boyutpedia Chapter 3 Solving the Food Shortage Problem
Chapter 3 Solving the Food Shortage Problem
In times of famine, a single grain of rice can save a person's life.
Looking at the grain on the ground, Lu Yuanqing felt it was heavy. This was the first time he had ever seen grain distributed in such an 'overbearing' manner.
"Brother!" Lu Yuanbo immediately stepped forward, took the bag, and opened it.
There wasn't much grain, about three pounds of sweet potatoes.
Compared to Lu Yuanqing, Lu Yuanbo, the original nephew, was also shocked, but not much.
But, "Did they really give it to us?"
So poor they were practically eating dirt, Lu Yuanbo dreamed of being given food by kind-hearted people, but such dreams only ever came true in his dreams.
Although Lu Yuanbo said that, he was still clutching the bag he was carrying tightly.
After eating the last meal of wild vegetables at home, there was nothing else to eat.
"Should we return it?" Lu Mingxi asked, his eyes mirroring Lu Yuanbo's.
Lu Yuanqing looked at them quietly, as if he were meeting the people in his memory one by one.
He wanted to see what kind of people he would be spending time with in the future, but the original owner of this body had a very strong bias towards his family.
As it stands, in his eyes, the fourth brother, Lu Yuanbo, is a short-tempered and impatient person, but in the original owner's eyes, he is a cute and adorable younger brother.
Fifth sister Lu Yuanhuan is quick to shed tears, and can cry over the smallest things. She is timid and weak-willed, and even her niece, who is two or three years younger than her, can boss her around.
The people are a good match, but as for their personalities... Lu Yuanqing said he would have to keep observing.
That's right, he didn't want to die anymore. He believed that it was better to live a miserable life than to die. That's how fickle he was.
Not for any other reason, but simply because I feel it's so hard to die!
He had finally decided to die, but was pulled back by a bowl of wild vegetable water.
Once the thought of suicide passes, it's hard to bring it up again.
Well, he's still afraid of dying.
At least there's still something to eat at home. We'll talk about it after we finish eating!
Lu Guobin will never know that the few kilograms of sweet potatoes he brought made Lu Yuanqing decide to survive first.
However, the most important thing now is that everyone is looking at Lu Yuanqing, wanting him, the patriarch, to express his stance.
Lu Yuanqing glanced at the African refugees in front of him, stepped forward, took the food from Lu Yuanbo's hand, and handed it to Lu Yuanhuan, who was in charge of the kitchen at home. "Take this first. We must remember this kindness and repay Uncle in the future."
“Okay, I’ll remember!” Lu Mingnan was the first to raise his hand to guarantee it.
Others echoed this sentiment.
"Fifth Sister, go cook something to eat." Lu Yuanqing subconsciously touched his stomach.
I'm so hungry, and I feel so empty.
“This…” Lu Yuanhuan was carrying grain. He was happy that there was food at home, but then he heard Lu Yuanqing’s words.
"Third Brother, we just had dinner, we're not hungry!"
She spoke with conviction, but her stomach didn't give her any face and started growling.
“Yes, that’s right. We don’t have much food, so we have to eat it sparingly.” Lu Yuanbo nodded in agreement.
Although he was already drooling over the sweet potatoes and couldn't wait to escape and take a bite, they were the only food in the house. If he tried to eat them anyway, his fifth sister would cry in front of him.
He was most afraid of his fifth sister crying.
Lu Mingxi and the other younger members of the family had no say; they just watched the grain with longing eyes and didn't participate.
Lu Yuanqing twitched the corner of his mouth and said, "Cook more and feed some to Xiao Bei and Xiao Zhong." He wanted to say that he would eat some too, but the little ones were so sensible that he didn't know how to bring it up.
Could it be that you cooked it all in one go? He could eat it all by himself.
Considering the current situation, let's just forget about it!
I pat my stomach with a pang of sympathy. Go hungry! You'll get used to it, don't feel bad!
Upon hearing this, Lu Yuanhuan stopped trying to stop him.
Lu Yuanhuan took a few sweet potatoes to the kitchen, while Lu Yuanqing lifted half of the curtain to peek at the twins in the room.
Lu Mingbei and Lu Mingzhong are a brother and sister, both two years old. Poor Lu's second sister-in-law didn't get proper care during her pregnancy, and after giving birth, she faced famine, so she didn't get any nutrition at all.
The two-year-old was so hungry that he could barely walk and had no food to eat, so he could only lie in bed and sleep.
Lu Yuanqing thought that after the original owner starved to death, these two kids would definitely be the first members of the Lu family to follow him.
He doesn't like children, and even hates bratty kids. The original owner gave him his body so that he could live again, and Lu Yuanqing owes the original owner for that, so he accepted the task of raising the child, as it is his responsibility.
So, how is he going to support himself and his kids?
Lu Yuanqing rested his chin on his hand, his mind racing.
Even after transmigrating, he didn't have any cheat codes, and his body was still weakened and worn down.
According to the time-travel tropes in online novels, he should have gone up the mountain to find a way to survive.
Lu Yuanqing's eyes lit up, and he got up, wanting to go up the mountain to try his luck.
However, his sore and weak legs made him immediately abandon this idea.
With his physical condition, even climbing the mountain would be difficult, let alone trying his luck? Don't let a hungry wild beast try its luck!
Just as he was thinking about how to keep his family alive, the aroma of sweet potatoes wafting from the kitchen made his stomach, which had finally calmed down after drinking a few cups of water, start acting up again.
It smells so good! Lu Yuanqing sniffed, never before had he savored the taste of food so much.
"Lu Yuanbo," Lu Yuanqing shouted into the room, "bring Xiao Bei and the others out for dinner."
The room was dimly lit, and we couldn't see clearly. It would be a real shame if the sweet potato ended up being fed to the bed instead of being eaten.
Lu Yuanbo acted quickly, and as soon as he received the order, he pulled out the twins.
It's like carrying them, grabbing one in each hand.
Lu Yuanhuan brought over the sweet potatoes and saw this scene.
"Fourth Brother, it'll be uncomfortable for you to carry them like that!"
"Then you hold them yourself!" Lu Yuanbo said, trying to put the two babies in his hands into Lu Yuanhuan's arms.
He has little patience and is even less capable of taking care of children.
On the contrary, Lu Yuanhuan was at home, and she raised her nephews and nieces.
"Wait a minute, let me put the jar down first."
The iron pot at home is long gone. There's only an earthenware pot for cooking rice and boiling water, but it was broken, so we don't use the pot anymore.
Lu Yuanbo could only carry his two children and wait for Lu Yuanhuan.
Lu Yuanqing watched from the side. It wasn't that he didn't want to help; firstly, he subconsciously didn't want to be near such a small baby; secondly, his attention was completely drawn to the sweet potato, and if he went to help feed it, it would be awkward if he ended up feeding it to himself.
He still wanted to maintain his dignity as the only adult in the family.
With the food delivered by Uncle Lu, there's no need to worry about the twins starving to death prematurely.
Once they had enough food and ate until they were somewhat full, they had to start working to earn work points.
Lu Yuanqing thought about it for half the night but couldn't figure out how to feed these kids. Finally, he got sleepy and decided to go to the fields to earn work points first.
Lu Yuanqing never overestimated himself; he probably wasn't very good at working in the fields either.
The next morning, Lu Yuanhuan made sweet potato soup, which was made by cutting sweet potatoes into shreds with the skin on, adding water and cooking them until done.
Lu Yuanqing drank his bowl of sweet potato soup and smiled helplessly.
This is the first time I've ever eaten sweet potatoes with the skin on, and they're not even in chunks; cutting them into shreds makes them seem like a lot!
Shihua Village operates on a production team model, where the entire village works together and earns work points based on their performance.
In the village, an average able-bodied man can earn ten work points, while an exceptionally capable man can earn twelve.
However, in Shihua Village, only men can get twelve work points, and only a few capable women can get ten work points, while most only get nine.
The original owner usually gets ten work points, Lu Yuanbo gets eight, and Lu Yuanhuan, Lu Mingxi and Lu Mingdong get five.
As for Lu Mingnan, he's too young to work, so he stays home to look after the children.
As Lu Yuanqing worked, he calculated that, given the Lu family's situation, there were many people but few able-bodied laborers. In a good harvest year, they could barely support the family with their hard work, but in a famine year, it would be impossible to guarantee that.
No wonder that after the original owner's parents passed away, Brother Lu, Sister-in-law Lu, and Second Sister-in-law Lu followed them in death.
Not having enough to eat and being hungry every day is one thing, but the root cause is the accumulated fatigue leading to illness.
Although he had the original owner's memories, Lu Yuanqing, who had been a second-generation rich kid since childhood, still underestimated the hardship of farm work.
Once on the ground, he couldn't compare to Lu Yuanbo; after a short while, he couldn't stand it anymore and straightened up, panting heavily.
The people in front of me were all pretty much the same; they looked listless and weak.
At the end of the day, Lu Yuanqing only received eight work points.
“Brother, you have the same work points as me today!” Lu Yuanbo came over to take a look.
Those around him who heard this all gave Lu Yuanqing a disdainful look.
Lu Yuanqing took a deep breath. If he hadn't seen any other thoughts on this unlucky kid's face, he would have really thought that this was an enemy who wanted to see him make a fool of himself.
"Go home!" Lu Yuanqing said, indicating that he didn't have the energy to curse this guy anymore.
Just as Lu Yuanqing was slowly making his way home, exhausted, a voice came from behind him, "Lu Yuanbo, come here for a second!"
Lu Yuanqing turned his head curiously and looked. The name matched in his memory: Gu Hewang.
The eldest nephew of Gu Baoxia, the original owner's fiancée.
Lu Yuanqing's eyes lit up; he knew a way to temporarily solve the Lu family's food shortage!