I Transmigrated Into A Fantasy World To Farm And Build Houses!-Chapter 153: “Other People’s Children” Exist on Every Front
Before getting into the main story, I’d like to explain the phrase "other people’s children" to everyone:
This phrase is a familiar saying for Asian parents in general, and Vietnamese parents in particular, expressing dissatisfaction with their children, often comparing their own child to someone else’s child without specifying whose family.
For example: "You study as stupidly as a cow, look at other people’s children." Or: "Other people’s children are smart and clever, while my child is just like a mentally deficient kid."
To this day, through many generations, we still don’t know who the mysterious "other people’s children" in our parents’ mouths are, haha~
...
Back to the story.
The Dwarf children in the tribe, who had been scared pale by the magical beast’s attack earlier, were still hiding carefully in their family’s cellars.
But now, drawn by the seductive aroma, they couldn’t help but crawl out. The children hid behind their parents, daring only to poke their round heads out to look towards Eric and his group, their small noses sniffling and sniffing nonstop, their eyes filled with both curiosity and craving.
Eric chuckled. He ladled a plate of spicy stir-fried meat from the large iron pot and called out softly, trying to make his voice as gentle as possible:
"Come over here and have a taste, kids. It’s a little spicy, so just eat small bites."
His appearance and voice held no threat at all. The Dwarf children looked up at their parents’ faces. Seeing the adults all smiling and nodding encouragingly, they let out a cheer and scampered over like a flock of little sparrows.
A boy who looked older and bigger than the other children ran up first. This boy was very sharp; he quickly took the plate of meat and, acting like a big brother, gave each of his friends a piece to enjoy together.
Knowing it was for the children, Eric had deliberately pushed all the chili peppers to one side, dishing out only the glistening, golden, and fragrant pieces of meat for them.
"Thank you! This meat dish you made is so delicious, I’ve never eaten any meat this good before!"
That boy, Ky, also stuffed a golden-brown piece of meat into his mouth. While hissing and drawing in breath from the spiciness, his cheeks puffed up, he praised it endlessly.
"Ky! You little brat, you won’t get any of the toasted bread later!"
Julia’s powerful voice rang out clearly from inside the house. Ky flinched and shrank his neck, then secretly stuck his tongue out towards the doorway, a very childish gesture.
Julia came out carrying a tray of dough brushed with a layer of glistening egg yolk, one hand pointing straight at Ky’s face, interrogating him:
"Where did you run off to just now? Do you know how worried I was!"
Seeing his mother had come all the way out, Ky’s expression immediately became unusually obedient.
"My friends and I were playing over there. When the one-eyed bear charged in, we all hid in the cellar at Kiet’s house, which was the closest."
Julia glared at him witheringly:
"Don’t run around aimlessly anymore, understand! All you do all day is play. When your sister was your age, she was already following me into the forge!"
Eric thought to himself, so it’s not just humans who have this "other people’s children" style of education; Dwarves are no exception.
"Sister is already married into another tribe, but you still keep using her to lecture me. It’s not my fault I don’t have a talent for forging."
Ky pouted, muttering in protest, but didn’t dare to speak loudly.
Even so, the sharp-eared Julia still heard her son’s complaint. Quick as lightning, she reached out and delivered a devastating ear-twist to Ky, skillfully turning it a full circle. Standing nearby, Eric watched and felt his own ear throb in sympathy.
Despite the forceful action, the tray of dough in Julia’s other hand didn’t wobble in the slightest; the egg yolk on top remained as still as a mirror. Truly a master.
Ky was in so much pain his face contorted, and he hurriedly struggled:
"Mom, Mom, I was wrong, I was wrong, alright! I’ll go forge iron right now!"
"Do you still dare to run around? Do you still dare to talk back? I see you’ve been spared the rod for too long."
Only then did Julia let go, scolding him as she walked over to the oven.
Eric reflexively cupped his own ear, still a bit horrified watching how the mother and son treated each other. He couldn’t help but marvel silently; Dwarves were truly an extraordinary race.
Julia and Chief Henry were already so old, yet they still had the energy to have children. The bodies of Dwarves were truly robust, not only able to have children in old age but also possessing abundant strength to discipline a mischievous son.
For a moment, Eric didn’t know where to begin his admiration. Julia’s and Chief Henry’s ages looked even older than his maternal grandparents from his previous life. But this situation was also very rare among Dwarves; otherwise, their population would have multiplied several times over.
When it came to reproduction, the Human race was still the most formidable. Among the beastmen, besides the Rabbit tribe, all other tribes had difficulty sustaining their bloodlines.
Although the Rabbit tribe was prolific, their self-defense capabilities were poor, and the number of young that survived to adulthood was not high. They had to rely completely on living in groups for warmth, or they would have been wiped out long ago.
Just then, Julia opened the oven lid and took out the first loaves of golden-brown bread. She placed them on a plate and, smiling, handed it to Eric.
In the air, the aroma of toasted bread grew even richer. The golden loaves exuded the fragrant smell of butter, blended with the warm scent of garlic and dotted with the green of sprinkled scallions.
Eric took a deep breath, his stomach growling even more fiercely. He didn’t eat right away, but first broke off a piece for each of the Dwarf children. Once done, he picked up a loaf of bread and opened his mouth for a big bite.
The strong aroma of scallions and garlic blended with the creamy, milky taste of the bread. The crust was slightly crispy, while the inside was soft, fluffy, and richly savory. A killer combination!
Eric took a bite, almost moved to tears. He had thought he would never have the chance to taste his favorite foods from his past life again, never expecting to meet someone with such divine baking skills in this remote mountain wilderness.
"Haha, I wasn’t wrong, was I! The toasted bread I make can rival royal cuisine!"
Seeing Eric eating with tears in his eyes, Julia said proudly, her hands never stopping as she placed new balls of dough into the oven.
"It’s truly delicious! You guys should try it too."
Eric gave one each to Evan, Max, and Michael, his sparkling eyes signaling for them to hurry up and taste it.
"Mmm, it really is delicious! I didn’t expect there was anyone in this world who could cook as well as young Eric."
Michael said in amazement, his mouth not stopping its chewing.
No matter what he was eating, Evan’s posture always exuded an indescribable elegance.
He didn’t eat voraciously, but his speed wasn’t slow. He ate in a leisurely, relaxed, yet efficient manner. Eric also admired this about him. This was the refinement of the nobility, maintaining a perfect appearance no matter where they were.
But this also had a lot to do with appearance. If it weren’t Evan looking so good, if it were someone else, Eric would definitely think that person was "putting on a show." But with Evan, he just found it extremely pleasing to the eye.
"The taste is indeed not bad. If you participated in a human cooking competition with your skills, you would definitely win the championship."
Evan swallowed the last piece of bread, smiling and praising sincerely.
Julia was so pleased by the compliments that her eyes curved into crescents:
"If it’s good, then eat a lot! There’s still plenty of dough in the house, I’ll bake it all for you later."
"Thank you."
Max’s personality was rather taciturn; he wasn’t good at praising others extravagantly. He just silently increased his eating speed, using his actions to express his most sincere gratitude to Julia.
Elders of any race always love to see the younger generation eating with gusto. Julia was no exception. Seeing everyone enjoy her bread so much, she happily prepared to go back inside to knead two more blocks of dough.
Eric quickly pulled her back:
"Ma’am, there’s still a lot of unbaked dough. Don’t busy yourself anymore, please sit down, rest, and eat something."
He opened the lid of the large iron pot that was still being kept warm over the fire, took out the ceramic plates they had brought themselves, and dished out all the food. The dining set they brought was quite large; just a few plates were enough to hold the entire pot of food. If they were Dwarf plates, it would probably have taken a dozen.
Eric turned to call out to the Dwarves standing around:
"Everyone, come over and try my cooking! Don’t be polite!"
In fact, from the moment Eric started the fire to cook, the aroma had attracted the attention of quite a few Dwarves.
Beastmen were known for their somewhat... wild cuisine, but the food this Snow Wolf child made smelled even better than their own Dwarven dishes. The scent lingered in the air, making it impossible for them to concentrate on their work.
Therefore, when they heard Eric call out, the Dwarves didn’t hesitate, automatically bringing their own bowls and plates over, happily joining the feast. Laughter and chatter filled the corner of the village.
