In Finn’s nervous awe and stammering narration, Austin finally understood that it was through burning oak and then soaking it in lime solution that they obtained this oak substrate covered with mushrooms, with only two or three poisonous ones.
The lime solution was formed in a cave beneath a cliff by burning the limestone rock inside to create quicklime, which was then mixed with water.
This was one of the few chemical formulas Austin remembered, and the lime produced through this reaction was intended by the Goblins for the expansion of houses.
The fire caused by the previous attack on the Centaur Tribe gave Austin concern. Upon returning, he ordered the Goblins to quickly remodel the village, changing the wooden and straw structures to brick and tile to prevent fires.
Besides bricks and tiles, lime was one of the important building materials used, and Finn surprisingly thought of treating with lime solution.
"Well done. You’ve done a great job."
Picking up the oak log covered in mushrooms, Austin examined it closely and nodded.
The principle wasn’t clear, but comparing it to other oak substrates, it seemed about right.
Despite some flaws, it already had the potential for large-scale cultivation, providing another layer of assurance to the Dragon Nest Tribe’s food security.
"Keep up the good work. Ask Vini to assign you some extra hands to conduct more experiments. You can now start small-scale production."
Hearing Austin’s praise and encouragement, Finn was both excited and anxious, feeling like a farmer from Austin’s previous life being received by the country’s highest leader and entrusted with great responsibilities.
Actually, this strategy of casting a wide net and catching more fish originated from Austin himself. Without his initial guidance, Deer-body Finn wouldn’t have thought of these methods nor made such quick progress.
Moreover, due to Austin’s absolute authority in the Dragon Nest Tribe, and the Beastmen’s strong personal adoration and obedience, instead of being influenced by the Otherworld’s natives, the native Beastmen began to involuntarily learn certain things emanating from Austin.
Certain traits of modern civilized humans.
This slow cultural invasion was occurring like a gentle spring rain, with changes happening that Austin hadn’t noticed.
When Austin traveled to this world, he didn’t bring any advanced science and technology. He didn’t understand aerospace, diving, or information technology, nor did he bring an AI with all human civilization’s knowledge.
All he had were the most basic aspects of human civilization, those scientific thoughts he had but unconsciously overlooked.
It was the mathematical thinking fostered by nine years of compulsory education plus an additional year of prep school—discovering problems, analyzing them, and finally drawing conclusions.
Austin hadn’t realized the importance of this scientific mathematical thinking from his previous life, like a fish accustomed to water that never consciously acknowledges the water’s importance.
Human societal development, from natural phenomena to various summarized laws, from the laws of thermodynamics to the steam engine starting the industrial revolution, from simple optical principles to telescopes, microscopes, and even subatomic particles and the starry sky.
All these never strayed from the scientific research methods formed after generations of scientists, methods of discovery, induction, analysis, and summarization. Even when Austin crossed over, humans could use the most advanced computers for cutting-edge research, but in many areas, the fundamental scientific inquiry method could not be ignored.
This thinking, like a fundamental framework, allowed humans to lay more layers, ultimately forming a splendid human civilization.
Now, the traits of the civilization from Austin’s previous life began to spread like a gentle spring rain, integrating into every aspect of the Dragon Nest Beastman Tribe.
Now that the Deer-body race successfully developed non-toxic mushroom culturing techniques, it’s undoubtedly related to this scientific thinking method.
And Quik began establishing an Otherworld traditional medicine system, also based on this scientific inductive thought process.
As time passed, coupled with Austin’s consistent spreading of scientific thinking during military training and in kindergartens, it would certainly gradually change the thinking of the Clan Beastmen.
When the time comes, this scientific way of thinking will surely begin to form a scientific system centered on this world’s environment.
From nothing, little by little, ultimately establishing a vast framework.
That massive foundational system, everything originated from that unique soul within Austin.
After inspecting the mushroom house and telling Finn to continue working hard and start the small-scale production of mushrooms, Austin left the Banyan Forest.
The scene at the mushroom house was just one of many episodes in Austin’s reform of food diversification. Before this, he had also inspected the bamboo grove and met with the Beastmen responsible for obtaining food from bamboo shoots.
Back then, to enhance the Dragon Nest Tribe’s food sources, Austin specifically developed techniques from his past life to process bamboo shoots and bracken, successfully turning these widespread resources into food for the Beastmen.
As the tribe developed, the bamboo grove had become another important food source for the Beastmen. Every day, a fixed team of Beastman militia would bring stone hoes and shovels made by the Goblins and go to the bamboo grove to dig up bamboo shoots. They would then hand them over to another team to peel and boil them, transforming the originally bitter shoots into a popular "delicacy" for the Beastmen. ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ NovᴇlFire(.)nᴇt
To obtain more bamboo shoots, the Beastmen, without formal training, even cut down some trees and shrubs in the bamboo grove. Some Beastmen also learned to propagate wisteria, transplanting bamboo branches along riverside areas.
It can be expected that within a few years, the riverbanks will be lined with extensive bamboo forests, providing more bamboo shoots for harvest.
While peaceful development focused on agricultural reform was just one aspect, after sorting out food policies, Austin turned his attention to the Goblin Manufacturing Workshop.
As the direct source of various implements for the Dragon Nest Tribe, the Goblins’ technologies have developed well in this period.
Of course, the most important thing was to see if the Goblins could manufacture bows and arrows, in preparation for Austin’s upcoming military reform.