Go back to the past to plant trees

"Meng Yue, how's your horseback riding coming along?"

The next afternoon, Qin Xuemei and Wu Yansheng went to check on the forest. When they returned, they saw Meng Yue riding a horse carefully around the camp.

Meng Yue stopped her horse next to Qin Xuemei and said, "It's alright, I've almost learned it. Captain Zhao said that if I ride it a few more times, I won't need to learn anymore."

"You went to check on the afforestation land. How was it? Are the saplings growing well? Have you chosen a place to plant the new saplings yet?"

Qin Xuemei said, "The saplings have a high leaf emergence rate. I checked and they have all sprouted. The hundreds of saplings they planted last year have also survived and are growing very well."

"The location for planting the new saplings has been chosen. It's right next to Feng Cheng's afforestation area. The terrain there is good, the soil is also good, and there is a water source nearby, so the survival rate of the saplings will be relatively high after they are planted."

Wu Yansheng also said, "The reason they can keep the trees alive is simply because they chose a very suitable place to plant trees. The terrain is good, the soil is good, and as long as the planting method is correct, how can the trees not survive? If you ask me, this kind of failure has nothing to do with the seedlings at all."

Wu Yansheng didn't miss any opportunity to belittle Feng Cheng. He looked at the saplings in the afforestation area today, and they were mostly green. This made Wu Yansheng feel that planting trees in the dam area was definitely not that difficult. As long as the requirements were strictly followed when planting trees, even if the leaf release rate was not that high, it wouldn't be that the survival rate was only 4% or 5%. It must be that there was a problem with their previous tree planting methods.

“Wu Yansheng, the saplings will be ready in a few days. You need to recruit people to help. I heard from Captain Zhao that there are no spare people in the camp right now. If you want to plant trees, we’ll have to do it ourselves and recruit a few more laborers to help.”

Meng Yue, recalling her conversation with Zhao Tianshan earlier that day, quickly spoke to Wu Yansheng.

Zhao Tianshan was also somewhat displeased with Wu Yansheng, but as the captain, he couldn't ignore certain things and had to remind him of what needed to be reminded.

"Moreover, Captain Zhao said that it's not enough to just recruit people. We also need to consider their food, accommodation, and wages. You have to make preparations in advance, otherwise it will be too late to make arrangements once the saplings are planted."

Wu Yansheng was stunned when he heard this. "No, wasn't this arranged by Zhao Tianshan? Why am I being asked to do this? I'm a college graduate, a cadre, and I'm in charge of command. Why am I being asked to do this kind of thing? Besides, I don't know where to recruit people!"

"Why can't you do this kind of thing?" Wu Yansheng's words displeased Qin Xuemei. "Captain Zhao is also a cadre, why can he do this kind of thing? Besides, you're the one who asked for the saplings to come up and plant the trees, if you don't do it, who will?"

Meng Yue also said, "Captain Zhao said that because this matter involves funding and food supplies, you have to go to the bureau in person to communicate with Director Qu. As for recruiting migrant workers, he can help you with that."

Wu Yansheng was also very annoyed. He originally thought that this matter was just a matter of giving instructions, but who knew that he would have to do it himself, which made him very frustrated.

"Wu Yansheng, I think you should discuss this matter with Captain Zhao. Don't delay the tree planting. The bureau is already not in favor of us planting more trees. If your problem causes the planting time of the saplings to be delayed, Director Qu will be unhappy."

Since Wu Yansheng arrived in Weichang, his words and actions have already caused Qu and Yu Zheng to have opinions about him. If Wu Yansheng causes trouble again during this tree planting, then he can find a way to transfer away from here. If your direct superiors have opinions about you, no matter how powerful your backing is, you have no future in this unit.

"Okay, I'll talk to Captain Zhao about this later."

Wu Yansheng wasn't stupid. He was arrogant, but his upbringing in a high-ranking official's family made him realize that his situation in Saihanba wasn't good.

Qin Xuemei nodded. He didn't want Wu Yansheng's relationship with his superiors and colleagues to become too strained. At the same time, he also hoped that Wu Yansheng could settle down in Saihanba and use his knowledge and abilities to build this place.

This has nothing to do with emotions; it's simply about wanting to make the country better and using my abilities to bring about positive changes in impoverished areas.

This kind of thinking was very common in that era. It wasn't just Qin Xuemei who thought this way; many people thought the same way. When the higher-ups said that the frontier needed educated youth, countless people bravely signed up, not only burning their own passion but also bringing their partners, friends, and those around them along with them.

Such a thing is unimaginable in later generations. Only in this era, when the nation's spiritual pillars still exist, can the Chinese people make selfless contributions.

Wu Yansheng swallowed his pride and, after returning to the camp, immediately sought out Zhao Tianshan, asking him to help hire some laborers. He then asked Zhao Tianshan to take him down the dam to the county town. Wu Yansheng said that he had just arrived at the dam and didn't know the way, so he asked Zhao Tianshan to show him around.

Not only that, Wu Yansheng also consulted Zhao Tianshan about what to pay attention to and what to arrange after hiring migrant workers. Wu Yansheng pretended to know nothing and successfully dumped these trivial tasks on Zhao Tianshan.

When Feng Cheng returned from working at the nursery and heard about this from Zhao Tianshan, he felt somewhat helpless. This guy was too easy to fool. Wu Yansheng threw away his pride, then acted innocent and foolish, and he obediently followed him.

However, Feng Cheng did not expose this matter, because even if he did, it would be useless. Wu Yansheng could ignore these saplings, but Zhao Tianshan could not. Zhao Tianshan had a strong sense of responsibility and would not shirk his duties.

Feng Cheng had no intention of targeting Wu Yansheng, nor did he intend to set a trap for him and get rid of him.

In the drama, Wu Yansheng is very successful in Saihanba. He comes from a good family, is handsome, and is willing to do small favors for those around him, so he has a good impression on everyone.

After he and Qin Xuemei established a romantic relationship, he was able to stay in Bashang. Even so, he was still trying to get transferred back to Beijing. At that time, his idea was to take Qin Xuemei with him. Later, when he was hibernating, he learned that Qin Xuemei's father was the vice minister of the Ministry of Forestry. Then his mind started to work, and he decided to marry Qin Xuemei.

Even then, Wu Yansheng didn't want to stay in Saihanba. Qin Xuemei insisted on staying, so he went to Qin Xuemei's stepmother, hoping she could persuade Qin Xuemei to return to Beijing.

Therefore, throughout the entire series, Wu Yansheng's attitude is very clear: he doesn't want to stay in the harsh and cold Saihanba and wants to return to Beijing. However, due to various considerations of interests, he has stayed here.

Therefore, Feng Cheng believed that there was no need to deal with him at all. As long as he stayed in Bashang for a long time, he would find a way to get back without any effort from Feng Cheng. Qin Xuemei might make him hesitate, but as long as he did not know the relationship between Qin Xuemei and Qin Qiufeng, Wu Yansheng would not stay here because of Qin Xuemei. He would not jeopardize his future for Qin Xuemei. He was a sophisticated egoist.