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

Chapter 107 Could it be that we've unearthed a nugget of gold?

Silent all night.

The next day, when Chen Dao woke up, the house was already bustling with activity.

In the kitchen, Li Ping, Ding Xiaohua, and He Cuilian, who came to help, were preparing food for the villagers who were working. In the backyard, Chen Lian and others, who were welcomed into the house by Li Ping, were feeding the chickens, ducks, and dogs.

In the front yard, Chen Cheng was idly practicing his Tiger-Taming Fist, sweating profusely in the cold weather.

Chen Dao greeted Chen Cheng and opened the front gate, only to find a large number of villagers already gathered outside. Upon seeing Chen Dao open the gate, they all warmly stepped forward to greet him.

"Good morning, Daoge'er!"

Good morning, Brother Dao!

"Has Daoge'er had breakfast yet?"

"..."

In response to the enthusiastic crowd, Chen Dao nodded and said, "Please wait a moment, breakfast will be ready soon!"

"Brother Dao, we're not in a hurry."

"Anyway, Brother Dao, you won't let us go hungry, so there's no rush."

"Yes, yes, Brother Dao, we're not in a hurry!"

"..."

The villagers told them not to rush, but Chen He stepped forward and asked Chen Dao, "Brother Dao, today is the day for sowing. Have you prepared everything for planting?"

"Of course!"

Chen Dao nodded without hesitation. He had already checked the progress of the winter wheat last night and confirmed that it had successfully evolved into cold-resistant wheat.

"That's good!"

Chen He felt much relieved.

At this moment, Li Ping and Ding Xiaohua also carried two large food buckets outside and began distributing breakfast to the villagers.

The villagers lined up in an orderly fashion, received their steamed buns, and then gathered with their families or acquaintances to enjoy the delicious buns.

"These steamed buns are really good! I've been eating them for so long and I still don't get tired of them."

Chen Gou said this after swallowing a steamed bun in one gulp.

"you do not say!"

A villager who was familiar with Chen Gou's father, Chen Sheng, chimed in, "No wonder steamed buns can sell for several coins each in the city; this food is truly irresistible."

"Only Brother Dao would give us such precious food!"

A young man exclaimed, "Ever since I ate the steamed buns from Daoge'er's family, I can't eat rice bran rice anymore!"

"Yes, yes! Rice husks are dog food, nothing compares to steamed buns."

"Speaking of which, if we eat like this every day, won't Daoge's family run out of food?"

"Probably not! Daoge'er's family doesn't lack food."

"Brother Dao has definitely thought it all out, you don't need to worry about it!"

"..."

After enjoying the delicious steamed buns, the villagers picked up their farm tools and headed straight for the farmland of Chenjia Village.

At the same time, Chen Dao had Chen Cheng carry the bag containing cold-resistant wheat seeds and went with the villagers to the edge of the farmland.

Looking at the hundreds of villagers with eager faces by the farmland, Chen Dao said, "The wheat seeds are right here. Take them and plant them."

Upon hearing this, Chen He, the village chief, stepped forward, opened the bag of grain seeds, took a look, and praised, "These grain seeds aren't bad!"

Chen He is the village head of Chenjia Village and also an old farmer. As an old farmer, he could tell at a glance that the grain seeds in the bag were of good quality. The grain seeds were uniform in size, plump, and bright in color with a glossy sheen, which was obviously good grain seeds.

Chen He handed the grain bag to his second brother, Chen Qiang: "Qiang, distribute the seeds to the villagers so they can plant them."

"it is good!"

Chen Qiang nodded, took the bags of seeds, and distributed them to the villagers. Then the villagers got busy, scattered in the fields, and began to sow the seeds.

Chen Dao also got interested and wanted to experience what it's like to farm, so he grabbed a handful of seeds and ran to the field to start working.

Just as Chen Dao was working in the fields, Chen He suddenly noticed two outsiders walking across the fields of Chenjia Village.

"Li Qiang? And his son Li Mu?"

Chen He had sharp eyes and recognized the two immediately, wondering why they had come over.

However, he still went up to Li Qiang and said, "Bald Qiang, what are you doing in our village?"

Because of an illness he suffered from since childhood, Li Qiang's hair has never grown out, so people who know him call him Bald Qiang.

"Let's see what kind of trouble you're causing in Chenjia Village."

Li Qiang didn't seem to mind being called Bald Qiang, but asked, "Hey Village Chief Chen, is your village farming?"

"if not?"

Chen He retorted, "In this freezing weather, if we're not farming, are we here to play in the fields?"

You know it's freezing cold?

Li Qiang's doubts deepened. In this freezing weather, it was obvious that no crops could grow in the fields, yet the entire village of Chenjia had come here to farm. Wasn't that absurd?

"I think you're doing a useless job."

Li Qiang shook his bald head and said, "If we can grow any crops in this weather, I'll take your surname, Chen He."

"Oh."

Chen He simply responded with an "oh," offering no explanation, but instead changed the subject, asking, "Will your Xiahe Village also be subject to increased taxes?"

Before Li Qiang could speak, Li Mu, who was standing next to him, said first: "Damn it, this government is simply not letting us live. Two taels of silver in taxes, how can we possibly afford that?"

Li Mu's face was full of anger. When those two constables came to the village a while ago, Li Mu wished he could beat them to death right there in the village. The tax increase of two taels of silver or one shi of grain was no different from forcing them to their deaths.

"Ugh!"

Li Qiang was also full of worry. He had been so worried about the tax increase that his hair was about to grow out, but he was helpless. Nowadays, every household in Xiahe Village was so hungry that they couldn't even get enough bran to eat, so how could they possibly afford to pay 100 jin of grain for taxes?

The consequences of not being able to pay taxes...

Li Qiang was filled with fear just thinking about it. He was sent to the north to be exiled, a fate that was almost certain to end in death.

"Village Chief Chen."

Li Qiang looked at Chen He and asked, "How does your village plan to resolve the issue of tax increases?"

"We have our own way of doing things."

Chen He stroked his beard and said smugly, "Anyway, we're definitely not going to be sent to the north to be exiled."

Seeing Chen He's confident smile, Li Qiang and Li Mu couldn't help but exchange bewildered glances. Xiahe Village and Chenjia Village were close in distance and often intermarried, so the two villages had a relatively close relationship and were quite familiar with each other's situation.

Li Qiang and Li Mu were well aware that life was tough in Xiahe Village, and Chenjia Village was no better off.

At this moment, Chen He confidently stated that Chenjia Village could handle the tax increase, which greatly surprised the two of them.

Chenjia Village is so poor that they're practically eating tree bark. Where would they get the food or money to pay for this tax increase?

Is it possible...

Did the people of Chenjia Village find a nugget of gold in the mountains?