Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

The land is forty or fifty acres, nearly 30,000 square meters, and it's full of shrubs, thorns, and rocks. If we were to cut the grass and clear it at the same time, it would be time-consuming, laborious, and troublesome. Now we're just cutting a ten-meter-wide weed barrier around the perimeter, and we don't need to worry about the side away from the riverbank. We probably only need to cut seven or eight acres, and if we divide it into ten work groups, each group will only need to cut less than one acre of weeds.

Zhao Songcheng was a strong and efficient man. The journey that took everyone more than half an hour was completed by Zhao Songcheng in just forty minutes, and he even brought back a load of sickles. After everyone had distributed the sickles, they all shouted a command and started working in unison.

By midday, when it was time for a break, everyone had finished about half the work. Seeing the sun was too strong, Liu Jianguo quickly told everyone to rest, have some water, and eat something to tide them over. They couldn't possibly work for hours without finishing a single acre of land; clearing wasteland was nothing like harvesting rice. Not only did they have to avoid large rocks and rotten wood, but they also had to be careful of thorny brambles. Naturally, their progress couldn't match that of harvesting rice paddies.

Everyone dispersed to find shady spots to rest. Those who brought lunchboxes had already started eating, while those who didn't were waiting for their families to bring them food.

Zhou Rui found a place to sit down and rest, sipping the boiled water he had brought from home. Just then, Liu Jianguo came over with a lunchbox and plopped down next to Zhou Rui.

"Zhou Rui, you're drinking water. Where's your food?"

"I didn't bring it. I'm waiting for Pingwa to bring it over," Zhou Rui said.

"Zhou Rui, your idea is really good. We only cut a little over one-tenth of the grass, and tomorrow we'll just burn it all down. Nothing will be left, not even the rotten wood will be burned to ashes, so there's no need to clean it up." Liu Jianguo opened his lunchbox, which contained several multigrain buns. He took a big bite and it took him a while to swallow.

"It's not just that. The fire will turn the ashes into fertilizer, making the land easier to manage. And the high temperature from the fire will kill any insects or eggs underneath, reducing pests when planting crops. And with pests burned away, the grain yield will definitely increase," Zhou Rui said softly. "Do you know what kind of grain the village chief plans to plant on this land?"

"I think I mentioned it before, it seems like it involved growing corn and soybeans."

"Could we ask the village chief to plant only soybeans?"

Liu Jianguo swallowed the steamed bun in his mouth and took a sip of water: "Why? There are too many beans to eat, and we can't possibly use them all to make tofu."

"The newly reclaimed land is all barren, but the rhizobia in these beans can fix nitrogen and improve soil fertility. Soybeans have the highest oil yield among all soybeans. Actually, the main reason why everyone is not getting enough to eat and is malnourished is that they lack oil. If this wasteland yields a large harvest of soybeans this year, the village collective will press all of it into oil and distribute it to the villagers, except for the amount handed over to the commune. The villagers can eat less grain if they eat more oil, and their health may even be better than usual." Zhou Rui silently explained some scientific theories from later generations to Liu Jianguo.

"I know that rice and wheat can't be grown on newly cleared land except for very fertile black soil. But where did you hear about these beans, roots, and fungi that enhance fertility, and how eating more oil can reduce grain consumption?" Liu Jianguo asked in surprise.

"I learned it from a book."

"What book? Can you understand it?"

Seeing Liu Jianguo's questioning gaze, Zhou Rui laughed angrily: "I went to school until the second year of junior high. How come I can't understand the books the teacher gave me? Are you looking down on me?"

"No, no. Don't be angry, I didn't look down on you. It's just that I haven't heard the village elders mention it in all these years, so I can't believe it," Liu Jianguo quickly explained.

Zhou Rui wasn't really angry, just a little sad: "Do you know why storybooks say that scholars can know everything before they even leave home? And why city dwellers insist their children learn to read and write? Because you can learn so many things from books. For example, what I just mentioned about soybeans fixing nitrogen and increasing fertilizer content might be decades or even centuries of experience from farmers in other places. Someone happened to know it and wrote it down. This book was sold all over the country, and when it came to our school, I saw it and followed the instructions in the book. Isn't that the same as the elders from other villages teaching me? And since we grow a lot of rice here, so many farmers' experiences were recorded and compiled into books, which were then spread to other places where rice wasn't grown before. Even though people in those places hadn't grown rice before, they could grow it well just by following the methods in the books. It's like our village elders taught them."

"Now I understand. It's like how skilled farmers in other places teach us how to grow beans, and skilled farmers here teach them how to grow rice. That's the purpose of this book."

Zhou Rui gazed at his younger siblings, who were carrying small rice cakes and lunchboxes, walking towards them in the distance, and said softly, "Next year, I'll let Pingwa continue going to school, and An'an will go too. He'll go to elementary school, middle school, high school, and finally, university. Only by learning more can he be more successful, leave the mountains, and live outside. Actually, sometimes, if you're well-educated, even if you don't go out to work, you might be a better farmer than others. Because he can read books and learn from others' strengths, knowing how those who are good at farming choose seeds, how to hoe the soil, and how to fertilize."

"Zhou Rui, what you said is so true. I also want my child to study hard so he can work in the city. Look at your third uncle, he went to the county. Your brother and the others brought you food, you eat first, I'll go take a look around the area." With that, he got up and left.

As Zhou Rui saw Zhou Ping approaching, his forehead covered in sweat, he quickly went to greet him and took the little rice cake from him.

"Second brother, are you hungry? Hurry up and eat." Zhou Ping took out two lunchboxes, which were left by Zhou Rui's father and eldest brother. One box contained rice porridge, and the other contained the pheasant that Zhou Rui had hunted.

"I also stewed some pheasant. Have you eaten yet? Actually, bringing a bowl of porridge would have been fine." Zhou Rui held a small rice cake in one hand and took a big gulp of porridge in the other.

"We've eaten. This chicken was specially stewed for you. You've worked so hard, you can't go hungry." Zhou Rui put down the porridge, picked up his chopsticks, and took a piece of chicken. Although it didn't taste as good as his own cooking, it was still so sweet. Zhou Rui ate the chicken that Zhou Ping was serving with gusto, while An An fanned him with a straw hat. He was so happy.

After finishing his meal, Zhou Rui hurried his younger siblings back home. It was midday, and the sun was blazing; he didn't want them to get sunburned. He lay down under a tree for a while, then heard Liu Jianguo shouting that it was time to get to work.

By 4:30 PM, Zhou Rui and his team had completed their task. Some nearby areas had finished a while earlier, while others were still finishing up, but everyone was working on roughly the same level, and the task could be completed ahead of schedule. As the finished workers gradually walked towards the meeting point from the morning, they saw a group of people gathered in front of them, and loud cursing could be heard coming from within.