Chapter 48: Gorging on Meat for the First Time in the Year of the Snow Disaster

Chapter 48: Chapter 48: Gorging on Meat for the First Time in the Year of the Snow Disaster

The bedding and blankets were piled up in Yun Zhen’s dorm room, instantly making it cramped. Fortunately, she was the only one living there, so she still had enough space to move around.

Huang Li finished helping Yun Zhen move the items. "When you sell the bedding, if you need my electric tricycle, just have the staff call me."

Yun Zhen nodded. "Sister Huang, I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks for all your trouble today. How about we go to the cafeteria together? Or I could treat you to a meal outside. What would you like to eat?"

There was no way Huang Li would let her pay for a meal. She politely declined, "I still have things to do at home. You go ahead and eat at the cafeteria by yourself. Make sure you get some good rest in your room afterward. You must be exhausted after working all day."

She went downstairs and twisted the throttle to leave, calling out loudly, "I’m heading back! Have the staff call me anytime you need help."

Yun Zhen waved. "See you next time, Sister Huang."

Huang Li drove off.

Thinking of the eight sets of bedding and six thick, fluffy blankets in her room, Yun Zhen felt dizzy with joy.

She planned to head home early today. The villagers would be thrilled to death if they saw such thick bedding and fuzzy blankets. To save on the village’s rations, she went to the cafeteria for dinner first.

Having received her pork earlier, the cafeteria lady was even more enthusiastic than before, piling her plate high with food. After eating her fill, Yun Zhen rubbed her round belly and smiled in satisfaction. On her way out, the cafeteria lady even forced a bag of oranges into her hands.

The bright orange fruits gave off an inviting aroma. Yun Zhen ate two and planned to take the rest back to the village.

She strolled down the street to buy rice and cotton, using the walk to digest her meal. In a year of blizzards, food and cotton were lifesavers.

She mentally tallied today’s earnings: fifty dollars from the restaurant and sixty dollars from sorting vegetables. Since she had been busy delivering meat to kind-hearted people, she hadn’t collected any scrap to sell. However, she still had a hundred and sixty-three dollars and fifty cents left over from last time. Currently, she had a total of two hundred and seventy-three dollars and fifty cents on her. Her plan accounted for every single cent.

Finding a rice stall, she immediately said, "Sir, I need ninety pounds of the one-dollar rice!"

The vendor bagged the rice and handed it over. Carrying the heavy sack, Yun Zhen felt a deep sense of security.

She then walked over to a cotton stall and looked at the familiar vendor. "Sir, I need thirty pounds of loose cotton."

By buying a few dozen pounds of cotton every day and slowly accumulating it, she could eventually provide every household in the village with a thick quilt. The rice cost ninety dollars. At six dollars a pound, thirty pounds of cotton cost a hundred and eighty dollars. She was left with exactly three dollars and fifty cents.

Satisfied, Yun Zhen carried the rice and cotton back to her dorm. Today’s haul for home included the bedding, blankets, vegetable leaves, rice, and cotton.

She silently chanted, "Return!"

THUD THUD THUD!

As soon as she landed, the bags of bedding and blankets hit the floor with a muffled thud. A holy white light instantly illuminated the entire thatched cottage.

"The Goddess has returned!"

"Mother!"

"Zhen Niang!"

Hearing the familiar voices in her ears, Yun Zhen opened her eyes.

A rich, savory aroma of meat burst through the air, mixed with a unique blend of spices. Even though Yun Zhen was already full, the overwhelming scent of the meat and spices still made her swallow hard.

The village was cooking meat! She wondered if her father and the village head had cooked the braised pork for everyone, and the smell just hadn’t faded yet.

Just like always, every man, woman, and child in the village who could walk had come to welcome her.

The village head asked with concern, "Did your trip to the Immortal Realm go smoothly, Goddess?"

Yun Zhen smiled faintly. "Very smoothly!"

The village head and Yun Zhen’s parents breathed a sigh of relief.

Yun Old Lady said with a smile, "Zhen Niang, your father and the village head have been braising the pork since the hours of 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., right up until now. They even added the spices you bought from the Immortal Realm. The meat is already falling-apart tender, and the smell is drifting through the whole village. Everyone has been waiting for you to come back so we can all eat together."

Yun Zhen suddenly understood. No wonder she smelled such a strong, mouth-watering aroma of meat. She had assumed everyone had already eaten and the scent just hadn’t dissipated yet. As it turned out, they hadn’t touched a single bite.

"Goddess, the meat is simmering in the large iron wok at my house right now," the village head said. "We also steamed ten whole clay pots of rice! It’s enough for everyone in the village to stuff themselves silly!"

The village head had initially been heartbroken over using so much grain and pork at once, feeling they should ration it out little by little. However, since the Goddess had ordered everyone to eat braised pork, he didn’t dare disobey. Despite his initial reluctance, seeing the villagers’ dull eyes gradually light up with hope made his reluctance vanish completely.

Yun Zhen handed the oranges she was carrying to the village head. "Since the food is ready, let’s have everyone eat first. Distribute these oranges to the elderly and the children. Once we finish eating, I have some good news to announce."

The good news she wanted to share was about the bedding and blankets. There were three unused sets of bedding at home, and with the eight sets she brought this time, they had eleven in total. She also had six blankets. Every household with seniors over sixty or children under ten would get a set of bedding.

Even then, there wouldn’t be enough bedding to go around. However, she had tested the blankets herself and found them to be just as thick and warm as the bedding. Any elderly person or child who didn’t get a set of bedding could take a blanket instead.

The children cheered and jumped for joy. "Yay! We get to eat meat!"

Everyone swarmed into the village head’s house. Holding their own bowls from home, they stretched their necks in anticipation, waiting for the meal to begin. They maintained perfect order, lining up one by one.

Looking at the orderly villagers, Yun Zhen knew this was the village head’s doing. She praised him, "Village Head, you’ve governed the village very well. Everyone is very disciplined."

The village head couldn’t help but feel a surge of joy at receiving the Goddess’s praise. "I wouldn’t dare take the credit. Everyone is simply in awe of your divine majesty, Goddess, so they wouldn’t dare act out of line. But mostly, it’s because they are inherently good people and very obedient."

The village head’s wife scooped a bowl of rice for Yun Zhen and poured braised pork sauce over it. The sauce was a vibrant, appetizing red, and the meat was chopped into evenly sized chunks. "Goddess, here is your meal."

Yun Zhen had already eaten. She wasn’t particularly hungry. She called her daughter over. "I’ll share this with Xiaobao. There’s no need to scoop a separate bowl for her."

The village head’s wife nodded in agreement.

Soon, everyone received their food. They each held a large bowl of plain white rice that gave off the fresh fragrance of grain, looking as pure white as the snow outside. The braised pork had a rich, overpowering flavor; one bite of the tender, deeply seasoned meat sent its mouth-watering aroma straight to their souls. Every person’s bowl contained at least eight or nine pieces of meat. It was delightfully greasy and a vibrant, glistening red.

The villagers were dumbfounded. They had never eaten so much meat in a single sitting before. Usually, when they bought meat, it was divided among the entire family. Each person would get two or three pieces at most, and they would savor the memory of that meal for a whole year.

Zhou Dashan buried his head in his bowl, shoveling rice into his mouth. "This is delicious! It’s exactly as I imagined. The braised pork is so rich, and every bite fills my mouth with flavor."

The village head ate his food bite by bite, savoring it carefully. He deeply cherished every single taste. "It is all thanks to the Goddess that we get to taste such delicacies!"

One villager even started crying as he ate. "This is the first time I’ve ever stuffed myself with meat. It didn’t happen in a peaceful year or a year of abundant harvest, but in the middle of a blizzard that sealed off the roads! Even now, it feels a bit unreal. Are we really eating meat? Is this not some hallucination before we die?"

Li Cuilan sighed emotionally. "If not for the Goddess, let alone eating meat, we definitely would have all starved to death."

The crowd wolfed down the white rice and braised pork.

This was the village’s very first feast of white rice and braised pork!