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

“This is so precious!”

Liu Yan stuffed the steamed bun back into Chen Cheng's hand, saying, "Cheng-ge'er, quickly give this food back to Dao-ge'er. This is too precious; Mother can't eat it."

"mother!"

Chen Cheng, after taking the steamed bun, said, "Don't worry about eating! Dao Ge'er's family doesn't lack this at all. When we're working, Dao Ge'er lets us eat as many steamed buns as we want, until we're full."

"what?!"

Liu Yan's eyes widened; she was completely stunned!

The steamed buns, which cost three coins each, were not only provided for Cheng Ge'er and the others, but they could also eat their fill.

"That's it."

Chen Shi, who was standing nearby, explained, "These steamed buns were brought back by Dao Ge'er! Mother, you should try them, they're delicious!"

Chen Mu also said, "Yes! Mother, you should try it!"

"is it?"

Seeing that the three brothers had been trying to persuade her, Liu Yan took the steamed bun from Chen Cheng's hand with some doubt, tore off a small piece, and put it in her mouth to chew carefully.

"Mom, how does it taste?"

The three brothers looked at Liu Yan with expectant faces.

"delicious."

Liu Yan nodded seriously: "This steamed bun is the best I've ever eaten!"

Liu Yan, who is over 40 years old, has eaten mostly bran flour in her life. In the past, during times of peace and prosperity, she could occasionally afford to eat a bite of white rice.

However, even white rice doesn't taste nearly as good as steamed buns.

"I'll put these steamed buns away and give them to your younger siblings later."

Although the steamed buns were delicious, Liu Yan did not overindulge. Instead, she carefully put away the five and a half buns, intending to save them for her three younger children.

Seeing this, the three Chen brothers didn't say anything. Their mother had always been like this, always saving the best food for her children.

After putting away the steamed buns, Liu Yan said to the three brothers, "Dao Ge'er is so good to you, you must not slack off when you work at his house, or I won't let you off the hook!"

"Don't worry, Mother, we know."

…………

…………

About fifteen minutes later, the three Chen brothers, along with Chen Jiang and Chen Si, all returned to the construction site of Chen Dao's house and began the vigorous construction work.

Chen Dao also joined in, but physical labor was not his forte. After moving the timber for only a short while, Chen Dao was already panting heavily.

"This body is still too thin."

Chen Dao sighed softly. He was only fifteen years old and was very thin because he had been starving for many years. He was not able to do much physical labor.

"Brother Dao, you go and rest, we'll take care of it."

Noticing that Chen Dao was not strong enough, Chen Cheng quickly told Chen Dao to go and rest.

Chen Dao nodded, returned to the Chen family home, and lay on the bed, contemplating the future.

Since his last trip to the county town and his conversation with Wu Han, Chen Dao has frequently considered the matter of the imperial court increasing taxes.

According to Chen Dao's guess, this tax increase will definitely not be limited to the county seat; sooner or later it will reach the villages outside the county seat, and then...

The villages outside the county town were going to suffer. Even the people in the town couldn't afford to pay a shi (a unit of dry measure) of grain, let alone the poor people in the rural areas outside the county town.

If they couldn't pay the grain tax, their entire family would be conscripted into the army...

This punishment sent a chill down Chen Dao's spine.

He wasn't worried about his own family not being able to deliver the grain, but he couldn't help but worry about Chen Cheng and the other villagers.

Given the current situation in Taiping County, at least 90% of the people cannot pay even a single bushel of grain. If the government forces these people too much, it is hard to say that trouble will not break out, or even... some people will rise up in rebellion.

When Chen Dao read history in his previous life, he often described peasant rebellions as peasant uprisings. Every time he saw a peasant uprising, he felt very relieved, but that was from the perspective of a person from the future.

And now...

Chen Dao, however, was going to experience peasant uprisings firsthand, which was completely different from what he had read in history books. You see, once someone rebels and war breaks out, the ones who suffer the most are always ordinary people like him.

We need to think of a solution.

Lying in bed, Chen Dao wrapped himself tightly in the quilt, trying to ward off the cold wind while thinking of a solution.

Before we knew it, dusk had fallen.

At the construction site, Chen Cheng and his four companions were already starving.

Fortunately, at that moment, Li Ping and He Cuilian came over carrying a wooden bucket filled with food.

"Auntie."

Chen Shi leaned closer to the rice bucket and asked in a flattering tone, "Is dinner still steamed buns tonight?"

Having tasted the steamed buns, Chen Shi had fallen in love with them completely, and his fondness for porridge had greatly diminished.

"It's a steamed bun."

Li Ping nodded gently.

Chen Shi and the other four immediately showed joy on their faces, looking with delight at the rice bucket that Li Ping had uncovered.

As the cloth covering the rice bucket was lifted, a rich aroma wafted out, and plump steamed buns appeared in Chen Cheng and the others' sight.

"It really is a steamed bun!"

Chen Cheng took a steamed bun from Li Ping and asked suspiciously, "Auntie, why is this steamed bun a different color than this morning?"

The others also looked puzzled. The steamed buns in the morning were white, but the ones in Chen Cheng's hand were more yellow. Of course, the aromas they gave off were similar, and the smells were equally tempting.

"The steamed buns in the morning were made of wheat flour, but now they are made of sorghum flour."

Li Ping explained with a smile that Chen Dao had told them that sorghum flour could be used to make steamed buns. Under Chen Dao's guidance, Li Ping and He Cuilian used the leftover sourdough from the morning to mix with sorghum flour, fermented it quickly, and successfully made sorghum steamed buns.

"I see."

Chen Cheng suddenly realized, took a bite out of half a sorghum bun, and chewed it with his cheeks bulging.

As the flavor of the steamed bun spread in his mouth, a look of satisfaction appeared on Chen Cheng's face.

The others also started eating, each grabbing a steamed bun and wolfing it down.

"These sorghum buns seem to taste better than white flour buns."

"That's what I think too!"

"Brother Dao is so good to us, he even gave us steamed buns to eat!"

"..."

As everyone ate, they praised Chen Dao.

At that time, they felt that Chen Dao was the best person to them in the village, without exception!

Even their mother had never given them such delicious food!

"They're eating steamed buns again!"

"Damn it! What kind of carefree life are those pot-bellied bastards, Chen Cheng and his gang, living like gods?!"

"They eat better than the landlords and rich people!"

"I want to eat steamed buns too!"

"Full portions of steamed buns every meal? Damn it, is this even a human life?"

"How much grain does Daoge'er's family actually have? They're giving such a precious food like steamed buns to these big-bellied men like Chen Cheng!"

"..."

Not far from the construction site, the villagers watching the spectacle were practically drooling, their noses inhaling the aroma of steamed buns in the air, their eyes fixed on Chen Cheng and the others as they devoured the buns. For them, this was pure torture.