Go back to the past to plant trees

It rained all day, but the next day, the sky was cloudless over the dam, and the temperature was very high. The soil in the nursery, which had been soaked all day, was quickly dried.

Feng Cheng and Zhao Jinquan moved around in the nursery with small hoes, loosening the soil. After a heavy rain, the soil would harden under the sun, so it was necessary to cultivate the nursery at this time, otherwise it would have a great impact on the growth of the seedlings.

This wasn't the first time the two of them had done this job, so they were quite skilled at it. It took them a whole day to finally turn over the entire nursery.

"I'm going out tomorrow to visit my uncle. We're a little short on some things at the camp, so I'll go see if he has anything usable and bring it over."

After finishing tilling the nursery, Feng Cheng told Zhao Jinquan about his plans for the next day.

He had originally planned to go a couple of days ago, but it happened to rain, and after the rain he had to loosen the soil in the nursery, so he postponed it until now.

"Brother Feng, you go ahead, I'll keep watch here."

Zhao Jinquan knew that the nursery could not function without people. Now, except for rainy days or cloudy days without sunshine, the nursery needed to be watered. If it wasn't watered, the seedlings would easily be scorched to death.

Feng Cheng also began to appreciate the benefits of having a helper. With Zhao Jinquan around, he could go out from time to time to go down to the dam or do other things. If he were alone, he really wouldn't be able to leave.

Thinking that Zhao Jinquan had been busy here for almost two months, it was time to give him a few days off. "After I get back, you can go home and rest for a few days. There isn't that much work to do at the nursery. It rained yesterday, and the water storage tank is full, enough for a few days. I can manage by myself. It would be good for you to go back and spend time with your family."

"Okay, then I'll go home for two days."

Zhao Jinquan readily agreed without hesitation. He also wanted to go home and have some fun, as it was too boring here. He wanted to go home and meet up with his childhood friends and other family members.

Before dawn the next day, Feng Cheng hitched up the carriage and headed towards his uncle's house.

Feng Cheng's place is quite far from his uncle's house, about a two-hour walk, or about an hour by horse-drawn carriage.

When Feng Cheng arrived at his uncle's team, the sun had just risen, and the team members were just starting to work.

When Feng Cheng arrived at his uncle's house, he happened to run into his neighbor who was coming out. The neighbor was also surprised to see Feng Cheng.

"Aren't you Tie Niu's nephew? I thought you went back to Beijing."

When Feng Cheng first came to Saihanba, he and Tang Qi stayed at his uncle's house for a while, so the people in the team knew him.

"No, I've always been here. I'm planting trees on the dam right now,"

Feng Cheng replied politely.

"Oh, so you're the college student who planted trees on the dam! I heard that someone from the Forestry Bureau was experimenting with planting trees here, but I didn't expect it to be you!"

Feng Cheng looked somewhat embarrassed. The news was probably not very pleasant to hear. It was likely that the news said he, as a college student, had wasted so many saplings and couldn't even get them to grow. In short, it wasn't anything good.

"Yes, it was me," Feng Cheng said awkwardly for a moment, but his expression returned to normal. Once he successfully planted the tree, the previous failures would become all the more valuable.

"I'll go in first. I came here today to pick up some things; I still have things to do over there."

Seeing that the neighbor still wanted to say something, Feng Cheng quickly cut him off. These people are very gossipy; if you talk to them, they can chatter on for a whole day. The main concern for Feng Cheng was that he was worried that the neighbor would ask him about planting trees in the dam area, why the trees wouldn't grow, when the trees would grow, and about his ex-girlfriend Tang Qi.

Feng Cheng didn't want to answer any of these questions, so the conversation had to end.

The neighbor glanced at the travel-worn Feng Cheng and could only swallow his words, "Then you go ahead with your work, I have to go to work too."

Feng Cheng nodded, entered his uncle's courtyard, and tied the horse's reins in the yard.

He opened the door with the key, and with a creak, a cloud of dust fell from the eaves, blinding Feng Cheng. He quickly waved his hand in front of his eyes to blow the dust away.

It had been over a year since he'd last visited, and his uncle's house was covered in a thick layer of dust. Feng Cheng ran his finger across the dining table, revealing a black layer underneath.

Feng Cheng glanced at it and didn't pay much attention. His uncle wouldn't be back for another three or four years, and by then the table would probably be eaten by termites.

Feng Cheng went into his uncle's master bedroom and moved the table off the kang (a heated brick bed). This table was the main purpose of his trip.

The table is a bit dirty, but it's flat and can still be used after washing.

After placing the table by the door, Feng Cheng began searching the room again, looking for anything suitable for his use.

Feng Cheng thought for a moment and took two glass bottles. These things could be used to store things. Glass bottles were quite rare these days. Feng Cheng packed up all the cooking ingredients, such as oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea. Regardless of whether they were still edible, he would take them back first. If they couldn't be used, he would throw them away. Anyway, they were definitely not going to be used here.

"Wow, this whole vat of wine."

Feng Cheng swept around the kitchen, casually opened a clay pot, and a strong smell of wine immediately wafted out.

The kitchen was dimly lit, so Feng Cheng couldn't see what kind of wine was inside. But who cared? Even if it was sweet potato wine, it was still wine, and drinkable.

Feng Cheng had no idea why his uncle had bought such a large vat of wine…

"By the way, I guess my uncle was planning to get married, but his wife ran away, so the banquet was canceled. Feng Cheng remembers that everyone just ate the food that was prepared that day and didn't drink any alcohol, so the wine was left behind."

Feng Cheng lifted it up and estimated that there were about twenty catties of wine. Hmm, he'd gotten a good deal.

Thinking of this, Feng Cheng started searching through his uncle's house again. He swept out the corn that had been mostly eaten by rats, the sprouted and rotten potatoes and sweet potatoes.

After searching around, Feng Cheng took everything he could find. He also found two pieces of glass piled in the corner. Feng Cheng thought about putting these two pieces of glass on top of the dugout so that it wouldn't be so dark during the day. He just didn't know if he could install them, but who cares, he'll get them back first.

There were some tools that his uncle used for blacksmithing in the storage room, but Feng Cheng wasn't interested in blacksmithing, so he didn't look at them much.

However, in the storage room, Feng Cheng found woodworking tools such as planes. Thinking that he would probably need them in the future, he put them away.

After going around, there wasn't anything particularly worth taking: a table, a jar of wine, a bunch of kitchen ingredients, and a few woodworking tools.

Feng Cheng looked around, then checked if the doors and windows were locked, and left. The house was already starting to look dilapidated after a year of not being lived in; if it were left unattended for another two or three years, it probably wouldn't be habitable without some major repairs.

Feng Cheng didn't care about this, because he figured his uncle wouldn't be living here anymore after he returned. By then, the mechanized forest farm would have been established, and even if he were to live there, he would be living at the forest farm, since his uncle would likely become an employee there.