Go back to the past to plant trees

After the Spring Festival, time flies even faster. In the blink of an eye, April has arrived. The temperature in Bashang is warming up, and the snow is beginning to melt.

Soon, the thick snow melted into water that seeped into the soil. After the temperature warmed up, Feng Cheng went to check on the trees he had planted the previous year.

At first, the branches were dry and withered, but as time went by, tender green leaves began to sprout from them. They were so small that they were almost invisible if you weren't paying attention, but Feng Cheng, who was watching closely, still noticed them.

Feng Cheng looked at each of the saplings. There were a total of 750 saplings, of which 625 had sprouted. He didn't know whether the rest had died or would sprout again after some time.

With an 83% survival rate, Feng Cheng was extremely excited. This survival rate was enough to demonstrate the success of tree planting in Bashang.

"Brother Feng, does this tree look like it's alive now?"

Zhao Jinquan, who was helping Feng Cheng count the saplings, saw this and asked with a mix of joy and anticipation.

"Basically, yes, but whether it counts as a job or not will have to wait a while. We'll have to wait for the bureau to send a technician to come up and take a look before we can make a final decision."

“If it’s alive, it’s alive. Why do we need others to confirm it? We can just confirm it ourselves,” Zhao Jinquan said, somewhat puzzled.

Feng Cheng was in a good mood and explained, "Last year, we sent technicians over to confirm the results. One reason was to provide technical guidance. If they found any areas for improvement, they would point them out to us. After all, the technicians sent over are all very skilled. Another reason was that they were worried that we would report the results inaccurately, like the yield per mu in previous years. The bureau was also afraid that such a situation would occur."

“We really need to send someone over to take a look. We can’t let the problems of the previous two years happen again,” Zhao Jinquan said. He was also a victim of the Great Leap Forward, so he was disgusted by this kind of misreporting of achievements.

It's not just Zhao Jinquan; many local leaders nowadays dislike their subordinates carrying out such satellite operations.

"Brother Feng, should we go down to the dam and tell the bureau chief?"

"Don't rush, let's wait a while and observe for a while longer. We'll go down to the dam to talk after we're sure the baby will survive."

"Your job promotion might be delayed for a few days. We'll go down to the dam together then. If the tree planting is successful, there won't be any problems with your promotion. It's absolutely guaranteed."

"I'm not in a hurry, it's fine to wait a few days."

Although he was very anxious, Zhao Jinquan tried his best to appear calm and collected.

As the snow melts and temperatures rise, Feng Cheng and Zhao Jinquan begin their work for the year: cultivating the new nursery, tending the old nursery, and preparing the seedlings for transplanting.

Feng Cheng didn't know when the people Qu He had arranged would arrive, and he couldn't possibly wait until Qu He sent people up before doing this work. Time waits for no one, especially during the crucial spring planting season; a day earlier or later makes a big difference.

The two spent a few days tidying up the new nursery. After everything was ready, Feng Cheng went to check on the germination and leafing of the saplings. Finding that they were doing very well, he decided to take some time to go down to the dam in the next couple of days.

The main problem is that the two of them can't finish the work below, and Feng Cheng also needs to apply to Qu He to hire some fellow villagers to plant trees, which involves funding issues, so Feng Cheng needs to go there in person.

There were no horses on the dam, and no supply vehicles came up either. If they wanted to get down the dam, they could only walk down, a journey of more than 100 kilometers, which would take Feng Cheng and his companion a whole day.

But Zhao Jinquan said that they could go to their team first and borrow a horse-drawn carriage to go to the county town. Although the team's horses were not very good, it was still better than walking.

If you can avoid walking, that's naturally the best option. So the two of them headed to Shaquan Brigade early in the morning. They arrived in the village around noon and found Zhao Jinquan's father, Zhao Peide, to arrange a horse-drawn carriage. However, Zhao's father also said that it was springtime and there was a lot of work to be done in the brigade. The carriage could be borrowed, but not for too long, at most two days, and it had to be returned after two days.

Feng Cheng readily agreed, saying that the carriage would be returned by the day after tomorrow at the latest.

This trip is just to report the sapling situation to Qu He and then get Zhao Jinquan's official promotion sorted out. One day is enough. Even if it takes two more days, it's fine. Zhao Jinsuan can just bring the car back then. After all, even if something happens, I'll handle it myself, and I don't need Zhao Jinquan to do it.

The carriage wasn't fast; it was much slower than riding a horse, and only slightly faster than walking, probably around 15 kilometers per hour.

At this speed, we'll probably arrive in the county town around 6 or 7 pm.

The timing was a bit unfortunate, but there was nothing that could be done about it; after all, if we were to actually walk, it would take even longer.

We rushed as fast as we could and finally arrived at the forestry bureau before it got completely dark.

"Feng Cheng... why are you still going down to the dam so late!"

As soon as Feng Cheng entered the station, he ran into Uncle Liu, who was about to go home after get off work.

"Uncle Liu, I set off early this morning, but the distance is too far, and you know how slow the carriage is, it can't go fast. That's why I only arrived here at this time."

"Oh dear, that's a whole day's journey!"

"is not that right."

"Are you hungry? Haven't you eaten anything?"

"I ate two pancakes to fill my stomach."

"Then hurry up and take this carriage to the stable. I'll wait for you here. Come to my house for a meal first," Old Liu said immediately, making arrangements when he heard that Feng Cheng hadn't eaten yet.

Feng Cheng shook his head and said, "Uncle Liu, we can just grab something in the cafeteria, no need to go to all that trouble!"

"Come on, the cafeteria is already out of food. The last half bowl of noodle soup was just taken away. You won't find anything to eat if you go there. If you want something to eat, you'll have to come home with me."

"Hurry up, the sooner we get there, the sooner we can eat."

"Alright then, thank you for your trouble again, Uncle Liu."

Hearing that there was no food left in the cafeteria, Feng Cheng didn't refuse anymore; he couldn't just go hungry all night.

When he left, Feng Cheng thought he could reach the county town before four or five o'clock, so he didn't prepare any food. But the carriage was really uncooperative. No matter how much he shouted, it just wouldn't pick up speed. Feng Cheng didn't dare to whip it, since it wasn't his own animal, so he could only endure the slow pace.

This trip was a very bad experience for Feng Cheng. This will be the last time. He will never borrow a car from the Shaquan Brigade again. This old horse is simply not suitable for traveling.

After putting their things away, Feng Cheng and Zhao Jinquan followed Uncle Liu to his house.

“I told you you wouldn’t be coming down for a few days. I asked Xiao Pang a couple of days ago, and he said you wouldn’t be going up for a few days.”

"The main reason is that there's a lot of work on the dam, and Jinquan and I can't handle it all. Director Qu also said that he would arrange manpower for us this year, so I wanted to come down and ask when the manpower would be arranged. Director Qu also said that he would give Jinquan a permanent position this year. I'm just afraid that things might change if I wait too long, so I wanted to come down and get this done."

"Recruitment?"

Old Liu was surprised when he heard this. He looked at Zhao Jinquan and said, "Not bad. You actually arranged for me to become a full-time employee. But you're a hard worker, so giving you a permanent position isn't a big deal."

Zhao Jinquan chuckled and said, "It's mainly because Brother Feng put in a good word for me."

"Good, you know how to be grateful," Old Liu said, quite satisfied with Zhao Jinquan's answer.

"Old woman, make some noodles, Feng Cheng is here."

As soon as he got home, Old Liu started shouting at the top of his lungs.

A moment later, Aunt Liu came out by lifting the curtain. She was very happy to see Feng Cheng. "Feng Cheng is here. You didn't even tell us in advance. We didn't prepare anything at home."

Feng Cheng laughed and said, "I just arrived. I originally wanted to eat something in the cafeteria, but Uncle Liu insisted on taking me to his house."

"What good food is there in the cafeteria? It's just cornbread, radishes, and cabbage. You can only eat good food at home."

Aunt Liu muttered a complaint, then said, "Wait a minute, I'll go make you some noodles and two eggs."

"Aunt Liu, there's no need for that. Just get us a couple of potatoes to tide us over."

"It's alright, no trouble at all. You can sit down and rest for a bit," Aunt Liu said without turning her head, completely ignoring what Feng Cheng was saying.

Feng Cheng was also somewhat helpless. Every time he came here, the food was all for him, so he didn't feel comfortable coming here anymore.

This was Zhao Jinquan's first time visiting Old Liu's house. He knew about the relationship between Old Liu and Brother Feng. When he went down to the dam to collect his wages, Old Liu often asked him to bring things up, many of which were good things. He also knew that the old man at the canteen had a good relationship with Brother Feng.

How many days will you be staying in Xiaba this time?

Aunt Liu went off to do her work, and Uncle Liu led Feng Cheng into the house and asked.

"If we can finish things by tomorrow, we'll go up the day after tomorrow. If we can't finish by tomorrow, we might stay for a day or two longer."

"Then stay a couple more days. You've been up there for more than half a year, and it must have been tough enough. Come down and rest for a few days before going back up."

“No, it’s springtime now, a busy time of year. We need to sow seeds in the nursery, tend the vegetable garden, and transplant saplings. I’m so busy that I came down to find people. Once I’ve found someone, I’ll go back up immediately.”

"You rascal," Old Liu shook his head helplessly, "why work so hard? There's always more work to be done. Other forestry workers slack off whenever they can, but you just do all the hard work."

Feng Cheng smiled and changed the subject, "Uncle Liu, I have good news for you. I've successfully planted trees on the dam."

"The trees have survived?"

Old Liu was momentarily stunned by what he heard.

"Yes, they were planted last autumn. There were 750 trees, and I counted them yesterday. 695 of them survived. But I'm not sure if that means they'll all live. The bureau will have to send a technician to check."

Old Liu finally understood what Feng Cheng meant by "planting living trees." "Planting living trees is good, planting living trees is good. You've worked hard for three years, and it's finally paid off."

"Tomorrow I'll spit in those guys' faces and say you wasted the bureau's food, seeds, and saplings. Bah! Now that the trees have survived, I'll make them apologize."

Old Liu was very excited. He knew what this meant. The trees had survived in the dam area. This was really important for Feng Cheng. Many people in the bureau were talking about him. Before, when he hadn't achieved anything, he couldn't refute them. But now that he had achieved something, Old Liu had to get his revenge. What kind of person is he? He doesn't do any work and just talks behind people's backs. Feng Cheng had endured three years of hardship in the dam area. Even if he didn't achieve anything, he had at least worked hard!

"Uncle Liu, let's not rush to talk about this. Let's wait until the bureau sends a technician to confirm it before we announce it to the public. After all, this is just my own opinion. It would be embarrassing if the tree didn't survive in the end."

"They can survive, they can survive."

Old Liu encouraged Feng Cheng, but he also abandoned the idea of ​​getting revenge tomorrow. After all, if something really went wrong later, he would lose face.

Feng Cheng and Uncle Liu chatted about things in Bashang and the bureau. Before long, Aunt Liu brought out two bowls of noodles. The noodles were white and fluffy, with two eggs on top. These noodles wouldn't be anything special in later generations, but in this era, they were a very lavish meal.

"Auntie, you're too kind. I'll feel embarrassed to come next time."

Aunt Liu said with a self-righteous look, "What's there to be embarrassed about? You only come once or twice a year. Besides, it's so late at night, you can't expect me to make you a cornbread, can you? That would require boiling water and steaming, which is such a waste of time!"

"Forehead…"

Feng Cheng was speechless for a moment.

"Eat quickly, eat it while it's hot, the noodles will clump together when they get cold," Aunt Liu urged.

"Then I won't be polite."

As Feng Cheng spoke, he picked up his chopsticks and started eating. Seeing this, Zhao Jinquan, who was standing next to him, also started eating heartily. He only ate white flour a few times a year.