Hearing that it was steamed buns, everyone worked even harder. They even had a strange feeling, as if they could smell the aroma of meat.

Soon it was lunchtime, and everything was already prepared in a flurry of activity.

Let the children who are playing nearby come over and eat first.

Only after all the children had finished eating did Old Man Su come to where everyone was working and call out, "Everyone, stop and eat first to fill your stomachs. We'll rest for a while this afternoon and then continue."

A large group of people ran towards the cooking area.

Su Laosan stood in front and tapped the iron ladle in his hand, "Don't mess around, line up first, everyone gets one."

"And here, everyone can line up in two rows," said Wang Taoxiu. Everyone looked over and saw several large wooden barrels with several women standing next to them.

These women also carried spoons and spatulas. A few sharp-eyed and quick ones moved to another row, followed closely by the others.

The men at the front of the line became nervous when they saw that it was their wives serving them food, and that they were using an enormous spoonful.

"Don't worry, everyone is the same. The master specifically instructed that everyone must be well-fed so that they have the strength to work."

Upon hearing their wives' words, the men breathed a sigh of relief and walked away with a large bowl of vegetables and two steamed buns in their hands.

Looking at the bowl full of meat, I wondered what kind of braised meat it was.

I felt a burst of fragrance, an alluring aroma that went straight into my nose.

When the people in front started getting their food, they exclaimed in surprise, "There's meat!"

The moment the person in the front said this, everyone behind them gasped in amazement.

Let alone now that food is so expensive, even before, we rarely ate meat.

Who doesn't celebrate the New Year? Even those who don't celebrate the holiday know how to cook meat.

Those at the very back of the line felt like ants pecking at their hearts, thinking, "What if we're at the very back and there's nothing left by the time it's our turn?"

"Yeah, there are so many people, sigh."

"Alright, we're lucky to have anything to eat. Look at all those white steamed buns over there, there's definitely enough for all of us. Even if there's no other food, a couple of buns would be good enough (?▽?)."

A man on the far side suddenly sighed, "I just don't know if these two are enough for my boys. These half-grown boys are really going to eat their father out of house and home."

But when I think about how those were white flour buns, they're much better than the two bowls of plain water they gave me at the city gate.

The people queuing up now are all working men and women.

They all agreed that since the meals were only being given to them, they naturally wouldn't eat them themselves and would save them for their own children.

No one noticed that the children had already eaten, and some were even holding an egg in their hands.

Su Muyao had already arranged for the children to eat while the men were still working.

Although there were many children, they were all very well-behaved. She had seen that none of the children had eaten any of the eggs.

I had originally intended to save the braised pork with potatoes for my parents.

Only after their father showed the children several large buckets of braised pork with potatoes that he had prepared did the children believe that their parents also had such a dish.

Only then did they feel at ease eating, and even though they had been given an extra egg each, they kept it for themselves.

When the group of people who had finished getting their food went to their children, they discovered that the children still had oil on their lips.

It's obvious he just finished eating meat. "Hey, try this, it's meat."

"Mother, I've already eaten."

After saying that, he took the hard-boiled egg out of his pocket.

"Here, I saved this especially for you. That uncle said everyone has stewed potatoes and meat, but we kids get an extra egg compared to you."

"I ate a whole bowl of stewed potatoes and meat today. The potatoes were super delicious too. Oh, and that uncle said this is called potato. You should eat it!"

When the woman heard her son say that, she hugged the child tightly.

"My dear, I won't eat it now, I'll save it for when you're hungry."

After saying that, he quickly turned his back, lowered his head and ate the potato stew with meat in his bowl, while holding two white steamed buns in his hand.

What no one saw was that as she lowered her head, tears streamed down her face and fell into the bowl.

She knew this potato and meat stew wouldn't last, especially since it was so hot, so she ate it slowly and carefully.

The steamed buns wouldn't spoil even after a day or two. I took them to my luggage and wrapped them in a clean cloth.

Many people share this idea, Su Muyao whispered to her father.

Su Laosan came to the crowd and said to everyone, "Don't leave this steamed bun behind, everyone. Eat it, eat it without worry. As long as you work hard here, you'll be provided with two meals a day."

Everyone needs to be well-fed to have energy. As long as we don't slack off, we should have enough to eat.

At that moment, a man in the crowd raised his trembling hand.

Seeing this, Su Laosan quickly asked, "Brother, is there something you need? Just say it."

“I have quite a few children, but don’t worry, I will work hard. I can give my share to my children. I just hope you won’t kick me out.”

His words caused many people in the crowd to tense up. Many families had a lot of children, and some even saved food to feed their kids while the adults in the family starved to death.

Su Muyao looked at the group of people, mostly elderly, weak, women and children, and the overall scene looked very messy.

A little girl who looked only six or seven years old was blinking at Su Muyao.

Old Man Su felt a sharp pain when he saw this; these refugees were emaciated and had lifeless eyes.

His gaze swept over them, and all of them lowered their heads, not daring to meet his eyes.

The thought that if it weren't for his daughter, he might not be much better off than them.

Then I thought of my daughter's divine master. Anyone who is favored by the gods must have accumulated great merit. As the child's father, I should set an example and do more good deeds.

With a soft sigh, he said, "Alas, in this world, it is always the common people who suffer the most."

Su Muyao said to her father, "If we pay these workers the normal wages, they will be able to support their wives, children, and parents."

I originally wanted my own father to say it, but seeing him so sad...

He turned to the crowd and shouted, "If we paid you the normal amount of money, you could support your families under normal circumstances. However, the price of grain in the capital is extremely high right now."

To be considerate of everyone, we can make an exception for the first month and provide food and drinks for everyone, including all the children in the family who can eat with everyone.

"But after the second month, I will give everyone money, and then these children will no longer be able to eat with us. I need to make this clear to everyone beforehand."