When he saw the face of the person at the door, Henry Thompson searched through the memories of the previous Henry Thompson and quickly found information about this man. His surname was Liu, but he didn’t really have a formal name. Since he was the eldest in his family, he was called William Foster when he was young, and as he got older, people started calling him William Foster Sr.. He was one of the only five tenant families Henry Thompson had. His family lived in a small hamlet across the creek, which was named after Henry Thompson’s surname and simply called Li Family Hamlet.

“Uncle Liu, what brings you here?” Henry Thompson greeted William Foster Sr. very politely. In Henry Thompson’s memories, William Foster Sr. seemed to be a distant relative of his late mother, and he was an honest and upright man. He had always helped Henry Thompson manage the Li Family Hamlet, so Henry Thompson had great respect for William Foster Sr..

“Master, there’s been a locust plague this year. You kindly waived everyone’s rent and even shouldered the land tax yourself. We’re all grateful for your kindness, but you need to eat too. So, the few of us tenant families pooled together some grain and milled two sacks of white flour to bring to you. After all, you have to get through this winter as well!” William Foster Sr. bowed respectfully to Henry Thompson, then patted the sacks on the cart beside him as he spoke.

“Grain!” When Henry Thompson heard that William Foster Sr. had brought him food, he couldn’t help but get excited and wanted to accept it right away. But then he remembered the child who had fought a dog for a cornbread bun, and looked again at the patched clothes covering William Foster Sr.. For a moment, he felt as if something was blocking his heart. After a long pause, he finally asked, “Uncle Liu, do you have enough food for your family this winter?”

“Well…” William Foster Sr. was taken aback by Henry Thompson’s question, but then gave a simple, honest smile. “How could we? Every winter, there’s never enough food, let alone this year after the disaster. But we have hands and feet, so we’ll go out and find odd jobs in the winter. Sometimes we get meals, sometimes even a bit of pay. If we tough it out, we’ll get by.”

William Foster Sr. spoke lightly, but Henry Thompson felt a heavy weight in his heart. How much work could there really be in winter? At the same time, he was deeply moved. William Foster Sr.’s family had both the old and the young, and barely enough food for themselves, yet they still thought to bring him some. Two sacks of flour might not seem like much, but if he rationed it, it could get him through the winter. If he couldn’t find a way to earn money, these two sacks of flour might be his lifeline.

“Master, let me help you carry the flour to the kitchen!” Seeing Henry Thompson remain silent, William Foster Sr. gave another honest smile. He knew Henry Thompson was a scholar and might be embarrassed to accept, so he took the initiative to offer.

Henry Thompson wasn’t someone who cared about saving face, and he really was in desperate need of food, so he didn’t refuse. He thanked William Foster Sr., opened the door, and let him wheel the cart inside. Then William Foster Sr. helped Henry Thompson carry the flour into the kitchen and put it in the flour jar. The jar had a lid, and when not in use, a stone was placed on top to keep out the mice.

After carrying in the flour, William Foster Sr. took out a block of tofu from the cart and placed it on the kitchen counter with a smile. “Master, I passed by the market on the way back. I know you like to eat greens, but now they’re ten coins a pound—almost enough to trade for half a bushel of grain—and even then, you can’t always find them. So I could only buy you a block of tofu to go with your meal.”

“You’re very thoughtful, Uncle Liu!” Henry Thompson felt a wave of warmth in his heart again, but then he asked curiously, “Uncle Liu, are vegetables really that expensive now?”

“Of course they are. Two months ago, when the autumn greens just came in, a single coin could buy a huge pile. But now the weather’s getting colder, and winter’s almost here with snow on the way. Vegetables are getting scarcer and the price is skyrocketing. And this isn’t even the most expensive time—give it another month, and you won’t be able to buy any even if you have money.” William Foster Sr. explained.

Henry Thompson nodded at this. Actually, as far as he knew, in the Tang Dynasty, there were still some vegetables in winter. For example, some people used hot springs to grow vegetables in winter, but the output was extremely low and all controlled by the royal family. With so many royals, and sometimes even needing to reward ministers, even the current emperor Li Yuan probably couldn’t eat fresh vegetables at every meal in winter. Maybe this was a way to make money?

After chatting a bit more with William Foster Sr., Henry Thompson saw him out. As soon as William Foster Sr. left, he dashed into the kitchen at full speed, ready to start a fire and cook. People in the Tang Dynasty still used flint and steel to make fire, and Henry Thompson struggled for a while before he finally got it going. He added water to the pot, grabbed a few handfuls of flour, and made the simplest flour soup. He also cut off a small piece of tofu, crumbled it with chopsticks, sprinkled on some salt, and made a dish of tofu with scallions—though there were no scallions or sesame oil, so it was just plain tofu with salt. As for the grass carp, he tossed it aside, since it would take too much time to prepare.

As soon as the flour soup was ready, Henry Thompson impatiently ladled himself a big bowl. He drank it while burning his mouth and yelping “ow ow.” Only after finishing the bowl did he finally feel truly satisfied. Those who have never experienced hunger can hardly imagine the happiness of having food in your belly.