Chapter 4: As long as you wield the hoe diligently, you can cultivate deeply.

Corn pointed out everyone he had his eye on to Jiang Chen'an.

Jiang Chen'an looked over and said, "Why don't you go ask? Though, I don't think they're very likely to agree."

As long as Corn could find people, he had no objections. After all, Corn was picking popular candidates, and each of them already had several people standing by, inviting them to form a team.

Everyone knew that clearing wasteland was grueling labor. Naturally, the preferred choices for a team were strong, able-bodied young men. Next were those slightly older, who possessed a natural advantage in experience. Last of all were half-grown boys like Jiang Chen'an and Corn.

As for women, they were completely excluded from the considerations of the men present—not to mention Gu Xiaomai, who had fainted on the road for a whole day.

Gu Xiaomai knew her own situation; she figured no one would voluntarily want to team up with her, so she just stood there, watching Corn busy himself with recruiting.

Soon, the teams were formed. Corn returned to Jiang Chen'an’s side, dejected. The people he wanted to recruit were all unwilling to team up with him and Brother Chen. These people had no eye for talent!

The men of the reclamation squad formed seven groups of three. This left Jiang Chen'an, Corn, Gu Xiaomai, and four other women.

Mi Tang looked at the seven people and was about to speak when Jiang Chen'an said, "Officer Mi, let the three of us—Corn, Gu Xiaomai, and myself—be a group."

Mi Tang glanced at the three of them, said nothing, and looked at the remaining four women. "Then the four of you can be a group."

Corn was even more dejected. Sister Xiaomai was a nice person, but she just wasn't suited for manual labor!

Gu Xiaomai was somewhat surprised by Jiang Chen'an's choice. After all, the remaining four women looked healthier and more capable than she did. However, since he had chosen her, she...

Sigh! She couldn't do much heavy lifting anyway!

After the groups were divided, it was time to assign tents. The No. 5 tent at the northernmost end was reserved for the five women, including Gu Xiaomai.

The adjacent No. 4 tent housed Mi Tang, Jiang Chen'an, Corn, and the Zhang Tao group.

Zhang Tao was the one Corn had described as having sturdy, powerful arms. He wasn't much older than Jiang Chen'an and Corn, and his group consisted of young men who looked quite strong.

The remaining three tents were divided among the other six groups.

Once the tents were assigned, each group went to Mi Tang to collect their supplies. Everyone received a 10-day supply of nutrient solution and drinking water. Each person received one piece of essential farm equipment: a hoe, a sickle, a rake, and a plow. For collection tools like ropes, bags, axes, and brush hooks, each group received one set.

The metal parts of these tools were gray, looking very much like iron, but Gu Xiaomai felt they were different from the iron she had seen in her past life. Unable to figure it out, she set the thought aside.

Gu Xiaomai divided the group's supplies evenly onto each person's bed, then waited on the spot for Jiang Chen'an and Corn to move their things first, before helping her with hers.

When Gu Xiaomai followed her bed and belongings into the No. 5 tent, the only available spots were on the two sides near the entrance. There was nothing to choose from, so she had Jiang Chen'an and Corn place the bed on the right side of the door.

The four women who had been talking stopped their conversation and looked at the three of them as they entered.

After setting up the bed, Jiang Chen'an and Corn left.

Gu Xiaomai thought about how they would be living together for a long time to come, so she took the initiative to greet them with a smile: "Hello, sisters."

Years of dormitory life had taught her that harmonious roommate relations were crucial, and a smiling face was never wrong.

"Haha... calling me 'sister' makes this grandmother-generation woman feel much younger. My name is Liu Ju. If you don't mind, you can call me Grandma Liu."

Liu Ju, the oldest of the four and the one living next to Gu Xiaomai, smiled as she replied and introduced the other three.

Across from them, further inside, was Wan Chuncui's bed.

Wan Chuncui looked younger than Liu Ju and was the most neatly dressed of the four, wearing the best fabric. Her face was clean, and one could tell she had lived a decent life in the base, though she seemed devoid of spirit. When Gu Xiaomai greeted her, she only nodded faintly.

Opposite Wan Chuncui was Wei Xiaoqin. Although her clothes weren't as nice as Wan Chuncui's, they were clean and without patches. She spoke gently, giving off a very comfortable feeling.

Next to Wei Xiaoqin was Meng Xue. Her clothes, like Liu Ju's, were covered in patch upon patch, and they were all dark, so it was impossible to tell if they were clean. Her hands were covered in calluses and scars from hard labor. She was three years younger than Wei Xiaoqin, but looked five or six years older. As she smoothed her bed, the sleeves she pulled up revealed new and old scars on her arms.

Since they had just arrived, no one was looking for trouble, and the five of them interacted quite harmoniously.

The men's side was the same; those who entered the reclamation squad were all looking for a way to survive. Even the convicts doing labor reform had the same mindset—coming out to reclaim land was much easier than being sent to the mines.

Before they had even finished tidying up, they were called by Mi Tang to bring out the farm tools they had been issued.

"Your current task is to reclaim and till the land. First, clear the weeds on the ground, turn the soil over with a hoe or plow, and then use a rake to level it out."

"Officer Mi, how are we supposed to use these hoes, rakes, and plows?" everyone asked.

When they left the base, they used knives and axes that could serve as both weapons and tools for gathering and harvesting. They had never seen agricultural implements like hoes and rakes, let alone the strange-looking plows.

Except for older people like Liu Ju and Xia Yang—the thin, elderly man who had been in line ahead of Gu Xiaomai for supplies—as well as Gu Xiaomai, the others were young and likely only had a faint childhood impression of such tools. Those even younger, born around the time of the cataclysm, didn't recognize them at all, let alone know how to use them.

Even Mi Tang had only learned how to use them by attending a training course organized by the base after he found out he would be in charge of the reclamation squad. The teachers for the course were old farmers from before the cataclysm who had taught them how to plow, weed, and sow seeds.

Mi Tang felt his theoretical knowledge was solid and was certain he could lead everyone to reclaim the wasteland in Camp E4 and grow plenty of detoxifying plants for the soldiers.

Mi Tang led everyone to a designated area to introduce the various tools.

He picked up a hoe first. "The hoe is a multi-purpose agricultural tool. It can be used for harvesting, digging holes, making ridges, tilling, covering soil, weeding, breaking up soil, cultivating, earthing up... Pay close attention."

Bending down, Mi Tang tightened his grip on the hoe handle, recalling the movements of those old farmers from class. He stood up, raised the hoe, and swung it gently, burying it deep into the soil. With a light tug, the hoe pulled up a large clump of earth.

Mi Tang breathed a sigh of relief. Excellent, he had done exactly what the old farmers said, and his confidence grew. He hoed a few more times, using a clanging motion to break up the large clumps of soil, then used the rake to level it out.

"That's roughly how these two are used. Understand?"

Everyone nodded; it looked easy and simple.

Mi Tang picked up a plow from the side. "This is a hand-pulled single-share plow. It can be used for ridging, furrowing, earthing up, cultivating..."

After introducing the functions of the hand-pulled plow, Mi Tang demonstrated for the group while explaining the parts.

"Before the plowshare goes into the ground, you must adjust the weight frame and the tilt rod. This is to allow the share to go deeper into the soil for cultivation or deep plowing. The specific adjustment depends on the user. Once these two are set, you can start plowing."

Mi Tang immediately started plowing the land next to where he had just used the hoe. With a light pull, the share entered the ground, and large chunks of soil were turned over. It looked much easier than using a hoe.

After taking a few steps, Mi Tang stopped. "The rest is just like before: break up the large chunks of soil and rake them level."

"The plots have been divided, each about one mu in size. Each person must reclaim one mu. You can do it individually, or you can cooperate within your group. As long as you complete the acreage corresponding to the number of people in your group, that's fine."

"Alright, spread out and get to work."

Everyone returned to their tents to fetch their tools and chose their plots to begin.

Corn looked left and right. Some groups were splitting up, with each person picking a plot, while others chose to work together on one. "Brother Chen, how should we do this?"

Jiang Chen'an looked at Gu Xiaomai. "Let's do it together."

With that, he walked toward an empty plot.

"Sure." Corn followed.

Gu Xiaomai had no objections; it was clear these two were looking after her. She grabbed the hoe and the hand-pulled plow and followed closely behind.

Once they started turning the soil, everyone realized that whether using a hoe or a plow, it was not as easy as it looked when Mi Tang did it—especially for Gu Xiaomai.

Between the hoe and the plow, Gu Xiaomai chose the hoe; she didn't have the strength to pull the plow in her current state.

The moment the hoe hit the ground, Gu Xiaomai’s hands were numbed by the shock, yet the hoe had only penetrated two fingers' depth into the dirt.

Gu Xiaomai pursed her lips; she had known it would be like this.

When she was weeding earlier, she had discovered that the ground here was hard as rock.

Corn glanced at the effect of Gu Xiaomai's hoeing and burst into laughter. "Haha... Xiaomai, you're using way too little strength. Watch me."

With a loud thud, Corn's hoe sank halfway into the ground. "See that? You have to use some strength. You have to do it like me."

*You didn't go that deep either!* Though she thought this, Gu Xiaomai still put on a smile. "Mm, I see, Brother Corn."

Her next swing, despite being forceful, still didn't sink very deep into the soil.

By the time Jiang Chen'an and Corn had finished half a row, Gu Xiaomai was still stuck at the beginning. The ground was just too hard, and combined with the travel and setting up the beds, she was already severely drained from blood loss and exhaustion. She had no strength left now.

Gu Xiaomai cursed internally while swinging the hoe diligently. As long as she swung often enough, she would eventually get deep!

Corn lifted his hoe from the ground, turning over a large clump of earth. "Brother Chen, Sister Xiaomai is really holding us back. This won't work! Look at how much the others have turned over."

Jiang Chen'an let go of the plow and shook his straining arms to relax them for a moment, glancing at Gu Xiaomai, who had barely moved.

"Let her break up the large clumps and clear the weeds where we've already turned the soil!"

"Sigh! That's the only way! I'll go tell her."

Corn ran over and told Gu Xiaomai their decision.

"Brother Corn, thank you." She didn't know how many times she had said "thank you" to these two today; it was starting to make her feel like the "thank you" in her mouth wasn't worth much.

Corn waved his hand and hurried back to continue hoeing.

Seeing the sun about to set, if they didn't hurry, with their group's labor force effectively being only two people, there was no telling how long it would take to finish three mu of land.

After the sun went down, Mi Tang called for everyone to stop and rest.

After two days of traveling and half a day of reclaiming land, everyone was exhausted, yet they were all excited as they lay on clean, warm beds. It had been a long time since they had lain on new, clean, warm sheets and quilts.

Filled with excitement, anticipation, and anxiety about the future, no one could drift off to sleep quickly.

Gu Xiaomai couldn't fall asleep either. Lying on the bed, she thought about the progress their group had lost, and feeling that she had held them back, she felt a sliver of self-reproach.

As her body relaxed, the pain became more apparent: heavy legs, aching arms, red and stinging hands...

Her exhausted and weak body made her abandon that touch of self-reproach, and her eyes gradually misted over.

After her parents passed away, she had been the one to tend the family’s little vegetable garden, and she hadn't felt that farming was this miserable back then!

They had to live like this for six more months. Just thinking about it was terrifying—it was too bitter! Truly too bitter!

The more she thought, the more miserable she felt. And this broken body—she had to think of another way. Otherwise, she would surely work herself to death sooner or later.

And there were Jiang Chen'an and Corn, such good people. What could she do to avoid dragging them down while also not being so exhausted herself?

Thinking and thinking, Gu Xiaomai slowly drifted into a deep sleep.

Deep within her body, that rough little bead once again condensed a millet-sized drop of liquid. It flowed into her heart and lungs, traveled through her limbs and torso, and finally, as it reached the size of a needle tip, it seeped into her bone marrow.

The furrow in her brow, caused by physical discomfort, gradually smoothed out, and she slept more soundly than ever.