Zhao Hanzhang glanced at Geng Rong and smiled slightly. If even someone like Geng Rong, who was literate, capable, and thoughtful, stood by her side, would the ordinary people have any doubts?
Zhao Hanzhang looked at the smoke rising from the various homes’ chimneys and casually knocked on the door of one house.
A man cooking in the kitchen came out to open the door. When he saw Zhao Hanzhang, he was a bit excited but also a bit apprehensive. "Why is the lady here?"
Could it be that she’s here to take back the house and kick him out?
Zhao Hanzhang said, "I came to see how you are living here. Are you getting used to it?"
The man breathed a sigh of relief and immediately responded, "Getting used to it, definitely used to it, very much so."
"How many people live here?"
"Five, one per room," the man replied with a flattering smile. "We’ve kept the house very tidy, nothing is messy."
Zhao Hanzhang nodded and headed towards the kitchen. The person tending the fire inside was startled and immediately knelt, still in a crouched position. "Greetings, my lady."
Zhao Hanzhang stepped forward to help him up. "No need for such formalities."
She glanced into the pot and asked, "Why are there only the two of you? Where are the other three?"
The two quickly replied, "They went to fetch water and gather firewood."
Zhao Hanzhang nodded approvingly, "Clear division of labor. If you can live together like a family, it makes life easier."
She looked at the pot and asked, "What are you making to eat?"
The two answered honestly, "Bean rice."
Zhao Hanzhang noticed they didn’t invite her to eat, so she thickened her skin and spoke up, "I haven’t had dinner yet. Do you mind if I stay and share a meal?"
Their faces immediately showed a look of difficulty, and one hesitated a moment before saying, "Then the lady will have to wait a bit longer."
Zhao Hanzhang nodded, "I can wait."
He then went inside and soon came out with two bowls of white noodles.
Zhao Hanzhang saw it and stopped him with her hand, "Didn’t you say you were eating bean rice? Why are you bringing out white noodles?"
"Bean rice is for people like us to eat. My lady is delicate; how could we serve such coarse food?"
Zhao Hanzhang laughed, "I’m not that delicate. Whatever you eat, I eat."
They insisted, "No, if a distinguished guest comes and we use bean rice to greet you, we won’t be able to mingle around here starting tomorrow."
Zhao Hanzhang said, "It’s not that serious. I’m just here to try the bean rice you eat daily."
They obviously hadn’t expected anyone to pass up perfectly good white noodles and rice to eat bean rice.
But Zhao Hanzhang insisted, so they had to put the white noodles back.
Zhao Hanzhang squatted by the stove with them, watching the fire and chatting about their recent life and future plans, "Have you harvested all the land distributed to you by the government?"
"Yes, it’s all done. We handed over sixty percent of the grain; the remaining forty percent is ours." One person said, "The beans are dried and brought home; the paddy is still drying."
Zhao Hanzhang asked, "Can it last until May next year?"
"If we eat sparingly, it should be fine. The government said there will be more work-for-relief jobs. We’re planning to finish organizing the land and then head to the government to take on some work. We can exchange the white noodles and rice we earn for wheat and beans. That way, we’ll have more."
Zhao Hanzhang said, "So you’re not eating any refined grains, only coarse cereals?"
The man laughed indifferently, "It’s already pretty good now. We couldn’t even get coarse cereals before. Now, not only do we have houses to live in, but we also have enough to eat. It’s enough."
During their conversation, the other three returned with water and firewood.
This house was only temporarily lent to them by the county government, with no rent. One room per person, and if it’s a family, that’s great. If not, they can still live together to make ends meet.
Of course, if they can’t get along, they can ask the village chief to intervene and set up separate stoves for themselves.
These five knew each other from the slums, so they decided to live together, taking turns cooking, fetching water, and gathering firewood; they got by.
The amount of food to be steamed each day was fixed, so with so many people including Zhao Hanzhang, the bean rice quickly ran out.
Therefore, the five didn’t start eating. Instead, they brought out bowls and chopsticks, ready to serve everyone a big bowl and making sure Zhao Hanzhang and her group had enough first.
Zhao Hanzhang took a look at the mushy beans squished together, quickly thanked them, and only took one bowl, then shared some with Professor Fu and Geng Rong.
The three shared one bowl of bean rice. To be honest, it smelled quite pleasant at first whiff, but it wasn’t tasty, lacking any flavor and had a raw bean smell.
Fu Tinghan took a bite, then looked at Zhao Hanzhang.
Zhao Hanzhang also found it unappetizing, but she still forced herself to finish it. She asked, "Do you only eat bean rice without any vegetables?"
The five people, seeing that Zhao Hanzhang wasn’t picky, laughed happily, "No vegetables."
Zhao Hanzhang said, "You still need to grow some vegetables. Do you have any land? If not, I can allocate some for you."
The five people’s eyes lit up, "Is that possible?"
"Of course," Zhao Hanzhang thought for a moment and asked Fu Tinghan, "I remember there’s a lot of abandoned farmland just outside West City that’s confirmed to be ownerless, right?"
Fu Tinghan nodded, "Yes, fields left abandoned for over five years can be considered ownerless."
Zhao Hanzhang told them, "You can go to West City. Each of you can cultivate two plots of vegetable land. Once cultivated, it’s yours."
The five of them: ... But West City is too far away; it’s out in the suburbs.
The five of them felt it wasn’t a big deal not having vegetables to eat.
Geng Rong thought for a moment, "My lady, there’s also some wasteland not far from here, just behind a few rows of houses. However, the land is fragmented, and the soil is poor."
Zhao Hanzhang glanced at the five of them and waved, "Then you can pick a spot to cultivate it. If the soil is poor, just dig some from elsewhere and fill it."
After Zhao Hanzhang finished eating, she saw Fu Tinghan still had a lot left, so she took it and poured all the bean rice into her bowl to eat it for him.
"You really should eat some vegetables, or you’ll easily get sick."
Fu Tinghan blushed a little and quickly took his bowl back, "I’ll manage it myself."
Zhao Hanzhang held his hand down, "I’m still hungry; let me eat a bit more."
The five of them saw this and immediately stood up, warmly saying, "There’s still more here, there’s still more."
Zhao Hanzhang and Fu Tinghan were startled and quickly waved their hands, "No need, no need, this is enough, you all eat."
Geng Rong lowered his head, trying hard to swallow the bean rice stuck in his throat, tears almost coming to his eyes. It was really hard to eat.
He glanced at Zhao Hanzhang and saw that she had finished even the bean rice in Fu Tinghan’s bowl, and immediately respected her more. He had underestimated her.
Zhao Hanzhang exhaled, put down the bowl, and asked, "What else do you usually eat besides bean rice?"
"Wheat rice and steamed buns."
Zhao Hanzhang asked, "White flour steamed buns?"
The five laughed, "We can’t afford full white-flour ones. They are mixed with bran, gray and black, but still quite delicious, even better than wheat rice."
Zhao Hanzhang rubbed her belly and finally decided she wanted to experience that too.
So she pulled Fu Tinghan along to bid farewell and find the next family. As soon as they opened the door, she asked if they were eating wheat rice or steamed buns tonight.
Upon learning it was wheat rice or steamed buns, she went inside.
In this alley, most households ate bean rice, with only a few eating wheat rice and steamed buns.