Chapter 59: Building Shelters and Stoves, Preparing for Work

Even after traveling through the night, exhausted and barely able to stand, the people from Liujiawan were immediately assigned to work.

The newly arrived educated youths, in particular, were thrown straight into carrying soil—a task so grueling that they nearly wanted to die.

Qi Zhijun, trembling under the weight of two full baskets of soil, hunched over as his shoulders ached unbearably. His legs wobbled, and he could barely stand upright.

He regretted everything.

Why, as a young master from a prestigious military-political family in Beijing, was he here carrying dirt like a common farmhand?

For Fang Rou?

But… Fang Rou wasn’t even here.

She had gone to work as a primary school teacher.

Zhang Xiaojun and Liu Daye also looked like they were about to collapse. However, Zhang Xiaojun was cunning—he deliberately wobbled his shoulder pole to shake off some soil, making his load significantly lighter.

Liu Daye quickly caught on and did the same. The two of them dragged their feet, speeding up only when someone urged them and slowing down again when no one was watching.

Among the new male educated youths, only Cai Mingcheng worked seriously.

As exhausting as the labor was, he could earn a full yuan per day—comparable to a city job. Since this was one of his rare chances to make money, he cherished it, gritting his teeth and pushing through.

Among the female educated youths, Qin Fangfang shared the same mindset.

It seemed that heaven favored the simple-minded. Though Qin Fangfang wasn’t particularly clever, she possessed exceptional strength—her physique even surpassing that of most male educated youths. With a steady grip on her shoulder pole, she lifted two fully loaded baskets of soil as if they weighed nothing.

She could even keep pace with the men.

Meanwhile, another female educated youth, Liu Yan, struggled with just two half-filled baskets. She wobbled as she walked, her steps unsteady.

Then, in a moment of misstep, she lost her balance and fell straight into a pit of soil. Covered in dust, she burst into tears, sobbing so loudly that the entire worksite could hear her.

Song Lanlan, who was busy digging, heard the crying and immediately snapped, “Liu Yan, you coward! Try wailing like that again, and I’ll bury you right here!”

Liu Yan had been tormented by Song Lanlan for some time now and had developed a sort of PTSD from it. The moment she heard Song Lanlan’s voice, she choked back her sobs, slowly crawled out of the pit, and picked up her empty baskets.

Under the disdainful gazes of the older women digging nearby, she shakily set off again with her baskets of soil.

While chaos reigned among the new educated youths, things were running smoothly on Ming Dai’s side.

After confirming their designated living area with the site supervisor, Ming Dai carefully selected a suitable spot to build a straw hut for cooking.

All the huts in the area were built from locally sourced materials, so whatever they needed, they had to gather from the mountain themselves.

After handing her basket over to Liu Guoqiang, who was keeping track of supplies, Ming Dai picked up a hatchet and an axe, then headed up the mountain with Zhou Sinian and Huang Dalian.

She had already planned out the structure of their hut in advance and knew exactly what kind of wood they needed. Without hesitation, she directed Zhou Sinian to cut down the trees.

Huang Dalian had never seen Zhou Sinian chop wood before. Within just a few swift strokes—shua, shua, shua—a massive tree came crashing down.

That was it? Just like that?

Could it be that the trees here were easier to cut?

Curious, she lifted her own axe and struck a nearby tree. The blade barely left a shallow mark.

Oh… So it wasn’t the tree. It was Zhou Sinian.

Before long, Zhou Sinian had finished cutting all the wood they needed.

Ming Dai had specifically chosen pine trees. Evergreen throughout the seasons, their thick pine needles would make an excellent roofing material—far superior to dry grass.

Before long, the three of them had dragged all the wood back to their living area.

Liu Guoqiang had come on this trip as a temporary replacement for the brigade leader who had taken leave. This meant he was earning double wages while having a relatively easy job, so he was quite content with his role.

Seeing the three of them return so quickly with such a large haul of wood, he was visibly surprised.

Huang Dalian simply raised a thumbs-up in Zhou Sinian’s direction. That was all it took for Liu Guoqiang to silently drop any further questions.

After all, he too had been on the receiving end of Zhou Sinian’s slaps before—though he had only been caught in the crossfire, the pain was just as real.

Ming Dai gave the instructions, Zhou Sinian did the work, and their teamwork was so seamless that there was no room for anyone else to interfere.

Huang Dalian, seeing no place for herself in their efficient rhythm, decided to go retrieve the rations allotted to their group from Liujiawan.

Zhou Sinian worked at an impressive speed. In less than an hour, he had already finished setting up their small shed for cooking and sleeping.

Among the rows of dull yellow straw huts, their little green shelter stood out, looking rather nice. Ming Dai was quite satisfied with it.

Next came the task of building the stove.

Unlike the others who built their stoves outside, Ming Dai planned to place theirs inside the hut and construct a chimney within. She had just checked the surroundings and noticed plenty of broken stones that could be used.

Her main reason was practicality—having the stove inside would provide warmth while they cooked.

Once she made her decision, she wasted no time.

To her surprise, Zhou Sinian seemed to know how to construct a stove. After listening to her requirements, he emptied his large basket and set off to gather stones.

When he cleared out the basket, he even thought to be extra cautious—hiding his medicine pouch in someone else’s basket.

Unfortunately, Ming Dai saw through his little trick and retrieved it.

So, when Zhou Sinian returned, carrying a fully loaded basket of stones, only to find his medicine pouch sitting right on top, his entire demeanor deflated in an instant.

He sulked visibly, looking utterly defeated.

Ming Dai chuckled twice and followed Zhou Sinian to pick up more stones.

By the time Huang Dalian returned with the grain, she was shocked to see that the shelter was fully built and that the chimney was already being coated with mud.

It was Liu Guoqiang who was handling the mud work.

Zhou Sinian refused to touch the sticky, yellowish sludge, and Ming Dai wasn’t tall enough to reach the higher sections. So, naturally, Liu Guoqiang had been roped in for the task.

Not that he minded—after all, he was going to be eating here too.

Once the chimney was coated, Ming Dai started a fire inside the stove, using a pine branch to test whether the smoke would properly vent out.

The results were excellent—a thick column of black smoke shot straight into the sky.

Since the kitchen setup included a three-mouth stove, Zhou Sinian had built it accordingly—one large stove and two smaller ones.

The village had only brought one large iron pot, which Ming Dai washed and secured in place over the main stove.

For the smaller stoves, Ming Dai had her own small pot, which fit perfectly in one opening, while the last stove held a large clay jar.

And just like that, everything was set!

Fetching water was a hassle since the nearest source was quite far.

Without wasting time, Ming Dai and Zhou Sinian grabbed their buckets and headed off to fetch water, getting ready to boil water while simultaneously drying out the stove.

Ming Dai assigned Zhou Sinian to watch the fire while she quickly took inventory of the supplies brought by the villagers.

It was simple—half a cart of radishes, half a cart of Chinese cabbage, a clay pot of rendered fat, and a small jar of salt. That was it.

Pitifully little.

Beside the thatched shed, Ming Dai drew a square on the ground and began digging with a shovel. Huang Dalian followed suit, helping her. In no time, they had dug a half-meter-deep pit.

They piled all the radishes inside and carefully covered them back with soil.

The cabbage, which was more resistant to the cold, was simply stacked in a corner of the thatched shed.

The rendered fat and salt were placed cautiously in the spot originally reserved on the stove. She warned Zhou Sinian not to touch them. After confirming his agreement, Ming Dai stepped out to check the grain that Huang Dalian had received.

Most people came to work on the reservoir for the money, but some were here because they didn’t have enough food to last through the winter. They worked to earn money and, at the same time, to get a meal.

However, the meals here were not easy to swallow.

The food provided for the reservoir workers was called “stone rice” because it often contained small pebbles. Eating it wasn’t the problem—it was accidentally biting down on one that people feared.

Every year, there were always a few unlucky workers who ended up with broken teeth.