Go back to the past to plant trees

"There's meat and vegetables, but no wine, which is a bit lacking."

After the food was prepared, the three starving people wolfed it down.

In no time at all, the pot of stewed chicken was gone, and there wasn't much porridge or vegetables left either.

Uncle Liu picked his teeth and said with some regret, "If this were in the village, this pot of chicken would be served with a pound or two of loose white liquor."

Zhao Jinquan said, "If you want to drink, go home and drink! You've earned 8 yuan, you can go back and have a meal with your aunt."

"Come on, this is hard-earned money. You're rushing things, and I even had to buy the thatch from someone else. I'm not making much money at all."

"Alright, I'm not chatting with you guys anymore. I'm going back now. College students, remember to call me next time you need work, I'll give you a discount."

"Okay, I'll definitely contact you if there's any work to be done," Feng Cheng nodded in agreement. When the advance team arrives, there will indeed be quite a few projects to be done here. It is estimated that four or five dugouts will need to be built, and they will also need thatched roofs.

Feng Cheng had already given his wages to his sixth uncle before dinner, so he left with his tidied tools.

"Oh dear, there's something I forgot to ask."

After Uncle Liu left, Feng Cheng suddenly thought of something.

"What did you forget to ask?" Zhao Jinquan asked curiously.

"I'd like to ask if I can get a table there, Uncle Liu!"

"Then you don't need to ask him. He can't do this. He doesn't have the tools. At most, he can just put some things on a table out of wood. It's fine, but if you want to write or read, it's not suitable. Just like this dining table, you can't even put a bowl on it properly."

"Does your team have a carpenter?" Feng Cheng asked.

"No."

Feng Cheng was somewhat disappointed upon hearing this. He had wanted to get a table for a long time, but he hadn't had the time or knew where to get one. A couple of days ago, when he went down to the dam, he asked at the supply and marketing cooperative. They did have tables, but they were too expensive, costing five yuan each. He couldn't bear to spend that much money on a table, so he didn't buy one.

Zhao Jinquan packed his things, and Feng Cheng came out of the kitchen. He looked at the sky outside and suddenly thought of the original owner's uncle, the blacksmith Li Tieniu.

It seems there was a table on the kang (a heated brick bed) in his house, and not just a table, but other things as well.

Feng Cheng's uncle's home is quite far from here. Although it is also in the dam area, Saihanba is very large. His uncle's home and Shaquan Brigade are not in the same direction. Shaquan Brigade is to the east, and his uncle's village is to the west. His uncle's home is more impoverished than Shaquan Brigade. The desertification there is more severe than in Feng Cheng's area. This is why his uncle, a blacksmith, is over thirty years old and still hasn't found a wife.

Feng Cheng thought he would take some time in a few days to go there and see if there was anything he could use. If there was, he would take it and use it. His uncle wouldn't be back for several years, and things left unused would easily spoil. It would be better for him to take it and use it first, and then he could give it to his uncle when he returned.

Besides, his uncle had borrowed several hundred yuan from him when he left, and Feng Cheng hadn't said anything. Taking a few things to use was no big deal.

With that in mind, Feng Cheng decided to visit his uncle's house in a few days and bring back anything usable.

“Brother Feng, I went back yesterday and got some seeds. There are Chinese cabbage, tomatoes, white radishes, carrots, and sweet potato vines. My mom said that we are going to plant sweet potatoes in our area, and she will save some seedlings for us. I’ll go back and get them in a few days.”

Feng Cheng said, "Okay."

"But I feel a little embarrassed to keep taking your things. I have some vouchers for daily necessities here. You can take them back with you when you go back in a few days!"

To be honest, Feng Cheng felt bad about having Zhao Jinquan bring things from home all the time. Although the small amounts seemed small, they added up to a considerable sum over time.

Moreover, when Zhao Jinquan asked someone to buy a chicken back then, he brought one chicken and five or six chicks with him, and they didn't charge him for them. Feng Cheng also remembers this.

"No need, it's nothing. We need these things at home anyway, it's just a little extra, they're not worth much."

“These tickets aren’t worth much. The bureau issues them every month, and I can’t use them all. Your team also issues these things, but not as many as we do. They should be enough for your family. Take some back with you so you won’t have trouble finding tickets when you need them later.”

"Alright, that's settled then! If you don't want it, I won't let you bring things from home next time."

"Oh well!"

Since Feng Cheng had said so, Zhao Jinquan had no choice but to agree. His family was indeed short of tickets, and even if he didn't need them, he could exchange them for other things. They were a valuable form of currency in the team.

After a long day of work, Feng Cheng was covered in sweat. He took a shower and then went into the dugout.

Feng Cheng took out the book he had brought from the bureau a few days ago and began to read it by the light of a kerosene lamp.

The Forestry Bureau's books are updated year by year, especially the journals, which constantly introduce some cutting-edge technologies from home and abroad. However, many of them have only been tried once and there is no experience in large-scale planting.

Whether it's feasible or not, most people can get a general idea just by looking at it. However, some current technologies require pesticides and fertilizers, which are hard to find. So Feng Cheng can only look at it and learn more. It's still quite difficult to follow along and actually do it. He can only consider it as knowledge accumulation and know that such a technology exists.

"Sit, stand up, and reach out your hand."

Feng Cheng was reading a book, while Zhao Jinquan was interacting with Xiao Liu. He kept directing Xiao Liu to do this and that, and Xiao Liu also liked to play with people and was very enthusiastic about Zhao Jinquan's training.

However, this somewhat affected Feng Cheng. Every now and then, the dog would make a noise, and the two of them kept making a fuss, making it impossible for Feng Cheng to concentrate on his book.

After persisting for a while, Feng Cheng had no choice but to put down his book.

This is also why Feng Cheng doesn't like living with others. He's always being influenced by them, and he can't say anything to them because he can't only think about himself; he also has to consider others.

After putting down the book, Feng Cheng waved, and Xiao Liu immediately abandoned Zhao Jinquan and ran to Feng Cheng's side, tilting his head back to enjoy Feng Cheng's caresses.

"Brother Feng, what did you do at night when you were in Beijing? Were you just bored and spacing out like we are here?"

Seeing that Feng Cheng had stopped reading, Zhao Jinquan started chatting with him.

"Pretty much! But Beijing is crowded, and many shops stay open late at night, so you can go out for a stroll, it's just not very lively."

In this era, Beijing's nightlife was just so-so, not even as lively as the county town where Feng Cheng had lived in his previous life.

"Brother Feng, does Beijing have everything? I've heard that Beijing has lots of good food and fun things to do, and are the girls there very pretty?"

Feng Cheng turned to look at him and said with a smile, "What, thinking about getting married?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Jinquan immediately looked embarrassed, scratched his head, and said, "When I went home yesterday, my mom said someone wanted to introduce me to a girl."

"What, you're not satisfied?"

“Not satisfied,” Zhao Jinquan shook his head. “I know that girl, I’ve met her before. She’s not good-looking, dark-skinned, short, and has a bad temper. I don’t want her.”

"Then let your mom find you another one. What's the big deal? You're still young, you have plenty of time to find someone."

Feng Cheng said nonchalantly, "Zhao Jinquan is only 20 years old, what's there to rush? I'm already 25 and I'm not in a hurry. In my previous life, I was 33 and didn't have a girlfriend, but I still got by."

Feng Cheng can be said to be the most indifferent person about marriage in this era, because he has already passed through the most passionate years of his life in his previous life, and now he has come to terms with it.

"It's not easy to find a wife. You don't know how difficult it is to find one in Bashang. Nowadays, no one wants to marry into Bashang. Girls in Bashang all want to marry out. Only those who are unwanted will say they want to find one in Bashang. Even then, they will still be very picky and have a lot of conditions."

Zhao Jinquan looked displeased as he spoke.

"Your family must be quite well-off, so why is it so difficult for you to find a wife?"

"It's tough. A lot of guys in our team haven't found wives yet; there's a bunch of bachelors!"

Feng Cheng didn't know what to say, because he also had no solution. This was caused by poverty, and unless they were helped out of poverty, it would be difficult to solve this practical problem.

Of course, Zhao Jinquan could also wait a couple of years until a forest farm is built in Bashang. At that time, he could become a regular employee of the forest farm, receive a salary, and eat commercial grain. It would be easier for him to find a wife then.

But Feng Cheng wouldn't say that, because it would be a year and a half before the advance team arrived, and he didn't know if something unexpected might happen during that long period.

However, judging from Zhao Jinquan's picky attitude, Feng Cheng guessed that it would be difficult for him to find a wife. Finding a wife in Bashang is already difficult, let alone finding a good-looking one, unless he met someone who was blind.