The courtyard immediately erupted in discussion about Xiao Ting; this was far more captivating than any discussion about whose vegetables were being prepared.

However, the sisters-in-law always seemed to glance at Lu Fangfang, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

After all, Xiao Ting had been pestering Zhuang Mingcheng all along.

"I never expected that Battalion Commander Xu and Xiao Ting would actually get together. It was all worth it for Battalion Commander Xu's hard work."

"Hey, I bet Battalion Commander Xu's going to get what's coming to him."

"Commander Xu is happy to do so."

...

Lu Fangfang glanced gratefully at Sun Manling, then lowered her head and continued eating.

If your food is good, I'll eat it all.

"belch……"

With the last piece of braised pork gone, the small bowl was empty.

Only a little broth remained on the chicken and fish on the table, and she finally put down her chopsticks with satisfaction.

"Hiccup, Sister Shufen, I have something to take care of at home, so I'll head back first."

She was a little stuffed; her belly was bulging. After saying goodbye, she hurried home.

She took a big gulp of vinegar from the bottle, then went back to her bed in the inner room.

After a while, the sound of a door opening came from the courtyard.

Lu Fangfang got up and looked out the window into the yard, where she saw Wang Shufen arrive.

Sister Shufen wasn't an outsider, so she lazily lay down again.

"A girl? A girl?"

"Sister Shufen, I'm in the inner room."

Wang Shufen pushed open the door and saw Lu Fangfang lying on the bed, and immediately burst into laughter.

"My goodness, look at your belly! If I didn't know better, I'd think you were pregnant. You're such a grown woman, and you still don't know how to eat less."

"Get up quickly and eat some hawthorn to aid digestion."

Lu Fangfang lay in bed, somewhat reluctant to get up.

She's hiccuping and feeling a bit nauseous right now, and hearing about hawthorn makes her crave something sour.

"Sis, just give it to me directly."

Lu Fangfang, shameless as ever, reached out her hand to Wang Shufen.

Wang Shufen rolled her eyes at her and handed over the hawthorn in her hand.

"Sister Shufen, where did you get these hawthorns?"

Lu Fangfang wiped it with her hand, then took a bite.

A sour taste rose in her mouth, but it was a very satisfying sourness. She spat out the hawthorn seeds and took another bite.

In these days, fruit is a rare commodity, let alone here at the foot of the Qilian Mountains. Fresh fruit is scarce, and the only way to satisfy one's cravings is to eat canned fruit.

“I brought these from my hometown. There are lots of hawthorns and apples in my hometown.”

Wang Shufen took out another handful from her pocket and handed it to Lu Fangfang.

"Sister Shufen, that's enough, that's enough."

Lu Fangfang couldn't bear to eat it all at once, so she grabbed a handful and put it on her bedside table.

Sometimes when she eats too much sweet potato noodles, her stomach feels burning. She saves these hawthorns to eat later to aid digestion.

"Sister Shufen, do you think we can grow hawthorns here? I heard that hawthorn trees are not afraid of cold or heat, and they are very hardy."

"I don't know that. Alright, girl, you should rest. I still have to go clear the land."

Wang Shufen smiled, shook her head, and then turned and left.

Lu Fangfang lay on the bed, pondering to herself.

Since it wouldn't be difficult to try, she collected all the hawthorn seeds she spat out.

She dozed off in bed for another half hour until she felt her stomach wasn't so bloated anymore, then she got up.

Holding the hawthorn seeds, Lu Fangfang walked outside into the yard.

There's a small vegetable garden on the west side of the courtyard gate, but she's never planted anything there.

Now that she has some free time, she simply took the hawthorn seeds and planted them in her small vegetable garden.

"I don't know if it will sprout."

There was still a large spot in the vegetable garden, so Lu Fangfang went back into the house, took out some chive seeds, and planted them to the west of the hawthorn seeds.

After finishing her work, she carried her hoe and went to the wasteland on the riverbank.

Wang Shufen was turning over the soil in the field when she saw Lu Fangfang arrive. She smiled and asked, "Little sister, have you digested it yet?"

"Hehe, Sister Shufen's hawthorn is still the most effective."

Lu Fangfang was quite embarrassed.

She scratched her head, looked around, and found that the surrounding ground was completely black, and the dry grass that had been there before had now been burned to ashes.

This method of clearing land has made things much easier.

Lu Fangfang picked up a hoe, walked to the area she had previously cleared, and started working.

The dry grass in the field had all been burned away, but the grass roots in the soil were still there, so she had to pick them out bit by bit. She worked until the afternoon and only managed to dry a small patch of land.

For the next two or three days, Lu Fangfang was busy working in the wasteland on the riverbank.

Together with Wang Shufen, she cleared nearly half an acre of wasteland.

She figured that once she planted corn, no matter what, she could harvest a couple hundred pounds a year.

It's the busy farming season now. Not only are they working, but the other side of the river is also bustling with activity. It's a wasteland that the regiment had cleared a long time ago, and now soldiers are planting vegetables and grains there.

The man leading the group was none other than Li Dajun.

Judging from their appearance, it seems the regiment is going to make a big splash this year, with soldiers not only farming but also reclaiming wasteland.

However, when people clear land, they use horses to plow the fields, which is much faster than using a hoe.

"Sister Shufen, I wish we had a horse too."

Lu Fangfang leaned on her hoe, looking at the opposite bank with immense envy.

"Come on, if we use the guild's horses, the situation on our reclaimed land will be even more complicated."

Forehead……

Lu Fangfang pursed her lips, looking quite regretful.

In this day and age, sometimes there's just no other way.

It was getting late, so she pushed her cart, called out to Sister Shufen, and walked to the riverbank.

She had noticed before that there were many stones washed down from the mountain along the riverbank.

Some of the stones were very long, just rectangular bluestone slabs. She would pick some up and take them back to use as the surface of the kang (heated brick bed) when she built it.

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