After the two returned, several soldiers saw that Xu Nian's hair was disheveled, clearly indicating that she had been crying. They were speechless, clicked their tongues, and wondered what they were thinking.

"Ah... Sister, what are you holding?" Erbao stared blankly at the pile of leaves in her arms.

Xu Nian's heart melted at the sight of her younger brother's silly expression, but she still couldn't help but whisper, "Stop talking so much nonsense, or you won't get any food later!"

Sure enough, as soon as he heard about food, Erbao wisely shut his mouth.

She then called Da Bao and Er Bao to move the communal pot from the village, while she took out the last bit of yellow flour from her bundle.

The matter of taking the pot was so important that it immediately alarmed the "Empress Dowager." Wang Jinmei walked over angrily with her hands on her hips, followed by two little babies struggling to drag the pot.

"What are you up to now, insisting on taking the blame..." Before she could finish speaking, she saw a group of soldiers sitting there, and her demeanor instantly changed. She greeted them with a forced smile, "Oh, why didn't Old Zhao say that the officials were here too? Look, I didn't even come to say hello."

The village chief stood by with an embarrassed smile.

"Since you're here, Auntie, let's get to work together. And while you're at it, bring some flour so I can make something for the official and the villagers," Xu Nian said with a smile.

Um...bring some noodles?

Wang Jinmei's expression changed immediately. These noodles are so precious now, and these burly soldiers can eat so much. How much is enough for them?

"I see you have quite a lot of noodles here, girl. Why don't we wait until we eat before we talk about it?"

But Xu Niancai didn't buy it. "Auntie, all three of us siblings have brought out all our noodles. You should bring out some too. Don't be so stingy."

Exposed in public, Wang Jinmei didn't dare to utter a single curse. She could only swallow her anger and be pushed back by the village chief to get flour.

When the soldiers heard that they were cooking for them, they immediately felt embarrassed. "Girl, you know, this is not good. We've eaten up all the food for you and your siblings in one meal."

Xu Nian was washing elm seeds in a clean puddle when he heard what he said. He smiled indifferently and said, "Sir, don't be afraid. The people in our village treat us very well. We will never go hungry."

The villagers who were sitting quietly in the corner were suddenly called out. They didn't know whether to answer or not, so they could only nod awkwardly.

With the help of the soldiers, Xu Nian quickly lit the fire, prepared the pot, and added water.

While she was blanching the fish, she glanced at Gu Zhan and saw that he was resting with his eyes closed. But he seemed to sense her gaze and slowly opened his eyes, which startled Xu Nian so much that she quickly looked away.

This man is not someone to be trifled with...

She took the rinsed elm seeds out of the water, mixed them with flour, and kneaded them into a large, elastic dough. Then she divided the dough into small pieces, flattened them, and the elm seed pancakes were formed.

Then, a little bit of lard that had been squeezed out from Wang Jinmei was put into the pot. In an instant, everyone present couldn't help but swallow.

After all, in those days, lard was not something easy to find.

Xu Nian thought to herself, if it weren't for the fact that she couldn't get it out here, she would definitely show them the huge truckload of soybean oil, butter, vegetable oil, and olive oil in her space. It was truly a complete collection, and that's what you call good stuff.

As soon as the oil in the pan was hot, Xu Nian put the flattened pancake in and fried it until cooked. The aroma instantly burst forth and filled the air above the cave.

The aroma of lard mixed with the sweet and refreshing scent of elm seeds, along with the wheat flour fragrance, filled the air, and many people secretly craned their necks to smell it more closely.

A girl from the same village, Zhao Yingying, with whom she had never been particularly close, came over and asked, "Sister Xu, what are you making here? It smells so good!"

Xu Nian didn't hold it against her for what happened before, "These are elm seeds."

Elm seeds?

Everyone present started whispering among themselves, asking each other if they had ever eaten elm seeds or if they knew about them.

As a result, nobody knew.

This immediately put people in a difficult position. In the past, quite a few people in the village had gotten into trouble after eating poisonous mushrooms. They all smelled the aroma and ate them, but ended up being poisoned and could not be saved.

This smells so good, could it be... like this too?

As they were talking, the elm seed cakes were already golden brown on both sides. To make sure everyone could have some, Xu Nian cut the cakes into pieces after they came out of the pan, giving them to the children first, then the women, and finally the men.

Fortunately, everyone received two fairly large pieces, but looking at each other, no one dared to eat first.

Wang Jinmei glanced at the pancake in her hand, couldn't help but swallow, but still couldn't resist making sarcastic remarks, "This thing probably wasn't named by you, was it? We've never even heard of 'elm seed.' Whether it's edible or not, you should try it yourself first, otherwise who among us would dare to eat it!"

Before Xu Nian could speak, her two younger brothers had already set an example by wolfing down their food with their heads down, their eyes instantly lighting up, "Ah... Sister, it's delicious!"

Xu Nian was deeply moved to see how much her younger brother trusted her.

Finally, seeing that the two kids were still full of energy, everyone stopped holding back and took several bites.

The pancakes are fried until crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, golden and crunchy. When you bite into the crispy crust, the elm seeds inside burst out with a sweet juice, along with a faint sweet aroma. They are chewy and have a rich flavor that explodes in your mouth.

This...this tastes even better than meat!

[OMG, this is making the streamer's mouth water!]

Coated in breadcrumbs and then dipped in egg wash, even the neighbor's kid would be drooling!

Elm seed cakes... they remind me of my mom, the taste of hers, sob sob sob...

The soldiers stared wide-eyed, their faces full of admiration. "The girl is beautiful and kind-hearted. I never expected she could even cook. I'm truly impressed!"

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