In years of famine and drought, their village even rejected fatty meat.

"Skilled Hands, is this your new house?"

Looking at the brand-new house in front of her, Wang Ling's wife had a hint of envy in her eyes. Compared to the cramped, drafty wooden house they lived in in the shantytown, Liu Qiaoshou's new house was not only larger but also more solidly built. Just by looking at it, you could tell that it was much more comfortable than the houses in the shantytown.

"That's right!"

Liu Qiaoshou smiled and nodded: "This house was built for us by the village for free."

Was it built for free?

Wang Ling and his wife were even more envious. Not only did they get to eat their fill as soon as they arrived in Chenjia Village, but they also moved into a new house. Their lives were so much better than theirs!

"Old Wang, Yingzi, you're here!"

Upon entering the house, Wang Ling's wife, Qi Hua, warmly greeted him, took his hand, and said with concern, "Yingzi, you've lost so much weight."

How can I not lose weight?

Wang Ling's wife smiled bitterly to herself. The government did not distinguish between men and women when it came to farming. As long as an adult who could work, they had to go to the fields to work. They did physical labor every day, but could only eat two meals of thin porridge a day. It would be strange if they didn't lose weight.

"Wife, is the food ready?" Liu Qiaoshou suddenly asked.

"Ready."

Qi Hua nodded and led the group to the kitchen next door: "Yingzi and Lao Wang, sit down quickly, let's eat and chat."

Looking at the sumptuous meal on the table, Wang Ling and his wife Qiu Ying couldn't help but swallow hard. On the table was a large bowl of plump white steamed buns, as well as a plate of stewed chicken and golden scrambled eggs...

Having eaten thin porridge for months, the two had never seen such a sumptuous meal before, and were momentarily stunned!

"Skilled hands".

After a moment of stunned silence, Wang Ling couldn't help but say, "Isn't this meal a bit too lavish?"

"It's Chinese New Year, so naturally we have to eat something good."

Liu Qiaoshou pressed Wang Ling into a chair and said with a smile, "Besides, you, Old Wang, have come all this way, so I should at least bring something good, right?"

"But……"

Wang Ling exclaimed, "This is far too extravagant!"

"It's nothing."

Liu Qiaoshou scoffed, "The other villagers in Chenjia Village eat much more than my family! Take Chen Sheng's family in the village, for example. There are only three people in his family. Do you know what they ate on New Year's Eve?"

"what?"

Wang Ling and Qiu Ying asked instinctively.

"I heard from others that their family killed a chicken and a duck on New Year's Eve, and the three of them ate more than ten kilograms of meat in one night!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Ling and Qiu Ying exchanged bewildered glances. The three of them had eaten a chicken and a duck in one night. Even the landlords in the city probably wouldn't dare to be so extravagant.

"not only that!"

Qi Hua interjected, "Yesterday, on the first day of the Lunar New Year, Chen Sheng's family also killed a chicken and a duck. In just two days, they ate two chickens and two ducks!"

"This……"

Wang Ling stared in disbelief and said, "Could it be that Chen Sheng's house is hiding a nugget of gold?"

"Not really!"

Liu Qiaoshou said with a smile, "It's mainly because Chen Sheng's son is quite capable. He did some chicken and duck trading and made a lot of money, so his family is much better off than others!"

"I see!"

Wang Ling and his companion suddenly realized that although merchants in the Xia Kingdom had a low social status, their wealth was common knowledge. It was only natural that Chen Sheng's son, who was a businessman, was relatively well-off.

"Let's not talk about this anymore, let's eat!"

Liu Qiaoshou changed the subject and put a chicken leg into Wang Ling's bowl: "Old Wang, try this chicken and see how it tastes."

"Then I'm not welcome!"

Wang Ling didn't hesitate; he grabbed the chicken leg with his hand and bit off half of it in one go.

The moment the chicken thigh meat entered his mouth, its fragrant aroma instantly filled his mouth. Wang Ling felt his entire mouth was filled with the meaty flavor, and he couldn't help but speed up his chewing.

"Skilled hands, this chicken seems different from regular chicken?"

After swallowing the chicken, Wang Ling couldn't help but ask.

Although he was a refugee, he wasn't particularly poor before becoming one, and he had eaten chicken before. But the chicken he was eating now was clearly different from what he had eaten before. The biggest difference was...

The chicken meat seemed to have a lot of fat, unlike the dry-tasting gray-feathered chickens commonly found in Xia Kingdom.

"Of course it's different!"

Qi Hua said with a smile, "This chicken is a specialty of our Chenjia Village, the yellow-feathered chicken, it's very plump and delicious!"

Yellow-feathered chicken?

Wang Ling secretly memorized the name, while Qiu Ying beside him devoured the food.

For a refugee like her, the opportunity to eat meat to her heart's content was extremely rare, and her body instinctively craved meat. Therefore, Qiuying didn't even care about her table manners and just kept putting pieces of chicken into her mouth and chewing.

After a while, Qiuying, who was half full, remembered something and asked, "By the way, Qiaoshou, where are your kids?"

"They're playing outside!"

Qi Hua smiled and replied, "Don't worry about them, you guys eat first."

Upon hearing this, Qiuying said no more and continued to deal with the meat and steamed buns on the table.

Fifteen minutes later, Wang Ling, feeling quite full, rubbed his slightly bloated stomach and said gratefully, "Thank you so much for your skillful hands! I haven't eaten this much in months!"

"Don't mention it."

Liu Qiaoshou waved his hand casually and said to Qi Hua, "Wife, take Wang Ling and Yingzi to take a bath and change into new clothes."

"okay!"

After a flurry of activity, Wang Ling and his wife, who had taken a shower and changed into new clothes, were arranged by Liu Qiaoshou to stay in the room next door.

"Old Wang, Qiaoshou and the others are living a really good life now!"

Lying on the bed, Qiu Ying looked at the ceiling and said that today was probably the happiest day she and Wang Ling had had since becoming refugees. They not only ate a sumptuous meal, but also took a hot bath and wore new clothes. This kind of life was something they could never have imagined when they lived in the shantytown.

"Yes!"

Wang Ling nodded and said, "This Chenjia Village is really wealthy; every household can afford to eat meat!"

After taking a bath, Wang Ling took a stroll around the village. It was lunchtime, and smoke was rising from every household in Chenjia Village. The aroma of meat could be smelled from time to time, indicating that the villagers of Chenjia Village were cooking meat.

"We've had a good New Year!"

Qiuying licked her lips, seemingly still savoring the taste of the meat dish she had at noon. Even now, the aroma of the yellow-feathered chicken still lingered in her mouth.

…………

…………

Two days passed in a blink of an eye.

On the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, Chenjia Village resumed work, and the villagers got busy, carrying out various tasks in an orderly manner.

Meanwhile, Chen Gou loaded his caravan's donkey carts with goods and set off on the official road to the county town.