Cave Refuge

Upon hearing Dong Tianyu's words, Ye Liuyun instantly knew Dong Tianyu had figured something out.

Don't be fooled by Ye Liuyun's chubby appearance. He had a cunning mind, even more so than a monkey. So, when he took the cigarette from Dong Tianyu's hand, he quickly removed a cigarette box from his pocket, putting the two cigarettes he had into it. He casually said, "I'm quitting smoking these days as well."

Upon hearing their conversation, Big Brother Li, who had given them the cigarettes, briefly displayed a regretful frown on his face, upset about the waste of his cigarettes. If these two didn't smoke, they should've said something earlier.

Seeing this, Big Brother Li, who hadn't really liked either of them to begin with, felt even more disgusted by them.

Rationally speaking, the person trained to be the family head in the Li family should be able to keep his emotions in check. But Dong Tianyu found it strange why Big Brother Li was acting so 'frankly'.

Just when Dong Tianyu was puzzled about this, Ye Liuyun started to laugh and said, "Hehe, so you also think that the other party is not up to par. Despite Li's family having many offspring, only Big Brother Li is born of a legitimate wife. And at that time, Big Brother Li, while climbing the ladder of power, maintained many illegitimate children."

In his younger days, Old Man Li enjoyed sponsoring orphans. Everyone initially thought that Old Man Li was just kind-hearted, but later, they discovered that the orphans he sponsored were his illegitimate children.

If it wasn't for the fact that these sponsored orphans bore Li's family name, it would have been difficult for others to uncover this secret.

However, old Lady Li must have discovered this a long time ago; otherwise, Big Brother Li wouldn't be as spoiled as he is now.

Of course, treat all these rumors as just hearsay and don't spread them around."

"Understood, I'm not one to spread gossip."

While Dong Tianyu was having casual talk with Ye Liuyun outside, Mrs. Thompson began arranging a marriage for Dong Tianyu at the dining table.

Meanwhile, Mr. Thompson was engrossed in hearing about the recent situation in Pengcheng from his elderly group.

With the opening of the War Reserve Warehouse, West City District had remained stable despite the food crisis.

According to news coming from Pengville Plaza, after receiving the grain handed over by West City District, the other districts had continuously asked for more grain from the Officials, forcing the authorities to open the war reserve warehouse located under Pengville Plaza.

The opening of this war reserve warehouse significantly accelerated the pace of Pengcheng's recovery in a short period. Now, one could see moving vehicles on the streets.

Everything was improving. Pengcheng, which is located in the flatlands, had plenty of arable land around it. Initially, due to economic reasons, most of it was planted with cash crops. However, under the coordination of the Officials, most of it had been planted with food crops.

The existence of the War Reserve Warehouse enabled skilled craftsmen to repair many agricultural machines. Their appearance in the fields greatly increased farming efficiency.

At this time in Pengcheng, other industries only retained a minimum number of workers to ensure basic operations, while the rest of the people were assigned to do field work, reminding everyone of the days when young intellectuals went to countryside to work.

Many girls, in order to avoid farm work, actively sought marriage and tried to get pregnant in a short period, using this as an excuse to escape farm labor.

However, due to several continuous natural disasters, the population of Pengcheng had drastically reduced. As a result, the farsighted Officials initiated a population recovery plan immediately.

If found to be pregnant, one would be assigned to do desk jobs for the first five months. After five months, she would stay home waiting to give birth. During this period, the Officials would provide three nutritious meals a day for her.

Furthermore, there would be a three-month leave after childbirth. Nutritious meals would be provided during the leave, ensuring the survival rate of infants.

The policy created by the Officials at this time was very down-to-earth. Field work was not as simple as imagined, especially in the absence of machinery.

The workload assigned to women during field work may be a bit lighter than men. But for women who lived in cities before the disaster, the hardship of farm labor was beyond their imagination.

Most girls, after a few days to half a month of hard labor, became eager to get married and avoid the hardship.

For a period, many unmarried young men who originally did not plan to marry couldn't resist the eager women and were taken down, stepping into marriage.

The goal of most of these new families was clear—to have children as quickly as possible.

Pengcheng was determined to recover its population.

Nowadays, Pengcheng seems to be going back to the late 1950s and early 1960s, when food was distributed only to those who worked. The distributed food was enough for a person with some leftover.

But at this time, every family has dependents. The majority of the labor force, who were in their prime, were only children. Therefore, many people had to work to support their entire families.

To put it bluntly, many old people didn't make it through the aftermath of the disaster due to poor physical health. But due to the past policy of allowing multiple births, they had many children.

Don't underestimate the appetite of children. At this time, most of the eldest in the family had reached the age where they eat more than the adults. Although the Officials would arrange some lighter tasks for teenagers, the corresponding food subsidies they received were minimal.

However, as long as one was willing to work hard, it was still possible to support the whole family.

At this time, everyone's living philosophy had once again changed. Whether it was progress or regression was unknown, but life was visibly improving day by day.

It felt like returning to the old days. Even the kids of the leaders, though they receive some preferences, have to abide by the policies set by the Officials, just like ordinary people.

Seeing that children from other families were getting married in pairs, Mrs. Thompson became a bit anxious. But considering the qualities Dong Tianyu exhibited, among his generation, he was considered outstanding.

When Mrs. Thompson began arranging a marriage for Dong Tianyu, her group of girlfriends started introducing to her the unmarried girls in their relatives.

Seeing so many excellent girls, Mrs. Thompson was delighted, immediately promising considerable dowry if the proposal was successful.

After hearing Mrs. Thompson's generous offer, the atmosphere at the dinner table became more lively. This lively atmosphere caught the attention of people at the other tables, and they couldn't help but look over.