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

The middle section of a five-pound grass carp was almost completely stuffed into the broken wooden bucket.

Chen Dashan struggled to get up from the kang (a heated brick bed) and moved closer to examine the fish carefully. "This fish... it's probably seven or eight years old," he said, his voice dry as he ran his fingers over the scales. "Mo'er, where did you get this?"

Chen Mo said calmly, "We were lucky to be trapped in the ice cave in the middle of the river."

Chen Dashan didn't press the matter further. He touched the fish scales and sighed, "In times of famine, fish are smarter than people. Catching one is not just a matter of luck."

Chen Ling'er gently touched the fish and whispered, "Brother, you're really amazing." Her eyes sparkled.

Chen Mo patted his sister's head: "We're having fish today." He smiled.

Chen Mo began processing the fish meat, his movements quite nimble. He sliced ​​off two large pieces of clean meat from the middle section of the fish. One piece was to be eaten today, and the other was salted and air-dried. The fish bones and scraps were used to make soup, and the fish skin was peeled off separately, dried, and kept for later use. It could also be used to make glue for sewing.

He made three dishes: fish soup, which was slow-cooked with fish bones until the soup was milky white, with some wild scallions and salt added; steamed fish chunks, in which the fish meat was cut into chunks, sprinkled with salt and chopped scallions, and steamed until cooked; and fried fish belly, in which the fattest part of the fish belly was taken and fried in walnut oil until golden brown on both sides.

As soon as the food was placed on the table, its aroma filled the air. Chen Ling'er ate with her face flushed, her mouth full of food, saying, "Brother, this fish... is even tastier than chicken."

Chen Dashan slowly sipped the soup, savoring each sip. "This soup... is delicious," he said with his eyes closed. "I attended a banquet when I was young, and this soup was more delicious than anything I've ever had."

Chen Mo watched his family's contented expressions. He himself only ate the fish head and scraps, leaving the best meat for his father and sister.

Chen Ling'er picked up a large piece of steamed fish and put it in her brother's bowl. She pouted and said, "Brother, you should eat too."

Chen Dashan also pushed the fried fish belly towards the table: "Mo'er, you did the most work, you deserve to eat well."

The three of them politely declined each other's offer, but in the end they laughed and shared the food. This was the first time the Chen family had such a reunion meal during the famine years.

On the third day, Chen Mo carried five jin of inferior wheat grains to the Wang family compound. More than a dozen villagers had already gathered in the courtyard, all of whom had come to hand over their allotted grain. The grain in each person's hand was mostly mixed with bran, dried wild vegetables, and even tree bark powder.

Wang Mang sat at the table keeping accounts, while Wang Laoqi drank tea and supervised from the side.

When it was Chen Mo's turn, Wang Mang glanced at the cloth bag in his hand and said, "Is that all?" Then he snorted.

Chen Mo opened the cloth bag in front of everyone, revealing grayish wheat grains mixed with clods of dirt. "This is the last bit of food we have left at home." His voice was hoarse and full of exhaustion. "To get these five jin, I pawned my winter coat."

He deliberately showed off his even more worn-out single garment underneath, when in fact he was wearing thick clothes underneath.

The onlookers whispered among themselves: "Chen Mo's family has really reached its end..." "I heard he was picking wild vegetables not long ago." "Everyone has their struggles."

Wang Mang frowned, fiddling with the wheat grains. They were indeed of poor quality. He had originally intended to make things difficult for them, but under everyone's watchful eyes, he had no choice but to record it in the accounts and accept it.

Wang Laoqi gave Chen Mo a deep look, but he didn't say anything.

That evening, Li Laogen secretly went to find Chen Mo and whispered, "I checked the Wang family's account books, and the donation order requires the whole village to contribute 100 jin of grain."

Li Laogen lowered his voice and said, "The Wang family will contribute ten jin, and the remaining ninety jin will be distributed among the villagers." He looked at Chen Mo and continued, "If it's calculated by acreage, the Wang family owns the most land, so they should have contributed more than sixty jin."

Chen Mo's eyes narrowed: "Where's the evidence?"

Li Laogen pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket: "I secretly copied a copy of the levy list. The Wang family made false accounts."

Chen Mo took the paper, examined it carefully, and then put it away, saying, "Uncle Li, keep this for now; it's not time to use it yet."

Li Laogen sighed: "I know, but Chen Mo, the Wang family will get their comeuppance sooner or later for their corruption and abuse of power."

Chen Mo's eyes were icy: "Retribution comes too slowly. Don't let it come so slowly."

The hen in the house started laying eggs regularly, about one every two days. Chen Ling'er took care of the chicken and even gave it a name, Xiao Hua.

Chen Mo traded the eggs he had accumulated for a hen and a rooster. He made the exchange by using three eggs and two pounds of potatoes. He then built a simple chicken coop in the corner of the house and raised the three chickens together.

Chen Dashan looked at the chicken coop, a glimmer of hope in his eyes. "If chicks hatch in the spring, we'll be able to raise a whole flock of chickens," he said softly.

Chen Ling'er said excitedly, "Brother, we can eat eggs every day from now on!" She danced with joy.

Chen Mo nodded with a smile, thinking to himself, "Three chickens, if they were in the ideal state, could lay 56 eggs a week, which was an unimaginable luxury back then."

Wang Mang always felt something was amiss. Chen Mo's family was almost out of food, so how could they still manage to produce five jin of grain, even if it was of poor quality?

He sent Zhao Si to monitor the Chen family day and night.

Zhao Si squatted behind the woodpile for two consecutive days and only saw Chen Mo and his sister digging for wild vegetables, and Chen Dashan coughing. He didn't notice anything unusual.

But on the evening of the third day, he smelled a special fragrance wafting from the Chen family's house. It wasn't the smell of wild vegetables, but... the aroma of fried fish.

Zhao Si thought he might be hallucinating from hunger, so he leaned closer to the wall and took a good sniff. It really did smell like fish.

He rushed back to report.

The system refreshed again that night.

[Daily information has been updated, please select:]

[1. In the cellar of the abandoned mill in the west of the village, there is about 30 catties of old sorghum stored by the previous owner. It is infested with insects but can be sifted and washed before consumption (low risk, the cellar is relatively damp)]

[Second, in the gullies carved out by flash floods in the back mountain, there are buried wild yam rhizomes, weighing about 20 kilograms. However, digging them up is very difficult (medium risk, loose soil and rocks)]

[Three, at the abandoned outpost of the bandit stronghold in Black Wind Ridge, there are five catties of millet hidden there. However, the outpost is located in a rather dangerous position (high risk, there may be leftover traps)]

Thirty catties of sorghum is quite a lot, and relatively safe, so Chen Mo chose [Information 1].

Suddenly, an image flashed into my mind: in the corner of the mill's cellar, three sacks were stacked together, the sorghum inside already infested with insects, but not yet moldy.

Chen Mo and Sun Dazhu sneaked into the abandoned mill at night. There was indeed sorghum piled up in the cellar, but the situation was worse than expected. The grain pile was badly infested with insects and mixed with a lot of rat droppings.