Go back to the past to plant trees

"Come on, everyone, come back and get your things yourselves. Also, I have written down how much you received and how much you spent on your wages. Calculate it yourselves and take stock. There's a lot of stuff, so there might be some mistakes. If you're wrong, remember to come to me."

Back in Bashang, Zhao Tianshan took advantage of dinner time to bring out all the things he had bought during the day and asked everyone to take stock of them.

Sui Zhichao said with a grin, "Captain, no need to order. How could we not trust you?"

Zhao Tianshan quickly said, "No, I don't even believe myself, so don't believe me. My counting skills are limited. Buying too few is fine, but buying too many will definitely cause mistakes. For the sake of my reputation, everyone should count them!"

"Then we'll order it when we get back."

After collecting their belongings and returning them to their respective dugouts, they went back to the canteen.

"Today, I spoke with the director about the saplings at the dam. The director said he would go to the region in the next couple of days and bring regional experts to inspect our saplings. The survival rate and whether the saplings can survive the winter will depend on the regional experts' assessment. This will also be a test of everyone's hard work over the past month."

"Do we still need to test it?" Wu Yansheng said proudly upon hearing this. "The saplings are right there. Anyone with eyes can tell at a glance whether they're alive or not. Do we need experts to come and see? That would be a complete waste of time."

Feng Cheng began, “One year green, two years yellow, three years firewood for the stove, this is a saying that the afforestation workers in Saihanba often say, which describes the afforestation situation in Saihanba.”

"Yes, the saplings are alive now and have a high leaf emergence rate, but this is only the first year and the first month since they were planted. It's hard to say how the saplings will grow later or whether they can survive the most difficult first two years. So we need to have the local forestry experts assess them."

"By the way, let me tell you something. The first year I went to the dam to plant trees, more than a thousand saplings, they all survived at first, and the new leaves of the saplings were very green. But these more than a thousand saplings did not even last three months. The leaves turned yellow in the second month, and they all withered and died in the third month."

"So don't think that just because the saplings have a high leaf release rate now, the trees are alive. If planting trees in Saihanba were really that simple, the credit would have been taken long ago, and it wouldn't be your turn to make a name for yourselves here."

Although Feng Cheng spoke in a gentle tone, everyone could feel the strong sarcasm in his eyes when they met his gaze.

Qin Xuemei couldn't help but ask, "If that's the case, why didn't you say so back then?"

Feng Cheng laughed and said, "Why should I say it? Everyone knows that planting trees in Saihanba is difficult. You've probably heard it dozens of times in Chengde and Weichang, but you still don't believe it. You haven't even been to Saihanba, haven't even seen the land and climate here, yet you're so sure you can grow trees. You applied to the bureau for saplings and said with absolute certainty that the problem of trees not growing in Saihanba isn't the saplings, it's the people. Under these circumstances, do you think what I'm saying will be useful? Do you think you'll listen?"

"Feng Cheng, don't spread alarmist rumors. Whether the trees survive or not is not up to you," Wu Yansheng said angrily to Feng Cheng, whose words made him uneasy.

Looking at the lush green leaves of the saplings during this time, he felt that his road to success had already appeared. He even began to imagine the ugly expression on Feng Cheng's face when the Forestry Bureau announced that the saplings had survived.

But now, Feng Cheng tells him that the sapling has grown leaves, but it won't survive. How can Wu Yansheng accept this?

"That's why I asked the bureau chief to invite regional experts to come and confirm! You don't believe or listen to what I say, but you have to believe what the regional experts say!"

"By the way, the reason I called the experts over here wasn't specifically to target you. The main purpose was to check the survival rate of the saplings I planted this spring. You were just there as an afterthought."

Feng Cheng's words silenced everyone in the cafeteria instantly. Zhao Tianshan was also somewhat surprised that Feng Cheng would speak so bluntly today. Although Feng Cheng had previously been somewhat dismissive of these college students, he had always been careful about his attitude. But today, Feng Cheng was acting out of character, which Zhao Tianshan couldn't understand.

In fact, Feng Cheng's words today were intentional. He wanted these college students to know in advance that the saplings wouldn't survive, and he was also blocking Wu Yansheng's path to shirk responsibility.

In the drama, when the trees failed to survive, Wu Yansheng completely shirked responsibility, blaming Feng Cheng for not choosing the right site and Zhao Tianshan for not preparing the land properly. He claimed he bore no responsibility whatsoever, speaking in a high-sounding manner. Despite more than 10,000 saplings failing to survive, he not only escaped punishment but also gained even better favor from his superiors.

Feng Cheng knew that this situation would not happen again this time, because he had already planted the tree. However, Feng Cheng felt disgusted by Wu Yansheng's face, so he blocked his path in advance to prevent him from shirking responsibility.

At the same time, Feng Cheng was also trying to sow discord between Wu Yansheng and the college students. When planting trees, he mobilized all the college students. Everyone put in their best effort. If they achieved good results, they would accept the hard work. But if they didn't achieve good results, then they would have complaints.

Not to mention that Feng Cheng's trees have already survived planting, and it was Wu Yansheng who insisted on getting these saplings in the first place, without consulting anyone else, and made the decision on his own.

This is also why Feng Cheng disdains to fight with Wu Yansheng. This guy has a bunch of crazy tricks up his sleeve; Feng Cheng doesn't even need to lift a finger, he can ruin himself.

Seeing everyone looking dejected, Wu Yansheng said loudly, "Don't listen to his nonsense. Whether the saplings live or not is not up to Feng Cheng to decide. It can only be determined by experts from the regional forestry bureau. I believe the trees I planted will live."

"Feng Cheng, don't be unhappy just because our saplings survived. If you can't grow trees, that's your problem. Don't compare your failures to ours."

Looking at Wu Yansheng, who was still defiant, Feng Cheng laughed, "Stubbornness won't help. It's only a few days. Whether he survives or not, we'll know when the experts from the regional forestry bureau arrive."

"I just want to prepare you mentally, so you don't have too high expectations for these saplings. The higher the expectations, the greater the disappointment."

"You don't need to worry about it, just take good care of your nursery."

Feng Cheng's voice was so grating to Wu Yansheng's ears, and seeing Feng Cheng's smile made him even more unbearable.

Feng Cheng was his nemesis. Ever since he met him, everything had gone wrong. Wu Yansheng had wanted to beat him up for a long time, but he had no legitimate reason to do so.

But after his anger subsided, Wu Yansheng became worried. What if it was really as Feng Cheng said? What if the tree didn't survive? Wu Yansheng panicked. What would he do if it didn't survive?