Go back to the past to plant trees

In the evening, Feng Cheng took Xu Peng and his nephew Xu Jianjun back to the camp.

In the afternoon, Feng Cheng asked Zheng Erqiang to come back and have Lao Wei get some good food for them. He told them to use the camp's supplies first, and he would make up for it later in cash.

This is, after all, a private dinner party, so I can't use public resources.

“I’ve been on the dam for over a month, and I haven’t even come to see your camp,” Xu Peng said as he arrived at the camp and looked around.

Feng Cheng frankly admitted, "To be honest, I'm a little hesitant to invite you guys over. We have a few girls in our camp, and there are dozens of you grown men. I'm a bit worried."

Xu Peng nodded, "I understand. Actually, it's not just you who's worried; we're worried too. Before we came to the dam, our leader specifically told us not to get close to you. We know there are girls here. If we don't see them, it's fine, but if we do see them a few times, it's really easy for problems to arise."

Xu Peng, who was leading a construction team around, still had this kind of awareness of prevention.

Feng Cheng suddenly realized: "That explains why you never come here. I didn't see you come to the camp to look for me when we were resting."

“If I come, they will ask me about your place. If I haven’t been here before, they won’t be able to ask, so they can’t discuss your place.”

You can imagine things based on other people's descriptions, but what if there are no descriptions at all? Then it's very difficult to imagine them.

After chatting for a while, Feng Cheng led Xu Peng and Xu Jianjun into the cafeteria.

Today's banquet is for Xu Peng and his nephew, so all the guests are men, while the women sit at their own table.

"Here, the conditions are tough, there's nothing fancy to eat, just make do."

"This is fine, it's much better than what I eat here. Section Chief Feng, you've gone to a lot of trouble today."

"fine."

"Captain Xu, how about a couple of drinks?"

"Okay, let's have two drinks."

"Captain Xu, I can't hold my liquor, but my colleagues can, especially our captain, Captain Zhao. You've met him, he's a professional soldier. He fought in the Civil War, the Korean War, and the Battle of Yijiangshan Island. His medals could fill an entire wall."

"Really? Then I'll have to have a couple of drinks with Captain Zhao."

Xu Peng picked up his wine bowl and said, "I admire soldiers the most. My family forced me to join the army, otherwise I would have done so."

“My mother is the only one in my family. My brother died in the war while serving in the army. I wanted to join the army, but my mother wouldn’t let me go no matter what. Even though I had already registered, she still dragged me back.”

Zhao Tianshan said solemnly, "Your brother is a good man, and you are a good man too. You served in the army to contribute to the country, and now you are also contributing to the country. It is an honor for both of you."

"Come on, drink this bowl."

"readily."

After two bowls of wine, the atmosphere at the table really heated up. Xu Peng was very good at talking and could chat with anyone. His alcohol tolerance was also unfathomable. He kept drinking and never blushed.

As the drinking progressed, Zhao Tianshan started urging everyone to play games, which made the atmosphere even more lively.

That night, all the alcohol in the camp was used up, and even the food used for cooking in the kitchen was taken out and drunk.

Xu Peng had a high alcohol tolerance, but he was eventually forced to drink until he passed out. Zhao Tianshan also reached his limit and vomited.

The next day at noon, Xu Peng and his nephew finally woke up. They had stayed up too late the night before and neither of them had gone home. Of course, even if they weren't drunk, Feng Cheng wouldn't have let them go home.

Xu Peng moved into Wei Fugui's dugout, which was spacious enough to sleep five or six people.

"I won't dare come here again next time, really, you guys can drink too much, I can't handle it."

Xu Peng rubbed his slightly aching head. He hadn't drunk this much in many years. As he got older, he tried his best to control himself and not drink too much, but the atmosphere yesterday was too lively. He usually drank a pound, but yesterday he drank at least a pound and a half.

Feng Cheng laughed and said, "You're just too honest. You drink as much as everyone else. How can you possibly outdrink so many people by yourself?"

Xu Peng shook his head. If you're still fussing over drinks, who would want to drink with you? Your drinking habits reflect your character. That may not be entirely true, but it applies to the vast majority of people.

Xu Peng ate some of the food Wei Fugui had left for him in the canteen, and then took his nephew and headed towards the construction site.

When I got back today, the construction site started packing up. If nothing unexpected happens, they'll be leaving the dam tomorrow. The next time we'll see each other won't be until next spring. Of course, that depends on whether Xu Peng is in charge of the construction team next year. If not, then I don't know when we'll see each other again.

Zhao Jinquan and the others had also drunk a lot yesterday, so they were a bit listless and weak when working today.

Feng Cheng didn't care about them. At this point, there wasn't much work left in the nursery. Everyone was just used to coming here to work, and most of the time they were just playing.

"Brother Feng, when do we start planting trees?" Zhao Jinquan asked Feng Cheng suddenly while sitting in the thatched shed.

"In a few days, the temperature will start to drop slowly. I asked Ji Xiurong, and it will probably drop to around ten degrees Celsius in about a week. That will be about the time to start planting trees."

"Winter is coming soon after we planted the trees; another year has passed in the blink of an eye."

Zhao Jinquan sighed, then turned to Sui Zhichao beside him and asked, "Da Sui, are you spending the winter on the dam this year, or going down to the dam?"

Sui Zhichao said, "Let's go down to the dam. There's work to be done even in winter. What's the point of staying here?"

"That's true, the county town is much more lively than here."

"Jin Quan, are you going to stay in Bashang?"

"Yes, I'm staying in Bashang. Brother Feng, you're staying in Bashang too, right?"

Feng Cheng nodded. "Mm."

"It's so cold up here, and there's nothing to do. Why stay up here? Wouldn't it be better to go down to the dam?" Sui Zhichao asked, puzzled.

Feng Cheng said, "There is still work to be done. The nursery will expand its area next year and will need a lot of tree species. We need to store the seeds in the snow on the dam. We also need to keep an eye on the nursery. Of course, there is not much to do. We are mostly idle during the winter on the dam."

Zhao Jinquan said, “Da Sui, you definitely don’t have to work while you’re on the dam, but it’ll be different once you leave. The bureau might arrange for you to do other work. I’ve heard that in previous years, the bureau would send people to the forest farm to cut down trees in the early winter. Of course, we’d just supervise, but think about it, in temperatures of minus ten or twenty degrees Celsius, would you go out in the snow to work?

Sui Zhichao was somewhat skeptical. "Really? We're university students!"

Zhao Jinquan retorted, "When there's a shortage of people, who cares if you're a college graduate? What have you been doing in the past six months on the dam? Digging holes, planting trees, pressing down earthen pits, watering, weeding, and leveling the land—which of these jobs is easy? When there's a real shortage of people, let alone asking you to cut down trees, you'd have to go even if they asked you to dig manure pits. The leaders won't give you a chance to bargain."

Sui Zhichao fell silent. He realized that Zhao Jinquan was right. Going down to the dam might be more fun, but there would definitely be work involved. The only difference was what kind of work.

But in temperatures of minus ten or twenty degrees Celsius, let alone doing any work, even getting off the heated brick bed requires courage.

Whether or not to go down, Sui Zhichao suddenly hesitated.

“Da Sui, don’t listen to Jin Quan’s scare tactics. It’s not as exaggerated as he says. You are college students. Even if you are to work, it will most likely be within the bureau. They won’t let you go out to work, since you are not familiar with this place and don’t understand the local language.”

Sui Zhichao smiled but did not answer. "It's better to be safe than sorry. If it's minus ten or twenty degrees Celsius, how will we manage to work?"