Chapter 371 - 240: Temporary Members

Chapter 371: Chapter 240: Temporary Members

Over the past few days, a few more outsiders had trickled into Dragon King Pond.

Whether adults or children, they were all skin and bones when they arrived, so starved they hardly looked human. The Dragon King Pond Team Committee followed the previously established rules and settled them in with ease. Grateful for the chance to survive, their enthusiasm for work was incredibly high, and they worked much faster than the regular commune members.

The only problem was that Third Master Zhao was growing more anxious by the day as he watched the grain in the warehouse dwindle.

"Kiddo, I did the math. At this rate, our grain reserves won’t last two months. And that’s with everyone eating just two meals a day, and only until they’re half-full."

"Third Master, I know. Don’t worry. How about this? A lot of things for my new house can be prepared now—the doors, windows, and all sorts of household necessities. Why don’t you first calculate how many work points it’ll take to make everything, and I’ll give you the grain for it to put into the warehouse."

"Alright, that works."

Third Master Zhao cheered up instantly. Zhao Wendong resisted the urge to roll his eyes at him. "What are you so worked up for, old man? Once Big Wang gets back from trading for grain, we’ll have another influx, won’t we?"

The old man just chuckled without replying, contentedly taking a couple of puffs from his pipe.

By now it was late February, and the weather had grown noticeably warmer. Though still cold, the bone-chilling frost had begun to recede. When the sun came out during the day, the icicles under the eaves started to drip, a steady DRIP-DRIP-DRIP that lasted all day long.

Zhao Wendong stood on a seaside reef, gazing at the ice sheet in the distance. The edges of the ice were beginning to fracture. Waves lapped against the margin, breaking off chunk after chunk of ice from the main sheet, which then drifted away with the current.

"It’s thawing."

Lin Zhiyin stood beside him, wrapped in an old scarf, her cheeks flushed red by the sea breeze.

"Yeah, I see. In another ten days or so, all this ice will be gone."

"Does that mean we can go out to sea?"

"More or less. But we still don’t have enough nets and boats. Besides, the water is still too cold. We’ll have to go out much farther to get a decent catch."

Lin Zhiyin leaned closer to him.

"Wendong, are you sure you can get enough food from the sea?"

Zhao Wendong put an arm around her shoulder, his tone light.

"Don’t worry, darling. I’m confident. No matter how hard this year gets, it’ll be better than the last one. We have boats, we have nets, and we have a crew of capable brothers. We won’t starve."

"Mm, I believe in you."

The two of them stood by the sea, enjoying a rare moment alone together. Neither spoke, simply holding each other. There was a look of absolute certainty in Zhao Wendong’s eyes. He knew this sea far too well; in his past life, he had made his living on these waters for a lifetime. He knew every hidden reef, every small island, like the back of his hand.

Back in the village, Zhao Wendong saw Zhao Weiguo and a group of men sorting farm tools in the open space in front of the team headquarters. Hoes, shovels, plows, and rakes were laid out on the ground, a few of them rusted beyond recognition.

"Uncle Weiguo, starting to prep for the spring plowing already?"

Zhao Weiguo was squatting on the ground, sharpening a hoe.

"You bet. We’ll have to start tilling the soil in half a month. We need to get these tools ready ahead of time. Just look at this hoe, look how rusted it is."

"Dongzi, you have any ideas for this year’s spring plowing?"

Zhao Wendong squatted down and drew a few lines in the dirt with a twig.

"Uncle Weiguo, things are different this year. Besides our usual grain, we need to plant more things that can really stave off hunger. Corn will still be our main crop, but we need to plant a lot more sweet potatoes and potatoes. Both of those have high yields, and in a famine year, they can be lifesavers."

Zhao Weiguo thought for a moment.

"Sweet potatoes and potatoes do have high yields, but the seeds are hard to come by. And more importantly, don’t we have to plant according to the county’s unified plan?"

"Screw that. Listen to me, not them. I’ll figure out a way to get the seeds. We’re going to plant whatever gives us the highest yield."

Zhao Weiguo nodded.

"Alright. We’ll sort it out when the time comes. Anyway, you make the decisions on the big stuff. We’ll just handle the work."

Zhao Wendong could only sigh in exasperation. "Uncle Weiguo, between the two of us, who’s actually the production team leader here?!"

"I am. But here in Dragon King Pond, the Civilian Militia Captain is a bigger deal than the production team leader."

"Hahahaha!"

The others nearby overheard their exchange and burst out laughing. As funny as Zhao Weiguo’s comment was, everyone knew in their hearts that he was right. Zhao Wendong was the true leader of Dragon King Pond.

"Third Brother, Brother Niu is here!"

Zhao Wenwu suddenly ran over, shouting to Zhao Wendong. Zhao Wendong’s eyes lit up. Niu Yuesheng was back from his trip. Now he could take the brothers directly to his second aunt’s house, and then to Dahei Mountain right next to it. They could pull off one last big haul before the spring thaw!