Chapter 73 Acquaintances
There were still half a load of bricks left on the truck, and the tractor's back was also full of bricks.
Wang Haiquan spotted a familiar face in the crowd beside the car and went up to greet him warmly: "Comrade Wei, what a coincidence! You've been transferred here? What are you doing here?"
Sweat dripping from his forehead, Wei Yang turned his head and saw not Wang Haiquan, but Song Lubai, who had become darker and thinner.
Although I've gotten darker and thinner, I seem to look healthier.
Their eyes met unexpectedly, and Song Lubai smiled and nodded at him.
Wei Yang also smiled.
The instructor took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and handed one to each of the comrades.
Wang Haiquan turned to the group and said, "You should all go back and eat first."
After the main force left, only the political instructor, the company commander, and a few other men, including Wei Yang, were left standing by the truck talking.
"Has the location for the company been chosen?"
The instructor and company commander both knew that their 25th Company was there to be the vanguard in digging the canal.
According to information from the organization, more and more young people will be brought in from big cities to participate in construction, and the local units need to be established first.
Once the irrigation canal is dug, land needs to be developed for future generations to cultivate. Once the houses are built, they can be provided for the young people who come to participate in the construction. Only with houses can everyone feel at ease staying here.
Wei Yang was the newly assigned deputy director of the Armed Forces Department of the Sixth Factory. Although the title sounded good, given the current situation of the Sixth Factory, their Armed Forces Department was just a brick, to be moved wherever needed.
Wei Yang is a very motivated person. Compared with the densely populated and fertile big cities in the mainland, most areas of XJ can be described as barren, and the population is pitifully small. He is very much looking forward to the process and results of population and agricultural development, and he will do his best to participate in it.
A group of men gave a brief overview of the future plans for this land. Wei Yang looked at Wang Haiquan and asked, "Director Wang, your business department is digging a large canal as soon as they arrive. Can they handle it?"
Wang Haiquan laughed and said, "Labor training is a must. The tasks are assigned by the organization. There are many young people from Shanghai in the camp. They have been working for more than four months and they can do it. There is no reason why our people from the Commercial Department cannot handle it."
"They're all good comrades. There's no one slacking off in the team I brought. The female comrades are afraid of holding the team back if they work slowly. Instructor Zhang, Company Commander Wu, don't you agree?"
Company Commander Wu nodded in deep agreement, "The group of men you brought is indeed excellent. No one is lazy or shirking their duties, and their ideological awareness is very high."
“Comrade Wei, I don’t think you’ll finish unloading these bricks by nightfall. Why don’t you go to our camp and have something hot to eat first? After you’ve eaten, I’ll call the men to help you. Once you’re done, you can rest in our camp for the night.”
Wei Yang and his group had been busy all day and planned to return to the factory after unloading the bricks, but they didn't have enough manpower and went the wrong way on the way, which delayed them.
After discussing it for a while, Hou Weiyang said, "Your comrades have been working hard all day, so let's not ask them for help. We have some dry rations with us, so we won't waste your camp's food. However, we still need you to make room for us in two dugouts tonight. If you can't make room, we can sleep on the ground outside."
Wei Yang was also visiting XJ for the first time and had never lived in a dugout before, but he longed to, so he made this request.
The company commander and political instructor readily agreed.
Dinner at the campsite consisted of multigrain flatbread with salty tomato soup.
The savory soup still didn't contain much solid food, just tomatoes and a little leafy greens. The soup was almost entirely water, and the taste was only slightly salty.
The only purpose of this soup is to help you swallow the hard-to-swallow dry bread.
Just as Song Lubai was about to finish the salty soup in the lunchbox, she was surprised to find the dead, fat green caterpillar that had been boiled and soaked until it turned white.
"Hoo"
I almost threw up the food I just swallowed.
Her reaction drew the attention of the women around her, and when they saw the large green worms floating in the lunchbox, none of them could eat anymore.
"Hey Lu Shuangshuang, don't you guys wash the vegetables?"
Several girls from the cooking squad approached and saw large green worms floating in the bowl.
"Hey, I thought it was something else, it's just a green caterpillar. Is that considered meat? I heard someone say that people in his hometown eat fried silkworm pupae."
Song Lubai pushed the lunchbox forward, "Then this meat is for you to eat."
Lu Shuangshuang took a step back and chuckled dryly, "What's in your bowl is yours, I'm not going to fight you for it."
Song Lubai picked out the bugs and said with an unfriendly expression, "Could you wash them more thoroughly next time?"
Seeing that she was about to pour out the remaining soup, Lu Shuangshuang quickly said, "We can't waste food, we can't pour it out."
Song Lubai handed the lunchbox to her, "Here, have some."
If there are any dried ingredients in the soup, Song Lubai will never throw it away.
Lu Shuangshuang shut her mouth.
Who will eat your slap?
The soup was cooked in the same pot. Some people didn't have any in their bowls, so they just slurped it down without a care in the world. Others, being more particular, would pour the soup out when no one was looking.
After finishing her meal and washing up, Song Lubai lay on the reed bed and subconsciously scratched her head. When she realized what was happening, she sat up straight, took out a comb from under her military uniform jacket (which served as a pillow), and started combing her hair.
"Feng Ying, is your head still itchy? My head has been itchy for the past two days."
Feng Ying was rummaging through something on the side. After putting it in her pocket, she grabbed Song Lubai and said, "Come on, come with me to the restroom. I got my period."
There were no public toilets around the camp, but there was a mound a few hundred meters away that was high enough to completely block people out, and almost everyone in the camp came here to use the toilet.
When a girl needs to go to the toilet, it's best if someone keeps watch so that someone can be alerted when they come.
When they reached the vicinity of the mound, the two deliberately made noises. Only when there was no response from the inside of the mound did Feng Ying dare to go in.
It was already dark, the perfect time for mosquitoes to swarm.
Song Lubai scratched his head and arms, busy as a bee.
After Feng Ying finished relieving herself and came out, Song Lubai went in.
After they had both resolved their issues, they walked back together.
Feng Ying whispered in Song Lubai's ear, "Do you have any paper in your luggage? I don't have enough stuff."
These days, paper is a precious commodity. Department stores have limited supplies, and it's expensive. Song Lubai's mother can't even count the number of times she buys paper in a year on one hand.
On weekdays, her family uses discarded newspapers and some old notebooks to go to the toilet. They just crumple the paper to soften it before using it.
As for her period, her mother prepared a sanitary belt for her, with a piece of cloth sewn onto it and strips of cloth sewn with old cotton stuffing inside. Sometimes, it would also be filled with wood ash from the stove.
She explained her situation in a low voice, and Feng Ying slapped her forehead in regret, "You definitely can't buy paper here. I forgot to prepare these things. I thought I could buy those things once we got here and into the city. Who would have thought we'd end up in this godforsaken place..."
Before they could finish speaking, the two girls saw a shadowy figure running past in the distance, and they both screamed.
"ah…"
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