Go back to the past to plant trees

Feng Cheng and Xing Zhen chatted all the way, and before they knew it, they had arrived at the afforestation area.

Li Zhong is an expert from the Ministry of Forestry, so he was in charge of this trip. He was very conscientious and immediately bent down to look at the seedlings as soon as he arrived at the afforestation site.

The first batch Li Zhong examined was the one planted by Wu Yansheng. He looked at it very carefully at first, but after looking at a part of it, he sped up because the previous saplings told him that the survival rate of this batch of saplings would be very low.

Qu He had told him about this before he came, so he was mentally prepared. Li Zhong didn't take the confidence of these college students seriously, but he also knew that young people were like that, unwilling to submit to anyone. He had been through that age himself and knew the ambition of these guys.

At first I looked at it very carefully, then I skipped around for the next few days, and then I just looked at a few plants growing in a patch.

An hour later, Li Zhong finished inspecting the saplings.

Seeing Li Zhong walk back, Yu Zhenglai quickly asked, "Engineer Li, how did it go?"

Looking at the expectant eyes of the young people in front of him, Li Zhong shook his head. "The survival rate is only about 3% to 7%. I didn't check it very carefully because of time constraints, but it shouldn't exceed that range."

"So low?"

Although Feng Cheng had dampened their spirits a couple of days ago, and everyone had low hopes for the tree planting trip, they still thought there would be at least a 20-30% survival rate. Now, it's only 7%? This is hard for everyone to accept. Out of 5,000 saplings, only a little over 300 will survive, and that's the best-case scenario.

Qin Xuemei couldn't help but ask, "Engineer Li, the survival rate can't be that low, can it? I think the leaf release rate is quite high!"

Li Zhong said, "The actual figure may be even lower than I estimated."

"this…"

Now everyone fell silent. Did they not believe Li Zhong's judgment? He was an expert from the Ministry of Forestry and a professor at the university. Even their mentors wouldn't dare to easily question Li Zhong's judgment, let alone these recent graduates.

"Don't be discouraged. It's not easy to grow trees in the high-altitude desert areas. Otherwise, Saihanba wouldn't have been abandoned for so many years. It's okay if you didn't grow them this time. Learn from the experience, find the reasons for the failure, and try again next time."

Wu Yansheng took two steps forward. "Don't worry, Engineer Li, we will analyze the reasons for this tree planting failure. Once the mechanized forest farm is established next year, we will definitely find a way to make the trees grow."

Seeing Wu Yansheng making a show of himself again, Zhao Jinquan couldn't help but say, "You don't need to worry about that. My brother Feng has already found a way to grow living trees. It's just that you don't believe it and insist on trying it yourself."

Wu Yansheng shook his head and said, "Feng Cheng's method can make trees survive, but are there no other methods besides his? There are countless paths to take. Just because Feng Cheng's method is correct doesn't mean we shouldn't look for other methods! The afforestation experience of Saihanba Mechanical Forest Farm is to be promoted throughout the country. Are we just going to promote one achievement?"

"Comrade Wu Yansheng is right. Our mechanized forest farm should summarize various afforestation experiences. In addition to Feng Cheng's, we should also experiment with other afforestation techniques to strive for faster and better construction of Saihanba."

Yu Zhenglai was very satisfied with Wu Yansheng's answer. Although he knew that this guy was just good at talking, he needed his nice words to boost morale at this time, so Yu Zhenglai did not hesitate to praise him.

Wu Yansheng raised his head slightly, looking proudly at Feng Cheng and Zhao Jinquan.

Zhao Jinquan couldn't help but clench his fists; he really wanted to beat this guy up.

"Engineer Li, it's getting late. Let's go check on the trees I planted as soon as possible, otherwise it will be too late to go back."

Feng Cheng was too lazy to argue with Wu Yansheng. Losing would be embarrassing, and winning wouldn't bring any benefit, so why bother?

“Yes, Engineer Li, we have to go over there,” Qu He also said. The main reason for coming up here was to check on the saplings planted by Feng Cheng. Wu Yansheng’s place was just a side trip. Compared to this place, Qu He was more concerned about the situation at Feng Cheng’s place.

"Then let's go over there!"

As Li Zhong spoke, he walked to the other side.

Everyone followed that way, wanting to know the survival rate of the saplings Feng Cheng planted. Li Zhong had sentenced them to death with a maximum survival rate of 7%, which they found hard to accept. They wanted to see the survival rate of the saplings Feng Cheng planted.

They were somewhat skeptical that Feng Cheng's saplings would have a high survival rate.

"So, are you confident?"

Xing Zhen stood next to Feng Cheng and asked.

Feng Cheng said, "I had already checked before you came. I wouldn't dare say 100%, but the survival rate is at least 80%."

"You're so confident, do you really think this tree will survive?"

"If I don't even have this much confidence, then all these years I've spent in Saihanba have been for nothing."

Looking at Feng Cheng's confident demeanor, Xing Zhen couldn't help but say, "That's right, young people should have this kind of confidence. If you don't even believe in yourself, then who will believe in you?"

...

"What do you think the survival rate of Feng Cheng's saplings is?" Sui Zhichao, who was standing around bored while Li Zhong was inspecting the saplings, couldn't help but ask.

Meng Yue said, "Didn't Zhao Jinquan say that the batch they planted in the fall had an 85% survival rate? This time it should be about the same!"

“85%, while we only have 7%, their figures are so high, it’s almost an exaggeration,” Wu Yansheng couldn’t help but say.

Meng Yue said, "The saplings Feng Cheng used are different from ours. They were saplings cultivated using a new method, so it's possible that they have such a high survival rate. Moreover, the bureau has certified the result, so it can't be fake."

"Then it has nothing to do with the saplings. They were able to grow trees last year because they planted them in old pits where trees had been planted before. Those old pits had been planted with trees and fertilized many times, so the soil was fertile enough for the saplings to survive. The reason we didn't grow trees this time is because the land we planted was wild, overgrown with weeds, and lacked fertility. Without fertility, trees cannot grow."

Hearing Wu Yansheng's nonsense, Qin Xuemei couldn't help but refute him: "Wu Yansheng, we are all graduates of forestry universities. Although we don't know much about afforestation, we still know the basics. What you said is not a reason at all. If we really follow your logic, then do we have to turn all the mountains and forests into cultivated land and improve the soil fertility before we can plant trees? Then do we need to plant trees in the Northwest, Xinjiang, and Tibet? The soil in those places is not fertile, so does that mean trees can't grow there?"

Sui Zhichao also couldn't stand Wu Yansheng's stubbornness: "Is it so hard to admit that others have succeeded? We are college students, not street thugs. Have some shame."

Wu Yansheng was surprised that everyone contradicted him, which made him feel embarrassed. "You don't know what's good for you. If Feng Cheng's trees survive, will you still have any standing in Bashang? I'm doing this for everyone's sake."

"You're only thinking of yourself! I specialize in pest and disease control; planting trees is none of my business!"

"Sui Zhichao, what are you saying?"

"Human language".