Armed with a machete and a gun, armed with a system, they fled the famine.

He grew up in luxury and never experienced hardship.

When they fled, their lives plummeted, and they couldn't even eat meat every day.

Pork cracklings paired with sweet sugar taste really good.

Tian Xiu'e heated up the wild vegetable pancakes and cooked a pot of thick white rice porridge, which everyone finished in one bowl.

After lunch, Tian Xiu'e took her daughter to the stream to wash the dishes, while Zhao Yan wandered around the woods. When she returned, she was carrying a large stone slab.

She originally wanted to grill meat, but since she didn't have charcoal or a barbecue grill, she had to find a way to make other food.

If we can't grill meat, let's make some pan-fried wild boar.

She carried the stone slab to the stream and washed it, then placed it on the stone stove with the smooth side facing up.

Ignite and preheat, then brush oil onto the stone slab.

Once the oil was hot, Zhao Yan placed the sliced ​​pork belly on it.

As soon as it was placed on the plate, the distinct layers of pork belly immediately began to sizzle.

Then came the aroma of roasted meat.

While no one was paying attention, Zhao Yan secretly took some cumin from the system's shelf.

Once the pork belly was browned on both sides, he quickly sprinkled a layer of cumin onto the meat with a flick of his wrist.

An enticing aroma immediately filled the air within a radius of ten miles.

"Wow! Auntie, what smells so good?"

Zhao Yunjie's dog nose twitched around Zhao Yan, finally stopping in front of the stove.

Looking at the golden, crispy pork belly, he couldn't help but lick his lips.

"Auntie, is this the barbecue you were talking about? It looks so delicious!"

The other children, drawn by the aroma, all came closer, their eyes fixed longingly on the pork belly on the stone slab.

"Yes, this meat smells delicious, doesn't it? Wait a moment, it'll be ready soon."

Zhao Yan put the fried pork belly into a bowl and asked Zhao Yunchen to deliver it to Yuan Yutang and the others.

Then, a bowl of pan-fried pork belly was served to each of the younger children.

Although they had just eaten lunch not long ago, everyone loves delicious food, and the little ones held their bowls, eating with their mouths full of oil.

Zhao Yunchen remarked: "These days are even more enjoyable than when I was at home."

Two wild boars, with pure meat weighing two to three hundred pounds, are far too much for a few people to finish in a short time.

This time, more than 20 jin of meat was used for frying. Zhao Yan plans to make the rest of the meat into jerky.

This project is too large; there's no way we can continue our journey this afternoon.

Zhao Yan began assigning tasks.

"Uncle Yuan, take Yunchen and the others to gather dry firewood."

"Xiao Mi, you stay in the carriage and rest with Grandpa Yuan."

"Sister Tian, ​​let's cut the wild boar meat into small pieces and then marinate it."

With everything arranged, everyone got to work.

Zhao Yan and Tian Xiu'e cut the pork into pieces about the thickness of a finger, then sprinkled it with salt and marinated it.

Zhao Yan divided the pork into several portions and secretly sprinkled each portion with five-spice powder, cumin, and chili powder.

Once Yuan Gang and the others found some dry firewood, the two of them set up a large iron pot and began roasting the wild boar meat.

To make dried pork, you need to roast it slowly over low heat to gradually dry out the moisture inside the pork.

Preparing hundreds of pounds of pork properly requires a considerable amount of effort.

Once the last batch of pork jerky was ready, Zhao Yunjie couldn't wait to scoop up a piece and stuff it into his mouth.

"Hey, you can't eat this—"

Before Zhao Yan could react, his little face contorted instantly, and he bent over to spit out the pork jerky he had just put in his mouth.

"Ah! It's spicy! Ah! So spicy! So spicy!"

"Oh dear, what's wrong with Yun Jie?"

Upon hearing Zhao Yunjie's cry of pain, Tian Xiu'e hurried over to check on the situation.

Zhao Yan, both amused and annoyed, brought over a cup of warm water with added sugar.

"Hurry up and drink your water. You little glutton, haven't you already eaten a lot? Why didn't you ask if you could eat it first?"

Zhao Yunjie held the bowl and gulped it down in one go.

After drinking the sweet syrup, he finally felt a little bit of enjoyment.

"Auntie, this is so spicy! Why is it so spicy?"

Zhao Yan said irritably, "Of course, there are chili peppers in it."

It's not just spicy, it's insanely spicy!

She didn't do much, just tasted it.

Who knew Yun Jie was so quick? He got burned by the spice.

Tell him to stop being greedy!

"Alright, go play your game."

Zhao Yan patted her nephew on the head and then chased him away.

Tian Xiu'e didn't leave. She looked down at the dried meat strips in the pot and asked curiously, "Yan'er, you said the dried meat in this pot is spicy? What are chili peppers?"

Could it be pepper?

Oh dear, that stuff isn't cheap.

Uh……

Zhao Yan was stunned for a moment.

"...It's...a spicy spice."

It probably means this.

That's all she could explain; she couldn't say more.

Tian Xiu'e looked completely at ease.

"Oh, pepper isn't cheap; it's a precious commodity. Yan'er, you should use it sparingly."

"...Oh, okay, I understand."

All the wild boar meat was processed, leaving only the ribs and offal.

Zhao Yan couldn't stand the smell of the offal and refused to keep it. Helpless, Tian Xiu'e had no choice but to bury the wild boar skin and offal in a pit.

She blanched and boiled all the edible wild boar offal, and finished it in the last two days.

As for the remaining ribs, Zhao Yan decided to stew a pot of rib soup for dinner, and also braise a pot of small spare ribs, which would be served with white rice. It would be incredibly delicious.

……

After noon, the villagers of Chenjiagou were summoned to an open space in front of their homes by village head Chen Youjin, who was beating gongs and drums.

Chen Youjin stood on the high platform, coughed twice, and said in a deep voice: "Everyone, listen to me. A plague broke out in the South half a month ago. Now, refugees from the South are heading north. Refugees heading north appeared in Baima Town a few days ago."

"Fellow villagers, our Chenjiagou is the closest to the South and is a necessary passage for refugees from the South. I heard that many people have died in the South due to the plague. We must make plans as soon as possible."

Someone questioned, "Muramasa, what do you mean by that?"

"Yes, Uncle, what do you think we should do?"

Upon hearing of the plague, the villagers turned pale and began whispering amongst themselves.

Yaoshou.

What ordinary people fear most is plague.

This thing is impossible to kill or destroy, and it strikes fear into people's hearts.

Chen Youjin raised his hand to quiet everyone and said in a deep voice, "Escape."

"escape?"

The villagers were utterly astonished.

Yang Zhangshi opened her mouth and started rambling: "Chen Youjin, you're encouraging us all to flee. How are you any different from those people in the south? Do you think fleeing famine is child's play? According to you, with everything in such chaos outside, where can we escape to? What if we run out of food and water? Then we'll have nothing left!"

"You're unfamiliar with this place, don't risk your life. I've heard that fleeing famine is the hardest thing. I'm not going to flee famine, you can go on your own."

Upon hearing the news of fleeing the famine, Yang Zhangshi was already repulsed and turned to leave after saying goodbye.

"Yes, Uncle, you're telling us to run away, but where can we run to? I choose to stay too."

"I'll stay too."

One has two.

Soon, more than half of the villagers chose to stay.

As for the rest, they either haven't thought it through yet, or they haven't thought about it at all.