Go back to the past to plant trees

Qu He stayed on the dam for more than an hour, and then went down with the car.

After Qu He left, the atmosphere on the dam relaxed. With Director Qu He around, everyone was a little reserved.

"Which of you three can cook?"

After Qu He left, everyone gathered together, and Zhao Tianshan asked directly.

"I can."

Wei Fugui was the first to raise his hand.

“I know a little bit too,” Zhang Fulin added.

"I...I'm not very good at it, but I can do it," Huang Qiang replied, sounding somewhat unsure.

"Here's the thing, we have seven people in our camp right now. In a while, some villagers who helped plant trees will come over to help, and later college students will also come to the dam. So we need to select a cook to be in charge of cooking. There aren't many people right now, so in addition to cooking, the cook also needs to help with chores. There's a vegetable garden next to the camp, so the cook needs to take some time to look after that vegetable garden."

"This is not an easy task. Of course, it's better than planting trees, since it's in the camp, which will make things more convenient."

"Of course, this job isn't something you can just do whenever you want. It also depends on your skills. After all, you're cooking for everyone. Even if it's just cornbread or roasted potatoes, you should try your best to make it taste good."

After Zhao Tianshan finished speaking, he looked at the three people in front of him.

"Then I'd better give up," Huang Qiang said, immediately backing down. "I'm not a very good cook."

"I'll pass too! I'm not very good at cooking either," Zhang Fulin shook his head and left.

"Then it's you," Zhao Tianshan said to Wei Fugui. "Get ready, you'll be cooking tonight."

"Jin Quan, explain the kitchen items to him. He'll be taking over your job from now on."

"okay."

Zhao Jinquan happily agreed. He was finally free; he no longer had to worry about food losses or how to make food taste better.

"Wei Fugui, come with me. I'll show you around the kitchen and then take you to the vegetable garden."

Zhao Jinquan led Wei Fugui out.

"You can rest for today and get familiar with the environment. We'll start working tomorrow. The work here isn't difficult; it's similar to taking care of your vegetable garden at home. You just need to be careful."

After Zhao Tianshan finished speaking, he let the two leave.

"Feng Cheng, now that the people are up here, when do we start planting the trees?"

Feng Cheng didn't answer Zhao Tianshan's question, but instead asked Zheng Erqiang, who was standing next to him, "Erqiang, is your team busy right now? If we want to hire people, how many can we hire?"

Zheng Erqiang said, "It's hard to say, but we can definitely hire seven or eight people, but the price has to be right."

"Then you and Jinquan go back tomorrow and find some people to come over. Find ten people, one or two more or one or two less is fine, but remember, find people who can do the work. This place has been abandoned for a long time and it has just thawed. Digging holes is difficult, and people who can't do the work can't endure this hardship."

"How long will this job take?" Zheng Erqiang asked.

"It's hard to say, but it will take at least ten days. The nursery has about 7,000 saplings that can be transplanted. Even if we use manual labor, it will take at least a week. And didn't the director say that we still need to dig underground pits and build scaffolding? Digging underground pits will take at least a few days!"

"Okay, then there's no problem. There will definitely be people willing to come for ten days' work."

"Old Zhao, how much do you think is a suitable daily wage?"

Zhao Tianshan said, "I don't know the going rate either. Erqiang, how much did people pay you per day when you went out to work before?"

"It's hard to say. It can be five or six cents, or even six or seven cents. If it includes a meal, it will be cheaper and someone will cook for you. If it doesn't include a meal, then you'll have to pay more."

Zhao Tianshan said, "Then let's make it six cents! We'll cover the food. They'll be working for ten days, so it's not appropriate for them to bring their own food."

Feng Cheng said, "Sixty-five cents, give us an extra five cents. This job isn't easy, and we'll need to hire people often in the future. Giving us an extra five cents will make it easier to find people later."

“Okay,” Zhao Tianshan didn’t object. Five extra cents a day would only add up to five yuan, which wasn’t much. Besides, it was for the villagers, not for him to embezzle, so it made sense.

"Erqiang, go back and recruit people tomorrow. Once you've recruited them, have them get ready and come over in two days. Before they arrive, I'll teach you how to plant trees. After you've learned how, you can each train others to plant trees."

“Okay, Brother Feng.” Zheng Erqiang nodded in agreement.

That evening, Feng Cheng and everyone else tried the meal prepared by Wei Fugui.

Today, a new person joined us, so the meal was more substantial than the previous days when we only ate potato and black oat noodles. Tonight, we prepared several dishes and also cooked a few bowls of noodles.

"Not bad, Lao Wei, your cooking skills are quite good. I think the chef will make it for you."

After finishing his meal, Zhao Tianshan praised it with great satisfaction.

“I think it’s fine too, it’s no worse than what Jin Quan did,” Zheng Erqiang also chimed in.

These past few days, Zhao Jinquan had also told him that when the new recruits came up and the chefs were being selected, he should put in a good word for them. He really didn't want to stay in the kitchen, and as his childhood friend, Zheng Erqiang naturally wouldn't refuse his request. So, after Zhao Tianshan spoke up, he also opened his mouth to support him.

Zhang Fulin and Huang Qiang were newcomers, and they didn't dare to speak in this kind of situation, let alone the fact that they were choosing a chef. Of course, they also thought that Wei Fugui's cooking was pretty good.

"I have no objection. If you think it's okay, then there's no problem."

Feng Cheng knew that Zhao Jinquan didn't want to stay in the kitchen, so he readily agreed. In fact, Zhao Tianshan had the same idea. Wei Fugui's cooking skills were only so-so, at the level of a stay-at-home dad, which was a bit worse than Zhao Jinquan's. This was why he couldn't take charge of the cooking after the establishment of the Mechanical Forestry Farm; his skills were simply not up to par.

"Alright, Wei Fugui, you'll officially take over the kitchen tomorrow! You also need to keep an eye on the kitchen and the vegetable garden, and plan the meals carefully so we don't overeat."

Since no one had any objections, Zhao Tianshan announced the appointment in public. It wasn't formal, but it was well received by everyone.

"Um, Captain, I have something I want to ask," Wei Fugui raised his hand and asked somewhat cautiously, "I see there's quite a bit of empty space over the vegetable garden. Can I plant something there?"

"Sure, as long as it doesn't interfere with the kitchen, you can do whatever you want. All the land around here belongs to our forest farm, so you can plant as much as you want. But remember to let me know so I'll keep track."

"That's fine."

Upon hearing this, Wei Fugui smiled. He had fled famine, and the feeling of hunger had always lingered in his heart. He was afraid of not having enough food, so when he saw this large open space, he had an idea: plant more crops. If there was more food in the camp, he could save some to send home.

However, Wei Fugui was a cautious person. He dared not make decisions on his own. He had to ask Zhao Tianshan before he dared to do it. If Zhao Tianshan did not agree, Wei Fugui would not do it. He cherished this hard-won job. Although the working environment was tough, at least he could eat his fill here and did not have to worry about going hungry. He could also settle down here and did not have to go to a more distant place.