Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 235 The conditions are similar

the next day.

After getting off work in the afternoon, Chen Fan carried a bucket of water to the back slope to water the newly transplanted herbs in the herb garden.

It was called a medicinal herb garden, but it was actually the area on the west side of the house he had designated, bordering the rice paddies.

These herbs have different growing habits. Some like dark and damp places, so they are planted in ditches and embankments under mixed trees. Others like sunlight, so they are planted on the top of slopes. It is also necessary to clear away the surrounding weeds to prevent them from stealing the nutrients from the herbs.

Since Master Lu's main purpose was to teach Chen Fan to identify medicinal herbs, he collected many kinds, but in small quantities of each. So after Chen Fan transplanted these herbs, he left a large area around them to increase the number of herbs he could plant.

Since getting off work yesterday afternoon, he hasn't done anything except eat and sleep; he's been focused entirely on herbs.

Fortunately, these herbs are almost everywhere in the fields; he just hadn't paid attention to them before. Now that he's looking for them, he can easily find a lot.

Even this small, barren hillside is covered with all sorts of medicinal herbs.

Moreover, due to the "complexity" of the terrain here, there are more varieties than in the fields outside, so Chen Fan mainly wanders around this wasteland.

Different kinds of herbs are transplanted together according to their growth habits, and then they are watered to improve their survival rate.

Unfortunately, the time was too short. In just one day, he could only clear a small area. It would take at least a month to clear the entire mountain.

The main reason is that Jiang Lili and the others have to work with the production team, and Chen Fan can't always treat them as long-term laborers, so he has to take it slowly on his own.

Just as Chen Fan was working hard, he heard footsteps. He turned around and saw Captain Yang, Accountant Liu, Warehouse Keeper Huang, and the security guard walking over together.

Chen Fan immediately washed his hands in the bucket of water, then shook them a few times without wiping them, and rubbed them on his clothes until they were almost dry.

He then took out a pack of Donghai cigarettes and went to greet them.

While offering cigarettes, he smiled and said, "Wait a moment, I'll be done here soon and go back to cook."

Jiang Lili and the others didn't come to help because they were preparing the ingredients for cooking, so he could start cooking as soon as he got back.

Anquan waved his hand and laughed, "No rush, no rush, it's still early, and we can't eat much anyway."

He looked around, then turned to his head and asked in surprise, "This area should be about two acres, right? Did you cultivate it all by yourself?"

Captain Yang chuckled from the side, "And there's that area below too; the total exceeds three acres."

He was referring to the piece of land next to the educated youth settlement that was intended to be used as a "road".

Anquan looked back, nodded, and smiled, "Yes, yes, there's more below."

As he spoke, he began to reminisce about the past, “I remember that the area near the educated youth compound was full of miscellaneous trees. The cedar forest in front was originally a firewood forest specially approved for us by the commune, but at that time the trees were still small, so we cut down the miscellaneous trees behind it.”

As the fir trees grew a bit bigger, batches of educated youth came and went, and everyone got used to cutting down miscellaneous trees for firewood in the back, and no one touched the fir trees.

Moreover, the straw and cotton stalks harvested twice a year are enough for cooking and heating, so even miscellaneous trees are rarely cut down, let alone those on this hillside. Seeing it today, I realized this area is actually quite large.

He turned to look at Chen Fan and said, "You cleared such a large area all by yourself; that's truly remarkable."

Chen Fan smiled and shook his head, pointing down and saying, "I cleaned up that area myself."

Then he pointed to the empty plot of land, "This area was cleared out by a few girls who lived in our yard."

Anquan nodded in realization, but still said, "That's still very impressive."

He looked around again. "This place is so big, how do you plan to decorate it?"

Chen Fan laughed and said, "Originally, I wanted to plant trees all around, such as fir, camphor, and banyan trees, but Captain Yang said he did not recommend doing so, so I gave up on that plan."

Anquan nodded and said, "Old Yang is right. If you plant trees, you'll have to submit a report to cut them down later. Also, too many trees are not good. They'll attract birds and insects. You're the only household here, so it will be a hassle."

After a pause, he continued, "If you ask me, you might as well plant fruit trees. Fruit trees are generally not very big, so whether you plant them or cut them down, the forestry bureau won't care. Plus, you'll get fruit to eat. If you're willing, I can help you get in touch with some fruit tree seedlings later."

He looked at the nearby miscellaneous trees and laughed, “There are actually quite a few wild fruit trees here. I remember a few orange trees that were incredibly sour. But although the fruit of these wild fruit trees is inedible, you can use these trees as the main trunk for grafting. This way, the fruiting period is shorter, and you don’t have to go through the trouble of cutting down and planting trees.”

Chen Fan thought for a moment, nodded and smiled, "That's a good idea too, planting some fruit trees would be nice."

But then he pointed to the area to the east and said with a wry smile, "Actually, I wanted to plant trees mainly to prevent sandstorms. This place is about the same height as the river embankment. If there are no trees to block the wind, the sand and dust from the river embankment will blow directly onto my house. Then the house will be full of dust every day, and I won't be able to keep up with the cleaning." Anquan was slightly taken aback and frowned, saying, "That is indeed a troublesome matter."

He turned to look at Captain Yang and the other two, and said seriously, “When we first came to the educated youth settlement, we had the same problem. Unlike now, there is a small patch of mixed trees next to it. Back then, there was no shelter between the educated youth settlement and the river embankment. No matter spring, summer, autumn or winter, the yard was full of sand blown in by the wind. We didn’t care about the sand on the ground, but we could wipe a basin of muddy water out of the house every day. It was really uncomfortable.”

Upon hearing this, Captain Yang nodded slightly, then put his hands behind his back and fell into deep thought.

After a while, he turned his head and looked at it, frowning as he said, "Xiao Chen, do you think this will work?"

He pointed to the relatively tall miscellaneous trees and said, "When I have time, I'll find someone to come and transplant these big trees that still have some branches and leaves to the east side. I'll also prune the branches and leaves for you so that you can graft fruit trees."

Although these miscellaneous trees are not particularly tall, they can still serve a certain purpose. Then, you can plant three to five rows of taller trees next to your house, among those miscellaneous trees.

There's no need to get any saplings for these big trees. The team has plenty of all kinds of trees, including poplars, fir trees, locust trees, mulberry trees, camphor trees, and banyan trees. I'll apply to the commune for you later and transplant a batch of them.

If you need more, you can find them in other teams. A single tree doesn't cost much. After you buy them, you can transplant them here.

It's springtime now, so the survival rate should be relatively high. If they survive, they'll form a ready-made forest. Isn't that much better than replanting saplings?!

Upon hearing this, Chen Fan was overjoyed and immediately smiled broadly. "Sure, I don't need much, just enough to cover this part of my yard from the slope to the top."

If things could really be done as Captain Yang suggested, he would be more than happy to do so.

On the one hand, the number of trees needed is indeed much smaller. On the other hand, planting tall trees and low miscellaneous trees along the slope can form a three-dimensional protection that can block the dust blown in from the river embankment on the east side, ensuring that the yard is clean.

By then, the east side will be a sand-prevention forest and a few fruit trees, the north and west sides will be medicinal herb fields, plus a small vegetable garden, and our own two-acre courtyard will be transformed into a garden.

Imagine what it will look like after it's built; it's definitely much better than being surrounded by trees on three sides.

Captain Yang and the others didn't feel anything, they just thought it was strange that Chen Fan lived here all by himself. If it weren't for the other educated youth settlement in front of him, he would probably really be a "lonely man".

However, his sense of security was far superior to theirs, and he immediately smiled at Chen Fan and said, "If this place is arranged according to your plan, it will be no worse than a villa in a big city."

Accountant Liu, with a face full of eagerness to learn, asked, "A villa? What's that?"

Don't blame him for being ignorant; in this day and age, in a place like Nanhu Commune, people who know the word "villa" are practically nonexistent.

In the eyes of ordinary people, living in a "garden" or an apartment in the city is the life of the upper class.

Buildings, especially those representing "developed societies," are the goal of most people's struggles. It's just that people in rural areas today don't even have the opportunity to strive for that.

Nowadays, the best houses in production teams across the country are "brick and tile houses." If someone can build a brick and tile house, people who want to marry them can line up for three miles.

As for villas, what are those?

Have not heard!
Anquan explained to him, "Villas are houses where rich people in big cities live. They are houses with a fenced yard, where they build two or three-story buildings with gardens in front and behind. Ordinary people can't afford to live there."

Accountant Liu nodded in realization, "So it's about fenced off a yard and building a small building inside?"

Seeing that Anquan nodded in confirmation, he turned to Captain Yang and custodian Huang and smiled, "The rich people in big cities don't have high standards either. The only difference between them and us is that they live in two-story houses, while we are still living in mud-walled houses."

The custodian glanced at him and said, "Yes, the conditions are about the same. Once you tear down your mud-brick house and build a two-story house, you'll be a rich man in the big city."

Captain Yang grinned and laughed heartily, "Him? At most, he's just a rich man from Lujiawan."

Accountant Liu didn't take it to heart and chuckled, "If I could really become a rich person in Lujiawan, I'd consider it a great achievement!"

The custodian, Mr. Huang, laughed and said, "Then you'll be the first person in Lujiawan to earn ten thousand yuan."

Before Huang Xinwen, a skilled pig farmer in Zhongshan County, made it into the newspaper, the concept of a "ten-thousand-yuan household" had already become a slogan for rural development and farmers' prosperity. Later research confirmed that many people across the country had indeed become "ten-thousand-yuan households" at that time, which is why the warehouse keeper, Huang, used it as a joke.

What truly made Huang Xinwen's name known throughout the country was after his success in raising pigs was featured in the newspaper, but that was still two years ago.

However, for a long time, whether it was from the moment this slogan was uttered or after Huang Xinwen became famous throughout the country, this slogan was just a slogan to ordinary farmers.

Accountant Liu shook his head repeatedly, "Ten thousand yuan? I wouldn't even dare to dream of that. I can earn a thousand or two, build a small house, and I'll be laughing in my sleep every night."

Anquan pointed at Chen Fan and laughed, "That depends on how Chen's side business goes."

(End of this chapter)