Go back to the past to plant trees

"Secretary Ma, Secretary Yu, Director Qu has been so kind to you. Unlike us at Qiancengban Forest Farm, we don't even have the right to bargain. The farm headquarters just arranges everything for us."

Seeing that Ma Yitai and Qu He had finished their conversation, Yang Xiangdong, the head of Qiancengban Forest Farm, chimed in with a smile.

Ma Yitai curled his lip, "What right do you have to be picky? You're the ones who get the machines and the best seedlings. I'm so envious of you."

Ma Yitai learned a lot during his time wandering around the forest farm. This year's afforestation task is not heavy. The main force of afforestation is in Dahuanqi Forest Farm below the dam, while the four forest farms above the dam are all doing small-scale afforestation.

Ma Yitai learned that the problem stemmed from the seedlings. Due to geographical reasons, seedlings from other places were difficult to survive in Saihanba, resulting in a very low survival rate. Although the forest farm had also tested seedlings suitable for Saihanba, the number of seedlings produced was small due to time constraints, only tens of thousands. Most of these tens of thousands of seedlings were used in mechanical afforestation at Qiancengban.

This made Ma Yitai somewhat jealous. Although he knew the forest farm was doing this to achieve immediate results, as the one being sacrificed, he was still a little dissatisfied. However, as a cadre and a party member, he could only accept the arrangements made by his superiors.

But even if you accept it, you still have to vent. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. If you don't push your superiors, you'll suffer next time.

Yang Xiangdong smiled. He had put in a lot of effort to arrange this job, because he was sure that he could achieve results here. If he stayed here for a few years, his future would be smooth sailing.

But he didn't just come here to pick up the fruits of others' labor. He brought quite a lot with him. For one thing, he brought a provincial subsidy to the forest farm, and the amount wasn't small. Plus, he's quite capable, which is why he was able to be transferred here. Otherwise, do you think just any Tom, Dick, or Harry could come here? This is a forest farm directly managed by the ministry. Although the place is a bit harsh, it can produce results quickly, so many people are eyeing it.

"Secretary Yu, Director Qu, this is the last dish."

Zhao Jinquan brought out the last dish, braised minced pork with soybeans, wiped his hands on his apron, and was about to leave when Yu Zhenglai spoke up.

"Jin Quan, sit down and have something to eat with us."

"this…"

Zhao Jinquan hesitated. This table was full of leaders, while he was just a lowly worker.

Qu He laughed and said, "Secretary Yu told you to sit down, so just sit down. He cooked such a feast, you can't just not eat any of it!"

Feng Cheng moved to the side, gesturing for him to sit next to him.

Upon seeing this, Zhao Jinquan immediately understood Feng Cheng's meaning, pulled up a stool, and sat down.

"Jin Quan's cooking skills are really good, comparable to the head chefs in the county town restaurants."

After Zhao Jinquan sat down, Ma Yitai found an excuse to praise him.

Yu Zhenglai also praised, "Jin Quan's cooking skills are indeed excellent, but he is not only good at cooking, he is also very good at carpentry, and he is also knowledgeable in seedling cultivation and afforestation."

Zhao Jinquan didn't know how to respond, so he could only greet him with a smile.

"Jin Quan, have you thought it over? Do you want to come work for me? If you go, I'll put you in charge of the forestry section, and I'll also solve your cadre issues."

Ma Yitai looked at Zhao Jinquan and said sincerely.

Feng Cheng was also somewhat surprised to hear this. Ma Yitai had approached Jin Quan and even promised him a position.

The Afforestation Section is responsible for afforestation and tree cultivation in the branch farm. It is the unit with the largest number of employees in the branch farm. Although it is a section-level unit, the position is still a position. This department is a deputy section-level unit in Saihanba. Because Saihanba has a relatively high administrative level, which is the same as the regional forestry bureau, the administrative level of the subordinate departments is also relatively high, which is the same as the Weichang County Forestry Bureau.

Ma Yitai's promise of a deputy section chief position to Zhao Jinquan shows that he thinks highly of Zhao Jinquan. After all, Zhao Jinquan is just a lowly worker. This kind of recruitment might not be a big deal if it were a college graduate, but Feng Cheng couldn't understand why it was offered to Zhao Jinquan.

Although Zhao Jinquan's appointment will most likely be temporary, meaning it will be decided later based on his abilities, as long as he doesn't perform exceptionally poorly, he will most likely be promoted to a permanent position.

After all, Saihanba is still in its initial stage. There's nothing in front of it; it's a blank sheet of paper. You can draw whatever you want on it, whether you paint it black or red. It's all about coloring the blank paper. In other words, even if you don't have great achievements, you still have hard work, and even if you don't have hard work, you still have seniority. So, if you take this step, Zhao Jinquan can at least get a deputy section chief position in his life. The difference is that if you have the ability, you can take on responsibilities; if you don't have the ability, you'll be kept in an idle unit.

“Secretary Ma, I’m just a worker. I don’t know anything. You can ask me to cook, grow seedlings, or plant trees, but you can’t ask me to be an official or manage people.”

Zhao Jinquan replied with a troubled expression, saying that he knew his own situation and was very clear about his own abilities. Although Ma Yitai's promise was tempting, he dared not accept the offer because he was really unsure of himself.

“Who told you to be an official? Cadres are public servants. I sent you to serve people,” Ma Yitai said, spouting nonsense. “Several college students are going there soon. I need to find a good nanny to take care of them. Look at you, you can do everything and you're a local. Maybe they'll even ask you to introduce them when they're looking for wives. Don't you think you're the most suitable?”

Feng Cheng almost burst out laughing when he heard this.

"Old Ma, why did you take a liking to Jin Quan?" Yu Zhenglai was also a little surprised. "I was thinking of letting him continue working in the nursery, and you're already poaching him."

"Why would I be interested in him? He's good at planting trees. He's successfully planted trees in the dam area and even received an award. Isn't it normal for me to be interested in someone like that?" Ma Yitai retorted.

Ma Yitai has talked to many people these past few days. He chose Zhao Jinquan after much consideration. Zhao is a local who has lived in Bashang for two years and has successfully planted trees twice. From what others have told him, Ma Yitai also learned that Zhao has good knowledge of forestry, even though he has not received much formal education.

Another point is that Ma Yitai discovered that these new college students were somewhat overly optimistic, always thinking that they could grow trees in the dam area after they arrived, and that as long as they worked hard for a few years, the Saihanba Forest Farm would be full of towering trees.

Although Ma Yitai admires their passion, when it comes to working at the grassroots level, passion alone is not enough; one also needs intelligence, skills, and ideas.

These students are knowledgeable, but their passion is even greater. Ma Yitai knows that they are not suitable for management at this time. They need to hone their skills and gain experience for two years before they can take on management roles. Putting them in management positions at this time will only cause problems, especially since the Saihanba Forest Farm is currently a blank slate with no precedents to refer to.

Therefore, Ma Yitai could not promote people from this group of college students. After picking and choosing, he finally discovered people like Zhao Jinquan.

Ma Yitai also talked with Zhao Jinquan. Zhao Jinquan has a broad knowledge base and understands the situation of the forest farm. Ma Yitai also subtly probed him and found that Zhao Jinquan had some different ideas about management. Although some of his ideas were not mature, Ma Yitai thought that was nothing. With some polishing, he could get started quickly.

Of course, Ma Yitai was prepared to misjudge, after all, he didn't have the insight to see through people completely, but among the short ones, Zhao Jinquan was the most suitable one at the moment, in the absence of others.

The advance team of college students was also an option, but Yu Zhenglai refused to release them no matter what he said, and Ma Yitai had no choice but to turn his attention to Zhao Jinquan.