A Tale of Two Cities Supporting Xinjiang

After hesitating for a long time, Li Chao gritted his teeth and made a decision: to hire someone.

Even if I'm broke right now, I still have to plant the saplings first.

He thought that he should explain to the herders that the wages would be owed to them first, and that he would pay them as soon as the saplings bore fruit and yielded a harvest. He believed that the villagers would trust him.

Having made up his mind, Li Chao went back and approached the herders who had refused him earlier, one by one. He humbled himself and said sincerely, "Fellow villagers, I apologize for troubling you all earlier and causing you trouble."

Seeing that the herders were all standing at the door without saying a word, just looking at him, Li Chao quickly said his main idea: "This time, I'm asking everyone to help plant saplings. I'll pay you wages, according to the local market price for farm work, not a penny less."

"I'm really short on cash right now. I've already given all the money I could have spent to help you plant the saplings. I'll pay you all as soon as the saplings are ready for harvest; I promise I won't delay payment."

"Please help me, everyone, don't let these saplings rot in the ground."

If these saplings survive and bear fruit, not only will I be able to turn my life around, but I can also lead everyone else to plant them together, creating multiple sources of income!

No sooner had he finished speaking than a herdsman spoke up: "Li Chao, it's not that we don't want to help you. You said you'd pay us after the harvest, but who can say for sure whether these saplings will survive or whether there will be a harvest?"

If there's no harvest, wouldn't all our efforts have been for nothing?

Another herdsman chimed in, "Yes, the village lost money on farming before, and we're scared now."

If you can pay us in cash, we can squeeze in some time to help you; paying on credit is really not an option.

Li Chao's heart sank; he knew the herders would have this concern.

Looking at the increasingly wilted saplings in the truck bed, Li Chao gritted his teeth and made a decision.

He said to the herders, "Okay, I understand your concerns."

Please wait a moment. I'll find a way to settle your wages in cash, and I promise it won't delay your work.

After saying that, he dialed his home number. "Mom, I'm having some trouble promoting the cold-resistant saplings. I need some money to pay the villagers for planting the trees. Could you transfer some money to my bank account first?"

"Chao'er, don't worry, Mom will go to the bank to transfer money to you right away. Is that enough? If not, Mom will think of another way."

"That's enough, thank you, Mom."

After receiving the transfer notification from his mother, he immediately returned to the herder's home and said to everyone, "Folks, the wages can be settled in cash now, let's go to work in the fields."

Seeing that Li Chao could indeed pay them on the spot, the herdsmen had no more worries and picked up their farm tools to follow Li Chao to the fields.

With the help of the villagers, hundreds of saplings were quickly planted in the ground and watered.

After paying the workers and seeing the villagers off, Li Chao looked at the rows of saplings planted in the field and finally felt at ease.

But in less than three days, the branches and leaves of many of the newly planted saplings began to turn yellow and curl, and some even withered completely, looking wilted and lifeless.

A passing herdsman caught a glimpse and began to whisper among himself, "Look at those seedlings Li Chao planted, they probably won't survive, will they? They withered as soon as they were planted."

Hearing these words, Li Chao remained calm.

He himself came from an agricultural background, and he immediately recognized that this was a normal recovery process after the seedlings were transplanted.

When saplings are first moved to a new location, their roots haven't taken hold yet. They can't absorb water or nutrients, so their branches and leaves will naturally wilt for a while. Once the roots recover, they'll recover quickly.

Although he was confident, Li Chao dared not be careless in the slightest.

The lesson learned from the previous failed promotion was too profound; this time, there is no room for error.

He immediately took out his phone and called Researcher Lü, his tone urgent and earnest: "Researcher Lü, there's a problem with the saplings I planted. Many branches and leaves have withered. Can you tell me what happened?"

After hearing his description, Researcher Lü laughed instead: "Don't worry, this is not a bad thing, it's a normal slow-release reaction."

When saplings are transplanted, their root systems will be damaged. They need time to adapt to the new soil, and the withering of some branches and leaves is a form of self-adjustment.

Just follow the care manual I gave you before, control the amount of watering, don't let it dry out or waterlogge it, and keep an eye out for pests and diseases. It will be fine in a while.

After hanging up the phone, Li Chao finally felt relieved.

In order to keep an eye on the saplings 24 hours a day and deal with emergencies as soon as possible, he did not return to the apartment for aid workers in Xinjiang, but moved back to the simple house left by the Ninth Company.

The house may be simple, but it is close to the sapling field. He had only one thought in his mind: this time he must take good care of it and there must be no more mistakes, otherwise he would have no face to see Zhou Mingyu and the villagers.

The most crucial thing during the seedling establishment period is watering; without water, even the best seedlings will die of thirst.

Li Chao was in a dilemma. If he hired someone to haul water, it would cost a lot of money in a day, and he had almost no money left in his pocket, so he simply couldn't afford it.

After thinking for a long time, Li Chao had an idea.

He went from house to house asking and finally borrowed an old handcart from a herder's family. He also found two large plastic buckets and tied them to the cart.

From that day on, Li Chao pushed a handcart full of water to the sapling field.

The journey wasn't short; pushing the heavy cart for a single trip would leave you drenched in sweat. Once you got to the field, you had to water the saplings bucket by bucket, afraid that too much water would cause root rot, and too little water wouldn't be effective.

Day after day, Li Chao spent his time in the sapling field. His face got tanned, his hands developed calluses, and his clothes were covered in mud, but he didn't feel tired at all.

He hoped that the sapling would recover quickly and grow new leaves.

Hard work pays off. About half a month later, when Li Chao went to inspect the fields in the morning, he suddenly discovered that some of the saplings had sprouted tender yellow buds.

He quickly went over to take a closer look and confirmed that it was indeed a newly grown leaf.

He checked each sapling one by one, and the more he looked, the clearer things became. Most of the saplings had recovered, and small new leaves were hanging on the branches, green and full of vitality.

"They're alive, they're all alive."

Li Chao couldn't help but cheer softly, as another heavy weight was lifted from his heart.

But this joy didn't last long, as it was dampened by the discussions among the herders.

A few herders passed by, looking at the new leaves in the field, and said with disdain: "What's there to be happy about? At this time of year, any seedling you plant will sprout. The soil temperature is right here. It's nothing special."

Another herdsman chimed in, "Sprouting doesn't mean it will survive the winter."

Winters here are so cold and windy. It's really hard to say whether these saplings can survive the frost.

If they freeze to death, wouldn't all our efforts have been for nothing?

Hearing these words, Li Chao did not refute them, but secretly made up his mind: You wait and see, I will take good care of these saplings and make sure they survive the winter. When they bear fruit next year, you will know how powerful these saplings are!