Go back to the past to plant trees

After lunch, it was only about one o'clock in the afternoon. After tidying up the table, everyone sat in the dugout and chatted.

Feng Cheng didn't go to the nursery either. The water for today had already been used up. He would go back in an hour or two to see if it needed watering again. The seedlings in the nursery had grown to a certain height and didn't need to be watered too frequently. To adapt to the harsh climate on the dam, the seedlings needed to be allowed to gradually adapt to the water shortage.

Zhao Jinquan and Zhao Jinsheng chatted about the team's gossip, and Feng Cheng also heard news about Zheng Laosan.

Zhao Jinsheng said that Zheng Laosan had taken the only few dozen yuan his family had a while ago, saying he wanted to find a job, apparently because there were coal mines in Inner Mongolia that were hiring.

Zhao Jinsheng said he saw Zhao Jinquan become a worker and earn money, and he was envious, so he also wanted to become a worker.

In Feng Cheng's eyes, the word "coal miner" was synonymous with cannibalism. In later generations, whenever coal mines were mentioned, they were always associated with collapses and deaths. This was a gray area.

Feng Cheng didn't know what coal mines were like in this era, but he could imagine that they weren't much better. Perhaps the mines of this era were a little better to the workers, but the mining facilities of this era were definitely worse than in later generations, and a series of safety measures could not have been as complete as in later generations.

Another point is that everyone wants to work in large coal mines because the wages are high, the benefits are good, and the treatment is excellent. Even locals may not be able to get into these mines. How was it possible for Zheng Laosan, an outsider, to snatch such a job?

Even if I could find a job, it would probably be in a small local coal mine, the kind where they just set up a frame, dig a hole, and let people crawl in.

More likely, he'll go out for a stroll, eat and use the food, and then slink back home in disgrace. My own uncle is no different; even though he's a blacksmith, he went out for a stroll and ended up coming back looking disheveled.

Could someone as idle as Zheng Laosan possibly have the patience to work?

Feng Cheng didn't quite believe it, but he didn't comment on it either. As long as Zheng Laosan didn't bother him, Feng Cheng would treat him like he was invisible.

After chatting for a while, everyone ran out of things to say. The gossip in the team was limited. This wasn't the future, where a few men could discuss international affairs all night. As for Zhao Jinquan and his group's understanding of the world, they probably only knew about the county town. Most of what they knew probably came from the older members of the team.

Zhao Jinsheng and his group wanted to ask Feng Cheng about the situation outside. During dinner, Feng Cheng had casually shared a lot of information they didn't know, but since they weren't familiar with Feng Cheng, they were too embarrassed to ask.

Feng Cheng noticed their hesitation, but he didn't ask. He knew that many troubles were caused by his own tendency to pry, so he was able to control his curiosity.

"Brother Feng, can I play Chinese chess with them?"

After a while, Zhao Jinquan suddenly asked Su Yan.

Feng Cheng glanced at him, somewhat puzzled, and said, "Just play Chinese chess, why are you asking me?"

Zhao Jinquan said, "I'm just afraid they'll go back and spread the word!"

Feng Cheng laughed and said, "This isn't my original idea. Let it spread. There are plenty of people in Beijing who play with this stuff."

Upon hearing Feng Cheng's words, Zhao Jinquan immediately got off the kang (a heated brick bed), went to the corner, took out the set of military chess that he had put away, and placed it on the table on the kang.

"Come on, I'll teach you how to play Chinese Chess. It's a really fun game."

The conversation between Zhao Jinquan and Feng Cheng had already attracted the attention of the group. When they saw Zhao Jinquan take out a chess set, they all gathered around.

"This game is military chess. It includes engineers, platoon leaders, company commanders, regimental commanders, brigade commanders, division commanders, army commanders, and generals. In addition, there are landmines, bombs, and military flags."

"You all know the military ranks, right? The commander is the highest, and the corps commander is the second highest. The higher-ranking can defeat the lower-ranking, but only engineers can dig up landmines, while bombs can destroy any piece, including landmines, and the commander."

Zhao Jinquan and his brothers explained the rules of Chinese Chess in detail. The rules of Chinese Chess are not simple, but everyone knows military ranks, so it is easy to understand.

"I'll go first, I'll go first."

As soon as Zhao Jinquan finished speaking, Zhao Jinshui grabbed a seat.

"Damn it, Jinshui, did you even understand what I meant before you robbed it?" Zheng Erqiang, who was a step too slow, said somewhat unhappily.

"What's there to be afraid of? You'll get the hang of it as you play," Zhao Jinshui said smugly.

"No, one game per person. Once you're done with this game, it's time for someone else to play. You can't keep playing here forever!"

"One game per person, but the loser leaves!"

"Row."

Zhao Jinquan wasted no time and immediately set up the chess pieces. The two were playing a game of hidden chess, where all pieces were covered up. The first person to flip over a piece determined which side the pieces would land on, and which side the pieces landed on was entirely up to luck.

Zhao Jinquan was itching to get started. He had been getting thoroughly thrashed by Feng Cheng lately, but now that some new friends had arrived, he could finally give them a good beating and regain some of his confidence.

"Hey Jinshui, why didn't you use that bomb on his division commander!"

"Why bomb the division commander? I only have two bombs, one for the army commander and one for the general commander. I've already made arrangements."

"You're dreaming! But there's a company commander behind your bomb. He'll just touch it!"

"what!"

"Once a move is made, there's no going back! The bomb is gone."

"Depend on."

"Why isn't your commander matching his? You've run out of bombs, you can't bomb his commander anymore, why aren't you exchanging them? Are you just waiting for him to kill your piece?"

five minutes later.

"Hey, Jinshui, you should come down. Your skill level is terrible. You can't even afford to throw away a single piece. How can you possibly win a game like this!"

"My turn, my turn."

Zheng Erqiang pulled Zhao Jinshui down and sat in his seat.

Zhao Jinquan, on the other hand, looked very confident. He felt that he was now incredibly strong. He had even beaten Brother Feng, so why would he be afraid of these newbies?

If Feng Cheng knew what he was thinking, he would probably laugh himself to death. In this game of hidden chess, luck is sometimes very important. The few games Feng Cheng lost were all due to bad luck. Either he only brought out his commander at the very end, or he was killed by a bomb as soon as he came out, and he didn't have a chance to use it at all.

Several people huddled together, offering Zheng Erqiang endless suggestions, while no one spoke up about Zhao Jinquan; everyone knew he was a master of manipulation.

Zheng Erqiang had one good quality: he was very obedient to advice. He would listen to what others said that was good, so he and Zhao Jinquan were evenly matched. However, Zhao Jinquan had more experience and more knowledge, so in the end, he killed Zheng Erqiang by luck.

After Zheng Erqiang left, Zhao Jinsheng took his seat. He was also itching to grab a bite, but because he was a bit older and married, he didn't want to compete with them.

Seeing how much fun they were having, Feng Cheng didn't disturb them. He called Xiao Liu and left the dugout.

It was too noisy inside; if Feng Cheng didn't join in, the sounds wouldn't be as pleasant.