Chapter 66 Situation
On the earthen table under the shed were two large pots. One pot contained dry rice mixed with millet whose husks were not completely removed, and the other pot contained stir-fried green beans with meat.
Wang Haiquan, holding an empty lunchbox, stood in line and said, "You've all been traveling for days and haven't had a proper meal. Eat as much as you want today, until you're full, and then get a good night's rest."
The cook serving the food also said, "Yes, eat your fill, there's no limit to how much you can eat today."
Although there were some millet grains in the rice that hadn't been completely husked and were still a bit sour, the bowl was full, and everyone was satisfied even though it was sour.
After all, even at home, not every family can afford to eat rice every meal, and the number of times they eat plain white rice each month is limited.
There were no extra tables and chairs, so everyone squatted around the shed to eat, surrounded by candles.
"Director Wang, what kind of work are we mainly doing here?"
Wang Haiquan hadn't had a decent meal on the train, and now he ate without even looking up, swallowing the food in his mouth. He said, "The canal diggers, once the canals are dug, the surrounding land can be irrigated, and the crops planted will yield a good harvest."
Everyone nodded.
At that time, they had no concept of the massive physical labor involved in digging the canal. They felt that they had learned something useful from Director Wang's answer and had no idea of the hardships that lay ahead.
"Director, are we starting work tomorrow?"
Wang Haiquan shook his head: "I'll give you a day to rest. We'll officially start the day after tomorrow. If you want to buy daily necessities, ask someone to buy them for you tomorrow. It's more than 40 miles from here to the factory headquarters, so it's inconvenient to go out."
Song Lubai started burping after eating a full lunchbox of rice and vegetables. She wanted to have another bowl, but her eyes were bigger than her stomach and her belly wouldn't cooperate.
There was a well nearby, and everyone was using buckets filled with water to wash their utensils.
The big, round moon hung in the sky, enough for everyone to see the surrounding scenery clearly.
Upon arrival, everyone wanted to explore the surroundings, but unfortunately, there were too many mosquitoes, and the bites made it unbearable to stay.
A candle sat on the earthen table inside the dugout, illuminating the incredibly simple interior.
Although the bed was larger than a regular bed, it was still difficult for six people to even turn over when squeezed in.
Although we didn't do any physical labor during the days on the train, we still felt very tired. The women tidied up quickly and went to bed to sleep.
As soon as I sat down on the bed, I heard a strange noise coming from underneath. I lifted the gray regenerative sheet and saw that it was covered with dry reeds.
No wonder it made a whooshing sound as soon as I sat down.
Good days are always relative.
Although we didn't live a particularly good life before, at least we slept in wooden beds, and our houses had windows and doors, and were built on the ground.
Unlike here, with earthen beds and tables, no doors or windows, and underground.
The six of them were crammed together, and it was hard to stay in one position for long. Every time they turned over, there was a whooshing sound from under them. Just when they finally felt sleepy, mosquitoes flew up to their ears and buzzed, making them scratch and bite.
Feng Ying, who was lying next to Song Lubai, sat up angrily and swatted at the mosquitoes with her hands clasped together.
Feng Ying's actions caused the other people who weren't asleep to sit up as well.
Song Lubai tugged at the people around her, "Sisters, lie down and keep sleeping. If you keep complaining, you won't be able to fall asleep in the middle of the night."
The group agreed, and angrily lay back down.
As Feng Ying lay down, she grumbled angrily, "Why can't we just get rid of mosquitoes? They fly around like flies as soon as the weather gets hot, they're so annoying."
Feng Ying and Song Lubai lay face to face. Song Lubai chuckled and said, "Go invent a drug to kill flies and mosquitoes. If you succeed, you will be a great hero to mankind."
Feng Ying gently pinched her, "You dare to tease me? If I were that capable, wouldn't I have gotten into a junior college?"
The others burst out laughing.
No one could fall asleep for a while, so they just lay in bed chatting.
I had difficulty falling asleep that night, and everyone woke up with aches and pains in their backs.
Because those reed stalks underneath are really uncomfortable.
The lighting was poor down there; even though it was already bright outside and the sun had risen, the dugout was still very dark.
Last night, the light was dim, so I didn't notice that a small ventilation window had been dug in the upper left corner of the entrance, covered by a gray cloth curtain.
"There's not even a door. What if our things get stolen if we leave them here?"
With so many people on the train, some people still steal things at night. This dugout doesn't even have a door. Once they all leave, someone can sneak in and steal things without even finding a way to steal them.
Everyone thought it was unreliable and reported the situation to Wang Haiquan.
The political instructor of the 25th Company, who came to Lawati to reclaim wasteland, was talking to Wang Haiquan. Upon hearing this, he said, "If you trust me, put your valuable and infrequently used items in the locked storage room. Only the company commander and I have the key to that dugout. If you need to take anything, you have to tell us."
What's there to hesitate about? Everyone's happy to put their stuff in the locked dugout.
Only in broad daylight can you see how many dugouts there are in this area.
The dugouts were arranged neatly, with each dugout about two meters apart on the left and right and more than ten meters apart in front and behind, making them look very densely packed.
Unless you get close, you can't see the downward-facing opening and have no idea what's below.
The rest of the company had already gone to dig ditches with shovels and hoes, leaving only the newcomers huddled together eating coarse grain buns and drinking porridge.
The entire morning, Song Lubai and her group of newcomers explored the surrounding area thoroughly.
The ditch was dug about a mile away. The land in the vicinity was mostly saline-alkali soil, so bad that you were afraid of sinking if you stepped in. There was very little vegetation in the land, but a kind of grass covered in thorns was very resilient and could actually grow in the saline-alkali soil.
If you want to buy daily necessities, you need to give the money and receipts to Comrade Zhao Aiguo, the tractor driver who delivers vegetables and supplies to and from the company.
The truck that brought them yesterday didn't belong to the farm; it left this morning.
Due to the inconvenient transportation, everyone here relies on this tractor for their daily necessities, farm work, and hauling goods. It can be said that this tractor is a great contributor to the company.
Under the scorching sun, June here is excessively hot compared to Henan Province.
It wasn't so bad at midday, and even with a jacket on, it wasn't hot, but by noon, even wearing short sleeves was unbearably hot.
After digging the canal all morning, the company workers returned carrying shovels and hoes, and couldn't help but take a second look at this group of city youths who were obviously cleaner and younger than them.
When we arrived yesterday, it was already late, and the two sides did not have a formal meeting.
As the two sized each other up, Song Lubai nodded inwardly, realizing that what she had heard about the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps and its subordinate units was true; it was likely that most of the soldiers and their units were indeed bachelors.
Among the crowd opposite, some of the young people were clearly urban youths who had not been to Xinjiang for long.
As for the group of older, weathered-looking people, they are probably soldiers who were demobilized in XJ in the past. This group can now be considered "old military reclamation workers".
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