Go back to the past to plant trees

While Sui Zhichao was chatting with Feng Cheng about the dressing table, the girls were also chatting happily.

"To be honest, the team leader is really good to us. As soon as we told him we didn't have a shower room, he immediately got one for us. It's even bigger than the ones the boys have. Thank goodness."

When Ji Xiurong came back from her shower, she chattered excitedly to everyone:

"I heard from Yan Xiangli that the boys' shower room was full of holes, and sand could get in. After showering, you had to be careful not to touch the straw, otherwise a bunch of sand would fall down and the shower would be a waste."

"Ji Xiurong, are you really going to date Yan Xiangli?!"

Seeing Ji Xiurong's happy expression, Meng Yue couldn't help but ask.

"Of course! I've said it before, I definitely want to find a college graduate."

"It doesn't necessarily have to be Yan Xiangli. Sui Zhichao would also work. Oh, and there's Feng Cheng. He's not just a college student, he's also a university teacher."

Meng Yue disliked Yan Xiangli. He was weak and timid, and when he introduced himself, he even asked a girl to do his laundry. He couldn't believe he said something like that. He didn't act like a man at all.

Ji Xiurong said, "Sui Zhichao likes Shen Mengyin, so I can't compete with her for her affections. As for Feng Cheng, he definitely wouldn't be interested in me. Didn't you notice the way he looked at us? It was like he was looking at little kids."

"You'd better snatch Sui Zhichao away. I don't like him at all. He's so glib," Shen Mengyin said angrily.

Ji Xiurong joked, "That won't do. The country doesn't allow you to have two husbands, so you'd better keep one for yourself!"

“Now that you mention it, I really do feel like Feng Cheng looks at us like we’re little kids,” Meng Yue said, recalling the incident.

“What’s wrong with that? They’re older than us, started working earlier, and are university professors with countless students. It’s perfectly normal for them to think we’re a bit immature and clueless.” Qin Xuemei didn’t think there was anything wrong with that.

"Hey, Xuemei, do you like Feng Cheng? I see you always going to see him," Ji Xiurong asked.

Qin Xuemei quickly denied it: "Don't talk nonsense. I don't like him at all. I just went there to discuss seedling cultivation with him. He has been working in seedling cultivation. Although his theoretical knowledge is a bit lacking, he is much better than me in terms of practice. There are many things I can learn from him."

"It's no use telling me. You have to tell Wu Yansheng. Haven't you seen that he's trying to break you up with Feng Cheng?"

Ji Xiurong may seem carefree, but she is also very observant. During the meal, she noticed that something was wrong with Wu Yansheng and Feng Cheng.

"Wu Yansheng isn't my boyfriend, why should I explain to him?"

"But he's been pursuing you for three years, and he even followed you all the way to Saihanba. You can't just ignore it like that!"

"Ji Xiurong, don't even mention Xuemei, you yourself have Da Kui following you around. Aren't you afraid that Da Kui will kill Yan Xiangli if you talk to him?"

Seeing that Qin Xuemei's expression was not right, Meng Yue quickly spoke up to help him out of the predicament.

“He’s not my boyfriend. I’ve told him countless times, but he just won’t listen.”

"Xuemei has rejected Wu Yansheng countless times, but Wu Yansheng won't listen!"

"Stop talking, go to sleep."

Qin Xuemei blew out the oil lamp, covered herself with the quilt, and went to sleep with her head covered.

But no one could fall asleep. Qin Xuemei was very upset, Ji Xiurong was worried that Da Kui would really beat up Yan Xiangli, and Meng Yue was also worried. She and her boyfriend had broken up and were so far apart. Would her boyfriend have other girls pursuing him?

As for Shen Mengyin, after listening to their conversation, she suddenly had an idea. If Qin Xuemei liked Feng Cheng, then could she pursue Wu Yansheng? Wu Yansheng came from a high-ranking official's family. If she established a relationship with him, would Wu Yansheng's parents try to transfer her back to big cities like Shanghai or Beijing?

...

The next morning, Wu Yansheng, Qin Xuemei, Shen Mengyin, and Sui Zhichao went to the forestry site together. Huang Qiang and Zheng Erqiang had already gone there. They originally wanted to go with them, but Wu Yansheng refused and told them to go first.

"Wu Yansheng, when will you deliver these saplings?"

On the way there, Shen Mengyin asked.

"I'll go to the county town with Zhao Tianshan tomorrow in a couple of days to apply for the money and food for hiring laborers, and then have the nursery send the saplings up."

"You'll have to lend a hand then. This is the first job for us college students after we come to the dam. If we don't do it well, we'll all lose face and won't be able to hold our heads up in front of Feng Cheng and the others."

"Wu Yansheng, you requested these trees and applied for the saplings, so how did it become everyone's business? If you're going to lose face and be ashamed, it's your own fault!"

Upon hearing this, Sui Zhichao couldn't help but retort.

“You’re wrong about that,” Wu Yansheng said, shaking his head. “We are a whole. We are all college students who came to the dam together. Whether you agree or not, we are bound together. In the eyes of leaders and outsiders alike, we are a team.”

"Although I applied for this tree planting, if it fails, people won't say that I, Wu Yansheng, am incompetent, but rather that our group of college students is incompetent."

“You don’t want people to say that we college students are no good, do you? Feng Cheng, who majored in forestry, can grow trees and make them survive, so why can’t we? Do you want to always be inferior to him? Don’t you want to prove our abilities to the leaders in the bureau, to prove that we college students are excellent and can shoulder important responsibilities?”

Wu Yansheng's words were extremely persuasive. They were all fresh out of university, and they all believed that they could make a name for themselves and become the focus of everyone's attention. No one wanted to play a supporting role.

"Wu Yansheng, tell us what to do. You're a forestry major, you know how to plant trees, we'll all listen to you."

Shen Mengyin was the first to speak up in support of Wu Yansheng. She was increasingly convinced that Wu Yansheng was the best candidate for her boyfriend. He had a good family background, good looks, and good abilities. Only Qin Xuemei didn't appreciate him and rejected such a prince charming.

Sui Zhichao originally wanted to refute Wu Yansheng's words, but he shut up after hearing Shen Mengyin speak, afraid that Shen Mengyin would be unhappy if he spoke.

Qin Xuemei was a stubborn and competitive person. Although she acknowledged that Feng Cheng was very capable, she did not think she was inferior to him. She also wanted to prove her own abilities. So even though she knew that Wu Yansheng was wrong, she still did not object.

Seeing that none of them objected, Wu Yansheng breathed a sigh of relief. He had managed to tie all the college students in Shangba together, which was his way of dealing with Feng Cheng. Although Feng Cheng held a higher position than him, as long as he kept the college students by his side, Feng Cheng would not be able to control him.

After all, there are only a few people in Bashang. He has brought the most valuable people to his side, while Feng Cheng's side only has some migrant workers who can only do hard labor. What can he do?

As for Ji Xiurong, Yan Xiangli, Da Kui, and Meng Yue, Qin Xuemei doesn't object, and Meng Yue certainly won't object either. Da Kui is simple-minded; if you just coax him a little, he'll come along. As for Ji Xiurong and Yan Xiangli, Ji Xiurong probably won't object either. Although Yan Xiangli is a loner, he won't go against the crowd; he's very likely to go with the flow.

By planting trees, he could bind everyone to his side. As long as the trees survived, he would gain merit, and even if Feng Cheng held a higher position, he wouldn't be powerless to retaliate.

It's possible that Zhao Tianshan will also side with him, since his main task on the dam is to plant trees. If he manages to grow trees successfully, then Zhao Tianshan has no reason not to support him.

Therefore, as long as the trees survive, his situation in Bashang will change drastically. As for what to do if the trees don't survive, Wu Yansheng never even considered it. In his opinion, if Feng Cheng could grow trees, why couldn't he?