But they all happened to be there, so to avoid giving anything away, she had no choice but to go to the county town. She took the opportunity to grind the corn she had harvested earlier into flour. The corn had ripened yesterday. Apart from the basket of tender corn she had picked and eaten earlier, and the seeds she had already selected, she had harvested 400 jin of corn from one mu (approximately 0.16 acres).

She knew that her corn was considered high-yield for this era, but she didn't know if it was because the soil in this space was more fertile, or if the corn had mutated.

So she saved about three jin of seeds. Besides continuing to grow them in her space, she also wanted to experiment outside to see if the corn would be high-yielding. If the corn was still high-yielding, then it could be promoted and more people could have enough to eat.

Unlike other female protagonists in time-travel novels, Shen Mu Ning possesses solid knowledge and skilled expertise that enable her to drive national development.

She only has this small space and no extraordinary abilities. Even if she uses the space to continuously grow food, she can't feed too many people.

However, if it is confirmed that the corn seeds planted in Shen Mu Ning's space can still increase yields when planted outside, then she will not be stingy with these seeds.

Although she wasn't originally from this world, it's undeniable that present-day China is her homeland in a parallel world.

She was willing to do what she could to prevent so many people from dying of hunger.

As for why she went to the county town to grind the grains, it was because Shen Mu Ning had learned from Gu Cheng Yi yesterday that all the grains they ate were ground into flour using the stone mill in the production brigade.

However, grinding cornmeal in the brigade couldn't be kept secret; the news would likely spread throughout the entire brigade in less than half a day. Shen Mu Ning didn't want to become the subject of gossip and attract other people's attention.

The commune does have a pulverizer, but there are few people in the commune, so it's easy for people to remember you. It's better not to be afraid of the trouble and go a little further away.

So Shen Mu Ning took a car to the county town, randomly found a flour mill, and had all the corn ground into flour.

Shen Mu Ning noticed that the cornmeal produced by modern machines wasn't as fine as that of later generations. However, it wasn't a big problem; she didn't particularly like cornmeal, and she stored it all up to feed her chickens, ducks, or pigs.

Shen Mu Ning carefully collected the cornmeal and placed a 20-jin bag of rice at the bottom of her basket. She then arranged all the kitchen utensils, tableware, and seasonings she had bought, and placed two pots on top.

As for the coal stove and kettle, she carried them directly in her hands.

Shen Mu Ning took a car back to the commune, and from the commune back to the brigade. Relying on her mental power that allowed her to detect people around her at any time, Shen Mu Ning put all her things into her spatial storage and then rode her bicycle at breakneck speed.

It took less than half an hour to reach the first bend where the main force would connect.

Shen Mu Ning put away her bicycle and took out her bags and packages.

She returned to the brigade just as work was ending, and the people in the brigade knew she was a new face and had just arrived in the countryside the day before.

Under the intense gazes of a group of elderly men and women, Shen Mu Ning quickened her pace. Although none of them approached her to speak, their fiery stares seemed to speak volumes, and Shen Mu Ning knew she couldn't bear it.

After Shen Mu Ning left, the people in the village began to talk about her in secret. Most of them expressed envy, but a few families secretly wanted to marry this golden phoenix, Shen Mu Ning.

Although the captain and secretary of the Johor Bahru brigade are good officials in managing people, and the people of the Johor Bahru brigade are indeed simple and honest, there are always a few bad apples in a good pot of porridge who are trying to take advantage of Chen Mu Ning.

When Shen Mu Ning returned to the educated youth settlement, the older educated youth who had gone to work had also just returned.

They watched helplessly as Shen Mu Ning bought so many things back, including pots, pans, and utensils, and they couldn't help but feel envious.

Most of these people sent to the countryside were from families unable to bring them back to the city, while a few were simply abandoned by their families. But none of them had the confidence to spend so much money and buy so many things all at once.

"Comrade Shen is back! We were just discussing with Lin Siqi about taking you into the mountains to collect firewood at noon today. Would you like to come with us?"

Zhuang Xue waited until Shen Mu Ning put her things down before walking to Shen Mu Ning's door to ask her questions.

Shen Mu Ning: "We should go. We're not familiar with the surroundings yet, and we want to thank you for taking us to collect firewood."

Zhuang Xue smiled gently and replied, "No need to thank me. Before, when there were no experienced educated youths to guide new educated youths to familiarize themselves with the mountain environment, some people even got lost. It was only after that that the tradition of experienced educated youths guiding new educated youths to familiarize themselves with the environment was established."

"Hmm, when are we going?" Oh, I see. That explains why the older educated youth always had to guide the new ones when they arrived.

If they get lost, wouldn't the educated youth have to find them? If things get out of hand, the locals in the brigade will have to help find them. It's no wonder the villagers will have complaints about the educated youth.

“We go right after we finish eating. Actually, we start work at six in the morning and finish at noon every day. We start work at three in the afternoon and finish at six. We only have time to do our own things at noon and in the evening, such as gathering firewood and tidying up our private plots.”

The midday sun is strong, but it's a bit cooler in the woods, so we gather firewood at noon and tidy up our private plots or do other things in the evening. Of course, everyone can arrange their time as they please.”

Shen Mu Ning nodded. This arrangement was quite reasonable, considering there were three hours at noon.

Knowing that she was going into the mountains later, Shen Mu Ning didn't bother to light a fire on the coal stove to cook. She was probably out of everything right now, and she hadn't brought back any coal briquettes this time, so how could she quickly cook a meal on the coal stove?

She had no choice but to settle for second best, so she quickly borrowed a pot from the educated youth's station and cooked a large bowl of cornmeal porridge. She also took out the pickled vegetables she had bought earlier to eat with the porridge.

After quickly finishing their meal, the group of educated youths at the settlement shouldered their baskets and headed up the mountain. Along the way, the older educated youths would introduce the group to Shen Mu Ning and the others.

“We usually go up the mountain via this path next to our educated youth compound. There’s more than one path up the mountain; basically every household near the foot of the mountain has a path next to them. This path is mostly used by us,” Zhu Yang began by explaining the path up the mountain.

Wei Sheng followed closely behind: "That's right, this is the middle section of this mountain. If we want to go deeper into the mountains, we have to cross over from here."

Zhao Chuan: "However, our activity area is limited to three mountains; beyond that, it's deep forests."

Xu Ji: "Yes, the forest over there is dense and it's eerie when you go in. It's a world of wild animals. I heard there are not only wolves but also tigers. No one in the brigade dares to go in except for winter hunting."

"Is this mountain really that scary?" Zhang Jiayang expressed his doubts.

Zhu Yang chuckled and replied, "It's that terrifying. Even during famine years, very few people have ventured into those deep mountains and forests. Even during winter hunting, people don't dare to go too far. If they encounter a pack of wolves or a herd of wild boars, it's not hunting, it's suicide."

Seeing Zhang Jiayang's nonchalant expression, Zhu Yang repeatedly warned, "Don't believe it, it's true. We've encountered packs of wolves during winter hunts before, and we almost all perished."