Under the fist

Chapter 22 Winter Passes and Spring Arrives, Everything is Ready

The long winter is over.

As the snow melts, patches of green can be seen in the forests and valleys, rhododendrons are budding, green pines and white birches are showing signs of life, wetlands along the river are emerging with spring colors, and meadows are turning green again... Finally, this icy and snowy land is returning to its original appearance.

As the earth's energy rises, the hard black soil gradually revives.

Similarly, the most arduous test for the educated youth after they went to the countryside also came with them.

Spring ploughing.

In addition to spring plowing, we also need to cultivate seedlings, protect forests, and cut down trees.

The educated youth army shouted slogans of "fighting against heaven and earth" amidst shouts, and then shed sweat and tears in hardship, watering the land beneath their feet.

The boy carried a shovel, his sleeves rolled up, and sported a thick, black, neat, and short haircut.

The sunlight shone down on his tanned face, which was covered with a fine layer of sweat, making it appear from a distance as if it had turned into a layer of copper.

On that angular and rugged face, a pair of tiger-like eyes were moving on their own, gleaming with sharp light, glancing over each of the hardworking educated youth.

Most of these people are still children.

The boy raised his eyebrows, and his originally resolute and composed face was softened by the red mole between his brows.

Spring plowing is a top priority, and everyone has to participate, not just Kaoshantun, but also several nearby villages.

After all, they followed a path of semi-forestry and semi-agriculture. In other words, they worked on the mountain and then moved down to the foot of the mountain, moving wherever needed. Moreover, all the educated youth in the forest farms and farms worked alongside the members of the production brigade.

Not far away, a female educated youth was so exhausted that she couldn't hold on any longer and sat down on the ground, crying and shouting that she wanted to go back to the city.

"Ugh, I can't take it anymore! When will this ever end?"

After making a scene for a while, seeing that no one was paying attention to her, she wiped away her tears and rejoined the group.

Let alone the female educated youth, even Lian Youming himself has developed blisters on both hands in the past two days.

too tired.

Not only are my hands tired, but my feet are tired too, and my back is even more tired.

Most of the food in these villages is consumed in winter, leaving only coarse grains like corn. They eat it in various forms, such as flatbread or porridge. The problem is that this stuff is hard to digest, and people with weak stomachs often experience diarrhea or constipation at night.

At this time.

"Dinner is ready!"

Hearing the shouts, a group of people quickly dropped their tools and ran towards the educated youth who were serving meals.

The Yu brothers, Wen and Wu, pushed over two carts. One cart had a large bamboo basket filled with neatly arranged aluminum lunch boxes, while the other had three wooden buckets tied to it, filled with a thin broth and a few vegetable leaves floating in it.

Lian Youming rushed ahead, grabbed a lunchbox, but his expression immediately fell when he saw that it was full of rice.

Upon recognizing a familiar face, Yu Wu blinked, then sank the ladle in his hand to the bottom, scooped up half a spoonful of vegetable leaves, and slammed it into Lian Youming's lunchbox.

Lian Youming was starving, so he turned around and squatted down on the dam to eat. Behind him, someone complained, "Is it double-steamed?"

This double-steamed rice is rice that has already been steamed, but it's mostly water. You might end up with two pounds of rice from just one spoonful. It looks plump and full, but it's not filling at all.

The sun was high overhead, the snow had melted, and the wind was still cold.

Lian Youming was eating when he suddenly smelled a medicinal fragrance. He turned his head and saw a tall figure walking unsteadily past him, then squatting down and burying his head in his rice.

Yan Lingyun.

In winter, the little girl was bundled up tightly, and Lian Youming hadn't realized how beautiful she was until now that she had taken off her hat, scarf, and cotton-padded coat. Only then did he see that she truly possessed an indescribable charm.

She was gentle and quiet, with almond-shaped eyes and a delicate nose. Her face was fair and rosy, and she exuded a scholarly air from the inside out. She also had a unique medicinal fragrance. Even without makeup, she was very pleasing to the eye.

With a face like that, he would have been a hot commodity in the educated youth group in the past, but this person was just too tall. He was only about 1.7 meters tall before the New Year, but now he has grown taller and is probably close to 1.75 meters tall, taller than most male educated youths, making people hesitate to approach him.

In the entire group of educated youth, including Lian Youming, there were only five or six people who were taller than this girl.

Seeing that there wasn't even a single vegetable leaf in the other person's lunchbox, and looking at Yan Lingyun's pale face from exhaustion, Lian Youming immediately moved closer.

"Yan, how's the old medicine you're making coming along?"

He's been keeping this in mind for a long time.

Yan Lingyun kept her face down and ignored him, moving her feet to the side.

Lian Youming smiled bitterly to himself. Ever since he met this girl in Kaoshantun, she would always lower her head and walk away whenever she saw him, probably still holding a grudge in her heart.

However, he was oblivious to the fact that the other person's lunchbox contained only clear soup and rice, and he felt a little sorry for them. So he immediately moved closer and said, "I have a lot of vegetable leaves in my lunchbox, let's share."

After saying that, Lian Youming glanced around furtively and saw that everyone was eating in silence. Then he took out a small flask of foreign liquor from his pocket.

Yan Lingyun remained silent, her face buried, and tried to move again, but then she heard an impatient voice beside her, "Hey, is there a thorn under your butt or something? Don't move, this is soy sauce, I'll pour some for you."

Hearing this, Yan Lingyun stopped squatting and raised her head, her small face covered with a ring of rice grains.

After pouring out the soy sauce, Lian Youming took out a small porcelain bottle from another pocket and said mysteriously, "This is lard, given to me by my Aunt Shen."

Seeing the little girl looking blank, he didn't bother to say anything. He used the tip of his chopsticks to pry off a small piece of white ointment and put it in the little girl's lunchbox, then mixed it up.

"Eat up." Lian Youming said, picking up a few more vegetable leaves and passing them over.

He was enjoying his meal when he turned around and saw Yan Lingyun eating while tears streamed down her face.

"Why are you crying for no reason? Did you forget to put salt in your food?"

Yan Lingyun whispered, "No, I just haven't had meat in a long time, and I suddenly feel a little homesick."

Lian Youming sighed inwardly, but said to himself, "Is this considered eating meat? I'll get you something better another day."

Although Qin Yuhu forbade him from touching guns, he still had the slingshot, so he could still hunt some game.

Yan Lingyun's eyes lit up upon hearing this, though tears were still welling up in them. "Then I want to eat braised goose in an iron pot."

Lian Youming was both amused and exasperated. "Why don't you just stew me instead?"

After saying that, he suddenly looked around and asked, "Hey, where are your fellow villagers? They've disappeared!"

Yan Lingyun said dejectedly, "They couldn't endure the hardships here, so they returned to the city through recruitment."

No wonder.

Lian Youming glanced at the other female educated youths, who were all keeping their distance, as if deliberately distancing themselves from Yan Lingyun. He guessed that they had some kind of conflict. He then made up his mind and said, "Fine, I'll stew the goose then. But I don't think I can bring it all with me. When you're on leave, you can come back to the village with me."

Liu Da Nao and he had a good personal relationship. With a little more money, they could definitely get their hands on that goose.

Having solved the food problem, Yan Lingyun finally spoke up, "How's your recipe coming along?"

While eating, Lian Youming said, "Except for some rare and unusual materials, we've basically gathered everything."

In the Greater Khingan Mountains, wild ginseng and other plants that grow in the ground are the easiest to obtain. During his rest time, Lian Youming went to the supply and marketing cooperative a few times and found a few elderly mountain hikers. He didn't care about the quality of the mountain products and managed to get quite a lot by piecing together a bunch of them.

The main items are bear bile and tiger bones, which are truly rare commodities. You have to find old hunters who live deep in the mountains, and even then, it depends on luck.

When Yan Lingyun asked about the missing materials, he hesitated and said softly, "I have tiger bones and bear gallbladders. My brother gave me a lot of money when he came before, and I bought them from an Oroqen man. I originally wanted to take them home..."

Before he could finish speaking, Lian Youming had already shoveled most of the rice from his lunchbox into the other person's lunchbox, smiling ingratiatingly, "Here, eat more."

Yan Lingyun said angrily, "You think you can just get rid of me with half a box of lard rice? You haven't even thanked me for what happened last time."

"Hehe, you still remember?" Lian Youming was stunned for a moment, then pretended to shovel the food back. "Then I'll find it myself."

Bear bile and tiger bone are just too expensive. Good quality ones would cost at least a thousand yuan these days.

Lian Youming still remembered his father, the head of the security department, who could earn fifty-six yuan a month. Even if he worked like that for four or five years, he might not be able to afford it.

Yan Lingyun quickly stopped the chopsticks that were being offered to her, "How can you be so filthy? Am I not supposed to eat this? Don't worry, you can trade me something."

Lian Youming asked in confusion, "Change what?"

Yan Lingyun squinted and smiled, "Let me copy your recipe."

Lian Youming was stunned. "Didn't you say that thing is harmful and useless to ordinary people?"

Yan Lingyun said, "It's alright. I can rearrange the medicinal properties and replace a few herbs. It will still have some effect on strengthening the body and replenishing qi. My father is not in good health, and part of the reason I came here is to see if I can find anything good."

Upon hearing this, Lian Youming had nothing more to say and agreed without hesitation, "Okay, deal."

Unexpectedly, after taking a few bites of her meal, Yan Lingyun said, "You still have to do me a favor."

Lian Youming looked suspicious. "You're not trying to raise the price, are you?"

Yan Lingyun looked at the young man in front of her with a conflicted and hesitant expression, but finally made up her mind and said nervously, "I found an old club tree with seven-grade leaves deep in the Greater Khingan Mountains. It is estimated that it will bear eight-grade leaves after it blooms this year. When that time comes, you will have to protect me as I go in."

"What?"

Lian Youming's eyes widened.

The old ginseng with eight leaves is a rare treasure; many mountain travelers might not even encounter one in generations.

"Last year, someone disturbed a hibernating bear in our area. It was fat and about two meters tall, with red eyes, and it started coming down the mountain to eat people. The militia received the news, grabbed their guns, and sneaked into the mountains. I went with them, and then... we found that old ginseng. Now that the weather is getting warmer, there might be hikers going in, so we need to prepare early."

As Yan Lingyun spoke, she carefully observed the changes in Lian Youming's expression. Fortunately, although the man's eyes were full of amazement, there was not a trace of greed on his face.

"Sister Qin is a good person. She said you are a good person too. I believe her, and I believe you."

Lian Youming said seriously, "Don't worry, I can carry you in then."

Yan Lingyun blushed. "Let's eat."

……

three days later.

It was the Qingming Festival, and the village secretary allowed people to work freely. Early in the morning, Lian Youming rode the bicycle he borrowed from the commune and carried Yan Lingyun and her box of treasures back to Kaoshantun.

Although Liu Da Nao's medical skills weren't great, he still had the desire to learn and improve. When he heard that Lian Youming had invited a descendant of a family of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners to prepare medicine, he immediately took the initiative to cover for him. He even prepared about twenty medicine pots and lit charcoal fires, just waiting to broaden his horizons.

Finally, there's braised goose in an iron pot.

(End of this chapter)