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

Chapter 290 Returning home in glory

As they approached the shantytown, they could faintly hear conversations. Liu Qiaoshou and the others exchanged glances, their faces showing confusion.

At this time, the refugees outside the city should all be working, so why are there voices?

"You are?"

Just then, a man who came out to get water noticed Liu Qiaoshou and her group and asked them with a wary look on his face.

"Yang Yi, are you Yang Yi?"

Zhou Tie looked at the man. Although the man was dirty, his face was relatively clean, which allowed Zhou Tie to recognize him.

Who are you? How do you know my name?

The man eyed Zhou Tie warily. Zhou Tie was wearing new clothes, and his clothes were clean. It was obvious that he was not from the shantytown.

"I'm Zhou Tie! Have you forgotten me?"

"Zhou Tie?"

The man tried hard to recall the name, then quickly froze: "You're Zhou Tie?"

"That's right! I'm Zhou Tie, the blacksmith! Do you remember me?"

Upon hearing this, the man stared wide-eyed at Zhou Tie, disbelief flashing in his eyes: "Zhou Tie? Didn't you leave with that Chen Xiaowa? Why are you back?"

It's no wonder the man was so incredulous; Zhou Tie had changed so much. After going to Chenjia Village, because he was able to eat his fill, Zhou Tie not only became much stronger, but he also changed his clothes from tattered hemp clothes to new, clean ones. The change was so great that even someone who knew him well would probably find it difficult to recognize him at first glance.

"I've come back to see you all."

Zhou Tie said with a smile that Yang Yi's performance pleased him greatly. He had come all this way just to see the shocked looks on the faces of the other refugees. Was it for this glory that resembled returning home in triumph?

"You've struck it rich!"

Yang Yi couldn't help but say that just by looking at Zhou Tie's clothes and complexion, he knew that Zhou Tie must be living a good life now.

"Not bad, not bad!"

Zhou Tie spoke with a humble expression.

Liu Qiaoshou, who was standing next to him, asked, "Brother Yang, why didn't you go to plow the fields today?"

"The county magistrate said that today is the Spring Festival, so we can rest for a day."

"That's it!"

Liu Qiaoshou nodded and strode deeper into the shantytown area.

Meanwhile, the other craftsmen exchanged glances and headed to their former homes to find familiar neighbors.

As for Yang Yi...

Watching Liu Qiaoshou and the others disappear into the distance, he muttered to himself, "Zhou Tie, Liu Qiaoshou, Wu Yan... these craftsmen who followed Chen Xiaowa have all come back?"

…………

…………

"Dong dong dong."

Standing in front of Wang Ling's simple house, Liu Qiaoshou knocked on the door with her fingers.

Soon, a familiar voice came from inside the door.

"I'm coming!"

The door opened, revealing Wang Ling's familiar face inside.

"You are……"

Wang Ling frowned as he looked at the stranger outside the door. He felt that the stranger was somewhat familiar, but he was not quite sure: "Qiaoshou?"

It's me!

Liu Qiaoshou nodded as she looked Wang Ling up and down.

However, Wang Ling was not much different from before. His clothes were still old and tattered, and his face was sallow and thin, completely different from the Chenjia Village villagers he had seen most recently.

"Skilled hands, really skillful hands?"

Wang Ling stared in disbelief at Liu Qiaoshou outside the door, completely stunned.

Liu Qiaoshou had changed so much that he hardly recognized her.

What did Liu Qiaoshou look like when he first met her?

He used to be sallow and emaciated, dressed in rags, looking like he could be blown away by a gust of wind. But now?

Not only was his complexion radiant, but his clothes were also clean and tidy, making him look completely different from the other migrants in this shantytown.

"Replace it if it's fake!"

Liu Qiaoshou said with a smile, "Old Wang, won't you invite me in for a seat?"

"Come in, come in!"

As Wang Ling led Liu Qiaoshou inside, he called out into the house, "Wife, Qiaoshou is back!"

"The skillful hands are back?"

Wang Ling's wife, who was lying inside the house, looked outside and was immediately taken aback.

The man Wang Ling led in did indeed resemble Liu Qiaoshou, whom she used to know, yet he was completely different. Putting aside everything else, his neat clothes alone made her wonder if Liu Qiaoshou had been switched at birth!

"Are you really that skillful with your hands?"

Wang Ling's wife asked blankly.

"Replace it if it's fake!"

Liu Qiao patted her chest and said.

"What skillful hands!"

Now Wang Ling's wife finally believed it, because this person's voice was exactly the same as that of Liu Qiaoshou, whom she knew.

"Sit down quickly, you clever hands!"

Wang Ling pulled Liu Qiaoshou to sit down in the room and couldn't help but ask, "Qiaoshou, didn't you leave with that Chen Xiaowa? Why did you suddenly come back?"

"Naturally, it's to come back and see you all."

Liu Qiaoshou replied with a smile, "Old Wang, how have you been lately?"

"It's a bit better than before."

Wang Ling casually replied, "Although we will still suffer from hunger and cold, at least we won't starve to death."

"Still going to go hungry?"

Liu Qiaoshou asked in surprise, "Doesn't the government provide you with food rations? How come you're going hungry?"

"Hi!"

Wang Ling waved his hand and said, "The government does provide rations, but it's not enough to fill you up! We only get two meals a day, and each person gets a bowl and a half of thin porridge, which is only enough to make us half full! Plus, we have to work hard every day, so of course we'll go hungry."

The rations provided by the government were obviously not as generous as those in Chenjia Village, where the refugees could eat as much as they wanted. Each person could only eat about half their fill.

The refugees, who had to expend a lot of energy farming every day, would naturally go hungry.

In short, the villagers who stayed in Wangling to work for the government were mostly in a state of not having enough to eat, but not starving either.

"lets change a topic!"

Wang Ling changed the subject and asked, "Qiaoshou, what happened after you left with that Chen Xiaowa? Why has everything changed so much?"

"This is a long story..."

A look of reminiscence flashed in Liu Qiaoshou's eyes as she slowly recounted her experiences after arriving in Chenjia Village.

After listening, Wang Ling and his wife looked at each other in bewilderment.

Two meals a day, each with plenty of white flour steamed buns—they couldn't even imagine such a life!

This made the two of them regret not following Chen Xiaowa back then, because maybe they could have had enough white flour steamed buns every day like Liu Qiaoshou.

But it's just a thought.

Liu Qiaoshou is a craftsman, but Wang Ling is not!

When Chen Dao was recruiting, he specifically said he only wanted craftsmen, and Wang Ling's identity did not fit the bill at all.

"Skillful Hands, you've come to the right place!"

Wang Ling couldn't help but exclaim, "They eat white flour buns every day, their lives are much better than ours!"

Wang Ling had tried to stop Liu Qiaoshou from going with Chen Dao, but fortunately...

Liu Qiaoshou made a firm choice and did not listen to him; otherwise, she probably wouldn't be living such a good life now.