Save the Starving Frontier! The “Buyer” of the Reversed Chastity World - 11

Chapter 11: Let’s Feed the Farmers!

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“Let’s head to the south side before it’s too late.”

“I agree, Kaito-nii-chan. The people living in the south must be starving too.”

Etna and Pirika both nodded. The east and north had been that hungry. There was no way the people at the south were fine.

“Kaito, you already distributed food here, right? During that time, it wasn’t just the east side residents that came, but a few from the south side too. Food should’ve been brought into the south, just enough so it wasn’t too late.”

Aisha explained. Was that so? Indeed. I felt that distributing food in the workshop district had taken more time than it had been when I distributed food in the commoner residential district. 

“Then, it won’t be too late if we go today?”

“Yeah. Let’s get going quickly. I think a lot of people there can still move around.”

And so, the four of us headed for the main street. Today, Mother-san had the day off. Apparently she was resting at home. Her body seemed weakened with age, so I hoped she wouldn’t push herself.

The moment we arrived at the main street, a crowd of people was waiting. Many of them probably didn’t take food home, only eating what they could that day. We stacked up food supplies and I made a request to them. 

“Hey, anyone here willing to come along to the south district? I want to distribute food there too.”

As soon as I said that, about ten people raised their hands to volunteer. I was glad to see that. They looked like they had already eaten and recovered some strength, enough to move around.

Alright, let’s have them help out.

“We also need to get food to the northern workshop district. If any of you are free, could you help carry supplies or distribute food here?”

“Sure, I’ll help carry stuff.”

“I’ll do the distributing. Just make sure you’ve got enough ready, alright?”

How grateful I was for them. Man, having manpower really was convenient.

But first, we needed a way to transport everything. I bought multiple foldable handcarts from the home improvement store. We assembled them and started loading food on.

“I’ll keep bringing it out, so pile it on top.”

“Whoa!? This pulls so easily! Give us one just for ourselves too!”

Take as many as you like.

They weren’t cheap, but for around fifty thousand yen, they’d last a long time. They’d be useful not just for transporting supplies, but for clearing debris too. I put out around ten of them. Since they had puncture-proof tires, they should be fine even on rough terrain.

“Alright, let’s start loading the food. Sorry it’s the same food as last time, but I’ll keep the amounts coming. I’ll keep producing boxes, so pile them on fast.”

Orders. Orders. Orders.

Bread was light, so it didn’t weigh much. The boxes packed with gyoza and ham assortments were somewhat heavy, but still lighter than metal. Even when piled high on the carts, the weight was manageable.

“Okay, I’ll leave this and the north side to you guys. If anything happens, I’ll be at the south side.”

“Got it, leave this to us!”

The ladies confidently took on the job. We watched them head off pulling the carts toward the north side, then we went to the south.

The south side was the farmland district. The east and south were where most of the residents lived. But here, there seemed to be more farming families.

At first I thought they might have food since they were farmers, but they too seemed to be starving. Well, yeah. They had said their crops had been wiped out. Same as before, it was time to hand out food. But unlike before, today we had a big crowd of helpers.

I asked them to gather debris. We’d used up quite a lot with those carts, after all. While everyone was busy collecting it, I bought a huge amount of bread. At that point, the residents began to gather.

Apparently, some of the food handed out on the first day had reached them, and those who could walk were supporting those who couldn’t, helping them come to me. The first energetic resident to arrive carried a weakened person on her back and smiled at me.

“…Hey. We’ve been waiting for you.”

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

I lit the stove and began cooking a large batch of bread porridge. This time I made egg porridge and milk porridge. Those were more nutritious. I also bought a ton of energy jelly for them to take home. After I set up the drink dispensers, people brought the debris they had gathered.

“Thanks. With this, I think we can manage.”

“We’re counting on you!”

The residents from the east district clapped me on the back. With the food-producing regions destroyed, I was the only one with food now. The southern farmers that arrived here had been chewing on wheat straw. 

I was confused at first. There was no way they could eat that, but then, I learned they did it to stimulate saliva. By chewing something, they could trick their body out of hunger.

“Let me buy that straw off you. I’ll give you wheat in exchange.”

Even wheat straw was an important source of income. When I traded it for bread and drinks, the residents were delighted. I’d heard that during famines, people soaked pine bark to eat. But they wouldn’t need to go that far anymore. I could “buy” it. 

The farmers brought piles of straw and stones from their fields. One after another, I converted them into bread. I put out sports drinks. Cola. More cooked food. I wanted them to eat and drink whatever they liked. They didn’t have to hold themselves back anymore.

“Nii-san! Could you lend us some of those carts!? We want to carry our family!”

“Load them on! Don’t hold back!”

I put out five carts, and the healthy ones pulled them off in different directions. Several helpers went along with each cart, probably to carry their family members onto them.

Most of those brought back were the elderly and children. There were old men too. For those with weak teeth, we feed them porridge. Now wasn’t the time for them to be chewing meat or anything hard.

I packed the bread porridge with as many eggs as I could, turning it into a full-on egg-drop soup.

The elderly happily ate it. Physically speaking, it seemed their bodies had been dehydrated too. They slurped down the salty egg bread porridge, saying how delicious it was.

That said, seeing old folks unable to eat really hit me hard. It felt like some kind of “abandoned to die” mountain. A very old woman gave me a woven straw bracelet. She was so weak she couldn’t even speak, but it seemed to be a gift of appreciation for me. She smiled at me.

I didn’t put that bracelet into the “Purchase” system. Instead, I tied it around my arm. It was a gift, after all. Maybe like in Japan, it would grant some kind of wish?

“Grandpas, grandmas—don’t give up your food to the kids. Eat plenty yourselves too. Even if you eat with them, there’ll still be more than enough left over.”

“Thank you. It’s been such a long time since we had something this delicious.”

The old woman ate the porridge together with her little granddaughter. Maybe children would be happier with sweets. I figured a little fat would be fine, so I ordered some sweets from Fukuya, the sweets shop. I bought thirty cream puffs and thirty shortcakes.

Children swarmed around them, fighting over the treats. Apparently, they had intended to take the soft foods to their grandparents instead. Since those sweets wouldn’t be enough for all of them, I bought another hundred of each. I opened the cake boxes one after another and handed them out.

“It’s so sweet! It’s so good, Onii-chan!”

Pirika joined the kids in eating too. She seemed to love sweets, laughing and smiling with the children.

“There are all kinds of cakes! If you want a certain fruit or flavor, just say it!”

From there, a giant cake-ordering spree began. It was like opening a temporary cake shop. Cream puffs were popular, but fruit-topped cakes were ordered in heaps.

It seemed these fruits tasted sweeter than the ones in this world. Though the fruits were simmered in syrup, they said the fruits themselves were delicious. Hearing that from farmers really gave me confidence.

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