The Overlord Flower's Guide to Intercepting a Woman's Wife's Death and the Male Lead&

Zhang Cuihua led Su Xingmian toward the east wall of the family compound.

Li Xiuying and Zhao Hongmei heard about it and followed suit.

Several people walked around the east corner with high expectations.

The wind blew from the direction of Helan Mountain, swirling up the white sand on the ground, which stung my face.

The moment they saw the land in front of them, all four of them stopped in their tracks.

Zhang Cuihua's smile froze on her lips.

"Why...why did the logistics department allocate such a piece of land?"

What we see before us is not land at all, but clearly an extension of a desolate Gobi desert.

The area is about 1.2 acres in size, with soil as hard as stone, covered with a layer of white salt frost, and it crunches when you step on it.

Looking around, apart from a few clumps of half-dead weeds, there was no other green to be seen.

Zhao Hongmei frowned, her voice full of heartache.

"Don't even mention planting vegetables in this land, I don't know if I can even dig it in with a shovel."

Li Xiuying sighed and tucked her wind-blown hair behind her ear.

"All the land that could be developed in our residential compound has been developed over the years; what's left are all these kinds of plots that nobody dares to touch."

Zhang Cuihua slapped her thigh.

"That's right. In my third year here, the residential compound even organized a large-scale land reclamation project."

She gestured with her hand.

"More than 20 people worked for three days to turn the soil. The logistics department brought half a truckload of compost. The seedlings did sprout, but they looked like soybean sprouts. They withered before they grew to less than two fingers tall."

Li Xiuying took over the conversation.

"Later, Lao Wei said that the soil in this area was too saline, and the seeds would burn as soon as they took root."

She turned and looked at Su Xingmian intently.

"Su sister, I'm not trying to discourage you, but the political commissar needs it urgently, and this is the only piece of land that the logistics department can spare."

"If you feel this isn't suitable, we can think of another way later."

Zhang Cuihua rubbed her hands together and softened her voice.

"Girl, the problem is it's already October. In another half month, it will freeze, and the seeds won't even sprout."

"If you can't stay idle, why don't you learn how to knit sweaters from the women here? Winters here are long."

Su Xingmian remained silent.

She walked to the edge of the field, squatted down, and placed her palms on the salt-covered soil.

The demonic power drilled down from his palm, spreading out inch by inch.

The topsoil was thoroughly salted and alkali-soaked, and the hardened particles felt rough and astringent under the demonic power.

But the demonic power didn't stop; it continued to probe downwards.

More than a meter underground, a dampness was surging.

It's a very thin water vein with a high salt content, but the water is alive, and it's connected to the underground water network she discovered on her way to the county town to get her marriage certificate.

Further down, three meters below, there is a relatively healthy layer of sandy soil.

It can be grown.

This land is not dead.

However, the surface environment is too harsh, and the roots of ordinary plants cannot penetrate to the soil layer three meters below, otherwise they will be burned to death by the surface salt and alkali.

As long as there is flowing water, she can revitalize this land.

However, directly stimulating it won't work, as that would violate the laws of nature and expose the demonic power.

We need to use visible physical methods as a foundation, with demonic power assisting from the shadows.

This will take time.

As for her sisters-in-law's well-intentioned advice, she understood that they were genuinely afraid she would waste her efforts.

Su Xingmian stood up and patted the dirt off her hands.

"It can be grown."

Zhang Cuihua was stunned.

"How do we plant this?"

"My grandmother taught me a traditional method back in our hometown: using wood ash and humus to transform saline-alkali land."

Zhao Hongmei asked a question.

"Where can we get humus? There aren't even many decent trees for miles around."

Su Xingmian raised his hand and pointed to the Helan Mountains in the distance.

"There are decomposed fallen leaves and soil in the mountains. If all else fails, you can collect some withered leaves, animal manure and stove ash from the family compound, mix them together and let them decompose, and that will make ready-made fertilizer."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the sputtering sound of a tractor came from not far away.

Logistics Director Lao Zhang jumped off the tractor, dusted himself off, and waved over.

"Family members of the political commissar! The tools have been delivered to you!"

He pointed behind him.

"I've also hired a helper for you; you can't go wrong asking him about farming."

Following behind him, jumping out of the tractor bed, was an old soldier with tanned skin, wearing an old military uniform.

The veteran's name was Wei Guodong. He had worked at the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Agricultural Station for ten years and was a recognized authority on farming in the area.

Wei Guodong walked to the edge of the field, took a shovel from the tractor bed, and stuck it into the ground.

The shovel went in only halfway before hitting the hard, compacted soil with a dull thud.

"Comrade Su, I heard you're going to grow vegetables?"

"Um."

"Let me tell you some numbers first, then you can decide whether to plant or not."

Wei Guodong stretched out a rough finger and pointed to the salt frost on the ground.

"The soil in this area has a salt content of 6.2 parts per thousand and a pH value of 8.9. I measured this myself two years ago."

He emphasized his words.

"The standard for saline-alkali land of Class II or above is 0.3%, and yours exceeds the standard by more than double."

The second finger is held upright.

"By mid-October, the lowest nighttime temperature on the northern slopes of the Helan Mountains had already dropped to minus three degrees Celsius, and after half a month, it stabilized below minus eight degrees Celsius."

"The planting window for most winter vegetables is in early September, you are already forty days late."

When he raised the third finger, there was a hint of regret in his voice.

"Comrade Su, I know you mean well and want to add some green vegetables for the soldiers, but farming is not something that can be done just by being kind."

"I spent ten years in northern Shaanxi. The fastest saline-alkali land improvement project I handled took two and a half years to show results."

He pulled the shovel out and stuck it to the side.

"You're still in the Gobi Desert, where the natural conditions are even worse. It won't last two and a half years."

The three military wives listening nearby nodded in agreement.

Zhang Cuihua tugged at Su Xingmian's sleeve and lowered her voice.

"Girl, Brother Wei is a real expert. We have to listen to his advice to make a living."

Su Xingmian ignored Zhang Cuihua's pulling.

She looked at Wei Guodong.

"Uncle Wei, I heard from the wives that you are the most knowledgeable about farming around here."

Wei Guodong's eyes flickered, but he didn't say anything.

"When you were testing the soil, did you dig it up to see if the ground was all the same?"

Wei Guodong didn't reply, but stared at her for two seconds.

This question doesn't sound like it comes from an outsider.

"We only dug 30 centimeters to take a sample. Any further down, it was like a sheet of iron; we couldn't dig any deeper."

Su Xingmian walked to the half-withered clump of sand onions at the edge of the field, squatted down, and brushed away the loose soil at the base of the roots to reveal a small section of darker, damp soil underneath.

"Uncle Wei, look, although the leaves of this wild onion are dry, there are still stubble at its roots."

She held out her fingers, which were covered in damp soil, to show him.

"My grandma used to say that to see if a piece of land is truly dead, you can't just look at the surface; you have to look at the weeds that have the deepest roots. If even those have rotted at the roots, then the land is truly beyond saving."

"The fact that these wild onions can still keep their roots means that the soil underneath them is not as saline as the surface soil, and there may even be a layer of permeable soil underneath that is nourishing them."

Wei Guodong remained silent.

He walked over and squatted down, parting the roots of the clump of sand onions that Su Xingmian pointed to. His rough fingers rubbed the mud on the stubble and then smelled it.

He didn't say anything for a long time.

"Your grandma works in agriculture?"

"My grandmother was a doctor, but she successfully cultivated medicinal herbs on the saline-alkali mudflats in her hometown."

"The principles of improving saline-alkali land are the same. The key is to find usable soil and water in the deep layers and then wash the surface salt down."

Wei Guodong slowly stood up and patted the dirt off his knees.

He looked at the roots of the clump of wild onions one last time and sighed.

"What you said makes a lot of sense, but reason is one thing, and actually putting it into practice is another."

"The root system of local wild grasses is different from that of the vegetables we want to grow. They can take root, but vegetable roots can't."

He raised his chin, but his expression softened considerably.

"However, it's not easy for a young woman like you to think of assessing soil fertility from the grassroots level."

"If you insist on trying, I won't stop you, but I have to say this first: if anything goes wrong, don't try to handle it alone. Come to the logistics department to find me anytime."

Old Zhang tried to smooth things over.

"Alright, alright, all the tools are here. If Comrade Su needs anything, just come to me, Old Zhang, anytime."

The tractor chugged away.

Su Xingmian picked up the shovel from the ground, and was about to speak when a figure jogged over from a distance.

It was Xiao Zhao, Zhou Bingheng's bodyguard. He stood at attention and saluted as he approached.

"Sister-in-law, I've come to report for duty on the orders of Political Commissar Zhou. Leave the heavy work of tilling the land to me."

The three military wives looked at each other and exchanged knowing glances.

Zhang Cuihua suppressed a laugh and gave a thumbs up.

"Look at us, our political commissar is really considerate."

Su Xingmian handed over the shovel, a slight smile playing on her lips.

The old fox wasn't even there, but he's still making a huge impact.

That same afternoon, in Lao Zhang's office in the logistics department.

Zhou Bingheng sat across from the desk and pushed a document over.

"Old Zhang, I just spoke with the logistics leaders at the division headquarters. Given that winter came early this year, the division headquarters has agreed to let our regiment stockpile supplies in advance in order to ensure winter supplies."

He pointed to the document.

"This is the vegetable procurement plan for next month, which will increase by 30% compared to the original plan."

Old Zhang's lips moved, but he swallowed back the words that were about to come out.

He worked in logistics for seven years. Not long after Zhou Bingheng took office as political commissar, the first thing he inquired about was the specific figures for food procurement, and he even increased the quantity by 30%.

This time point coincided with the first day that the family began construction on the saline-alkali land outside the east wall.

Old Zhang understood what was going on, but he didn't say anything.

"Okay, since there's approval, I'll make the arrangements tomorrow and make sure to purchase the required amount."

Zhou Bingheng nodded, stood up, and straightened the hem of his military uniform.

As he reached the door, he stopped, turned around, and said something.

"Just proceed with the procurement plan as usual; there's no need to publicize this matter."

Old Zhang stood at attention and responded.

"clear."

The door closed.

A gust of wind blew in from the end of the corridor, causing the work schedule on the wall to flutter.

Old Zhang looked down at the list again, shook his head, and muttered something to himself.

"The worst thing in this world is encountering someone who gets stuck on trivial matters. Fortunately, I also met someone even more calculating who's there to cover for me."