Chapter 14 : Wasteland on the Riverbank

The regiment was stationed in a remote area.  

The unemployed women in the family compound were very bored, and they were always looking for gossip to stir up trouble.  

Once they heard rumors, they couldn’t keep their mouths shut.  

Regardless of whether the people involved were present or not, the sisters-in-law eagerly discussed the topic.  

Lu Fangfang overheard a name being mentioned repeatedly, Xiao Ting.  

Judging from their tones, the sisters-in-law seemed very dissatisfied with Xiao Ting. When they heard that she was Zhuang Mingcheng’s fiancée, they all appeared to gloat over her misfortune.  

“Bah, what nonsense are you talking about? Captain Zhuang is not that kind of person.”  

The round-faced sister-in-law next to her couldn’t take it anymore and glared at the group.  

She was a kind-hearted person and had some influence in the family compound.  

As soon as she spoke, the gossiping sisters-in-law shut their mouths in embarrassment.  

But judging by the smug expressions on their faces, it was clear they would continue gossiping later.  

The round-faced sister-in-law looked at Lu Fangfang apologetically and said, “Comrade, don’t listen to their nonsense. None of it is true.”  

Lu Fangfang smiled, unconcerned.  

Yesterday in the reception room, she had seen the military doctor named Xiao Ting with her own eyes, she was very beautiful.  

If Zhuang Mingcheng were interested in Xiao Ting, he wouldn’t have asked her to be his revolutionary partner.  

In this era, personal conduct and moral issues were taken very seriously, unlike in later generations.  

In this regard, Lu Fangfang wasn’t worried about Zhuang Mingcheng after all, he was a soldier!  

As she continued washing clothes, Lu Fangfang started chatting with the round-faced sister-in-law.  

From their conversation, she learned that the sister-in-law’s name was Sun Manling, and she was the wife of the instructor of the Second Battalion of the First Regiment. She had been living in the family compound for several years.  

“Sister Manling, is there a supply and marketing cooperative near our regiment?”  

Lu Fangfang had only brought a few sets of clothes with her, and nothing else.  

Now that she had the fifty yuan given to her by Zhuang Mingcheng, she planned to buy some personal necessities.  

Sun Manling nodded and pointed to a path across the river. “Follow this path for about half an hour, and you’ll reach the Sandagou Commune. There’s a small supply and marketing cooperative there, but they don’t have much in stock.”  

Sun Manling wrung out the clothes in her hands and continued:  

“At the end of every month, our regiment sends a truck to the county. The sisters-in-law usually go there to shop since the county has everything we need.”  

Lu Fangfang stopped washing and listened carefully.  

“Oh, by the way, there’s a sister-in-law from the Second Regiment who works as a salesperson in the food market. If we shop there, she’ll take care of us. I’ll introduce you to her when there’s a chance.”  

“Salesperson…”  

Lu Fangfang was extremely envious upon hearing this.  

Many people underestimated sales clerks, thinking their job was just selling goods.  

But in this era, salespeople were highly respected and considered one of the five “iron rice bowl” jobs. If one person worked as a salesperson, their entire family would benefit.  

This wasn’t an exaggeration. In a time of material shortages, whenever good products arrived at stores, they were often bought internally before they even hit the shelves.  

Not to mention, they also had internal discounts. Isn’t that a great job?  

Seeing Lu Fangfang’s reaction, Sun Manling wasn’t surprised, she herself was quite envious.  

“Sister Manling, when is the trip to the county this month?”  

Sun Manling thought for a moment and said, “Today is the 27th. The truck will leave in three days. If you want to go, be at the family compound gate early in the morning and wait for me. Don’t forget.”  

With three days left, there was no rush to go to the supply and marketing cooperative.  

Lu Fangfang thanked her and made up her mind to go to the county with the sisters-in-law in three days.  

Last time, she had left in a hurry and hadn’t had a proper chance to explore the county.  

After chatting with Sister-in-law Manling for a little longer, Lu Fangfang focused on washing clothes.  

Her cotton jacket was very dirty. Even after scrubbing it twice with soap, it still didn’t look clean.  

If supplies weren’t so scarce in this era, she would have wanted to throw it away because of how filthy it was.  

After wringing out the water, Lu Fangfang looked up at the other side of the river.  

Across the river, there was a large stretch of land. Unlike the surrounding areas, there was no withered grass covering it, it looked like it had been cultivated.  

It stood out noticeably against the vast grassland.  

Lu Fangfang pointed at it curiously and asked, “Sister Manling, is that wasteland over there?”  

“Yes,” Sun Manling nodded. “The regiment reclaimed that land, but the soil is poor and thin, so the annual crop yield is low.”  

“Sister-in-law, I heard from Sister Shufen that our regiment has a policy where people in the family compound can reclaim land. They give a portion of the annual harvest to the regiment, and the rest is theirs. Is that true?”  

Hearing this, Sun Manling immediately realized that Lu Fangfang was considering reclaiming land.  

She quickly advised her, “Fangfang, the land here is different from other places. It’s covered in thick grass, and breaking new ground is not easy. Besides, the soil is poor, and new farmland doesn’t produce much. You’d be better off finding a stable job instead.”  

“Our regiment does have this policy, but very few sisters-in-law in the family compound are willing to reclaim land. Most of them just grow some vegetables near their homes.”  

Worried that Lu Fangfang might get the wrong idea, Sun Manling pointed north and continued:  

“At first, a sister-in-law tried to open up farmland to grow some food to supplement their household, but the yield was lower than the amount of seeds they planted. In the end, she gave up, and the land became barren again.”  

Lu Fangfang put down the clothes in her hands.  

She stood up and looked in the direction Sun Manling had pointed.  

Sure enough, upstream, there was a patch of land that looked different from the rest.  

That piece of land must have been carefully chosen, it had a prime location right at the bend of the creek, with water flowing both above and below. If she planted crops there, irrigation would be convenient.  

The more Lu Fangfang looked at it, the more excited she became. She quickly asked:  

“Sister Manling, is that piece of wasteland still available?”  

Sun Manling was stunned for a moment, then sighed helplessly.  

It seemed Lu Fangfang hadn’t given up on the idea of reclaiming land after all.  

Forget it, young people love ambitious plans. They’ll understand the difficulties once they run into obstacles.  

Sun Manling nodded and said, “The sister-in-law who originally farmed there has already moved away with her husband. If you want to use the land, just apply with the regiment. No one else will compete with you.”  

As she spoke, Sun Manling chuckled.  

The sisters-in-law living in the family compound all had husbands with stable, well-paying jobs. Their families were financially secure, and they even managed to save money.  

Some of them weren’t even willing to take on regular jobs, let alone do backbreaking work like land reclamation.  

But in reality, their hands were tied.  

In this era, everything required ration tickets to buy. Money alone was useless.  

The men’s salaries might be high, but without enough ration tickets, even spending money was difficult.  

Lu Fangfang didn’t care what Sister Manling thought. That piece of land upstream was like a dream come true for her.  

She had already made up her mind, once she moved into the family quarters, she would apply for the land with the regiment.  

With that land, she would have food to raise chickens and quails.  

“Fangfang, if you really want to do something, you might as well raise sheep,” Sun Manling suggested. “You wouldn’t even need to reclaim land. Our regiment is surrounded by grasslands, so grazing them would be easy.”  

“But you can’t raise too many. The grass around the regiment is for the military horses. If you have too many sheep, the regiment will object. One or two would be fine.”  

Lu Fangfang nodded. She had actually been thinking about raising sheep, and she could even use sheep manure to fertilize her crops.  

Gazing at the distant snow-capped mountains, she felt an intense desire to start working on her plans right away.  

The Qilian Mountains, she had definitely come to the right place.