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

Chapter 781 This is the life people live

"Guo Hai, is that right? You have been officially hired as a worker by Chenjia Village. Report to the city tomorrow."

"Thank you, officer! Thank you, officer!"

"Xu Si, you have been hired by Chenjia Village. Report to work outside the city tomorrow."

"Okay, thank you, officer!"

"..."

The next day, county officials went door-to-door to notify everyone. Everyone who received the notice and learned that they had been hired cheered and thanked the officials who came to deliver the notice.

Of course, while some are happy, others are sad. Those who were hired, like Guo Hai, are all smiles, while those who were not hired are extremely disappointed, their eyes filled with envy for those who were hired.

"Damn it, why wasn't I chosen!"

"It must be some underhanded manipulation by the government; they deliberately didn't choose me!"

"Looks like I'm not destined to eat white flour buns!"

"..."

Some complained, some were dissatisfied, and some felt regret, but their emotions obviously could not change the established fact that they were not elected.

…………

…………

Another day passed.

Guo Hai and the other selected people arrived one after another outside the North Gate.

At this time, a temporary construction site had been set up outside the North Gate by workers from Chenjia Village. After Guo Hai and others arrived, the craftsmen from Chenjia Village immediately came over to assign them work. Because Guo Hai had been doing manual labor for many years, he was relatively strong and was therefore assigned to the job of carrying bricks.

Once everyone else had been assigned their tasks, construction on the official road officially began.

The same method was used to pave this official road as before, with construction starting simultaneously from both Chenjia Village and Yongliang County. Workers from Chenjia Village were responsible for paving from Chenjia Village northward, while workers recruited from Yongliang County were responsible for paving from Yongliang County southward. Eventually, the official road would connect at the midpoint between the two locations.

As the official road construction officially began, the area outside the north gate of Yongliang County became bustling with activity. Under the direction of the craftsmen from Chenjia Village, workers were busy with their respective tasks: some were carrying bricks, some were cleaning the road, and some were carrying sand. The people passing through the city gate looked at this lively scene and couldn't help but murmur with envy.

"Damn it, why wasn't I chosen?!"

"These people are really going all out! Five hundred copper coins a month! I couldn't save up that many copper coins even if I worked my butt off for a year!"

"Why am I not so lucky!"

"..."

The people of Yongliang County are undoubtedly extremely envious of Guo Hai and other selected workers. With the weather now cold, they can't farm and can't find work, so most families have lost their source of income.

However, Guo Hai and the other workers recruited by Chenjia Village had no work to do in the cold winter, and they could still receive 500 coins a month. How could they not be envious?

Seemingly sensing the envious glances of others, Guo Hai worked even harder, afraid that he might not perform well and lose this hard-won job.

Time passed by unnoticed, and when the sun was high in the sky, the exhausted workers heard a loud shout.

"It's time to eat!"

The announcement of "Dinner's ready!" was like celestial music ringing in their ears, and the workers stopped what they were doing and gathered in the direction of the canteen.

Guo Hai, who had been focused entirely on moving bricks, subconsciously stopped what he was doing.

"This bricklaying job isn't easy either!"

Guo Hai let out a breath as he put the brick back in his hand. He hadn't felt anything while he was busy, but now that he had stopped, he immediately felt physically exhausted, as well as cold.

Of course, the slight fatigue and cold were nothing to Guo Hai. He was never afraid of hardship, otherwise he wouldn't have survived to this day all alone. As long as the work was rewarded, Guo Hai thought it was worth it no matter how hard it was.

After gently patting his slightly sore lower back a few times, Guo Hai strode towards the makeshift food shed.

A sweet aroma filled the canteen, and many of the workers who had arrived earlier were already eating heartily, their hands full of white steamed buns. This made Guo Hai, who hadn't eaten breakfast, feel even hungrier.

He immediately ran to the back of the line to get food, and soon it was Guo Hai's turn to get his food.

The cook in charge of serving food looked up at Guo Hai, and seeing that Guo Hai didn't speak, he asked, "How much do you want?"

"Uh……"

Guo Hai was taken aback for a moment, then asked the cook, "Can I take whatever I want?"

"can!"

The cook nodded: "Take as much as you can eat, but you must finish it all. We can't waste any. You can take a little first, and come back for more if you're not full!"

Upon hearing this, Guo Hai's eyes lit up, and he quickly said, "Then give me five steamed buns first!"

"to make!"

The cook took five steamed buns from the food bucket beside him, placed them on a wooden plate, and handed them to Guo Hai. He then asked, "Would you like some soup?"

Is there soup?

Guo Hai's eyes lit up even more, and he quickly said, "Give me a bowl."

Soon, Guo Hai found an empty seat and sat down, carrying five steamed buns and a bowl of egg drop soup.

Looking at the steamed buns emitting a sweet aroma on his plate and the egg flowers floating in the soup, Guo Hai couldn't help but feel his mouth water.

For Guo Hai, steamed buns were a luxury, not to mention egg drop soup. In a backward agricultural country like Xia, even small landlords rarely had meat on their tables, let alone ordinary people like Guo Hai who relied on selling their labor for survival.

At this moment, Guo Hai not only had unlimited steamed buns, but also egg drop soup to eat with them, which made Guo Hai feel incredibly happy.

He grabbed a steamed bun and took a bite out of half of it. The sweet taste immediately burst on his taste buds, causing Guo Hai to involuntarily squint his eyes.

Immediately afterwards, Guo Hai picked up the bowl and took a sip of egg drop soup. The warm, salty soup made Guo Hai feel that his fatigue and coldness had been dispelled.

"This is how people live!"

Guo Hai, swallowing the steamed bun with soup, couldn't help but sigh.

His remarks were also endorsed by the nearby workers.

"Yes! This is what a human life should be like! Compared to these steamed buns and egg drop soup, what we used to eat was practically pig slop!"

"These steamed buns smell so good! They're fragrant and sweet. If I could eat these every day, I'd feel like I could die happy!"

"We are so lucky! We were chosen by Chenjia Village to eat such good food!"

"I wish my kids could eat these steamed buns too!"

"The people of Chenjia Village are truly kind! They're actually willing to give us such good food!"

"..."

The workers around them, who were also eating, nodded in agreement. For them, who usually couldn't even get enough to eat, white steamed buns with egg drop soup were the most delicious food in the world, and it filled them with goodwill towards Chenjia Village.