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

Chapter 33 Appearance

The next day.

The sky has just brightened up.

The Chen family was bustling with activity. The two women were making breakfast in the kitchen, while Chen Dao and Chen Da were responsible for feeding the family's chickens.

"Chi chi chi chi!"

As soon as Chen Dao arrived at the chicken coop, he heard the chirping of chicks. He saw that the number of fluffy chicks in the coop had increased from three to five!

"This hatching speed..."

A look of joy quickly spread across Chen Dao's face. The hatching speed of the yellow-feathered chickens was truly delightful. Chen Dao finally confirmed one thing: the incubation period for yellow-feathered chicken eggs is indeed five days!

"At this rate of hatching, it won't be long before our house is overflowing with chickens!"

Just as Chen Dao was feeling happy, Xiao Hei came running over, clucking, and touched Chen Dao's calf with the feathers on its neck.

You gluttonous chicken!

Chen Dao smiled and scattered sorghum and rice husks around the chicken coop, letting Xiao Hei and the chickens in the coop peck at them.

Then Chen Dao reached into the chicken coop and took out three eggs.

"It looks like these three eggs won't hatch!"

Chen Dao carefully examined the three eggs in his hand. One of the eggs was put in to incubate on the first day, and the other two were put in on the second day.

All the eggs from the same batch as these two have hatched successfully, but these three eggs show no signs of hatching. This indicates that these two eggs are either unfertilized or failed to hatch.

"Perfect, I'll have an extra breakfast this morning!"

Chen Dao brought the eggs to the kitchen and said to Li Ping, "Mom, crack these three eggs into the rice! Let's give Chen Cheng and the others an extra meal today!"

Li Ping and He Cuilian were preparing a meal for Chen Cheng and his group of five in the kitchen. Since they needed help escorting them into the city, Chen Dao felt bad about not providing them with a meal.

"Row!"

Li Ping took the eggs, cracked them open, and put them into the pot to mix with the sorghum porridge.

Chen Dao didn't linger in the kitchen. He went to the courtyard and opened the gate of the Chen family's house.

"You came so early?"

As soon as the door opened, Chen Dao saw Chen Cheng and the other four people who were already waiting outside, which surprised him.

"We're just afraid of interfering with your business, Brother Dao."

Chen Cheng scratched his head.

"Come in first!"

Chen Dao ushered the five people into the courtyard, and as he led them into the house, he said with a smile, "You're in luck today! Not only do you have rice, but you also have eggs!"

"egg!"

The eyes of the three Chen brothers, Chen Si, and Chen Jiang all lit up.

For the three Chen brothers, sorghum flour was already a rare treat, and as for eggs... the three brothers hadn't tasted eggs for at least a few years.

Although Chen Si and Chen Jiang were not as miserable as Chen Cheng and the other two, eggs were still a rare treat for them, so they were naturally very excited.

"That's right!"

Chen Dao nodded and said, "There are three eggs in today's meal. It's not much, but it's enough for you to have a taste!"

"Great!"

Chen Shi shouted with joy, and the other four also looked on with anticipation.

Amidst their expectant gazes, Li Ping and He Cuilian prepared the meal and brought over a large wooden bucket filled with porridge.

"There really are eggs!"

Chen Mu has excellent eyesight and immediately noticed the difference between the porridge and the usual one, even smelling the unique aroma of eggs.

"Auntie, quickly give me a bowl of egg rice!"

Chen Jiang, who was quite familiar with Chen Dajia, couldn't wait to speak.

"it is good!"

He Cuilian smiled and took out a bowl, scooping a full bowl of porridge for Chen Jiang.

Smelling the aroma of eggs wafting from the porridge, Chen Jiang couldn't help but exclaim with delight, "It smells so good!"

"..."

Chen Dao opened his mouth, somewhat speechless.

In his opinion, this porridge was no different from what he had eaten a few days ago. Three eggs were cracked in, which was not as outrageous as cracking an egg into the Yangtze River, but there were more rice than eggs, and you could hardly see any eggs. How could it make Chen Jiang look like this?

In fact, not only Chen Jiang, but also Chen Cheng and the others were intoxicated by the aroma of the food in their bowls, as if they could really smell the eggs in them.

"Mom, give me a bowl too."

The sight of Chen Cheng and the other two piqued Chen Dao's curiosity. He asked Li Ping for a bowl of porridge and then started eating it.

The moment the food entered his mouth, Chen Dao's eyes widened, and he put on a mask of pain.

To be fair, this porridge wasn't that bad, but don't forget, it was mixed with rice husks!

Rice husks, when ground into powder, are barely edible, but when left unground, they really get stuck in your throat.

"Mom, quickly pour me a glass of water!"

"coming!"

Li Ping noticed Chen Dao's expression as he choked, and quickly poured him a glass of water to help him swallow the food stuck in his throat.

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Chen Dao coughed several times before feeling a little better.

The others smiled; in their eyes, Chen Dao was a capable and precocious child, and they rarely saw him like this.

"You guys eat first! I'll go outside and take a look!"

Having choked once, Chen Dao completely lost interest in trying the porridge. He went out of the house, went to the chicken coop, took out two yellow-feathered hens, tied their feet, and planned to take them to the city to sell.

Shortly afterward, Chen Cheng and the others finished their meal and came out. At the same time, Chen Da borrowed a donkey cart from the village chief's house. The group boarded the cart, and Chen Si drove it towards the county town.

..............................

The long official road remained unchanged. As the donkey cart traveled along it, one could still see refugees with weathered faces and numb expressions. These refugees, with their families in tow, walked slowly but resolutely toward the county town, as if that was their only hope for survival.

Chen Dao knew that when these refugees arrived in the county town, they might not be greeted by government relief, but rather... soldiers with knives in their hands.

"Ugh!"

Chen Dao sighed softly, forcing himself not to look at the pitiful refugees, and headed towards the county town with his head down.

As the donkey cart approached the county town, Chen Dao looked around.

However, it was observed that there were even more refugees gathered outside the county town, and the number of houses they built had also increased, forming a completely unplanned gathering area outside the county town.

The observant Chen Dao also noticed many white bones protruding from the ground, indicating that quite a few refugees had starved to death, been killed, or eaten during this period.

"The yamen runners who used to distribute porridge are nowhere to be seen!"

Chen Dao turned his gaze, but failed to spot the government officials distributing the porridge.

It is clear that nowadays the government is not even willing to do the superficial work of distributing porridge.