Chapter 91: Autumn Harvest at the Base
Fubao's disguised admission of mistake eased the tense atmosphere a little.
Shen Lingning looked at the old, young and wounded soldiers in front of him, all protecting the little troublemaker. He felt angry and amused, but more of a deep sense of powerlessness and fear.
She sighed deeply, her tone slowing down, but still serious: "Fubao, Tiedan, food cannot be wasted, and you absolutely cannot play with fire. This is an iron rule! Luckily nothing happened today. If something had happened, it would have been too late to regret it! Do you hear me?"
Both children lowered their heads and responded in a low voice.
Zhou Weiguo quickly tried to smooth things over: "Alright, alright, it's okay as long as you know you're wrong. Let's all go home for dinner! Tiedan, you should hurry back too. Has your father calmed down?"
The stubborn old man snorted, holding Fubao's dirty little hand, and walked back while muttering: "Come on, come on, Grandpa has a piece of sesame candy, wash your hands and have some candy... Don't dare to play with fire again..."
Fubao nodded obediently: "Bao, I understand."
The turmoil caused by Fu Bao playing with fire was like throwing a stone into a lake. After a few ripples, it gradually subsided, but the alarm bell of safety and fire prevention struck Shen Lingning's heart deeply.
She thought about discussing it with the logistics department and organizing a safety drill involving the entire base, especially on fire prevention, so that every household would be on high alert.
As soon as the idea came to mind, the pressure of reality came up.
The autumn harvest does not wait for anyone and time is pressing, especially since this autumn harvest is on the tea mountain and depends entirely on manpower, so there is no time for delay.
The melons and vegetables planted in the tea mountains have grown rapidly throughout the summer and it is time to harvest them. If you delay any longer, they will rot in the fields and fall on the seedlings.
The logistics department also reported to the superiors and applied to mobilize some soldiers to help with the autumn harvest.
Almost all the labor force of the entire Songtaogou base was mobilized by Shen Lingning and thrown into the tea mountains.
The autumn sun is still scorching, but it cannot compare to people’s enthusiasm for harvesting.
The pumpkins and winter melons were large and heavy. The men tied them with thick hemp ropes, carried them in baskets on their broad backs, and carried them down the mountain steadily step by step along the hillside path.
Sweat soaked their army green vests, leaving dark marks on their backs.
In the potato and sweet potato fields, women and half-grown children squatted on the ground, carefully digging up ridges of earth with their hands or small hoes, digging out clusters of tubers covered with fresh soil, shaking off the soil, and throwing them into the basket beside them.
The air was filled with the fishy smell of soil and the fragrance of plant roots.
The bean fields under the tall tea trees were even more bustling. The soybean, mung bean, and red bean plants were cut down with their roots, tied into bundles, and dragged back to the base's family compound by carts or manpower, and spread out on the cleaned dirt floor to dry.
The ground was covered with continuous bean stalks. Children ran around on them, helping to turn them over and dry them. Occasionally, they would pick up a few beans that had burst out early and put them in their pockets like treasures.
Chili peppers, which are indispensable to the people of Qinnan, are of utmost importance.
The bright red peppers were cut down in clusters, piled together, and then picked by the skillful women.
The chili peppers on hands were burning and painful, but no one complained. Everyone had a smile on their face as they looked at the pile of red peppers getting higher and higher.
Shen Lingning was so busy that he had no time to rest.
She held a small notebook and shuttled between various harvesting points, directing dispatches and recording quantities.
"Team Three's pumpkins have been transported to the east warehouse for weighing!"
"Spread the bean straw thinly and turn it over frequently!"
"Handle the peppers gently, don't squeeze them!"
The accountants and soldiers sent by the Logistics Department helped with weighing and accounting.
The harvested materials filled up the temporary warehouse, and the numbers kept increasing, which made people feel at ease.
These are tangible gains brought by the tea mountain project.
Lao Juetou is also busy. He is responsible for technical guidance, checking the maturity of crops, and teaching everyone how to store them for longer periods of time.
Occasionally, when he saw Fubao walking with her short legs and trying to squeeze into the busy crowd, he would quickly pull her to a safe place and give her a washed cherry tomato to prevent her from being bumped by adults who were moving things.
Shen Lingning took the time to find the person in charge of the logistics department and proposed the idea of conducting a fire drill.
The person in charge looked at the bustling harvest scene in front of him and wiped his sweat: "Xiao Shen, your idea is very good! Fire prevention is a big deal! But look at this critical juncture... I really can't spare any manpower.
After the autumn harvest is over, we will definitely do it properly!"
Shen Lingning looked at the busy figures all over the mountains and the crops piled up like mountains, and knew that what the other party said was the truth.
The exercise has to be postponed for the time being.
But the uneasiness in her heart did not disappear. Instead, it became more intense as she looked at the dry bean stalks all over the mountain and the hot autumn weather.
The joy of harvest permeates Songtaogou, but the fire hazards hidden beneath the busyness are like a silent seed buried in the dry autumn soil.
The truck from the logistics department came and took away most of the food, saying it was to replenish the troops' food according to plan.
The rest were piled up in the open space in front of the Family Committee, like green hills.
"Let's share the food!"
Aunt Sun spoke in a loud voice, holding a small notebook and calling out names.
Every household sent people, carrying baskets and basins, their faces filled with the joy of harvest.
According to the amount of work and the number of people, each family received a heavy share.
"This pumpkin is really good! It will be delicious when used to make porridge tonight!"
"The beans are just right. Pickled beans will last all winter!"
"Tsk tsk, I didn't expect so much food could grow in this tea mountain..."
"Oh, stop it, stop it, or your saliva will start to fall."
The women were chattering away, the atmosphere even more lively than when pork was distributed during the New Year.
In the past, when they got together, they either mended shoe soles or gossiped. Now, every three sentences of their conversation revolved around the tea fields. They were concerned about weeding, fertilizing, and pest control, and they were more united than ever.
The autumn sunset dyed Songtaogou a warm golden color.
The busyness on the tea mountain has come to a temporary halt, and all the harvested fruits have been stored and registered.
On this day, the smoke rising from the chimneys of every household in the entire base seemed to carry a different and particularly rich aroma of food.
This unusual feeling of abundance reached its peak at dinner time.
Almost every family’s kang table is filled to the brim, with bowls next to each other and plates stacked on top of each other.
The oily fried pumpkin slices with chili peppers, orange and bright red, look delicious; the sugar-mixed tomatoes are sprinkled with a little white sugar, and the sour and sweet juice oozes out;
Take down the bacon hanging from the beams, dice it, and stir-fry it with dried chili peppers. The salty and fragrant aroma will make you eat two more bowls of rice.
Cut the bright yellow potatoes into thin strips and stir-fry them over high heat until they are crispy;
There was also tofu that was exchanged for the newly harvested beans, which was cooked together with vermicelli and was steaming hot.
These dishes are not delicacies from land and sea, but they are solid dishes, and are the homely flavors that Qinnan people are most familiar with and most appetizing to.
More importantly, except for the bacon and sugar, almost all the dishes on the table came from the once barren land of the tea mountain. They were dug out by everyone with hoes and watered with sweat.
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