Go back to the past to plant trees

"Feng Cheng, what you just said was a bit harsh."

After dinner, as soon as they returned to the dugout, Zhao Tianshan expressed his dissatisfaction, "Even if the trees didn't survive this time, you can't talk about them like that. Didn't you kill two trees before?"

"I couldn't help myself, it's my fault, it's my fault," Feng Cheng immediately admitted his mistake. He couldn't tell Zhao Tianshan his purpose for doing so, because Zhao Tianshan would definitely criticize him if he did.

Zhao Tianshan advised, "You should control your emotions. After all, you are the leader. Although Wu Yansheng did some things wrong, we leaders should focus on education and consider the overall situation. We can't be like them and throw tantrums when we're in a bad mood."

“I know, I will definitely pay attention next time. You know I’m not that kind of person. I just couldn’t help myself today. They have too high expectations for the saplings, which is not a good thing for them. Look, they just arrived at the dam and dared to plant more than 5,000 saplings without understanding anything. This kind of blind mentality is unacceptable.”

Zhao Tianshan sighed, "Well, what can we do? They're college graduates. The prefectural committee and the county are both paying attention. Director Qu can't do anything about it."

"So we have to make them face reality and let them know that planting trees in Bashang is not such a simple thing. If they really think that this tree planting was just a failure and that they have to plant again in the fall, then the waste will be even greater."

“What you said makes sense,” Zhao Tianshan was convinced by Feng Cheng, but he still said, “But we still need to be careful about how we speak, so as not to upset them, after all, they are the backbone of the mechanical forest farm.”

"Don't worry, I'll be more careful next time."

"We trust you completely, I just want to give you a couple of words of advice."

While Zhao Tianshan and Feng Cheng were chatting, Zhao Jinquan was also discussing the matter with several college students in the cafeteria.

"Jin Quan, Feng Cheng's words this time are a bit hurtful. Even if we can't grow the trees this time, we shouldn't say that."

Although Sui Zhichao was close to Feng Cheng, Feng Cheng's words tonight still made him very uncomfortable; the tone and attitude were very unpleasant.

"Brother Feng probably just spoke off the cuff. You've been on the dam for so long, you should know what kind of person he is."

Zhao Jinquan explained to Feng Cheng that he had gone back to the team a couple of days ago and brought back the ewe that had given birth to a lamb and the lamb. He said he was going to make milk tea for everyone that night. He happened to run into Feng Cheng's outburst, so they talked about it.

"Did Feng Cheng know from the beginning that we couldn't grow trees?" Ji Xiurong couldn't help but ask.

Zhao Jinquan nodded: "That's right. From the moment I learned that you were going to plant trees, I knew that you would definitely not be able to grow any trees this time. And that's not all. Before you even came to the dam, I guessed that you would definitely ask the bureau for saplings to plant."

"Oh, really?"

Ji Xiurong, Meng Yue, Shen Mengyin, Qin Xuemei, and Sui Zhichao all showed surprised expressions.

Zhao Jinquan nodded: "It's true. Brother Feng said that you guys have just graduated and are at the age when you are full of pride and arrogance. You must think that you are invincible. You must think that the problem of trees not growing on the dam is a problem with people. If it were you, you would definitely be able to grow the trees."

Zhao Jinquan's words caused a slight embarrassment on the faces of the group. Although they didn't say it explicitly, they all had similar thoughts to some extent.

"I don't think Feng Cheng is necessarily right. Maybe our saplings will survive."

Shen Mengyin spoke up, saying that she had been working in the afforestation area for some time, and looking at the lush green leaves of the saplings, she couldn't believe that saplings growing like this wouldn't survive.

Sui Zhichao also said, "Yes, what Feng Cheng said may not be correct. We still need to wait for the forestry experts to come before we can confirm it."

Qin Xuemei and Meng Yue nodded in agreement. To be honest, they didn't want to believe it either, and could only comfort themselves with this thought.

But a lot of gloom has been buried in everyone's hearts. They originally thought that their actions would be extraordinary, but now it seems that their actions are just so-so.

His anxiety made the milk tea that Zhao Jinquan had carefully prepared taste bland.

Over the next few days, everyone was somewhat downcast, waiting for Qu He to bring forestry experts to confirm the survival of the saplings.

The day after Feng Cheng mentioned it, Wu Yansheng went to check on the afforestation site. As a forestry professional, although his skills were somewhat lacking, he was still able to spot some problems. He had been completely captivated by the saplings' growth and hadn't carefully examined the other details of the seedlings.

Upon seeing this, Wu Yansheng's mood plummeted. Just as Feng Cheng had said, the saplings really did have a low chance of surviving.

It wasn't just Wu Yansheng who confirmed it; several girls, including Qin Xuemei, also confirmed it. They didn't have any afforestation skills, but they compared Wu Yansheng's saplings with Feng Cheng's, and the comparison revealed a huge difference between the two.

However, everyone still held onto a sliver of hope. What if things turned out differently? There was still some hope, right?

Just as everyone was filled with unease and anticipation, Qu He, Yu Zhenglai, and Li Zhong arrived at Saihanba. In addition to these three, there was another person who surprised Feng Cheng: the leader he had met when he went to Beijing to sell houses. Feng Cheng had talked to him for a long time, but the leader never gave his name or position, so Feng Cheng did not know his specific information.

"Director Qu, Director Yu, Engineer Li," Feng Cheng greeted them one by one, but when it came to this person, he was a little unsure how to address him.

"This is Director Xing, from the Provincial Forestry Bureau. He used to be the director of the Chengde Forestry Bureau, but he has now been transferred to the provincial level."

When Yu Zheng came to see Feng Cheng, he hesitated and quickly introduced him to him.

"Feng Cheng, it's been a long time! I told you before that I would come and see the trees you planted in Saihanba. How did it go? Are you sure the trees survived?"

Feng Cheng replied, "It should be alive, but we can't be sure yet. We need to wait for Engineer Li to confirm."

Xing Zhen greeted Feng Cheng with a smile, but everyone around him was stunned by his words.

"Director Xing, do you know Feng Cheng?" Yu Zhenglai asked, somewhat surprised.

"He went to Beijing a couple of years ago, and I was also going to Beijing at the time. We happened to be on the same train, and I sat with him. We chatted all the way, and after we arrived in Beijing, we chatted for another night. He has a wide range of knowledge and knows a lot of things that I don't know. If it weren't for something that happened at the bureau, I would have chatted with him more. It's a bit of a pity."

Seeing Xing Zhen's regretful expression, Yu Zhenglai was also quite surprised. He genuinely didn't know that Feng Cheng would know Xing Zhen, even though Xing Zhen was several years younger than him. Yet, Xing Zhen's career was booming, and judging from his attitude when speaking with Feng Cheng, he seemed to have a very good impression of him. This was truly astonishing. What had Feng Cheng said to make Xing Zhen feel so favorably towards him?

Watching this scene from afar and listening to these words, Wu Yansheng suddenly felt powerless. This Feng Cheng was unfathomable. He actually knew such a high-ranking official, and not just someone he had met once. Judging from the director's appearance, he had a very good impression of him. This made Wu Yansheng very annoyed. Was Feng Cheng really that popular?