Chapter 83: Digging Soil in the Mountains, Growing Vegetables in Winter

That night, the two of them slept outside. The heated brick bed was warm and cozy. With soft quilts spread over it, they sank in and were completely wrapped up, feeling both snug and secure.

Ming Dai remembered what Aunt Huang had said and deliberately placed two extra basins of water in their rooms. The next morning, she woke up to find that her nose was no longer dry or uncomfortable.

Early in the morning, the weather had turned even colder, and the water in the large vat had frozen over.

Zhou Sinian broke the ice, scooped some into the pot, placed a steaming rack inside, and took out cornmeal cakes and vegetable dumplings from the cupboard. After thinking for a moment, he also grabbed a handful of sugar-roasted chestnuts and put them in.

After lighting the fire, he went to wash up.

By the time Ming Dai came out, breakfast was already heated.

Ming Dai gave him a thumbs-up, and Zhou Sinian grinned happily.

They made two servings of fried noodles and ate them quickly with some cold pickled mustard greens.

Zhou Sinian carefully wrapped the warm sugar-roasted chestnuts, tucked them into his chest, patted them in satisfaction, and then took Ming Dai’s hand as they headed toward Wild Boar Ridge.

Winter mornings were exceptionally cold. Except for those who had to get up early to cook and fetch water, most people were still curled up in their beds, savoring one of the rare peaceful moments of the year.

Zhou Sinian wore a military overcoat he had received earlier and stubbornly insisted on wearing his red headscarf. The mismatched combination was so jarring that Ming Dai couldn’t bear to look at him.

But he was completely pleased with himself. Before leaving, he made sure to check his reflection in the mirror. He even suggested bringing out the half-length mirror from the bathroom, complaining that the one outside was too small.

Ming Dai couldn’t even imagine how he would react to himself once he fully recovered.

Would he want to fall sick again just to forget this phase of his life?

As they passed by the village well, they encountered a few villagers wrapped in thick cotton-padded coats, carrying water.

Watching the tall figure pulling a cart swiftly past them, with that unmistakable red headscarf, one of the villagers couldn’t help but sigh.

“In times like these, even a madman can wear a brand-new military coat, while we’re still stuck wearing the tattered hand-me-downs from our fathers. Who are we supposed to complain to?”

Another villager immediately followed up with a dramatic sigh. “Ah, such is fate!”

The laughter echoed as the villagers chuckled heartily, their shoulders shaking so much that the carrying poles wobbled. Water splashed out of the buckets, wetting the stone platform of the well. Almost instantly, the cold turned the spilled water into ice.

An elderly woman who had come to wash vegetables noticed the mess and immediately started scolding them. Her loud reprimands stirred up a commotion, gradually waking up the village.

By the time they reached the foot of the mountain, the path had become difficult to navigate, with thick snow covering the ground.

Deciding it was too troublesome to continue with the cart, the two left it behind and proceeded on foot.

Well, it was Zhou Sinian who walked—Ming Dai, on the other hand, was carried under his arm, shielded from the cold by his military coat.

They had brought four burlap sacks with them. Finding a sunny patch in the forest, they cleared away the snow, revealing the frozen, compacted humus layer beneath.

Luckily, Aunt Huang had reminded them the day before to bring a pickaxe. Otherwise, their shovel alone wouldn’t have been enough to break through the hardened soil.

Once they pried open the top layer, digging became much easier.

Zhou Sinian handled the digging while Ming Dai held the sacks open. The two worked in perfect sync, quickly filling all four bags.

Ming Dai stored the sacks in her space.

After securing the soil, they took a stroll around the mountain, gathering fallen branches that had been snapped by the weight of the snow. To their surprise, they even discovered a pheasant standing perfectly still in a “golden rooster stance”—completely frozen into an ice sculpture. Without hesitation, they took it along.

Before leaving, they also dragged down a massive tree branch.

Once they were out of sight from others, they placed the sacks back onto the cart, secured the branch, and started making their way home.

As they pulled the cart back into the village, they happened to run into Liu Dazhu.

Seeing him, Ming Dai quickly called out to Zhou Sinian to stop. “Uncle, where are you headed so early?”

Liu Dazhu tucked his hands into his sleeves and looked at the two of them, surprised by their cart full of supplies. “I just came back from your Uncle Dazheng’s house. Brought him breakfast and some boiled medicine. What about you two?”

Ming Dai pointed to the burlap sacks. “We went up the mountain to dig some soil. Just got back.”

Liu Dazhu suddenly recalled his wife mentioning that Xiao Ming, the educated youth, wanted to grow vegetables in winter.

He hadn’t expected them to get started so soon.

Grinning, he offered some encouragement. “Work hard on it! If you actually manage to grow something, I’ll put in an application for the village to start planting too. We could send the produce to the commune’s purchasing station and bring in extra income. That way, we can pay off the village’s debts faster.”

Ah, so that was the way of a leader—she hadn’t even succeeded yet, and the brigade leader was already assigning her a task.

“We don’t even know if it’ll grow yet. But if it does, I’ll make sure you get the first taste, Uncle.”

Liu Dazhu burst into hearty laughter, clearly pleased. “Alright! I’ll be waiting!”

Before Zhou Sinian could grow impatient, Ming Dai quickly bid farewell, and they continued on their way.

Watching the two walk off, Liu Dazhu sighed. His own three sons together couldn’t compare to Xiao Ming, the educated youth. If only she were his daughter!

Back home, the two broke the large tree branch into smaller pieces and left them outside. They carried the burlap sacks into the space, emptied the soil into the courtyard, spread it out, and crushed any clumps so the sun could dry it thoroughly.

After coming out of the space, Ming Dai called Zhou Sinian over to help dismantle the few broken shelves in the kitchen. Using wooden planks, they built new racks with compartments where baskets could be placed neatly.

By the afternoon, the soil had dried enough.

Ming Dai took out several bamboo baskets, lined the bottoms with straw, and then filled them with the sun-dried soil. Once the baskets were more than half full, she dug small pits and carefully planted chive roots that had sprouted fresh shoots, watering them just enough to settle them in place.

In total, she planted six baskets of chives—three for regular growth and three for chive shoots grown in the dark.

In the remaining baskets, she planted bok choy, spinach, and garlic sprouts.

She also set up several large baskets for growing soybean and mung bean sprouts.

All the vegetable baskets were placed in the storage room, while the sprout baskets were set on her heated brick bed.

After some thought, she took out several pounds of wheat, soaked them in water, and then spread them evenly in a large drying basket. Covering them with a white cloth, she placed the basket on Zhou Sinian’s heated bed and warned him not to let it touch the ground.

The storage room was small, and after clearing out unnecessary items, everything fit just right. The limited space also helped maintain a warmer temperature.

To further improve the warmth, Ming Dai took out all the charcoal she had saved since arriving in the countryside and placed it in the center of the storage room. Using an unused basin, she set up a charcoal burner and lit it. Soon, the entire room filled with a cozy warmth.

For this year, they would settle for this setup. If it proved feasible, they would need to build a dedicated heated wall in the future to expand vegetable production on a larger scale.

Over the next two days, they gathered all the leftover corn cobs from when they had processed corn earlier.

The two of them spent an entire day crushing the cobs, pounding them as finely as possible into powder. Once the cobs were sufficiently broken down, they mixed in some potassium permanganate.

Luckily, Ming Dai had a small medical kit with her, and Director Gao had given her plenty of antibacterial and disinfecting supplies, including potassium permanganate.

They then added some wheat bran, mixed everything thoroughly, and moistened it until the mixture reached about 60% humidity. Afterward, they shaped the damp material into small cylindrical blocks.

While searching for medicinal herbs in the mountains, Ming Dai and Zhou Sinian had also collected several decaying logs covered in mushrooms. They stored these in a small grove within the space.

Now, she selected one of the logs covered in oyster mushrooms, extracted its mycelium, and planted it into the prepared moist corn cob mixture. After setting up all the mushroom spawn, she placed the blocks neatly on wooden racks in the storage room.

Ming Dai made sure to spray them with water regularly, and within a few days, tiny mushrooms began sprouting from the mixture.

Zhou Sinian had an almost reverential attitude toward food. Whether it was the crops inside the space or the vegetables growing outside in baskets, he was the one primarily tending to them.

Whenever he was outside, he would automatically check the storage room and replace the charcoal on time. Ming Dai never even needed to set an alarm—Zhou Sinian would get up on his own in the middle of the night to replenish the charcoal or stoke the fire.

Because of this, their firewood supply depleted rapidly. Fortunately, several heavy snowfalls followed, causing many tree branches to break under the weight.

Whenever the weather was clear, the two of them would go up the mountain to collect firewood. Other villagers would also head up, mostly hoping to find frozen pheasants, but unfortunately, their harvests were scarce.

Seeing how obedient and diligent Zhou Sinian was, Ming Dai decided to reward him with a delicious meal.