A daily intelligence report; in chaotic times and famine years, grain is plentiful.

After processing one batch, he cooked a pot of it in an earthenware pot.

No seasonings were added, just a tiny bit of precious salt was sprinkled into the water.

When the pot lid was lifted, a rustic aroma immediately filled the entire cellar.

The steaming hot potatoes are taken out of the water, and once the thin skin is peeled off, the pale yellow flesh is revealed. Just looking at them makes your mouth water.

Chen Ling'er carefully picked one up, blew on it, and took a small bite.

Her eyes widened instantly.

"Brother, this, this is so delicious!"

It was soft and fluffy, sweet and fragrant, with a hint of earthy aroma. This feeling of being full was something she had never experienced before.

Chen Dashan was also assigned one. He ate very slowly, chewing each bite slowly, and tears gradually welled up in his cloudy old eyes.

"Potatoes, it's potatoes," he muttered softly. "I ate them when I was fleeing famine in my youth, and I haven't seen them since. Mo'er, where did you get such a rare thing?"

"It was dug up from the back hill," Chen Mo said casually. "It was buried by people from the previous dynasty. They were quite lucky."

Chen Dashan held a potato in his hands.

"God, God has opened his eyes!"

For three consecutive days, the Chen family had potatoes with every meal.

In the morning and evening, we eat boiled potatoes; at noon, we have potato porridge.

Chen Ling'er's face turned even redder at a speed visible to the naked eye, and her voice became much louder, no longer the weak and listless tone of the past.

Chen Dashan's cough has lessened, and he can even sit up on his own for a while.

On the fourth day, Chen Mo splurged a little.

He took half a drop of lard from the small oil jar in the cellar, dipped his chopsticks into it, and smeared it on the bottom of the pot.

Once the oil is hot, add the thinly sliced ​​potatoes.

"Sizzle."

An overpowering aroma exploded out instantly.

The aroma of fried potato slices was so strong that it almost wafted out through the cracks in the doors and windows.

As soon as Zhang San from next door smelled the odor, he came over. He didn't dare to knock on the door, so he leaned against the wall and quietly peeked inside.

In the courtyard, Chen Mo and his family of three sat around a small, shabby table with a plate of golden-yellow fried potato slices on it.

Chen Ling'er ate until her face was covered in oil, while Chen Mo ate in small bites, occasionally putting food on his sister's and father's plate.

Zhang San stared intently, drooling down his chin without even noticing.

Chen Mo saw him.

He put down his chopsticks when he saw the pair of longing and envious eyes on the wall.

He picked up the two largest potato slices, wrapped them in a clean leaf, and then casually tossed them over the wall.

Zhang San hurriedly caught it, not caring that it was hot, and stuffed it into his mouth.

After finishing his meal, he banged his head three times on the outside of the wall in the direction of Chen Mo's house, then turned and ran away.

Chen Ling'er asked softly, "Brother, does our family eat much better than others?"

Chen Mo patted her head softly.

"Yes. So you can't go out and tell anyone, don't reveal a single word. No matter who asks you, just say you're still drinking rice porridge, understand?"

That night, the sound of crying came from the west end of the village again.

I heard that it was Li Laosi's family; the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law didn't make it through and hanged themselves from the roof beam.

Chen Mo heard faint cries in the distance, looked at the fragrant potatoes in his bowl, and didn't say a word.

In this world, if you eat one more bite, it might mean someone else has to live one less day.

He felt no guilt, only a sense of urgency.

Sun Dazhu was eating a bowl of potato porridge with great gusto when he suddenly put the bowl down.

"Chen Mo." He stared at Chen Mo, his eyes burning with fire. "I'm going to rescue my father."

Chen Mo nodded: "It's time to save them."

He wiped his mouth. "But we can't just take it by force. The Wang family has four or five servants, and they're all armed. We need to use a strategy."

The two went back into the cellar.

Beside the piles of potatoes that looked like small mountains, they spread out a sketch drawn with charcoal, which was the layout of the Wang Family Compound drawn by Sun Dazhu from memory.

Sun Dazhu pointed to a small square on the map and said, "That's the woodshed in the backyard of the Wang family. My father was locked up there." He then added, "The lock was made of brass, but the guards were extremely tight."

"That Wang Mang is a gambler. He goes to the town's gambling den every day as soon as it gets dark and doesn't come back until midnight."

"As soon as he left, the gatekeepers started to slack off and gathered in the front yard to drink and play drinking games."

The information was gradually gathered.

A plan slowly took shape in Chen Mo's mind.

Taking advantage of Wang Mang's absence and the servants' laxity, they scaled the wall through the weakest point in the backyard, rescued the people, and then fled far away.

"But we need someone to provide backup outside." Chen Mo circled a circle on the map. "We also need to create some noise to divert their attention."

On the eve of the operation, Chen Mo waited for the system to refresh again.

[Daily information has been updated, please select:]

【1: In the backyard of the blacksmith's shop in town, there is a set of grappling hooks among the discarded scrap metal. The rope is intact and suitable for climbing. (Low risk: Must sneak in at night, avoiding the watchman)】

[Part Two: An injured fox is trapped in an abandoned trap left by an old hunter in the back mountains. Its fur is shiny and intact. (Medium Risk: Although injured, the fox is still fierce; handling its fur requires skill.)]

[Three: At a depth of three zhang (approximately 10 meters) in the ancient well in the village, there is a bronze mirror that a villager accidentally dropped while drawing water the day before yesterday. It is in relatively good condition. (High risk: The well water is deep and freezing cold, making retrieval difficult and easy to discover.)]

Chen Mo's gaze fell on the first option.

Hook and chain!

It's like getting exactly what you need!

Choose one.

The scene of the blacksmith's backyard appeared clearly in his mind. Underneath a pile of rusted plowshares and scrap iron, a grappling hook set consisting of three iron hooks and thick hemp rope lay quietly.

Chen Mo and Sun Dazhu set off immediately.

Under the cover of night, the two sneaked back into the town.

The atmosphere in the town was even more oppressive than in the village, and you could even see frozen, uncollected corpses by the roadside.

The blacksmith shop had long been closed, and the low wall in the backyard was no longer needed.

The two easily climbed over, and with Chen Mo's guidance, they quickly found the grappling hook in the garbage heap.

The iron hooks were rusty, but their structure was intact. The hemp rope, though old, was sturdy.

On the way back, Chen Mo traded a potato for half a pound of coarse salt from a shady vendor. He dared not use silver dollars, fearing it would bring him trouble.

The night of the operation was dark and windy.

As usual, Wang Mang left the house grumbling and heading towards the town.

Chen Mo and Sun Dazhu lay in ambush outside the tall back wall of the Wang family's courtyard.

Sun Dazhu took out a grappling hook and, after two tries, the hook gripped the top of the wall firmly. He climbed up quickly, peered over to make sure no one was in the backyard, then lowered the rope and pulled Chen Mo up.

The two landed silently and crouched down to sneak outside the woodshed.

A faint groan came from inside; it was Old Man Sun.

The lock was an old-fashioned brass lock, nothing special to Chen Mo. He took out a wire he had prepared beforehand from his pocket, inserted it into the keyhole, and fiddled with it for less than half a minute. With a soft "click," the lock opened.