Chapter 46: Is it possible to contract a barren mountain?

It was just dawn, and the cold air from the mountains was still condensing on the tips of the grass leaves.

Before half past seven, Shen Lingning used a thick sling to hold Fubao securely against his chest, and the little guy was sleeping soundly.

She carried a half-worn wicker backpack on her back and followed Aunt Sun out of the door, stepping one foot deep and one foot shallow, towards the logistics point of the camp headquarters.

The sunlight struggled to climb over the hills in the east, giving the continuous Qinling peaks a layer of light gold.

Taking a deep breath, the air was so fresh that it pierced the lungs, with a strong fishy smell of grass, trees and soil, which was completely different from the dry loess smell of my hometown in southern Shanxi.

The mountains here are steeper, greener and darker, stretching as far as the eye can see.

Just after Grain Rain, wild flowers popped up like crazy on the moist hillsides and along the paths. Yellow dandelions, white cardamine, and purple February orchids were crowded together.

Just after turning the small dirt slope behind the family compound, I ran into Wang Xiuqin and Li Jinhua, who had been fighting on the dirt floor yesterday.

Both of them were wearing washed-out jackets with large dark patches on the elbows and sleeves, and they were carrying baskets to get things.

Seeing Shen Lingning and Aunt Sun, they paused in their steps, their eyes scanning Shen Lingning like a searchlight - from her clean but half-worn blue cloth smock, to Fubao in her chest pocket, to the small backpack on her back.

Shen Lingning met their gazes, nodded, and said in a neither loud nor low voice: "Good morning, sister-in-law."

Li Jinhua had a loud voice and subconsciously wanted to respond, but Wang Xiuqin next to her pulled the corner of her clothes.

A trace of discomfort flashed across their faces, and they uttered vague "hmm" and "good morning" twice, as if they were afraid of being contaminated by something. They lowered their heads, walked past each other hurriedly, and went home.

Aunt Sun looked at their slightly panicked backs, curled her lips, and lowered her voice a little: "Look, the one who walks with a strong wind and a loud voice is the daughter of the third company commander Wang Tiezhu. She is Li Jinhua, the famous 'loudspeaker'. She can shout at you for the smallest things so that the whole yard can hear.

The one next to him, with a listless look and fast-moving eyes, is Wang Xiuqin, the daughter of Liu Qianjin, a clerk in the first battalion headquarters.

"She's not a bad person, but she's stingy, calculating, and takes advantage. She's a penny-pincher, just like her husband, a shrewd, cunning, and just like him! Just keep this in mind when you deal with her in the future."

The logistics point was set up in a simple shed on the side of the camp headquarters. The two of them brought Fubao all the way here. Many people had seen Shen Lingning yesterday.

Along the way, Shen Lingning greeted many people under the introduction of Aunt Sun, and walked away politely under the curious and inquiring gazes of others.

The person in charge of the distribution was a dark-faced man in his forties. His surname was Wu, and everyone called him Old Wu. He didn't talk much and his face had no expression.

When he heard Shen Lingning's name, his men paused.

"Zhou Wei State?"

But he didn't say anything. He weighed and distributed the items one by one. Half a bag was filled with dark brown rice with bran, and the other half was filled with black flour, which was grayish-black, rough to the touch, and the bran could be clearly seen, which was even less than the rice.

He took the glass bottle that Shen Lingning had used to eat canned food, picked up a greasy grape, scooped up a spoonful of turbid rapeseed oil and poured it in, only adding a shallow three ounces.

A small bag of coarse salt particles wrapped in old newspaper, and a small, yellow soap with a strange smell.

Shen Lingning took it silently, weighing the light weight in his hand, and quickly calculated it in his mind.

This little bit of food is barely enough for her and Fubao, not to mention the nutrition.

Oil and salt are even more precious and have to be used carefully.

Fortunately... Fortunately, I exchanged some hard currency at the Chang'an black market before coming here, and I also stored some emergency flour and bacon in the space, otherwise I would have to tighten my belt these days.

She didn't show it on her face, but just carefully put the small oil bottle and salt bag into the backpack.

As Aunt Sun packed her share of brown rice and black flour, she leaned closer to Shen Lingning and lowered her voice, with a hint of helplessness from someone who had experienced it: "Alas, Comrade Shen, don't think it's too little. Right now is the time when there is a shortage of food, and last year's harvest was average. This is the only ration allocated by the higher-ups.

Oil, salt, sauce, and vinegar—everything is precious, so you have to calculate your expenses. If you want to eat fresh vegetables, you have to rely on the small piece of land in your yard. Just wait until the autumn harvest, and maybe you can relax a little."

On the way back, the sunlight was already a little dazzling. Shen Lingning held Fubao in his arms and carried a small basket of brown rice and black flour on his back, slowing down his pace.

She glanced across the relatively flat terrace below the camp.

On the plateau, there were already figures of early risers swaying, facing the rosy glow coming through the eastern valley, bending over to weed between the ridges of the fields. The rise and fall of the hoe brought with it the fresh smell of earth.

Shen Lingning's heart moved slightly.

She stopped and pointed to the barren hill behind the camp, which was sparsely covered with vegetation and obviously uncultivated, and asked Aunt Sun beside her:

"Auntie, I see someone farming on the terrace below. Is that land the camp gave everyone? Or is it land they reclaimed themselves?"

Aunt Sun was adjusting the straps of her backpack with her head down. When she heard this, she raised her head and looked in the direction Shen Lingning pointed. She realized that she was new and didn't know the rules, so she explained:

"The land on this mountain is under the management of the army. There's no such thing as 'dividing the land.' However, if family members want to grow some vegetables or melons, they can apply to the camp's logistics department and get approval.

You can find a piece of unowned wasteland and reclaim it. The crops you grow on the reclaimed land belong to you, which can be used to supplement your food supply.

She pointed to the figures working on the terrace and said, "Look, those are the vegetable plots that each family has opened. The soil is thin and there are many rocks, so it's not easy to tend to them."

Shen Lingning nodded, but his eyes turned to the barren mountain again.

The mountain is not too steep and faces the sun. Although there are many rocks, the soil looks thicker than that on the plateau.

She asked again tentatively, her voice calm, as if she was just chatting casually:

"So... what about that barren hill out back? Has the camp agreed? Can we... contract it and grow some crops there?

Like tea trees? I think the land is sunny, so it should be suitable."

"What?! Undertake...a package?!"

Aunt Sun gasped as if her feet were burned by fire!

Her expression changed suddenly, and she grabbed Shen Lingning's arm with such force that it hurt.

Aunt Sun quickly glanced around vigilantly. Seeing that no one was nearby, she pulled Shen Lingning to the shade of an old crooked locust tree on the side of the road. Her voice, lowered to a very low level, was filled with unprecedented tension and severity:

"Girl! Don't you dare say such things! They're fatal!"

She practically squeezed out the words through her teeth, "What do you mean by contracting? That's a capitalist way of doing things! You'll be punished! If you get caught, it'll be terrible! At best, you'll be taken shopping, at worst... Ouch!"