Go back to the past to plant trees

Ever since Feng Cheng brought up the topic of Xiao Pang's love life, he has been complaining to Feng Cheng. What used to be a conversation between the two of them on the way has now turned into one-sided complaints from Xiao Pang.

What they were talking about were nothing more than the minor frictions and dissatisfactions between each other during the dating period. These were trivial matters that any couple would encounter when they were dating. The difference was that some could accept them and got married, while others couldn't and broke up. Xiao Pang was clearly the latter.

Listening patiently to Xiao Pang's story, Feng Cheng also looked outside. It hadn't snowed in the past few days, and the temperature should be around zero degrees Celsius. According to the weather forecast from the county town, Saihanba would officially enter the snow season in another week.

The greenhouse effect is not as severe as it will be in later generations, so winter comes earlier and the winter temperature is lower than it will be in later generations.

It's mid-October now, and from now until April next year, the Bashang area will be covered in heavy snow. Even in normal years, the snow can reach up to the calves. At this time, there's no need to think about going out; you can just stay indoors.

The car had been driving for more than two hours. Because Xiao Pang had been complaining to Feng Cheng, he hadn't been paying much attention to driving, so the speed was much slower than usual.

After the car arrived at the campsite, Xiao Pang honked the horn twice.

This is his habitual action every time he comes here; as soon as the horn sounds, Feng Cheng and Zhao Jinquan will come over quickly.

Sure enough, not long after the horn sounded, Xiao Liu came running over.

Halfway there, when it saw Feng Cheng get out of the car, Xiao Liu became even more excited. It ran straight towards Feng Cheng and then ran wildly beside him, its tail spinning like a propeller, proving that it was very excited.

"Hey, you bastard."

Xiao Liu jumped up, ready to climb onto Feng Cheng, but Feng Cheng grabbed his two front paws and then used one hand to rub his head.

"Go play by yourself, I still need to move some things."

"Brother Feng, you're back."

Zhao Jinquan also came over at this time.

"I'm back. I originally wanted to come back earlier, but the director assigned me a task, so I stayed in Beijing for two more days."

"The winter supplies have arrived, let's move them over there first."

"it is good."

The grain was delivered to the kitchen, while the fertilizer, seeds, and pesticides were sent to another cellar. Even on snowy days, there was no need to worry about the other cellars leaking.

It took the three of them an hour to move all these things.

"Xiao Pang, eat something before you go back. You must be hungry after working for so long."

Xiao Pang shook his head, "No, I have to rush back, otherwise it will be late. Next time you go down to the dam first, come to my house, I'll make the arrangements, and we can have a couple of drinks."

"Okay, then be careful."

"Oh right, wait a minute, I almost forgot," Feng Cheng said as he ran back to the dugout, poured out more than half a pound of the pumpkin candy he had left behind, and wrapped it in oil paper.

"These are some snacks I made. Take them back and try them. They're from the south, and I bet you've never had them before."

Xiao Pang took the things Feng Cheng handed over and, upon hearing his words, was also somewhat curious. "Really? Then I have to try it."

Xiao Pang didn't stand on ceremony. He was used to accepting these kinds of things. It was common for people to offer him cigarettes or snacks. They weren't expensive, and the drivers wouldn't refuse.

"See you next year, Brother Feng."

Xiao Pang got in his car and drove off. There was no one to listen to his nagging when he got back. It was downhill again, so he figured he'd be in the county town soon.

"Jin Quan, have you eaten?"

"I just ate a little while ago."

"Is there anything left? Get me some, I haven't eaten anything since I woke up this morning."

"Wait a moment, I'll heat it up for you, it'll be ready soon."

Having not eaten breakfast early in the morning and having spent an hour moving things upstairs, Feng Cheng was starving. While Zhao Jinquan went to get something to eat, Feng Cheng returned to the dugout, grabbed some pumpkin candy from the kang (heated brick bed), and stuffed it into his mouth to fill his stomach first.

About ten minutes later, Zhao Jinquan brought Feng Cheng a bowl of millet porridge and two large potatoes.

"Comfortable."

After finishing the porridge and eating the potatoes in one go, Feng Cheng finally felt less hungry.

In this era, there's not much oil or snacks; the only thing that can fill your stomach is staple food. Even if Feng Cheng doesn't work, he can eat a pound of grain in one meal, and if he does work, he can easily eat two pounds.

In this era, if people only ate rations, they really wouldn't be full. So, when they weren't working, many people would only eat until they were half full, and their energy expenditure wasn't high when they weren't working.

Feng Cheng was similar before, but now that he has a vegetable garden, he doesn't need to control it anymore. Now Zhao Jinquan cooks only to fill their stomachs. As for cooking too much, that's impossible. If they can't fit, they'll eat more after a while. There's no such thing as not being able to eat enough.

"Jin Quan, why don't you take some time to go back home these next few days? Stay home for a few days, and once it snows, you won't be able to go back even if you want to."

After finishing the meal, Feng Cheng spoke to Zhao Jinquan.

"Okay, I'll go back tomorrow. I also wanted to bring some things over."

After a pause, Zhao Jinquan said hesitantly, "Um, Brother Feng, my dad said he'd like to invite you to our house for dinner. He wants to thank you."

Feng Cheng shook his head. "No need for a meal. Your family isn't well-off either. Let's talk about it after this difficult period is over!"

In those days, people rarely ate at other people's houses because no one was well-off. Feng Cheng didn't want to add to Zhao Jinquan's burden. Don't say it's just a meal and how much can you eat. People in those days were simple and concerned about face. If Feng Cheng were to go, he would definitely have to kill chickens and ducks, provide plenty of grain, and arrange for fine grains. This one meal might just be enough to feed their family for a week.

If Feng Cheng doesn't go, they can save on their food rations for a week. If they do this regularly, they can eat a little more each day. So, going to someone else's house for a meal is no small matter.

Feng Cheng went to Uncle Liu's house because the two were close, and Uncle Liu's family were all workers with fixed quotas and were not short of money, so Feng Cheng taking a little food or drink wouldn't make a big difference.

But Zhao Jinquan's family was in a different situation. They didn't earn any money in the winter, and if they went out for another meal, they might go hungry.

"Let's wait until next time, when things are better on your end, then I'll go over."

"Alright then!"

Zhao Jinquan didn't know how to persuade him. Mainly, what Feng Cheng said was right. The situation at the camp was much better than at his home. At least he could eat his fill every day. His parents were doing relatively well, but they often had to help his brother's family. It was one thing for the adults, but they couldn't let the children go hungry. Moreover, many of the relatives in the team were also struggling financially, and Zhao Jinquan's family occasionally had to help them out as well. This made their life less comfortable. Now that Zhao Jinquan had found a job, he didn't eat at home and could send money home, so their situation had improved a little, but not by much. This was the countryside, and things couldn't get much better no matter what.