Go back to the past to plant trees

Zhao Jinquan felt very uncomfortable. These past few days, while working on the farm with the college students, he often secretly looked at Meng Yue, but he didn't dare to look too much for fear of being discovered. He also knew that what he was doing was wrong, since Meng Yue already had a boyfriend.

When Feng Cheng first told him, he didn't believe that Meng Yue had a boyfriend, or rather, he didn't want to believe it. But after planting trees with the college students and listening to their conversations, Zhao Jinquan realized that it was true, and his hopes were instantly shattered.

That day, when he was making bread, Meng Yue gave him a thumbs up and said that his bread was delicious. He felt like his heart was about to jump out of his chest. But that was the only time. After that, Meng Yue rarely talked to him.

This made Zhao Jinquan's heart sink again. He came to the nursery to work again today. He thought about it again and again, and finally couldn't help but ask Feng Cheng for advice, because Brother Feng had said before that he could help him think of a solution.

But who knew that Brother Feng would say he didn't have a good idea either. He just knew that she already had a boyfriend and was about to get married, so what could he possibly do at this point?

"Hey…"

Seeing Zhao Jinquan sighing and complaining, Feng Cheng couldn't help but laugh.

"Brother Feng, you're laughing at me."

"No."

"Yes, I saw it all. Don't you think I'm funny...?"

"You're overthinking it. Seeing you like this reminds me of when I was in school, when I was pursuing my girlfriend. I was exactly the same as you are now, so anxious and insecure."

"By the way, Brother Feng, I've never heard you mention your girlfriend. Tell me about her!" Zhao Jinquan asked curiously upon hearing this.

Feng Cheng said, "What can I say to her? She's a good person, very gentle, and I'm a good person too, very outstanding, but we're not suitable for each other. There are many reasons, but it's still a regret in the end."

Zhao Jinquan wanted to ask more, but then he remembered that Brother Feng's girlfriend had passed away, so he shut his mouth.

Zhao Jinquan knew about Feng Cheng and Tang Qi's affair. Yu Zheng had told him about it, instructing him to pay attention to Feng Cheng's condition and not to ask him any questions to avoid causing Feng Cheng emotional distress.

Yu Zheng brought it up when Zhao Jinquan first arrived at the camp. Zhao Jinquan had always been careful not to talk about this kind of thing, but today, when the topic of relationships came up, he was particularly concerned, so he subconsciously blurted it out.

"Feng Cheng..."

Just as Feng Cheng was about to talk to Zhao Jinquan about Meng Yue, Qin Xuemei suddenly appeared in the nursery and called out towards the thatched shed.

"Why are you here? Why aren't you resting at the camp?"

Seeing Qin Xuemei walking over, Feng Cheng asked with a smile.

Qin Xuemei said, "They don't know what to do either. Ji Xiurong and Yan Xiangli went to study meteorology, Meng Yue wanted to write a letter to her boyfriend, Shen Mengyin was spacing out at the camp, and I had nothing to do, so I thought I'd come and take a look at the nursery."

Upon hearing the name Meng Yue, Zhao Jinquan's expression instantly tensed up, but when he learned that Meng Yue was writing a letter to her boyfriend, his emotions returned.

"Life in Bashang is like this: when there's work to do, you're busy to death; when there's nothing to do, you're bored to death. You have to get used to the pace of life here, because it won't just be for a day or two; for the next few months, you'll be like this, so bored that you don't know what to do!"

"So how did you spend those three years in Bashang?"

"I'll just have to tough it out. I'll read books and study, and then try to make some different food with Jinquan. I've seen a lot of things in Beijing before, so I'll try them out whenever I have free time. I'll see if I can make them here to pass the time and also make some different things to eat."

Qin Xuemei said, "So you made bread, cakes, maltose and all that stuff?"

"Yes, but it was all the result of trial and error. The first batch didn't taste good either, but Jinquan and I aren't picky. As long as we have something to eat, that's fine. What you're eating now is the result of several improvements to the production process."

"You guys are pretty good."

Qin Xuemei genuinely admired Feng Cheng. A forestry major, he switched to afforestation and, in just three years, mastered the subject. Not only did he learn it, he also developed a new seedling cultivation method. Qin Xuemei didn't consider herself inferior to others, but compared to Feng Cheng, she couldn't bring herself to compare.

Because Feng Cheng is not only strong in professional knowledge, but also very capable in other areas. Zhao Jinquan said that everything he knows was taught by Feng Cheng. Qin Xuemei has never seen Feng Cheng make a move, but based on Zhao Jinquan's words, Qin Xuemei does not think that Feng Cheng is bad.

On the day she arrived in Chengde, she heard Feng Cheng's name from other people. When she arrived in Weichang, it went without saying that everyone in the Forestry Bureau knew Feng Cheng. Not only did they know him, but they would also give him a thumbs up when they talked about him.

This made Qin Xuemei look forward to meeting Feng Cheng, as she felt that the two of them would definitely have a lot of professional knowledge to exchange.

However, upon arriving at the dam, Feng Cheng and Wu Yansheng clashed immediately upon meeting. Feng Cheng's forceful demeanor made Qin Xuemei somewhat uncomfortable. But the stories others had told her about Feng Cheng had already given her a certain fondness for him before they even arrived. So, despite her discomfort, she still wanted to exchange knowledge about seedling cultivation with Feng Cheng, especially about full-light seedling cultivation.

But as soon as she got to the dam, she started planting trees, and she was so busy planting trees that things were delayed.

The more Qin Xuemei learned about Feng Cheng, the more interested she became in him. She probably didn't even realize that she was comparing Feng Cheng to Wu Yansheng, and the more outstanding Feng Cheng was, the smaller Wu Yansheng's image became in her mind.

Later generations of "players" taught guys how to woo girls, one of which was that you can only pursue a girl for a certain period of time. If you haven't succeeded after that period, then you can give up and move on to the next one.

Girls and boys are different. Boys are fickle, but not too picky. Girls are different. Whether they are fickle or not is another matter, but most girls are picky.

Of course, this refers to girls from good families, with a certain status, and who are relatively independent financially. In this era, girls who haven't seen much of the world tend to look for husbands quietly, relying on introductions from others, the sweet talk of matchmakers, and the persuasion of their parents. If they feel it's a good match, they agree to it.

But someone like Qin Xuemei, a college student with a high salary and social status, who has met all sorts of men in college, actually has her own criteria for choosing a partner.

Wu Yansheng thought that because he was handsome, from a good family, and attracted attention, Qin Xuemei would like him. However, his occasional arrogance made Qin Xuemei very dissatisfied.

In addition, Wu Yansheng would occasionally tell her how good Beijing was. Qin Xuemei hadn't thought much of this before, but after she went to Beijing and met her stepmother, her impression of Beijing became very negative. Now she doesn't want to go to Beijing at all, and she doesn't want to get close to Beijing.

Young people of this age are very emotional. They might dislike a person or a whole city over a small matter, let alone Qin Xuemei, whose situation is far from trivial.

If someone had offered her some guidance, it would have been fine, since it wasn't a big deal. But Qin Xuemei kept it all bottled up inside, and no one knew. Whenever she was alone at night, thinking about her mother and her father's life with her stepmother, her emotions became more and more extreme.

Therefore, even if Wu Yansheng and Qin Xuemei had a confirmed relationship, Qin Xuemei would not go to Beijing unless she resolved her inner conflict. Otherwise, Qin Xuemei's impression of Beijing would be very negative.