Riding the wind of rebirth

"You're talking about Tu Zi Ri He Er Ye! I'm going to tell them when we get back that you said bad things about them, Brother Zhou Zi!" A Zi laughed so hard she almost fell over on her horse.

"Do I even need to say it?!" Zhou Zhi sneered. "If it weren't for the fact that those two are relatively bright, I wouldn't have taken them even if you beat me to death!"

"Hahahaha..." Wu Renzhong couldn't help but laugh when he recalled the difficulties in promoting this matter back then.

"So how did you resolve this matter in the end?" Yang Honghui asked.

“Yes, judging from the scale of forage planting in your township, this problem has already been solved.” He Shiqing is a smart person. She deduced from the scale of forage planting that silage had been promoted, and the demand for silage was obviously directly related to the promotion of pen-raising.

"Speaking of this, I have to admire Elbow," Wu Renzhong laughed. "Through this incident, I truly understand why so many treacherous officials could rule the country in ancient times, hahaha..."

"It's because Brother Elbow is too smart," Azi laughed. "He can make Tu Zi Rihe Er Ye willingly follow his orders. Grandpa said that just based on this alone, Brother Elbow is a hundred times better than Father!"

"How exactly did you solve the promotion problem?" Yang Honghui became even more curious.

"This matter was actually thanks to Uncle Tu," Zhou Zhi said with a smile. "The method was very simple: recruit a few troublemakers into the construction team run by the township. They were exhausted from working on the construction site all day long, and naturally they realized the benefits of being kept in captivity."

“In the past, when we went to the mountains to herd sheep, someone had to watch over them, and the person watching over the sheep had to be nimble on their feet,” Azi said. “It also required leaving home.”

"Tu Zi Rihe and the others went to work for the construction team. They made money, but the elderly couldn't manage to raise the sheep at home. So Brother Zhou Zi talked to them and bought their large sheep, replaced their sheepfolds, provided castrated and tailless lambs, and silage feed."

“This way, the number of sheep won’t decrease, but the elderly can take care of them at home, and the manure won’t be left in other places. Meanwhile, they can free up their time to go out and earn money with peace of mind.” Azi laughed, “This way, we can achieve multiple goals at once. Unless those troublemakers don’t want to earn wages, they will have no choice but to follow Brother Zhouzi’s plan. You tell me if they are happy or not.”

"Hahahaha..." Yang Honghui laughed too: "So that's how you go from being unwilling to being willing. Elbow is indeed a cunning old fox!"

“That’s called taking advantage of the situation.” Zhou Zhi rolled his eyes. “Of course, the premise is that the construction team exists and there’s work to do. Throw a few troublemakers in and let Uncle Tu manage them, and the resistance will naturally disappear. The rest of the people can raise silage, and the pressure to implement it will be much less.”

“Of course, it’s not impossible to promote it forcefully, but I think only Grandpa Chiri has that kind of charisma.” Zhou Zhi laughed. “Outsiders like us shouldn’t even think about it. Besides, there are drawbacks to forcefully promoting it. If it succeeds, Grandpa Chiri will certainly be more popular, but if it fails, it will be a huge blow to his personal reputation.”

"So Grandpa still thinks you're more capable." Azi is now a fan of Zhou Zhi and admires him greatly: "Tu Zi Rihe Er Ye is now at your beck and call."

“Tu Ziri is fine, but if I hadn’t put him in the construction team, he wouldn’t have met Hai Lai and wouldn’t have been able to find such a good wife,” Zhou Zhi said proudly. “If he dared not listen to me, I would have gone to his house and made a scene. If his wife entered the room, I would have thrown the matchmaker over the wall and ruined his reputation!”

Amidst laughter and conversation, the caravan reached the ridge, a watershed where the scenery on either side began to change. The left side was more desolate, mostly consisting of man-made forest belts, with villages, fields, and rivers at the foot of the mountain. On the right, as the gaze extended into the distance, lay the dense forests rarely seen in Liangshan Prefecture.

Extending from the nearby lush green pine forest, more and more colors are added along the way, until it transforms into a colorful forest in the distance.

The colors of the forest under the sunlight can only be described as dazzling, and when combined with the pure blue sky and the lingering white clouds in the distant valley, it truly resembles a fairyland.

"Is that where we're going?" He Shiqing asked, pointing to the valley where the white clouds were in the distance.

“Yes.” Zhou Zhi nodded: “Shiqing is indeed a top student, very smart.”

"How did you know about Shiqing?" Feng Xueshan shaded her eyes with her hand and squinted at that spot.

"With such a bright sun, the mist only lingers there, which must be because the hot spring is constantly supplying moisture," He Shiqing said with a smile. "Isn't that the same principle behind braised pork knuckle?"

“Absolutely correct.” Zhou Zhi laughed. “Another reason is that it’s sheltered from the wind, but the main reason is that it’s where the hot springs are located. The warm water vapor rises and cools down, turning into water mist.”

"How can it be so beautiful!" Feng Xueshan exclaimed. "We don't have scenery like this in our hometown."

“The bamboo forests back home are also spectacular,” Zhou Zhi said with a smile, “but the autumn foliage here is really not as impressive. To be honest, only the autumn foliage in the Qinling Mountains Nature Reserve in all of China can compare with the richness of colors here.” “Are there many intricacies to the autumn foliage?” Yan Xiao asked curiously.

“Of course there are,” Zhou Zhi said with a smile. “Theoretically speaking, the richness of colors in a forest is related to the richness of tree species, and these tree species must all be deciduous.”

How many kinds are there here?

"According to incomplete statistics, there must be at least twenty or thirty kinds."

"So many?!"

"There should be more, but we'll have to ask the experts at the Agricultural University. That's all I know."

"You can name so many?" Yan Xiao didn't believe it at all.

"Would you like to make a bet?"

"What are you gambling?"

"I bet you'll pack up all the firewood you need for the next few days."

"What if you lose?"

"If I lose, I'll chop wood."

“That won’t do,” Liang Hong interjected. “You’re busy cooking for everyone, how will you have time to chop firewood?”

"Let Brother Elbow accompany us," Azi said with a smile, "when we sing tonight."

"Hmm, that's good!" Liang Hong clapped her hands. "If we don't stop, he's not allowed to stop!"

“Then let’s continue until we reach the campsite,” Zhou Zhi said. “If I see anyone along the way whom I haven’t remembered before, just tell me their name.”

"Okay, let's begin."

“Then I’ll begin, little seedling, help me count.” Zhou Zhi laughed: “Maple, sweetgum, maple, persimmon, willow, sycamore, elm, locust, birch, soapberry, barberry, cherry blossom, lacquer tree, sumac, coptis, smoke tree, nandina, rowan, ginkgo, ash, tulip tree…”

"That's twenty-one already," Mai Xiaomiao said. "Keep it up, Zhouzi!"

“Then there’s no problem,” Zhou Zhi said with a smile. “You can name nine more, no matter what.”

Then he continued in one breath, "And also Virginia creeper, tallow tree, red oak, photinia, euonymus, hawthorn, redbud, goldenrain tree, oak, sycamore, and walnut."

"Thirty-two kinds! Brother Yan Xiao, you lost."

"He's quite something!" Yan Xiao said. "Actually, I recognize at least fifteen or sixteen of them myself, but I've never counted them before. I was intimidated by the number Zhou Zhi mentioned. I was careless, really careless!"

"Hahaha... Anyway, there's plenty of dry firewood this season, this little bit of work won't tire you out." Zhou Zhi laughed smugly. (End of Chapter)