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

The Sun family father and son carried out meticulous processing in the cave dwelling where they had transported the sorghum back. They used a sieve to remove insect carcasses and impurities, and repeatedly washed it with clean water to remove insect eggs and dust. After that, they spread it out to dry.

After processing, about 25 jin of sorghum remained. Although it was not a particularly refined grain, it was still quite clean and edible.

Chen Mo gave ten jin to the Sun family and kept fifteen jin for himself.

Chen Ling'er discovered that her brother was secretly going out every night and returning in the morning, and that he had dark circles under his eyes.

One morning, Chen Mo returned home exhausted. His sister brought him hot water and said, "Brother, wash your face."

After washing his face, Chen Mo noticed his sister staring at him. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Chen Ling'er's eyes reddened: "Brother, you've lost weight." Her voice trembled with sobs as she said, "It's all because of me and Father..."

Chen Mo smiled and said, "Silly girl, I don't feel tired. Seeing you and Dad eating so well makes me happy."

Chen Ling'er suddenly said, "Brother, when I grow up, I want to be as capable as you, so that you and Dad can live a good life." Her eyes were very firm.

Chen Mo felt a warmth in his heart and ruffled his sister's hair: "You're pretty good now, raising chickens quite well."

Chen Dashan watched from the side, his eyes filled with satisfaction.

After hearing Zhao Si's report, Wang Mang was somewhat skeptical, and then decided to go and find out for himself.

The next day, Wang Mang and Zhao Si passed by the Chen family's house and happened to meet Chen Mo taking out the trash.

Wang Mang feigned concern: "Chen Mo, will your family be able to survive after donating grain?" He had a smile on his face.

Chen Mo said with a worried expression, "Brother Mang, to tell you the truth, after donating those five catties of grain, all we have left at home are some wild vegetables." He sighed and said, "This winter... life won't be easy."

He deliberately tilted the old basket in his hand, causing a few dry wild vegetable roots to fall out.

Wang Mang stared at his face, trying to find some flaws, but Chen Mo's expression was very natural, and his eyes were quite dim.

At this moment, Chen Ling'er ran out of the house, grabbed Chen Mo's clothes and whispered, "Brother, I'm hungry..." Her voice was soft.

Chen Mo patted her head: "Bear with it a little longer, I'll go dig for wild vegetables."

Wang Mang couldn't detect anything amiss and could only leave dejectedly.

After walking a distance, Zhao Si said, "Brother Mang, I think his family really doesn't have much left. That girl looks so listless."

Wang Mang snorted coldly: "Keep an eye on them for a few more days."

On the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, with the end of the year approaching, Chen Mo mixed sorghum rice and potatoes together and cooked them into a thick porridge. He also added a little bit of minced fish and egg flowers to the porridge.

As they sat around the table for their meal, Chen Dashan suddenly spoke up, "Mo'er, tomorrow is New Year's Eve." His voice held a hint of melancholy as he said this, "Shouldn't our family... go and pay respects at the ancestral hall?"

Chen Mo nodded and said, "It's time to perform the sacrifice, Father. I'll prepare some things." He planned to use fish heads, eggs, and some sorghum rice as offerings.

Late at night, as Chen Mo was arranging offerings in front of the stove, he heard strange noises outside the courtyard wall. It wasn't human voices, but the sound of some kind of animal scratching.

He peeked through the crack in the door and saw a wolf, thin as skin and bones, clinging to the courtyard wall in the moonlight, its green eyes peering toward the chicken coop.

Here comes the wolf.

Chen Mo gripped the wood-chopping knife tightly, but there wasn't just one wolf; another wolf's head peeked out from over the wall. Two hungry wolves.

The three chickens in the coop represent the Chen family's future hope.

Chen Mo quickly thought that if he woke up his father and sister, they would only feel fear. His leg injury had only recently healed, and the chances of successfully dealing with two wolves were slim.

Just then, one of the wolves darted into the yard, landed silently, and headed straight for the chicken coop.

Chen Mo held his breath and gripped the woodcutter's knife tightly, intending to open the door and launch a surprise attack. But just as he reached out to push the door open, another wolf suddenly turned its head and looked straight at the window where he was.

The wolf's eyes emitted an eerie green light in the darkness.

As Chen Mo locked eyes with the wolf, he heard his younger sister talking in her sleep from inside the house: "Brother... the chicken laid an egg..."

He gritted his teeth and slowly pushed open the door, the wood-chopping knife gleaming coldly in the moonlight.

Moonlight fell on the blade, a flash of cold light.

A wolf jumped into the yard and approached the chicken coop, sniffing the air and growling softly.

Chen Mo's muscles were tense. He knew that once the fight started, there was no turning back. His leg injury hadn't fully healed, and he was already struggling to deal with one wolf, let alone two.

The wolf's shadow stretched long in the yard. The wolf staring at him crouched down, ready to strike at any moment. It was very clever and knew that Chen Mo was a threat.

Chen Mo quickly thought to himself, which one should he deal with first? The doorway wasn't too far from the chicken coop, and the window was also quite close to the other wolf.

He glanced at the corner of the yard, where there was a pile of firewood and a thick wooden stick.

Chen Mo had already made up his mind. He suddenly opened the door, raised the wood-chopping knife high, and ran straight towards the chicken coop.

The wolf, which was about to pounce on the chicken coop, was startled by the sudden noise and instinctively took a half-inch back.

This half-step bought Chen Mo time; he didn't have time to chop, so he directly used the handle of his machete to smash the wolf's head.

"Awooo!"

The wolf howled in pain and its body swayed, but it reacted quickly and dodged the second attack by turning to the side.

At this moment, the other wolf made its move. It jumped down from the wall, its target not Chen Mo, but the chicken coop behind him.

"Oh no!" Chen Mo's heart sank.

Before he could turn around, he only caught a glimpse of the wolf's incredible speed out of the corner of his eye. Without paying attention to the situation at hand, he swerved to the side, knocking over a pile of firewood in the corner, scattering the firewood everywhere.

Following the force, Chen Mo rolled towards the thick wooden stick, reached out, grabbed the stick, and felt its weight.

He stood up again, now with a wooden stick in his hand, and felt more confident.

He threw the machete to the ground; the impact had left one side of his body numb.

The wolf that had been hit by the handle of the machete pounced over, its mouth open revealing sharp teeth.

Chen Mo waved the wooden stick.

"Bang!"

The stick struck the wolf on the head with considerable force this time. The wolf swayed and whimpered, clearly indicating that it was seriously injured.

But the wolf's ferocity also flared up, and it pounced again without hesitation.

Another wolf had reached the chicken coop, its front paws tearing open the makeshift fence. The chickens inside cried out in terror and flapped their wings.

"quack!"

My sister's murmured words still seem to echo in my ears.

Chen Mo was furious. He couldn't let anything happen to the chickens; they were the family's only hope.

He roared, his voice echoing through the night: "Get out!"

He suddenly turned around and threw the stick at the wolf next to the chicken coop. The stick flew with a whooshing sound towards the wolf's head.

The wolf hadn't expected Chen Mo to abandon the one in front of it, and hadn't even had time to dodge.

"Bang!"

The stick was slammed down hard, and the wolf's body trembled. It howled and tried to run away with a chicken in its mouth.