Go back to the past to plant trees

Two days later, the forestry bureau's vehicle arrived. This time, only the driver came up; Yu Zheng did not.

Feng Cheng helped carry the luggage of the group to the back of the truck bed and politely waved goodbye.

After the helpers left, only Feng Cheng and Zhao Jinquan remained in the camp.

"You haven't been home for a while, why don't you come home for a visit?"

After seeing the person off, Feng Cheng asked Zhao Jinquan, who was standing next to him.

Is it possible to leave from here?

Zhao Jinquan was somewhat tempted. He had been here for a few days, and it was the first time he had been away from home for so long. He was a little homesick, and he hadn't told his family about becoming a temporary worker at the Forestry Bureau yet. He wanted to make his parents happy about such a joyous occasion.

“It’s fine if you go back in the evening and come back tomorrow morning, but if you stay at home for a day or two, then it won’t work. I can’t manage it all by myself.”

After the seeds are planted, someone needs to guard the nursery at all times. One task is to water the seeds, and the other is to prevent birds from digging them up and eating them. Feng Cheng can manage the work by himself, but it will be very tiring, and he doesn't want to make himself work so hard.

Once the seeds sprout and grow strong, they won't need frequent watering anymore. At that time, Cheng could let Zhao Jinquan go home and rest for a few days. But not now. As a permanent employee and reserve cadre, he is working hard. Why should Zhao Jinquan, a newly hired temporary worker, be allowed to rest?

"No problem, I'll go back a little later tonight and come over earlier tomorrow."

Zhao Jinquan happily agreed. He just wanted to go home to see his parents and chat with them. As for staying home for a few days, he didn't have a wife or children, so what was the point of staying at home? Besides, he would still have to work even if he stayed home for a long time. In the countryside these days, how could you be idle? The irrigation ditch at the door, the thatched roof, the vegetable garden, the chickens in the yard—as long as you were home, you would definitely have something to do.

Zhao Jinquan didn't want to work at home. It wasn't that he was lazy, but working at home wasn't just about doing chores; he also had to face his parents' nagging, and the work he did was never satisfactory to them.

"By the way, Jinquan, can you buy chickens or ducks in your village?" Feng Cheng suddenly thought of something and asked Zhao Jinquan.

Zhao Jinquan said, "We can buy them, but the price is not cheap. You know the current situation. There isn't enough food in our village right now. Many families have slaughtered their chickens and ducks. Even if a few families have a few left, the price is still not cheap."

"What, Brother Feng, you want to buy it?" Zhao Jinquan asked with some doubt.

Feng Cheng nodded, "Look how hard we've been working here, and we haven't had any meat. I'm really craving some. If you can buy some in your village, could you buy one or two for me on your way back to satisfy my craving?"

“No problem,” Zhao Jinquan said, patting his chest. “I’ll go buy some when I get back. I can’t say how many, but we have one or two in our village.”

"However, I can't say the exact price, because I've never bought chickens or ducks in the village."

Feng Cheng said, "It's alright, I'll give you ten yuan first, you can take it back and buy two."

In his previous life, Feng Cheng was someone who was unwilling to compromise himself. Now that he couldn't spend money anywhere else, the only place Feng Cheng could spend money was on his stomach. So, it was necessary to spend some money to comfort his stomach.

Zhao Jinquan shook his head and said, "We don't need that much. Even if it's expensive, it's only five or six cents a pound. After all, pork is only eight cents a pound."

"Take them back first, and bring them back if you have too many. Oh, and if there are any chicks, buy a few too. We have a lot of space here, so it will be more convenient to have meat later."

"Row."

Zhao Jinquan nodded in agreement. This was just a side matter; there were always people in the village looking for chicks. If they couldn't buy the newly hatched ones, they would buy the bigger ones. These weren't big problems.

After chatting with Zhao Jinquan for a while, Feng Cheng and Zhao Jinquan came to the nursery.

Upon arriving at the nursery, Feng Cheng did not immediately water the plants. Instead, he and Zhao Jinquan put away the shade mats in the nursery.

Zhao Jinquan asked in confusion, "Brother Feng, wasn't this just laid out? Why are you taking it down already?"

Feng Cheng didn't explain further, "This isn't for use now. It's for use when it rains heavily or hails. We just laid it out before to see if it was suitable."

Zhao Jinquan was somewhat skeptical of Feng Cheng's words, but he didn't dare to ask, because it was a technical matter that he didn't understand and shouldn't inquire about.

These past few days, Zhao Jinquan has been staying with Yu Dechang and the others, and he has heard them talk a lot about tree planting. It was only after listening to them that Zhao Jinquan realized that there were so many twists and turns involved in planting trees.

This made Zhao Jinquan somewhat unsure, because Yu Dechang and the others said that the forest farm is now advocating scientific tree planting and afforestation, and all forest farm workers need to learn about this.

Zhao Jinquan was also a little guilty. He didn't understand this at all, and he felt that his chances of becoming a formal employee of the Forestry Bureau were slim, because he didn't understand scientific tree planting at all. He had only learned the term "tree planting" in the last two days.

After spending more than an hour removing the straw mats and putting them back in the stable, Feng Cheng and Zhao Jinquan began their watering work for the day.

Because full-light seedling cultivation is chosen, the temperature of the seedbed can easily rise. If the seedbed temperature is too high, the seedlings are easily burned. Therefore, in order to keep the seedbed temperature from getting too high, the seedbed must be watered continuously to lower the temperature. However, because the seedlings are too delicate, watering cannot be too forceful or fast; it must be sprinkled slowly.

This work can't be rushed, at least not until the seedlings have grown to a certain height, so it requires two people to carefully cultivate them.

After watering the wheat, Feng Cheng slowly lifted the oat straw to check if the area under the seedbed was wet.

At four o'clock in the afternoon, Zhao Jinquan took his things home. Feng Cheng took out ten yuan from his pocket and handed it to him. Zhao Jinquan did not stand on ceremony and took it directly, saying that he could return the extra money later.

After Zhao Jinquan went back, Feng Cheng continued working in the nursery until after six o'clock. It wasn't until after sunset that Feng Cheng prepared to go back.

Looking back at the neat and tidy nursery, Feng Cheng thought about the dinner he would be having later.

Can I plant something else here?

An idea suddenly popped into Feng Cheng's mind.

If saplings can be grown, then other things can be grown too, such as wheat and vegetables.

The thought of eating potatoes and sweet potatoes every day made Feng Cheng lose his appetite. Growing grains might be a bit of a hassle, but what about growing some vegetables? At least that would add something to your table.

There are still many years to go, we can't keep eating sweet potatoes and potatoes like this forever!

Feng Cheng thought about it more and more and felt that his idea was good. Anyway, he was the only one in the dam area, so no one would care what he planted. Besides, he wouldn't grow much. It would be enough for him and Zhao Jinquan to eat. At most, he would grow half an acre of vegetable garden. If he could manage it, he would take good care of it. If he couldn't manage it, he would just manage it in a rough way. As long as there was a harvest, no matter how much, it would be better than having nothing at all.