Go back to the past to plant trees

In the evening, Wei Fugui prepared a large table of dishes, bringing out all the good things he had saved up, and made a very sumptuous meal.

Looking at the lavish dinner, Sui Zhichao exclaimed in surprise, "Captain, are we skipping dinner? Why such a feast?"

Zhao Tianshan said, "Didn't the leaders say they would arrange rewards for us? Ten catties of pork, a sheep. The Criminal Investigation Department also said they would coordinate a batch of rice, flour, and cooking oil for us. The best stuff is yet to come. This is just the beginning. Everyone, eat as much as you want today. Don't worry about eating pickled vegetables after this meal."

"By the way, there's also this!"

Zhao Tianshan carefully picked up a small jar of wine from the side. "It's genuine Nu'er Hong wine. I had someone bring it over a while ago. It just arrived a few days ago. I was thinking of finding some time to have a drink with everyone, but I didn't expect the opportunity to come so soon. What a coincidence."

Zhao Jinquan joked, "Captain, Brother Feng has been eyeing your Daughter's Red wine. If you don't bring it out soon, Brother Feng will have to drink it himself."

Feng Cheng replied with disdain, "Go away, do you think I'm that addicted to alcohol?"

"Old Zhao, this jar of wine doesn't count today! You said you'd treat me, but today you're treating everyone. I don't agree to that!"

Zhao Tianshan got anxious: "Inviting you is the same as inviting everyone else, isn't it? You drank too, didn't you? Aren't you going to drink?"

Feng Cheng shook his head, "This doesn't count, you need to get another jar."

"No, Feng Cheng, big brother, I'll call you big brother, okay? This wine was hard to get. Do you know how much effort it took me to get this jar? If you want another jar, you might as well just kill me!"

Upon hearing Feng Cheng's words, Zhao Tianshan immediately resorted to shameless tactics.

Feng Cheng completely ignored him and continued to shake his head: "Then don't ask me for help next time."

Zhao Tianshan looked at the wine on the table, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Then I'll take this wine back first, and I won't drink it this time."

Zhao Jinquan chimed in, "Captain, this won't do! You've already taken it out, how can you take it back now!"

Feng Cheng said, "Old Zhao, since this wine can be delivered once, it can definitely be delivered a second time. What are you afraid of? At worst, you can just give some return gifts."

Zhao Tianshan has a strong network of connections. He is an eleven-year veteran who participated in the Korean War and the Battle of Yijiangshan Island. It can be said that his comrades-in-arms are all over the country, which is why he was able to get his hands on this jar of Nu'er Hong wine.

Feng Cheng was unwilling to let him off easily, because only he could get his hands on this wine. Besides, relationships deepen with use; if you don't use them, you might not be able to find the right person when you need them at a crucial moment. Communication in this era was not like in later times; it was quite normal to not be able to find someone. So Feng Cheng was thinking of Zhao Tianshan's best interests.

Of course, Zhao Tianshan would never think that way.

"Alright, alright, I'll take the loss and accept it. But Feng Cheng, I'm the captain, I've provided the wine, you're the head of the technical section, you can't just leave without contributing anything!"

Zhao Tianshan reacted quickly and immediately came up with a counterattack plan.

"I... I don't have anything to offer, but I do have two pounds of dried peanuts. How about I take them out to have with the drinks?"

Zhao Tianshan waved his hand dismissively: "Go away, who wants your dried peanuts? I have such a big table of dishes, and you can't even have enough to go with the wine?"

"You might not know this, but our Section Chief Feng is incredibly talented. He plays the accordion exceptionally well. I heard him play twice, and I can't forget it!"

“This way, you’ve put me in a difficult position, but I’m magnanimous and won’t hold it against you. Tonight, you’ll play the accordion for us and accompany us. I haven’t sung in a long time, and my throat is a little itchy. If you make me happy to sing tonight, I’ll get you two jars of Daughter’s Red wine tomorrow.”

"Captain, two jars of Daughter's Red wine, are you sure you're not joking?"

Before Feng Cheng could speak, Zhao Jinquan asked.

Zhao Tianshan said firmly, "A promise is a promise. I, Zhao Tianshan, keep my word. Two jars of wine, besides the one I owe Feng Cheng, I'll get you another one."

Zhao Tianshan then looked at Feng Cheng and said, "Feng Cheng, how about it? Wasn't I good enough?"

Feng Cheng gave him a thumbs up, "Old Zhao, I knew I was right about you, you're a true friend."

"But we need to eat a lot to have the energy to sing, right? Let's eat and drink our fill first, then we can sing, okay?"

"OK, no problem."

Feng Cheng and Zhao Tianshan teased each other for a while before officially starting the banquet.

"Come on, everyone, eat up! Don't be shy, eat your fill. If you're still hungry, let Lao Wei make more."

"Captain, we feel a little embarrassed about this meal. We haven't done any work, and all the saplings we planted have died."

Looking at the sumptuous dishes on the table and the happy faces of Zhao Tianshan and the others, Qin Xuemei felt a pang of sadness.

Zhao Tianshan said nonchalantly, "Hey, let's not talk about this. We're all comrades-in-arms. If we can't help this time, we can help next time. We'll need your help with the autumn afforestation. There will be plenty of time for you to contribute then. Ten thousand saplings, without your help, who knows how long it would take to plant them."

Shen Mengyin also said, "But all the saplings we planted have died. At this time, I can hardly eat this celebration banquet."

"Failure is not terrible; what is terrible is not being able to get back up after failure. This is your first time planting trees, so it is understandable that they did not survive. Feng Cheng also tried to plant trees twice without success. In the end, it took him two years to cultivate seedlings before he was able to get the trees to survive. And the Forestry Bureau sent so many people and so many seedlings to Saihanba a few years ago. They spent three or four years, but in the end, they still did not manage to get the trees to survive."

"So don't think too much about it. It's nothing that the seeds didn't survive this time. Just try to grow them next time. Our Party's revolution also went through several major failures before it succeeded. If everyone were like you and got discouraged after just one attempt, how could the new China have been built?"

Feng Cheng also comforted them, saying, "Actually, you don't need to be discouraged. You've done very well. When I first planted trees, only one or two survived. Your survival rate is at least 5%, which is much better than mine."

Shen Mengyin said, "But you already have a survival rate of over 85%!"

Feng Cheng laughed, "You only see the thief eating meat but not the thief getting beaten. I spent two years cultivating these seedlings, and I was lucky that they succeeded on the first try. If I hadn't been lucky, my survival rate wouldn't have been much different from yours."

"Alright, don't think too much about it. We're happy today, so let's not think about the survival rate. After today, we'll have plenty of time to summarize our experience."

"Eat, eat."

"By the way, where is Wu Yansheng?"

Just as everyone was about to start eating, Zhao Tianshan suddenly noticed that Wu Yansheng was not at the table.

"Da Kui, you share a dorm with Wu Yansheng, didn't you invite him to come along?"

Na Da Kui replied, "Wu Yansheng said he wasn't feeling well, couldn't eat, and wanted to rest, so he wouldn't be coming over for dinner tonight. He told me not to bother him or serve him food, as he couldn't eat."

"this…"

A silence fell over the crowd. Everyone knew why Wu Yansheng hadn't come to dinner. He bore the greatest responsibility for the failed tree planting, especially since he had made a solemn pledge to Qu He beforehand. Although Qu He hadn't pursued the matter, Wu Yansheng certainly couldn't pretend it hadn't happened. The main issue was that Feng Cheng had successfully planted the tree. Everyone knew that the two of them didn't get along, and Wu Yansheng would find it hard to accept watching Feng Cheng celebrate.

Feng Cheng said, "Since he's not feeling well, let's just leave him be. Lao Wei, leave him some food and keep it warm in the pot. Da Kui, when you go back to the dormitory, tell him about this. If he's hungry, he can come over to eat; otherwise, forget it."

"Okay, let's arrange it this way."

The meal is ready, and no one can wait for Wu Yansheng alone. He and Feng Cheng don't get along. Today, Feng Cheng succeeded in planting his tree, while Wu Yansheng failed. If they were to meet again under these circumstances, who knows what might happen?

Therefore, in order not to affect everyone's mood, it is best to leave him alone.