Chapter 64

Aunt Zhang’s family are now staunch supporters of Fan Jinshui.

Upon hearing it was brought by them, the first to speak up was, “I don’t need to taste it, count me in for our share!”

Their home had no fields, only wastelands and hills. As long as it wasn’t poisonous, they could eat anything that filled their bellies!

Moreover, if a scholar like Fan Jin could eat it, why couldn’t their family?

Soon after, many others followed, raising their hands in support.

At midday, Old Village Chief had his eldest daughter-in-law go door-to-door warning about the abnormal cold weather. The elderly in the households agreed, worried about next year’s food supply.

Now that food was delivered to their doorstep and they didn’t want it, it was as if the heavens were feeding them. Not only did they refuse to eat it, they wanted to smash the bowls.

Fan Jin’s gaze fell on Fan’s mother in the crowd.

Pushing through the excited crowd, Fan’s mother grabbed a table in the middle of the courtyard and took a bite out of the chopped-up kudzu root, spitting it out in Fan’s expectant gaze, cursing, “Bitter!

Is this meant for people to eat? It’s so unpalatable, not even fit for pigs.”

Beside her, Auntie Li advised, “Sister Fan, chew it carefully. I just had some. The first bite was bitter, but as you chew more, it becomes sweet and even leaves a hint of aftertaste.”

Fan’s mother glanced sideways, mocking, “Are you delusional? How can you stomach this kind of rotten tree root?”

Auntie Li’s expression darkened, but considering Fan Jin had helped her family a lot, she refrained from harsh words.

“Step aside! Let me taste it and see what this rare thing is.” Sun Jinhua squeezed in from behind.

She picked the thickest piece, took a big bite, and struggled to chew it down. “Ugh, what is this stuff! So tough, it almost broke my teeth.

I say, young nephew, are you sure this is fit for humans? You eat your own rice and flour, not feed us what’s meant for pigs?”

Fan Jin lowered his head, his gaze clouded.

The Old Village Chief frowned and addressed the two, “You from Fan’s family, your daughter-in-law doesn’t know any better, but you shouldn’t be foolish too.

In past lean years, even tree roots and bark were edible. Why can’t you eat this?”

Fan’s mother stood tall, proudly saying, “I’ve never eaten tree bark or roots. Those are for families without fields.

With over fifty mu of fertile land at home, we eat not just sorghum and millet, but rice and flour every few days.

Even in bad harvest years, selling a mu or two of land is enough to get by.”

Fan Jin pursed his lips, saying no more.

Sun Jinhua shouted, “You’re all clueless. Can you grow anything edible from these tree roots?

It’s a waste of time and effort. I say, if we have the time, we should plow the fields more, fertilize them, and expect a better harvest next year.”

Zhang Tuzi initially thought planting a seed wasn’t too tiring and was about to raise his hand. After hearing Sun Jinhua, he thought that if it wasn’t useful for eating, why waste the effort?

It’s better to lie down.

“Dad, it’s a scam. What if we can’t eat what we grow?” Zhang Chunhua muttered beside him.

Zhang Tuzi grunted, “Let’s go, back home.”

The two of them left first.

Fan Damu tiptoed through the crowd for a while and also left.

Before the old village chief could speak, an elderly person spoke up, “You young folks haven’t experienced a major flood. When a flood comes, do you think the crops in the fields can survive?

All the seedlings get washed away! The water in the fields can reach up to your knees, soaking for ten days or half a month. How can those young seedlings endure such soaking? By the time the water dries up, their roots have already rotted.”

“In times of disaster, after the wild vegetables are eaten, all that’s left are wild grasses and roots chopped and cooked. You haven’t eaten bark, but if you had, you would know that in a year of disaster, what Fan’s son brought us would be a delicacy!”

Sun Jinhua couldn’t stand seeing everyone praising her younger brother-in-law, scoffing, “Hmph, boiling bark can be eaten. This stuff is just like tree roots buried in the ground. It takes so much effort to dig them out.

You also said it won’t fill our stomachs. What’s the point if we’re too weak to dig it up?”

The old man shook his head with an air of resignation, “Do you think boiled bark is easy to chew? Can something that can’t be swallowed fill your stomach?”

Children who hadn’t experienced famine thought peeling bark was as simple as peeling it off and boiling it.

But in reality, it must be peeled, dried in the sun, ground into powder, and boiled into porridge to be eaten.

It’s not easy and it tastes awful.

“Let’s go, let’s go. What’s the point of talking to these poor folks? If they have nothing to eat, we do!”

With a sideways glance, Fan’s mother scolded her eldest daughter-in-law.

In the distance, Fan Jin spoke up and asked, “Mother, aren’t you planting?”

Fan’s mother turned and snorted, “Rest assured! Even if I starve, I won’t eat these laborious tree roots!

Besides, when you’re starving and selling your children, I’ll still have food to eat. By the way, who knows if there’ll be a flood? There’s no official notice, yet you act like you know everything. The government hasn’t even posted an announcement. How did you find out first? I say stop misleading people. Be careful, or I’ll report you to the authorities!”

“Ah, Fan Grandma, if you don’t want to plant, just don’t plant. Why say such harsh words?”

“We know you have food, we just hope next year you don’t come asking Fan’s son for grain!”

“Old Village Chief is thinking of the village, Uncle Jin is also looking out for us. He doesn’t take our money, nor does he force us to plant. You can go report to the government, and we’ll testify for Old Village Chief and Uncle Jin!”

Fan’s mother was furious and left with a final mutter, “It’s all about suffering!”

Sun Jinhua rolled her eyes and followed her mother-in-law home.

The old village chief looked at Fan Jin, who remained silent, and sighed, “If they don’t believe it, let’s not bother with them. We’ll just focus on doing our own thing.”

Fan Jin nodded, “Please help distribute them.”

Except for a few families who thought their grain was sufficient, the remaining twenty-three households all wanted it.

Wang Guifen took out the dried leaves from before and carefully wrapped the seeds for each household to take home.

The old village chief had a large family and many barren hills, so each household received a fair share of seeds.

His second daughter-in-law had already cooled down the grass and wood ash from the stove hole and waited until it was completely cold before thoroughly mixing the kudzu root seeds.

Li Laoda, the second, and the third took advantage of the time before it got completely dark to go up the mountain and evenly scatter the seeds on several hills.

Other families in the village did the same.

When Fan Jin returned home, he told Qing about the situation, and then thought of his in-laws in Niutou Town, asking, “Father-in-law and mother-in-law over there, what are your plans?”