Go back to the past to plant trees

"Mom, I'm back."

The next afternoon, Zhao Jinquan, who was exhausted after a long day of travel, finally arrived home.

It takes five hours to get from Bashang to the county town, and more than three hours to get home from the county town. I changed horses at the bureau, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to get back at all, because the horses can't run that far or for that long.

"Why did you come back so early this time?"

Upon hearing the sound, Zhao's mother immediately came out of her room. When she saw it was her youngest son, her face immediately lit up with a smile.

"What are you coming back for this time? What are you bringing back?"

Zhao Jinquan laughed and said, "I'm not bringing anything. Brother Feng said I've been working in Bashang for two months now, and he wants me to come back and rest for a few days to spend time with you and Dad!"

"What's there for your dad and me to keep you company for? We've been doing it for twenty years already."

"It's the holidays, why don't you invite that college student home for a meal? They've been so good to you."

When Zhao Ma saw him return alone, she said with some dissatisfaction.

Zhao Jinquan explained, "We can't leave the nursery. One of us, Feng Ge and I, has to stay there to keep an eye on things, otherwise there will be problems. Now that I'm back, Feng Ge has to stay there."

"Let's not talk about this anymore, Mom. I have some good news for you."

As Zhao Jinquan spoke, he dragged his mother back into the room and made her sit on the table. Then, he mysteriously took out a few bills from the inside pocket of his clothes.

"Mom, I got my salary today. It's two months' salary, plus the temporary work I did for a few days, totaling 36 yuan."

"Got paid!"

Upon hearing this, Aunt Zhao became excited. She took the money from Zhao Jinquan's hand and immediately started counting it. "You've earned so much money in just two months. Workers are really good; one month of their work is equivalent to two months of work on the team."

"This is just a temporary job. I heard that permanent employees earn 32 yuan a month. If I could become a permanent employee, I would earn even more."

Upon hearing this, Aunt Zhao couldn't help but laugh and scold, "You're always dreaming."

“This is not wishful thinking,” Zhao Jinquan retorted. “I have a great chance. As long as the trees survive in the dam area, I will definitely become an employee of the Forestry Bureau. Think about it, the dam area is so big. If trees can really survive, how many trees would we have to plant? The Forestry Bureau only has a few people. Can they plant trees in such a large area? They would have to hire more people. Wouldn’t that give me a chance as a temporary worker?”

"Let's talk about it after you've successfully planted the trees!" Zhao's mother didn't argue with her son. In his opinion, being able to work as a temporary worker was already pretty good; a permanent job was something he dared not even dream of.

"Mom, keep 30 yuan of this money, and give me the 6 yuan in loose change. I want to meet up with Gouzi and the others in the next few days, and I'll need some money."

Seeing his mother about to put the money into her pocket, Zhao Jinquan quickly spoke up.

Zhao's mother stopped what she was doing, took the money and counted out 6 yuan for her son, and instructed him: "Spend it sparingly, and don't gamble it away."

"Don't worry, Mom, I won't touch that stuff," Zhao Jinquan said, taking the money and immediately putting it in his pocket, afraid that his mother might change her mind later.

"Oh, right, Mom, prepare a chicken for me. I'll take it back with me when I go home. I've just received my salary, so I need to treat Brother Feng to something nice to thank him."

“Okay,” Zhao Ma said without being stingy, “I’ll go buy you one later. Your aunt’s family is a little short of money lately. She was saying the other day that she was going to sell the chickens she had. I’ll go buy them later, and you can take two back with you.”

Thinking that her son would earn 17 yuan a month, Zhao's mother felt even more grateful to Feng Cheng. This job was very hard to find for the people in the team. The envy of the team members when they heard that their sons had gotten this job was indescribable. Every time Zhao's mother saw their expressions, she was especially happy.

“Oh right, and this too, I almost forgot,” Zhao Jinquan suddenly remembered the various receipts Feng Cheng had given him. “This is from Brother Feng. He said he often makes me bring things from home, and he felt a little embarrassed, so he insisted on giving it to me. I couldn’t refuse it.”

Zhao Jinquan took out about ten receipts and handed them to his mother.

These receipts were bought by Feng Cheng from ticket scalpers at the entrance of the supply and marketing cooperative some time ago. They were not grain coupons, but daily necessities coupons. However, these receipts had no expiration date and could be used whenever they were taken out.

"How could you accept someone else's things? We can't take them. You should return them to them."

Looking at the receipts on the table, Zhao Ma really wanted them, but her long-standing principles told her that she couldn't take them.

"Mom, I didn't want to take it either, but Brother Feng insisted on putting it in my hands. Besides, I've thought about it, it's about reciprocity, it's not right for us to always be the ones giving, right? Brother Feng probably felt embarrassed, so he gave me this."

After thinking about it, Zhao's mother also felt that her son made sense. "Then you should bring back more things this time. We can't take advantage of others."

"I know this."

After chatting with her son for a few minutes, Zhao's mother went back to her room and hid the money.

Zhao Jinquan returned to his room. He was exhausted after traveling all day and planned to lie down on the kang (a heated brick bed) for a nap, but he fell asleep as soon as he lay down.

By the time his mother woke him up, it was already completely dark outside.

"dad."

Upon coming out, Zhao Jinquan saw his father sitting at the dining table and called out to him.

"Okay, let's eat now that you're awake!"

Zhao Jinquan did not sit down, but went outside to fetch water to wash his hands before coming back to sit down.

Zhao Jinquan originally did not have the habit of washing his hands before eating. Unless his hands were dirty, he would just pick up his bowl and eat. However, after spending two months with Feng Cheng, this habit was reversed. Mainly, Feng Cheng did not allow him to do so. Not only did he have to wash his hands before eating, but he also had to wash his hands before starting to work, and they had to be very clean.

After being strictly disciplined by Feng Cheng for two months, Zhao Jinquan had changed his previous habits and even developed the habit of washing his hands before every meal.

Zhao Peide didn't pay attention to his son washing his hands and eating. After Zhao Jinquan came out, he picked up the porridge on the table and started drinking.

Today's meal was alright; there were some scrambled eggs, cabbage, pickled vegetables, and a few potatoes.

In this day and age, this meal was considered quite good. It was only because Zhao Jinquan came back today that his mother prepared something better; otherwise, it was usually just millet porridge with pickled vegetables.

"Come on, it's been a long time since we've had a drink, let's have a couple of drinks together today."

Zhao Peide picked up a bottle of loose liquor and poured half a bowl for Zhao Jinquan. Zhao Jinquan hadn't drunk alcohol for a while, so he picked up the bowl, clinked it with his father's, and then took a big gulp.

"Mom, I'll get you an oven tomorrow. You can use it to bake bread, sweet potatoes, potatoes, and popcorn. Things baked in an oven taste really good."

After putting down his wine bowl, Zhao Jinquan spoke to his mother, saying that he had planned to get her a grill when he returned home, so that they could cook their food in more ways and make it tastier.

It's just that the soda tasted too strange, otherwise Zhao Jinquan would have made it for his mother to try.

"Oven, what's that?" Aunt Zhao asked curiously.

"It's just a stove for baking things," Zhao Jinquan said, describing the shape of the stove and how to use it to his mother.

After listening, Zhao Peide asked, "Which college student taught you how to do this?"

"Correct."

Zhao Peide asked again, "Did they agree to let you do it at home?"

"Forehead…"

Zhao Jinquan was taken aback for a moment before saying, "Does this require Brother Feng's approval?"

Looking at his son's blank expression, Zhao Peide couldn't help but shake his head. This child is a bit too simple-minded.

But considering that her son had always lived in the countryside and didn't have much contact with people, she could understand why he didn't know these things.

Zhao Peide patiently explained, "This is something someone taught you. If you want to make one for your family, you should at least get their permission! Even though you say it's very simple, it's still a skill! If someone teaches you a skill and you just pass it on to outsiders without asking, what will they think?"

“Brother Feng isn’t that kind of person. He’s easy to talk to. I’ll just tell him later,” Zhao Jinquan thought his father was making a mountain out of a molehill. It’s just making a grill for the house. That thing is so simple, just a bunch of mud plastered together. What’s the big deal?

Zhao Peide shook his head and said, "You don't understand what I mean. This isn't about whether someone is easy to talk to or not; it's about whether you care about people or not."

"Take you for example. You taught Erqiang how to trap pheasants. It's not difficult and it's easy to do. You just casually told Erqiang. But one day you suddenly found that Zheng Laosan was also using your method to trap pheasants. You asked him and found out that Erqiang taught him. How would you feel at that moment?"

"Would you be upset that Erqiang taught this method to others without your permission? You probably would be! But Erqiang probably thinks, this thing is so simple, it only takes a couple of sentences, why keep it a secret? If people ask, I'll just tell them!"

Zhao Jinquan opened his mouth to refute his father's words, but he found that he could not, because what his father said made sense.

Aunt Zhao also chimed in, "Xiao Si, there's no need for that at home. If you're really interested, go back and ask them. If they agree, you can come back and get it done. It won't make a difference if the family takes a few more days."

Seeing his son deep in thought, Zhao Peide decided to be more explicit. His son wasn't particularly quick-witted, and if he spoke vaguely, his son might not take it to heart.

“I’ve been to the county town a few times recently and asked around about this college student, so I know a bit about him.”

"This college student's father was a revolutionary martyr, and he was very famous in our area. His mother also participated in revolutionary work in the area during the War of Resistance Against Japan. Many leaders in the area knew this college student. The current director of the Forestry Bureau was his father's subordinate at the time. It's just that he sacrificed his life, otherwise he would have been a high-ranking leader in the area."

"I'm saying this to tell you that this college student has a very good impression among the local leaders, especially since he gave up a comfortable life in Beijing and chose to return to his hometown, and even came to this harsh place in Bashang to plant trees."

"The leaders have a good impression of him, and given his status as a college graduate and cadre, his future is very promising. I estimate that he will officially take up a leadership position in another year or two."

“As long as he takes on a leadership position, he will definitely make arrangements for you, the person who has been with him through the hardships of the dam area for two years. At the very least, he will arrange a formal employee status for you.”

"Trees can't grow on the dam, so how can Brother Feng become a leader?" Zhao Jinquan asked, somewhat puzzled.

Zhao Peide said meaningfully, "Whether someone can become a leader is not determined by whether they can grow trees successfully, but by whether they have connections above them and whether the leaders value them. Your Brother Feng meets both of these conditions."

"No trees have survived in the dam area for so many years. So many leaders and technicians have come up here, but they all returned empty-handed. Isn't it only natural that they can't grow them?"

"Having stayed on the dam for a year or two, you've certainly put in the hard work, even if you haven't achieved anything great! Isn't it normal to promote you to a leadership position?"

“When he becomes a leader, your opportunity will come. Whether you can become a permanent employee depends on his word. If he speaks up for you, you can become a permanent employee of the Forestry Bureau. If he doesn’t speak up for you, you can only continue to be a temporary worker, or you might not even be able to be a temporary worker.”

These words weren't Zhao Peide's own thoughts; they were the analysis given to him by the commune secretary. Zhao Peide had always been diligent and conscientious, and held a very important place in the commune secretary's heart, which is why the commune secretary was willing to give him such detailed analysis.

Although Zhao Peide also had some ideas, they weren't as deep as the commune secretary's. After all, he had always been in the team and dealt with farmers. Although he had to use his wits, he wasn't that cunning.

It was only after the commune secretary spoke to him that Zhao Peide realized his son's chances of getting a permanent position were pretty much secured. Of course, the prerequisite was that his son couldn't offend the college student, otherwise the student wouldn't help him.

Zhao Jinquan understood somewhat: "Dad, you mean I have to find a way to curry favor with Brother Feng so that I'll have a chance to get promoted after he gets promoted, right?"

Zhao Peide shook his head: "There's no need to try too hard to please others. With your personality, doing this will only make people uncomfortable and won't serve any other purpose."

"Just do what you've been doing before. Be diligent, and keep your mouth shut. Don't go around talking about your relationship with him. Don't teach him anything he taught you, like this oven. Even if you want to teach him, you have to get his permission first."

After a pause, Zhao Peide continued, "There's no need to set up any ovens at home. If you set one up at home, other people will see it and set one up too. I estimate that it won't be long before a lot of people in the team are doing it."

"Anyway, we can manage without an oven at home. Compared to that little bit of food, your work is more important."

Zhao Jinquan nodded, agreeing with his father's statement.

He had always thought that only by successfully planting trees in the dam area would he have a chance to become a forestry bureau employee. But after his father said that, he realized that as long as he continued, he would most likely become a forestry bureau employee in the future.

The thought of earning 32 yuan a month and being able to afford grain rations made Zhao Jinquan's heart leap with excitement. As for the oven, he had long since forgotten about it.

"Old Zhao, should we give Xiao Si a few more things? When Xiao Si came back today, they gave us more than a dozen coupons for daily necessities."

Hearing Zhao Tie's words, Zhao's mother, who was standing nearby, also spoke up eagerly.

Zhao Peide said, "We don't need to take too much stuff. We should do things the same way as before. He'll be planting trees on the dam for a long time, and we'll have plenty of opportunities to build relationships."

"Xiao Si, when you have time, invite him over to our house for a visit and a meal, so he can get acquainted with the place. Also, invite him over for New Year's Eve dinner. His family has all passed away, so he must be very lonely during the New Year. Let him come over and liven things up."

“Yes,” Zhao Ma said, “having a New Year’s Eve dinner together during the Spring Festival will make our relationship closer.”

Zhao Jinquan nodded, "Okay, I'll invite him over then."

"There's no rush. There's still more than half a year until the New Year. Let's focus on building good relationships first."