Go back to the past to plant trees

The next day, when Feng Cheng and Zhao Jinquan got up, Zhao Tianshan had already returned from his workout.

"Feng Cheng, this won't do. You need to get up early and exercise. That way you can stay healthy and have plenty of energy."

Seeing that Feng Cheng and Zhao Jinquan got up so late, Zhao Tianshan was somewhat dissatisfied.

Feng Cheng yawned sleepily and said nonchalantly, "Old Zhao, if you still have this idea in a couple of days, then I'll really admire you."

“This is not the military. There is a lot of work. If you want to work, you can work from sunrise to sunset. This amount of work is more tiring than running 30 kilometers.”

Zhao Jinquan also said, "Brother Zhao, it's not that we don't exercise, it's just that we have no choice. You know how difficult these past two years have been. If we exercise more, we eat more. There's not much to eat to begin with, so how can we dare to exercise? Therefore, we generally try to stay still as much as possible."

Zhao Tianshan was stunned. He really hadn't expected this. When he was in the army, he trained every day without fail. Although the army also faced difficulties, he didn't feel much hardship because he had his own farm and the country would not cut off supplies to the army.

When he arrived at the Forestry Bureau, the most difficult time had passed. Although the food at the bureau was not very good, with his salary and position, he could eat his fill without any problem. Therefore, he had always maintained the habit of exercising. Today, after hearing what Feng Cheng and Zhao Jinquan said, he realized that he was no longer in the army and had to adapt to his current job.

"Jin Quan, hurry up and get ready to cook."

Seeing that Zhao Tianshan was stunned, Feng Cheng urged Zhao Jinquan, giving Zhao Tianshan a way out.

"Okay, right away."

Zhao Jinquan brushed his teeth quickly, washed his face, and then put away his toiletries.

"Feng Cheng, what are we going to do later?"

After Zhao Jinquan left, Zhao Tianshan couldn't help but ask.

Feng Cheng replied, "Go and prepare the new nursery! The land there needs to be turned over; we'll be sowing seeds in a couple of days."

"So you're going to turn the soil over, huh!"

"That's about it, it's like tending a vegetable garden, but this requires more attention to detail."

"Okay, then teach me how to do it later."

Half an hour later, the three of them ate something and went to the nursery.

The new nursery was fertilized last year. Now we mainly need to turn the soil over, prepare the fine soil, and finally sow the seeds.

Upon arriving at the nursery, Feng Cheng taught Zhao Tianshan how to do the work, and then Zhao Jinquan pulled him aside.

“Brother Feng, I talked to my brother about that temporary worker position, and he thinks it should be given to Zheng Erqiang because Erqiang’s family is relatively poor. It’s just him and his grandmother at home, and he needs this job more than my brother.”

Zhao Jinquan had wanted to tell Feng Cheng about this for a while, but Feng Cheng had come back with Zhao Tianshan yesterday, and the three of them had been staying together. Zhao Jinquan didn't want to ask about it in front of Zhao Tianshan, because Zhao Tianshan was the captain, and in Zhao Jinquan's eyes, he was an official. Zhao Jinquan didn't know if Feng Cheng would object after hearing about it, so he didn't dare to say it in front of him.

"Is your brother sure he wants to give it to Zheng Erqiang?"

"Um, Brother Feng, will we be hiring more people here in the future?" Zhao Jinquan didn't answer Feng Cheng's question, but instead asked a question in return.

"They'll probably hire, but even if they do, your brother might not get in. You need to be prepared for that, and it's best not to take any chances."

"Then let's give it to Erqiang this time! My brother has already decided."

Feng Cheng glanced at him and then said, "Okay, as long as your brother doesn't regret it."

"No regrets."

"When will Erqiang be able to start work?" Zhao Jinquan asked.

"I'll talk to Lao Zhao later to see if he should go to the bureau to complete the formalities first, or come here to work first."

Qu He said he would give himself a spot, so Feng Cheng would definitely have the final say on this matter. However, Zhao Tianshan was the team leader after all, so he had to be informed of this matter. In addition, after the people were recruited, he would have to handle the procedures at the bureau and apply for food supplies. So, this matter could not be bypassed.

The three of them worked hard all morning. Zhao Tianshan worked very quickly. He was strong and had grown up doing farm work, so he did a good job.

When he went back for lunch, Feng Cheng took the time to talk to him about recruiting Zheng Erqiang.

"We don't know when we'll be able to recruit anyone, so we asked him to recruit another hardworking person from Jin Quan's team. I discussed it with Jin Quan and we chose this person."

“Sure! No problem. Since Director Qu has agreed, let’s just recruit them,” Zhao Tianshan said nonchalantly.

"The main thing is that after this person is recruited, they need to be registered at the bureau, and they also need to apply for food supplies. You need to handle this matter."

"Okay, I'll go down there in a few days."

"Okay, by the way, there's one more thing. While you're down there, please apply for some funding from the bureau. We're going to invite some villagers to help plant trees in a while, about seven or eight thousand trees. Discuss with the bureau chief how many people we need, how many days we'll need them, and how much they'll pay. Also, we need to apply to the bureau chief for some tools and fertilizers needed for planting trees, and ask them to send them up as soon as possible so as not to delay the spring planting season."

Yesterday, due to time constraints, Feng Cheng only briefly discussed this matter with Qu He, without delving into the specific details. He still needs to go down and talk to Qu He to finalize these things. In the past, Feng Cheng would have been in charge of this, but now that Zhao Tianshan is here, he can handle these trivial matters.

“No problem, I’ll take care of it when I go down,” Zhao Tianshan said, patting his chest.

"Then I'll have Jin Quan go home tonight and have Zheng Erqiang prepare so he can come to work in the next couple of days."

"There's still too much work to do at the camp. Arriving a day earlier will allow us to get more work done."

After talking with Zhao Tianshan about Zheng Erqiang's work, Feng Cheng went back and told Zhao Jinquan to inform Zheng Erqiang that evening so that he could come to work as soon as possible.

Zhao Jinquan happily agreed.

At four o'clock in the afternoon, Zhao Jinquan finished work and rode his horse home.

Feng Cheng and Zhao Tianshan finished work at six o'clock, when it was getting dark. After finishing work, Zhao Tianshan asked Feng Cheng to take him to see the camp's vegetable garden, as he wanted to know how big the garden was.

"The soil on the dam is still quite good, but the wind and sand are strong. The wind and sand keep blowing and covering the soil. If this situation is not dealt with, in a few decades, the soil here will be completely desertified, and the wind and sand will become even more serious."

Upon arriving at the vegetable garden, seeing the ground covered with a layer of yellow sand, Feng Cheng offered an explanation to Zhao Tianshan.

"Before I came here, Director Yu told me that there is only one yellow wind here every year, which blows from the beginning to the end of the year. I didn't feel it before I came, but now I realize how harsh the environment is here."

"But that's precisely why we can't let it continue to deteriorate. We must govern this place well and leave future generations a beautiful land, not a barren wasteland."

Looking at the scenery before him, Zhao Tianshan instantly felt a greater sense of responsibility.