Go back to the past to plant trees

That evening, Feng Cheng and Zhao Jinquan killed the old hen they had brought and stewed a large pot of potato and chicken stew.

Feng Cheng felt that the chicken was incredibly delicious, and could be said to be one of the best things he had ever eaten.

Although this pot of chicken had few ingredients, just some salt and soy sauce, it was a rare delicacy for Feng Cheng, who hadn't eaten meat in a long time.

Feng Cheng thought of the food he had been eating lately, and it was truly indescribable. Perhaps only vegetarians could live such a life!

"Jin Quan, what do you think about us getting a vegetable patch over there? We can plant some greens and radishes, and that way we'll have more vegetables and some stuff to feed the chickens."

After eating and drinking his fill, Feng Cheng remembered his thoughts from yesterday and spoke to Zhao Jinquan about them.

“Sure!” Zhao Jinquan immediately nodded in agreement when he heard Feng Cheng’s words: “I have a lot of vegetable seeds at home. I’ll go back and get some to plant some greens, winter melon, pumpkin, cucumber and the like. That way we’ll have more to eat and won’t have to worry about not having enough supplies from the bureau and going hungry.”

Although the Forestry Bureau would frequently send supplies, they only sent staple foods and not vegetables. Zhao Jinquan was tired of eating potatoes and sweet potatoes and wanted to try something different, like pumpkin or corn grits. Although they weren't very tasty, at least he would have something to change things up.

"Then we'll take some time these next few days to set up a vegetable garden," Feng Cheng said, eager to enrich his meals, so the plan was immediately made.

"Do we need to find another place?" Zhao Jinquan asked, somewhat puzzled. "Isn't the nursery perfect? ​​It's a good place. We can take care of the vegetable garden while we're watering the nursery. It's very convenient!"

Feng Cheng shook his head and said, "That won't work. That's where seedlings are grown. If we put the vegetable garden there, the pests and viruses that the vegetable garden attracts will spread to the nursery and affect the seedlings."

For Feng Cheng, seedling cultivation is the most important thing, and it is also his main job. Growing vegetables is just to increase his food supply. He can't let the desire to eat some green vegetables delay the seedling cultivation.

"Vegetable gardens should not be next to nurseries; they should be far away from nurseries, as far away as possible."

Zhao Jinquan stopped talking after hearing Feng Cheng's words. Since it involved professional knowledge, Zhao Jinquan didn't understand and could only listen to Feng Cheng.

After deciding to cultivate the vegetable garden, the two tidied up the table and left the kitchen.

After dinner, it was already past eight o'clock, and it was quite dark outside. The moon wasn't very bright tonight, and some dark clouds in the sky were obscuring its light.

Feng Cheng looked up at the night sky, praying that it would rain in the next few days so that he could have some peace and quiet.

After taking a shower, Feng Cheng returned to his dugout. Daytime in the dam area was boring, let alone nighttime. He had been in this world for more than half a month, and Feng Cheng's bedtime was getting earlier and earlier, from 11 pm at the beginning to 9 pm now. When he was tired, he would even fall asleep at 8 pm.

Because he goes to bed early, he also wakes up early in the morning. Now Feng Cheng usually gets up before six o'clock in the morning, which is almost becoming his biological clock.

Back in his room, Feng Cheng didn't read any books. He had already read through the few books on planting techniques left by the original owner, and he had a general understanding of the knowledge in them. Perhaps it was because he had transmigrated, but Feng Cheng's memory was now exceptionally good. He could remember almost everything in the books after reading them only once. Many things that the original owner didn't understand before, Feng Cheng now understood as well.

"I need to find some time to go back to the Forestry Bureau and bring up some books related to planting. Not just books related to planting, but also some other books. It's so boring here, there's just too much time. Having a few books will help pass the time."

Feng Cheng lay in bed, lost in thought.

The next day, Feng Cheng asked Zhao Jinquan to water the nursery, while he went in the opposite direction to see where would be suitable for a vegetable garden.

Feng Cheng knows this area very well, and he has roughly figured out where to put the food stall. He's just here to make a decision.

After walking for about ten minutes, Feng Cheng arrived at a shady spot. There was no water source nearby, but the soil was good and fertile, making it suitable for growing vegetables. Most importantly, it was far from the nursery, so growing vegetables here wouldn't affect the nursery.

After looking around, Feng Cheng roughly marked a patch of land about two or three-tenths of an inch in size with a shovel, and then went back.

Turning the soil is a task that needs to be done together with Zhao Jinquan; otherwise, given Feng Cheng's pace, it's hard to say when the job will be finished.

Feng Cheng went to the nursery and talked to Zhao Jinquan about the vegetable garden.

Zhao Jinquan said, "We'll go over and work on it these next few nights. We'll start by making one or two furrows. It should only take two or three days to finish. After we've finished making the furrows, I'll go home and get some vegetable seeds."

"This season is a good time to plant cucumbers, pumpkins, winter melons, amaranth, and peppers, among other things."

Feng Cheng said, "Let's plant some cucumbers, peppers, and amaranth first! We can just scatter some seeds of winter melon and pumpkin on the ground. We'll harvest some if we can, but it won't matter if we can't."

The thought of having a sumptuous meal on his table in a month or two filled Feng Cheng with excitement.

He couldn't understand why the original owner hadn't set up a small vegetable garden. Although it was difficult to grow trees here, growing vegetables wouldn't be a problem. As long as you watered them diligently, you could still get a harvest.

This guy's mind is completely focused on planting trees; he doesn't care about anything else. Poor food doesn't matter to him at all, as long as he has something to eat and can eat his fill.

"Jin Quan, thank goodness you're here. Without you, I don't know when I would have been able to finish this job."

After working in the vegetable garden for an hour that evening, Feng Cheng and Zhao Jinquan headed back to the camp only after it was completely dark.

In just one hour, Feng Cheng and Zhao Jinquan had almost finished working on that ridge of land. They were very fast. The main reason was that Zhao Jinquan was so hardworking. He was like an ox, with inexhaustible strength. He kept shoveling and turning the soil, just like a small human-powered rotary tiller.

Zhao Jinquan chuckled and said, "I only have a bit of strength, and I can only do hard work. I can't do anything else, unlike you, Brother Feng, who is a college student and an intellectual."

Feng Cheng waved his hand and said, "College students are just like that, they've only studied for a few more years than you."

Feng Cheng wasn't proud of his college student status. He had been a college student in his previous life, albeit at a second-rate school, but he had experienced the era when college students delivered food and packages. To be honest, Feng Cheng couldn't be proud of his college student identity.

"If you want to learn something, I can teach you. It's hard to say how much you can learn, but it's better than not knowing anything at all now."

Based on their interactions over the past few days, Feng Cheng had a pretty good impression of Zhao Jinquan. He was honest, reliable, not stupid, and very respectful of him. Feng Cheng was also willing to teach him some things.

If his performance these past few days wasn't just an act, Feng Cheng would likely try to give him a chance to become a full-time employee.

After all, the Saihanba Mechanical Forest Farm needed to recruit people after its establishment, and Feng Cheng was willing to do this favor and recruit him.

Of course, this is on the premise that he has good character. However, there are still two years before the Saihanba Mechanical Forest Farm is established. Two years of living and working together will be enough for Feng Cheng to understand Zhao Jinquan thoroughly.

"Ugh, I feel sleepy as soon as I open a book, and I can't concentrate on learning anything."

"It's okay. I'm pretty free here anyway. I'll learn a little bit if I can. I don't expect you to learn a lot. You can decide for yourself. Ask me when you want to learn, and do your own thing when you don't want to."

“Okay, no problem,” Zhao Jinquan immediately agreed. He was afraid that Feng Cheng would force him to study, as he really had no interest in reading.

But he also wanted to learn something, because if he didn't know anything, it would be difficult to become a formal employee of the Forestry Bureau.