Go back to the past to plant trees

"I heard there are roe deer on this dam, is that true?"

That evening, after dinner was prepared and served, the two clinked glasses, and Feng Cheng asked curiously.

Saihanba is very large, and Feng Cheng is only familiar with the surrounding area. Although the wind and sand are strong on the dam, it is not that all places are barren. There are still some forests in some sparsely populated areas, and there are wild animals there. After all, this is the intersection of several mountain ranges, and some wild animals will come here.

“I don’t know,” Zhao Jinquan shook his head. “I’ve never seen it, let alone heard of it.”

"But even if they did, they've all disappeared in the last two years. Everyone's had nothing to eat, so how could the roe deer possibly hide?"

"That's true."

Feng Cheng nodded in agreement. In the past two years, not to mention roe deer, even wolves have been frequently hunted, just to fill their stomachs. If there were still some large animals surviving in Bashang a few years ago, they probably are gone now.

"I don't know what this place used to be like. I always hear the old folks say that this place used to be full of trees and lots of wild animals, like deer, bears, wild boars, and flying dragons. They were everywhere. You could easily catch several by just setting a trap."

Zhao Jinquan said with some regret, "If it were like before, we could go hunting with guns. We wouldn't be like this now, not being able to eat any meat for a whole month."

Feng Cheng smiled and said, "That used to be the royal ranch. Nobody dared to hunt here. Only the emperor could hunt, so there are a lot of wild animals here. If you really let them go, do you think you can kill them? If the whole commune sets traps, no matter how many prey there are, they can't withstand your traps!"

"Yeah, but no matter how difficult it is, it's still better than what we're going through now. It's been more than half a month and we've only managed to catch one wild chicken."

"By the way, Brother Feng, I heard that there are many kinds of game in the Great Northern Wilderness, a lot of fish, and the land is very good. You can have a good harvest just by sowing some seeds. Is that true?" Zhao Jinquan asked curiously.

Feng Cheng said, "I haven't been there and don't know much about it, but it's true that the land there is good. You can harvest anything you plant there. Moreover, there is little land and a large population. I heard that a brigade can have several thousand acres of land."

Feng Cheng wasn't very clear about the situation in Beidahuang, but he knew a bit about the black soil there, which had been widely publicized online in later generations. It was China's granary and the foundation of its food supply.

"Several thousand acres?" Zhao Jinquan's expression immediately turned to shock. "Can they possibly cultivate all that land?"

"I'm not sure about that. You probably just sow some seeds and then harvest them when it's time to harvest!"

"What a waste. If our brigade had this much land, we wouldn't have to worry about not having enough to eat."

Seeing Zhao Jinquan's calm expression, Feng Cheng was surprised. "I thought you would yearn for the Great Northern Wilderness. When I was in Beijing, many people longed for life there and chose to go there."

“I had thought about it before, but it was just a thought. I didn’t know anyone there, and all I would do there was farm. If I wanted to farm, I could do it in Bashang! Why would I go to the Great Northern Wilderness?”

“There’s plenty of land there! The more you plant, the more you harvest.”

Do workers earn more?

"Forehead!"

Feng Cheng was taken aback for a moment, then laughed and said, "You seem carefree, but I didn't expect you to know so much!"

“I don’t understand either, but my dad said that farming has no future, it’s just enough to keep you from starving. If you want a future, you have to be a worker. Of course, it would be even better if you could be a cadre, but unfortunately I’m not cut out to be a cadre.”

Feng Cheng smiled but didn't respond, instead changing the subject.

"Come on, let me teach you a game."

Feng Cheng took out the dice he had prepared that day, and also took out the water cups the two of them used as dice cups.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Jinquan immediately looked over. He was somewhat interested in the game, having never played it before.

“These are ten dice, five for each of us. There are two names for these dice: one is ‘Zhai’ and the other is ‘Fei’. In ‘Fei’, the 1 can be changed. For example, if you have two 2s and one 1, then you can call it ‘Flying Three 2s’.”

"If it's a fast, then the dice can't be changed. Whatever it is, is what it is. For example, if you have two 2s, then it's just two."

"Also, when you call, you not only have to look at your dice, but also guess what numbers I have here and how I should call. For example, if you have three 2s and you guess that I have two, then you can call five 2s. At this point, I can choose to add one or take your turn. If the dice do not have five 2s, then you drink. If the dice do have enough, then I drink."

"Do you understand?"

"I don't quite understand."

Zhao Jinquan shook his head. Feng Cheng explained it to him, and he was still a little confused.

"No rush, you'll get the hang of it after playing a couple of rounds. Let's try playing a couple of rounds first!"

Games are something that can't be explained in words. You have to get started. After playing a couple of rounds, you'll basically understand the rules. Play a few more times, and anyone who isn't too slow will be able to learn.

"My name is Two Twos".

Zhao Jinquan shook the dice, glanced at them, thought about it seriously for a moment, and then said.

Feng Cheng didn't say how many times to start, or how many times to go backwards. He said it would be hard to remember too many rules at the beginning, so he would start with simple ones and gradually add more rules as the game progressed.

"Whether it's 'fasting' or 'flying,' 'fasting' means 1 that cannot be changed, while 'flying' means 1 that can be changed at will."

"Flying."

"5 2."

"Ha, so many."

Zhao Jinquan looked at his dice again, frowned and thought for a while, before carefully saying, "Six twos."

"I'll open it for you."

"Oh, Brother Feng, you don't have any! I have four!"

"That's how the game works. You not only have to look at your own dice, but also guess what other people's dice are. You have to have them, and the other person has to have them too. Like just now, I felt that you probably had a lot of dice at home, so I directly called for 5. And since you had 4 dice, you thought that if I called for 5, you must have at least one or two! So you could only increase the number."

"You were tricked by me this round, but you can trick me in the next round too. As long as you can trick me into giving you a die that I don't have, you'll most likely win."

"Oh."

Zhao Jinquan nodded thoughtfully, "I understand a little, let's play one more round."

"By the way, I just lost. Want a drink?"

"No need for that yet. You should learn this game first. There's no rush to drink."

Once you're in the game, why worry about not having enough to drink? If you're worried about not drinking enough, just have a one-on-one fight. I've seen Feng Cheng in my past life drink six bottles of beer in half an hour, though of course, that person wasn't him.

"4 5."

"4 6."

"5 5."

"open."

"6 2."

"open."

When Zhao Jinquan first started playing the game, he was no match for Feng Cheng. After a few rounds to get familiar with the game, the two started playing seriously. Zhao Jinquan was basically the one drinking, but as he lost more and more, he became more and more skilled at the game. He tricked Feng Cheng in two consecutive rounds and won back a lot of face.

However, because Zhao Jinquan had drunk too much, he became dizzy and started shouting incoherently, and Feng Cheng successfully knocked him down.

"About a pound and a half of loose liquor, this guy can really drink."

Feng Cheng moved Zhao Jinquan over to sleep, then tidied up the table and lay down himself.

He didn't drink much tonight, only about 150-200ml, so he was slightly tipsy, conscious, and able to walk around, but he could also fall asleep when he lay down.

Feng Cheng liked this state. He felt uncomfortable if he drank too much, but if he didn't have a couple of drinks, life would be a bit boring.

So, from now on, just drink this much alcohol; it helps with sleep and doesn't harm your health.