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Ji Xiurong had been observing the weather for the past few days, and the more she looked, the more something seemed off.

The temperature is dropping day by day, and yesterday it reached minus 38 degrees Celsius.

The wind grew stronger and stronger, howling incessantly throughout the day.

More importantly, the air pressure continued to drop and the cloud cover thickened, which were precursors to a blizzard.

Then Ji Xiurong immediately took the notebook and found Feng Cheng and Zhao Tianshan, "Feng Cheng, Captain Zhao, I think the situation is not good."

"What's wrong?" Zhao Tianshan asked.

“Based on my observations over the past few days, there will be extremely cold weather soon, and it will last for a long time.” Ji Xiurong pointed to the records. “You can see that the temperature curve is dropping and the air pressure is continuing to fall. I predict that there will be heavy snowfall and extreme low temperatures in the next three days, possibly dropping to minus forty-five degrees Celsius or even lower.”

Feng Cheng's expression turned grave. "Minus forty-five degrees Celsius? That's much colder than it is now. Do we have enough supplies?"

Zhao Tianshan did the math: "The coal supply is only enough for five days, and the food supply can last for six or seven days. But if it really lasts a long time, as Ji Xiurong said, it definitely won't be enough."

"We need to think of a solution quickly," Feng Cheng said.

After discussing it, the three decided to go find Suning.

Suning is looking at the nursery's records. The saplings grown using full-light cultivation are all still alive and well. Although they grow slowly, they are definitely not dead.

This gave him a glimmer of hope; once he survived, he would surely shine.

"Deputy Director Su, I have something to report," Zhao Tianshan said.

Su Ning looked up and saw the serious expressions on the three people's faces, knowing that this was no small matter. "Speak."

Ji Xiurong explained the situation again.

After hearing this, Suning asked, "How long can our existing inventory last?"

"At most two days," Zhao Tianshan said frankly. "If the extreme cold weather really lasts for a long time, we'll run out of food and coal in two days."

After thinking for a moment, Su Ning immediately made a decision: "Send a telegram to the Forestry Bureau at the foot of the dam, asking them to send supplies up immediately. Explain that the situation is urgent and the sooner the better."

"Yes!" Zhao Tianshan immediately went to send a telegram.

Feng Cheng said, "Deputy Director Su, it will take time for the supplies to arrive. We can't just sit here and wait to die; we have to find a way to save ourselves."

"What are your thoughts?" Su Ning asked.

"I'll try to improve everyone's meals," Feng Cheng said. "At least make sure everyone is well-fed and has the strength to withstand the cold."

Su Ning immediately understood what Feng Cheng meant; he wanted to dig up the earth sheep.

Those previously marked earth sheep burrows, which contain food for the earth sheep to survive the winter, are now ready to be used.

“Okay, you go and do it.” Su Ning agreed, “But be careful, it’s already very cold outside.”

“I know,” Feng Cheng nodded.

Su Ning then said to Zhao Tianshan, "Captain Zhao, you immediately work with me to change all the doors of the dugouts to open inwards."

"Drive in?" Zhao Tianshan was taken aback. "Why?"

"To prevent the doors from being blocked by heavy snow," Su Ning explained. "If the snow is too heavy and blocks the doors, the doors that open outwards won't be able to be pushed open at all. If we want to open them inwards, at least we can push them open a crack from the inside to clear the snow."

Zhao Tianshan suddenly realized, "That's right! How come I didn't think of that! Deputy Director Su is so thoughtful!"

“Let’s get it done now,” Su Ning said. “We need to fix it before the blizzard comes.”

"Yes!"

……

Early the next morning, Feng Cheng set off with Lao Wei and his loyal dog, Xiao Liuzi.

They took shovels and sacks and, following the marks they had made beforehand, searched for the sheep burrows one by one.

The underground sheep caves are very deep; some can be dug down one or two meters.

Feng Cheng was experienced and knew how to dig without damaging the grain hidden inside the hole.

"Here! There's one here!" Old Wei shouted excitedly.

When Feng Cheng went over to look, there was a red cloth strip marking the entrance to the cave.

He crouched down and began to dig carefully.

After digging about half a meter deep, we encountered a layer of dry grass.

Parting the hay reveals a dense mass of grass seeds, roots, and dried berries.

"Got it!" Feng Cheng exclaimed happily. "Quick, bag them!"

The two men and the dog worked for most of the day, digging more than a dozen holes and filling three large sacks.

“This is enough to eat for several days,” Old Wei said. “The earth sheep are really good at hiding; there’s so much food in just one burrow.”

“They need to prepare for the whole winter,” Feng Cheng said. “Now it’s a bargain for us.”

It was already noon when they carried the sacks back to the camp.

……

Inside the camp, Su Ning and Zhao Tianshan were also busy with various tasks.

They dismantled all the doors of the dugouts in the camp, reinstalled them, and modified them to open inwards.

This job is not easy. The door frame needs to be modified, the hinges need to be adjusted, and the airtightness must be ensured so that there is no air leakage.

"Deputy Director Su, please take a break," Shen Mengyin said. "We can handle this."

"It's alright, this isn't your job." Su Ning wiped his sweat.

"Deputy Director Su, is it necessary to change the door?"

"You don't understand! It's terrifying when the snow blocks the door. You can't push it open at all; you can only saw it open with a saw."

I was busy until noon, and finally finished revising it.

At this moment, Feng Cheng and the others also returned.

Old Wei immediately went to the kitchen to get busy.

He sorted through the grains he dug up from the sheep cave, ground some grass seeds into powder, and mixed them with cornmeal to make steamed buns.

The roots and berries were washed and simmered into a soup.

When lunchtime arrived, everyone noticed that the food was a little different today.

The staple food was still cornbread, but there was noticeably more of it.

What's even more remarkable is that there were vegetables, and meat dishes at that—you could see diced meat in a stew.

"A better meal today?" Sui Zhichao's eyes lit up.

"Eat quickly, eat quickly!" Da Kui had already picked up his chopsticks.

Everyone eagerly started eating.

Although there wasn't much meat, it tasted really good. In a place like Saihanba, being able to eat meat is a great happiness.

"What kind of meat is this?" Shen Mengyin asked between bites. "It smells so good!"

“Yes! I’ve never tasted anything like this before,” Meng Yue said.

Qin Xuemei tasted it carefully, "It tastes a bit like chicken, a bit like rabbit, but not quite."

Several girls were very curious and began to speculate.

Is it a pheasant?

"Pheasant shouldn't be this tender, right?"

"That's a wild rabbit?"

"The rabbit meat is red, this is white."

Everyone guessed and guessed, but no one could figure it out.

Su Ning, Feng Cheng, and Zhao Tianshan just smiled and didn't say anything.

Actually, Suning had instructed Lao Wei beforehand to chop off the sheep's tail and throw it away...

Ground sheep are rodents and have tails.

If girls see this, they'll definitely be able to guess what kind of meat it is, and then no one will dare to eat it.

So now, no one knows what they're eating; they just think it smells good.

Shen Mengyin ate with great relish, saying between bites, "It's so delicious, I wish I could eat this every day."

Sui Zhichao teased her, "Mengyin, aren't you most afraid of rats? If I told you this is rat meat, would you still eat it?"

"Don't disgust me!" Shen Mengyin glared at him. "How could this be rat meat? Rat meat can smell this good!"

"That's hard to say," Sui Zhichao laughed.

"Alright! Eat up! Stop talking nonsense," Zhao Tianshan said. "You should be grateful to have something to eat, don't be picky."

Everyone stopped guessing and focused on eating.

……

That evening, the girls were still discussing the meat they had for lunch in their dorm room.

"What kind of meat was that?" Shen Mengyin asked, savoring the memory. "It was so delicious, I want to eat it again."

“I think it’s delicious too,” Ji Xiurong said. “It’s so rare to be able to eat meat in Bashang.”

Meng Yue was a little worried, "If the supplies don't arrive, will we still be able to eat meat? This meat we have today is definitely not something we get often."

“Yes!” Qin Xuemei said, “Feng Cheng and the others probably went out today to find something to eat. This meat is probably what they found.”

"What exactly is it?" Shen Mengyin was still curious.

The girls went through all the animals they could eat in the desert...

Hare, pheasant, sand fox, even wolf, but none of them seemed quite right.

"Forget it, stop guessing," Qin Xuemei said. "Eat whatever we can get, who cares what it is. The most important thing now is when the supplies will arrive."

When the topic of supplies came up, everyone fell silent.

Ji Xiurong said, "Based on my observations, the extreme cold will arrive in the next day or two. If we don't get supplies, we'll really go hungry."

"Have confidence in the organization," Qin Xuemei encouraged everyone. "Deputy Director Su has already sent a telegram; the bureau will definitely find a way to send supplies."

"But it's so cold, and the roads are difficult to travel. Will the supplies be able to get up here?" Meng Yue worried.

"They definitely can," Qin Xuemei said firmly. "With Deputy Director Su here, Captain Zhao here, and Feng Cheng here, they'll definitely find a way."

That being said, no one really knew for sure.

-45 degrees Celsius, persistent extreme cold, food and coal supplies cut off...

These words are terrifying to even think about.

But they didn't say it, because saying it would only make everyone more afraid.

The most important thing now is unity and confidence.

Just as Qin Xuemei said, we must have confidence in the organization, confidence in the leaders, and confidence in ourselves.

The nights in Saihanba are getting colder and colder.

The wind howled outside the door, like the howling of wild beasts.

But in the camp, the doors to the dugouts were all changed to open inwards, so there was no need to worry about heavy snow blocking the doors.

In the kitchen, there was still half a sack of grain dug from the sheep burrow, enough to last for a few days.

The radio station contacts the bureau daily, and the bureau assures them that supplies are on their way.

This winter may be tough, but they believe they will get through it.

Because they are not individuals, but a team, a collective striving for a common goal.

Such a team can overcome any difficulty.

This includes extreme cold of minus forty-five degrees Celsius, and crises involving food and coal shortages.

Unbeknownst to them, Su Ning was standing in front of the radio, making her final call to the bureau.

"The supply truck has already set off, but the snow on the road is too deep, and the progress is slow. It is expected to arrive in at least three days."

“Three days…” Su Ning frowned. “We can only hold out for two more days at most.”

"What should we do then?" Qu He asked anxiously on the other end of the radio.

“We’ll try to hold out for another day,” Su Ning said. “Hurry up and get the supplies up here. There are ten of us here; we can’t afford to wait.”

"Understood! We'll definitely find a way!"

After hanging up the radio, Su Ning walked to the window and looked out at the pitch-black night.

Three days.

They need to hold out for another day without supplies.

How can we get through this day?
In any case, we can't use the resources of the spatial world until the very last step, mainly because there's simply no way to explain it.

……

When everyone woke up in the morning, they all felt something was wrong—it was too cold.

It's usually cold, but today it's bone-chillingly cold.

When I breathe, the white breath condenses into frost in front of my eyes.

Even wrapped in a thick quilt, I still felt the chill seeping into my bones.

Ji Xiurong was the first to get up; she was used to getting up early to check the weather.

But when she tried to open the door, she found it wouldn't budge.

Then I remembered that the door had been changed to open inwards.

"What's going on?" But when they pulled the door open, they saw nothing but a vast expanse of white.

At this moment, everything outside was covered in white snow, which had already blocked the door.

"Get up quickly! The door is blocked by heavy snow!" Ji Xiurong shouted.

The girls were all awakened, and then they saw the magnificent sight of the snow blocking the door.

"What should we do? We can't get out!" Shen Mengyin asked anxiously.

Qin Xuemei remained calm. "Don't panic. Deputy Director Su has changed the door so it opens inwards. We just need to clear the snow path now."

"Quick, shovel the snow!" Ji Xiurong picked up the shovel by the door.

Everyone, hurry up and help shovel the snow away from the doorway.

It took more than half an hour to clear a path.

When they stepped out of the dugout, everyone was stunned...

Outside, everything was a vast expanse of white, with snow knee-deep.

Looking out, the sky and earth blend into one color, making it impossible to distinguish where the sky ends and the earth begins.

"The snow is too heavy..." Meng Yue murmured.

"Luckily, Deputy Director Su had the foresight." Ji Xiurong said with lingering fear, "If the door had opened outwards, we would have really been trapped inside."

The same applies to the boys' dormitory.

Feng Cheng was experienced, and as soon as he found that the snow had blocked the door, he led everyone to dig out from the inside.

The snow was even deeper over there; it took them almost an hour to dig out.

"Is everyone alright?" Feng Cheng asked quickly when he saw the girls.

"It's nothing," Qin Xuemei said. "I was just startled."

Everyone gathered in the cafeteria.

The canteen is a proper wooden building, very spacious, and can accommodate everyone.

Old Wei had already lit the stove, making the room a little warmer.

“In this weather, we can’t stay in the dorms anymore,” Feng Cheng suggested. “I propose that everyone move to the cafeteria. We can share heating and meals, and look after each other.”

“I agree,” Zhao Tianshan said. “The dormitories are too cold, and it’s easy for someone to get into trouble if they live alone. It’s safer to live together in a group.”

“But there are no beds in the cafeteria,” Sui Zhichao said.

“Let’s sleep on the floor!” Su Ning said. “Let’s divide the canteen into men’s and women’s sections, lay out dry grass, and then put out blankets. That way we can sleep.”

"That's all we can do," Qin Xuemei said.

Everyone got to work.

The boys went to move hay, and the girls tidied up the bedding.

Soon, the cafeteria was divided in two, with a boys' section on one side and a girls' section on the other.

Although it was simple, at least it was habitable.

After settling in, Zhao Tianshan said, "The problem now is that our food and coal reserves will only last for two days. Resupply isn't coming in, so we need to find a way."

“I’ll go to a nearby village for help,” Zhao Tianshan decided. “I know there’s a small village about 30 li away from here. I’ll go and borrow some grain.”

"No way!" Su Ning immediately objected. "Going out in this weather is too dangerous. The snow is so deep, you can't even see the road. How are we supposed to get around?"

“We can’t just sit here and wait to die!” Zhao Tianshan said. “Deputy Director Su, please let me go! I served in the army in Northeast China and have experience in snowy conditions.”

"This isn't Northeast China, this is Saihanba!" Su Ning said seriously. "Are you familiar with the terrain here? Do you know how the weather changes? It's below minus forty degrees Celsius. If you get lost, you're doomed!"

Na Da Kui stepped forward and said, "Captain Zhao, I'll go with you. I'm a local from Chengde, I know the way."

“You’re even less likely to go!” Su Ning refused outright. “Da Kui, I know you want to help, but this is not the time to show off. In this kind of weather, even the locals don’t dare to go out.”

Feng Cheng also said, "Deputy Director Su is right. I've been in Bashang for three years, and what I fear most is this kind of blizzard. Once the snow covers everything, you can't see anything and can't tell which way to go at all. I almost got lost in the snow before, and if I hadn't been lucky, I would have died long ago."

Zhao Tianshan was still unwilling to give up. "But we can't just wait around! What if the supplies never arrive?"

“I’ve already sent a telegram down to the dam,” Su Ning said. “The bureau knows our situation and will definitely find a way. If supplies can’t get through, it means there’s trouble on the way, and they’re even more anxious than we are.”

"But……"

"Zhao Tianshan, you are a soldier by training, you should know how to obey orders. I order you not to act without authorization, and not to risk your life. This is discipline!"

Seeing that Su Ning was truly angry, Zhao Tianshan had no choice but to stand at attention and say, "Yes, sir! Obey orders!"

But he was still anxious.

Looking at the snow outside and the dozens of young faces in the canteen, he wished he could go out and find food immediately.

……

The Forestry Bureau at the foot of the dam is indeed facing trouble.

The supply truck should have left much earlier.

But driver Lao Wang's wife suddenly went into labor, and in his haste, Lao Wang forgot about delivering supplies.

When Qu He received the telegram from the dam, he was furious and yelled, "Old Wang! Are you out of your mind? Dozens of people on the dam are waiting for food, have you forgotten? Your wife giving birth is important, but the lives of the people on the dam aren't?"

Old Wang lowered his head and kept apologizing, "Director Qu, I was wrong, I was wrong. I'll go right away, I'll go right away."

"Go now? Look at this snow!" Qu He pointed out the window. "The snow is so deep, can the car even get up there?"

Sure enough, the convoy returned shortly after it went out.

The driver reported, "Director Qu, it's no good! The snow is too deep, the car can't move. In some sections, the snow is up to our thighs, and the car is stuck."

"What can we do?" Qu He asked anxiously. "They're waiting for food on the dam! Deputy Director Su sent a telegram saying they can only hold out for two more days at most!"

"We can only wait for the snow to stop," said an experienced driver. "This kind of snow won't stop for at least ten days. Even after it stops, it will take two days to clear the snow. It will take at least half a month for the roads to be open again."

"Half a month?" Qu He's face turned pale. "The people on the dam can't wait! People will starve to death."

He then quickly sent a telegram to the dam area to explain the situation, and then convened a meeting with the people in the bureau.

"Everyone, think of a way to get the supplies up there," Qu He said. "The vehicles aren't working, is there any other way?"

Someone suggested, "Could we ask the local military for help? They might have snowmobiles."

"That's it!" Qu He's eyes lit up. "Contact the Air Force! They might have helicopters!"

Send someone to contact them immediately.

The reply was: The Air Force has an important mission recently, and all the planes have been dispatched, so helicopters are temporarily unavailable.

"When can it be extracted?" Qu He asked.

"I don't know, let's wait until the mission is over."

"We can't wait!" Qu He paced anxiously. "There are dozens of people on the dam, we can't afford to wait!"

"Then...then we can only wait for the snow to stop," the clerk said helplessly.

Qu He plopped down, clutching his head, and cried out, "It's all over, it's really over..."

……

At the camp on the dam, Su Ning received a telegram from Qu He.

"The supply trucks are unable to pass due to heavy snow. We are contacting the Air Force for support, but we will have to wait. Please hold on, we will definitely find a solution as soon as possible."

He showed the telegram to everyone.

"The Air Force?" Sui Zhichao asked in surprise. "The bureau is sending planes?"

"Maybe," Su Ning said, "but the plane can't come right now, we have to wait."

"What should we do then?" Shen Mengyin asked worriedly. "We only have enough food for two days."

“Two days…” Qin Xuemei calculated, “Even if the plane can come tomorrow, it will still be two days later. We have to find a way to get through these two days.”

"How can we hold on?" Meng Yue asked.

Everyone looked at Suning.

Su Ning was silent for a moment, then said, "Starting today, the rations will be halved. Two meals a day, half a cornbread each time. Use coal sparingly, don't light a fire during the day, light one for a while at night, and everyone will sleep together."

“Then…then wouldn’t they starve or freeze to death?” Sui Zhichao said.

"We won't starve or freeze to death." Su Ning said firmly, "When I was fighting in Korea, the conditions were much harsher than this, but I still made it through. As long as we are united, we will definitely get through this."

"This is the most difficult time. But we can't panic or lose our composure. We must trust the organization and the bureau; they will definitely find a way to save us. We must also believe in ourselves; we will definitely get through this."

“Deputy Director Su is right!” Zhao Tianshan was the first to respond. “We’ve all been through hardships before, what’s a little bit of suffering? We’ll definitely get through this!”

“Yes! Hang in there!” Feng Cheng said as well.

"Hang in there!" Qin Xuemei, Meng Yue, Ji Xiurong... everyone shouted in unison.

Although the voice was not loud, it was very firm.

Looking at these young people in front of him, Su Ning was deeply moved.

This is the spirit of Saihanba...

In the most difficult times, we should not complain or give up, but unite as one to overcome the challenges together.

...(End of chapter)