When the doctor had been alive, Joséphine had been a person of standing, but now that she helped in the fields, she was viewed as an equal, an ally upon whom the villagers relied. Because of the insane taxes it was no longer worthwhile to farm the large plots, so the women concentrated on fruit and vegetables. At least they could be sure of selling what they did not need. It was, however, very labour-intensive and was making them ill. Butter, cheese and milk were all so heavily taxed that you could not sell them since no one in the towns would have had enough money to buy them. All this meant that more than ever the sheep were essential: they grazed on the pastures for free. Every farm also had a pig for emergency rations, giving beautiful ham the colour of leather. Seeing them hanging from the rafters was reassuring for the future. Times might be hard, but at least they had some supplies.

Joséphine ate little for lunch – just an apple, and a little bread without any cheese, which she brought in a basket that she left on the edge of the field. No one knew what she ate for her evening meal. One or other of them would ask her home for supper, but as she always refused, they insisted on offering her food to take with her; that was how they noticed that she did not eat like the rest of them. Although widowhood did not decree that she should not eat meat, Joséphine always refused cuts of ham or pot-au-feu; she never wanted any meat. She probably spurned company because she did not eat like everyone else.

So it was all the more surprising that during the day they saw her working with all her might in the fields. She spent hours bent over the plough, and yet she ate practically nothing. People thought that she was ill. Someone who does not eat meat, who works hard but does not want to replenish their strength, is someone who does not want to live. Unless she took her strength from somewhere else. Seeing her grasp the plough handles with both hands, watching her press down with all her weight so that the ploughshare dug into the ground, they saw she was strong, but it must come from something other than meals.

The old people were annoyed that she did not eat meat and refused the precious animals they were so careful not to declare. Here, families had fought for generations for the right to eat meat. In the country, it takes time to overcome the old ways and the privileges passed down through the centuries said that only landowners had the right to red meat. Not so long ago only they could eat the tender meat of calves and lambs. Farmers had to make do with pigs, muddy animals that lived on scraps. They were allowed to eat bacon, but no other delicacies.