Go back to the past to plant trees

Feng Cheng went to Old Liu's house for a meal. After the meal, he also brought back four bottles of Beijing Erguotou, a 56-degree liquor. Currently, a bottle costs about 3 yuan, and you need a coupon to buy it. These four bottles must have been saved up by Old Liu.

Aunt Liu insisted on giving it to him, and Feng Cheng couldn't refuse, so he had no choice but to accept it.

Feng Cheng wouldn't keep this wine; he'd find a chance to get rid of it. Buying wine is difficult now, especially bottled wine like this. If he drinks it now, he can always buy a few bottles of high-end wines like Moutai or Wuliangye in a couple of years when the market improves and prices drop, and return them. It's only fair, right? He can't just take these bottles, not drink them, keep them, and then find a chance to return them later. That would be pointless.

Although he only drank half a jin, Feng Cheng still felt a bit lightheaded when he got back. The main reason was that the alcohol content of the liquor was quite high, 56 degrees, which was much higher than the 30-degree bulk liquor sold outside. Drinking half a jin of this was equivalent to drinking eight liang of bulk liquor.

Although he was a little dizzy, Feng Cheng was still very clear-headed as he found his way to the Forestry Bureau.

Feng Cheng climbed into bed in a daze, not knowing when he fell asleep. When he woke up the next morning, he felt extremely thirsty.

Feng Cheng gulped down most of a glass of water before he felt a little better.

"Luckily, I only drank half a jin (250ml) of liquor. If I had drunk any more, I would have thrown up and blacked out."

Feeling better, Feng Cheng started packing his things. He was going to go to the dam soon, so he wanted to get everything ready in advance so he could just pick it up and leave.

After packing his things, Feng Cheng went to the farewell class and saw Xiao Pang chatting with someone there.

"Xiao Pang, when are we leaving?"

"Brother Feng, we can leave anytime. Just be ready, and I'll have someone load the truck. Once it's loaded, we'll leave."

"Okay, let's load the truck then. The sooner you leave, the sooner you'll be back. It gets dark early now, so it's safer to come back sooner."

Xiao Pang thought it made sense, said something to the person next to him, got into the car, and started driving. Feng Cheng went back to the dormitory and took out the things he had prepared earlier.

This trip involves delivering a lot of supplies, nearly half a year's worth, as well as fertilizer, seeds, pesticides, and a whole bunch of other things for seedling cultivation. The truck was completely loaded.

"Brother Feng, is Beijing fun?"

After driving out of the forestry bureau, Xiao Pang couldn't help but ask.

"It's just so-so! It's about the same as other areas, just with more people, bigger shopping malls, more shops, and it's a bit more lively."

"That's Beijing, you can't compare it to a region, you have to compare it to a provincial capital!"

"Have you been to the provincial capital?"

Xiao Pang nodded, "I've been there twice, with my master in the car, to pick up a batch of supplies. The provincial capital is much more lively, with more people, more cars, more factories, and several department stores. It's much more bustling than the regional area."

"Beijing is pretty much the same, just a larger provincial capital. It has more people, more cars, more factories, and more department stores than a provincial capital. You'll see if you go and take a look next time you have time."

“Sigh, I want to go too, but unfortunately I don’t have the chance. We’re in a county. If it were the regional forestry bureau or the provincial forestry bureau, we might have a chance to go to Beijing. But it’s not possible in a county. We don’t even get a chance to go to Beijing.”

Xiao Pang's tone was full of regret. He had traveled to many places and had more experience than many people. But it was precisely because he had traveled to so many places that he wanted to visit Beijing even more. Not only Beijing, but also Shanghai, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Nanjing, and Guangzhou, he wanted to visit them all.

However, in this day and age, this wish is destined to be impossible to fulfill. Beijing is still the easiest place to get there, because it is not far from here, only two or three hundred kilometers away, and can be reached in a few hours by car.

"Xiao Pang, how's your relationship going with your girlfriend? When are you planning to get married?"

After chatting about Beijing, Feng Cheng changed the subject.

"Why get married? It's already called off."

Feng Cheng was somewhat surprised. "It fell through? What happened? Weren't the talks going really well? How did it break up?"

Truck drivers are highly sought after these days, and for someone like Xiao Pang who has already mastered the craft at such a young age, it goes without saying that many girls want to marry him. However, because of his good qualities, he is a bit picky and insists on finding a beautiful woman. A few months ago, he met a suitable one, a woman from the county cultural station. She was said to be able to sing and dance, and she was also beautiful and a high school student.

The two had been dating for several months. When Xiao Pang told Feng Cheng about it, she was overjoyed and said they planned to get married at the end of the year. But when asked today, she found out that the relationship had broken up.

“She complained that I was too busy, that I was away from home for more than 20 out of 30 days a month and that I didn’t have time to spend with her. She said that I wasn’t looking for a boyfriend, but a day laborer.”

Xiao Pang got angry as he said this, "You know, I'm a driver, how can I not do the work assigned by the bureau? I look for work whenever I have free time. I rarely go home. Whenever I go out, I bring him back anything delicious or fun. And he's still not satisfied. What can I do?"

Feng Cheng was speechless. He hadn't expected this reason. He thought it was a family issue. But thinking about it, it made sense. Women are all like that. Although women in this era are more simple and honest, there are always a few who are a bit demanding. Besides, Xiao Pang's girlfriend is a high school student who can sing and dance. She must have seen and heard a lot of things, so it's normal that she might look down on Xiao Pang.

After all, this guy is just a driver. He's barely literate, has no talents, doesn't understand women, and doesn't know how to make them happy. He might have agreed to date her at first because of his family, but as time went on, he felt dissatisfied with everything about her, so breaking up was quite normal.

However, they didn't keep us hanging on. If they weren't satisfied, they just said so. It only took a few months and didn't cause any delays. Compared to those in later generations, there's really nothing wrong with their approach.

Feng Cheng comforted him, "If it breaks up, just find another one. With your family background and circumstances, finding a girlfriend is easy. Once the news gets out, you won't even have to worry about it. Matchmakers will naturally arrange things for you. Maybe there will be several matchmakers to introduce you to someone. You'll be spoiled for choice."

"That's what I say, but I'm just not reconciled. Brother Feng, what do you think this woman is thinking? If she had met someone better than me, I wouldn't have said anything, but she hasn't, yet she doesn't want to be with me. Isn't that crazy? It's just dating. She should just find someone who treats her well. Why does she have so many requirements and complain about this and that?"

Feng Cheng gave a polite smile. Listening to his complaints, Xiao Pang was probably also furious. He had poured his heart out, but in the end, the other person was complaining about his job.

But dating is never that simple. There are tons of dating tutorials and player-chasers teaching you how to date, but in the end, aren't there still tons of single people left? Her rejection of you was just one of the reasons she gave; in reality, she had countless reasons why she didn't like you.

Not handsome enough, not charming enough, male chauvinist, bad job, low salary, not worthy of being seen in public, etc. There can be countless reasons and excuses, but in the end, it all boils down to simply not liking someone.

Feng Cheng had seen this kind of thing many times and was no longer surprised. Only people of this era would complain about it. In later generations, everyone knew the truth but didn't bother to talk about it.