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

Chapter 214 Hope

Seeing Liu Qiaoshou's beaming face, his wife couldn't help but ask in surprise, "Qiaoshou, what good thing happened to you that makes you so happy?"

It's no wonder Liu Qiaoshou's wife was so puzzled, because... she hadn't seen Liu Qiaoshou smile in a long time. Since the cold disaster struck, not only Liu Qiaoshou, but most of the people of Liangzhou had hardly seen smiles on their faces, only expressions of sorrow.

"Great news! This is fantastic news!"

Liu Qiaoshou stepped forward and hugged his wife, his face full of joy: "The county magistrate just told us that we will be able to have enough to eat from now on!"

"what?"

Liu Qiaoshou's wife was taken aback and said incredulously, "This is indeed a good thing! But... how can this county magistrate be so generous?"

If something seems too good to be true, it's probably poisoned.

This is the mindset of the vast majority of people, so when Qi Hua suddenly heard Liu Qiaoshou say this news, she subconsciously became suspicious.

"I don't know why the county magistrate is so generous!"

Liu Qiaoshou replied, "However, the county magistrate just said this in front of all of us. He said that as long as we are willing to help him with farm work, we can have enough to eat every day. A person as important as the county magistrate would never go back on his word when he says it in front of so many people!"

"This……"

Qi Hua was speechless at first, then her face lit up with joy: "That's wonderful, Qiaoshou! We won't have to go hungry anymore!"

"Yes! We can finally have enough to eat! And the children won't go hungry anymore."

At this moment, not only was Liu Qiaoshou's home filled with joy, but also every shack outside the city echoed with the excited cheers of the refugees. For these starving refugees, being able to eat their fill was their greatest hope, and Xu Zhiwen... gave them hope!

"Honey, there's something I need to discuss with you!"

After the initial excitement subsided, Liu Qiaoshou released his wife and frowned, saying, "The county magistrate just said that if you don't want to do farm work, you can follow another young man surnamed Chen and work as a craftsman..."

Liu Qiaoshou relayed everything Xu Zhiwen and Chen Dao had just said to Qi Hua, and then expressed her hesitation: "I would rather do the work of a craftsman, but that young man surnamed Chen looks too young. Although the county magistrate has guaranteed him, I feel he is a bit unreliable!"

Upon hearing this, Qi Hua frowned, thought for a moment, and then said, "Qiaoshou, you can decide for yourself! No matter what you choose, the child and I will support you!"

"Uh……"

Seeing that his wife couldn't make a decision for him, Liu Qiaoshou scratched her head. Just then, Wang Ling and his wife Qiuying walked in, their faces beaming with joy, and asked, "Qiaoshou, what have you thought about? Are you planning to work on the farm with the government officials, or work as a craftsman with that young man surnamed Chen?"

"I haven't decided yet!"

Liu Qiaoshou shook her head, still feeling extremely hesitant, suffering from decision paralysis.

"What's there to consider?"

Qiu Ying said, "If you ask me, we should just work for the government! The county magistrate promised to give us enough to eat, so he definitely won't go back on his word!"

"Yes!"

Wang Ling echoed, "Following the government is the right thing to do. That little Chen may sound nice, but nobody knows if he can actually do it!"

Liu Qiaoshou became increasingly conflicted and said, "I'll think about it some more!"

"The government is distributing porridge! The government is distributing porridge! Everyone hurry over!"

"Porridge is being served! Go and get some!"

"Hurry up!"

"..."

A commotion arose outside. Liu Qiaoshou and Wang Ling exchanged a glance, then, without thinking too much, signaled the two women to wait at home before taking off running towards the city gate.

Before long, the two arrived outside the city gate, where they saw a table set up in the open space. A middle-aged man who looked like a scholar was sitting behind the table, waiting for the refugees to register.

Not far from the middle-aged man were Zhang He and his men, who were in charge of distributing porridge.

"Everyone, don't rush!"

Looking at the eager refugees, Zhang He shouted, "Line up, one by one, there's plenty of food for you today."

In the past, the government would only distribute a small amount of porridge, but today is different. The county magistrate has allocated enough grain to feed these refugees outside the city.

The refugees naturally noticed the weight of the grain Zhang He had brought. Upon seeing the mountain of grain sacks, they suppressed their eagerness and patiently lined up to receive their porridge.

"Zhang He, it's been a long time!"

"Hello, Brother Zhang!"

"Skinny Monkey, you've really turned your life around! You've even become an official now."

"..."

When they were receiving porridge, many refugees greeted Zhang He and the skinny monkey. They all knew Zhang He and were very envious of him for being able to become a constable and receive government pay.

"Hello everyone."

Zhang He did not look down on these refugees because of his change in status; he simply did his job diligently by serving them porridge.

Before long, it was Liu Qiaoshou's turn to get her porridge. Liu Qiaoshou glanced at the pot and noticed that today's porridge was unusually thick, quite different from the clear porridge of the past.

As Liu Qiaoshou handed the large bowl in her hand to Zhang He, she said, "Brother Zhang, I have a wife and two children at home, so please give me a generous amount."

"no problem."

Zhang He readily agreed, filled Liu Qiaoshou's bowl to the brim, and then returned the bowl to her.

However, Liu Qiaoshou, after taking the bowl, did not leave immediately. Instead, she paused for a moment and said, "Brother Zhang, may I ask you some questions?"

Zhang He looked up at Liu Qiaoshou and said cheerfully, "No problem! We're both from Liangzhou, so feel free to ask me anything!"

After saying that, Zhang He added, "But you need to hurry, so as not to delay the people behind you from getting their porridge."

Liu Qiaoshou nodded and asked, "Brother Zhang, I'd like to ask who that kid surnamed Chen is? Does what he says count?"

"A kid surnamed Chen?"

Zhang He was taken aback for a moment, then quickly realized what was happening. He gave Liu Qiaoshou a deep look and replied, "That Chen Dao is a capable man. Everyone in his village can eat white flour buns every day, all thanks to Chen Dao's skills!"

Eating only white flour steamed buns every day?

Liu Qiaoshou was slightly surprised. Having once lived a comfortable life, he had eaten steamed buns before and naturally knew their taste and price.

In peaceful times, steamed buns were not a rarity, costing only 1-2 copper coins each. However, with the arrival of the cold disaster, the price of steamed buns gradually soared, reaching more than 3 copper coins each.

Such "expensive" food, yet the people of Chendao Village can eat it every meal...

Unconsciously, the scales in Liu Qiaoshou's heart tipped a little towards Chen Dao.