Go back to the past to plant trees

"Erqiang, where do you plan to build this underground dwelling?"

After working for two days and getting used to planting trees, some people started to pay attention to digging the underground pits. When Zhao Jinquan went back, he said that he would dig four underground pits and build a scaffold. This was a big job, and it would take ten people two or three days to complete.

The tree is almost half finished, and everyone is hoping to work a few more days to complete the remaining tasks.

"It's nearby. Our team leader will confirm the location in the next few days, and then we can just go and dig it up."

"Erqiang, now that you've dug the dug-out houses, do you want to thatch the roofs? When we came, Uncle Liu asked me to help you ask around. He said if we wanted thatched roofs, he could give us a discount. The thatched roofs in the place where you're staying were made by Uncle Liu. They're sturdy and durable, aren't they!"

A middle-aged man who had a good relationship with Uncle Liu immediately started promoting the product.

Zheng Erqiang laughed and said, "Brother Jun, I can't make this decision. If you really have an idea, you can ask our captain or technician. If they say yes, then we'll take it. If they say no, then I don't dare to take it either. I'm just a laborer, I can't make decisions."

"Then could you help me ask? I'm not familiar with them. What if I go over and they ignore me? What am I supposed to do then?"

"Then I'll ask for you tonight," Zheng Erqiang agreed without hesitation. He was just asking and couldn't guarantee whether it would work out, but he felt that it should be fine. After all, they had used Uncle Liu's thatched roof before, and it was indeed cheap and durable, so it made sense to continue using it.

That evening, after listening to Zheng Erqiang's words, Feng Cheng told him to go and talk to Zhao Tianshan, saying that this was a matter of daily life and also involved the camp's funds, which was under Zhao Tianshan's jurisdiction.

However, Feng Cheng also said that he was willing to continue using Uncle Liu's thatched roof, but the construction period had to be agreed upon. After all, the college students were about to go to the dam, and they couldn't just keep waiting for Uncle Liu's thatched roof. Feng Cheng remembered that the last time Uncle Liu's thatched roof was installed, the construction was not very fast.

After Zheng Erqiang told Zhao Tianshan, Zhao Tianshan was somewhat slow to realize that although Qu He said he would provide materials for the dugout and horse frame, it was only timber. As for the thatched roof, Qu He did not mention it.

Although thatched roofs can be bought in the county town, they are generally expensive, and it is troublesome to transport them from the county town. If this problem can be solved here in Bashang, that would be the best.

However, Feng Cheng's concerns were not unreasonable. Zhao Tianshan asked Zheng Erqiang to go back and have Uncle Liu come over so that they could discuss the price and construction period in person. If it was suitable, they would use his services; if not, they would discuss it another way.

However, no matter what, these are all people from Zhao Jinquan's team. If this Uncle Liu really can't meet the construction schedule, then Zhao Tianshan will give him some work to do, such as making one or two underground houses. As for the rest, he can go to the county town to buy them.

As soon as there were more people in the camp, the atmosphere instantly became lively, especially when a bunch of rough men gathered together, dirty jokes flew everywhere, and all sorts of gossip were readily available.

Feng Cheng listened with amusement. Although it was noisy with so many people, he still enjoyed the noise. After all, he had been in Bashang for three years and hadn't experienced such a lively scene in three years.

The ten people Zhao Jinquan brought were all diligent and efficient. They worked in groups of three, and on average, each group could plant about 300 trees a day. The nearly 7,000 saplings in the camp were planted in just one week.

There were some weak and diseased seedlings in the nursery that were not suitable for transplanting, but Feng Cheng decided to plant them all anyway, hoping that as many as they could survive, since seedlings were scarce and could not be wasted, even if it would reduce the survival rate.

After planting the saplings, Feng Cheng, along with Zheng Erqiang and Huang Qiang, tended to them. Their main task was to observe and record the growth of the saplings, and to check for any fallen saplings or saplings with missing roots. After all, it was human work, and it was inevitable that some oversights would occur when people were tired. Therefore, Feng Cheng and his team were needed to conduct a final check and make up for any omissions.

Feng Cheng has a lot of work to do. He will hand over the childcare work to Zheng Erqiang and Huang Qiang. Zhao Jinquan will also come to help when he has some free time.

There are only a few people at the camp, and everyone is busy with their own work. They are working on the nursery, the afforestation area, and the camp construction. No one can be idle.

After two days of leading the nursery work, Feng Cheng handed it over to Zheng Erqiang and Huang Qiang, and then returned to the nursery.

The seeds for the new nursery have already been sown. Now that the seedlings from the old nursery have been transplanted, the old nursery will also need to be reclaimed for a new round of sowing and seedling cultivation.

"If the survival rate of this transplant is still so high in July, then I'll have to expand my nursery again this year."

Looking at the increasingly larger nursery, Feng Cheng was very happy. The first nursery was set up hastily, and the seeds were scattered haphazardly. But no matter what, this nursery has already achieved results. The rest depends on the next two nurseries.

"We can transplant some saplings into this nursery in the fall, right?"

Zhao Tianshan looked at the sapling sprouting in the middle and asked.

"Yes, I've roughly estimated over the past few days that there should be about 10,000 saplings that can be transplanted."

The first nursery was rushed into operation, so the seed quality was poor and the quantity was small. In addition, it was Feng Cheng's first time cultivating seedlings, so the survival rate was not good. However, the second nursery did not have such problems. The second nursery was planted with a total of about 70,000 seeds, and in the end, about 50,000 seeds were harvested.

With a larger quantity, there will naturally be more robust seedlings, so there will be 10,000 seedlings that can be transplanted in the autumn.

Zhao Tianshan said, "Ten thousand seeds, even with the current labor force, it would take at least ten days to plant them."

"Not necessarily. College students will definitely be on the dam by then. I don't know how many there will be, but there will be at least five or six. With so many more people, we might not even need to ask anyone to come."

Zhao Tianshan laughed and said, "We still need to hire people. These college students are fine for planting trees, but they might not be able to do physical labor like digging holes."

There are college students in the army, so Zhao Tianshan knows what kind of people they are. Although they can endure hardship, are not afraid of death, and are willing to do dirty and tiring work, to be honest, they are indeed not capable of lifting heavy objects or carrying heavy loads right after leaving school. They need a period of training and adaptation before they can become qualified grassroots cadres.

"Saihanba is so big, I don't know when we'll be able to plant trees all over it."

Looking at the boundless desolation before him, Zhao Tianshan couldn't help but sigh.

Feng Cheng said, "Once we find a way to grow trees, all that's left is to calm down and work our way up slowly. As long as we work together, no matter how big the place is, it won't be enough for us to grow them."

Thinking of the world-famous Saihanba in later generations, Feng Cheng couldn't help but admire the perseverance and determination of his ancestors. Now that he had become one of them, he was also very fortunate to be able to make some insignificant contributions to this land.