Eric washed the ceramic jar, used a clean piece of hemp cloth to filter out the soybean pulp, and then poured the filtered soy milk into the ceramic jar to cook.
As the temperature rose, the aroma of the soy milk quickly spread. At first, it had a slightly grassy scent, but the longer it cooked, the richer the fragrance became. The thick, white soy milk gently simmered in the ceramic jar, making Leo stare without blinking.
Every winter, he had to chew on dry beans; he never thought that beans could be eaten this way.
Eric skimmed the foam as he cooked, stirring occasionally to prevent it from burning at the bottom. When it was almost done, he added a little more water to lower the temperature.
He brought out a bowl of brine and, while slowly pouring it into the ceramic jar, gently stirred with a spoon. Soon, he saw the soy milk gradually curdle into fluffy clumps...
"This right now is tofu pudding," Eric proudly declared. This was also the first time he had made tofu pudding himself, and it was quite successful.
He scooped a spoonful for Leo. There were no seasonings in the house, so he just sprinkled a little coarse salt for the little one.
The freshly made tofu pudding was steaming hot and exuded the fragrance of beans. Although there were no seasonings, it was rich and delicious, soft, smooth, and jiggly.
Leo ate without lifting his head. Eric also ate a bowl himself.
This morning, he had found some reeds by the river and used the stalks to weave something resembling a basket; the craftsmanship was very crude.
He spread the hemp cloth inside the basket, poured the tofu pudding in, tied the mouth of the cloth tightly, and then placed a large rock on top.
All that was left was to wait.
After all this was done, the only ones left in the tribe were the cubs playing and a few elderly beastmen watching over them. Everyone else had gone out.
He had found Vietnamese coriander by the river yesterday and had originally planned to ask the chieftain for some grain today. Unexpectedly, he had gotten busy and it was a bit late. The chieftain had already led the warriors who were off-duty yesterday for training.
It seemed he would have to wait until they returned.
Having missed the chance to go with the gathering team, Eric wanted to see what other kinds of food and minerals could be exploited on this land, so he planned to take Leo out by himself.
The territory of the Snow Wolf Tribe was very large. As long as he didn't step out of this territory, he wouldn't encounter any overly dangerous magical beasts. The patrol team would hunt or drive away high-level magical beasts every day to ensure the safety of the tribe.
But it was only relatively safe. The gathering team had many adult beastmen precisely to protect the cubs and the elderly in the group.
This continent was fraught with danger. Even powerful beastmen could not live alone. The two of them could follow the path the gathering team had taken. After the scent of the Snow Wolf Tribe had passed through, many magical beasts would have been scared away.
Today's gathering team had gone in the direction of the forest they had visited yesterday.
Eric and Leo transformed into their beast forms and ran the whole way. Along the path, he recognized many familiar wild vegetables. He didn't stop to pick them; this place was close, so he could come and pick them anytime.
The advantage of being in beast form was being able to see more things, such as the mushrooms that grew at the base of trees after the rain. Eric carefully selected and picked a few types he had eaten before. He didn't touch the ones he didn't recognize; it would be troublesome if they were poisonous.
There were baskets at home, but since the two of them were traveling in beast form, they hadn't brought any, only their own animal hides. Eric used sturdy vines and some branches to make two simple carrying baskets.
After filling a basket with mushrooms, Leo happily used both his hands and feet to climb a tree and pick fruit. However, the gathering team had already passed through the path they were on, so there weren't many ripe fruits left on the trees.
They chased after them for a while longer and finally caught up with the main group.
"Eric? Leo?" Luci looked in surprise at the mushrooms they were carrying.
"Picking so many of these, be careful of poisoning. A tribe member was poisoned by eating this stuff before," she said with concern.
These two children had no adults at home; it really made people worry.
"I've eaten this kind before. It's not poisonous. I didn't pick the other poisonous kinds," Eric explained.
Luci was Max's mother and had taken great care of the original owner. Eric had a very good impression of her.
Luci's eyes filled with pity. This child must have eaten them before when he was hungry; otherwise, how would he know these things weren't poisonous? It was very clear that Luci had misunderstood.
"We plan to gather more firewood today. You two cubs can just follow us and pick some food for yourselves. You don't need to turn your food into the tribe; just keep it to eat," she said, patting their heads.
These two cubs had no adults at home, so the tribe members all took good care of them. Usually, whatever the two of them gathered, they did not need to submit to the tribe.
"Auntie Luci, do you know where we can pick a lot of beans?"
When the original owner had participated in gathering tasks in the past, he was always half-hearted, just perfunctorily looking for things. He didn't remember where he had found those beans at all. Now that he wanted to make tofu, that small amount was only enough for a trial run. He wanted to pick a large quantity, so it was best to ask these people who frequently went out gathering.
Luci looked a bit strange. "You want to eat those beans? They are hard to chew and not filling."
Except in winter when there was really no food, usually no beastman wanted to eat them. That was why Eric's house only had that small amount; the original owner didn't like to eat them either.
Although doubtful, Luci still pointed him in a direction. After leaving the forest and continuing in that direction, there would be a large patch of beans.
Eric silently memorized the location.