60s Military Life : Fleeing Famine and Marrying a Cavalry Officer
60s Military Life : Fleeing Famine and Marrying a Cavalry Officer Chapter 60

Chapter 60 : Two hundred meters of rapeseed flowers, two military vehicles

Lu Fangfang had dinner at home, took a short nap, and then headed to the wasteland by the riverbank.  

She raked a small plot of land, preparing to plant spinach.  

Wang Shufen strode over, carrying a bucket of water.  

Lifting the bucket, she poured all the water onto the soil. “Sister, when the spinach grows, I’ll pick some to eat.”  

Since she had a large family, she prioritized planting more potatoes, leaving no extra space for spinach.  

“Sister Shufen, feel free to come and eat. I don’t know when Mingcheng will be back, and I can’t finish it all by myself.”  

Lu Fangfang took out a bag of spinach seeds. When she saw the water had seeped into the soil, she carefully scattered the seeds evenly.  

She had grown more skilled in farm work, ensuring the seeds were sown properly.  

Picking up a shovel, she scooped up some soil and gently covered the seeds.  

With the spinach planted, the two of them found themselves with some free time.  

The seeds in the nursery field had just been sown and hadn’t even sprouted yet, so it wasn’t time to plant other vegetables.  

Wang Shufen glanced at the field and asked, “Sister, how many rapeseed seeds do you have?”  

Lu Fangfang took out a cloth bag and revealed a large bundle of rapeseed seeds, leftovers from planting the first piece of land.  

Wang Shufen nodded. “That’s quite a lot. I have a big bag too. Let’s plant all the rapeseed seeds this afternoon.”  

She pointed to the riverbank and said, “You take the upstream area, and I’ll go downstream.”  

Lu Fangfang looked up at the riverbank, it was a big task.  

Grabbing a hoe and her rapeseed, she walked toward the riverbank.  

The land closest to the river was mostly sand and gravel, making it impossible to grow anything.  

A few steps further inland, weeds and small, unknown shrubs covered the ground. She stepped on the soil and saw it was black and fertile.  

Raising her hoe, Lu Fangfang swung it hard.  

‘Bang!’  

A large chunk of black soil was dug up.  

The rapeseed planted here might not yield a full harvest, so she didn’t plan to reclaim all the land. Instead, she simply turned over the soil and scattered the seeds.  

When autumn came, whatever could be harvested would be a bonus.  

The soil near the shore was especially hard. Lu Fangfang lifted her hoe and swung it forcefully.  

She kept working tirelessly, overturning the soil until the sky began to darken.  

Wiping the sweat from her forehead, she looked back and realized she had covered dozens of meters. Sister Shufen was barely visible in the distance.  

Carrying her hoe, she walked over and called for Sister Shufen, and the two of them returned to the family compound.  

—  

The next day, Lu Fangfang picked up her hoe and continued working along the riverbank.  

In addition to rapeseed seeds, she had also brought some sunflower seeds.  

The soil along the shore was incredibly fertile, so she decided to plant a row of sunflowers behind the rapeseed.  

She imagined the scene first, the rapeseed flowers blooming, followed by the sunflowers. It would be breathtakingly beautiful.  

She wasn’t sure if they would bloom at the same time, but she felt they should be close.  

From yesterday afternoon until today, Lu Fangfang had been working upstream, turning over the soil. In a single day, she had covered nearly 200 meters.  

Looking back, she found it hard to believe.  

“I’m really amazing.”  

Lu Fangfang couldn’t help but admire herself.  

Looking further upstream, she saw a vast stretch of flat land, but she had no intention of expanding further. She had already cleared enough land to plant all the rapeseed seeds she had.  

“If this turns out to be a good harvest, it’ll be incredible.”  

Lu Fangfang did a quick mental calculation and suddenly felt a bit overwhelmed.  

If all the rapeseed plants flourished, they could produce at least 40 to 50 kilograms of rapeseed oil.  

Forty to fifty kilograms…

The fact that she had boiled five kilograms of butter became widely known throughout the hospital. If it were forty or fifty kilograms, the commotion would be even greater. Lu Fangfang didn’t want to attract too much attention in the staff quarters.  

During a break, she shared her concerns with Wang Shufen.  

Wang Shufen laughed and joked, “Sister, the way you said it made me think you had already produced rapeseed oil.”  

Lu Fangfang felt a little embarrassed.  

“Don’t worry, girl. There’s plenty of wasteland near the regiment. If anyone is jealous, let them go reclaim land themselves. And if someone tries to act nasty, just know my man isn’t someone to mess with.”  

“That’s true.”  

Lu Fangfang felt reassured. She wanted to keep a low profile, but she also wouldn’t allow herself to be pushed around.  

After resting for a while, she grabbed the rapeseed seeds and scattered them into the freshly tilled soil.  

Then, she spread some straw over the surface and raked the ground again.  

Since there weren’t many sunflower seeds, she spaced them out while planting.  

Worried that the soil might not be fertile enough, she shoveled some horse manure from the field and placed it next to the sunflower seeds.  

By the time they finished their work, night had already fallen.  

Lu Fangfang stretched her back, nearly exhausted. “Sister Shufen, I’m taking tomorrow off, I won’t be coming.”  

Wang Shufen looked at her carefully.  

Seeing that her face was rosy and she didn’t seem unwell, she felt reassured.  

“Sister, your health is the most important thing. If you’re tired, take a few extra days off and eat well. Don’t overwork yourself.”  

“Sister Shufen, don’t worry, I won’t mistreat myself.”  

Lu Fangfang responded with a smile.  

When she got home, she boiled some quail eggs and fried cabbage with butter.  

The more she worked, the more she ate.  

After a few days, she felt like she had gained weight, but she was also exhausted.  

As soon as she finished eating, she went straight to bed, too tired to do anything else.  

—  

The Next Day, at the Regiment Headquarters  

‘Ring, ring, ring…’  

“Hello, this is Gao Dajiang.”  

Gao Dajiang held the phone receiver, looking slightly annoyed. “Speak up, or I’m hanging up.”  

After a brief silence, a weak voice came through the line.  

“Captain… Captain, it’s me, Li Dajun.”  

Gao Dajiang frowned, his tone turning displeased. “Li Dajun? Where are you? Why are you calling me?”  

“Captain, I’m at the county train station. Can you send someone to pick me up?”  

“What? Pick you up?”  

Gao Dajiang was so angry his nose almost went crooked. “Li Dajun, you bastard, do you even hear yourself? Get back here immediately!”  

“Captain, Captain, please don’t hang up! I bought a lot of things, and I can’t carry them all by myself. Please send a vehicle to pick me up.”  

“Captain, Haimei and I are getting married soon, please.”   

“…Just this once, and never again.”  

Gao Dajiang’s face darkened, not wanting to hear another word from Li Dajun.  

“Captain, Captain, Haimei and I bought a lot of things. Please send two vehicles, two military trucks. Don’t forget.”  

“Hello? Hello?”  

Gao Dajiang stared at the receiver in his hand, frozen in place, speechless.

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