When Bai Rong went to the cafeteria to get some hot water, she casually asked, "Sergeant Yu, is it true that our regiment can't grow vegetables?"
Yu Fugui was picking out pumpkin seeds, his hands were full of yellow pulp: "Yeah, what's wrong?"
"I saw the new young comrade in the Military Family Courtyard turning the soil, as if he was going to plant vegetables." She said with a smile while filling the hot water.
"Ah, then I have to go and take a look." Yu Fugui became interested. As for the new comrade, there was no one else except Gu Qinglie's sister. As for growing vegetables?
It seems that Qingqing just came from the countryside and thinks that vegetables can be grown anywhere. She doesn't understand the soil environment here.
He washed his hands, decided on the evening menu with his comrades in the kitchen, and walked leisurely towards the military compound with his hands behind his back.
As he was walking across the playground, he met soldiers marching in formation. He stood up straight, saluted, and then continued walking.
After returning to the military compound, he went to the backyard following the sounds of his children playing.
Looking closely, I saw that the little brat was peeing with his bare buttocks, and Gu Qingqing was bending over and turning the soil.
"Qingqing," Yu Fugui stepped forward and slapped his son, who was wearing open-crotch pants, on the buttocks, and said with a smile, "Are you going to grow vegetables?"
Gu Qingqing glanced sideways and smiled as she watched Xiaoxu struggling while being picked up by his little feet by Yu Fugui.
"Yes, Uncle Yu, we don't have any vegetables here, I want to get some to eat."
"You can't do that. How can you just let Xiaoxu pee in the soil? It will become dead soil. Not only vegetables, but even grass won't grow."
Gu Qingqing stood up, put his hand on the hoe handle, and said after a breath: "It's okay, uncle, this sandy soil leaks water and fertilizer. The temperature here is high, so it will evaporate in no time."
Yu Fugui found it a little funny: "Then why did you trick him into peeing here?"
"At least it's natural fertilizer." Gu Qingqing thought for a moment and asked, "Uncle, have you ever grown vegetables here?"
"There is a pig farm behind our camp. I planted some pumpkins and potatoes there, but not much. There is a water shortage here, so I just bought them at the market and managed the production team's business."
Gu Qingqing's eyes lit up. What a great pig farm! With a pig farm, there is fertilizer. It would be great to use the pigs to make compost!
The land here is too barren, and the grass grows only sparsely.
Yu Fugui could see what she was thinking. "If you really want to grow vegetables, uncle will give you some fertilizer. Rice water and melon and fruit peels can make excellent fertilizer after a few days of mulching. You can also go to the pig farm anytime. I'll just say hello to Lao Zhu."
"Thank you, Uncle Yu!"
"Don't be so quick to thank me," Yu Fugui teased his little son in his arms, and rubbed his daughter's head, "You know that sandy soil cannot hold fertilizer, and this kind of seeds won't sprout even if you sow them. I'm telling you this in advance, so you don't have to work in vain."
"Let's give it a try." Gu Qingqing thought of the diagram of greenhouse vegetables that Brother Meng Nan had drawn for her, and her big black and white eyes rolled around: "Uncle, do you think that if I turn over 60 to 70 centimeters of soil, level the land, cover it with a layer of plastic film, and then backfill with sand and organic fertilizer, can I solve the problem of poor soil and fertilizer and water leakage?"
Yu Fugui was stunned for a moment. He put his son down and patted his butt: "Xiaoxu, go to the front and play with your sister. Daddy has something to discuss with your sister."
"Okay~" Yu Xu followed Yu Tu to the front yard happily. Yu Fugui said solemnly: "The main reason why it is difficult to grow vegetables in the border town is the weather and soil. Uncle listens to your method. The soil can be solved, but what about the weather?"
There is a big temperature difference between day and night in the border town. The temperature of the soil mixed with fine sand is extremely high during the day. Even if the drought-intolerant seedlings are carefully cared for, they will dry out and die due to lack of water in the roots.
"This is easy," Gu Qingqing smiled, "We can try greenhouse planting!"
After hearing this, Yu Fugui pulled her towards the quartermaster's office without saying a word.
Gu Qingqing dropped the hoe and said, "Uncle Yu, I still need to turn the soil!"
"Uncle will find someone to dig it for you!" Yu Fugui said without question, "There are so many boys in the army, do you really need to dig the ground? Let's go to the Quartermaster Department and ask the director for plastic film."
Gu Qingqing was dragged by him all the way to the quartermaster's office, attracting the sidelong glances of passing soldiers.
A soldier patted Gu Qinglie's arm and said, "Platoon Leader Gu, is that our sister?"
Gu Qinglie looked around and saw that it was none other than his sister.
He poked Chu Dai's arm and said, "Why are you so anxious to pull our sister along?"
Chu Dai glanced at it casually and said, "I don't know. Don't just stand there, maybe ten kilometers."
Gu Qinglie: “…”
He accepted his fate and led the team to run.
The quartermaster general's surname was Zhang, and his name was Zhang Chao.
When Yu Fugui hurriedly pulled Gu Qingqing over, he was sitting with his legs crossed, drinking water from a military green teacup.
Gu Qingqing took a look and found that the cup was almost the same as the teacup given to her by her third aunt, except that her cup was newer, while the quartermaster's cup had been rubbed by him so much that only the top and the paint on the bottom were left.
The middle and handle of the cup were bare, and Gu Qingqing couldn't help laughing.
"Old Yu," Zhang Chao saw him coming, with some surprise in his eyes, but he still stood up to pour water for them: "What do you want? Do you want a hoe or a shovel?"
"Nothing." Yu Fugui pulled out a chair for Gu Qingqing to sit down, took the enamel cup and stood beside her, saying seriously, "I have something to tell you."
When Gu Qingqing returned to the military compound, Yu Fugui had already called a platoon of soldiers to help her. The ones from the kitchen team had to cook and couldn't leave, so they were borrowed temporarily.
Chu Dai was not there, as he had taken the soldiers out for training, so he greeted the deputy company commander Feng Tianya.
When Feng Tianya heard that it was possible to grow vegetables, he rolled up his sleeves and ordered a platoon of soldiers. One team turned the soil, and another team followed him to the quartermaster department to get plastic film.
It would be great if we could really grow vegetables!
Soldiers in the Corps often suffer from oral ulcers and bleeding gums. Military doctor Zhao said it was due to a lack of vitamins, or in any case, it was caused by not eating green vegetables.
It wasn't easy for Yu Fugui either. After hearing about this, he went to the train station several times to buy some fresh vegetables shipped from the south. However, probably because of the long transportation time and the high temperature inside the train, the moisture evaporated and the vegetables became wilted, with a layer of yellow leaves on the outside.
Not to mention anything else, no one can stand eating sweet potatoes and potatoes every day. Cabbage, which I used to hate the most at home, has become a popular dish here and is more popular than pork.
If green vegetables can really grow, then the girl from the Gu family has made a great contribution, and the entire corps should thank her ancestors for eighteen generations.
Gu Qingqing didn't understand what he was thinking, and was busy directing the soldiers to build the shed.
"Brother, insert the bamboo strips according to the spacing I drew! Don't go too far back, it won't take up much space." It was just a try, and she was a little nervous that Uncle Yu was making such a big fuss.
What if the vegetables don’t grow? She would be embarrassed in front of the whole corps and also lose face for her brother.
"Ms. Gu, do you think this is okay?"
The company commander took two platoons of people out for training, and the remaining platoon of thirty people was divided into two teams. One team followed the deputy company commander Feng Tianya to jump up and down to cover the plastic film shed, and the other team cut the bamboo and inserted it into the ground to continue turning the soil.
When Chu Dai brought his men back, the work here was still going on in full swing. He pulled a soldier over and asked, "What's going on?"
"Platoon Leader Gu's sister wants to grow vegetables, and the deputy company commander asked us to help." The soldier being questioned was holding ties and wire in his hands, and he looked like he was going to do something big.
Chu Dai looked back at Gu Qinglie, who looked confused, and smiled: "Is there anything else to do?"
"Go to the pig farm and pick up pig manure!"
"Well, go get busy." Chu Dai patted the soldier on the shoulder, and after he left, he said to Gu Qinglie, "Platoon Leader Gu."
"Ah?" Now that the group had not been dismissed, Gu Qinglie straightened up and saluted: "Captain, you say."
"Take your platoon and go to the pig farm to pick up pig manure."
Gu Qinglie: "Yes, Captain!"
He took a platoon to the pig farm. Yu Fugui had already discussed it with Lao Zhu and even prepared the tools.
"Platoon Leader Gu, I've added one kilogram of fertilizer fermentation agent to the pig manure, mixed with some rice bran and straw used for pigpen padding. You can carry it back and pile it on the ground and let it ferment for a few days." Lao Zhu said as he shoveled the mixed pig manure into the bamboo basket with a shovel.
Gu Qinglie quickly called on the soldiers to help, and soon ten loads of pig dung were carried out.
There were still a dozen people helping to clean the pig pens at the pig farm.
Lao Zhu put down his shovel and clapped his hands, then walked over to Gu Qinglie and laughed, "Platoon Leader Gu, your sister is amazing."
Gu Qinglie showed his two little fangs: "This guy has been mischievous and smart since he was young." His eyes were full of pride.
His sister is so capable!
Chu Dai was not idle either. He took off his army green coat and hung it on a bamboo pole, rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt, and walked to the shed to help.
The bamboo bow has been built, and we are just waiting to fill it with pig manure and sand and start covering it with the plastic shed.
As soon as the manure picker came over, Gu Qingqing pointed to the 60-centimeter-wide pit covered with plastic film and said, "First fill it with sand, then put the pig manure in, and then cover it with another layer of sand!"
"Okay, sister, please move aside and leave it to us!"
Gu Qingqing followed his instructions and stood aside. Without looking to the side, she bumped into Chu Dai who was coming over.
Unlike Gu Qinglie who smelled of sweat, Chu Dai had a faint smell of tobacco mixed with the scent of soapberry, which was very refreshing.
Gu Qingqing leaned her back against his chest, raised her head and blinked.
"elder brother?"
"Yeah." Chu Dai looked at her dirty face and laughed, "Why do you call everyone brother?"
Gu Qingqing looked embarrassed: "Because they are almost the same age as my brother."
Chu Dai nodded slightly, his eyes falling on the plastic tent: "You want to grow greenhouse vegetables?"
"Yes," Gu Qingqing reluctantly left him and took a step back: "The temperature difference between day and night in the border town is large, which is not suitable for growing seedlings. Building a greenhouse can keep the temperature constant and produce better fertilizer."
It is too early to sow seeds now. We have to wait until the pig manure is fermented and the soil becomes fertile before we can start. We also have to turn the sandy soil mixed with pig manure and straw from time to time during these few days.
Chu Dai couldn't help but look at the little girl in front of him with new eyes and eyebrows. He stepped forward to help with the composting and left a message: "You can always ask me for help if you need it."
"Okay!" Gu Qingqing smiled happily and said sweetly, "Thank you, brother!"
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