Rebirth of an Old Farmer: Escape from Famine with Children and Grandchildren

Every time we make pancakes, we also stew pheasant and rabbit soup with potatoes, sweet potatoes and wild vegetables. This way we have soup, meat and pancakes.

Adults and children were very happy after hearing this and nodded in praise: "Great, great!"

There was a glint of anticipation in the children's eyes, and the parents also showed long-lost smiles, as they could finally eat meat again.

In fact, these three bags of grain had been mixed by Sun Wan in advance and contained rye bran.

She didn't dare to distribute pure white rice to everyone directly, for fear that the resources would be used up all at once.

Therefore, what was taken out was flour mixed with brown flour, corn flour and wheat bran.

Even so, the villagers' gratitude is still beyond words.

Even so, people held the little food they had finally obtained tightly with trembling hands and carried it home carefully, fearing that even a little bit would fall out on the way, which would make them extremely sad.

Everyone seemed to be protecting a precious treasure and walked with extreme caution.

The food brought home was carefully wrapped in cloth bags and placed in a safe corner sheltered from wind and rain.

The villagers cherish this precious food very much, fearing that it will be lost if they are not careful.

Although each household received only a small amount of potatoes and sweet potatoes, everyone treated them as treasures, carefully carried them back, and preserved them with great care.

Everyone's heart is filled with gratitude and warmth for such a gift.

Afterwards, the men went to the pool under the waterfall to bathe with smiles and relaxed moods, while the women and children happily busied themselves in the small open space next to it and began preparing lunch.

Some women were busy washing vegetables and picking wild fruits, while others were responsible for cutting meat; although the children were still young, they also actively helped to move things and collect firewood, and the atmosphere was very lively.

About half an hour later, accompanied by the breeze, the rich aroma of meat and the tempting fragrance of baked cakes gradually overflowed and spread throughout the quiet and vibrant forest on the top of the mountain, making people feel relaxed and happy.

The men quickened their pace upon hearing the sound, quickly washing off the dust that had accumulated over the years, wanting to return as soon as possible to taste the delicious food; the children hurriedly wiped the water droplets off their bodies, and couldn't wait to put on their slightly thin clothes and run over here. Even if they couldn't eat at the moment, just smelling the fragrance seemed to have satisfied most of their wishes.

At this time, more than a dozen pheasants and rabbits, which had been cleaned thoroughly and had no hair left, had been skillfully cut into small pieces of uniform size and neatly arranged aside for use...

Sun Wan stared at the spotlessly cleaned internal organs in the pot, and couldn't help but feel that these animals must have been quite plump when they were alive.

I saw several women skillfully separating pieces of fat with more oil from the main body, first putting them in a hot iron pan to heat them slightly to release the oil, and then adding other ingredients to cook.

While they were concentrating on cooking, she took the opportunity to quickly sprinkle a little thirteen-spice seasoning into the pot to add a special flavor to the meal.

The other seasonings were still placed aside intact. Sun Wan did not touch them because she was worried that using them without permission would cause unnecessary trouble.

However, it was the addition of these thirteen spices that instantly brought about a subtle change in the aroma of the entire dish, making it not only more appealing, but even the adults who were busy or resting were attracted by the aroma. They stopped what they were doing and couldn't help but take a deep breath to enjoy this gift from nature; the children, who could not contain their hunger, formed a circle and stood close to the big pot, sniffing their noses and swallowing their saliva exaggeratedly, their eyes full of desire for food.

Seeing these little faces that seemed to have been carefully washed but were actually still extremely thin, especially when her eyes inadvertently swept over the four women who were pregnant but had thin limbs and sallow complexions, Sun Wan felt a pang of sadness in her heart.

These women were obviously malnourished during pregnancy and extremely weak, which deeply touched her heart, as she had always been kind-hearted and compassionate.

So, she made an important decision deep in her heart: after everyone finished this rare and sumptuous meal, she would pretend to find a place to take a nap, and then try to exchange some basic medicines needed for daily life and extremely important pregnancy-maintaining drugs for several pregnant women to help them get through this difficult time.

Thinking of this, Sun Wan took out half a bag of carefully mixed dough that she had prepared long ago from the simple straw shed in her family yard, and began to make another delicacy on the table today - pancakes.

But before he could do anything, he was stopped by Aunt Ye.

"Lanzhen," the other party suggested, "why don't we mix some wild vegetables in to make some vegetable pancakes? That way everyone can have more to eat."

Considering that my gastrointestinal condition has been really bad recently, since I traveled to this place, I have often only been able to survive by eating tree bark and roots.

Even if they could occasionally eat good food, they would suffer from indigestion due to long hours of work and bad weather. It was also common to see women trying their best to relieve their children's constipation.

In that case, why not give Aunt Ye’s suggestion a try?

"Okay, do it your way."

She nodded in agreement.

Then, all the female members picked up their bowls and began to knead the dough, carefully mixing the chopped wild vegetables into it. Then they divided the work and started to make pancakes.

It was not until then that Sun Wan suddenly remembered that she had never exchanged supplies such as cooking oil through the system.

I thought to myself, next time I should try to exchange it for some vegetable oil or animal fat?

Although she knew that these things must be in the kitchen of the prefect's official residence, she did not intend to share them with everyone directly - she did not want everyone to develop a dependent mentality, which would only backfire in the long run.

However, no one expressed any doubt or dissatisfaction about this matter. The smiles on everyone's faces were brighter than those during the Chinese New Year. The joy that came from the heart filled the entire village with a warm atmosphere.

The elderly and children were also busy, using the freshly washed green grass to make many simple and practical containers.

The freshly baked flatbreads were golden yellow and filled the inside of each small basket woven with grass. The faint fragrance of grass wafted away along with the hot air, which greatly increased people's appetite.

Sun Wan deliberately walked into her hut and took a walk before coming out with half a bag of potatoes and red taro in her hand. "Zhang Ni, come over and help me wash and cut these ingredients into pieces, then put them into the broth and simmer them slowly."

Faced with this sudden arrangement, Zhang Ni was stunned at first, then took the task with a smile on her face: "Oh my, mother is so thoughtful, I'll take care of it right away!"

Her face was filled with gratitude and joy, and she looked particularly energetic.