Go back to the past to plant trees

A rainstorm caused some disruption to Feng Cheng's life.

Zhao Jinquan went home, and the next day he brought over an old man who was dressed in shabby clothes and had a dark complexion.

“Brother Feng, this is my sixth uncle, my own sixth uncle. The thatched roofs he makes are especially sturdy and durable. All the houses in our village have their thatched roofs made by him.”

"Hello, Sixth Uncle."

Upon hearing this, Feng Cheng quickly greeted the old man in front of him.

Sixth Uncle nodded to Feng Cheng and replied, "Hello."

Feng Cheng could tell that the old farmer in front of him wasn't a talkative person, so he asked, "Sixth Uncle, shall we eat something first?"

Uncle Liu shook his head. "No rush, let me check the area first."

"Fourth brother, take me there to take a look."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Jinquan immediately led his sixth uncle to Feng Cheng's dugout.

Uncle Liu looked around inside, then used a stick he carried with him to measure the size of the room.

"It will probably take me four or five days to fix this thatched roof, is that alright?"

Feng Cheng said, "Sixth Uncle, let's not rush this. I still have some ideas about this place. Let's go out first."

"Row."

Sixth Uncle responded and followed Feng Cheng out of the dugout.

After stepping out of the dugout, Feng Cheng said, "Sixth Uncle, this is what I'm thinking. I'm not only going to cover the dugout with this thatched roof, but I also plan to extend it outward by one meter to cover the surrounding land. Then I'll build a drainage ditch around it, so that even if it rains, it won't be so easy for water to seep into the dugout."

This was a solution Feng Cheng came up with last night. Half of the dugouts in the camp were underground. Even if the roof didn't leak when it rained, water would still seep in through the walls if the surrounding soil got wet. The surrounding ground was sandy, so water would seep in very quickly. Basically, water would seep into the walls every time it rained.

Feng Cheng doesn't have the ability to rebuild a house. Firstly, the house is expensive, and the bureau won't pay for it. Secondly, Feng Cheng won't spend his own money to do it.

Another team will arrive in two years, and then the Saihanba Mechanical Forest Farm will be established. At that time, this place will not be of much use, so there is no need to spend energy building houses here. Just make sure to waterproof it and use it as is.

Hang in there, two years will pass quickly. Besides, there isn't much rain here in Bashang, only a little in July and August. And even when it rains, it's rarely a downpour. Most of the time it's like yesterday's rain, lasting about half a day.

So Feng Cheng tried to find a way to alleviate the problem of water seepage from the underground cellars during rain, but it was impossible to solve it completely, since no underground cellar is immune to water ingress.

But it should be able to alleviate the problem to some extent. For example, we can extend the thatched roof outwards to cover as much of the land around the dugout as possible, and dig deeper drainage ditches. This way, rainwater won't seep into the house as easily when it rains. There's nothing we can do about heavy rain, but we should be able to handle rainfall like yesterday's.

Uncle Liu listened to Feng Cheng's words, thought for a moment, and then nodded, "That's a good method. Unless it's raining heavily, the cellar shouldn't flood."

"However, this will make your thatched roof much bigger, so the price can't be calculated the same as before."

Feng Cheng said, "Money is no object. I trust you won't cheat me, Uncle Liu."

"No, I don't."

After finishing his sentence, Uncle Liu fell into deep thought. After a while, he said, "If you add one meter, that's more than 30% larger. Xiao Si told me it would be 8 yuan, but I won't ask for more. Is 10 yuan a good price?"

Feng Cheng nodded: "Okay, the price is very reasonable."

"The timeframe might be delayed by a few more days, given how much it has been increased."

"no problem."

The thatched roof isn't unusable anymore; as long as it doesn't rain, it can still last a long time.

Uncle Liu nodded, then said to Zhao Jinquan beside him, "Go back to the team in seven or eight days, and remember to bring the horse-drawn cart back with you. When you do, bring back the thatch."

"Ok."

After saying that, Uncle Liu took the stick he had brought and left.

Just as Feng Cheng was about to speak, Zhao Jinquan immediately pulled him aside.

Feng Cheng glanced at him. "Aren't you going to invite your sixth uncle to stay for a meal?"

Zhao Jinquan shook his head: "He only eats while working. He just came over today to measure his size and didn't do any work. Why should we let him eat?"

"We'll invite him to dinner when we install the thatched roof, and that's when he'll stay."

Feng Cheng suddenly realized that he really didn't know this. In his previous life, when he asked his master to do his work, he had to treat him to good food and drink, prepare cigarettes, alcohol and tea, and sometimes even prepare red envelopes, all so that the master would do his best and do the work carefully.

Having suddenly arrived in this era, Feng Cheng was still somewhat unaccustomed to it.

However, since Zhao Jinquan had said so, Feng Cheng readily agreed.

After Uncle Liu left, Feng Cheng asked Zhao Jinquan to cook. It rained yesterday, so the nursery didn't need watering today. However, the rainwater had compacted the soil in the nursery, so Feng Cheng and Zhao Jinquan still had to loosen the soil. Otherwise, the seedlings wouldn't be able to breathe, and the soil would crack after being exposed to the sun, affecting the growth of the seedlings.

Feng Cheng and Zhao Jinquan had done this job many times before. Over the past month, after watering the nursery several times, Feng Cheng and Zhao Jinquan would work together to cultivate the soil, loosening the soil and weeding the nursery at the same time.

"I'm planning to go to the county town tomorrow. I'm almost out of daily necessities, so I'm going to buy some. Is there anything you need? I can buy some for you while I'm there."

While loosening the soil in the nursery in the afternoon, Feng Cheng started chatting with Zhao Jinquan.

Feng Cheng had this idea a couple of days ago. He was going to go down to the dam to buy daily necessities. He was almost out of tooth powder, soap, shampoo, and other necessities like oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar, so he needed to go down and replenish them.

Feng Cheng has already read all the books about the dam area, and more than once. He needs new professional books because he is currently self-studying forestry and planting. He needs professional books to fill the gaps in his knowledge.

Although the county forestry bureau's materials and books weren't the latest, they were the ones Feng Cheng could most easily access. He wasn't qualified to borrow or read the regional books yet. Only when he successfully planted trees in the dam area and gained some fame could he say that he could open the door to the region based on his looks and name.

"Jin Quan, is there anything you need to bring back? I can bring it back for you while I'm at it."

Zhao Jinquan shook his head, "I don't need to bring anything. I have everything at home. If I need anything, I can just go home and get it."

Zhao Jinquan's home wasn't far from the camp, and he didn't really need to go shopping. Besides, he hadn't received his salary yet, so he didn't have much money in his pocket.

Seeing that he said that, Feng Cheng didn't ask any more questions. He was just asking politely, just like when he ordered takeout in his previous life, he would habitually ask the person next to him if they wanted some.