Go back to the past to plant trees

In early April, Feng Cheng went down to the dam. He had just received his salary and was about to leave when Yu Zheng, who was coming from the opposite direction, pulled him into the office.

"Director."

Yu Zheng poured Feng Cheng a glass of water, then asked in a friendly manner, "Feng Cheng! Is everything alright on the dam?"

Feng Cheng took the water glass and replied, "No, everything is fine on the dam, and the nursery is also normal. There haven't been any problems."

“It’s like this,” Yu Zhenglai said, carefully choosing his words. “I might be transferred to work in the region in a while, and there will be a new leader in the bureau. You’ll have to report to the new leader about the work in Bashang.”

Promotions are something that people usually don't announce unless it's truly finalized, just in case. Although it's hard to prevent news from spreading, there's a fundamental difference between others discussing it and the person in question making it public.

Yu Zhenglai told Feng Cheng about this today mainly because Feng Cheng has been staying in Bashang and doesn't come down for a month or two. Yu Zhenglai didn't know when he would be going to report to the region, so when he saw Feng Cheng today, he directly told him about it.

Yu Zhenglai was also somewhat worried about Feng Cheng. He was afraid that the guy would not get along well with the new director and would be suppressed. That was not a big deal. He could just do his part to transfer him to a regional position. What Yu Zhenglai was afraid of was that this would delay the afforestation work in Saihanba.

Yu Zhenglai also subtly recommended Qu He to succeed him. Although Qu He had been somewhat dissatisfied with Feng Cheng before, his opinion of Feng Cheng had changed recently. Moreover, the two had worked together for so long, so Qu He would at least give him some face. Therefore, if Qu He took over, he could ensure a smooth transition in the bureau's work and would not affect Feng Cheng. However, it was hard to say. If the regional leaders had another suitable candidate, it would be normal if Qu He could not take over.

"Director, are you getting promoted? Congratulations!"

Feng Cheng congratulated Yu Zhenglai with a happy expression. Feng Cheng already knew that Yu Zhenglai was going to be promoted, so he was not surprised by the news.

Yu Zheng waved his hand and said, "What promotion or not, it's just a change of workplace, continuing to serve the people."

"You need to control your temper. The new director is coming, so don't cause trouble for him. After all, he's your direct supervisor. You need to be careful about what you say and do. Don't be as disrespectful as when you first arrived."

Feng Cheng nodded and said, "Don't worry about the director! I will definitely give him face. Besides, I only come here once every few months, so it would probably be difficult for me to see the director."

"Your main job now is to cultivate seedlings on the dam and try to make sure the trees survive. As for other things, just bear with them. As long as you can make the trees survive on the dam, everything will be fine. I will do my best to arrange things for you."

Yu Zhenglai's words were tantamount to making it clear, and Feng Cheng naturally knew what he meant. So Feng Cheng nodded seriously and said, "I understand, Director. Don't worry, I will transplant the saplings from the nursery in two months. We'll know whether they survive or not next spring."

Hearing this, Yu Zhenglai was filled with anticipation. The Forestry Bureau had worked hard on Saihanba for so many years, and this was the most promising chance of success. If it failed this time, Yu Zhenglai didn't know whether he should continue to invest in Saihanba, because even if he was willing, others might not agree.

"Just focus all your energy on planting trees on the dam. If you need anything, just tell me, and I'll take care of it for you."

"Director, there are indeed some things to take care of. I'd like to expand the nursery next year, and I'm wondering if the bureau can help with the seeds, fertilizers, and manpower."

After Yu Zhenglai gave his assurance, Feng Cheng immediately brought up the matter of expanding the nursery.

"You want to expand the nursery?" Yu Zhenglai frowned immediately upon hearing this.

“We already have a two-acre nursery in Bashang. Do you want to expand it further? It’s not that I’m unwilling, nor that the bureau can’t provide the resources. The main problem is that we haven’t seen any results in seedling cultivation in Bashang yet. If you propose to expand the nursery, it will be difficult for me to convince others.”

Feng Cheng knew this would be difficult, but he still wanted to try. After all, the nursery area would be expanded next year, and once the forest farm achieved results, there would be many more seedlings to transplant, and fewer seedlings would be needed from other regions. This would reduce the cost of failures in the early stages of the forest farm.

"Director, I heard that a mechanized forest farm is going to be built in Saihanba?"

Ordinary explanations wouldn't convince Yu Zheng, so Feng Cheng had no choice but to bring up the Saihanba Mechanical Forest Farm matter ahead of time.

"Where did you hear this news from?" Yu Zhenglai asked Feng Cheng with a surprised look.

Feng Cheng replied, "When I went to the ministry last year, some people there were discussing this matter. They said that the sandstorms in Beijing were too severe, and the sandstorms from Inner Mongolia were blowing towards Beijing. They said that we should plant trees around Beijing to resist the sandstorms."

"I only overheard it at the time; it was something someone was saying in conversation, so I'm not sure if it's true."

Last year, the ministry leaders had the idea of ​​learning about the situation in Saihanba, which means that the ministry should have a plan or at least an intention regarding the Saihanba Mechanical Forest Farm. Therefore, Feng Cheng felt that Yu Zhenglai would not doubt what he said.

Upon hearing Feng Cheng's reply, Yu Zhenglai understood. "That's true. An expert made such a suggestion, and the ministry is considering its feasibility. The final decision hasn't been made yet, so it's still uncertain whether or not to build a mechanized forest farm on Saihanba."

“Director, this is what I’m thinking,” Feng Cheng carefully considered his words before speaking cautiously, “There’s a high probability that the Saihanba forest farm will be built. Think about it, what kind of place is Beijing? It’s the capital, the national center, with so many government departments and national leaders there. Can such a place tolerate sandstorms all year round?”

"So if a solution were to emerge that could alleviate the sandstorm situation in Beijing, let alone solve it, do you think the leaders in Beijing wouldn't consider it carefully? Even if the leaders in the ministry want to consider it, what about the leaders of other departments, and the national leaders in charge of the ministry? Won't they have different ideas?"

"You mean, the Saihanba Mechanical Forest Farm will definitely be built?" Yu Zhenglai's expression also became serious.

In the past two years, there have been ideas to establish new forest farms all over the country, but they have all been rejected after being reported to the Ministry. One reason is that the budget does not allow it, and the other is that the Ministry has its own overall plan and cannot allow local governments to act arbitrarily. So, although Yu Zhenglai heard about the plan to establish a mechanized forest farm in Saihanba, he did not pay much attention to it because he felt that it would be difficult to make it happen. However, after listening to Feng Cheng's words, Yu Zhenglai suddenly realized that the Saihanba forest farm seemed to be possible to build. This is not an ordinary afforestation project; it has risen to the level of controlling sandstorms and environmental problems in the capital.

"I can't guarantee it, but I think it's highly likely to succeed, and it will happen within the next year or two."

"So what does this have to do with your seedling cultivation in the Bashang area?"

"Director, think about it. This area of ​​Bashang is so big. If we really want to build a mechanized forest farm, how many seedlings would we need? Where would we get so many seedlings? We'd have to cultivate them ourselves. I was thinking, let's set up some nurseries first and cultivate them ourselves. This way, we'll have our own seedlings and we can also accumulate experience to prepare for the large-scale construction of nurseries after the forest farm is established."

"But what if the mechanized forestry farm can't be established?"

"Even if the mechanized forest farm cannot be established, trees still need to be planted in the Bashang area, so expanding the nursery will not affect anything."

Yu Zhenglai nodded. Feng Cheng's words made sense. Although a mechanized forest farm had not yet been established, the bureau had been working hard to plant trees in the Bashang area.

But Yu Zhenglai also had a concern: what if the seedlings grown on the dam still couldn't survive?

However, he kept these words to himself, not wanting to say them aloud. One reason was that he was afraid of discouraging Feng Cheng, and the other was that he was unwilling to accept such an outcome.

I need to think about this and discuss it with the other colleagues in the bureau. You go back and wait. There are still several months until winter, so don't be in a hurry.

"Row."

Feng Cheng knew he wouldn't get an answer now, and he came with the attitude that it would be best if it worked out, but he wouldn't force it if it didn't. He was already very satisfied that Yu Zhenglai had given him a reply that he would consider it.

Feng Cheng chose to speak now because he didn't want to communicate with Qu He, since he didn't know how Qu He felt about him now—whether it was dislike, indifference, or appreciation.

Therefore, compared to persuading Qu He, Yu Zhenglai is clearly more persuasive. Besides, Yu Zhenglai is about to be promoted, and if he agrees to this, it will be the last decision he makes before his promotion. At this point, the other leaders in the bureau generally will not refuse.