Go back to the past to plant trees

"Qin Xuemei, what brings you here again?"

After Feng Cheng and Zhao Jinquan finished watering the land, they saw Xiao Liu rushing towards them. When Feng Cheng turned around, he saw Qin Xuemei in the thatched shed.

Qin Xuemei said, "I was just sitting around at the camp and didn't know what to do, so I thought I'd come and take a look."

Feng Cheng rubbed Xiao Liu's head and said, "Last time, an expert from the Ministry of Forestry came here to check the survival rate of the seedlings. He asked me to write a paper on full-light seedling cultivation. I'll take it back tonight and show it to you. You can get a general understanding of the technical issues of full-light seedling cultivation first, otherwise you won't be able to understand anything here. Also, I have some data on afforestation in high-altitude desert areas that the Ministry of Forestry collected before. I translated it. I have both the original and the translation. I'll send them to you tonight too!"

Qin Xuemei's eyes immediately lit up: "Then I'll trouble Section Chief Feng."

"Don't call me Section Chief Feng. Just call me Feng Cheng. I'm just a deputy section chief, and I don't have anyone under me yet. It makes me feel awkward if you call me that."

“Aren’t we your subordinates? As the section chief, you’re in charge of us college students.”

"Come on, you bunch of people, all of you are so arrogant, thinking you are the chosen ones, that you can overcome all obstacles and solve all kinds of problems as soon as you leave school. It's fine if I talk to you, but if I give you orders, I don't believe you can obey unconditionally."

Qin Xuemei was somewhat unconvinced, "If the order is correct, we will definitely carry it out!"

Looking at Qin Xuemei's stubborn expression, Feng Cheng suddenly smiled and said, "You didn't come here just to argue with me, did you?"

Qin Xuemei was speechless.

"Do you want to go see the nursery? If not, come in and sit for a while, it's sunny outside."

Feng Cheng walked into the nursery and casually beckoned Qin Xuemei to come in.

"You mean your classmate didn't come with you?"

"He's going to learn horseback riding with Captain Zhao this afternoon, so he won't be coming for the next couple of days."

“There isn’t much work in Bashang now, so you have a lot of free time, which can be quite boring. Your situation today is what you’ll be facing for a long time to come. You’ll have more than half the day free. I’m sure you’ll find it hard to get used to this kind of life.”

Feng Cheng poured a glass of water from the kettle, took a sip, and then started chatting with Qin Xuemei.

“If you can get used to it, we certainly can too. We’re no worse than you. Don’t look down on us just because we’re college students.”

"Who said I'm used to it?" Feng Cheng retorted. "Jin Quan, are you used to this kind of life?"

"No, it's too boring."

"Okay, do you understand now? Don't have such a big problem with me. I'm not trying to scare you. I'm just explaining the details of the dam area to you so you can understand it."

Qin Xuemei remained defiant, saying, "In any case, I will definitely persevere. Since I signed up and came here, I will definitely settle down here."

Feng Cheng had a bit of a headache. This girl spoke in a harsh tone, as if she insisted on competing with him and wanted to determine a winner and loser.

"Okay, hang in there, I believe you can stick with it."

"Would you like a piece of candy?"

Feng Cheng picked up the cloth bag containing pumpkin candy that was placed aside and handed it over.

"Candy? Did you buy it?"

Qin Xuemei glanced at it but did not immediately reach out to take it.

"Homemade pumpkin candy, made with sweet potato maltose and pumpkin, a little snack to kill time."

"By the way, I heard you're from Guangxi, which is in the south. I learned this method from a classmate from the south. Maybe they make this kind of thing where you are."

Qin Xuemei reached into the cloth bag that Feng Cheng handed her and took out two pieces of pumpkin candy. She looked at them carefully and then put them in her mouth.

It's sweet, with the aroma of sweet potato and the soft, glutinous texture of pumpkin. It tastes even better than the candies sold at the supply and marketing cooperative.

“My family has never made this, and I’ve never seen my mother make it. Maybe it’s made in other places. Our place is different from the north. The customs are very different. Even within the same village, they are different, let alone in a city or province.”

"I've heard that there are many ethnic minorities in your area."

Feng Cheng said something, then suddenly noticed that Qin Xuemei licked her lips, and he instantly understood.

"You went up to the dam yesterday, and Lao Zhao prepared a gift for you. I'm a leader now, so I didn't prepare anything for you."

"Here's what we'll do. I still have a few pounds of pumpkin candy and winter melon candy in my camp. I'll get them for you when we get back, so you'll have something to eat when you're free."

"No need, we brought some food upstairs, you can keep it for yourself," Qin Xuemei said instinctively.

"It's just a small token of our appreciation. Besides, we made it ourselves; it only took a little effort. We can make more after we finish eating."

"Stop shaking your head. Even if you don't want it, someone else will. You can't refuse it for someone else!"

"Well... thank you, Section Chief Feng."

"Well, all my words just now were wasted."

Feng Cheng shook his head and didn't correct him. It was normal for the two of them to be a little awkward since they had only just met.

"Are you just going to keep guarding the nursery like this forever?"

After a moment of silence, Qin Xuemei couldn't help but ask again.

"Yes, the seeds have just been sown, so we need to water them, scare away the birds, and keep an eye on the seeds. So we have to stay here in the nursery. This situation will continue until autumn, when the temperature in Bashang starts to drop and snow is expected. Only then will we have some free time."

"Is this different from what you imagined a job to be? You thought that working would just involve sitting in a lab fiddling with equipment and recording data?"

Qin Xuemei said, “I also had my own nursery when I was in school. Although I graduated before the seedlings in the nursery were ready for transplanting, I wasn’t a bookworm who knew nothing and just read books in the classroom.”

"There's nothing wrong with being a bookworm. At least they have solid theoretical knowledge. Once they get some practical experience, they'll quickly become a good technician."

Feng Cheng and Qin Xuemei chatted as if no one else was around. Zhao Jinquan glanced at the two of them from time to time. Zhao Jinquan admired Feng Cheng a little. Such a beautiful girl, and he could chat with her without any pressure, and even tease her from time to time. Most importantly, she was still willing to chat with him.

Zhao Jinquan greatly admired Feng Cheng's ability. Although he had chatted with Qin Xuemei yesterday, it was in a question-and-answer format. Qin Xuemei asked questions, and he answered. Although he said a lot, it was very stiff, unlike Feng Cheng's relaxed and natural manner.

Zhao Jinquan thought of a girlfriend Feng Cheng had dated before, and he couldn't help but wonder, is this what Brother Feng meant by having experience?

Zhao Jinquan also hoped that he could have such experience, at least not blush when he saw Meng Yue, and be able to chat with Meng Yue easily.