She Only Cares About Cultivation-Chapter 889 - 812: Famine Era 53

Danfeng Chaoyang now doesn’t drink much milk powder anymore. When no one is around, she will secretly enter the space to cook some millet pumpkin porridge and rice red dates porridge to supplement the children’s nutrition. The three children eat at least one egg every day.

Knowing that Tong Zhan went to build houses, she would ask every day when he came back how exactly those earth caves were built.

The truth was indeed as she described — dig a big square pit downward from the ground, build a triangular top with poplar wood that protrudes above the ground, with a skylight on the sunny side, a layer of straw, and then a thick layer of grassy mud on top of the straw.

In those harsh winter days in the earth cave, there would be a hollow fire wall made of adobe bricks reaching half a man’s height. On it, food could be heated, clothes dried, and the firewood in the stove would burn red hot, making the room warm and cozy. Despite the air being somewhat impure and the smell unpleasant, at least it wouldn’t freeze you to death in temperatures below minus ten degrees.

Of course, there were also downsides, like drafts. It’s said that during the season when grass and trees sprout, you might even find a few reeds growing from the head of your bed!

The advantage is it can withstand the wind and sandstorms commonly seen in desertified areas, and it’s warm in winter and cool in summer, but ventilation is relatively poor.

Each spring and autumn, strong gales from Siberia blow fiercely and frequently, lasting one or two days.

Even in seemingly good weather, the sky can suddenly change color, with sand and stones flying everywhere, darkening the day in an instant. The wind makes it hard for people to stand or walk, and they have no choice but to dive into the earth cave for a collective ’wind rest’ when the construction site is off-limits.

The thick yellow dust pours into the earth cave, and trying to plug the leaks with blankets and clothes barely helps. Dust would fill every exposed part of the body like nostrils and ears, making everyone look like dirt monkeys. But having gotten used to it, nobody minds anymore.

The earth cave is not just the soldiers’ ’dormitory,’ but also serves as their cafeteria, meeting room, etc.

A single earth cave of more than ten square meters has to accommodate more than a dozen people. Many regiment people even got married and had children in these caves.

In summer, temperatures on the Gobi desert can reach over 40 degrees Celsius.

After a night of strong winds, the bed and body are covered in sand.

The winter temperature drops below minus 20 degrees Celsius, and thick snow and ice cover the Gobi desert.

At night, you need to wear fur hats and coats to sleep. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Even then, it is still freezing, and you may wake in the morning with ice hanging from your hair.

This was the living environment the warriors of the Construction Corps faced when they first arrived in Xinjiang.

After listening to Tong Zhan describe what he learned outside, Ye Huan was stunned, as she realized she had underestimated the hardship. It’s not a bit better than the so-called cowshed they’d face in the future.

Even though they can’t live there forever, when the conditions improve, will it be in the 1970s or 1980s at the earliest?

However—"Actually, the living environment is bearable. What’s truly unbearable might be the bathing issue."

At this point, Tong Zhan sneaked a glance at Ye Huan and said, "Do you know how far the nearest river is from here?"

Ye Huan suddenly had a bad premonition, "Probably a day’s walk. Of course, it’s quicker by car, but our regiment has no hardware facilities when just established. If needed, we have to apply to the headquarters. So, wife, you might have to prepare for going the entire winter without a bath, and in summer bathing in the canal, the mud you scrub off might attract fish competing for it."

"It’s said that when the regiment was initially established, the environment for the troops was harsh, living conditions were poor, drinking water from ditches, sleeping in earth caves, and every time a sandstorm hit, the bed was full of sand. In winter there was no coal for heating. Soldiers huddled together on large bunks to keep warm, even sleeping in their clothes. They couldn’t bathe for an entire winter, with black grime encrusting their skin. In summer, they would bathe in the canal, and the grime scrubbed off would attract many fish..."

"For instance, in winter, a rat might unexpectedly intrude into the earth cave at midnight, crawl into a veteran’s bed, and bite his toe; in summer, a snake might sneak silently into the earth cave, hiding in a neatly folded quilt. At night, when the veteran unrolls the quilt, they could touch the cold snake, getting scared and shouting loudly. Rats and snakes, being creatures that dwell underground, naturally consider the soldiers’ earth cave their home as well."

"I’ve observed carefully, these earth cave barracks, the wooden doors are not tightly sealed. In winter you nail an old mattress to the door, and in summer hang an old bed sheet, just to block the cold and wind. The gaps around the door frame are big enough for small animals to squeeze into the earth cave. Especially in the hot summer, a single mosquito flying in can keep the whole class of warriors awake until it’s killed."

Ye Huan: "...." Is it too late to regret now? What should I do if I feel deceived?

As to who deceived her, only the brainwashed Ye Huan herself knew deep down.

Her eyes reddened a bit, voice choked as she looked at Tong Zhan: "Sorry, I was too reckless, right? I should have asked clearly before letting you make this decision. Now it’s like I’ve put our whole family on the fire to roast."

Tong Zhan found it amusing seeing her like this, "Silly girl, do you think, with just one word from you, you could change my mind about planning to come to Xinjiang? Since I agreed to come and wrote the application report, I must have thought it through carefully and conducted an in-depth investigation. A point I agree with you on is, us suffering here can indeed add a significant entry to our resumes, which will only be beneficial, not harmful."

"Moreover, if we stayed in Beijing, we’d also face a lot of gossip, especially the three kids. If we want them to grow up in a place where no one knows them, coming out of here is the best choice. So, don’t belittle yourself. Whether the future is good or bad, only time will tell. For this generation, enduring some hardship isn’t a bad thing; only by suffering can you rise above others in the future."