Go back to the past to plant trees

After the trees were planted, ten laborers spent four days digging six earthen houses, setting up the frames, and also building the horse sheds. Now all that's left is to put on the thatched roofs.

"Captain, when will the thatched roof be delivered?"

Because of the thatched roof issue, Uncle Liu made a special trip over to talk to Zhao Tianshan about it, and in the end, Zhao Tianshan handed the whole job over to him.

Zhao Tianshan said, "It will probably take a few more days. Uncle Liu said that there are a few people in his team who know how to make this. We'll get them to work together. It will take a few days to make one underground cellar. I estimate that two or three underground cellars have already been made."

Feng Cheng: "Jin Quan, why don't you go back and bring back what you've finished? You can go back with the rest of your team."

“Okay, I’ll get the carriage ready in a bit,” Zhao Jinquan nodded in agreement.

"Jin Quan, remember to bring back some potato seeds!" Wei Fugui reminded him at this moment.

"I remember."

During his conversations with the villagers, Wei Fugui learned that oats and potatoes are best grown in the Bashang area, where they grow well and produce high yields. However, the vegetable garden at the camp didn't have many potatoes, so he thought he should ask Zhao Jinquan to go home and get some to plant around the vegetable garden.

As the camp's cook, Wei Fugui not only had to cook for everyone but also be responsible for the camp's supplies and food. This was what Zhao Tianshan told him. Everyone was very busy, and everyone had their own tasks to do, so Zhao Tianshan could only let everyone use their subjective abilities and think more on their own. This was something he learned in the army because on the battlefield, you have to pay attention to your surroundings at all times, you have to understand changes, and you can't just wait for orders from above like a fool. You have to learn to adapt yourself.

"After we get back the thatched roof, let's set up the horse frame first. The kitchen is still too small. There's too much stuff to fit in there, and people can't even squeeze in."

“This is a good idea,” Feng Cheng agreed to set up the horse frame first. The dugout was too dark, and the horse frame was much brighter. At least there would be a place to read.

"Brother Feng, you know, the bureau really treats these college students well. They've built them new underground housing, gone to great lengths to build a high-standard scaffolding, set up a lab for them, and even said they'd set up a weather station. They're giving them way too much! When you came here, I heard there was nothing there."

Huang Qiang, standing to the side, felt indignant on Feng Cheng's behalf. After working hard these past few days, everyone's relationship had improved, and the influence of Zhang Fulin had gradually faded away.

Feng Cheng chuckled, "I was alone. If I brought four or five college students with me, the bureau would definitely be willing to spend a lot of money on me. But I'm just one person, so how much stuff can one person use? I have to keep things simple!"

Feng Cheng didn't care about this, because these things weren't given to the advance team, but to the Mechanical Forestry Farm. If the Mechanical Forestry Farm wasn't established, these things still wouldn't be available, even if these college students went to the dam together.

"Alright, let's not talk about those trivial matters anymore. We've finally finished being busy these past few days. Let's get something good to eat tonight, have a couple of drinks together, and celebrate," Feng Cheng suggested, skipping over the topic.

Zhao Tianshan shook his head: "Let's celebrate in a couple of days. I want to celebrate here in the horse stable. It's spacious. Besides, Jinquan is going back tonight. We can't just have the few of us eating and leave him out!"

"That's right, then let's wait a few days."

"Jin Quan, remember to buy about ten catties of loose liquor when you come back. There's no liquor left in the camp. If you don't buy some, you won't have anything to drink. I'll give you the money later," Zhao Tianshan said.

Zhao Jinquan waved his hand: "No need, I have money."

"Don't even think about it. How much is your salary? How much is mine? Besides, I served in the army for eleven years and received eleven years' salary. How could I be short of a little money?"

Feng Cheng also said, "Jin Quan, don't be polite with him. Our captain is rich, so let's treat him to a big meal this time."

"However, this bulk wine is really not good. It's cheap, but the taste is terrible. After a while, I'll write to my comrade and ask him to get me a few jars of Nu'erhong wine. When we were in the army, he brought me a few jars, and the taste was really good."

Zhao Tianshan said with a look of reminiscence.

"Then I'll have to try it. To be honest, I've never had yellow wine before. I've had rice wine, baijiu, beer, and wine, and I've even tried vodka, but I've never had red wine."

"Have you ever drunk vodka? Is it good?" Zhao Tianshan immediately became interested upon hearing this: "My unit's leader has a bottle of vodka. He said he bought it when he went to the Soviet Union. His comrades and subordinates have always been thinking about this bottle of vodka and want to drink it. I also want to try it."

"Well," Feng Cheng recalled for a moment and said, "it was too strong. I wasn't used to it. But maybe the wine I drank was cheaper and didn't taste good. More expensive wines might taste better."

Feng Cheng had also drunk this stuff at a friend's dinner table. It was just half a glass of wine, and the taste was bitter, spicy, and had an indescribable flavor. It was incredibly awful. You couldn't drink it at all without mixing it with something, but if you did, it could easily kill you. Feng Cheng didn't know why those foreigners liked this stuff so much.

“I’d like to try it,” Zhao Tianshan said after smacking his lips.

No matter what others say, it's useless; you have to try it yourself to decide whether you like it or not. But these days, it's a bit difficult to get vodka; it's expensive and hard to buy.

Aside from overseas Chinese stores and Friendship Stores, which cater to foreigners, only high-end restaurants catering to foreigners sell imported spirits like vodka.

By the way, it seems that Old Moscow also sells imported liquor, but I don't know if it's wine or vodka. However, since it's a place that entertains Soviet experts, it should also sell vodka.

"Next time you go to Beijing, you can check out Lao Mo. They might sell vodka there. But even if they do, it probably won't be very good. If you want to buy good quality vodka, you'll have to go to the Friendship Store."

"Friendship Store? Brother Feng, what does this Friendship Store sell? Is it like a supply and marketing cooperative?" Zheng Erqiang asked curiously.

"Pretty much, but Friendship Store doesn't accept RMB. They only accept foreign exchange certificates, which are foreign currencies like US dollars, British pounds, French francs, Japanese yen, and the like."

"The things sold inside are also very rare and expensive. They have foreign candies, biscuits, cigarettes, alcohol, beverages, televisions, radios, cameras, watches, bicycles, and so on. These things don't require coupons; you can buy them as long as you have foreign exchange certificates."

"No ticket required? That's great!"

"But foreign exchange certificates are even harder to obtain. Getting a certificate is difficult, but not impossible. But how do you earn money from abroad?"

"That's true, then how come other people have foreign exchange certificates?"

"Sent back by relatives abroad, or saved up by the family before liberation,"

Feng Cheng didn't know much about foreign-related shops, mainly because he didn't have regular contact with them. He didn't have any relatives abroad or foreign exchange certificates, so he couldn't enter these places and naturally didn't know the specific information. The only information he had came from what he heard from outsiders.