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

Chapter 138 Reassuring

Li Qiang nodded subconsciously, indicating his agreement with Li Mu's statement. He also felt that Chen Dao had most likely used money to escape unscathed from the Lin bandits.

"wrong!"

Chen He shook his head directly, denying the answer: "How could Daoge'er possibly give money to those despicable forest bandits!"

"If he didn't give any money, how did he manage to escape unscathed?"

Li Mu couldn't help but ask, "The Lin bandits have always been numerous and powerful. If Chen Dao and the others were to engage in battle with the Lin bandits, even if they were to successfully defeat them, their side would certainly suffer casualties. But we haven't heard of anyone dying in Chenjia Village during this time!"

"Of course, we'll wipe out all the bandits in the forest!"

Chen He's tone seemed to carry a hint of coldness: "According to the villagers who accompanied Dao Ge'er, there were as many as eleven bandits in the forest at that time, and each of them was carrying weapons such as knives, guns, and clubs. But Dao Ge'er was not afraid at all and killed all the bandits!"

"how is this possible?"

Li Mu exclaimed, "Chen Dao and the villagers who accompanied him were just ordinary farmers. How could they possibly fight against armed bandits, let alone kill them all?"

That's the truth!

Chen He continued, "That band of forest bandits was indeed wiped out by Dao Ge'er and his men! The reason they were able to kill them without sustaining any injuries was because of the cat that Dao Ge'er always carried on his shoulder!"

Cat?

Li Mu and Li Qiang were taken aback, recalling the last time they saw Chen Dao. At that time, Chen Dao did indeed have a seemingly harmless, cat-like animal hanging on his shoulder.

"According to Chen Si and others who were traveling with Daoge'er..."

Chen He said in a low voice, "Dao Ge'er's cat moves as fast as a ghost, and its claws are extremely sharp. Whenever it strikes, it can slit the throat of a bandit. In just a few breaths, all eleven bandits were killed by Dao Ge'er's cat!"

"hiss!"

Li Qiang and Li Mu stared at each other, involuntarily gasping in shock. In just a few breaths, they had wiped out more than a dozen bandits. How could the little cat on Dao Ge'er's shoulder be so ferocious?

Chen He took in their reactions and asked, "Now, do you still think these two dogs are ordinary dogs?"

Upon hearing this, Li Qiang and his companion shook their heads vigorously, as if they were joking. Chen Dao's kittens could kill more than a dozen bandits in an instant, let alone a dog of such a huge size!

At this moment, the two couldn't help but show a hint of fear in their eyes as they looked at Big Yellow and Little Yellow. They even subconsciously moved their feet away from Big Yellow and Little Yellow, afraid of being attacked by them again.

"Big Yellow and Little Yellow have already memorized your taste."

Chen He patted Big Yellow's head and said with a smile, "From now on, you can freely enter our village's farmland, but don't try to steal anything from the fields, otherwise... if you get bitten to death by Big Yellow and Little Yellow, it'll be a pointless death!"

Li Qiang and Li Mu nodded like chickens pecking at rice. In fact, they hadn't thought about stealing anything; they were just wondering if they could discuss with Chen He how to obtain the seeds in a legitimate way.

"Village Chief Chen."

Li Qiang put on a fawning smile at the opportune moment and said, "I wonder if your Chenjia Village has any surplus grain seeds? Could you sell us some?"

"No!"

Chen He shook his head and said, "These grain seeds were given to us by Daoge'er. All the grain seeds have already been sown, and there are no extras!"

Regardless of whether there were any surplus grain seeds, even if there were, Chen He would not be so generous as to hand them over to others, much less presume to make decisions beyond Chen Dao's authority.

After all, under Chen Dao's instructions, Chen Cheng, his "bodyguard," had spread the news of his casual conversation with the county magistrate throughout the village. Now, Chen Dao's prestige in the village far surpassed that of the village chief, and his words carried far more weight.

Under these circumstances, if Chen He dared to hand over the precious cold-resistant wheat to others without Chen Dao's intervention, the villagers would likely not forgive him.

"That's it!"

Disappointment flashed across Li Qiang's face, but he knew he couldn't force it, so he could only continue chatting with Chen He, trying to learn as much information about the grain varieties as possible.

…………

…………

As the sun gradually set in the west, the villagers reluctantly left the fields and headed towards Chenjia Village.

"The tender green shoots in this field are reassuring to look at."

"That's what an old villager said."

The others nodded in agreement.

"That's right! The fact that crops can grow in the fields is a tremendous joy for us!"

"I wonder where Brother Dao found these seeds; they actually sprouted in such cold weather!"

"It's no wonder that Daoge'er is a capable man, able to find such a miraculous grain!"

"Now that grains are growing in this field, does that mean we won't have to worry about going hungry anymore?"

"The grain in this field belongs to Daoge'er's family. You don't think it's yours, do you?"

"Of course I know it belongs to Daoge'er's family, but Daoge'er certainly won't let us go hungry."

"..."

The villagers walked toward Chenjia Village chatting and laughing, their smiles, illuminated by the twilight, seemed to transform into hope.

For the villagers of Chenjia Village, even though the grain in the fields doesn't belong to them, seeing grain grow in the fields is indeed a very happy thing. After all, it means that Chenjia Village can achieve food self-sufficiency in the future, and will no longer need to buy expensive grain from the city or eat bran every day.

Soon after, the villagers arrived one after another at Chen Dao's house and saw Li Zheng, Chen Cheng, and Chen Dao waiting outside.

"Brother Dao, and Mr. Li? Are they waiting for us?"

The villagers looked at the two people waiting outside the door with puzzlement. In the past, Chen Dao rarely waited outside the door for the villagers to return from work. Most of the time, Chen Da or Chen Cheng would distribute steamed buns to everyone, while Chen Dao would usually hide inside the house or in the backyard. Today, however, he appeared outside the door, which meant that Chen Dao must have something to say to everyone.

As expected, after most of the villagers had gathered outside Chen Dao's house, Chen Dao stepped forward and addressed the crowd, saying, "Everyone, please be quiet. I have something to tell you."

As soon as Chen Dao spoke, everyone fell silent, staring at him and waiting for him to continue.

"I plan to reopen the village school!"

Chen Dao said loudly, "From now on, Mr. Li will be the schoolteacher in our village, teaching the children in our village to read. Every child in the village under the age of 18 can go to the school to study."

After saying that, Chen Dao added, "Studying here is completely free. The school will also provide tools such as writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones. You don't need to pay a single penny!"