, as always, was the first to raise all four paws in support of his brother’s every decision.

Eric bent down, planted a light kiss on Leo’s soft, furry forehead, and said with a smile:

"I’m also planning to raise gray wild ducks. But never mind, let’s wait until next year to think about it. By then, we can use the husks from various grains for livestock feed, which is less wasteful."

That’s right, he calculated inwardly, wheat bran could feed chickens and ducks, and the soybean pulp left after making tofu was for the pigs. Livestock fed with these things would be guaranteed to grow fat and plump in no time.

"But how do you plan to raise them?" Sam scratched his head, his face full of puzzlement:

"When the rabbit’s leg heals, won’t it just run away?"

Eric fell into thought.

Rabbits in this world were so large and needed ample space to run and jump, so using iron cages was optimal. But he didn’t just want to raise one. With the dizzying reproductive speed of rabbits, once they had a safe environment, the cage would have to be made extremely large to be sufficient.

Cement and iron could indeed build a sturdy enclosure, almost like the pig farms in his old world. But... in a place where everything was completely handmade, the amount of iron needed was truly not small.

The Dwarves were already swamped with all kinds of work; there were only so many of them in total. Even if Eric were the reincarnation of the evil landlord Mr. Bá Kiến, he wouldn’t have the heart to exploit their labor like cattle.

His gaze inadvertently swept across the corner of the yard, stopping on the pile of magic beast bones heaped up like a small hill. A sudden idea flashed through Eric’s mind. High-level magic beasts here were treasures from head to toe; even these leftover bones were incredibly hard!

The human merchant caravans came to exchange for some every year, but their demand was limited. What they needed more were pelts, magic cores, and special bones rich in magic power, like horns.

Therefore, every year the tribe had to clear out a large amount of bones, most of which ended up as food for other magic beasts.

What if he used these magic beast bones, which were as hard as iron, to make a cage? The more Eric thought, the more reasonable it seemed. It was both environmentally friendly and sturdy beyond compare!

Furthermore, the bones still carried the residual aura of high-level magic beasts; how would these white rabbits, not even low-level magic beasts, dare to escape?

"Slap!"

He clapped his hands hard.

This idea was truly tailor-made for the Snow Wolf tribe’s situation! They might be lacking other things, but they had magic beast bones in abundance!

"When its leg is fully healed, we’ll fence off a separate area to raise them." Eric smiled brightly, sharing his plan:

"We’ll just use the available magic beast bones to make a really big cage. In the future, even if we raise a whole flock, we won’t worry about space."

Leo’s eyes lit up, looking at his brother with boundless adoration:

"You’re amazing! Does that mean we’ll have endless rabbits to eat in the future?"

Hearing this, the cubs, who already loved rabbit meat, jumped for joy.

"Awesome! We’re going to have so, so many rabbits to eat!"

"Let’s go look for more rabbits at the trap tomorrow!"

"Right, and we have to find more duck eggs! Sam said duck eggs can be made into many delicious things. We’ll bring the eggs back, and he’ll make us yummy food again!"

The little furballs chattered excitedly on the ground, making Eric’s head spin.

"Hey, everyone, listen up." Eric said sternly:

"From now on, if you want to go to the trap, you must have Sam with you. Anyone who dares to run off on their own, don’t even think about getting any rabbit meat in the future!"

He was really worried this group of kids, who feared neither heaven nor earth, would sneak off to that area to play. The traps they dug themselves were already dangerous, not to mention Sam’s super-deep pit right next to them. If they accidentally fell in, it would be no joke. Not to mention, the riverbank and the edge of the forest always carried the potential risk of magic beasts appearing.

And this thick-browed, big-eyed Sam, Eric glanced sideways at the man, secretly resentful. How dare he entice: "hiring" child labor!

Sam was completely unaware that he had just been silently "despised" by someone; he still carefree sat down and began the task of plucking the wild ducks. He still remembered vividly the fragrant wild chicken dish Eric had made; he was certain this duck would also become a delicious delicacy.

Especially the chicken feet last time. Before, he had never bothered to look at that scrawny part. But Eric’s braised chicken feet and soy-sauce-soaked chicken feet were so delicious that he had gnawed them clean, unwilling to spit out even the smallest bone.

While plucking the duck, Sam held up the duck foot, inspecting it and nodding in satisfaction. Wow, this foot is bigger than a chicken’s, it’ll definitely be even more satisfying to eat!

"Sam, please be a bit more careful with the plucking." Eric spoke up:

"I want to keep the fine down feathers inside."

He was afraid Sam’s rough movements would tangle the feathers, which would be a hassle to separate later.

With that, he hurried into the house to get a clean basin, signaling for Sam to put the down feathers in it separately.

Although he didn’t understand what the kid wanted this stuff for, Sam was already used to Eric turning seemingly useless things into something useful. He quietly squatted down, meticulously plucking the soft down feathers into the basin.

While Sam was busy, the cubs started running wildly in the yard again. They occasionally tiptoed near the injured rabbit, sticking out a paw to "tease" it.

The poor rabbit trembled in the corner, so scared that it defecated a pile of small black pellets.

Eric couldn’t watch anymore. Partly out of pity for the rabbit, but the key point was that he had just seen a mischievous kid about to aim his paw toward... that pile of black droppings.

"Hey, don’t play with that! It’s dirty!" he yelled, stopping the unhygienic behavior:

"Everyone, come here, quick! I’ll make a toy for you!"

Hearing there was a new toy, the little snow wolves, led by Leo and Flower, immediately ran over obediently, sitting in a circle around Eric, all looking up at him with sparkling, expectant eyes.

Eric’s eyes scanned the yard, searching for materials. His gaze landed on the basin of soft duck feathers. Got it!

Telling the group to sit still, he ran into the house and brought out a giant seashell. This was a "trophy" from his last trip to the sea, which he had kept because its outer shell had an incredibly beautiful iridescent color. Along with it were a few pretty seashells for decoration.

The seashell was almost as big as a basin, and its flat body was just right for crafting a toy.

Eric didn’t plan to make anything complicated, just a shuttlecock, a familiar toy from his childhood. The seashell was quite hard; he had to use his claws to carefully grind it for a long time to cut out a small round piece. He patiently sanded the edges smooth, then made two more identical pieces.

Without a rubber base, Eric used leftover tree sap from before, molding it into a flat, round base.

Waiting for the sap to dry, he skillfully drilled small holes in both the sap base and the shell pieces.

Finally, he selected the most beautiful duck feathers, stuck them through the holes, and secured them with tree sap.

And so, an otherworldly version of a feather shuttlecock was born.

What a pity, he thought to himself. If only he had thought of it sooner, using the colorful feathers of the wild chickens would have been even more beautiful.

But the cubs didn’t mind at all. They eagerly gathered around Eric’s legs, their round eyes glued to the strange toy in his hand.

Eric smiled, stood up, then tossed the shuttlecock up, clumsily trying to kick it a few times as a demonstration.

At first, his movements were still a bit stiff and slow. But after just a few kicks, they became surprisingly fluid and skillful. The muscle memory from his childhood days of tirelessly kicking the shuttlecock had returned.

A simultaneous burst of amazed and admiring sounds erupted. The cubs watched his skillful kicks with worshipful eyes.

Every single one of them raised their furry paws high, eager to give it a try.