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

Chapter 37 Steamed Buns

As the donkey cart drove out of the county town, the flour sacks and chicken coops piled on it attracted the greedy eyes of the displaced people.

When many people are starving, their moral compass disappears. If they could, the refugees outside the city would not hesitate to rob Chen Dao and his group.

Fortunately, Chen Dao and his group were all young and strong. Chen Da's bow and arrows and Chen Cheng's large stature were very intimidating, which prevented the refugees from rushing forward and robbing the things on the cart.

"Damn it, the eyes of these refugees outside the city are getting more and more frightening!"

After getting a little further away from the city gate, Chen Si, who was driving the car, finally relaxed his tense body and let out a breath. The pairs of eyes outside the city, like those of hungry wolves, were really putting him under immense pressure.

"Drive back to Chenjia Village as soon as possible."

Chen Da's sharp eyes scanned his surroundings, wary of bandits who might suddenly appear from either side of the official road.

Chen Cheng chuckled and said to Chen Dao, "Don't worry, Dao-ge'er, I can definitely protect your safety."

Chen Dao glanced at Chen Cheng's thick frame and nodded, not doubting Chen Cheng's words at all. At 1.8 meters tall, Chen Cheng was no different from a giant in an era when most people couldn't get enough to eat. With him around, many unnecessary dangers could be reduced.

After all, both refugees and bandits are discerning and will pick on the weak. Bandits generally wouldn't want to mess with a big man like Chen Cheng, who is 1.8 meters tall and incredibly strong.

…………

…………

Chenjiacun.

Not far from Chen Daojia's construction site, villagers were gathered together chatting.

Since Chen Daojia started building his house, this place has become the only entertainment spot for the villagers of Chenjia Village. Every day when the sun rises higher and the weather gets a little warmer, the villagers will come out of their homes and gather nearby to watch the excitement.

Why isn't Daoge's family working today?

"I saw Chen Da go to borrow the village chief's donkey cart this morning; he must be going to town."

"Going into the city? What for?"

"What else could they be doing! I bet they went to buy grain!"

"In this freezing weather, where will Chen Da and Dao Ge'er get the money to buy grain?"

"He must have made his money from raising chickens, right? My house is very close to Chen's house, and I can hear a lot of chickens crowing every day. He must have raised a lot of chickens."

"..."

Even though the construction site was empty and no one was working, it couldn't dampen the villagers' enthusiasm. They gathered in twos and threes, gossiping about Chen Da and Chen Dao.

"Chen Dahe and Daoge'er are really capable! They can still find money to buy grain these days!"

An elderly villager sighed with envy, saying that his family was in a very bad situation and therefore he was particularly envious of Chen Dao's family's life.

"That Daoge is really amazing!"

A woman said, "A half-grown boy can bring so much grain to the family. I wish my son could be that capable!"

"Yes! I've noticed that Xiao Fei from Daoge'er's family has gained weight recently!"

"How can you not get fat if you eat sorghum flour every day?"

"Chen Cheng and his buddies have really hit the jackpot; they're eating like there's no tomorrow."

"..."

Just as the villagers were discussing this, a donkey cart appeared in their sight.

Everyone immediately turned their attention to the donkey cart.

"Chen Da and the others are back!"

"There's a lot of stuff on the truck, it looks like wheat flour and sorghum flour?"

Wow! This is so extravagant! They're even eating white flour!

"It's not just flour, there are also a lot of chickens on the truck."

"..."

As the villagers cast envious glances, Chen Si, driving the car, straightened his chest, feeling a sense of pride.

Chen Jiang, Chen Cheng, Chen Mu, and Chen Shi also stood tall and proud, like a group of proud roosters.

Park your car in front of my house.

Chen Da said something to Chen Si, who was driving the cart. Chen Si nodded and drove the donkey cart to stop in front of Chen Da's house. Then he unloaded the flour, sorghum flour, and chicken coop from the cart and carried them into Chen Da's house.

The villagers watched the unloaded goods from afar, their envy growing stronger.

“I took a look, and there were at least a dozen chickens in the coop.”

"A dozen chickens? That's a lot of meat!"

"There's still at least 100 jin (50 catties) of flour left!"

"Wow! Even the landlord can't compare to the life of Master Chen!"

"I wish I could help Chen Dao's family with their chores!"

"..."

In the front yard of the Chen family, Li Ping and He Cuilian opened the gate and looked at the house they had moved into, a smile involuntarily appearing on their lips.

Although the supplies they bought this time were far less than the last time, the bags of food still made the two women feel at ease.

Before long, 150 jin of flour and chicken coops were all moved into the house. Chen Da drove the donkey cart to return them to the village chief, while Li Ping and He Cuilian warmly welcomed Chen Cheng and his group of five.

They called it a warm welcome, but it was really just a bowl of porridge with some hot water.

Even so, Chen Cheng and the others did not show any disgust, wolfing down the porridge before getting up to say goodbye.

"Auntie, we're going home now! We'll come back to work tomorrow."

"Goodbye, Auntie and Brother Dao!"

"Slow down, everyone!"

"..."

After seeing Chen Cheng and his three companions off, Li Ping returned to the house and asked Chen Dao, "Dao'er, how much grain did you buy this time?"

"not much."

Chen Dao replied, "A total of 50 jin of wheat flour and 100 jin of sorghum flour."

"Only 150 pounds?"

Li Ping frowned. 150 jin of grain seemed like a lot, but it wouldn't last more than a few days. Don't forget, the family still had to provide meals for Chen Cheng and the others every day.

"Why did you buy all wheat flour and sorghum flour this time?"

Li Ping couldn't help but ask, feeling that Chen Dao was being a bit too dishonest. In this day and age, who would buy only wheat flour and sorghum flour?

"Don't worry, Mother, I know what I'm doing!"

Chen Dao didn't explain to Li Ping, but changed the subject, saying, "By the way, Mom, do you know how to make steamed buns?"

"Steamed bun?"

Li Ping asked, "Is it the kind of white flour steamed buns sold in the city?"

"Correct!"

Chen Dao nodded.

The main reason he bought flour this time, besides the relatively small price increase, was that he wanted to try something different.

In his previous life, Chen Dao preferred white rice as his staple food, but the reason he liked white rice was because it had plenty of side dishes. However, after coming to this world, he only ate white rice every day without any side dishes...

In this situation, Chen Dao naturally didn't like plain white rice as much, and naturally thought of steamed buns as a staple food.

When not eaten with other side dishes, steamed buns naturally taste much better than white rice.

"I've seen that kind of food called steamed buns in the city."

He Cuilian, who once went to the county town with Chen Da, said, "They were very expensive. One steamed bun cost one coin, and an adult would need at least three steamed buns to be full!"