Transmigrating into a Turbulent Era as a Soldier, Starting with Marrying a Wife

Li Yuan and Xia Xia first transported the grain cart into their own courtyard.

Then they paid the three carters a fare of one hundred and twenty coins.

The three happily pushed the cart away.

Taking a breath,

Li Yuan and Xia Xia carried the grain sacks on their backs and began distributing grain from house to house.

The grain distribution naturally started with their immediate neighbors.

Living to the left of Li Yuan's house was an honest and simple man.

No one remembered his formal name anymore, because he was dark-skinned and his surname was Liu, everyone just called him Liu Heitou (Blackhead Liu).

When Li Yuan knocked on his door, he found him and his wife cooking.

Liu Heitou's wife wasn't old, but she was very thin and pale, clearly suffering from malnutrition.

Li Yuan was surprised by the couple's meal.

It was a yellowish-brown powder contained in a tattered cloth bag.

Li Yuan knew what this was; it was elm bark ground into powder.

Tree bark powder was food eaten by villagers during famines.

Tree bark powder was very unpalatable and only barely sustained life.

It seemed that Liu Heitou's family was already very short on grain.

Liu Heitou looked up and was a little surprised to see Li Yuan.

He hurriedly asked with a smile.

Li Yuan nodded.

"That's right."

Liu Heitou rubbed his hands together excitedly.

"In this year, Brother Li is actually giving me grain."

Then he said a little embarrassed.

"But this, one doesn't accept rewards without merit, this... how can I be so brazen."

At this time, his wife took the grain bag and glared at Liu Heitou with dissatisfaction, saying.

"You are truly not a quick-witted man."

"Our children haven't had proper grain for several days."

"Since Brother Li has given grain, you should take it."

"If you want to repay him, help Brother Li with some work."

Li Yuan nodded and said.

"Sister-in-law is right, I do have something I'd like to ask Brother Liu to help with."

Liu Heitou was happy to receive the grain.

He patted his chest and said.

"Brother Li, just say the word."

"I will definitely do what I can."

Li Yuan then said with a smile.

"It's nothing major."

"I want to distribute grain to everyone in the village, but I'm a little short-handed, would Brother Liu be willing to help?"

When Liu Heitou heard that he only needed to exert some effort to help distribute grain.

It was too easy, so he said.

"Brother Li, no problem, I'll come and help right away."

He turned his head and shouted to his wife.

"Hey, at home, cook the millet for me, I want to eat millet rice later."

Liu's wife rolled her eyes at Liu Heitou and muttered.

"Just got a little grain and you're already getting carried away."

But she was still very obedient, holding the grain bag and going to the kitchen to make millet rice.

The two thin children at home, upon hearing that they would have millet rice to eat later, and no longer have to drink that unpalatable tree bark paste.

Happily frolicked and ran around their mother.

Liu's wife also rarely showed a smile.

With Liu Heitou's help,

Li Yuan and Xia Xia saved a lot of effort.

Living to the right of Li Yuan's house was a craftsman's family.

After Li Yuan knocked on the door,

He found that there were only a grandfather and grandson at home.

The old craftsman was over fifty years old, but his face looked very old.

The ravines of wrinkles covered his face, making him look like he was in his sixties or seventies.

The grandson in the family was seven or eight years old.

But because he hadn't had enough to eat for many years, his body was very thin.

Li Yuan looked at the food of the grandfather and grandson.

It was a pot of rice bran porridge.

The so-called rice bran is the bran and chaff left over from grinding grain.

There are many impurities in rice bran, and it doesn't taste good.

But the grandfather and grandson were eating it with relish.

The thin grandson even carefully licked the bowl clean.

Still looking reluctant.

Li Yuan felt a pang of sadness.

He also gave the grandfather and grandson a dou of millet.

This made the old craftsman very excited and thanked him repeatedly.

One dou of millet is about twelve pounds, if the grandfather and grandson were to eat it sparingly, it would be enough for them to eat for seven or eight days.

Li Yuan looked at the rice bran that the grandfather and grandson were eating and had an idea, so he asked.

"Where can I buy this rice bran, and how much does one shi cost?"

The old man replied.

"The military fort or the grain stores in the county sell it."

"This stuff isn't worth much, one shi of rice bran only costs 80 coins."

"In the past, when the years were good, rice bran was left for livestock to use as feed for cattle and horses."

"But now it's a famine year, and people can't even get enough to eat."

"So this rice bran has also become the food of many poor people."

In his previous life, Li Yuan knew a way to brew wine with rice bran.

Although the wine yield is lower than with grain, the cost is much lower than using grain.

Local people had also tried brewing wine with rice bran.

But it had many impurities and tasted bad, so it couldn't be sold at a good price.

However, Li Yuan was planning to make distilled spirits, so this was not a problem.

After saying goodbye to the old craftsman,

Li Yuan led Xia Xia and Liu Heitou to start delivering grain from house to house in the village.

The villagers who received the grain from Li Yuan thanked him one after another.

The jealousy towards Li Yuan's windfall in the past few days had almost completely disappeared.

Everywhere there were voices praising Li Lang's benevolence.

Taking advantage of the grain delivery, Li Yuan also gained a general understanding of Dongxiang Village.

Dongxiang Village had one hundred and twelve households.

Most of them were poor lower-class households.

There were even some families with only single women.

Although the Military Governor's Office had sent 25 men to pair up with households a few days ago.

There were still more than twenty widowed households in the village with only women.

Most of them were lonely orphans and widows who were thin and no one looked at.

These people were very pitiful.

Many orphans had already run out of grain and relied on wild vegetables and tree bark to fill their stomachs every day, struggling on the verge of starvation.

When Li Yuan delivered grain, many women even knelt down, weeping and thanking him.

Although the grain that Li Yuan sent was not much, it could also allow them to live a little longer.

The miserable state of the orphans made Li Yuan sigh incessantly.

He sighed at the difficult times.

Li Yuan's last stop was the homes of the old Village Chief and Xue Baichang.

Coincidentally, when he arrived at the old Village Chief's house, he found the Village Chief and Baichang drinking together.

This saved Li Yuan some effort, and he didn't have to run to another house.

These two were powerful figures and elders in the village.

The things Li Yuan gave them were naturally different.

He gave the Village Chief and Baichang each a pot of wine and a bolt of cloth.

This made both of them very happy, and they immediately invited Li Yuan to join them at the table for a drink.

Li Yuan also wanted to get closer to the Village Chief and Baichang, so he didn't stand on ceremony.

He drank a few cups with the two village elders.

The atmosphere also livened up.

During the banquet, the Village Chief and Baichang praised Li Yuan a lot.

After all, there were not many people who were willing to share their wealth with their neighbors after getting money.

This also showed that Li Yuan was a righteous person and worth making friends with.

Li Yuan also lamented the difficult lives of the villagers, especially those lonely women, their lives were truly heartbreaking.

The old Village Chief took a sip of wine and said.

"I see that Li Lang is young and strong."

"Among those orphans, if you have a favorite, you can take her into your room."

"Whether as a slave or a maid, giving them a mouthful of food is also saving their lives."

Xue Baichang also sighed.

"Yes, now is the year of great famine."

"Almost every household in the village is out of grain and starving."

"Those orphans have no men in their families to work and earn grain, I'm afraid many will starve to death this year."

"It's really pitiful."