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

Chapter 296 Zhang He Arrives

"Brother Zhang, is this the Chenjia Village you mentioned?"

The skinny monkey, sitting on the donkey cart, looked at the stone tablet at the village entrance that read "Chenjia Village" and asked Zhang He beside him.

"That's right! This is Chenjia Village!"

Zhang He jumped out of the car and said to the young men from Chenjia Village who were guarding the village entrance, "Brothers, I am Zhang He from the county. I'm here to talk business with Brother Dao."

Today, the people responsible for guarding the village entrance are none other than Chen Zhong and Chen Jiang from the guard team.

Since the establishment of the guard team, the task of guarding the village entrance has been assigned to the members of the guard team. The guard team needs to send two people to guard the village entrance every day, and today it just so happens to be Chen Zhong and Chen Jiang's turn.

"It's Brother Zhang He!"

Chen Jiang naturally recognized Zhang He and said with a smile, "Brother Dao has already told us, Brother Zhang He, you can just go in!"

"Alright, thanks, brothers!"

After obtaining permission, Zhang He had Thin Monkey and the others drive into the main road of Chenjia Village.

"This Chenjia Village really changes every day!"

Looking at the flat dirt road and the busy young men on it, Zhang He couldn't help but sigh.

Recalling his first visit to Chenjia Village, the main road, known as Chencun Avenue, was full of potholes. Now, it is flat and wide enough to accommodate four carriages side by side.

"Brother Zhang, this Chenjia Village is indeed extraordinary!"

Skinny Monkey was also observing the situation in Chenjia Village: "The road is much better than in our old village, and the villagers who are repairing the road all look very energetic!"

Skinny Monkey wasn't very educated and didn't know how to describe the villagers' expressions. He only knew that the villagers of Chenjia Village were completely different from his fellow villagers in Liangzhou. His elders and fellow villagers in Liangzhou were no different from the refugees outside the county town. They were all sallow-faced and emaciated, and had no spirit at all.

In contrast, the villagers of Chenjia Village chatted and laughed even while working, and everyone was exceptionally energetic and had a very different appearance.

"It's natural!"

Zhang He nodded and said, "The villagers of Chenjia Village are all well-fed, and they eat white flour steamed buns. How can we Liangzhou people compare to them!"

At this point, Zhang He couldn't help but sigh. In fact, let alone the poor people of Liangzhou, even in Taiping County, how many people could live better than the villagers of Chenjia Village?

Due to the impact of the cold disaster, even the people in the county town are mostly struggling to make ends meet. It is impossible for them to have enough white flour steamed buns to eat every day like the villagers of Chenjia Village.

As they were talking, the two donkey carts stopped in front of Chen Dao's house. Zhang He got off the carts first and knocked on the door.

"Squeak!"

The door opened, and Chen Cheng looked at Zhang He outside, surprised, and said, "Brother Zhang, what brings you here?"

"I've come to find Brother Dao."

"Then come in first!"

Zhang He told Skinny Monkey and the others to wait outside, while he went inside and saw Chen Dao sunbathing in the front yard.

"Brother Zhang is here?"

Upon seeing Zhang He enter, Chen Dao sat up and smiled, "Are you here to buy goods this time?"

"Not bad!"

Zhang He said, "I brought 500 taels of silver with me this time, intending to buy some chickens and ducks to transport to Ding'an County to sell."

"no problem."

Chen Dao readily agreed, "How many do you plan to buy?"

Zhang He thought for a moment and said, "We need 20 blood-feathered chickens and 300 yellow-feathered chickens!"

"20 blood-feathered chickens for 400 taels, 300 yellow-feathered chickens for 90 taels, is this price acceptable?"

"no problem."

"Row!"

Chen Dao nodded and said to Chen Cheng, "Cheng-ge, go to the chicken farm and have Sister Lian prepare the chickens!"

Chen Cheng accepted the order and left, while Chen Dao turned to Zhang He and said, "Brother Zhang, you've come all this way, why don't you have a simple meal at home before you leave?"

"It is better to obey orders than to be respectful!"

Soon, knowing that guests had arrived, Li Ping busied herself, killing chickens and ducks, and cooking to entertain Zhang He and the other guests.

In the afternoon, three tables were set up in the front yard of Chen Dao's house. Under Chen Dao's arrangement, Zhang He and the skinny monkey he brought were seated.

"This food is amazing!"

A man looked at the sumptuous food on the table and couldn't help but swallow.

To entertain them, Chen Dao's family slaughtered two chickens and two ducks, and also made egg drop soup and steamed buns. At this time, the aroma of steamed buns and meat on the table kept wafting out, tempting everyone's hearts.

"This is such a feast! I've never eaten such a lavish meal before!"

"Me too!"

"It smells so good!"

"..."

Zhang He's men, inhaling the ever-present aroma, were salivating uncontrollably.

"Everyone, eat! Don't just stand there watching!"

At Chen Dao's command, everyone sprang into action, each one like a starving ghost, frantically grabbing meat from the plates and stuffing it into their mouths, their mouths dripping with oil.

At Chen Dao's table, Zhang He behaved much better, though he still praised the taste of the meat.

"Young Master Chen, the life in your Chen Family Village is truly enviable!"

Zhang He ate while remarking with emotion.

"so far so good!"

Chen Dao smiled. In fact, life in Chenjia Village was far from as good as Zhang He had imagined. Although most villagers had enough to eat, it was impossible for them to eat meat every meal. It was only recently, during the Spring Festival, and because Chen Dao had received his salary, that they were able to eat better.

"Brother Zhang, why don't we rest in the village tonight and set off again tomorrow?"

Chen Dao suggested.

"also!"

Zhang He thought about it and agreed.

It's already afternoon. Even if he sets off now, he won't be able to reach Ding'an County tomorrow. He might as well rest in Chenjia Village for the night before setting off.

"Then I'll arrange accommodations for you!"

After lunch, the sun had completely set.

Chen Dao arranged for Zhang He and the others to stay in the former home of the Chen Jin brothers.

"I really enjoyed this meal today!"

Lying on the floor, one of his subordinates, Zhang He, patted his lower abdomen with a satisfied expression.

"Yes, yes! I've never eaten so much meat in my life!"

"This Chenjia Village is really wealthy! They've brought out so much meat to treat us!"

"That's right! When the fire started this afternoon, I smelled more than one aroma of meat. It's possible that every household in Chenjia Village has meat to eat!"

"I wish I were a villager in Chenjia Village, then I could eat meat every day!"

"I don't mean eating meat every day, but even just plain white flour buns every day would be fine!"

"..."

People envied the lives of the villagers in Chenjia Village.

Skinny Monkey then asked Zhang He, "Brother Zhang, can we really make money by transporting these chickens to Ding'an County?"

I've already seen the yellow-feathered chicken and the blood-feathered chicken with the skinny monkey; they are indeed extraordinary, but the price is also quite high...

A single blood-feathered chicken costs a full 20 taels of silver. At such an exorbitant price, Skinny Monkey couldn't even imagine how he could possibly sell it and make a profit...