CHAPTER 188: THE SON IS GETTING HARDER TO MANAGE

"This is the first time we’ve been valued so highly by the Ox-Head tribe."

Speaking of this, Thomas’s face showed a look of comical distress:

"Lately, many people from the Ox-Head tribe take turns coming here, staring as if we are some strange beasts. So we don’t want to hang around the tribe anymore; we keep finding excuses to go hunting just to get out of their sight!"

After Eric’s group left, they had stayed here for quite a long time.

If it were before, the Ox-Head tribe would never have provided food for so long. But this time was different; they hadn’t had to worry about shortages for a single day. Bi and the others were always enthusiastic about bringing food and drink.

"We don’t know how to process any vegetables, so we only kept a little to eat raw. We were afraid the rest would spoil if kept too long, so we returned it to them," Thomas said, pointing towards the kitchen.

Since the time Bi and Balu enjoyed Eric’s stir-fried potatoes and peanut milk, they had been obsessed. Not knowing when he would return, besides sending grain, every few days they brought some fresh vegetables over. The way to make peanut milk was too simple; after learning it, they even taught it to people in the tribe. Thanks to that, the reputation of the Snow Wolf tribe spread even further.

In addition, the Snow Wolf tribe lived with the Dwarves. All these things combined made them the center of attention. It would be strange if the Ox-Head tribe wasn’t curious.

Eric breathed a sigh of relief; the heavy stone pressing on his heart for so long was finally lifted:

"It’s great that they are willing to help us! With the Ox-Head tribe’s help, I finally don’t need to worry much anymore."

He stood up and went into the kitchen, and indeed, this place had been enthusiastically filled to the brim by the Ox-Head tribe. Not only were there grains, but also countless fresh vegetables. Eric was surprised to discover pumpkins in there as well.

He hugged a large orange-yellow pumpkin and lifted it to test the weight. Good heavens! The pumpkins back home were already big, but the pumpkin here was nearly as big as an ox cart wheel; it must weigh a hundred kilograms.

No wonder the Ox-Head tribe was so wealthy. Not to mention rice, just potatoes, pumpkins, and corn were all high-yield crops that kept one full. Planting just these things was enough to feed who knows how many people.

Pumpkin was also a familiar vegetable in every kitchen in his hometown; it could be used as a vegetable or a staple food. Eric still remembered the winters of his childhood vividly, having to eat various pumpkin dishes every day: stewed pumpkin, pumpkin porridge, boiled pumpkin... Every family grew a lot because pumpkins could be kept for a long time, so he ate so much his skin turned yellow.

When he was small, he really ate until he was sick of it, but growing up, Eric started to miss the old sweet pumpkins of the past. He particularly liked the type just steamed until cooked, soft and floury; just one bite and the fragrant, rich pumpkin flavor would fill the mouth. He also remembered steamed pumpkin cakes, soft and spongy, sweet and fragrant; he could eat several of them just by themselves.

Thinking of this, Eric hugged the pumpkin tightly as if he had just found a treasure, wishing he could kiss it a few times.

This is too good! Looking at the size of this pumpkin, the seeds inside are certainly not few. Later, I will trade for some more with the Ox-Head tribe to bring back and plant next year, so the tribe members can also taste this delicious flavor.

Thomas followed behind and said:

"Ah, right, the Ox-Head tribe didn’t take the stone grinder away. They looked at the design and made a bigger one themselves, so they left this one for us." He pointed towards the corner of the house, where the stone grinder stood tall.

"Then we don’t need to make another grinder! With this much food, we can use it to grind flour." Eric happily put the pumpkin down and lifted a sack of wheat, feeling overjoyed.

He didn’t know when their Snow Wolf tribe could be as wealthy and generous as this. When that time comes, Eric will build several large granaries, dig a few basements underneath, and fill them with grains and vegetables.

Living in the body of a Snow Wolf person had an unexpected benefit: no rats. Rats only needed to smell the scent of a Snow Wolf to run away and disappear long ago.

"Bi brought this pumpkin." Thomas pointed at the pumpkin on the ground. "He thinks that you can make this dish taste better."

Bi didn’t guess wrong at all this time. Eric indeed knew how to use pumpkin to make many delicious dishes; after all, his childhood was attached to it.

"Then today let’s eat rice mixed with pumpkin!" Eric clapped his hands, deciding happily.

He looked at the kitchen full of food, his heart as happy as a festival. Considering the Snow Wolf people’s appetite, grains in the tribe were never cooked as a main dish; each time, they were more like a side dish. Now having so much was enough for him to show off his skills, without worrying about where the next meal would come from.

The feeling of "freeloading" off the rich was truly great! Eric thought happily.

Thomas standing nearby suddenly remembered something; he slapped his forehead, then reached out to push open the door of another room:

"Almost forgot! The Ox-Head tribe brought a lot of soybeans, just waiting for you to come make tofu."

The heavy wooden door creaked open, and an astonishing scene struck Eric’s eyes. A whole room filled with bulging sacks, stacked closely on top of each other, reaching almost to the ceiling.

The wooden houses of the Ox-Head tribe were already built higher than those of the Snow Wolf people, so one could imagine how large this amount of beans was.

"Good heavens!" Eric was so surprised that his mouth dropped open without him realizing it.

He stood rooted to the spot, completely petrified before this mountain of soybeans: "Even for a professional tofu factory, they might not use up this amount of beans in a whole year!"

The Ox-Head tribe was truly too generous!

To learn how to make tofu, they sent so many beans; this place must have at least a few tons, enough to make three or five times more tofu. It seemed they wouldn’t lack tofu to eat in the coming days, but the upcoming workload was foreseeably not small.

Eric looked at the mountain of beans with emotion, turning his head to speak to Max:

"This amount of beans is too much; let’s use the earthenware jars intended for trading to soak the beans first. I see our pottery is still there; let’s use them as containers for now, otherwise we won’t have enough tools."

As soon as he finished speaking, Max nodded without saying a word, turning around to carry the waist-high jars in. Luckily, the Ox-Head tribe wasn’t fussy about new or old items, so Eric could utilize them. Otherwise, with this amount of beans, having to use vessels for soaking and holding soy milk, running out of tools would leave them helpless.

Seeing Eric fall into deep thought, self-consciously making plans, Thomas nodded with a satisfied smile. Indeed, he didn’t misjudge; the kid Eric already had the consciousness of a patriarch. It was just... seeing the way his own son obeyed the little patriarch blindly, he felt both satisfied and... slightly annoyed.

The Ox-Head tribe’s way of getting water was quite simple. Every day a team would go to the lake to get fresh water; families who needed it would go to the central area to get it. Their fields had irrigation canals, but in winter they were all frozen, so they directly took ice or snow to use.

No wonder when Eric dug the well and the water gushed up, the tribe members were amazed as if seeing a miracle.

Max had carried the jars inside. Thomas coughed softly and ordered:

"Go get some ice, melt it to soak the beans."

"No need for ice." Max glanced at him and replied indifferently.

Thomas was bewildered, his head full of question marks as he watched Max calmly go in to help Eric unload the beans from above.

He secretly sighed in his heart; the son has grown up and is indeed getting harder to manage. But thinking back, he had never been obedient from the start.