Lin Ying understood; Zhao Qinghuai wanted her to not only grow frost-resistant herbs but also vegetables.

Do you think this is a task I can complete by myself?

Zhao Qinghuai hurriedly said, "How could that be? We've already discussed it. As soldiers stationed in the area, we can't just wait for the country to provide supplies. We have to be self-reliant! If there are no unforeseen circumstances, the troops will still send people out to support the construction next year."

Only one regiment was left to patrol the troops.

At that time, we will only need one cooking squad to stay behind to cook for the regiment, another cooking squad to come with us to open the farmland, and one squad to stay behind to complete the task of reclaiming farmland with everyone.

At the same time, the wives of military personnel will be mobilized to participate, with Zhang Shanlin leading everyone in reclaiming wasteland. You will be responsible for providing guidance on the planting of medicinal herbs, as well as the later processing and storage of these herbs.

After hearing Zhao Qinghuai's words, Lin Ying nodded: "Okay, then I will agree when Minister Zhang comes."

Sure enough, two days later, Zhang Shanlin came to see Lin Ying and asked for her opinion. After Lin Ying agreed, he first asked her if there were any preparations needed in advance for planting medicinal herbs.

"It's too early to prepare now; the climate here is too cold. It's not too late to prepare when the snow starts to melt. However, it's best to contact them in advance regarding the seeds. These seeds will be extremely rare next year."

After hearing Lin Ying's words, Zhang Shanlin suddenly realized that this year, because all the medicinal herbs from all over the country were sent to them, even if they didn't use them next year, other places in the north would need these medicinal herbs. In particular, besides their area, Mengshi and Xinjiangshi are both extremely cold regions, and they are not as suitable as them for growing these medicinal herbs.

Clever people will definitely try to profit from these medicinal herbs, and they may not be able to find the seeds of these herbs at all.

"I'll arrange it right away!"

Zhang Shanlin left in a hurry. Lin Ying, on the other hand, was preparing food for the New Year as it was approaching.

As December arrived, the weather here became even colder, with temperatures nearing minus fifty degrees Celsius outside, enough to make one so calm that they dared not think about anything.

Lin Ying's family finally managed to build a traditional earthen kang (heated brick bed).

Actually, the temperature in the two bedrooms was already sufficient; it's just that the temperature in the living room and bathroom was a bit too cool, and the temperature rose too quickly.

In Lin Ying's memory, in the later generations where Mo Zi lived, an exhaust fan would be installed on the chimney to prevent heat from accumulating at the smoke outlet.

However, since those were all electric, Lin Ying did not meet that requirement.

However, since it was very windy outside, Lin Ying simply used the leftover cookie tin as an exhaust fan. She also made a windmill on top of it. Whenever the windmill turned, the exhaust fan below would also turn.

The reason for choosing a windmill instead of a windbreak is that a windmill does not rotate in reverse. Naturally, there will be no backflow of smoke into the chimney.

After the exhaust fan was installed, the temperature in the living room indeed rose. The temperature in the bedroom also dropped.

They had planned to build the kang (heated brick bed) beforehand, and they had all the materials. They took advantage of the day Zhao Qinghuai was home and built the kang.

The original plan was for the stove outside to directly heat both sides of the stove. Before going to bed at night, a valve would be used to guide the heat from the stove to the flue. Once the earthen bed was heated, a small gap would be left to provide continuous heat, while the rest of the heat would go through the floor.

However, she underestimated the cold here, and with her homemade exhaust fan outside, unless he directly blocked the valve to let the heat rise, the gap was completely useless, and the heat was drawn away from below.

The earthen bed gets cold by midnight.

There was no other way but to open another opening and build a new stove.

However, the ashes also flowed down along the stove opening.