I Transmigrated Into A Fantasy World To Farm And Build Houses!-Chapter 84: Processing the Chicken Feathers

Max watched the young man beside him with deep eyes, his usual sharpness completely transformed into a gentle expression.

The young man lay still for only a moment before suddenly sitting bolt upright, as if remembering something very important, and rushed out into the courtyard.

Eric pushed the door open, a sense of dread rising in his heart. The glass panes were fogged over with condensation and night dew, obscuring his view of the courtyard. He’d forgotten all about the crowd of drunks passed out there last night.

The scene in the courtyard was not as chaotic as he had imagined. It seemed someone had already cleaned up. The Dwarves were gone, likely having been taken home.

Thank goodness. At this temperature, as long as the Dwarves didn’t sleep outside, they’d be fine. Seeing Sam sleeping soundly with his leg propped on Kevin’s face, he knew for sure that Jessica and the others had come. Not only had they cleaned the courtyard for him, but they had also taken the Dwarves home.

The weight in his heart was finally lifted. Eric went back inside to brew a large pot of fruit and spiny beast honey tea, so everyone could have a cup to clear their heads when they woke up.

He had also made this ceramic pot himself. Despite several revisions, the spout was still a bit crooked, but at least its capacity was large enough.

The wild chicken meat from yesterday had been completely devoured, but he hadn’t thrown away the feathers, instead piling them in a corner of the courtyard. It was a good thing Jessica and the others hadn’t cleared them away.

Hailun’s merchant caravan only had finished cotton cloth, not the raw cotton he needed to make quilts. Furthermore, Eric had been so excited about trading for seeds that he had completely forgotten about trading for cotton.

Sigh, but even if he hadn’t forgotten, waiting for them to come trade for cotton would be a matter for next spring, and what good would that do then?

Although the tribe had plenty of animal hides, Eric still dearly missed the feeling of soft cotton quilts.

Finally, while plucking the chickens yesterday, he had thought of down comforters.

The best down came from ducks and geese, but in modern times, some unscrupulous businesses used chicken feathers to cut costs. He remembered watching a news report exposing some dishonest factories. They used chicken feathers, not even the soft down, but large, coarse feathers that were soaked in chemicals, crushed, and then stuffed into clothing.

Although that was the work of dishonest merchants in the modern era, the idea wasn’t entirely inapplicable here.

The adult wild chickens here were even larger than ostriches, so they naturally had a lot of feathers. It was just that their feathers were quite coarse. If he were to use them himself, it would be better to select out the downy parts.

He hadn’t counted carefully, but he estimated they had eaten more than a dozen wild chickens yesterday, and the collected feathers formed a large pile.

In addition to that were the rabbits from the other day; the meat brought back from the communal storehouse yesterday hadn’t even been used. The food he had prepared alone was enough to stuff everyone.

Whenever he got busy, he would lose track of his surroundings, so much so that he didn’t even notice Max following behind him.

The feathers on the chicken’s belly and chest were softer. He selected these parts, put them in a basin, and scalded them with boiling water. The unpleasant, fishy smell of the feathers shot straight up his nose.

Eric couldn’t help but frown, pinching his nose as he continued to work.

A long, toned arm reached out from behind him, taking the iron pot of boiling water from his hands.

"You want to wash these feathers?" Max’s deep voice sounded.

He was standing right behind Eric, who, being so focused on his work, had completely forgotten his presence.

"But the smell is really bad..." It was said that the stronger a beastman was, the more sensitive their senses, and their sense of smell was no exception. Eric hesitated, unwilling to let go.

Not allowing any refusal, Max decisively took the iron pot. His other arm wrapped around Eric’s waist, lifting him up and gently moving him to one side.

Eric felt the world spin, and then his feet were back on the ground, standing in a different spot.

Such incredible strength. He touched his nose, and a spark of inspiration struck. He found a piece of linen cloth and threaded four small strings through the corners, making a simple face mask.

Eric grinned, standing behind Max. To help him wash the chicken feathers, Max was currently squatting on the ground, at just the right height for him to act.

Reaching out, he looped the mask over Max’s head, covering his nose and mouth, then tied a butterfly bow at the nape of his neck.

Eric admired his handiwork with satisfaction, tilting his head to look at Max: "How is it? Much better now, right?"

The thin linen cloth didn’t do much, but Max could only smell the unique scent of the young man. The pungent odor of the scalded chicken feathers didn’t affect him at all.

His sharp, thick eyebrows arched slightly as he looked at Eric with what could only be described as a doting gaze.

"The smell has lessened a lot."

Eric’s heart skipped a beat. He said no more and stood to one side, watching him work.

Awakened by the noise they were making, a group of Snow Wolf people sat cross-legged on the ground, their silver-white heads uniformly swaying as they watched the two of them.

"I have a feeling I shouldn’t say anything..." Kevin whispered.

Michael tilted his head, looking at the two of them in confusion, and whispered back: "I get the feeling we weren’t misunderstanding them all that much."

Anna looked at her unpromising son, then turned her head to meet the smug and provocative smile of her rival, Luci, and let out a sharp hmph.

"You’re all awake. I’ve made some fruit and spiny beast honey tea. Have some to soothe your throats."

Eric heard the familiar cold snort and turned to see a row of Snow Wolf people, now awake from their drunken stupor, sitting cross-legged on the ground as if warming themselves on a heated bed.

First thing in the morning, Luci and Anna were like fighting cocks, glaring at each other. Who knows who had provoked them again, but it seemed Luci was gaining the upper hand this time.

It was just that the way the others were looking at him was a bit strange... But since he had arrived, these people had rarely had a normal day, so Eric couldn’t be bothered to think about it. He brought the large teapot out for them.

The fruit tea in the pot was still warm. After drinking, everyone began to leave one by one.

Sam had gone to bed later last night. He was stretching when Kevin kicked him.

This guy had propped his leg on his face all night; Kevin had been wanting to hit him for a long time.

While there was no snow yet, the warriors had to go out and hunt more prey.

The tribe’s warriors were divided into small teams, taking turns to patrol and hunt. Previously, they were led by Chief Thomas and Max. Now, Thomas wanted to let the younger generation train, while he focused on managing the tribe’s various affairs.

Michael and Grass’s abilities were comparable, so Max, along with the two of them, took turns leading the warriors on patrols or hunts.

Today was supposed to be Max’s turn to lead a patrol. Kevin was about to call out to him when Michael and Grass tacitly pulled him away.

"Just let him stay and help Eric. Grass and I are enough," Michael said, draping an arm over his shoulder.

Although he didn’t quite understand their situation right now, recalling the look in Max’s eyes before he fell asleep last night, he wisely decided it was best not to disturb them.

Eric waved goodbye to them.

Behind him, Max was squatting, helping him wash the chicken feathers.

His handsome face was half-covered by the grayish-yellow linen cloth, which looked somewhat comical and broke his usually unapproachable aura.

However, Michael and the others saw not a hint of annoyance on his face.

The group felt that something was strange and quickened their pace as they left.