The potatoes from their one-acre plot filled half the room. The village chief picked out the smallest and most damaged potatoes, twenty in all, roasted them that night, and shared them out to everyone, one bite at a time.
"Are you sure it's cooked?"
"Oh, this old man, he said it was cooked, but he pushed it all the way in with chopsticks and it's rotten to the core! He keeps asking questions!" The village chief's wife rolled her eyes at him and became impatient.
The village chief scratched the back of his head. Wasn't he afraid that the food would be poisoned if it wasn't ripe? After all, it was new food that no one had ever eaten.
Each family gets one, scoops it up with a spoon, and puts it into their mouth without even peeling the thin skin.
"Mom, it's delicious! It's like pastry!"
The child had eaten cakes once during the Chinese New Year a few years ago. Until now, whenever there is something delicious, he would say it is as delicious as the cakes. His mother has become accustomed to it.
This time, after his mother took a bite, she nodded and praised, "It really tastes like a cake!"
They were short of salt, and today what they tasted of was the purest potato flavor.
"Mom, my favorite thing to eat is potatoes!"
Less than two days after I said this, the baked sweet potatoes came out of the oven, and my favorite food became sweet potatoes again.
In the hearts of children, sweet potatoes are more popular than potatoes because they are not only sweet when eaten raw, but also more fragrant and sweet when baked.
But in the minds of adults, potatoes are better. Not only can they be used in cooking, but they can also be used as staple food, and they are more filling than sweet potatoes.
In any case, with these two crops, the villagers felt much more at ease, and at least they were less likely to starve to death.
The beans and melons grown in this field are just more delicious than those grown on the ground!
After the beans were harvested, the village chief dug a deeper, walled-in cellar. He looked at the overflowing storehouses of grain with a mixture of satisfaction and worry. He chose five locations and hid the grain separately. This was their fate.
Jiang Yue finally developed an egg beater recently and successfully made a soft and glutinous cream cake.
She could no longer tell what day it was, and just muddled through it, picking a random date to celebrate her eighteenth birthday and Jiang Nian's twentieth birthday.
She cooked a table full of food, some sweet, some salty, some spicy, some bland. She only started making the cakes after she had eaten her fill.
She smeared the cream on Jiang Nian's face, "Hey, what's your wish this year?"
Jiang Nian hugged her with both hands, still eating a piece of cake that she had stuffed into his mouth. After swallowing it, he said, "My wish this year is that you will never get hurt again, and that we stay together forever."
Jiang Yue leaned on his chest, hearing the strong and powerful heartbeat, and said softly, "Me too."
Her wish was the same as his.
No matter where we go, as long as we are together.
At night, while taking a bath, Jiang Yue lay on top of him, and the two of them were kissing each other.
Neither of them closed their eyes, looking at each other, their eyes full of love. She reached down, and after a while, she heard a muffled groan...
At night, she slept on Jiang Nian, playing with his big hands, "Let's wait until we are completely settled before consummating our marriage, right?"
Jiang Nian kissed her on the head and said, "Okay, I'll do as you say." She had already endured it for two years, so it wouldn't matter if she endured it for a few more years.
She looked up and looked at his chin. "What kind of child do you want?"
"Just like you." He hadn't actually thought about having children. If he had to have one, it wouldn't be bad to have one just like her.
Jiang Yue thought about what her future child would look like: an expressionless little wolf cub and a little her. Both seemed pretty good.
Today in the village, she saw a woman in her early twenties and another in her forties. Their bellies were slightly bulging, and they were obviously pregnant.
The young woman was expecting her first child, while the middle-aged woman had lost a child and was eager to get pregnant again to carry on the family line. It must be said that this was a deeply ingrained mentality that had been in place for thousands of years. I wonder if there was something to be inherited that made them feel compelled to give birth to a child...
Others also congratulated them, saying that with the addition of a new member, the village would prosper again.
She stared at them for a long time. They touched their bellies, their faces full of maternal radiance, and it was easy to see that they were immersed in happiness. But in her eyes, they were just two skeletons with big bellies, which was really scary.
There were no doctors or midwives in the village, only old women who had helped deliver babies. There were no herbs to stop bleeding or replenish the body, and even the village only had about twenty eggs, and that was for the entire village.
The children take away their mother's nutrition, and she will only become thinner and thinner.
Under such conditions, they dare to have a child? The elderly mother is clearly gambling with her life.
Jiang Yue didn't understand or accept it. Putting aside whether the two of them would stay in this village for long, her child shouldn't be born in troubled times.
If an accident happens, she can't even take care of her own life, how can she guarantee to raise the child well?
Wait until everything returns to normal and life is stable before talking about pregnancy and childbirth. This is the responsible behavior for yourself and your child.
No matter what Jiang Yue thought, the village held a simple wedding ceremony before the heavy snow came.
There are only these few people left in the village, and Jiang Yue even suspects that they are related by blood.
When the roads are blocked by heavy snow, the only entertainment left is sex. After the winter, who knows how many people will get pregnant next year.
Before the snow fell, the village chief went to find the bandit leader.
"You've worked for us for half a year, which is considered to have redeemed some of your sins. We won't pursue the rest. You can go now."
The bandit leader looked at his brothers who were bowing their heads, pursed his lips and pleaded, "Village Chief, can you let us stay here until the snow melts? We'll help clear the snow."
Others also asked for help from the village chief.
If they left now, they would either starve or freeze to death. Besides, they were used to this peaceful life here, like returning to a time before disasters struck their hometown. They saw hope: they could grow crops in the village and have eggs to eat in the future.
They want to stay.
The village chief remained silent. He hadn't forgiven the man. No amount of work could bring back the lives lost. He couldn't offer forgiveness on behalf of the dead. He was simply considering the benefits these strong laborers had brought to the village.
He asked the villagers for their opinions, and they finally agreed to let them stay, but they had to work. Every day, they had to clear the snow from the roofs and roads in exchange for a little food. In addition, they could be given two rooms with kangs...
The bandits in the village seemed to really want to change their ways, patrolling actively every day and even driving away a group of refugees who tried to break into the village.
I don’t know how the news got out, but Changle Village became a legendary powerful village with high walls. This also meant that they might have food, which attracted a lot of jealous people.
From time to time, you can hear wailing cries for help outside the door. They don't dare to cause trouble in the city, so they come to Changle Village, which is uncontrolled. It was not until the snow blocked the road that things gradually quieted down.
In October, the first snow arrived as expected, covering the plowed land with a blanket of snow and causing the temperature to drop sharply.
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