I Transmigrated Into A Fantasy World To Farm And Build Houses!-Chapter 76: Braised Rabbit

Just then, a sharp pain shot through the back of Eric’s neck, and his entire body was lifted into the air. Dazed, Eric opened his eyes to meet a pair of disdainful ones.

"Getting torn to shreds by a bunch of wild rabbits, you’re truly a rare specimen for the Snow Wolf tribe."

Embarrassed, Eric curled his legs. It was Anna, Michael’s mother. He stammered a greeting.

Anna merely gave him a cool glance, then stomped her foot on the ground. The earth shook, the rabbit burrow collapsed, and all the rabbits inside were knocked unconscious by the tremor.

"Wow!" Eric’s eyes sparkled as he looked at Anna, clapping his front paws together.

"My Michael was much better than you at your age." Anna said, but still used a vine to string up all the rabbits, carrying Eric as she headed back.

Fearing the rabbits would wake up and run away, Eric dispatched them immediately, carefully collecting their blood in a basin. He could finally make his favorite dish: boiled blood pudding.

He recalled the old days, whenever his family slaughtered a pig for the Lunar New Year, his grandmother would make a large pot of boiled blood pudding. The dish wasn’t gamey at all; the pudding was as smooth and soft as tofu, and she would always give him the first piece. She said the secret was to add a little pepper water while setting the blood.

Thinking of this, he realized how much he had changed. Before, he would never have dared to think of killing a rabbit and collecting its blood like this.

The two new iron pots on the stove were just right for boiling the blood. The fire in the stove blazed, also gradually warming the heated bed beside it. He added water to the pot, waited for it to boil, then slowly poured in the blood and lowered the heat.

Patience was key; a low flame would allow the blood to set without becoming porous, ensuring a soft and smooth texture.

The new house had no pots or pans yet. Eric set the pot of boiled blood aside and ran back to his old house several times to carry his things over. Spices were also essential, especially the jar of refined salt, along with the jars of sauce and soy sauce he had been craving for so long.

By the time the rabbit blood was cooked, it was already late afternoon. He had caught more than a dozen wild rabbits today, an unexpected haul. He had also dug a well in the yard for convenient access to water.

Smoke rose from the new house’s chimney. Leo, who was playing outside, saw it and ran back. Trailing behind him was a whole pack of Snow Wolf cubs, each wagging their tail like a propeller.

"Wow, Leo, why does your house have a fence?" a chubby little boy named Xiao Ding asked curiously.

"My brother said it’s for safety and... privacy!" Leo puffed out his chest, his face full of pride.

"What’s privacy?" the innocent little girl, Flower, asked.

"Um, it’s..." Leo’s face went blank. He was just repeating his brother’s words without understanding what they meant.

Inside the house, Eric heard them and burst out laughing. These kids were adorable. He poked his head out, feigning a serious expression to tease them:

"It’s so I can secretly eat in the house without you guys finding out."

The group of kids immediately looked at him with the eyes of the betrayed, pouting in annoyance: "But our noses are very sensitive, you can’t fool us!"

He laughed so hard he almost fell over, quickly placating them: "Alright, alright, I’ll make you all some delicious food later. Now go play nicely."

The children ran all over the yard. Some even went to look at the outhouse. When Leo introduced it as "the house for going to the bathroom." every single one of them had their eyes light up with admiration:

"This way, your butt won’t freeze in the winter!"

Hearing his friends’ praise, Leo was overjoyed and even led the group down to the basement to play hide-and-seek.

Eric used the rabbit heads and feet to make appetizers. He marinated one pot with spicy flavors and another with the fragrant aroma of sauce. This dish would have been perfect with chicken wings and feet. The rabbit heads and feet here were as big as pig heads and trotters; he had to chop them into smaller pieces to fit in the pot.

Knowing this wouldn’t be enough for the whole group of kids, he started a fire in the yard, set up his giant iron wok, and began making braised rabbit.

The delicious aroma of the food spread throughout the tribe. In the communal kitchen, Michael smelled it and suddenly found the food in his own bowl tasteless.

"How about we go over to Eric’s house and see..." Kevin suggested hesitantly, chewing on a piece of fried fish.

Grass shot him a sharp glare: "If you’re shameless enough, then go."

Kevin looked to Max for help, but he just ate in silence. Michael then came up with a plan: "I heard Eric is moving today. Why don’t we go see if he’s finished, and if not, we can lend a hand?" 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

The group immediately agreed. They looked at Max. The tips of his ears turned slightly red. He shook his head: "I’m not going. You all go ahead."

The three of them looked at each other, bewildered. Could they have guessed wrong?

But Kevin didn’t care much; he just wanted to eat good food. So, the three of them hastily finished their meal, ran to Eric’s old house, and each carried a few jugs of wine over, under the pretext of "helping him move."

When they arrived, they saw Eric sitting on the ground with the group of children, gnawing on rabbit feet.

Spicy stir-fried rabbit with lemongrass and chili, rich braised rabbit with ginger, fatty and fragrant braised rabbit... every dish made one’s mouth water.

With a legitimate excuse, the three of them joined the party. Eric also cheerfully opened a jug of berry wine to serve his guests.

The children looked curiously at the red liquid in the older kids’ cups. Little Flower whined:

"Sister, can I have a sip, please!"

Eric was about to stop her when he heard Leo say solemnly:

"This smells good, but if you drink it, your head will spin, and you’ll have a headache the next day."

The little kids’ faces turned pale with fear, and they didn’t dare ask again. Eric, feeling both amused and guilty, stood up and mixed each of them a cup of honey fruit juice, which was many times more fragrant and sweet than the wine.

"My housewarming is tomorrow. Grass, if you all have time, please come and celebrate!" Eric invited them enthusiastically. He promised to make braised chicken with ginger and stir-fried chicken with lemongrass and chili. Hearing about the delicious food, Kevin immediately puffed out his chest and volunteered to catch the chickens.

When everyone had left, Michael, who was the last to leave, leaned in and whispered in his ear: "I’ll drag Max over for you tomorrow."

With that, he clapped Eric on the shoulder, gave him a meaningful wink, and whistled as he left.

Eric’s face turned beet red. He quickly chased after him and pressed a bag of gifts into his hands:

"This is for Anna, to thank her for helping me the other day. Please bring your aunt and uncle over tomorrow too."

Michael smiled gently and ruffled his hair: "Of course, but my mom’s a bit eccentric. If she doesn’t come, don’t be upset."

Watching Michael walk away, Eric realized he hadn’t refused. Perhaps he had gotten so used to being teased about it.

He thought to himself, he wondered how Max would react if he knew the whole tribe thought that way about the two of them. He would probably try to avoid him.