Facing the morning glow, Hayoon once again brought out her "family heirloom clay pot" and carefully placed it on the stove.
She also prepared a clean beast hide mat nearby.
"Sis," Haeun said, "I wanted to ask earlier. Why do we need to boil it? Can't we just drink it directly?"
Hayoon explained in terms he could understand. "There might be things inside it that can make people sick. Heating it can kill them. Not just milk either. From now on, we should try to drink boiled water whenever possible."
Haeun nodded. "I know that. Didn't Brother Sulwoo get lice after washing his hair with creek water? There must be bug eggs in the water. I do not want my stomach full of worms."
Hayoon laughed. "Exactly. You are very smart."
Haeun grinned proudly and helped stoke the fire while Hayoon poured half a bucket of milk into the clay pot first.
It did not take long for the milk to boil and Hayoon quickly moved the clay pot aside.
"This batch can be drunk once it cools a little."
Hayoon thought to herself that it was a pity she did not have a pasteurization machine, so she could only use high-temperature sterilization, which caused some loss of flavor in the milk.
Haeun asked, "What about the rest?"
"I am going to make double skin milk."
"What is double skin milk?"
"A quick milk dessert..." Hayoon decided not to explain further. "First, pull half the firewood out."
"Okay!"
As long as it involved food, Haeun always responded enthusiastically.
The method for making double skin milk was very simple.
Hayoon had once watched some senior students from another department make it during a school food festival and she had remembered the process ever since.
Still, since this was her first time actually making it herself, so she proceeded carefully.
For this dessert, she even specially took out honey blocks from her space, washed them clean, and added them into the milk.
Then she heated the milk over low heat until tiny bubbles began forming before pouring it into individual bowls to cool.
During that time, she started another pot to prepare breakfast for everyone.
Her anticipation for the milk put her in an especially good mood, and she even began humming softly.
Once the earlier bowls of milk had cooled, a wrinkled milk skin formed on the surface.
Hayoon carefully lifted the milk skin and poured out most of the milk beneath it.
Then she mixed egg whites into the poured-out milk, stirred it evenly, and slowly poured it back underneath the milk skin again.
She placed a clean leaf over each bowl and returned them to the pot to steam.
"Let's eat breakfast first. It should be ready by the time we're done," Hayoon said with a smile while carrying over the bowls and chopsticks.
Before they started eating, she poured each person a large bowl of milk.
The moment they tasted it, not only the beastmen who rarely had fresh milk, but even Hayoon herself was stunned by how delicious it was.
She had never experienced such a rich texture and sweet fragrant flavor before.
The satisfaction spread from her throat to her stomach the instant she swallowed, then quickly filled her entire body.
Hot fresh milk in its purest form was unbelievably delicious.
Hayoon eagerly looked toward Haeun and Minho.
Haeun hugged his bowl and gulped down the milk nonstop.
Meanwhile, Minho licked the milk foam from his lips with the tip of his tongue before looking over with a faint smile. "Just for this milk alone, bringing them back to raise was worth it."
Receiving his approval made Hayoon grin brightly.
"Exactly! It tastes even better than I imagined!"
Fresh milk was only the appetizer.
The truly irresistible part was still to come.
After steaming for a while, the double skin milk in the pot began releasing an irresistibly tempting aroma that practically screamed, "Come eat me."
With the added honey blocks and beaten egg whites, the milk smelled not only sweeter but also silkier.
Just breathing in the fragrance felt soothing enough to massage the nose.
Not to mention how the scent naturally made saliva gather in their mouths, making the root vegetables in their hands suddenly much harder to eat.
Hayoon and Minho, as adults, still managed to stay calm.
But Haeun's heart had already flown into the pot long ago.
Every now and then, he glanced over excitedly and reported to Hayoon, "Sis, the water is boiling already."
"Mm." Hayoon smiled. "Wait a little longer. The inside is not fully cooked yet."
"Oh..." he said eagerly. "Should I save some room in my stomach?"
Hayoon laughed. "No need. I only made a few bowls. It is just dessert after the meal."
Haeun sniffed the air again and sighed dreamily. "It smells so good..."
Breakfast suddenly felt unusually long, yet also strangely full of anticipation because of the double skin milk.
Finally, when Hayoon announced, "It should be ready now. I will go bring it out," Haeun immediately jumped up with an excited howl.
"Sis, why don't I do it? What if you burn yourself? My paw pads are thick!"
This time, Hayoon did not refuse.
"Alright. You do it."
Haeun carefully carried the bowls out one by one and placed them along the edge of the stove.
Hayoon pinched the leaf covering the top and slowly lifted it away.
The milk had already solidified into a pale yellow mousse-like texture. Since she had not strained it, the surface was not perfectly smooth, but that only made the milk skin look even richer in texture.
The fragrance of milk and sweetness rushed out together with the steam.
Haeun had never seen food like this before. He let out a amazed "Wow!" and said greedily, "Sis, it looks so pretty!"
Hayoon instructed him, "Go bring a few clean wooden spoons over. There is only one final step left before we can eat."
"Okay!!"
Haeun turned around to get the spoons while Hayoon entered the cave and brought out a small basin of berries.
She had gathered them earlier before. They looked a little like raspberries, except they were purplish red, larger than raspberries, and much more sour.