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Now, the camp's food supplies are dwindling.

Reduce from two meals a day to one meal a day.

Each meal consisted of only half a cornbread and a bowl of thin porridge.

Everyone was so hungry that their stomachs were practically touching their backs, and they felt like they were floating when they walked.

But no one complained, because everyone knew that complaining was useless.

There's only so much food left; if we eat this meal, we might not have the next.

Fortunately, Suning had made arrangements in advance, allowing Feng Cheng and his team to mark the Earth Sheep Cave and excavate it in succession, which would also help them replenish their supply of rare meat.

The grass seeds and roots dug out from the sheep burrows have now become their life-saving food.

Old Wei ground the grass seeds into powder, mixed them with the last bit of cornmeal, and made cornbread.

Although it was rough and hard, at least it filled my stomach.

Wash and cut the rhizomes into pieces, then cook them into a soup with the mutton and the last few cabbage leaves.

The soup was so clear you could see your reflection in it, but everyone drank it with great relish.

"This local sheep really saved our lives," Sui Zhichao said while drinking soup.

"Thanks to Deputy Director Su's foresight," Qin Xuemei said. "If we hadn't marked the Diyang Cave in advance, we would really be starving now."

Feng Cheng nodded: "Yes! I've been in Bashang for three years and I know that grain is hidden in the earth sheep cave. But I never thought of digging it up before. At most, I would dig up a few earth sheep for a snack. As soon as Deputy Director Su came, he came up with this idea. It's really brilliant."

"Luckily, we're starving now, otherwise we definitely wouldn't have been able to accept it at first. Just thinking about eating rats... ugh... I still can't take it."

"Haha, Director Su is so mean, only telling us now."

At this moment, Su Ning was settling accounts with Zhao Tianshan, "Zhao Tianshan, how much food do we have left in our camp?"

"I have about three or four jin of ground sheep, ten jin of cornmeal, and five jin of grass seed powder," Zhao Tianshan said. "If we eat sparingly, it can last for three more days."

"What about coal?"

"There are only two baskets of coal left, enough to burn for a while tonight."

Suning frowned.

Three days is the limit.

If supplies don't arrive in three days, we'll really be out of food and fuel.

“Send another telegram to the bureau,” Su Ning said. “Explain our situation. We can only hold on for three more days at most. No! Just say we can only hold on for one last day.”

"Huh? You're lying, aren't you?"

“If we don’t make things sound urgent, Qu and the others won’t take it to heart.”

"Yes."

After the telegram was sent, everyone was on tenterhooks.

Three days sounds like a long time, but in times like these, it passes in the blink of an eye.

The Forestry Bureau was indeed feeling the pressure, as the telegram said they could only hold out for one more day.

On the first day, everyone was still in relatively good spirits.

Although hungry, I can still do some work.

The boys cleared the snow around the camp, while the girls organized supplies and mended clothes.

The next day, some people started to give up.

Shen Mengyin was physically weak and was so hungry that she felt dizzy and could barely stand.

Ji Xiurong helped her to a makeshift bed on the floor to rest.

"Mengyin, are you alright?" Ji Xiurong asked worriedly.

"It's nothing..." Shen Mengyin's voice was weak, "I'm just a little dizzy."

"Drink some hot water." Qin Xuemei handed over a bowl of hot water.

Shen Mengyin forced herself to drink a few sips and then lay down again.

Seeing this, Suning became anxious.

But he couldn't show it, after all, he was the leader, and if even he panicked, everyone else would panic even more.

"Hang in there for one more day," Su Ning encouraged everyone, though he had already decided to activate the spatial world. "The bureau is definitely trying to find a solution; the supplies will surely arrive tomorrow."

Everyone nodded, but their eyes were full of worry.

Of course, touching the resources in the spatial world would bring enormous trouble, since there would be no way to explain the source of the resources.

After all, it's hard to explain a problem with an unclear origin; people will definitely suspect that you have ulterior motives or are embezzling.

"I have some sugar here. Let me make some sugar water for Shen Mengyin first."

"Sugar?"

"Yes! We brought these before we went up the dam. If anyone can't hold on, they can drink some sugar water to replenish their energy."

"Thank you, Director Su."

On the morning of the third day, the food supplies were completely exhausted.

Old Wei mixed the last bit of cornmeal and grass seed powder together and made more than a dozen small steamed buns, one for each person.

There's no soup left, only hot water.

However, with the small amount of sugar provided by Suning, they barely managed to sustain everyone's basic physical strength.

"This is the last meal," Old Wei said, his voice trembling. "Once this is over, it's really over."

Everyone silently accepted the cornbread, eating it in small bites, reluctant to finish it all at once.

As Sui Zhichao ate, his eyes reddened. "I...I miss my mom's dumplings! I miss Tianjin fried dough twists! And Tianjin Goubuli steamed buns."

"I miss home too! I miss my mom's wontons," Shen Mengyin said softly.

The atmosphere was somber.

Just then, a strange noise came from outside...

It buzzed, like thunder, but not quite.

"What's that sound?" Zhao Tianshan pricked up his ears.

Feng Cheng ran to the door and looked outside.

The snow has stopped, the sky is overcast, and the clouds are thick.

"It looks like... an airplane?" Feng Cheng said uncertainly.

"An airplane?" Everyone rushed to the door.

The sound grew closer and louder.

Finally, through the clouds, I could see a small black dot.

The black dot grew larger and larger, and it became clear that it was a helicopter.

"It's a helicopter! It's a helicopter!" Da Kui shouted excitedly.

"Are they here to rescue us?" Meng Yue couldn't believe it.

"Definitely!" Qin Xuemei exclaimed excitedly.

The helicopter hovered over the camp, flying lower and lower.

Suddenly, the hatch opened, and several large boxes fell out.

A parachute was attached to the bottom of the box, which slowly descended.

"Airdrop! It's an airdrop!" Zhao Tianshan shouted. "Quick! Go and collect the supplies!"

Everyone, regardless of whether they were hungry or tired, rushed out.

Even the weakest Shen Mengyin struggled to get up and ran outside.

The crate was left on the snow outside the camp.

Everyone ran over and hurriedly untied the parachute.

The first box was opened, and it was full of white flour!
"Flour! It's actually flour!" Sui Zhichao grabbed a handful, tears welling up in his eyes.

The second box contained cornmeal and millet.

The third box contained cured meat, pickled vegetables, and canned goods.

The fourth box contained cotton-padded clothes and quilts.

The fifth box contains coal!
Five large boxes, filled to the brim.

It's enough for them to eat and use for a month.

"We've got it! We have food! We won't have to suffer from cold and hunger anymore!" Da Kui hugged the cured meat, crying and laughing at the same time.

Shen Mengyin knelt down in the snow and kowtowed to the helicopter, saying, "Thank you! Thank you!"

The helicopter circled overhead a few times, flapped its wings as if to say hello, and then flew away.

Everyone carried the supplies back to the canteen.

Looking at the mountains of grain and coal, everyone couldn't help but cry.

“We’re saved…we’re finally saved…” Ji Xiurong wiped away her tears.

“I told you, the organization wouldn’t abandon us.” Qin Xuemei also cried.

Looking at everyone, Su Ning finally felt a huge weight lifted off his shoulders.

"Old Wei, cook!" she shouted, looking at Old Wei beside her. "Eat your fill today! Plenty!"

"Alright!" Old Wei's voice boomed, "We're having white flour steamed buns and stewed meat today!"

The cafeteria immediately sprang into action, with everyone excitedly rushing to help.

Some were kneading dough, some were cutting meat, and some were tending the fire.

Although everyone was so hungry they had no energy, they worked with great enthusiasm, and couldn't help but drool when they looked at the ingredients.

An hour later, steaming hot steamed buns were ready, and the aroma of stewed meat filled the canteen. "Dinner's ready!" Old Wei called out.

Everyone sat together, looking at the steamed buns and stewed meat on the table, but no one touched their chopsticks.

"Why aren't you eating?" Su Ning asked.

"I can't bear to eat it all at once," Sui Zhichao said. "There's so much delicious food, I can't bear to finish it all at once."

"Eat up." Su Ning picked up a steamed bun. "There will be more after you finish this. You need to be full to have the energy to work."

Then he took a big bite of the steamed bun, chewing it slowly and carefully.

It felt like tasting the most delicious food in the world.

Only then did everyone begin to eat; no one spoke, only the sound of chewing could be heard.

Everyone ate heartily and was very satisfied.

After finishing one steamed bun, Shen Mengyin picked up another one. "Can I have another one?"

"Eat up! All you can eat!" Old Wei laughed.

Shen Mengyin ate the steamed bun in small bites, tears falling onto it. "It's so delicious... I've never thought steamed buns were so delicious..."

Ji Xiurong also said, "Yes! Back home, although we rarely ate white flour steamed buns, we didn't find them particularly delicious. Now I understand how precious food is."

Looking at everyone, Qin Xuemei said with emotion, "After this experience, we understand even more how to cherish things. In the future, when planting trees, we must cherish every sapling as we cherish food."

“Yes!” Feng Cheng nodded. “Every sapling represents hope. We can’t waste them.”

After eating and drinking their fill, everyone sat in the canteen, warming themselves by the fire and chatting.

Although it was still tens of degrees below zero outside, my heart felt warm.

"How do you think the Air Force knew we were here?" Sui Zhichao asked.

“It must have been someone from the bureau who made the contact,” Zhao Tianshan said. “Director Qu may be unreliable at times, but he’s very decisive when it comes to important matters.”

"We really need to thank them," said Da Kui. "If it weren't for them, we would have starved to death."

Su Ning said, "After winter is over, I will personally go to the troops to express my gratitude. But right now, our most important task is to plant the trees well. We must not let down the organization's concern, nor the Air Force's life-saving grace."

"Yes! Let's plant the trees well!" everyone said in unison.

With supplies, there is hope.

Although winter is not over yet, and the weather is still very cold.

But everyone felt reassured; they had food, coal, and cotton-padded clothes.

More importantly, this incident brought the core members of the camp together.

After all, there was always a barrier between these new students and veteran employees. It was precisely this life-or-death ordeal that brought them all together again.

After eating and drinking her fill, Qin Xuemei walked towards Su Ning with a shy expression. "Director Su, I'm sorry."

"Oh? Why the sudden apology?"

“You must have been under more pressure than us, after all, we don’t understand or support you.”

"It's normal that we're all not familiar with each other. This ordeal has actually solved the problem."

"Director Su is right! I hope we can communicate more in the future."

"Then I hope you and Meng Yue will pay more attention to the full-light seedling cultivation method. The future hope of Saihanba may lie here."

"Okay! Meng Yue and I will study it carefully."

……

Winter kept everyone cooped up in the camp.

It was tens of degrees below zero outside, and the snow was knee-deep, making it impossible to go out.

My daily activities were limited to the canteen and the adjacent dugout.

Over time, it's inevitable to feel stifled.

Strangely enough, everyone's relationship actually got better.

Before, everyone was busy with their own things: those doing experiments continued their experiments, those observing the weather kept observing, and those cooking cooked.

Now that we spend every day together, chatting, playing chess, and telling stories, our relationship has naturally deepened.

Sui Zhichao used to be talkative and annoying, but now he's everyone's source of joy.

He had an endless supply of jokes to tell, which could make Shen Mengyin laugh out loud, and she was no longer as resistant as before.

Da Kui still hovers around Ji Xiurong every day. Although Ji Xiurong is still indifferent to him, at least she doesn't avoid him anymore.

Sometimes, when Ji Xiurong is in a good mood, she will chat with him for a few minutes.

Qin Xuemei and Meng Yue were already like sisters, and now they are even closer.

They slept together at night, whispering to each other until midnight.

Feng Cheng no longer kept to himself like before.

He often sits with everyone now and tells them his stories from his three years in Bashang.

Those failed experiences and lonely days were heartbreaking to hear.

Suning has changed too.

He used to think that as a leader, he always had to put on airs and speak and act in a very formal and rigid manner.

Now he lives in the canteen with everyone, eats together, and warms himself by the fire together, which has brought them much closer.

Sometimes Zhao Tianshan would talk to him about the Korean War, and everyone would gather around to listen.

Suning spoke of life and death on the battlefield, the camaraderie among comrades, and the hard-won victory.

Everyone listened intently, and their admiration for Deputy Director Su grew even stronger.

But what everyone is most concerned about is the nursery.

Suning's all-light seedling cultivation method continued even in winter.

He goes to the nursery twice a day, morning and evening, without fail.

The seedlings cultivated using the full-light seedling raising method are quite resilient. There was no large-scale death; on the contrary, they grew exceptionally healthily.

Qin Xuemei was initially skeptical of this method, but now she's become curious about it.

She often went to the nursery with Su Ning, and looking at the seedlings standing tall in the cold wind, she felt very complicated.

"Deputy Director Su, these seedlings... they actually survived." Qin Xuemei squatted down and carefully examined a larch seedling.

“Yes!” Su Ning squatted down as well. “Although it grows slowly, it is definitely alive. Look, its roots are quite deep.”

Qin Xuemei gently removed the top layer of soil and saw the white root system.

Indeed, the main root has already penetrated more than ten centimeters, which is quite rare in Saihanba.

"But why did some of the seedlings die?" Qin Xuemei asked. "Using the same methods and the same management, why did some live and some die?"

“It may be related to the seeds themselves,” Su Ning said. “Seeds themselves vary in strength; the strong ones can adapt, while the weak ones are eliminated. This is natural selection.”

"So you mean that the full-light seedling cultivation method is actually helping us with selection?" Qin Xuemei's eyes lit up.

“Yes.” Su Ning nodded. “Using this method, only the strongest seedlings will survive. Planting these seedlings will result in a high survival rate. Instead of planting them haphazardly as before, which resulted in a very low survival rate and a serious waste.”

Qin Xuemei fell silent. She suddenly realized that she had been too stubborn before.

They always clung to book theories, thinking that full-light seedling cultivation was definitely not feasible.

But now it seems that it might actually be feasible.

“Deputy Director Su, I…I was prejudiced against your methods before, I apologize,” Qin Xuemei said earnestly.

“No need to apologize,” Su Ning said. “You’re a professional, so it’s right for you to believe in science. I’m just trying a new method; whether it will work or not is still uncertain.”

“But these seedlings did survive,” Qin Xuemei said. “If they still survive after spring, it means the method is correct.”

"Let's wait until spring to see," Su Ning said. "It's too early to say we've succeeded."

But Qin Xuemei had already planted the seed of expectation in her heart.

Not only her, but others also began to look forward to it.

One day, Meng Yue said to Qin Xuemei, "Xuemei, do you think Deputy Director Su's all-light seedling cultivation method can really succeed?"

"It's possible," Qin Xuemei said. "Look at those seedlings, they didn't die even at tens of degrees below zero, they have a strong vitality."

"If it really succeeds, then we'll have hope for planting trees," Meng Yue said. "With a higher survival rate, we can build a forest."

Sui Zhichao also joined the discussion, saying, "I think Deputy Director Su, although strict, is capable. If he says it can be done, it might really be done."

Da Kui, however, said rationally, "Whether it works or not, it's always good to try. Anyway, we don't have any other options right now."

Feng Cheng is the most qualified to speak on this: "I've been in Bashang for three years and tried all sorts of methods, but none of them worked. At least with Deputy Director Su's method, some seedlings are still alive. Even if only a few survive in the end, it's still progress."

Everyone chimed in with their own thoughts, expressing their high expectations for the full-light seedling cultivation method.

This expectation became a ray of light in the winter.

On cold, hungry, and boring days, having something to look forward to and hope to wait for makes life much better.

Sometimes, we would go to the nursery together.

A dozen or so seedlings stood tall in the cold wind, thin but very tenacious.

"Keep it up, little one," Shen Mengyin would whisper.

"I must live to see spring," Ji Xiurong would also pray.

“When you grow up, this will be a forest,” Sui Zhichao would imagine.

Listening to these words, Suning knew that what everyone was looking forward to was not just the success of the all-light seedling cultivation method.

It is the future of Saihanba, and their own future.

If this method truly succeeds, if the trees can truly survive, if the desert can truly become an oasis…

Then all the suffering they are enduring now—the hunger, the cold—is worth it.

...(End of chapter)