A Tale of Two Cities Supporting Xinjiang

The vendors can't be found, the testimonies are false, but the losses are real.

A burning anger and resentment simmered within the affected farmers.

But the fire didn't spread to the vanished swindler; instead, it raged among the villagers themselves.

"Who was it that confidently declared this talent was so promising?"

At the village meeting, someone glanced at Musa in the corner.

"that is!

Musa, if you hadn't led the way and made all those irresistible promises, would we have followed suit and bought these products?

Immediately, others echoed this sentiment.

Musa blushed, wanting to retort, but he couldn't open his mouth.

Some people directed their anger to the other side: "Where are Li Chao and the others?"

Weren't you capable back then?

They say that vaccines from branch hospitals are more reliable, while vaccines from other hospitals are riskier.

Now you're laughing at us, aren't you?

Are they happy to see us suffer?

Li Chao immediately flew into a rage: "Bullshit! Did you listen to my earnest advice back then?"

Now you're blaming me for the loss?!

The meeting room was in complete chaos.

Parhat suffered the most severe losses, with most of his seedlings freezing to death. In his haste in the spring, he ignored advice and used strong fertilizer in an attempt to salvage the situation. As a result, the fertilizer burned the roots, and the remaining seedlings withered.

He was nearly broken by the double blow.

Looking at his neighbor Aishan, who had once secretly gone to the convenience store with him to pay for replanting and now looked just as gloomy, his pent-up anger suddenly exploded: "It's all your fault!"

"It was you who instigated this, saying it was nothing, nothing."

Aishan was also furious: "Is it my fault?"

Don't you have a brain? Did I force you to pay?!

The two went from arguing to pushing and shoving; they almost came to blows if bystanders hadn't held them back.

Parhat's wife rushed up crying to pull her husband away, and the scene became chaotic.

"Look, everyone! Open your eyes wide and look!"

Li Chao slammed a stack of photos onto the wooden table in the village committee office.

The photo shows rows of withered, yellow saplings with blackened branches and leaves curled up as if they had been burned.

Village Party Secretary Aini stood beside him, and the buzzing discussion in the meeting room, which had been filled with villagers, suddenly ceased.

"This is Musa's garden."

Li Chao pulled out another photo. "This is from Parhat's family. Now look at this one—"

He held up another picture, "These are Sima Yi's fruit trees. They suffered the same frost damage, but their fruit is still hanging!"

"Less than 20% of the saplings in the branch campus died from frost!"

Li Chao tapped the data sheet on the table. "What about those imported seedlings? Seventy percent! A full seventy percent froze to death!"

Village Party Secretary Aini chimed in, "Can you trust what these vendors say? They just pack up and leave, what about our land? What about our livelihoods?"

"The technicians from the branch will arrive tomorrow."

Li Chao scanned the entire room and announced, "We'll distribute medicine for free and teach everyone how to save trees that can still be saved."

Pruning, fertilizing, soil improvement—I taught them everything step by step.

Someone raised their hand: "Officer Li, my whole family is dead, what should I do?"

Li Chao took a deep breath: "Dig up the dead ones, leave none behind."

Three days later, Simayi Maimaiti's orchard was packed with people.

"Look at these tree branches."

Sima Yi held up a branch and said, "The frostbitten ones should be cut off, but they must be cut at an angle, leaving the bud."

If you cut the tree down to the base like Musa did, the tree is ruined.

Musa stood on the periphery of the crowd, his shoulders slumped.

"The soil needs to be breathable."

Simayi Maimaiti used a shovel to dig up a layer of soil, "I buried the straw as taught by the branch school."

The ground in Parhati is as hard as cement.

Parhat spat, but his eyes remained fixed on Sima Yi's shovel.

Li Chao squatted down and grabbed two handfuls of soil: "Smell it. Sima Yi's soil smells like rotten leaves."

What about yours? It's pungent.

A woman suddenly burst into tears: "My family invested five thousand yuan, and it's all gone..."

"What's the use of crying now!"

Party Secretary Aini roared, "Learn! Learn from those who know how!"

Sima Yi Maimaiti walked to a tree and gently picked up a cluster of green fruit: "If management keeps up, the tree won't lie."

The crowd fell silent for a moment, then someone pushed forward, "Brother Simayi Maimaiti, how much space should we leave?"

……

The sky was overcast on the day the tree was dug up.

Musa was the first to swing his pickaxe and smash it down on the row of withered seedlings in his own field.

With a snap, the cracked tree trunk broke off.

"A deep pit! A meter deep!"

Li Chao shouted, "One diseased tree can infect a whole area!"

The men dug the holes, and the women carried away the dead branches.

Party Secretary Aini led the young people to spread lime for disinfection.

Parhat squatted at the edge of his field, touching the few remaining green seedlings: "These few... will they survive?"

Li Chao walked over, squatted down, and looked at it: "Yes, it's possible. But we need to clean up the surrounding area of ​​the problem."

He took Parhat's pickaxe and demonstrated how to dig away the soil around the roots. "Look, this root has turned black and needs to be trimmed."

"Be gentle!" Parhat shouted instinctively.

"I feel sorry for you now, and I'll feel sorry for you forever."

Li Chao deftly cut off the diseased roots, sprinkled on the medicinal powder, and said, "Come pick up the rooting agent tomorrow and water it on time."

Li Chao took out his notebook: "Now, let's register one by one."

Sima Yi Maimaiti, starting from your home.

Each tree needs a record, documenting everything from fertilization and pruning to fruit production.

Sima Yi Maimaiti took the pen and neatly wrote his name on the notebook.

Li Chao closed his notebook: "The medicine delivery truck from the branch hospital will arrive at eight o'clock tomorrow morning."

Whoever is late gets to line up last.

"vote!"

The village secretary of Aini clapped his hands, signaling everyone, "Raise your hands if you agree to switch all the seedlings to the branch nursery!"

Inside the village committee office, arms were raised in unison.

Parhat raised his hand halfway before pulling it back.

"Parhat, do you have a problem with that?" Aini stared at him.

Parhat rubbed his hands together. "What if... something goes wrong again..."

Musa suddenly stood up: "What problem could possibly arise?"

Haven't we learned our lesson?

My dead trees are still piled up at the village entrance, used as firewood!

Li Chao waved his hand: "This time is different."

Our cooperative buys seedlings and plants them together.

The branch hospital gives us wholesale prices, saving us 30%.

"Who manages the cooperative?" someone asked.

Li Chao pasted a piece of white paper on the wall. "Election. Anyone who wants to be the president, sign up."

The room was quiet for a few seconds.

Sima Yi cleared his throat: "I'll give one."

Musa paused for a moment, then raised his hand as well: "I'll sign up too."

"you?"

Parhat scoffed, "Do you understand technology or business?"

"I've learned my lesson!"

Musa raised his voice, "I know how to avoid taking the wrong path! Isn't that enough?"

Li Chao laughed: "That's enough. More than enough."

When the election results came out, Simayi Maimaiti was elected president, Musa was in charge of purchasing, and Parhat was in charge of sales—this was Li Chao's idea.

"Let me manage the sales?"

Parhat stared wide-eyed. "I haven't even figured out how to sell my own apples properly."

"That's why we need to learn – because we haven't figured out how to sell it properly."

Li Chao said, "Aren't you the best at accounting? Then sell everyone's fruit for a good price."

Parhat opened his mouth, but then remained silent.