Farmer's wife: My husband came back and the house was in chaos

Chapter 234 No Food? Good News and Bad News

Early in the morning on New Year's Eve, the village chief struck the gongs and drums of the ancestral hall and asked everyone to gather in front of the hall. Soon, all the people in the village, including the refugees, gathered in the open space in front of the hall.

"Today is New Year's Eve, and I called everyone here because I have something to tell you.

Recently, our village was attacked by rats. All the food was eaten up and every household had no surplus food. In addition, the wind and snow disaster in the north caused tens of thousands of suffering villagers to come to our southern border for refuge.

We couldn't get into the city, and even if we had money we couldn't buy food, so we were trapped in this village. But everyone was united, didn't cause trouble, and helped each other. I saw all of this.

I called you here today to tell you a piece of bad news and a piece of good news. The bad news is that all the food in the village was distributed yesterday, and there is nothing left. "

As soon as the village chief said this, it immediately caused panic among the villagers.

"What? There's no food left in the village. What should we do?"

"Yeah, wow... We can barely get by with the food in the village, but now there is no food in the village."

"Alas! If I had known this, I should have hanged myself, and there would have been enough food for one more person to feed the others."

"Village chief! Could it be that you have embezzled the grain? There is so much public grain in our village, how can we eat it all up?" Old Mrs. Huang said without thinking. She has been tightening her belt every day to make ends meet, and now the village chief tells her that the food is gone, isn't that asking for her life?

"Mrs. Huang! What nonsense are you talking about? If I embezzle food, you will be in trouble. You don't have the energy to gossip here. I think you don't want to be bored. Starting tomorrow, your family is not allowed to come to the village to collect food."

"If you don't want it, then don't! There's no food in the village anyway. Why are you making such a fuss? You might starve to death in two days. What am I afraid of!" When Old Mrs. Huang heard that there was no food left, she just gave up and was not afraid anymore.

"You said that, are you serious?"

"Of course I'm serious. What's there to talk about when there's no food? I'll go back first. You guys can chat slowly!" After saying this, Old Lady Huang left without looking back.

In fact, her family's grain was not eaten by mice, but was still intact at home. She heard that the villagers who were affected by the disaster could get grain, so she hid her grain and created the illusion that the grain was eaten in order to cheat the villagers of grain. Last time, the village chief reduced their family's grain by half, and she held a grudge, so this time, she didn't pretend and just walked away.

"Is there anyone else who wants to leave?" In that case, let's clean out the vermin in the village to avoid wasting food.

"One after another, several people left after hearing that there was no food."

Those who stayed behind continued to listen to what the village chief said.

"Okay, listen up, everyone who stayed. I just said there is a bad news and a good news. Now that the bad news is over, let's talk about the good news. Although there is no food left, we have found other sweet potatoes that can replace food! Come on, lift up the sweet potatoes we dug these two days."

As soon as the village chief finished speaking, several young men from the village brought up baskets of sweet potatoes.

For a moment, the villagers were in an uproar again.

"Yam? What is it? I've never heard of it."

"Whatever it is, as long as it fills my stomach, that's enough."

"Everyone, be quiet! I know you are all very curious about what this is and whether you can eat it. Don't worry, I will tell you slowly. Everyone present can get one. There are more than a thousand kilograms of it. It will be enough for you to eat until the beginning of spring. As for those who left just now, they are considered to have taken the initiative to leave. Keep an eye on them and don't let them in.

Next, I will tell you about the benefits of yam. It is much better than our brown rice porridge and wild vegetables. It is not only filling but also delicious. It can be eaten by the elderly and children. It is nutritious and delicious. It is a rare good thing. "The village chief said with a happy face.

"Is it really that good? It just looks like a lump of wood. It's so long, like a tree root. Is it really as good as the village chief said?"

The village chief didn't care what the people below were saying and questioning. He picked up two washed sweet potatoes and asked Liu Jinhua and Yao Qingnian to cook them. They broke the sweet potatoes into several pieces and started steaming them directly in the pot.

While the yam was cooking, the village chief continued, "This yam can be eaten not only by steaming, boiling, but also by frying. With this, we can have a good New Year without going hungry or freezing. You may not believe me and think I am fooling you, but it doesn't matter, you will know in a moment."

The pot was steaming, and everyone looked towards it expectantly. Liu Jinhua added more fuel to the fire. Soon, the aroma of sweet potatoes wafted out from the pot lid.

"Oh! It smells so good!"

“It’s true, this is really delicious!”

"Great!"

Everyone was already hungry, and when they smelled the smell, their stomachs started to growl unconsciously, and the kids even drooled.

After about a quarter of an hour, Yao Qingnian lifted the lid of the pot and poked it with chopsticks. Hmm, it was cooked. She nodded to the village chief.

"Okay, now the yams are cooked. Who wants to come up and taste them?"

"I come!"

"I come!"

Hearing that there was food to eat, everyone rushed up to try it.

"You, you, and you, come up!" The village chief called several children and elderly women to come up.

The sweet potatoes were still steaming. Yao Qingnian peeled them in front of everyone, revealing the white sweet potato flesh inside. He handed them to them and reminded them, "It's just out of the pot, the sweet potato core is still very hot, especially for children, eat slowly, do you hear me?"

The children all nodded obediently, took the sweet potatoes from Yao Qingnian's hand, and began to eat slowly.

The wild sweet potato has a soft and glutinous texture, and tastes sweet and fragrant. It is delicious. People who eat it seem to be eating it with relish, and the onlookers are so excited that they swallow their saliva desperately.

"It's delicious. It's so delicious! I have no teeth, but I can still eat it. It's fragrant and sweet, much better than wild vegetable pancakes."

"Yeah, it's soft and chewy. I feel full after eating just one."

"And my tummy feels warm, which is so comfortable."

It seems that this thing is not only really filling, but also delicious! They are saved and don’t have to go hungry anymore! Everyone cheered.

Yao Qingnian noticed that a little girl stopped eating after taking a bite, so he asked, "Why don't you eat it? Is it not tasty?"

"No, auntie, these yams are delicious, but I want to save them for my mother. She is sick and hasn't eaten for several days."

"Didn't the village distribute meat soup a few days ago?"

"My mother couldn't bear to eat it, so she gave it all to me and my brother, so I also want to leave this for her to eat."

"Good child, eat! Everyone will have some in a while. Look, there are so many! Everyone!" Yao Qingnian touched her head, feeling very uncomfortable. Such a young child knew to think of her mother when she had good things, and her mother, who was sick, still wanted to save food for the children. Perhaps this was the meaning of family existence...