Go back to the past to plant trees

Zhang Fulin was taken away, and life on the dam returned to normal. However, there was a noticeable distance between Wei Fugui and Huang Qiang and Feng Cheng and the others who were the first to arrive on the dam.

There was nothing that could be done. Feng Cheng had sent one of them down on the second day after they arrived. Although Zhang Fulin had indeed committed a crime, it was inevitable that the people around him would have some strange feelings.

After Zhang Fulin was taken away, Zhao Jinquan and Zheng Erqiang went back to the team that night to recruit people. It was a job for at least ten days, with a daily wage of 65 cents, plus food and lodging. This was a very good job for the villagers of Shaquan Brigade, especially since they had just passed through the three difficult years. Although they were not in such dire straits, they were not exactly well-off either.

After Zhao Jinquan and Zheng Erqiang returned, Feng Cheng led everyone to plant trees. Zhao Jinquan had planted trees last year and already knew how, so he was now teaching Wei Fugui, Zhao Tianshan, and the others.

"This hole needs to be dug a little deeper, not too shallow. If it's too shallow, the sapling will have a hard time taking root. Also, when planting the sapling, look at this dark spot on the sapling. This is where the sapling grows in the nursery. After covering it with soil, lift the sapling with your hand. The soil should just cover this spot."

"Try planting them first, in pairs. One person digs the hole and the other plants it. I'll check later."

After Feng Cheng taught them once, he told everyone to split up and do it. Zhao Tianshan and Wei Fugui were in one group, Zhao Jinquan and Huang Qiang were in another, and Feng Cheng and Zheng Erqiang were in yet another.

Planting trees is not difficult; it's mainly physical work. Digging holes requires effort, unlike later generations where the entire process is mechanized, saving time and effort.

At first, everyone planted very slowly because they didn't know the standards and were very careful, afraid of not planting well. But after Feng Cheng checked at noon and pointed out a few things to pay attention to, everyone's speed increased in the afternoon.

On the first day, the three groups planted nearly 300 trees. On the second day, the pace was much faster, and the three groups planted more than 400 trees. This was even after Feng Cheng went back to the nursery to dig up seedlings halfway through.

On the third day, villagers from Shaquan Brigade arrived—ten grown men, making a ruckus.

"Jin Quan, this is where you work? It's not very good, much worse than the team's."

One person strolled around the campsite area, looked at the surroundings and accommodations, and shook his head.

“This is a place for work, do you think it’s your own home? At home, you would definitely make it nicer and more comfortable. But for a place for work, a leak-proof dugout is enough. Why be so particular?”

"Jin Quan, are you still hiring long-term workers here?"

"We're not hiring for now. If we were to hire, I would definitely let you know in advance."

"Oh, Jinquan, you must remember to tell me when you're hiring."

"it is good."

They were all from the Shaquan Brigade and knew Zhao Jinquan and Zheng Erqiang, so when they arrived, Feng Cheng asked the two of them to entertain them.

There were too many people, and the camp didn't have anything to prepare for the food. They just made some steamed buns and potatoes. But the villagers weren't picky; as long as they had something to eat and were full, they were satisfied.

All ten people were assigned to Wei Fugui's dungeon, while Wei Fugui and Huang Qiang moved to Feng Cheng's dungeon. There was no other way; with so many people, there wasn't enough room, so they had to make do with squeezing in.

"Old Zhao, you arrange the work for tomorrow. Erqiang and I will stay at the nursery to dig up the seedlings, and then you can arrange for someone to transport the seedlings."

After dinner, Feng Cheng and Zhao Tianshan discussed the work arrangements for the next day.

Zhao Tianshan said, "Here's what I'm thinking: three people per group. Me, Huang Qiang, and Jin Quan will each lead a group. The remaining person will be in charge of transporting the saplings. Lao Wei will be in charge of the kitchen. He can help out at the nursery when he has time, but it's fine if he doesn't."

"We've been working quite fast these past two days, planting saplings is actually quite fast, it's just that digging the holes is slow. Two people dig the holes and one person plants them, which should make it much faster. While planting, we can also observe and see if there are any quick-witted people who can learn how to plant trees. The camp will continue to produce saplings, so there will be a lot of planting work. If we can find a few quick-witted people, we can find more people and divide them into more pairs for planting bulbs in the fall, which will make planting much faster."

Feng Cheng nodded upon hearing this, "You've thought it through very thoroughly, so let's just do as you say."

"Old Wei, are the camp's supplies enough?" Zhao Tianshan turned to ask Wei Fugui, who was standing next to him.

"That's enough. The director brought some more when he came up a couple of days ago. It's enough for us for the time being."

"That's fine, but you need to calculate carefully and not overuse it. The bureau's resource allocation can't be done immediately. Even if we go down to apply, it will take several days to get it up. So try to control it and make sure everyone is well-fed while avoiding unnecessary waste," Zhao Tianshan continued to instruct.

"I will."

"Jin Quan, Er Qiang," Zhao Tianshan said, turning his gaze to the two men beside him after instructing Wei Fugui.

“These ten people are from your team. They are not familiar with us and may have some problems in their lives. You should find out about them in time and try to solve them if you can. If you can’t solve them, tell me and I will find a way to solve them.”

"Besides this, you also need to keep an eye on your fellow villagers to prevent people like Zhang Fulin from appearing. We will often hire people to plant trees in the back of our camp, and we will have to get along with them in the future. If someone like Zhang Fulin appears among them, we will be in a difficult position. Whether we hire them again or how we hire them is hard to say."

"Don't worry, Captain, I will keep a close eye on them and absolutely won't let this happen," Zhao Jinquan assured, patting his chest. The ten people he hired were all honest and hardworking. This was not only Zhao Jinquan's opinion, but also the approval of his father, Zhao Peide. Zhao Jinquan hadn't sent someone like Zhao Jinshui.

In his father's words, this was related to how people would perceive the villagers of Shaquan Brigade. If they had a good impression, they would still hire workers from there in the future. If they had a bad impression, it would be hard to say what would happen in the future. So Zhao Jinquan didn't hire any of those who were dishonest or cunning, not even relatives or elders.

“Captain, I’ll help keep an eye on things too,” Zheng Erqiang said.

"I'm just saying, don't be too nervous, just be careful, and don't let your team members think our camp is too troublesome."

Zhao Tianshan diligently arranged the details of the camp's work. He was a veteran of many years and had studied the training for platoon and squad leaders. It was just that he didn't want to go up there. Otherwise, with his qualifications and abilities, he would have no problem becoming a company commander. He had the knowledge of management, but he just hadn't put it into practice.

Now it's a chance for him to get some real experience. Even though it's just assigning work to a dozen or so people, as long as there are no problems this time and he gains experience, he'll be able to handle assigning work to dozens or even hundreds of people next time. As for managing even more people, that requires not only ability but also a certain amount of talent.