Daily Intelligence System: Don't Kill Me, Honey!

This kind of treasure, he definitely wants to bring it back to Haozhou. With it, he can greatly alleviate his army’s food shortage problem.

Thinking this way, Zhu Chongba looked at the old farmer and asked, ”Is this thing resistant to time, and how does it taste?”

Being resistant to time is very important in Zhu Chongba’s eyes. Some grains taste good when eaten, but soon leave one hungry. If soldiers aren’t full, they’ll lose strength after training, which won’t work in battle.

So being resistant to time (filling) is very important in Zhu Chongba’s eyes, while taste is relatively less important. In this era, it’s already good for soldiers to have enough to eat; wanting to eat well is somewhat excessive.

The old farmer, hearing this, said: ”This thing is pretty good, ground into flour, made into flatbread, it’s filling. It’s also great for porridge, with a unique fragrance. Well, we’re just about to have lunch, and today’s meal is fish with flatbread, try some.”

”Isn’t this a bit inappropriate?”

The old farmer said, ”What’s there to worry about? It’s not like before when everyone was short of food. Now no one’s short of food, what’s the harm in a meal?”

”Moreover, you’ve helped us so much today.”

Hearing this, Zhu Chongba laughed and said, ”Alright, then I won’t stand on ceremony.”

The old farmer said: ”That’s the spirit, we people from Huangzhou Prefecture are the most hospitable.”

Then Zhu Chongba said to Tang He behind him: ”Go tell your sister-in-law, we’ll be eating at the old brother’s house today.”

Tang He replied, ”Alright~”

Soon, Zhu Chongba arrived at the old farmer’s house. Seeing the newly built house, the old farmer smiled and said, ”My son got married before the new year, so we rebuilt the house. Excuse the mess.”

Looking at the brick-tiled house in front of him, Zhu Chongba thought that back in his hometown, even the local wealthy landlords’ houses were only like this.

As he looked around, he saw that half of the village’s houses had been renovated into brick-tiled houses.

At this point, he looked at the old farmer and asked, ”Old brother, is your village really this wealthy?”

The old farmer said, ”Oh, we didn’t have much money before, but then our City Lord came and promoted new crops for us to grow. Every household has grain now. Plus, we can sell the grain to the government office; they purchase at fair prices.”

”After earning money, the government uses it to repair roads and develop our village’s fruit industry. Our village’s apricots are delicious. Once the roads are repaired, we can sell them in the city, which brings considerable income.”

”With money, the government has introduced policies for building new houses. Brick factories offer discounts, selling at only eighty percent of the original price. We calculate that we can save a lot, so those with plans have renovated their homes.”

Hearing this, Zhu Chongba nodded lightly and said, ”That’s really not bad. With new houses, living is comfortable.”

”Of course, when I sell my grain this year, I’m planning to buy some chickens and ducks to raise. When sold, that’ll be another income. Life will only get better.”

Zhu Chongba nodded lightly and said, ”Life is indeed getting more promising.”

”That’s right. Well, you all sit tight. I’ll go water the cattle, and we’ll start eating soon.”

Saying this, the old farmer left. But once he was gone, Zhu Chongba’s face turned grave. Seeing this, Tang He asked, ”What’s wrong, big brother?”

Zhu Chongba said, ”Chen Jiusi is too formidable. Did you hear that? The old man used to live poorly, but after Chen Jiusi’s governance, this family has come alive, and life only gets more promising. Would you believe it, if someone dared to attack Chen Jiusi now?”

”Would you believe that these peasants would pick up hoes and fight desperately?”

Tang He replied, ”I can’t believe it.”

Zhu Chongba said, ”Back in the day, if you had such a life, and someone came to burn, loot, and plunder your home, would you tolerate it?”

”I’d fight desperately!”

Tang He replied, ”That’s truly terrifying.”

Zhu Chongba suddenly thought of something, and he said to Tang He, ”Did you see the corn? Steal a few ears before we leave, we’ll take them to Haozhou to plant. If possible, we’ll promote them on a large scale.”

Tang He immediately said, ”Understood.”

In their quiet exchanges, the old farmer soon returned, and the meal was ready. The old farmer warmly invited everyone to eat.

Soon, a big fish and a half basin of golden cornbread were brought out. The cornbread was soaked with fish juices underneath, the bottom had a layer of glutinous paste, looking very tempting.

Ma Xiuying saw the food and asked the hero beside her, ”Where’s your old sister-in-law?”

The old farmer said, ”We’ve got guests, she’s eating with her daughter-in-law in the back.”

Women not sitting at the table is a tradition left by the ancestors.

Ma Xiuying heard this and said, ”Chong Ba, you eat with the old brother first, I’ll go to the back courtyard and eat with the old sisters-in-law.”

The old farmer said, ”This is inappropriate for an honored guest...”

Ma Xiuying said, ”Hehe, eating at this table with a woman like me around, you all can’t relax.”

Zhu Chongba said, ”Alright old brother, let her go then.”

At this time, Tang He took out a roast chicken and pig trotters from the cart. These were prepared from previous towns to eat on the journey with flatbread, but unexpectedly they encountered an old farmer.

As he put them on the table, the old farmer wanted to decline, but Zhu Chongba said, ”Old brother, if you do that, you’re driving us away.”

The hero heard this and, feeling helpless, could only say, ”Then, eat, eat.”

The old farmer’s son was silent, thus only the old farmer and Zhu Chongba chatted at the table.

Zhu Chongba couldn’t wait and grabbed a piece of bread, stuffed it into his mouth, and immediately a burst of grain fragrance filled his mouth.