The room was very quiet and no one spoke for a while.
To be honest, everyone feels a little reluctant to give away the food to others.
Although there is water in the fields now, what if the water in the mountains disappears in a few days? The kudzu root in the mountains is the life-saving food of the family.
But as Zhang Hulan said, they were all from the same village, and were almost related to each other for generations. It would be hard for him to bear the guilt of watching them starve to death.
Finally, it was Old Man Zhang who spoke up, "Tell the head of the village. If it really comes to that, what's the point of us being alone? The whole world will probably be in chaos. If there are more people, everyone can look after each other."
When Old Man Zhang spoke, Wang and Zhang Hujun had nothing to say. Li was a traditional woman who put her husband first, and since the men in the family had no objections, she would have no objections either.
After dinner, Zhang Hulan took two roots of Pueraria and went to Zhao Guoliang's house.
"Tiger Orchid is here, come in and sit down!"
Zhao Guoliang's family was all there, and Zhou quickly moved a stool for Zhang Hulan, "Hulan, come and sit down. Why are you here? Is there something?"
"I haven't seen you for many years, you have really changed. If it weren't for you, Shanzi's grandmother would probably be dead today."
"We are all from the same village, so we should help if we can."
"Uncle village head, Aunt Zhou, I'm here to tell you something. Do you recognize this thing?" Zhang Hulan said as she showed the Pueraria root in her hand to Zhao Guoliang and Aunt Zhou.
Zhao Guoliang and Zhou took the kudzu root and looked at it. They both nodded and shook their heads, "I've seen this thing before. It's on the mountain. I just don't know what it is."
Zhang Hulan said, "Uncle village head, Aunt Zhou, this is Pueraria root, a traditional Chinese medicine, but it can also be eaten as food."
Zhao Guoliang and Zhou's eyes widened instantly. "What did you say? Can this be used as food?"
"Yes, it can be eaten as food."
Zhang Guoliang looked at Zhang Hulan with shining eyes, "Hulan, don't lie to me, is this thing really edible?"
Zhang Hulan nodded again to confirm, "Uncle Lizheng, our family has been eating this for three days."
Zhou said, "Hu Lan, can you tell us about this?"
Zhang Hulan said, "Uncle head of the village, Aunt Zhou, there are a lot of these things on the mountain. If we dig them all up, we should be able to survive for a while. As long as we can survive for a month or so, we can harvest the millet. We will be fine after we get through this period of time."
Zhao Guoliang stood up from the stool excitedly. "Okay, okay, I've seen this in the mountains. It can be found in many places. If we dig it all up, we can definitely eat it for several days. Tiger Orchid, thank you in advance on behalf of everyone!"
When Zhao Guoliang's son and daughter-in-law heard that there was food on the mountain, they also came out.
Zhou patted the back of Zhang Hulan's hand and said, "Oh, you are so kind-hearted... If you hadn't said that, your family wouldn't have to worry about having no food to eat with the kudzu roots in the mountains."
"Aunt Zhou, I won't say anything, but my parents and my eldest brother have lived in the village for decades, and they have a bond with the villagers.
They don’t want to just feed themselves and watch everyone else go hungry. There are not many people in the village now, so we should work together to overcome the difficulties.”
"Okay! Okay..."
When Zhao Guoliang heard Zhang Hulan's words, he didn't know what to say and just kept saying yes.
"Zhao Cheng, go and notify the villagers to hold a meeting and ask them to bring their hoes."
"Okay, Dad!"
Zhao Cheng immediately ran out and shouted, "It's time for a meeting...Everyone bring your hoes to my house for the meeting..."
All the villagers quickly gathered at Zhao Guoliang's house. When they heard the shouting "Bring your hoes", they thought that the water in the mountain had run away or someone was coming to steal water.
But when they saw Zhao Guoliang's excited look, they knew it was not a bad thing.
Everyone who could move in the village came, including Wang, Zhang Hujun, and Li.
Zhao Guoliang said loudly: "I have good news for everyone. Hu Lan found something edible for everyone."
"Something edible?" The villagers' eyes began to light up.
Zhao Guoliang held two kudzu roots in his hands and raised them high. "This is it. Many people must have seen it, but they don't know what it is and don't dare to eat it."
"Hu Lan told me about this. It's called Pueraria root, a traditional Chinese medicine. Hu Lan's family has been taking it for three days."
The villagers suddenly became agitated. "Li Zheng, is this true? Can this thing really be eaten?"
Some villagers also pulled Wang and Zhang Hujun aside and asked, "Is it true? Did you really eat it?"
"It's true. This thing is quite delicious. We have been eating it for two or three days."
When the villagers saw that Wang and Zhang Hujun said they had already eaten, they became impatient and wanted to go up the mountain to dig.
Zhao Guoliang shouted again: "Everyone, please be quiet."
The villagers all quieted down and listened to what Zhao Guoliang had to say.
"This is what Hu Lan told me. It was the Zhang family who took out the food that was already in their mouths and distributed it to everyone. You must remember this kindness."
"If they hadn't said anything, their family could have gotten through this most difficult period in peace and security."
"But they didn't do that. Hu Lan told me that her parents and her elder brother have lived in the village for decades and have a bond with the villagers. They don't want to just feed themselves and watch everyone else go hungry. Everyone should pull together to overcome the difficulties."
"Hu Lan is right. There are not many people in the village now. We should work together to get through this period."
"So, except for the old and the young, everyone goes to work. Women can be responsible for digging, and men are responsible for transporting it down the mountain."
"The kudzu roots we dug up will be divided among the people. Everyone will get a share. But the elderly and children can get a smaller share."
"Everyone has children and elderly people at home, so don't complain to me."
Everyone had no objection, and those who had an objection did not dare to speak out. How many families did not have elderly people and children? If anyone dared to say that there would be no share for the elderly and children, wouldn't that incur public anger?
An elderly man said: "We can also help a little. We are responsible for cleaning the kudzu roots in the village."
Zhang Hulan said, "Don't wash the kudzu roots you have dug. We can't eat all of them at once. You can dig a hole in the yard to bury them, and then dig them out when you want to eat them. This way they can be preserved for a long time. If you leave them all outside, they will dry up in a few days."
A villager quickly agreed, "Yes, yes, yes, we need to preserve it well. There is still more than a month left, so we need to save it and eat it slowly."
The villagers took action.
Zhang Hujun led the villagers to the kudzu forest, and the villagers exclaimed, "It's such a large area, how much do we have to dig!"
If it is cultivated kudzu root, one acre can yield about 3,000 kilograms, but the yield of that grown in the wild is definitely not that high. But after digging these two or three acres, it is estimated that there will be two or three thousand kilograms.
Zhao Guoliang said, "Don't look at it anymore, hurry up and dig it up. These are all food. They are what will save our lives."
The villagers all started to take action. The area was so wide, so everyone dispersed.
Some are digging, some are picking up, and some are carrying things down the mountain.
Everyone has work to do and no one is lazy.
But kudzu roots are not easy to dig up. Some of them are very long and require digging very deep into the ground.
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