With his belly full, Leo lay sprawled on the ground in satisfaction.
Max sat opposite Eric, looking at him with a deep gaze. "Did you use wheat to make this long food?"
Eric saw his expression, knew that he had noticed something unusual, and quickly said, "I was using the stone mill to grind the wheat husks before, and then I thought maybe I could use it to grind the wheat into powder. I wondered if I could knead it like clay, and that’s how I made this dish. Doesn’t the Ox-Head tribe know how to make black bread? Let’s just call this long thing of mine ’noodles’."
He saw Max’s expression soften and breathed a sigh of relief.
Immediately after, he carefully probed, "I heard the Ox-Head tribe grows wheat, and every harvest season they can gather a lot of it, not only enough for their own tribe to eat but also to trade with other tribes. Max, do you think we could grow it ourselves? That way, our tribespeople wouldn’t have to worry about food, even in winter."
Max’s sharp eyebrows furrowed. He pondered for a moment, then turned his head and said seriously to Eric, "Your idea is very good, but our Snow Wolf tribe has never farmed before. The methods and timing of planting are all problems. Besides, for thousands of years, we Snow Wolves have lived by hunting. I’m afraid the clansmen would not be willing to try it so easily."
"Traditions are meant to be broken! Although we Snow Wolves are powerful, we often encounter times when there’s no prey. If we grow some storable grains, then we will never have to worry about going hungry again. With grain in hand, the heart is not flustered!" Eric retorted.
Getting agitated, he leaned closer. "If we grow our own crops, we will have more food than we can eat. The Snow Wolves can also eat noodles and tofu until they’re full. Moreover, flour can be used to make many dishes, for example, steamed buns, which are fragrant and soft..."
Eric tried to paint a beautiful picture.
Max was a little unused to him getting so close. As he was hesitating, the three large heads of the three Snow Wolves beside them suddenly crowded in. "Eat noodles until we’re full! Tofu until we’re full too!"
They excitedly squeezed next to Eric, their strong, burly bodies blocking his view, chattering, "I’ll plant, I’ll plant! You’re so right! This little bit of food isn’t even enough to fill the gaps between my teeth. And those steamed buns you mentioned, are they really as delicious as you say?"
Eric nodded. "Of course. They’re white and soft, can be steamed or baked, and can even have a meat filling inside! After I succeed in making an oven, I can also make bread!"
A true Vietnamese, he couldn’t go two sentences without mentioning banh mi...
He recalled the yield of wheat and said, "I have more than ten catties of the wheat that Max gave me left. If we start farming, we can use these ten catties as seeds, and next year we can harvest over a thousand catties! The more seeds, the greater the yield!"
Ten catties of wheat can plant about one mu of land, and the yield of one mu is actually not quite a thousand catties.
He was exaggerating a little, but it was mainly based on the other plants on this land. If cultivated carefully, the yield would surely be higher than what he had seen in modern times. It might not be impossible to actually achieve a yield of a thousand catties per mu.
If they were in their beast forms right now, Sam and Kevin would probably be wagging their tails. Although they didn’t know what ’steaming’ was, it didn’t stop them from imagining the delicious food.
Eric continued, "For the meal we ate today, we used up almost ten catties of wheat. Just think how many meals we can eat with a thousand catties!"
A smile bloomed on Michael’s handsome and radiant face. He said, "If you want to plant, Max doesn’t have the time, but we can help you. I have plenty of strength. Just come find me anytime you need."
Kevin and Sam also nodded eagerly. Each of them was imagining how blissful it would be if a thousand catties of wheat were all made into delicious noodles.
Eric brought up farming with Max not just because he wanted to grow it for himself to eat, but mainly because he wanted to convince Max so that the tribe would take farming seriously.
Only by gaining the support of the tribe could he obtain more wheat for seeds. Besides, he didn’t just want to plant wheat; he wanted to plant beans too. The amount of wild beans they could gather couldn’t compare to the yield from cultivation; it was like heaven and earth.
The land of the Snow Wolf tribe was basically a plain, with lush rivers and fertile soil, yet it wasn’t used for farming. Seeing such fertile land being wasted made his heart ache as if it were being cut. One must know that the best black soil he had ever seen was only this good. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it a waste of God’s gift.
It was also the first time Max had learned the specific yield was so high. Just ten catties of wheat made into food was only enough for them, the Snow Wolves, to have a small taste. But if used for planting, it could produce a thousand catties of wheat. This yield was enough to fill the stomachs of two Snow Wolves in their beast form.
Thinking about it, the Ox-Head tribe’s beast form was no smaller than theirs. They could make a living from it and live more prosperously than other tribes, which was enough to prove that farming was indeed a good choice.
Seeing him remain silent, Eric wanted to go and shake him. He had to know that primitive tribes would sooner or later enter an agricultural civilization. Whoever developed first would reap the benefits first.
The Illusory Dream Continent was vast and sparsely populated; such good farming conditions could not be wasted.
He looked at Michael gratefully and said, "Thank you, Michael. In the future, when I make delicious food, I will definitely find you first."
Michael’s eyes lit up. He glanced smugly at the others, only to be dragged aside by the jealous Kevin and Sam. The Snow Wolves’ roughhousing was still too brutal for Eric; hearing the sound of fists and feet hitting flesh next to his ear, he couldn’t help but wince.
At this moment, Max, after his deep thought, also looked up and said, "What you said is indeed very reasonable. I will definitely pass it on to my father. Even if he doesn’t agree, I will support you in farming."
Alright, the goal was at least half-achieved. Eric was relieved.
By now, Max’s roasted meat was also cooked. The other three Snow Wolves stopped fighting. Michael tore off a piece and gave it to Eric and Leo, saying, "You two cubs have to eat more meat to grow big and strong. Look at your small bodies now, you really don’t look like beastmen."
Leo had just eaten a lot of noodles, so he could only look at the roasted meat helplessly. Eric was still a little hungry, so he didn’t stand on ceremony, accepting the roasted meat and stuffing it into his stomach.
He and Leo had been starved one meal and full the next all year round, so their appetites were indeed not as big as other cubs’.