In years of famine and drought, their village even rejected fatty meat.

Chapter 704 Warmth

Wooden Village.

The village was peaceful and serene.

Since Xu Zhiwen took over Taiping County, the county's security environment has improved significantly. With the threat of thieves gone and taxes reduced, the living standards of the county's residents have gradually improved.

Although the people were still poor, at least no one would starve to death.

Because of the cold weather that prevented farming and the lack of other forms of entertainment, the villagers of Mutou Village came out of their homes, either bringing out small stools or sitting on their doorsteps to bask in the sun and chat with their neighbors.

"I heard that Xiao Liang's kids who work in Chenjia Village are getting their wages today."

An older woman started the conversation.

Upon hearing this, others also chimed in.

"Those kids, Xiao Liang and his friends, are really lucky. They actually got to work in Chenjia Village."

"I heard that the people in Chenjia Village are very rich. They eat three meals a day, and every meal has meat. Even their farts are oily!"

"That's right! I have a distant relative whose daughter married into Chenjia Village. Goodness, he said his daughter lives like a fairy. She only needs to do some housework every day, and she eats white flour steamed buns for three meals a day, and sometimes she even gets to eat meat."

"If only my family had a daughter who could marry into Chenjia Village!"

"..."

When talking about Chenjia Village, every villager's face is full of envy. There's no way around it; in a world where poor people generally only eat two meals a day and never have meat all year round, the villagers of Chenjia Village are living like they're in paradise. It's hard not to envy them.

"I wonder how much money Xiao Liang and his kids will get?"

"How would we know? But it certainly won't be less."

"I wish I could go to Chenjia Village to work."

"Look, aren't those Xiao Liang and his friends?"

"..."

Just as everyone was discussing this, the aunt who spoke first noticed several figures at the village entrance.

The others also turned their attention to the village entrance, where they saw Zhao Xiaoliang and his two companions carrying large and small bags.

then……

Everyone got up from their stools and the threshold and quickly surrounded Zhao Xiaoliang and his two companions who had just entered the village.

"Xiao Liang."

A young man about the same age as Zhao Xiaoliang glanced at the quacking white duck on Zhao Xiaoliang's right hand, then asked, "I heard you got paid? How much?"

As soon as he said that, everyone's eyes turned to Zhao Xiaoliang's face.

"This number."

Zhao Xiaoliang spread his five fingers and said, "We each received 500 coins!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the villagers' eyes widened in surprise.

"500 coins, that much?"

"You really have 500 coins?"

"You've only been working in Chenjia Village for about 20 days, right? You can earn 500 coins in 20 days?"

"..."

Shock spread through the crowd; 500 coins was certainly nothing to the rich.

But for the impoverished villagers of Mutou Village, five hundred coins was already a considerable sum.

You should know that the price of wheat flour in Taiping County is only 10 wen per jin now, and 500 wen can buy 50 jin!

This is based on the price of wheat flour. If we calculate it based on the prices of wheat porridge and sorghum flour, which are commonly eaten by the people of Mutou Village...

The grain that can be bought for 500 coins is enough to feed a family of three for a month if they eat sparingly.

How could people not be shocked that one person could earn enough to feed a family of three for a month by working for just 20 days?

"That's right, it's five hundred coins."

Zhao Wan proudly declared, "Mr. Chen from Chenjia Village understands our hard work, so he paid us a full month's wages in advance!"

"Isn't Mr. Chen being incredibly generous?"

"Wow, there are still employers willing to pay wages in advance."

"Xiao Liang, you guys are really going all out. Five hundred coins a month, you can't even spend all that money."

"No wonder Xiao Liang bought ducks, he's making a lot of money!"

"..."

The villagers of Mutou Village were even more envious, especially after seeing that Zhao Xiaoliang was carrying a duck; their envy was practically overflowing.

Zhao Xiaoliang ignored the villagers and quickly squeezed through the crowd, walking briskly towards home.

On the contrary, Zhao Wan kept bragging to the villagers about his various experiences in Chenjia Village, enjoying the envious looks from the villagers.

"Father, Mother, I'm back."

A moment later, Zhao Xiaoliang returned home with light steps.

Upon hearing the commotion, Zhao's parents, younger brother, and younger sister immediately ran out of the house.

"Xiao Liang."

"Big brother."

The four of them stopped in front of Zhao Xiaoliang. Zhao Xiaoxin looked curiously at the duck Zhao Xiaoliang was carrying and asked, "Big pot, what's this?"

Zhao Xiaoxin, who is not very old, has seen ducks very few times, let alone white-feathered ducks with feathers as white as swans.

"This is a duck."

Zhao Xiaoliang touched Zhao Xiaoxin's dry, yellow hair and smiled, "Xiaoxin, would you like to eat duck?"

"think."

Zhao Xiaoxin's big eyes lit up instantly, and she said "I want to" almost without hesitation.

"I want to eat meat too! Big brother, I want to eat meat, lots and lots of meat."

Zhao Shu stared intently at the duck his older brother was carrying, his mouth watering. Having never eaten meat all year round, his craving for it was boundless.

"Xiao Liang."

Zhao's mother frowned and said, "Why did you bring a duck back? Where did it come from?"

"I bought it with my own money."

"how much did you spend?"

Zhao's mother frowned even more deeply; meat was not cheap these days.

"150 coins each, that's quite cheap."

As Zhao Xiaoliang answered, he raised the package he was carrying in his other hand and said boastfully, "I not only bought ducks, but I also bought you new clothes."

As he spoke, Zhao Xiaoliang took out a smaller down jacket from his package and said to Zhao Xiaoxin, "Xiaoxin, do you want to wear your new clothes?"

"want."

"Then I'll put it on you, brother."

Zhao Xiaoliang handed the duck to his father and put the down jacket on Zhao Xiaoxin. After helping her put it on, Zhao Xiaoliang took two steps back and praised, "Xiaoxin looks so pretty in her new clothes."

"is it?"

Zhao Xiaoxin became excited upon receiving the praise, and after feeling the clothes for a moment, she said, "Big brother, these clothes are so warm."

The weather in Qingzhou in August was already quite cold. Zhao Xiaoxin's old, patched clothes were no match for the cold. She was fine indoors, but once she went outside, her hands and feet would immediately become icy cold.

However, after putting on the down jacket, Zhao Xiaoxin immediately felt much warmer, and her mood improved as well.

"Of course it's warm, this is a down jacket that I bought for 50 coins."

Zhao Xiaoliang was happy to see Zhao Xiaoxin, and he was also happy.