The reclamation team, led by Bao Ni and consisting of Zhao Yuan, Sister Huang, Ge Honghua, Duan Xiaocao, Zhou Meili, Fu Anran, Zhang Guixiang, Sister Zhu, Song Zhaodi, and Ma Lanhua, was officially established.
Apart from Song Zhaodi and Ma Lanhua, Bao Ni had more or less contact with the other sisters-in-law.
Regardless of which regiment their husbands belonged to, these wives now share a unified affiliation: the land reclamation team. They are all military wives. After many military wives chose to leave, Bonnie welcomes the remaining few, for whatever reason.
Among the group, Zhao Yuan, Ge Honghua, and Duan Xiaocao couldn't swim, but the other women could swim without sinking, whether they were doggy paddle or freestyle.
Bonnie held a small meeting at her house with a few people to get a basic understanding of each family's situation. She especially wanted to know about families with children, what arrangements were made for the children, and whether they had discussed coming to the land reclamation team with their husbands.
"Captain, you need the man in your family's consent too?"
Song Zhaodi asked timidly, explaining that her husband didn't agree to her coming over because their child was young and needed someone to take care of him.
“Yes, we can’t let family conflicts arise just to get into the reclamation team. Wouldn’t that be putting the cart before the horse?”
Song Zhaodi recalled her husband's words: "Song Zhaodi, if you continue to live a frugal life for the sake of your family and fail to take good care of the children, we will get a divorce."
Song Zhaodi got up and left in the end, leaving Bao Ni confused.
“You don’t know, Song Zhaodi’s family favors sons over daughters and treats their daughters badly. Their only purpose is to exchange daughters for dowries for their sons. Zhaodi always wants to help her family, but her husband won’t let her manage the money. So she wants to earn some money herself, but her children are young, and her husband doesn’t agree.”
Ma Lanhua lived next door to Song Zhaodi and knew the situation quite well; her family often argued about this. She couldn't understand why Song Zhaodi thought her younger brother was so good, that he could support her, and that she could really count on him.
Bonnie thought to herself, "Isn't this the 'brother-obsessed demon'?"
With Song Zhaodi gone, their reclamation team had exactly ten people left, enough to fill one boat.
Bonnie and the others discussed some important points and agreed to meet at the pier the next morning before the meeting adjourned.
After the New Year, Liu Jiu asked to go to daycare. There are many children there, and it's more interesting. Bai Yang, Tie Dan, and Gang Dan also went with her. As for San Qi, Bao Ni will have to trouble her grandma and her mother.
Around the time after the New Year, her mother started experiencing back pain, so Bao Ni took her to the clinic. The doctor said that her previous overexertion was now showing results, and she needed to rest more and avoid strenuous activity. Bao Ni's father then stopped her from working and had her stay home to take care of the family.
Bao Ni's mother thought that Lin Bo was the only unmarried person left in the family, so he had no burdens, and Grandma Lin was getting old.
So, Bao Ni left Sanqi with her parents, and her mother and grandmother looked after her. Da Bao started school, and Er Bao was a few months younger than Liu Jiu, but there were no daycare centers on the island, so she could only go to primary school when she reached the appropriate age; before that, she was raised freely on the island.
The next day, Bonnie first took Sanqi to her parents' house. Liujiu didn't need Bonnie's help at all; several children, both new and old friends of Liujiu, were already waiting at her door that morning. Bonnie gave Liujiu a handbag sewn by her grandmother, containing some food.
By the time everyone gathered at the dock, the sun had already risen. There was no way around it; they all had a mountain of things to do at home that needed to be finished first. They couldn't work like others, starting before dawn and working late into the night.
Several of them were a little excited; this was a new beginning for them!
Among these people, Sister Zhang and Ma Lanhua knew how to row a boat. Several people boarded the boat one after another. Bao Ni and Sister Zhang rowed the boat, and the other sisters-in-law followed along to learn.
Everyone was very happy. This was the first time since joining the army that they didn't have to worry about the children or the men, and could do something on their own. Although clearing land was hard work, for some reason, they felt very relaxed and had a fire burning inside them.
Three women make a drama, but when these ten women are together, chatting and laughing, time seems to fly by.
"That's the dock up ahead, we've arrived."
As soon as Bonnie finished speaking, the group of people, whose average age was over thirty, shouted excitedly like elementary school students on a school trip.
This was something she had been suppressing for too long, and it was finally released. Bonnie smiled too; in this era, she had found something meaningful to do, and her life hadn't been in vain.
One by one, the group disembarked from the boat, carrying the tools provided by the logistics department. Bonnie tied the boat up and led everyone to the location she had chosen.
The first year is the experimental period; there's no need to rush for quantity, the priority is to ensure quality.
Bonnie spoke with the logistics department yesterday. This is the first year; they'll only have this many people and won't be accepting any new hires. Even if some leave later, they won't be accepting new people. They'll wait for this year's results and then discuss next year.
"This is it. This plot of land is fifty or sixty acres. If we can clear it all, it will keep us busy. In the first year, we will do what we can, choosing to clear land according to our own abilities. We will be responsible for how much land we clear, and the distribution will be based on individual performance."
Actually, Bonnie had already spoken with the logistics department. These lands were to be cleared and cultivated by the military spouses themselves, with the profits split 40/60 – 60% for them and 40% for the logistics department. But they couldn't say it like that now; it wouldn't be in accordance with policy. Although Bonnie didn't say it explicitly, everyone basically understood.
“The ground here isn’t hard, so it’s easier to dig. The vegetation on top is quite thin, so let’s do a deep tilling first, bury the weeds under the soil, and then turn the soil up to let it dry in the sun.”
Bonnie and her grandfather brushed up on their knowledge, and there were also Ge Honghua and Duan Xiaocao, who knew how to farm, who helped each other out.
Everyone estimated their own workload and began working diligently. Most of them came from rural areas, and their love for the land was ingrained in their bones. Except for Zhao Yuan and Fu Anran, everyone else was a skilled worker.
The two women didn't expect to cultivate a lot of land or harvest a lot of grain; they just wanted to improve their image, make their husbands proud, and also relax a bit. There were some problems at home, and they lived cautiously, feeling very oppressed.
Bonnie is strong, and she wants to clear more land so that her grandparents and children can have more refined grains. Even with money, it's impossible to buy that much refined grain now. Besides, if they do a good job, more military wives or soldiers will come to clear land next year, which will solve a big problem.
Bonnie set a good example. Watching her turn over the wasteland shovel by shovel, it seemed effortless and easy, which motivated the others as well.
Bonnie straightened her back and looked back. She had already dug up a large patch of soil. The soil was of good quality, dark and loose. It contained a lot of humus and was quite fertile.
Bonnie plans to clear out more than ten acres of land, planting half wheat and the other half soybeans and millet.
Bonnie had heard many of her sisters-in-law talking about wanting to grow more corn, because it would yield a high harvest, make them richer, and they could even send some back to their hometown.
With something to look forward to, the hands worked faster, and there was no time for idle chatter; all that could be seen was the shovels bobbing up and down.
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