Chapter 364
Zhao Ger had just come back from washing his hands when he saw Guaizai standing by the pot with his mouth wide open, like a baby bird waiting to be fed. Zhang Quan was trying to pull him away, but the boy kept craning his neck toward the woman dishing out the food, yelling, "Put it right in Guaizai's mouth! Quick, put it in Guaizai's mouth! Uncle, let go of Guaizai—Guaizai wants the stir-fried vegetables!"
Once he figured out what was going on, Zhao Ger couldn't help but give the boy a light swat on the bottom.
Still, Zhao Ger realized he hadn't thought things through.
He turned and looked at the people waiting in line. "Go home and get a bowl first!"
There weren't any large tree leaves nearby; otherwise, they could have used those as wraps.
Everyone dashed off home excitedly.
Lu Ger and a few women stood off to the side, staring in a daze, completely stunned by the two baskets piled high with wotous. By the time they snapped out of it and tried to call their men back, the men were already long gone.
Zhao Ger noticed them. Behind Lu Ger, a small child peeked out with just his head showing, sucking on his index finger while gazing longingly at the fried cracklings on the plate.
The boy was very thin, with a scrawny neck supporting an oversized head. His eyes were deeply sunken, and his face was covered in chapped, cracked skin. The sight tugged at Zhao Ger's heart. He picked up a piece of fried crackling, grabbed a wotou, and walked over to the child.
When Lu Ger saw Zhao Ger approaching, he panicked and hurriedly waved his hands in refusal.
"Young Master, this—this is too much! We can't accept this!"
The little boy was frightened too, pressing his face tightly against Lu Ger's back. But the fried cracklings smelled irresistibly good, and the wotou looked delicious. Before long, he cautiously lifted his head again. His gaze accidentally met Zhao Ger's. Zhao Ger's expression was gentle, a smile on his face, as he held out the wotou. "Be good. Here, Uncle is giving this to you. Take it!"
The little boy took it almost instinctively.
Qiu Ger said in a very small voice, "Thank you, Uncle."
Zhao Ger patted his head.
Lu Ger tried to say something more, but Zhao Ger had already returned to the pot. He picked up a few pieces of fried crackling and fed them to Guaizai.
"Thank you, Daddy!" Guaizai munched happily.
Zhao Ger pinched his little nose. "Are you tired? Are you coming with Daddy again tomorrow?"
Guaizai thought for a moment. "Yes."
Zhao Ger chuckled. "Don't you miss your father?"
"I do, but Father taught Guaizai something this morning," Guaizai said.
"What did he say?" Zhao Ger was curious. That morning, when he'd tried to bring Guaizai along, the boy had been a bit reluctant. But then Fang Zichen had whispered a couple of things in his ear, and Guaizai had agreed right away.
Once they arrived, the boy threw himself into the work with impressive enthusiasm. His little hoe practically blurred through the air, as if he were digging up an enemy's grave.
"Father said, 'Guaizai, this is doing good deeds for the people.' Daddy, you've got to understand, Guaizai is a person who loves to give, who sacrifices himself for others, who is selfless, who loves his country and his people. Guaizai is—"
Zhao Ger felt embarrassed just listening to him. His own face flushed with heat, and he gave the boy another swat, annoyed. "Tell the truth."
Guaizai's voice dropped, and he quietly scooted his little bottom to the side. "Father said, if you do good deeds and serve the people, you should get a reward."
A reward?
At such a young age, to have such awareness—he absolutely deserves a reward. Give him fifty taels!
Since this is work done for the people of Da Xia, the silver will come out of the hundred-thousand-tael treasury fund.
"Father said we'd split it half and half. Daddy, this is a reward for doing good deeds—it's not corruption, okay? Guaizai is upright and incorruptible. He would never do that sort of thing. And Father wouldn't either..." Under Zhao Ger's fierce expression that clearly said "I'm breaking both your legs when we get home tonight," Guaizai shut his mouth and dared not speak another word.
Zhao Ger took a deep breath.
This child really couldn't be left to his husband—otherwise, they'd be doomed sooner or later.
The men came back quickly.
They collected their wotous and their vegetables, thanked Zhao Ger profusely, then found any spot they could and sat down to eat.
The wotous were a bit tough—made from cheaper, coarser cornmeal. Three spoonfuls of oil went into a big pot of vegetables, so there wasn't much grease in the food, but there was enough salt to give it flavor.
Fine salt was even more expensive than lard.
But without it, people had no energy. As they ate, their eyes started to redden.
So good! It's so delicious, so fragrant!
How many years had it been since they'd had these? They'd nearly forgotten the taste.
They'd thought they'd go to their graves without ever having another decent meal. The officials before had bled them dry. But now... this meal they'd longed for so long, after all these twists and turns, was given to them by an official.
Each person ate one wotou and only took a couple of bites of the vegetables, then put the other wotou in their bowl, cradling it carefully for a good while before covering it with twigs and leaves.
They were saving it for their families at home.
There were also a few carefree ones who gobbled everything down on the spot.
On the way back, the little boy behind Lu Ger held out the fried crackling Zhao Ger had given him, offering it to his dad's mouth.
"Daddy, eat. Meat is so yummy."
Lu Ger felt a jumble of emotions—sour, bitter, and aching all at once.
Qiu Ger was just over two years old and had never eaten meat before.
The previous New Year's Eve, their neighbor had bought half a catty of pork fat to render into lard. Qiu Ger caught the smell and asked, "Daddy, what's that fragrant smell outside?"
Lu Ger had told him, and the boy must have remembered it vividly all this time.
That one tiny piece of crackling—Qiu Ger insisted on giving half to Lu Ger. The other half he nibbled bit by bit, unable to bear finishing it. When a bit of grease got on his fingers, he licked them clean, slowly and carefully.
When the men had rushed home to get their bowls, they were full of excitement and joy.
Seeing a whole crowd of them running back, everyone wondered what had happened. When asked, they panted out that they needed bowls to take food back—the official was providing meals.
When some parents saw their sons set down the two raw sweet potatoes they'd brought and grab bowls to dash off again, they couldn't even chase after them in time.
Lao Wang's wife was already carrying a pot back to the village to wash, and by then everyone knew.
Lao Qiu's second son, who had previously done corvee labor, had said that the officials there also provided food—but the congee there was watery! It was steaming hot, but when you blew on it and looked in the bowl, there were only a few grains of rice floating around.
What was the difference between that and drinking water?
One pee and it was gone. Their family was poor, but doing hard labor while exhausted and still not getting enough to eat—their bodies wouldn't hold up.
Family members grabbed sweet potatoes to rush out, but just then they saw Lu Ger and a few women coming back, carrying a basket with a bowl of "congee" inside—still full, untouched.
"No need to bring food," someone said. "The officials are providing meals. They made wotous—each one the size of a fist, two per person. You can get full. No one's going hungry."
"Really?"
"Would I lie to you? Look, Qiu Ger is eating one right now!"
The wotou in Qiu Ger's hand was half-eaten; the other half still looked as big as a duck egg and dense too. Some people couldn't help swallowing at the sight.
"Fang Fulang called Lao Wang's two daughters-in-law and Uncle Cui over to cook. Uncle Cui was stir-frying, and I saw him put in a big spoonful of oil, then another half-scoop. But Fang Fulang said it wasn't enough—too little—and told him to add two more scoops, saying the men were working hard and couldn't go without oil in their bellies."
Lu Ger and the others shared everything they'd seen.
The villagers believed them, but they still couldn't resist running out to the edge of the village to see for themselves.
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