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Chapter 350: Sanchi Knife-Cut Noodles

For more than two years, the villagers from Wangjia Village had followed Wang Er, traveling far and wide. Under Wang Er's strict command, they had never engaged in acts of murder, arson, rape, or pillage, but they had witnessed plenty.

Wherever the rebel armies went, they were utterly chaotic and lawless, bringing only destruction and no construction.

They would tear down village fences, burn the manors of local gentry and landlords to the ground, demolish county town walls, and destroy all defensive structures, simply to make it easier for them to plunder again next time.

Now, hearing that they were to engage in construction, the hundred-plus villagers were a bit bewildered.

Bai Mao shouted loudly, "What are you standing around for? Brother Wang Er means for us to turn over a new leaf and be decent people again. Get to work! What good person doesn't work?"

Only then did the group respond with a faint acknowledgment, and began to work.

Lacking proper logging tools, they had to entrust the tree-felling to Master Zhang's crew. They, in turn, assisted with odd jobs, responsible for lifting logs and carrying stones, proving useful enough.

Watching them labor, Bai Yuan felt a quiet sense of relief. He thought to himself: *These villagers from Wangjia Village have followed Wang Er for so long and learned many rules of proper conduct. Compared to other "repatriated rebels," they are indeed far better.*

Those "repatriated rebels" who had followed Fan Shan Yao earlier had taken a long time to slowly return to a normal state of mind.

A Wangjia Village resident, carrying a tree trunk, suddenly felt his legs go weak and almost stumbled. He painstakingly set the heavy trunk down, rubbed his stomach, and a look of embarrassment crossed his face. "Brother Mao, I'm hungry. I can't muster any strength."

"I'm hungry too."

"My body feels so weak."

The villagers of Wangjia Village had been displaced and wandering for so long that they rarely had a full meal.

Though they had roamed everywhere, plundering wealthy, unjust households, and even captured several county towns, looting the grain from county treasuries, those provisions didn't last long.

Wang Jiayin's army, after all, numbered over fifty thousand. The grain seized from a rich family was barely enough to feed everyone for two days. Only by ransacking a county town and securing the government granaries could they eat for a few more days.

But the grain in county treasuries didn't magically appear; it depended on the common people paying taxes. The populace had been so thoroughly plundered and swept up that nine out of ten homes were empty. Who was left to pay taxes?

So, the county treasuries could only be raided once. Any subsequent attempt would find them just as empty.

They couldn't stay long in one place; they had to be constantly on the move.

The Yansui region had been stripped bare, with not even a single strand of hair left to take, before they finally began flowing south along the Yellow River.

Seeing their pathetic, famished state, Bai Yuan inwardly shook his head. He looked up at the sky, estimated the time, and said, "Don't worry, the food will be here any moment."

Sure enough, as if on cue, the food arrived immediately.

Magistrate Feng Jun of Heyang County had personally led a contingent. This force numbered over a thousand people, more than half of whom were laborers recruited in the county town. Feng Jun, adopting Gao Family Village's work-relief program, offered three catties of flour as daily wages to laborers for the construction of a cement fortress at Qichuan Ferry.

Naturally, countless people responded to such wages, and a thousand workers were assembled in minutes. Next, they waited for the grain and cement transported from Gao Family Village. Feng Jun then personally led these thousand people, pushing carts of grain and cement, to Qichuan Ferry.

Bai Yuan and Feng Jun met up, chatted quietly for a few moments, and explained the situation there.

Feng Jun then waved his hand. "Eat first, then work."

The catering team of the engineering corps immediately set up cooking pots and started preparing meals!

They set up earthen pots and stoves, drawing water from the Yellow River. The Yellow River's water was a bit murky, but it wasn't a major issue. In those times, just having water was good enough; no one cared if it was yellow. Once boiled, it became clean, good water.

They took flour from the grain carts, kneaded it into dough, and then began slicing with knives!

It turned out that Heyang County had a specialty dish called Sanchi knife-cut noodles. The knives used for slicing were flat blades, and the noodles produced were long, of uniform thickness, and of very high quality.

Only the people from Sanchi Village could achieve this. So, the chefs from Sanchi Village stood in a line, each facing a large pot, dough in their left hand, knife in their right. The sliced noodles leaped directly into the pot. It was a truly magnificent sight.

The people from Wangjia Village watched, a bit bewildered. "This is a year of great disaster, yet you have enough flour and enough good cheer to make knife-cut noodles?"

Hearing this, one of the Sanchi Village chefs turned his head and grinned. "Not long ago, we were dirt poor and miserable. It's all thanks to the people from Gao Family Village in Chengcheng County who came to help us."

"Exactly!" another chef chimed in, turning his head. "My noodle-slicing skill had been idle for over three years! Thankfully, the people from Gao Family Village came and brought us so much flour. These past few days, I've been slicing noodles every single day, ha ha ha! A forgotten art, revived once more!"

He spoke while slicing noodles, and even though his attention was divided, the noodles still came out flat and uniform, truly impressive. It seemed this skill was etched into his bones. Slicing noodles no longer required his mind, but pure muscle memory.

The people from Wangjia Village were inwardly startled. Suddenly, they recalled the night, more than two years ago, before their rebellion. Brother Wang Er had led them to Gao Family Village to steal water. After drawing a bucket, he had turned around only to discover a small mountain of flour towering behind him.

*Could it be that since then, Gao Family Village had never lacked food?*

*This time, Brother Wang Er wants us to stay, to no longer follow Wang Jiayin. He must have understood what path we should take next.*

*If we hadn't left back then, and had stayed in Gao Family Village, perhaps we would have been living very happily already? No wonder. I truly hope Brother Wang Er returns safely.*

At that moment, the first bowl of noodles was ready. Feng Jun gave a meaningful glance, and the chef handed the first bowl to Bai Yuan. Bai Yuan, however, laughed heartily and casually handed it to Bai Mao. Bai Mao only picked out a single noodle, popped it into his mouth, and then passed the bowl to another Wangjia Village resident...

One noodle each!

They chewed it slowly, savoring every bit...

The noodles were fragrant and delicious, stirring a mix of emotions and countless flavors within them.

"Time to eat noodles!"

"Everyone, come get your noodles."

Bowl after bowl of Sanchi knife-cut noodles came out of the pot. The noodle bowls were passed one by one into the hands of every Wangjia Village resident. Once all hundred-plus of them had their bowls, the laborers from Heyang County also began to receive their portions.

At the ferry construction site, over a thousand people, bowls in hand, slurped down the Sanchi knife-cut noodles, their faces glowing with happiness and satisfaction.

"Once you've eaten, you can work hard!"

"Work harder now."

"Yes, work hard. If we don't build this fortress here to block the rebels and prevent them from landing, the hard-won peace and sustenance we've found will be ruined once more."