Through the troubled times and famine, I just want to farm peacefully

"Yu Niang, you can't eat your guts. Goudan will go to school and get married when he grows up. There are many things that require money. Just think of this money as saving it for Goudan."

Zhang sighed and continued to persuade, "Listen to my sister-in-law's advice. Take advantage of the fact that the man still has a conscience. If he gets married and has a child someday, will he still remember you and Goudan?"

"No matter how hard it is, you can't make yourself suffer. For Goudan, you should accept it with a clear conscience."

Yu Niang exhaled a breath of turbid air, "Yu Niang, listen to your sister-in-law."

"I heard from my husband that the monthly salary at the horse farm is not low."

The two of them talked close to each other for a long time before going back to rest.

In the cafeteria, everyone goes to work at the scheduled time and everything is in order.

After the busy farming season, the Longtan County Government issued its first decree, which was to levy corvee labor to build canals and roads.

Unlike in the past, this time the corvée labor collection in Longtan is expected to take two months.

Families who had previously signed an agreement to buy rice seeds on credit were required to work for a full month.

The county government would allocate an additional sum of money to be used for repairing canals, building roads, and signing up for corvée labor.

That's right. Those who signed up to perform corvée labor were paid one hundred coins a month. Those who paid rent with work, except for those who paid for the first month's work, would be paid if they continued to work in the second month.

In addition, the county government will provide two meals.

The news was spread to every village under their rule by Yun Yu, Hu Shao and others, and the enthusiasm of the people was unprecedentedly high.

In the past, every family had to send a male member to perform labor service. Not only did they not have money, but they also did not have food provided.

Nowadays, the Longtan County Government provides two meals and one hundred coins.

Is there such a good thing in the world?

Every village was discussing the reliability of the information about corvee collection in Longtan, and Baisha Village was no exception.

Ah Da squatted in front of his low thatched house with a bowl in hand and ate. The sun sets late in the summer and there was still some afterglow in the sky.

He saw the village chief walking towards him with his hands behind his back, "Uncle Village Chief, come and eat!"

"I've eaten." The village chief waved his hand at him and continued, "Ada, where are your parents?"

"at home."

Ah Da turned his head and shouted towards the low house, "Dad, Mom, the village chief is here."

A-Da's parents put down their bowls and hurried out the door, "The village chief is here, come in and sit down, the meal is ready, would you like to eat something?"

"Don't bother, I've eaten. I'm here to talk to you and then I'll leave." The village chief said, "The county is collecting corvée labor. What do you think of it?"

"What can I say? The village chief knows my family's situation. The rice seeds are bought on credit, and they provide two meals. I was thinking that the three of us, father and son, should all go. Firstly, we can save some food for the family, and secondly, we can earn a few hundred coins." said A Dad.

Auntie then echoed, "Yes, if they didn't recruit women, my wife and I would go too."

The village chief glimpsed a few young children in the house looking out from the corner of his eye, and asked with doubt in his voice, "Are they all going?"

He knew that Lin Yinan and his companions had only fled here half a year earlier than them. Now so many people were being conscripted to do corvée labor, and in addition to food and drink they had to be paid. Why did it feel unreal to him?

"Why not go? We have a big family. If we save two meals a day, it will be a lot in two months." Auntie A is a shrewd old lady.

"What if there is no money?" Although he was elected as the village chief, he still had some doubts.

Because Hu Shao was busy delivering the message, he was not told the specific details.

Dad saw what he was thinking, "When we first arrived, they gave us rice seeds on credit. Even if they didn't pay, it was okay. We still had two meals, right?"

Seeing the persistence of Ada's family, the village chief simply gave the cooking job to Aunt Cheng.

The village chief left amid A's profuse thanks.

Not many people signed up for the first phase. Everyone was still waiting and watching. Basically all those who went were people who had bought rice seeds on credit.

Fearing that the food would be bad, everyone secretly brought some dry food.

As a result, when it was time to eat, everyone saw dozens of large wooden barrels placed in front of Yun Yu and others.

Hu Shao greeted everyone with a smile on his face, "Today is the first day, everyone take out your bowls and line up to get food. Each person will have a bowl of porridge, a spoonful of pickled vegetables and a chopstick of stir-fried vegetables."

When the lid of the barrel was opened, the aroma of white rice porridge filled the air. Everyone sniffed again and again, with their noses raised.

After the first person finished serving his food, everyone leaned over to take a look.

I don’t know, I’m scared.

The crowd immediately exploded.

"This is such a thick porridge!"

"Oh my god! It's better than the food at home!"

"The greens are fried so green, I guess it must have taken a lot of oil, right?"

"My porridge is so clear that you can count the rice grains. This porridge is so good!"

The people at the front of the line can see it clearly, but the people at the back can't see it no matter how hard they stretch their necks.

So someone shouted to the person who got the food, "Hey, come here, let us take a look."

"Brother, how's the meal?"

"Damn, this food is awesome."

"Thank goodness you're here!" someone rejoiced.

So, the first few people who got the food walked around the long line with their bowls in their hands, and finally squatted under the shade of a tree, temporarily broke off a branch to use as chopsticks, and started eating with big mouthfuls.

The people behind almost swallowed their saliva when they saw this.

In the afternoon, a cooling tea is also provided.

It is mint tea with licorice added. It tastes sweet and refreshing. Drinking it will make your mind clearer.

Ada and his brothers were conscripted to build a canal, which was not far from the village, so they could go home and rest after dinner.

Before entering the village, I saw the village chief and many villagers guarding the entrance of the village.

When they saw them coming back from corvée labor, they came forward to ask them.

"Ada, is the food at the county government office delicious?"

"Is it plain porridge?"

A Da didn't say anything. He took out a vegetable pancake from his arms and handed it to the youngest sister.

"This is the vegetable pancake we gave out tonight. Have some, little sister."

"Brother, you have worked hard, you eat! We are not tired at home." The younger sister shook her head and refused.

The brother and sister kept refusing each other, and other villagers behind him stepped forward to answer for him.

"Village chief, we had a big bowl of thick porridge at noon, with pickles and vegetables in it. In the evening, we also had a bowl of white rice porridge and a vegetable pancake."

"What? We don't have to work at night, and we still get to eat vegetable pancakes?" Some people didn't believe it.

The villager pointed at what Ada's sister was holding and said, "Look, that's what Ada gave to his sister."

"I heard from Manager Hu that there will be egg porridge tomorrow." Some villagers announced the news they got from Hu Shao.

"You're just bragging, aren't you afraid of blowing your own trumpet too far?"

"Believe it or not, you can't eat it anyway." The villager was very proud.

At this time, someone saw Aunt A walking behind the crowd.

"Auntie, are you going to have egg porridge tomorrow?"

Auntie raised her sleeve to wipe the sweat off her face, came to her son and daughter, and handed a small bag in her hand to her eldest daughter-in-law.

She took a breath and said, "Yes, the boss said that we can eat meat once every three days."

The eldest daughter-in-law felt what it was and went forward to hold her mother-in-law.

"Mom, you've been tired all day, let's go home."