Chapter 424 The Sea Buckthorn is Ripe!
"Brigade Commander, have something to eat."
The guard, Xiao Wang, handed over an aluminum lunchbox. The steamed buns inside were completely cold and as hard as rocks.
Gu Beichen took the lunchbox without hesitation and took a bite.
He walked to a sheltered rock and sat down, taking an envelope from his inner pocket. The edges of the envelope were frayed and still warm from his body.
Those were brought up by the truck that Su Yue had entrusted to transport supplies a few days ago.
There was no thick letter paper, only a drawing Gu Ping'an made when he was in elementary school, and a red handprint pressed by Gu Ningjing.
The painting depicts a crooked little man in a military uniform, holding a red flag larger than himself.
The back features Su Yuejuan's elegant handwriting:
"Don't worry about me at home. Ping An said that Dad went to catch a big monster. I said that's right, Dad is the most powerful Ultraman. Also, the sea buckthorn harvest is good, I saved two jars of the best jam for you."
As Gu Beichen looked at the words, the lines on his face, which was chapped from the sea breeze, gradually softened.
He swallowed the last bite of the steamed bun, carefully folded the letter, and placed it back in his heart.
It's only a little over 100 kilometers from home.
But he hasn't been back for two whole months.
Since being promoted to brigade commander, the burden on my shoulders has become as heavy as a mountain.
In addition to daily training, we also need to oversee the reconstruction of these radar stations and participate in the formulation of new island defense deployments.
The international situation is constantly changing.
Foreign ships patrolling the high seas peer into this area like ghosts.
He cannot back down.
Behind her were the lights of countless homes, Su Yue and her child, and the farm that had just begun to show promise.
"Brigade Commander." The communications officer ran over, crouching low, looking nervous. "Chief of Staff Qin's hotline in Beijing."
Gu Beichen immediately stood up, brushed the dust off his pants, and his eyes instantly became sharp as knives.
He strode into the temporary command tent and grabbed the red secure telephone.
"I am Gu Beichen."
Qin Zheng's tired but unusually serious voice came from the other end of the phone: "Old Gu, the situation has changed. Those guys are making moves in the south, and they might target the newly built radar station. You need to make sure the defenses on your end are tight."
"Don't worry." Gu Beichen looked at the dark night sky outside the tent. "As long as I'm still standing here, this place is an impregnable fortress."
After hanging up the phone, Gu Beichen walked to the map.
Each red dot marked on it represents his assigned field.
He took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, pulled one out, only to find that the match was already wet.
He tucked the cigarette behind his ear, turned, and walked out of the tent.
In the darkness, the newly installed radar antenna, like a giant eye, silently gazes at the distant sea.
"Xiao Wang."
"arrive!"
"Pass the order: increase alert tonight. Level one combat readiness."
"yes!"
Gu Beichen stood in the wind, gazing southwards. That was the direction of home, and also the direction of the farm.
......
The sea breeze swept past Radar Station No. 3, heading south and dispersing the morning mist over Red Star Farm.
As dawn broke and the east began to lighten with the pale glow of a fish's belly.
"Let's get to work!"
A loud shout broke the tranquility of the salt flats.
Cuihua tied her headscarf behind her head, revealing a face that was purplish-red from the sea breeze but still glowing.
Waving a specially made long-handled pair of scissors, she was the first to rush into the golden sea buckthorn forest.
Three months ago, the branches were bare, but now they are bent over by the weight of countless orange fruits.
When the morning light shines on it, it looks like it's covered with strings of agate, hanging heavily, almost touching the ground.
Dozens of military wives followed behind Cuihua, each with a large bamboo basket attached to their waist.
"Watch out for the thorns!" Su Yue stood at the edge of the field, holding a notebook. "Although this large-fruited sea buckthorn has been improved, the thorns are still hard. Make sure you're wearing gloves, don't hurt your hands trying to speed things up."
"Director Su, these aren't thorns, they're guard dogs protecting the gold ingots!"
A burst of laughter erupted from the crowd.
The scissors swished and the fruit branches fell into the baskets in a continuous chorus.
That rustling sound was more pleasant than any musical instrument.
Su Yue bent down and picked up a bunch of fruit that had fallen to the ground.
The peel is thin yet resilient; with a gentle squeeze, golden juice bursts out and drips down between her fingers. She stuck out the tip of her tongue and tasted a little.
acid.
It's so sour it makes your teeth ache, but it also has a wild, sweet aftertaste.
"The oil content is very high." Chen Xinyue had come over at some point, holding a portable refractometer in her hand. She glanced at the reading against the sunlight, "It's two points higher than the batch of raw materials transported from the Northwest. Sister, this saline-alkali land is truly a treasure."
"Those are the fruits that the women raised with their sweat." Su Yue tossed the bunches of fruit into the basket. "Notify the workshop to stop all other orders on production line number one and focus all efforts on processing this batch of fresh fruit. After the sea buckthorn oil is purified, put it directly into storage. Don't waste the fruit pomace and juice."
"Juice?" Chen Xinyue was taken aback. "It's too acidic. Drinking it directly would make your teeth ache."
"Who told you to drink it directly?" Su Yue tapped her head with the tip of her pen. "Add sugar, cook it into jam. Then make a concentrated juice from some of it and sell it to the supply and marketing cooperative as a raw material for soda. These days, sweet and sour things are the most appetizing."
The sun rose higher and higher.
Baskets of golden fruit were loaded onto trucks.
Huo Wenxuan, wearing a floral shirt and sunglasses, stood next to the scale, holding a thick stack of receipts in his hand.
He is now not only the deputy director of the Blue Ocean Factory, but also the farm's biggest "comprador".
"Three thousand five hundred catties! Write it down!"
Huo Wenxuan slammed a delivery note on the table, and with his other hand, he pulled out a stack of brand-new ten-yuan notes from his bag and counted them on the spot.
"Sister Cuihua, here's your group's cash for today. One hundred and seventy-five yuan, take it!"
Cuihua vigorously wiped her hands on her apron and took the stack of money.
Her hands were trembling, and her rough knuckles were white from the force she was exerting.
She didn't rush to put it in her pocket, but instead moistened it with saliva and counted the bills one by one.
"one two three……"
The air around them seemed to freeze. Everyone's eyes were glued to the stack of money.
"Count it!" Cuihua suddenly looked up, her voice so loud it could shake the leaves off the trees, "Sisters! Let's divide the money!"
The cheers nearly lifted the roof off the greenhouse.
This is neither charity nor relief.
This is the dignity they carved out of this desolate wasteland with their calloused hands.
Su Yue stood not far away, watching this scene.
“This is just the beginning,” she said to Huo Wenxuan beside her. “Selling raw materials alone yields too little profit. We need to get into deep processing.”
"What do you want to do?" Huo Wenxuan pushed his sunglasses up to his head. "These women are hardworking, but they don't know many characters. I'm afraid they won't be able to handle complex industrial production."
“Who said we had to do something complicated?” Su Yue pointed to the row of newly built red brick houses in the distance. “Right there, put up a sign that says ‘Military Wives Cooperative.’ Organize those older women who can’t do heavy work to make jam, pickles, and shoe soles. Lan Hai Factory will be responsible for packaging and sales, and the profits will be split 30/70.”
Huo Wenxuan's eyes lit up: "That's a brilliant move. It solves the problem of surplus labor and enriches the product line. Especially the pickled vegetables. Last time, Aunt Zhang made those pickled cowpeas. I took them to a restaurant in the provincial capital as a gift, and the head chef kept asking me for the recipe."
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