The kang (heated brick bed) for left-behind women

In the evening, the two of them washed up early.

"You're a little better than other men." Li Ruoxue had already washed up and climbed onto the kang (heated brick bed).

"What is it?" Lin Dachun asked curiously.

"It's because you love cleanliness. Every time you come back from farm work, you always clean yourself up, wash your face and feet, and change your dirty clothes. You're very clean," Li Ruoxue replied with a smile.

"Isn't that what I should do? Otherwise, I'd make the kang (heated brick bed) dirty. Besides, I'm old, and if I don't wash, it'll smell bad," Lin Dachun replied.

"No, there's no smell at all," Li Ruoxue replied with a smile. "Don't think you're old. You're only forty, in your prime."

The next day.

Lin Dachun woke up just as dawn broke.

Li Ruoxue was fast asleep in his arms, breathing evenly, her cheeks still warm.

He carefully got up, trying not to disturb her, and moved quietly.

Lin Dachun's heavy sense of responsibility and determination became clearer and more unwavering.

He glanced at Li Ruoxue's sleeping profile, turned and left the cave, his steps more steady and powerful than usual.

Lin Dachun went directly to the village office, where the old Party Secretary was squatting at the door, eating cornbread with pickled vegetables while holding an enamel mug.

"Old Party Secretary," Lin Dachun called out.

The old Party Secretary looked up, saw it was him, and was somewhat surprised: "Dachun? Something wrong so early in the morning?"

"Something's up, something important." Lin Dachun squatted down next to him, took out a pipe from his pocket, but didn't light it in a hurry. He got straight to the point, "I want to lease that barren slope on the back mountain, the one east of Yefuling, above Luanshigou."

The old Party Secretary was stunned for a moment, almost choking on his cornbread: "Contract a barren slope? What do you want that desolate place for? To grow crops? The soil there is as thin as paper, nothing grows there!"

"We won't grow crops." Lin Dachun shook his head, his gaze fixed on the misty mountains in the distance. "We'll plant sea buckthorn."

"Sea buckthorn?" The old Party Secretary was even more confused. "Those sour thorny berries that cover the whole mountain valley? What's the use of that stuff? Even the livestock don't like to eat it!"

"Try boiling sea buckthorn berries and maltose to make a beverage," Lin Dachun said in a deep voice. "I'm thinking that sea buckthorn is easy to grow and doesn't require special soil conditions. If we plant it and it bears fruit, it might not only be useful for this, but also for other purposes. That barren slope is just sitting idle anyway, so I'm thinking of leasing it out and giving it a try."

The old Party Secretary sized up Lin Dachun.

He knew about Lin Dachun's family situation; they had lost their son and were struggling to make ends meet.

But in his memory, Lin Dachun was an honest man who worked hard without lifting a finger. When did he have the guts and the inclination to do these things?

"Dachun, have you thought this through? That's not just one or two acres; that hillside land, piece by piece, must be at least twenty or thirty acres."

"But how much effort and money will you have to put in to clear the land, cultivate seedlings, and plant them? If it doesn't work out, it will all be for nothing." The old Party Secretary said seriously, he really thought this was a risky business.

"I've thought it through." Lin Dachun's tone remained unwavering. "I'll figure out the money. As for the kung fu, Ruoxue and I have it. Old Party Secretary, just give me a straight answer: does the team allow contracting? And what are the regulations?"

The old Party Secretary looked at the rare, do-or-die spirit in his eyes and remained silent for a long while.

He thought of Lin Dachun's son and sighed inwardly.

This old fellow has probably been driven to the brink and is now determined to fight to the death.

"We can agree to let them take it," the old Party Secretary finally relented. "The current policy encourages land reclamation to revitalize the economy. That land belongs to the collective's barren hills, and according to the rules, it can be contracted out to individuals to develop forestry or cash crops. The contract period must be at least five years. Let's not talk about the contract fee; it's all our village's own land, and it's just sitting there empty. There are only a few households in the village, so let's just give a token amount, the lowest possible, otherwise I won't be able to explain myself."

"But Da Chun, have you really thought this through? Once you sign this, there's no turning back."

"Five years it is!" Lin Dachun immediately replied, "The lowest price is fine! Old Party Secretary, please ask around as soon as possible, I need to start construction as soon as the ground thaws in the spring!"

The old Party Secretary nodded: "Alright, I'll discuss this in a meeting in the next couple of days. But Da Chun, let me be clear from the start, the team can only give you land; we can't help with anything else. If things don't go smoothly, or if it causes any trouble..."

"I will bear all the consequences myself! I will never implicate the group!" Lin Dachun said resolutely.