Go back to the past to plant trees

While Feng Cheng and his group were discussing college students on the dam, Qin Xuemei and her group were also discussing the situation in Saihanba at the guesthouse of the Chengde Forestry Bureau.

"Xuemei, I've been asking around these past few days, and the conditions in Saihanba are really tough. I heard that the area above the dam is like a desert, stretching as far as the eye can see, with very few people around. Food and drink have to be driven up from below the dam, and if they're not delivered on time, you'll go hungry."

Wu Yansheng recounted to Qin Xuemei what he had learned about Saihanba over the past few days.

To be honest, Wu Yansheng now regrets his decision. In his excitement to win over Qin Xuemei, he applied to come to Saihanba. But after registering, his passion faded and he immediately regretted it. However, he had already registered, and he didn't want to give up on Qin Xuemei. He had pursued her for three years in college, rejecting the advances of many girls at the school. If he were to break up with Qin Xuemei now, all his hard work over the past few years would be for nothing.

Therefore, in order to win the heart of the beauty, Wu Yansheng had no choice but to continue pursuing her.

Yu Zhenglai mentioned the hardships of Saihanba during the recruitment process, but Wu Yansheng felt that Saihanba was near Beijing, so how hard could it be? Yu Zhenglai probably just wanted to scare the students and weed out those who lacked determination.

But after arriving in Chengde, he inquired with the forestry bureau and found that the situation in Saihanba was really tough, not much better than in the border regions.

After learning this information, Wu Yansheng had the idea of ​​backing down, but he didn't want to go alone. He wanted to take Qin Xuemei with him, but Qin Xuemei was very stubborn and wanted to go to the poorest place to build the motherland.

This gave Wu Yansheng a headache, but he could only try to appease her while also trying to dampen her passion and make her realize that reality wasn't as wonderful as she imagined.

"Wu Yansheng, what do you mean by that? If you don't want to come, you can go back. No one asked you to come. Now that you're here, you should be firm in your resolve."

Qin Xuemei was very dissatisfied with Wu Yansheng's attitude. These past few days, Wu Yansheng had been telling her all sorts of bad things about Saihanba. Qin Xuemei wasn't a child, so how could she not understand what he meant?

Isn't it just that they think Saihanba is too tough and want to give up?

"Xuemei, how could I not want to come? I've already signed up and I'm here. Doesn't that prove my determination?"

Wu Yansheng had been pursuing Qin Xuemei for three years. Although they hadn't officially started dating yet, he had completely figured out the girl's personality. He knew he couldn't be confrontational with her; he had to speak softly, even if it meant lying. As long as he didn't stand up to her, she wouldn't hold a grudge, no matter how unhappy she was.

“I’m just gathering information beforehand. Think about it, if we go up to Bashang without understanding the situation, what will we do if we encounter unexpected situations? The more information we have now, the more prepared we can be, so we won’t be caught off guard when things come to a head.”

"Tell me about the information I've gathered this time! It's difficult to transport supplies to the dam area, so shouldn't we prepare some food in advance to take with us? At the very least, we can bring some canned goods, candy, flour, and the like. That way, if something unexpected happens, we won't go hungry, right?"

Qin Xuemei rolled her eyes at Wu Yansheng: "Canned candy? Do you think this is a picnic?"

Meng Yue, who was standing nearby, spoke up at this moment, "Xue Mei, I think Wu Yansheng is right. I heard from others that the farthest place in Saihanba is four or five hundred kilometers away from the county seat, which is farther than going to Beijing from here. If we want to go to the dam, we really need to consider the problem of food, not only food, but also medicine and daily necessities."

Qin Xuemei shook her head: "I believe Director Yu will arrange the food issue properly. He will definitely not shortchange us on our food rations. As for medicine and daily necessities, we can go to the department store to buy them when we have some free time in the next couple of days."

"Xuemei, you're being a bit presumptuous," Wu Yansheng said, having changed the subject and knowing that the matter had been dealt with, and resumed his confident demeanor.

“You know what the situation has been like these past two years. Everything is difficult. Even schools don’t have enough food, let alone the local areas. Things are a little better now, but not by much. If the bureau is going to have a little more trouble right now, and the food is delayed by a few days, what are we going to do? Just starve?”

"I know Director Yu will take care of the food, but it's always good to be prepared, just in case! We don't need much, just enough to last three to five days, at least until we get back to the county town!"

“But we’ve just arrived here and don’t know anyone. How are we going to get food?” Qin Xuemei was also persuaded by Wu Yansheng.

Wu Yansheng said confidently, "I'll take care of this. My dad has a comrade-in-arms who works in Chengde. I'll ask him to get some from us."

“Food is hard to come by right now, so don’t make any mistakes,” Qin Xuemei disliked Wu Yansheng’s attitude, as if having connections meant you could get things done through back channels.

Wu Yansheng was a popular figure at school. He was handsome, had a good personality, came from a good family, and had many friends. Leaders, teachers, and students all liked him. But for some reason, Qin Xuemei just didn't have any feelings for him. If it were another girl, she would have been pursued by such a person for three years and they would have already confirmed their relationship. But Qin Xuemei just couldn't like him. Although sometimes she thought that he was already very good and liked her so much, she should just agree to be with him.

But whenever she had this thought, Wu Yansheng would do something she found unacceptable, causing her to change her mind again. For example, this time, Wu Yansheng came with her to Saihanba, a harsh place. Although Qin Xuemei didn't say it, she was still very touched. But after arriving in Chengde, he talked all day about the hardships and difficulties of Saihanba. Qin Xuemei wasn't a child; she understood what he meant. Wasn't he just afraid of hardship, wanted to back down, and wanted to go back to Beijing and live in a big city?

Qin Xuemei disliked Wu Yansheng's attitude, and the little bit of emotion she felt was quickly worn away by Wu Yansheng in just a few days.

Qin Xuemei is a determined person. Although she came to Saihanba out of spite, she was determined to fight here and would never back down.

So the more Wu Yansheng complained about Saihanba, the more disgusted and unhappy she became, and the more determined she became to go to Saihanba.

Meng Yue, who was standing to the side, could already sense her classmate and best friend's emotions. She was also very helpless. She thought Wu Yansheng was a very good person and had been trying to bring the two of them together, but Qin Xuemei kept avoiding it. Although she said that the country had nurtured her and that she should work first and then start a family, Meng Yue thought that this was just an excuse. To put it bluntly, she just didn't like Wu Yansheng.

Meng Yue often spoke up for Wu Yansheng and created opportunities for him, but every time there was some progress, Wu Yansheng would make Qin Xuemei unhappy, which annoyed Meng Yue. Wu Yansheng had been pursuing her for so long, didn't he know what kind of personality Qin Xuemei had?

But considering that the three of them were from the same school and would work in the same place after graduation, and had spent several years together, Meng Yue felt that if she could bring them together, she should try her best. After all, it would be very difficult to find someone better than Wu Yansheng after starting work, especially in a place like Saihanba.