Go back to the past to plant trees

At noon, Feng Cheng took some time to return to the camp and asked Meng Yue to show him around the newly built laboratory.

"Can the soil nutrient content be tested here now?"

Feng Cheng glanced at the bottles and jars in the laboratory and asked a question.

The laboratory was very simple, with just two tables, a microscope, a dozen or so dishes, test tubes and the like.

Meng Yue said, "It's not possible yet. The reagents for the measurement haven't arrived. Right now, we can only test the soil's pH value."

"Oh."

Upon hearing this, Feng Cheng immediately lost interest. He already knew the pH of the nursery soil. Every year, he would collect soil samples and have them tested at the bureau. He wouldn't say the data was perfectly accurate, but it wouldn't be too far off.

"So this lab is useless now?"

"Well, it will be useful in the future. Director Yu is already trying to purchase experimental equipment and reagents for us. In a while, this place will not only be able to test soil and water sources, but also cultivate and improve seeds."

Feng Cheng nodded, "I believe that."

"Do you have any books on this topic, like those that teach how to do experiments? I want to learn how to do experiments, and at least I need to understand the precautions and procedures."

"Yes, our university textbooks have this kind of knowledge. I can get it for you later if you want."

"Then I'm sorry to trouble you."

"It's alright. Your paper on full-light seedling cultivation has also given us a lot of inspiration. It's much more important than our book."

"It's good that you've gained some insights. In the future, all the nurseries in Bashang will use full-light seedling cultivation. The more you learn about it, the more helpful it will be for your future work."

At this point, Meng Yue couldn't help but ask, "Is it really necessary to use full-light seedling cultivation in Bashang to ensure that trees can survive?"

Looking at Meng Yue's slightly doubtful expression, Feng Cheng smiled and said, "Saihanba is very large. There are places with yellow sand everywhere, as well as places with abundant water and grass. In places with good soil, good climate, and sufficient water, trees should be able to survive using traditional seedling cultivation methods. However, in those places with harsh environments, drought, and little water, full-sun seedling cultivation would be better."

"There may be other ways to grow trees, but we haven't found them yet, so we can only use this technology to get started, and then slowly explore other technologies later."

"When the mechanized forest farm is established next year, I will suggest that the leaders adopt several seedling cultivation methods simultaneously to see which one is more suitable for Saihanba. Only through continuous experimentation and optimization can we find the most suitable seedling cultivation and afforestation methods for Saihanba."

Meng Yue nodded as she listened to Feng Cheng's answer. Although Feng Cheng did not make a good impression on her when they first met, she gradually changed her opinion of him after several subsequent interactions.

Thinking of Ji Xiurong's words yesterday, Meng Yue silently compared Wu Yansheng and Feng Cheng in her mind. If family background were disregarded, Wu Yansheng was no match for Feng Cheng, whether in terms of ability or personality. However, family background was an unavoidable factor.

Meng Yue thought for a moment, then shook her head. This matter should be a headache for Xue Mei. She was only helping Wu Yansheng by giving him some encouragement, and that was only when Qin Xue Mei didn't have any other suitors. Now, she didn't want to get involved in the affairs of the three of them.

Feng Cheng visited the laboratory and then left to return to the nursery.

...

"Feng Cheng, I'm going down to the dam with Wu Yansheng tomorrow. Is there anything you need to bring? I can bring it up for you."

After dinner that evening, Zhao Tianshan told Feng Cheng about it.

"Bring me two jin of kerosene, two bottles of ink, and two notebooks. I'll pay you later."

"That's all, you don't need the rest?"

"That's all. I'll be going down to the dam soon, and I'll buy the rest myself then."

"Okay, I'll write it down and bring it back to you tomorrow."

"Jin Quan, is there anything you need to bring?"

After asking Feng Cheng, Zhao Tianshan continued to ask others. It wasn't easy to go down to the dam, so it was good to bring something along. Otherwise, it would be a waste of time to go down to the dam just for a small thing.

Not only the advance team, Zhao Tianshan also asked the college students. And sure enough, these college students had quite a few things they wanted to buy. Before coming, they hadn't expected the situation in Saihanba to be so bad, so they hadn't prepared many things. Some of the girls even said they would go down to the dam in a few days to buy them. Now that Zhao Tianshan was going down, he could ask him to buy them for them.

"Xuemei, what did you buy?"

"I bought two pairs of gloves and three pairs of socks. I'll need the gloves for work in a few days."

"Meng Yue, what about you?"

"Meng Yue asked the captain to mail out the letters she had written over the past few days, and also asked him to check if any letters had been sent to her."

Before Meng Yue could even speak, Ji Xiurong had already exposed her secrets.

Shen Mengyin said, "Meng Yue, I envy you so much. You and your boyfriend have such a good relationship."

"Envy is useless; you have to find it yourself."

“I can’t find them. There are only a few men in Saihanba. How can I find them?” Shen Mengyin said with a frustrated look.

"Meng Yue, Ji Xiurong, you need to help with the tree planting. This is the first thing we'll do after we get to the dam, so we need to do it well."

Qin Xuemei then spoke about planting trees.

"I'm fine with it. You can arrange whatever you want to do."

Meng Yue was the first to support it. Wu Yansheng and Qin Xuemei had both participated in this matter, so he certainly couldn't be an exception. After all, they all came from the same school. Besides, this was the first job that college students did after coming to the dam, so they had to do their best and work together.

"I'm fine with it. Just call me when you need to work."

Ji Xiurong didn't have any objections. She just followed the group. Since everyone else was participating, she would definitely participate too.

"Is it just the few of us? Aren't Feng Cheng and his group going to help?" Ji Xiurong asked.

"Captain Zhao said that Feng Cheng and Zhao Jinquan have to watch the nursery and can't leave. Huang Qiang and Zheng Erqiang will come to help, but their main job is to take care of the seedlings in the afforestation area, so they can only help for a while. The only people who can help at the camp are Captain Zhao and Wei Fugui, but Wei Fugui has to do kitchen work, so he can only spare half a day."

"So this time, the main force for planting trees will be us newcomers to the dam. That's why I said we should all work together to do this well and make it look good, so that the leaders in the bureau can understand that we are capable of working, capable of working well, and capable of taking on important responsibilities."

Shen Mengyin chimed in, "That's right. We not only need to plant the trees well, but we also need to make them survive. Only in this way can we demonstrate the ability and importance of us college students. We are college students, and we can't be worse than others."

Shen Mengyin didn't say who that "other person" was, but everyone knew in their hearts that the bureau had recognized Feng Cheng's achievements, so they weren't paying as much attention to them. Although no one said anything, they cared a lot. After all, they were young people, at a passionate age, and what they couldn't accept most was being looked down upon by others.