Spy Wars: I can get rewards by being a bully!

Chapter 1113 Radishes and Cabbage with Oil Floating on Them

Boss Ling went into the water. The icy river water brought a bone-chilling cold. He swung the shovel, pressed the tip down with force against the water resistance, and then used both arms to scoop up a shovelful of river mud.

There are large floating wooden tubs nearby where river mud is shoveled in. Once they are almost full, someone will haul them to the shore.

This river mud is a real treasure; when applied to the fields, it can keep the soil fertile for three years.

Ling Laoda was a hard worker who never slacked off. He worked tirelessly, one stroke after another, without stopping for even a moment. After an hour, a whistle blew on the shore, and then Han Dagang shouted along the bank, "Come on up! Come on up!"

Ling Laoda climbed up the riverbank. He was fine after getting used to the water temperature, but now that he was on the shore, the wind made him shiver instantly. His core heat was rapidly lost, and his hands and feet became somewhat unresponsive.

"Go change your clothes! Then come out and warm yourself by the fire, and drink ginger tea!"

Han Dagang was very anxious. He was worried that his poor friends might catch a cold and suffer some serious injury. They were all the pillars of their families, and if any of them collapsed, their families would be finished.

As they changed their clothes, they shivered and discussed, "Ah! It's really cold. Hey, our Han Tou is a really nice guy! I heard he's some kind of official. This official not only personally goes to the river embankment, but also always tells us what to do, and cares about the lives of us poor folks!"

"Yes, Han is a warm-hearted person. It's a blessing from heaven that we've met such a leader this time."

"Don't you guys think that everything and everyone associated with that Commander Lin is pretty good?"

"Now that you mention it, it makes sense. I heard that Lin Qingtian went to great lengths to prepare for this river-opening project and managed to get a lot of grain. It's a pity that the Japanese were so ruthless in their looting, yet he still had to get grain for us. It's really tough on him!"

While they were talking, they changed into dry clothes and went to warm themselves by the fire. Bowls of ginger tea were handed out to them, and before they even drank them, they felt warm.

After resting for a while, Boss Ling and the others went off to do other work without stopping. River work is not just about dredging. The dredged silt needs to be transported, and the river embankment, dock, and estuary need to be reinforced. A section of the Zizhulin dock is still made of wood, and it needs to be replaced with larger timbers, or simply replaced with other materials.

Ling Laoda worked until noon, but he didn't feel too tired.

His standard for being too tired is the kind of tiredness that makes you unable to get up after lying down. Boss Ling is very strong, and he never cherishes his strength. He only worries about not having a place to use his strength.

"Time to eat, brothers! Put down what you're doing and eat!"

Everyone gathered at the food stall.

Because they are required to do a lot of work, their food standards are better than those during the disaster relief efforts a few months ago, and there is more oil in the food.

But it can't be too good, because we still have to give them some food to take home. If they eat too well and take too much, then it's no longer a work-for-relief program, and it will disrupt order.

Even this rather restrained supply was seen as too extravagant and even wasteful by these rural men.

When people flocked to the food stall, they saw piles of steamed buns made from three kinds of flour in the baskets, and two large buckets of stewed vegetables, one bucket of spicy radish, and one bucket of stewed cabbage. In the middle of the cabbage, you could vaguely see a few pieces of fat!

Oh my God!

This is for us peasants!

Someone couldn't help but say, "Boss Han, could there be a mistake? This...?"

Han Dagang felt a pang of sadness. He used to be like that too. When he was first recruited into the company, he was even afraid to sleep, fearing that he would wake up and find that it was all a dream!

Three-in-one steamed buns are made with very little white flour, mixed with cornmeal and sorghum flour. Poor farmers can only eat this kind of food a few times during the summer or autumn harvest. Otherwise, what family doesn't live on sorghum flour steamed buns, cornbread, or wild vegetable pancakes?

Some people can't even afford wild vegetable pancakes!

And the radishes and cabbages were all glistening with oil!

In an era where some families consume less than a pound of oil a year, having oil floating on soup is the greatest respect one can show to their digestive system!

Han Dagang called out, "Line up for your food. Take four steamed buns each first. If you need more, leave them there. That's all the food we have. One bowl per person. Hurry up. The standard set above is one dry dish and two wet dishes. We know exactly how much grain and vegetables we eat each day. I'll post a detailed list on the wall this afternoon. If any of you can read, you can take a look. Hurry up, we still have work to do after we finish eating!"

The so-called "one dry and two porridge" means eating dry food at noon and porridge for breakfast and dinner. Eating three meals a day is quite a luxury!

Everyone lined up, practically trembling!

After getting their food, some sat down, some squatted, and they started eating noisily.

Some people started tearing up while eating, probably because the spicy soup from the stewed radish got into their eyes.

After finishing their meal, everyone rushed to the riverbank to work as quickly as possible without being called.

Han Dagang thought to himself, "How adorable these poor guys are! As long as you treat them well, even just a little bit, they will repay you with all their might!"

After working like this for half a month, they were finally given two days off to go home and visit their families. As agreed, the construction site distributed grain, and Boss Ling received a small bag of sorghum rice and a small bag of sorghum flour.

These days, he also took the initiative to undertake the task of driving foundation piles into the sea, which means he had to be tied with ropes and sink into the seawater at the dock to drive the new foundation piles in little by little.

Because of this extremely dangerous mission, Boss Ling received another two silver dollars as a reward!

He asked Han Dagang to buy him a bag of sweet potatoes. On his way home, he saw a vendor selling candied fruit and took out about ten coins to buy a piece of candied fruit.

By the time he got home, it was already evening.

As soon as I entered, the two children rushed over upon hearing the noise, crying, "Daddy! Daddy, we're hungry!"

Ling Laoda almost burst into tears. Then his wife came out of the house. Although she was still weak, she had finally started eating some proper food recently and was no longer so swollen.

"Honey, you're back! I'll make some soup right away..."

Old Ling put the grain sack into the jar. "Honey, we have grain now. Let's steam some cornbread and roast some sweet potatoes in the stove!"

The wife was overjoyed and tears streamed down her face as she looked at her husband.

It's heartbreaking. In this day and age, how much hardship and effort do you have to endure to earn enough food?

Although Boss Ling was an honest man, he could tell what his wife was thinking. He grinned and said, "Don't cry, everything's fine there. It's really fine. Commander Lin is good, his men are good, and our boss, Boss Han, is good to us!"

After saying that, he took out the piece of candy and said, "Kids, look what this is!"

A piece of candy can bring a child sweetness for several days, and a child's smile can bring an adult sweetness for several days.

Ling Laoda almost greedily savored this sweetness!