Go back to the past to plant trees

"Jin Quan, are you going home anytime soon?"

That morning, Feng Cheng touched Xiao Liu's belly and then asked Zhao Jinquan, who was standing next to him.

"No, why? Brother Feng, are you going to buy something?"

Feng Cheng shook his head and said, "I'm not buying anything. Didn't I ask you to take Xiao Liu back for breeding last time? It's been more than a month, and there's still no sign of Xiao Liu's belly. I guess it didn't mate. If you want to go back, take it back and breed it again."

Zhao Jinquan said, "Erqiang hasn't been back for a while. Ask him later. He should be going back in the next few days. Just have him take the dog back with him. The dog is in the brigade. Just take it there to mate with him."

“That’s fine,” Feng Cheng said, stroking Xiao Liu’s head. “Winter is coming soon. If you’re not good enough for him now, you’ll have to wait until next year, which is more than half a year from now.”

"Your belly needs to step up!"

Xiao Liu twisted its head, stuck out its tongue and licked Feng Cheng's hand, its tail wagging wildly, it was unclear whether it understood what Feng Cheng was saying.

The work at the nursery is nearing its end, and the temperature is gradually dropping. Feng Cheng now only goes to the nursery once a day at noon, and he waters very little. The seedbeds are well-hydrated and don't need much watering.

In the camp, Wei Fugui was feeding the chickens and sheep with the grass he had cut.

"Old Wei, you're quite the expert at raising livestock. You feed these chickens so well, and these sheep are too; their wool is growing beautifully."

Wei Fugui chuckled and said, "I just feed them whatever I want. I don't know anything about raising animals. They eat, so I feed them."

"By the way, section chief, when are we going to slaughter this sheep?"

Feng Cheng looked at him with a smile, "What, you want to eat mutton?"

Wei Fugui scratched his head and said, "It's not that I want to eat it, it's that they asked me, and I told them I can't make the decision."

Feng Cheng shook his head: "They can't keep anything good. They've only been eating pork for a few days, and they're already eyeing the sheep."

“This sheep won’t be killed so early. If someone is going to go down to the dam, then it will be killed and eaten before winter. But everyone will spend the winter on the dam, so this sheep will have to stay for a while longer.”

"Such a big sheep can't be eaten in one meal. We'll wait until winter, when the weather is cold and the mutton won't spoil so easily, before slaughtering it."

Wei Fugui said, "Okay, then next time they ask, I'll just tell them the same thing."

"Ah."

...

Time flies, and September has arrived in the blink of an eye. The temperature has dropped below ten degrees Celsius, and at midnight it even drops below zero.

After learning about the recent temperatures from Ji Xiurong, Feng Cheng immediately decided to start planting trees.

"Prepare the tools today, and we'll officially start planting trees tomorrow. The land is ready, and the holes have been dug. All we need to do is plant the trees. Let's all try to plant two thousand trees a day and finish planting them within five days."

"Do you have confidence...?"

"Have."

"Alright, let's get started. Go to bed early tonight and don't play cards. You can play whatever you want after we finish planting the trees. I won't care if you play all night."

At his command, everyone in the camp sprang into action.

Wu Yansheng's tree-planting initiative wasn't entirely useless; at least he taught everyone the methods and techniques of tree planting, so the college students didn't need to learn these things again.

After more than half a year of training, the college students are no longer like they were when they first arrived, needing to rest after only a few movements. Although they are still not as good as veterans like Feng Cheng, they are much better than before. If they were only equivalent to 0.5 laborers before, they are now at least 0.7, and their progress is quite rapid.

"Hey, there's a goat cave here, I need to mark it first."

After Zhao Jinquan planted a tree, he suddenly discovered a goat cave not far away.

"Where is the Earth Sheep Cave?"

Upon hearing Zhao Jinquan's words, Sui Zhichao immediately grabbed a hoe and ran over.

"Yes, that's it."

Sui Zhichao stared at the fist-sized hole in front of him and asked curiously, "This is the Earth Sheep Cave!"

Having followed Zhao Jinquan for several months, Sui Zhichao had heard about the ground sheep from him. Unlike others who were averse to eating rats, Sui Zhichao had eaten them and knew they were a good thing. So ever since he learned that these things could be caught here, he had been urging Zhao Jinquan to come and catch them. Unfortunately, these things were not easy to catch in the summer, and Zhao Jinquan did not want to waste his efforts, so he ignored him.

A few days ago, Zhao Jinquan said that after planting a tree, he would go to find the Earth Sheep Cave and dig it in winter. Sui Zhichao said he would go with him. Unexpectedly, we met here today.

"Why don't you use your hoe to dig? It hasn't snowed yet, and the goats run fast. Even if you dig, it will be hard to catch them. Wait until it snows before coming back, then you won't have to worry about them escaping."

Sui Zhichao said, "Don't worry, I'm not digging. I just want to see what this hole looks like."

"Are there any wild sheep in here?" Sui Zhichao asked Zhao Jinquan after looking at it for a while.

"Yes, the entrance to the hole is very smooth. This is because the ground sheep have been going in and out. The soil outside is also very fresh. It must have been dug recently. This is a ground sheep hole used for overwintering."

"Stop looking. If you keep looking, our scent will get here, and the earth sheep won't come back once they smell it."

"Make a mark so we can come and dig after it snows."

Zhao Jinquan marked the entrance to the cave, then pulled Sui Zhichao away from there.

"After we finish planting the trees, can you take me to find the Earth Sheep Cave?"

"Okay, I'll take you to find it after I'm done with these few days. Even if you don't say anything, I'll still go look for it. Feng and I dig up sheep to eat every winter. It's meat, and it's hard to get, especially in winter when there's not much to eat."

"A stew of local mutton, paired with half a pound of offal, life sounds wonderful."

Listening to Zhao Jinquan's description, Sui Zhichao couldn't help but swallow. In winter, with heavy snow, the house was filled with the aroma of meat and wine. Three or five friends would gather together, drinking, chatting, and playing games. Just thinking about it made him yearn for such a scene.

Sui Zhichao wished it would snow heavily in Saihanba right now.

"However, there are many people in Bashang this year, so we need to find more sheep caves, otherwise there won't be enough for two meals."

Sui Zhichao nodded, "Yes, there are a lot of people, so we need to prepare more. It's half a year of winter, so we can't do without more."

Zhao Jinquan continued, "It's not just the sheep, but also the wine. With so many of us drinking, we'll be drinking several kilograms in one go. If we don't prepare more, we won't have any left to drink."

"In my first year at the camp, Brother Feng and I prepared nearly 20 jin of liquor, and that wasn't enough. With you guys on the list, we'll have to prepare even more."

Sui Zhichao mentally estimated for a moment and said, "Then it would have to be over a hundred jin?"

"Definitely need it, but probably not enough. However, loose white liquor is cheap; a hundred-odd catties won't cost much."

Sui Zhichao said, "Even if it's cheap, it still costs money. We need to go back and discuss this. Everyone has to share the cost. Those who don't drink can skip it, but those who do drink will have to pay for the alcohol."

Eight boys, all with huge drinking capacities, drinking alcohol is like drinking water to them. If only one or two people were to pay, it definitely wouldn't work.