I Transmigrated Into A Fantasy World To Farm And Build Houses!-Chapter 167: Old Mother Hen Mentality

"Sam, what are you doing!" Eric looked at him in amazement.

Sam, who was holding the octopus, had to struggle to brake with three legs. He chuckled and said:

"Put this in the food storage cave, it’s definitely edible! I was drooling over it yesterday but didn’t know how to prepare it. You cook it for me today!"

"What a hopeless glutton," Eric sighed inwardly, feeling both helpless and amused. He was still in the Dwarves’ area, and Sam was dangling the giant octopus right above his head.

The Dwarves’ houses were so small and exquisite; if Sam dropped this giant octopus, they would be dented, if not demolished.

And with Sam’s personality, the probability of that happening was very high.

He could only wave his hand helplessly: "Then hurry up and take it to my house. Stop looming around here, okay?"

Hearing this, Sam was overjoyed. He immediately picked up the octopus and, although his posture was still awkward, his steps were unusually steady as he ran straight toward Eric’s house.

The long tentacles of the octopus whipped back and forth behind him, causing the beastmen on the road to turn and stare curiously.

"Bruno, when you have time, come by my house and try the octopus," Eric turned to invite Bruno, who was standing not far away. "Don’t be put off by its strange appearance; the taste isn’t bad."

Bruno was currently sneaking a peek at Joseph’s door, trying to see what was happening inside through a crack in the window. Hearing Eric’s invitation, he immediately turned around and replied cheerfully:

"That’s great! I just finished using the set of farm tools you made for me yesterday. I’ll be over in a bit!"

Looks like the plan to go to the communal cafeteria today is canceled, Eric thought. I’ll have to cook myself.

He suddenly remembered that Sam couldn’t know about the trip to the sea, lest this simple-minded guy accidentally let it slip. Thinking of this, Eric felt a little guilty, telling himself he had to make a sumptuous octopus feast to compensate him.

Thinking it over, among his friends, Grass was still the most reliable. If they continued to go to the sea to refine salt in the future, Eric wouldn’t need to go himself.

After all, he was now the tribal chief; he couldn’t always be a figurehead chief, having everything fall to him. Grass was both careful and sharp-minded, and her combat power was high. It was most reasonable to entrust this matter to her. Next time, it would be best to dig a proper salt field; the efficiency would be much higher than just using iron pots to boil.

That way, Grass wouldn’t need to stand guard constantly and could knit sweaters to kill time.

"You are already the tribal chief, why must you still personally cook for others?"

Evan’s voice sounded beside him, pulling Eric from his train of thought. He looked at him with incomprehension.

Eric turned to look at him with a strange expression, as if he had just heard the most ridiculous question in the world.

"This isn’t a matter of ’must’ or ’must not’. Your question is really annoying," he said.

Although he was the tribal chief, he had only gotten this position thanks to the support of his friends. Moreover, since he arrived, everyone had helped him immensely.

Everyone in the tribe cared for and looked after him. It was just cooking a meal; did he really need to put on airs as the tribal chief?

Besides, the entire tribe only had about four hundred people. This "tribal chief" position, in Eric’s eyes, was at most equivalent to a village head. What was there to be arrogant about?

Eric’s expression was so natural. Evan, being looked at with a hint of disdain, could only shake his head helplessly and smile.

But his gaze toward Eric became even gentler, his eyes filled with a curious desire to explore.

"Sam, making octopus for you is no problem," Eric asked as soon as he got home. "But you’re here so early, what about dinner at the cafeteria?"

Sam chuckled, his gaze a bit evasive:

"In winter, there aren’t many organs to wash, mostly just dried meat and dried fish. They just need to be chopped and cooked with seasonings. At worst... I’ll bring some of this food over to them later. They’ve never eaten this ugly thing before either."

As expected, slacking off. Eric shot him a look.

"Alright, fine. This is also a good time for you to learn how to make it. You can handle the remaining ones yourself later."

The octopus was frozen solid, encased in a thick layer of ice. Eric was about to find something to break the ice when Sam, without a word, raised his sharp claws. "Crack! Crack!" A few sounds, and the thick layer of ice shattered.

This octopus was not small at all, taking up more than half the space in Eric’s yard.

"Sam, cut off all its tentacles, then cut them into pieces." Eric held out his hand to measure the length and signaled to Sam.

"No problem!" Sam replied enthusiastically, swinging his sharp claws to start processing the octopus.

The sky was overcast today, with no sun, making it feel particularly cold. Eric brought the collected duck eggs into the house, then took out a bag of corn kernels that had been dried on the beach.

He was about to go outside to find the stone mortar to grind flour when he saw Evan still standing in the yard, watching Sam carve the octopus. He walked over without ceremony and pushed him into the house.

"Do you think you’re invulnerable just because you’re wearing clothes made of Elven fabric? If you stay outside like this and catch a cold, there are no doctors or alchemists here for you."

Evan was momentarily stunned by the sudden push, but hearing the concern in Eric’s voice, he didn’t mind and went inside.

"Perfect timing."

Eric brought over a thick down comforter. He patted its soft, fluffy surface, his face full of pride:

"Look, this is a comforter that Jessica and Iris just helped make. This kind of down comforter is extremely warm to sleep under, much warmer than a cotton quilt. Now you don’t have to sleep in that whole outfit anymore."

The weather here was harsh, and bathing in winter was inconvenient. Eric and Leo were fine; they had a large iron pot in the house. Every time they boiled water, the steam also warmed the earthen bed, and the two of them would take hot baths in the wooden tub every few days.

He had noticed that Evan still wore the same outfit to bed after bathing. Thinking the other man might not be used to sharing a blanket, he had specially made one for him.

Evan was stunned for a moment. He reached out to touch the comforter, feeling the soft, skin-friendly cotton fabric and the unbelievable fluffiness and softness of the down inside.

For a moment, his expression became extremely complicated - there was surprise, touched feelings, and even a bit of unfamiliarity.

His lips moved, and it took him a long while to utter one word: "Thank you."

Eric waved his hand, leaving him in the room, and said as he walked out: "No need to thank me. I ’picked’ you up, so I have to take good care of you."

Evan’s mouth twitched. He was caught between laughter and tears by Eric’s use of the word "picked." He watched Eric’s back as he left the bedroom, went to the kitchen, and then came out to the yard holding a vegetable knife.

He spoke softly, so low it was as if he were talking to himself: "I know cleansing magic."

Eric was almost at the door, but he couldn’t help laughing when he heard that. He turned back:

"We beastmen aren’t really that picky. I was just worried you weren’t used to life here. I’ll ask Jessica to sew you a new set of clothes from cotton, then you’ll have something to change into."

For the Snow Wolves in the tribe, let alone changing clothes before bed, most didn’t even have a single set of cheap hemp clothes for daily wear.

Beastmen, in general, weren’t particular about such details; as long as they were clean, it was fine.

The noses of Snow Wolves were very sensitive to strange smells, so it was clear the tribe members loved cleanliness, always ensuring their fur was soft and fragrant.

It was just that Evan’s aura and attire exuded an extraordinary air, which was why Eric worried he wasn’t used to the simple life of the beastmen.

He remembered his past life, when he himself was someone who had to change into pajamas before getting into bed. That habit had been forcibly changed by now.

Eric didn’t know what human life was like in this world, but it was probably similar to the Middle Ages; the nobility and royalty must live very extravagant lives.

Evan only had one set of clothes to wear over and over; he must feel very down.

Sigh, I’m really... he silently despised himself. I’m clearly just raising Leo, so how did I develop this old mother hen mentality, worrying about all sorts of trivial things.

In the yard, Sam had quickly started a fire. When it came to eating, he always had an excess of cleverness.

Eric poured the bag of corn kernels into the stone mortar and began to slowly grind them into a fine cornmeal.

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