Go back to the past to plant trees

The next morning, Feng Cheng, Yu Zhenglai, Li Zhong, Qu He, and Zhao Tianshan took a car to Saihanba.

Li Zhong and Yu Zhenglai sat in the driver's seat, while Feng Cheng, Zhao Tianshan, and Qu He sat in the back of the truck.

This trip to the dam not only involved sending people up, but also a lot of supplies. This is the first time this year that the bureau has sent supplies to the dam camp.

"Chief, there are more and more people in this camp. We should elect a captain or something to manage it. I think we should let Comrade Zhao Tianshan be the captain!"

"I can't do it. You should be the team leader, Feng Cheng. You've been on the dam for three years, while I've only just arrived! How can I be the team leader?" Zhao Tianshan quickly waved his hand in refusal.

Feng Cheng laughed and said, "It has nothing to do with how long it takes to go to Shangba. The main thing is that I don't have that much time to manage people. I have to keep an eye on the nursery. I have to put all my time and energy there. Managing people involves a lot of details that I don't have that much time to do."

Feng Cheng felt it would be better to let Zhao Tianshan take on the position of captain of the advance team. Firstly, the captain didn't have much power; to put it bluntly, he was just a nanny, taking care of everyone's daily needs and solving all sorts of problems. Feng Cheng didn't want to do that kind of thing, especially since several college students were coming up later. They were spoiled and pampered, and there would definitely be a lot of trouble. Feng Cheng didn't want to deal with their trivial matters.

Another reason is that he really doesn't have the energy. He has to look after the nursery, read books, and study. He's already very busy with all of that, so Feng Cheng wants to take a break in the little time he has left.

While Qu was with him today, Feng Cheng wanted to finalize the position of the advance team leader. Otherwise, if he discussed it with Zhao Tianshan after they reached the dam, Zhao Tianshan might not agree. Now that there was a leader present, as long as Qu spoke, given Zhao Tianshan's personality, he would definitely obey orders.

Qu He, standing to the side, also fell into deep thought. What Feng Cheng said was indeed a problem. There were already three people in Bashang, and if a few more were recruited, there would probably be six or seven. This didn't even include the college graduates Yu Zheng recruited later. With so many people, they definitely needed someone to manage them; otherwise, it would be chaotic and disorganized. Qu He looked at Feng Cheng and asked:

"Feng Cheng, are you sure you don't want to be the team leader?"

Feng Cheng shook his head. "I don't want to. I don't have that much time, and you know my personality. I'm not really suited to be a team leader. I'm too impulsive."

Qu He nodded slightly. That was indeed the case. Logically speaking, Feng Cheng was the most suitable person to be the team leader, but Feng Cheng was unwilling, and his personality was indeed not suitable. So, the only one left was Zhao Tianshan, a veteran party member who had served in the army. It was impossible to let Zhao Jinquan, who had just been promoted, be the team leader. As for the temporary workers behind him, they were even less suitable.

"Then Zhao Tianshan, you will be the captain!"

After thinking for a moment, Qu He made a decision directly.

"Chief, I..."

"obey orders!"

"Yes."

Zhao Tianshan subconsciously responded, but as soon as the words left his mouth, he realized something was wrong. However, having already received the order, he couldn't very well argue back.

"Comrade Feng Cheng..."

"Just call me Feng Cheng. We work together, no need to be so formal."

“Feng Cheng,” Zhao Tianshan readily changed his form of address, “It’s like this, I don’t know anything about the specific work or tasks in Bashang.”

Feng Cheng asked in surprise, "You don't know why you chose to come to Saihanba?"

"Director Yu said he wanted to select a few people to work in Saihanba, which is the most difficult place. Nobody wanted to go, so I volunteered. I'm a soldier, so of course we should go to the most difficult place."

Looking at Zhao Tianshan's matter-of-fact expression, Feng Cheng was suddenly deeply moved. Soldiers, whether now or in the future, are a group that can be trusted unconditionally.

"Actually, it's nothing much. The main thing is to take care of the nursery. You don't need to worry about that; I'll handle it. Your main job is to take care of everyone's daily life and work arrangements. Oh, and we might hire some villagers from the surrounding area to help plant trees. You'll need to arrange and coordinate that, but it won't take too long, only about ten days."

“Zhao Tianshan, you don’t need to worry too much. If you can’t make up your mind, you can discuss it with Feng Cheng. Feng Cheng, you should also help out if Zhao Tianshan is too busy. This place in Bashang is tough. There are only a few of you. You need to help and support each other.”

Qu He, who was standing to the side, suddenly spoke up, and his first words were very official and polite, befitting his background in political work.

"it is good."

Feng Cheng nodded in agreement. It was just a small favor, nothing to do. Besides, Zhao Tianshan was just not used to the change in status yet. After a few more days, he would understand and be able to do it. After all, veterans like him could be promoted to squad leader or platoon leader at any time. The army had also trained them in grassroots management skills.

The car bumped along the way and arrived at the campsite around noon.

Yu Zheng and his group did not linger at the campsite; they immediately had Feng Cheng take them to the tree-planting area.

Feng Cheng instructed Zhao Jinquan to unload the things from the car, and then led them to the tree planting site.

Zhao Tianshan was also curious and followed.

Upon arrival, Li Zhong immediately got to work, inspecting each sapling one by one. Yu Zhenglai and Qu He also went over to check on them.

"Feng Cheng, is it difficult to plant trees on the dam?"

Seeing how focused they were, Zhao Tianshan asked with some curiosity.

Although he knew before coming that planting trees in Saihanba was difficult, Zhao Tianshan felt that planting trees was nothing difficult. As long as he showed a spirit of not being afraid of hardship or fatigue, he would definitely be able to grow trees. Those people just didn't want to come to such a harsh place, which is why the place was left barren.

"It's difficult. This place is a plateau, with a high altitude, long hours of sunshine, and intense sunlight. Moreover, sandstorms happen from time to time. The saplings are also delicate. After all these hardships, very few can survive."

"So all the trees you planted survived?" Zhao Tianshan continued to ask.

"I think so. We used to cultivate the seedlings down below the dam and then bring them up here to plant. Two years ago, I chose to cultivate the seedlings here and then transplant them out. It seems to be working quite well, at least the leaf emergence rate is very high. But I don't know how many will survive in the end."

Feng Cheng chatted with Zhao Tianshan, telling him about the tree planting situation in Bashang. Zhao Tianshan didn't know much about the details of the area, but after listening to Feng Cheng, he had a clear understanding of the situation.

Because he had to check each sapling individually, it took Li Zhong a considerable amount of time to confirm their condition; it took him nearly three hours to return.

"Engineer Li, what's the survival rate like?"

As soon as Li Zhong returned, Yu Zhenglai couldn't help but ask. He had also gone to check on the saplings earlier, but he only saw that the leaves were growing well; he wasn't sure if the saplings were alive or not.

“They’re alive, almost all of them are alive,” Li Zhong said with a smile.

"He's alive..."

Yu Zhenglai's hands trembled with excitement. After so many years of hard work and so much investment, he was finally seeing results today.

Qu He was also very happy. He had been anxious these past few days, fearing that the result would be different from what Feng Cheng had said. Now that everything was settled, he could finally relax.

Looking at their expressions, Li Zhong continued, "I don't have detailed data on the specific survival rate, so I can't give a statistic. But judging from these trees, I estimate it's at least 80%. In a place like this, with this survival rate, we can already declare the tree planting a success."

"It's good to be successful, it's good to be successful."

"Engineer Li, I need to write a report to share with last year when I get back. You need to sign the technical part."

"OK, no problem."

“Oh, right, Feng Cheng, you need to write a paper about your all-light seedling cultivation technique. We’ll need to do a technical demonstration later,” Li Zhong said, turning to Feng Cheng as he remembered something.

Feng Cheng hesitated, "Engineer Li, writing the paper is no problem, but the data is lacking. We don't have rigorous statistics; there's no detailed data on things like temperature and water volume..."

"It's alright. We'll add the specific data later. You should compile the seedling cultivation techniques first. The sooner they're out, the sooner forest farms in various places will know about and use the techniques. Besides, this paper won't be widely circulated at this stage; it will only circulate within the ministry, so you don't need to worry."

"Okay, I'll get it done in the next couple of days, and I'll send it down as soon as it's done."

Feng Cheng had written the paper before, but it was very hasty and would not be suitable for publication. Feng Cheng would have to polish and revise it again. Anyway, it was the first draft, so it was understandable that there were flaws.