Unexpectedly, their gamble paid off.
Upon entering the village, though it was as rudimentary as a refugee settlement, the place was orderly. The aroma of food wafted through the air, and they received their promised ten catties of rice, along with oil, salt, and a piece of cured meat.
With the food in hand, Qin Yue and Liu Cui exchanged glances and wept with joy.
Life finally had a prospect!
"Everyone, it's quite cold on the mountain. Today, Qian Wang has been asked to build twenty more shelters. We can't provide one for each of you tonight, so let's have two people share a shelter for now. Tomorrow, we'll try to build one for each of you."
Gu Qingcheng, seeing the gloom lift from everyone's faces after they received their supplies, instructed.
In the biting cold, sleeping outdoors could lead to sickness.
"Thank you, Young Master Gu!"
The crowd murmured their thanks.
Gu Qingcheng had Qian Wang arrange the shelters for these people.
"By the way, Uncle Dai, has everyone had dinner yet?"
Gu Qingcheng asked Dai Fa.
"Not yet, we only arrived here a short while ago," Dai Fa replied.
Mi Guo quickly interjected, "Didn't we just boil three large pots of meat? The meat is all gone, but there's some broth left. Shall I use that broth to cook some noodles?"
"Good!" Gu Qingcheng nodded.
The conversation between the two stunned the new villagers.
"What? Noodles? Is that true? It's not going to be that dark, hard-to-digest oak flour noodle, is it?" someone muttered.
"No, they're white flour noodles. Don't worry, we don't have oak flour here," Mi Guo replied immediately, her ears sharp.
The group fell silent, still trying to process it. They found it hard to believe that such a humble village could offer white flour noodles.
Having already received ten catties of rice per person was more than they dared hope for, let alone noodles cooked in meat broth.
Dai Fa and the other 'old' villagers understood their mindset and didn't bother to explain. They'd know for themselves when the noodles were served.
"I need two people to help me stoke the fire at the big stove."
Mi Guo didn't hesitate.
Qin Yue and Liu Cui immediately volunteered to help Mi Guo with the fire.
Mi Guo utilized two large pots, adding water to the rich meat broth. As the water boiled, Gu Qingcheng bought twenty catties of noodles, two bags of fish balls, two bags of meatballs, and a bunch of fresh bok choy from the Mountain Cat Supermarket.
Once the water was boiling, Mi Guo added the noodles to the pot, along with the fish balls and meatballs. After they were cooked through, she added the greens, a sprinkle of chopped scallions, salt, and MSG. The aroma of the noodles instantly made the new villagers' stomachs rumble. Their bodies were truly honest.
For a moment, they still couldn't quite believe that these noodles were being cooked for them.
"The noodles are ready. Do you have bowls? Bring your bowls and line up, one by one. Everyone will get some," Mi Guo announced.
Every refugee carried their belongings, which included warm clothing, food, and eating utensils. Upon hearing Mi Guo's words, they immediately took out their basins and chopsticks.
Of course, they would use basins, not bowls. Bowls wouldn't be enough!
Wang Daya came to help maintain order, arranging them in a line.
The first in line was the burly man who had doubted the noodles, named Liu Ding. Even as the noodles were ladled into his basin, he still wasn't entirely convinced they were white flour noodles.
Under the glow of the stove fire, he took a bite. It was hot, but they were indeed white flour noodles, with no other grains mixed in. They were thin, smooth, and chewy – incredibly delicious.
Liu Ding, not minding the heat, slurped his noodles and accidentally bit into a fish ball. It burst with flavor, releasing the fish paste. When had he last eaten such delicious noodles?
After eating half his basin of noodles, Liu Ding suddenly walked up to Gu Qingcheng with his basin and sincerely said,
"Young Master Gu, I apologize. It was rash of me to doubt the noodles just now."
"It's alright. You're new here and don't understand. It's normal to have doubts. Just work hard in the village from now on. Oh, what's your name?"
Gu Qingcheng looked at him, appreciating someone who could admit their mistakes.
"My name is Liu Ding. I'm from Datong, Ning Province," Liu Ding replied quickly, seeing that Gu Qingcheng wasn't angry.
"Oh, from Datong? Do you grow millet there?" Gu Qingcheng asked.
She was drawing upon modern knowledge, knowing that Ning Province's Datong was geographically similar to the Loess Plateau in modern times, a region suitable for growing millet, hence her question.
"We do. We grow millet all year round. Drought doesn't affect us much; we still get a harvest of millet and can eat our fill. It was just this terrible, harsh winter that killed off more than half of our village. It was so cold we couldn't grow millet anymore, so we had to flee."
Liu Ding sighed as he spoke.
"So, that means you know how to grow millet?" Gu Qingcheng asked.
"I'm from Datong. If I didn't know how to grow millet, wouldn't that be a joke?" Liu Ding wouldn't let anyone question his farming skills.
"Heh heh, we're planning to clear land and start by growing millet. When it's time for sowing and transplanting, we'll need your guidance," Gu Qingcheng revealed the reason behind her persistent questioning.
"No problem. Don't let my age fool you; I'm an experienced farmer. I've been farming with my father since I was five," Liu Ding's eyes sparkled when he talked about farming.
In a new place, the most frightening thing for a person is not finding a place to utilize their value. Unexpectedly, he had bonded with Gu Qingcheng over farming right away, feeling an immediate sense of camaraderie.
A total of 46 people had arrived this time: 12 women, 30 men, and 4 children aged five to eight.
They were divided into three small teams: two teams of 15 men each, and one team of 16 women and children.
Phoenix Village's current team size is based on 20 members. The deficit in their team numbers would be filled by new villagers arriving later.
Phoenix Village originally had 10 teams. Now, with three more teams added, there were a total of 23 teams, comprising nearly 250 people.
Teams 11 and 12 were both men's teams. Gu Qingcheng appointed Liu Ding as the captain of Team 11, and for Team 12, she chose a middle-aged man named Wu Sheng.
If not for his emaciated state from hunger, Wu Sheng would have been a robust man like an iron tower. He stood at a rare height of over 180 cm, with a broad frame. Upon inquiry, Wu Sheng turned out to be a blacksmith, which explained his physique.
Gu Qingcheng was delighted and said to Wu Sheng, "Soon, we'll have the blacksmith from down the mountain come to help set up the Phoenix Village blacksmith shop, and then you'll be able to put your skills to use."
After everyone had dispersed, Mi Guo, seeing that Gu Qingcheng had been busy and hadn't eaten, asked,
"Sister, are you hungry? I'll make you a late-night snack."
"No need. I have some rouyan noodles here. Let's each have a bowl!"
"Okay."
Gu Qingcheng took out two bowls of rouyan noodles from the storage cabinet, and the two of them enjoyed a simple, satisfying late-night meal.