Just then, there was a noise outside.

It was Niu Erdan who came carrying food.

The educated youth who went to the countryside to work relied on work points for food. Since the new arrivals did not have work points yet, they would first receive an advance on food from the team, and then the money would be deducted after they had work points.

Each male educated youth was given 40 kilograms of grain, including 30 kilograms of corn flour, 5 kilograms of sorghum flour, and 5 kilograms of potatoes.

Each female educated youth was given 30 kilograms of grain, 20 kilograms of cornmeal, and 10 kilograms of potatoes.

This food will last at least one month.

In terms of quantity, it is more than the monthly supply for an adult in the city, but 70% of the food supplied in the city is fine grain.

Ma Chaoyang wailed, "There's not even a grain of food?!"

The other educated youth didn't say anything, but their emotions were clearly in line with Ma Chaoyang's.

Zhao Ru whispered, "Aren't potatoes vegetables? Can they also be used as food?"

"You mean potatoes?" Zhang Yao explained, "There are many potatoes planted in this area, and some poor families rely on them to fill their stomachs."

Zhao Ru asked: "I think there are a lot of millets planted in Haowan Village. Do we still need to rely on potatoes to fill our stomachs?"

Zhang Yao smiled and said, "Haowan Village is a 'rice village', but most of the fine grains are used to pay the public grain tax. A strong laborer can only get about 100 kilograms of fine grains every year, and they are still in the shell. And no one is willing to eat this rice, and it is all used to exchange for cornmeal."

Zhang Yao paused and continued, "But in general, the average living standard in Haowan Village is among the highest in the entire commune. The staple food is cornmeal, which is enough to fill your stomach. Only a very small number of extremely poor people cannot even afford cornmeal and have to rely on sorghum flour and potatoes to fill their stomachs."

Zhang Kangmei suddenly stood up and shouted: "It is shameful to seek pleasure, but it is glorious to live a simple and hard life! Hard work is our political character! Potatoes are good, I love to eat potatoes."

Ma Chaoyang nodded and said, "I like to eat spicy and sour potato shreds, stir-fried potato slices, pan-fried potatoes, and candied potatoes. I love them all."

The announcement of the dish names made everyone hungry.

Looking at the sky, Zhang Yao said, "I'll go cook, you guys take a rest."

The male educated youth named Xue Xinrui who came with Zhang Yao said, "I have a watermelon in my cave. I'll cut it for you to eat."

The next village grows watermelons, so the watermelons here are much cheaper and better than those in the capital.

Placing the watermelon in the cave, it is colder than water that has been splashed in the well, and when you cut it, a hint of cool air comes out.

Although the sun was already very far in the west, the high temperature that had been raging all day was unwilling to leave, and it put all its strength into a final outburst at this moment, making the air stuffy and hot.

After taking a bite of the sweet and cool watermelon, everyone let out a sigh of satisfaction.

Qin Hanshu took a piece of watermelon and gave it to Zhang Yao who was cooking.

Zhang Yao smiled in surprise and thanked Qin Hanshu.

After eating the watermelon and cooking, Qin Hanshu helped her. They chatted while working and learned a lot about the local situation.

This includes local customs and folkways, the personalities of the branch secretary and accountant, their attitude toward educated youth, and even grain production and what methods the production team has used to increase income.

In short, Zhang Yao told her everything she knew.

When Niu Erdan brought the food, he also brought a piece of fresh beef, about one pound. It was said that a cow had fallen to death in Niuwang Village, and Secretary Zhou had gone to exchange some meat with the people to welcome the new educated youth.

Every batch of educated youth who came here received this treatment. It didn’t necessarily mean meat, but they would always give us something delicious.

There is not much meat and many people, so it is not easy to cook.

After Zhang Yao discussed with Qin Hanshu, they decided to stew a big pot of food.

The beef should be the meat on the belly, with a lot of fat, but not much oil can be extracted after stir-frying.

Zhang Yao looked at the burnt meat and regretfully gave up frying it in oil, throwing in the chopped wild garlic and ginger slices.

There was a sizzling sound, and the hot oil brought out the aroma of wild garlic and ginger slices, mixed with the smell of meat, which stimulated people's stomachs to rumble. Put the chopped tomatoes into the pot, stir-fry them with the beef for a while, then add water and cover the lid.

The beef is old, it needs to be stewed for a while.

Taking advantage of the free time, Zhang Yao steamed the buns, and Qin Hanshu picked the cowpeas and lentils, and peeled and cut the potatoes into pieces.

When the steamed buns are almost done, put the cowpeas, lentils and potatoes into the beef pot.

The fragrance has spread far away.

Others were already standing at the door, drooling.

The beef was served in a large bowl, but most of it was potatoes and the meat was almost invisible.

But the aroma is still very strong, even though the seasoning is only wild garlic and ginger.

There were too many people, so Zhang Yao divided the dishes in advance, giving each person a bowl and plenty of steamed buns.

Although Zhang Yao and Xue Xinrui tried their best to restrain themselves, they still couldn't help but have green eyes when they saw the meat.

Jin Bo asked Xue Xinrui: "Is it difficult for you to eat meat?"

Xue Xinrui gasped several times because of the burn from the meat, and finally he had time to answer: "It's not that it's hard to eat, it's that you can't eat it at all. I've been here with Zhang Yao for a year, and this is the first time I've seen meat."

Zhang Yao said, "It costs money to go to the commune to buy meat. We earn so little that our work points are barely enough to feed ourselves. Not to mention the meat coupons we need."

Qin Hanshu asked: "Doesn't the team raise livestock like pigs and sheep? They will definitely distribute some at the end of the year."

Zhang Yao shook her head weakly. "That also needs to be exchanged for work points. In addition to the food, which is allocated to each person, newborn babies can be given a share unconditionally. All other products must be exchanged for work points."

Xue Xinrui said: "The educated youth who live with local people have an easier life, especially those who live in well-off families. They can always get some meat by following them."

It was generally difficult for educated youth to earn work points. Those with help from their families could still do well, but most of those who came to work in the countryside were from ordinary families in the city.

Zhang Yao listened to Xue Xinrui's words and nodded quickly, saying, "Liao Yujie has an easier life living in Secretary Zhou's house. She has gained weight following the Secretary's family!"

After hearing what Zhang Yao and Xue Xinrui said, the new educated youth who arrived today had different expressions.

Some didn't care, some looked like they had lost their parents, and some looked thoughtful.

Qin Hanshu silently observed the expressions of the crowd and made judgments in his heart.

Zhao Ru and Jin Bo looked as if they had lost their parents, and they obviously felt that they would have to live like this in the future, not being able to eat meat once a year.

Ma Chaoyang, Gao Ming and Zhang Kangmei didn't care. The former looked like a young master, probably with his family's support, while the latter two were full of confidence in earning work points.

Lin Zhiheng has facial paralysis, so I won’t analyze him.

Qin Hanshu guessed about everyone's family situation and style of doing things, hoping to find an ally for himself.

There should be no problem for her to spend money to build a kiln, but she is new here after all, and it is not good to be so high-profile as soon as she arrives, which will attract other people's attention. There are nearly a thousand people living in Haowan Village, who can guarantee that there are no bad people?

If she pulls someone together with her, the line of sight will be dispersed and she will not be so conspicuous.