Many people had previously watched Hayoon make starch while learning weaving from her, so they knew exactly how troublesome the process was.
Now seeing her generously bring out precious ingredients like beast milk, starch, and honey to treat everyone made them deeply touched.
"Thank you. Something this unique deserves to be savored properly."
After everyone else had received theirs, Hayoon personally handed pieces to Haeun and Minho before finally taking one for herself last.
She first examined the strip of mochi resting in her palm and inhaled the sweet milky fragrance before finally placing it into her mouth.
Fresh out of the pot, the mochi was piping hot.
After being stir-cooked, its texture turned wonderfully soft, chewy, and springy.
Although she had not used much starch, she had been generous with both fresh milk and sugar, so the more she chewed, the richer and sweeter it became.
As she slowly enjoyed the texture, Hayoon could not help thinking of rice cakes she had eaten in the past.
But those had never possessed the same rich creamy milk flavor.
Sugar naturally made people feel happy.
After a meal, eating a small sweet dessert like this completely swept away the exhaustion of the day, leaving everyone overwhelmingly satisfied.
Hayoon's eyes even narrowed happily while chewing.
When she looked around again, whether adults or cubs, everyone wore expressions of amazement while eating seriously.
Not a single person spoke.
Leejin was a little too impatient. Holding the mochi with his panda paws, he stuffed it into his mouth, chewed a few times, and then swallowed it with a loud gulp.
He froze immediately afterward.
His bright black eyes turned toward Yeonhwa as he complained pitifully, "Mother, it is gone."
He had barely even tasted it yet!
Wuwuwu! So heartbreaking.
Seeing this, Hayoon was just about to grab another piece of mochi for him when Yeonhwa had already handed over half of her own portion.
She had saved it instead of eating it himself.
"Go ahead and eat. Just chew slower this time," she said gently with a smile.
Leejin immediately brightened again. Standing on tiptoe, he carefully accepted the mochi with both fluffy panda paws.
"Thank you, Mother!"
Yeonhwa smiled while watching him.
At that moment, another slender hand suddenly reached over beside him, also holding half a piece of mochi.
As she turned his head, Yeonhwa discovered it was her mate Jinsan offering her his own share.
Yeonhwa burst into laughter. "You should eat it yourself."
Jinsan was a cold and handsome man who was not good with words. He simply replied, "For you."
Even after Yeonhwa refused a couple of times, Jinsan remained firm. In the end, Yeonhwa smilingly accepted the half piece and popped it into her mouth.
Sulyeon had already finished eating and clicked her tongue teasingly. "Having a mate really is nice."
Yeonhwa glanced at her, the tips of her ears turning red in embarrassment.
Meanwhile, Jinsan nodded very seriously in agreement, only to receive a sideways glare from Yeonhwa. He gave a light cough and awkwardly looked away.
The small interaction between the two made many people burst into laughter, including Hayoon.
After finishing the extra piece Yeonhwa gave him, Leejin still wanted more.
Unfortunately, there was none left.
He could only lick his little panda mouth while staring at Hayoon with sparkling eyes full of admiration.
The other cubs were exactly the same.
All of them liked Hayoon even more now.
"Sister Hayoon, this dessert is so delicious!"
"The beast milk smells so sweet and tasty!"
Even the adults praised her.
"What you made is truly excellent. Especially the texture. We have never eaten anything like it before."
"It really is something completely new. I have learned something today."
Leejin clung to his two parents and pleaded cutely, "I still want more. Can we make this at home too?"
The two exchanged glances before smiling helplessly and shaking their heads.
They already knew their cub probably would not forget this "dessert" for a very long time.
"Starch and sugar blocks are manageable," Yeonhwa explained gently, "but beast milk is difficult to obtain. Your father normally does not hunt nursing female Bubalo outside."
The moment Leejin heard that, his mouth immediately puffed up unhappily, and his eyes became watery with tears.
Yeonhwa helplessly looked toward Hayoon for help.
Hayoon also knew she had been the one to tempt the children in the first place, so she awkwardly looked at Yeonhwa and said, "Now that we are raising cows, we should be able to milk them twice every day as long as nothing unexpected happens. If your families want some milk, you can trade with me for it. Just tell me ahead of time."
Yeonhwa's eyes immediately brightened. "That would be wonderful!"
As soon as the other cubs heard this, they also began clamoring for beast milk, and the entire open field instantly filled with their soft childish voices.
The parents could only coax them helplessly yet indulgently, promising that they would gather supplies and exchange for milk later.
Only then did the cubs finally calm down.
In truth, many of the adults had also completely fallen in love with the milk mochi after tasting it.
But obviously, they could not compete with the cubs over beast milk, so they could only sigh emotionally among themselves.
"If we run into Bubalo again someday, I want to raise a pair too."
"Not me. Beast milk smells wonderful, but I already do not even feel like cooking for myself most days. I definitely do not have the patience to raise animals."
"Besides Bubalo, there are quite a few other animals that produce a lot of milk too. Like Rockmon and Herbaa."
Sitting nearby, Hayoon curiously asked Minho, "What are Herbaa?"
Minho answered, "They look somewhat similar to Rockmon, but they have a lot more fur. Thick fluffy clumps all over their bodies."
Hayoon blinked her eyes.
Why did that sound suspiciously like sheep?
Immo joined the conversation as well. "That is right. Some people in the tribe shear off their fur, process it, then spin it into yarn to weave cloth and things like that."