"So much meat, bones and all, is this for making mutton soup?"
"Looks like it."
That made him even more dislikeful of Cheng Chao.
"Look at you, you eat well but don't even think about us. You're not as simple and thoughtful as other people."
Cheng Chao felt a little guilty, but he quickly thought of something else.
"Uncle, they simply set up several troughs in the house and planted vegetables, and they're growing really well. When they put bright green scallions and cilantro in the mutton soup, it's just different."
Can't we grow some? Putting aside everything else, it would be great to have some green vegetables for the New Year, so the brothers could try something new and have a different taste.
Look at this year, spring, summer and autumn, there are plenty of green leafy vegetables, but when winter comes, you can't see a single green leaf, just cabbage, potatoes and radishes.
I'm doing alright; I can even take a break and go out for a treat.
Those guys, all year round, they only get a few slices of meat as a treat. Their stomachs are practically empty. They're all younger than me, at the age when they should be eating a lot, but they only get a tiny bit of food per meal, just enough to fill their bellies. They're all as skinny as sticks. How can they possibly have the strength for training?"
When this topic comes up, nobody wants to talk about mutton soup anymore.
Jian Wenxiu also sat up straight. This was a very important and serious topic.
Cheng Jin, who was in charge of daily life, sighed repeatedly, looking extremely worried, as the New Year was just around the corner.
"How could I not know this? Not to mention them, I'm the same way."
What's up? Have you got some clever ideas? Tell us, we'd love to hear them.
trick?
Cheng Chao stopped caring and tapped the table in thought.
"Uncle, you know, we don't train all the time, do we?"
Cheng Jin and Lin Zhengde exchanged a glance but remained silent.
"Let alone whether they can train all day, in their current state, the brothers simply can't keep up with high-intensity training."
I'm just saying, listen to this, if it works, then think about it again, if not, then pretend I didn't say anything.
Do you think we could try a different training method?
For example, we have ten companies, so we arrange them into shifts, with a ten-day rotation. Each day, nine companies train and one company takes turns on duty.
Today was another day of shifts. No training, what did I do? Farm.
Looking up and seeing that the others showed no signs of anger, he felt relieved and continued speaking.
"We're just saying, nine days on, one day off, that's not too much to ask."
Today it's Company 1, tomorrow Company 2, so there are people working every day. With over a hundred people in each company, even if it's just clearing land, there's so much wasteland here, they can clear quite a bit every day.
In other words, on average, assuming one person per acre, wouldn't the harvest be substantial this year, regardless of what you plant? I don't know much about this, but I know that a higher harvest means more food for the brothers.
Cheng Jin seemed to be deep in thought.
"continue!"
"Yes, things are chaotic outside right now. We're not exactly feudal, capitalist, or revisionist, are we? Even if we're being criticized, we're still self-sufficient, aren't we?"
Farming, raising pigs, raising chickens, what can't you do?
If we make it too big all at once, that won't be good. So let's just farm. Even if we just grow grain, we can still harvest a lot.
If you're craving meat, just head into the mountains. What, can't we hunt wild boars there? A few times a year, and the brothers can satisfy their cravings, right?
Tell me, what are our brothers doing risking their lives for?
"We've already established a country, what's the point? Isn't it just to have enough to eat?"
Seeing that they were indeed interested, he breathed a soft sigh of relief.
"Actually, if you ask me, the outside world is the outside world. Since ancient times, military and political affairs have not been interfered with. Let's just guard our own little corner of the world. Brothers, eat well, train hard, and improve our combat effectiveness. When others want to bully us, they'll have to think twice."
Cheng Jin pondered quietly for a while, then suddenly asked a question.
"What triggered this sudden burst of inspiration?"
"Uncle, do you know what I saw in the simple cellar?"
It's not just those refined grains; those are all available for purchase. I know that, so it's not surprising.
And then there were all those vegetables, not to mention cabbage and potatoes, there were also squash, zucchini, gourds, green beans, eggplants, watermelons, a few pounds of melon seeds, and some sweet stalks. You know, I ate that once when I was a kid a few years ago. She had almost everything that could be grown in the summer in her cellar, the shelves were full of it. I was so surprised at the time, there were more varieties than in our cafeteria.
On my way back, I was thinking about this. You know, she's a 15 or 16-year-old girl who has never done farm work before. She came to the countryside all by herself, and she can work without holding anyone back. She can also manage the garden very well. That small backyard supports her life, and she can still save so much stuff all year round.
You know, there are over a thousand of us grown men, and we're just relying on the meager grain supplies from the government, and we're still going hungry.
Yes, men should strive to achieve great things, but shouldn't they first fill their stomachs? What can you do on an empty stomach?
The saying goes that men are responsible for external affairs and women for internal affairs, but we don't have any family members here, so we have to take care of everything ourselves.
What could be more important than our stomachs? There are so many of us, we're full of energy, are we just going to stand there and starve?"
Jian Wenxiu also spoke calmly.
I think it's okay.
No matter how intensive the training, if you're still hungry, it's like the foundation wasn't laid properly. Something's bound to go wrong sooner or later.
Cheng Jin, this is getting more and more serious?
“Alright, let’s discuss it. Anyway, we can’t clear the land today, so we can start working on the indoor one first, just to test it out. Tomorrow I’ll find someone to make the trench, and Cheng Chao, you take some men to help with the digging. Let’s give it a try. If it works, the brothers can have a taste too. That’s fine.”
"Okay, then what about the mutton and bones?"
"Send it to Old Zhang and tell him to make a good mutton soup for the brothers tomorrow."
"Okay!"
Startled, Jian Xin inevitably woke up twice more during the night. Having learned from experience, she immediately hugged the child and gently patted him, and thankfully, the night passed smoothly.
However, inevitably, the two of them overslept again the next day.
The outside world was a vast expanse of white, and the two sisters were too listless to move. They ate the mutton soup they had specially saved from the night before, made two bowls of noodles, and snuggled up on the kang (heated brick bed) to watch the snow outside.
Before long, the little girl couldn't stay still any longer.
"Sister, want to go out and play in the snow?"
I glanced briefly at her bandaged little hand.
"What are you using to play? Your feet?"
The little girl immediately started pouting, pinched her cheeks, got up and went outside. She really had to sweep a path through the yard.
"Come here, put on your cotton-padded coat."
"good!"
As soon as she saw that she could go out, her face immediately lit up.
"Sister, I'm going to step on the footprints. Look how well Jixiang and the others have made them!"
"Okay, go ahead and step on it, but don't use your hands, or you'll have to come inside right now."
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