"Ah Lin, since we can't buy pots and pans on the market right now, this matter definitely needs to be implemented immediately!"

"Listen to me, hurry home and send a message to your father, tell him to hide all the grain in the house, but leave some out in the open," Wenli anxiously instructed the boy in front of her.

"Remember, don't let anyone notice anything amiss. We'll all have to eat communal meals soon, and we'll also have to collect ironware. Our pots probably won't be safe either; someone might even come to search our house."

"Go back and tell your father to tidy up all those things that shouldn't be shown, and absolutely not let any outsiders see them!"

Wenli became increasingly nervous as she spoke, and even a thin layer of sweat appeared on her forehead.

"Mother, please don't worry, I promise to convey your words to you without missing a single one."

Ma Alin nodded vigorously, agreeing without hesitation, and turned to hurry home.

On one side, Wenli had just stepped into the room when she heard her niece's worried voice.

"Dad, Mom, you must stock up on plenty of food, and make sure no one finds out. These three years of natural disasters are no joke; people are starving to death everywhere outside..."

Ma Aning gently stroked her round belly, as if this could calm her mind a little.

She turned to look at Shen Zishan beside her, a hint of worry in her eyes: "Brother Shan, do you think we should buy some food and secretly hide it? I'm always worried that there will be a famine later."

Shen Zishan nodded without hesitation and said firmly, "Buy! As long as it's for sale, we'll buy it no matter how much it costs, and we must find a secluded place to hide it so no one can find out." After saying that, he frowned thoughtfully.

At this moment, inside Ma Aning's belly, another little life was quietly listening to the conversation between the two people outside. And there was also the inner voice of another person inside her.

The unborn child was incredibly well-behaved, silently recalling his previous life. Back then, he too was born in the year that this natural disaster had just begun.

The poor boy was abandoned on the street at birth, but fortunately he later met a kind-hearted but somewhat irritable old beggar.

From then on, he followed the old beggar, living a precarious and impoverished life.

Every day they either go hungry or have a big meal followed by several more days of hunger, and if they are not careful, they will be subjected to the old beggar's merciless beatings and scoldings.

After enduring so much hardship until the old beggar passed away, they thought their days were finally over. But little did they know that the road ahead would still be full of difficulties.

He survived thanks to the kindness of the villagers who gave him food, and he grew up day by day.

After reaching adulthood, he resolutely chose to join the army. With his tenacious willpower and extraordinary talent, and after years of hard work and struggle, he eventually became a highly respected soldier in the entire military region.

Unfortunately, fate is unpredictable. He tragically sacrificed his life while carrying out a crucial mission, at the young age of less than 30.

However, fate always seems to like to play tricks on people. Just when he thought everything was over, he was miraculously reborn back to when he was a child and was still in the womb.

Are these people really my biological parents?

When it was time to leave work in the evening, the team leader blew a whistle, and everyone gathered at the threshing ground.

Wenli helped Ma Aning to the event.

"Alright, now that everyone's here, I'll announce two pieces of news."

The squad leader cleared his throat. "I went to a meeting today. The leaders gave instructions that from now on, everyone will eat together as a group, eating from the same pot. Now we need to build a large canteen."

A murmur arose: "Is it fair that everyone eats together from the same pot?"

The villagers all started discussing it enthusiastically.

"Everyone, please be quiet. There's one more thing. All the ironware in your homes, including pots and pans, must be handed over, and all the grain in your homes must be handed over to the canteen for unified distribution."

The murmurs grew louder. Why? Some lazybones' families are almost out of food.

The village chief spoke up again, "Alright, everyone, stop discussing it. This was all decided by higher-ups. We're just informing you. We can't make the decision ourselves."

"These two are cadres sent down from above. They are responsible for registering your family's grain and handing it over," the brigade leader introduced the young man standing next to the two men.

"Alright, let's not waste any more time and start with the first house at the village entrance!" The two men frowned and walked forward, with the villagers following closely behind.

The two men went into the house and searched through all the boxes and cabinets. They found everything that contained iron, and all the grain in the house was also taken away.

Third Grandma stepped forward to stop them from moving the items, crying uncontrollably. Despite her wailing and lamenting, she couldn't stop them, and the house was ransacked.

When they arrived at the second and third houses, the villagers didn't even have time to hide their belongings; everything was taken away.

Soon only Shen Zishan's house remained. When they went inside, it was astonishing; there was nothing there, only a small bag of grain.

"What's going on? Did you secretly hoard some grain? Otherwise, why would you have so little? You don't even have pots and pans."

The brigade leader quickly stepped forward, "Sir, they just divided their property and received so much grain. They haven't even had time to buy pots, pans, and other kitchenware."

"Oh, right, look, these are the household registrations I just transferred for them and the property ownership certificates I just changed."

“Alright, since you just separated, there’s no need to look anymore. Let’s move on to the next one.” One of the tall men responded and turned to leave.

Because of her large belly, Ma Aning didn't go to join the fun.

Even from home, one could hear the lively sounds from the village. There were cries and wailing, people refusing to take grain or their iron pots. The village was unusually bustling that day.

"Sigh, I wonder if your father hid the things properly, lest the grain he spent a lot of money on end up benefiting others." Wenli sighed after returning from watching the commotion outside.

"Since we're all eating from the same pot, it might be a bit inconvenient for me to stay here and take care of you."

"I'll go back to the village first, and then come back when you're about to give birth. I'll take care of you during your postpartum period, and you probably won't have too many objections to eating in the canteen," Wenli said after considering it for a while.

“Okay, Mother, you go back. I can take care of myself,” Ma Aning agreed.

The next morning, Wenli rushed back to the team before going to work and saw that the three men in her family were having breakfast and had not yet left.