A Tale of Two Cities Supporting Xinjiang

That morning, Li Chao had just finished brushing his teeth when he saw a warning from the Shihezi Meteorological Bureau: a strong cold wave was expected in the next two days, with the nighttime low temperature possibly dropping below minus 35 degrees Celsius.

His heart skipped a beat. The greenhouse had been damaged by the wind when the temperature dropped to minus thirty degrees before. This time the temperature was even lower. How could the saplings withstand it?

He skipped breakfast and rushed to Zhou Mingyu's office.

When he opened the door, Zhou Mingyu was looking at documents. Seeing him, he looked up with a smile: "Li Chao? Why aren't you recuperating at your apartment? What are you doing here?"

Li Chao, panting heavily, said, "Director Zhou, I'd like to conduct a survey in the Ninth Company. It would be a good opportunity to check on the winter crop protection measures and gather some data."

Zhou Mingyu stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly laughed, "You little rascal, still beating around the bush with me. Did you see the cold wave warning and want to go to Jiulian to check on the saplings?"

"I can't hide it from you... I'm really worried. If those saplings freeze and get damaged, the villagers will lose all hope."

I understand what you're thinking, but you can't go now.

Zhou Mingyu pointed to his arm. "Your wound was stitched up, and the stitches were just removed not long ago. It's not fully healed yet. It gets very cold at night in the Ninth Company, and the accommodations aren't as convenient as apartments. If you go there, you'll not only suffer yourself, but you'll also have the village officials fussing over you. Isn't that just adding trouble to the grassroots?"

Li Chao tried to argue, "I can take care of myself, I don't need to trouble them..."

"No means no."

Zhou Mingyu interrupted him, "Don't worry, I've already spoken to Director Ai and asked him to keep an eye on the Ninth Company's cold-weather measures. He'll let you know immediately if anything happens. Right now, your priority is to recover and prevent your wound from reopening."

Li Chao could only nod: "Then...then I'll listen to you."

Back in his apartment, Li Chao was restless and immediately called Aini Abdulsa.

"Secretary Aini, have all the winter clothing supplies been prepared?"

"All done, Officer Li, the hay and reinforcing ropes have been brought to the edge of the field. We're organizing people to put the shed up right now, don't worry."

Less than ten minutes after hanging up, Li Chao was still worried and called again: "Secretary, when you reinforce the shed, tie on more ropes. It's windy here, don't let it be blown away."

"I know, I know, everyone's watching."

After repeated communication like this, Aini Abdulsa was both amused and exasperated. "Officer Li, I'm truly impressed by you!"

Li Chao was a little embarrassed, but he still forced himself to say, "Secretary, I'm just worried about the saplings. After all, they represent half a year's worth of hard work from everyone."

"I understand, I understand."

Aini Abdusay relented, "You wait, I'll go to the fields right now and take videos of you on my phone, making sure every shed is clearly visible so you can see for yourself. That should put your mind at ease, right?"

He added a guarantee: "The village has already notified everyone to add dry straw to the saplings and to tie the greenhouses tightly with ropes. They will definitely withstand this cold wave."

After hanging up the phone, Li Chao finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Less than five minutes later, Aini Abdulsa sent a video.

In the footage, busy figures can be seen everywhere in the fields.

The villagers carried bundles of dry straw and spread them on the roof of the insulated shed.

Suddenly, the camera focused on Aihe'ai Ni Abdusay's dark face. "Officer Li, focus on recovering and don't worry about the fields. We'll make sure the saplings are well protected; not a single branch will get cold!"

The video was short, just over a minute long, but Li Chao watched it three times. Seeing the bustling scene on the screen and hearing the villagers' cheerful voices, his heart finally calmed down.

Over the next few days, Li Chao would call Aini Abdusay every day to check on the situation.

"Secretary, is it windy today? Is the shed alright?"

"It's alright, it's alright, the shed is sturdy, and the saplings are all fine."

"The temperature was low at night, I hope the saplings didn't freeze?"

"Don't worry, the hay is thick enough to keep you warm."

Each time he received a reassuring reply, Li Chao gradually felt relieved and looked forward to going to the fields to take a look as soon as possible.

A week later, Li Chao's hand wound finally stabilized, and new flesh grew where the stitches had been removed.

This time, he didn't say goodbye to Zhou Mingyu and headed straight for the Ninth Company.

But as soon as he reached the edge of the seedling field, Li Chao was frozen in place, unable to believe what he was seeing.

In the video, the frame of the insulated tent was broken into several pieces by the strong wind and lay crookedly on the ground. The insulation blanket covering it was torn to pieces, with fragments scattered everywhere.

Li Chao rushed over quickly and carefully touched the branch of a sapling.

The sapling's branches were cold and had a slightly hard feel. He applied a little force, and the branch broke off, with no moisture at the break.

"How could this happen..."

Li Chao felt a sharp pain in his heart.

"Cadre Li!"

Aini Abdulsa's voice came from behind: "Officer Li, I'm sorry... I'm really sorry..."

"What exactly happened?"

"We really tied the tent up really tightly that day, every single rope was pulled taut!"

Aini Abdusay hurriedly explained, "But who could have imagined that the wind would suddenly become so fierce in the middle of the night, like a knife? Those thick ropes couldn't withstand it at all and were snapped in an instant, and the shed collapsed."

He paused, then lowered his voice: "When we saw the shed collapse, we rushed to the field to try and rebuild it."

The wind was so strong that it was hard to stand, making it impossible to work. We could only watch helplessly as the saplings froze... The environment here is truly appalling; we really did our best.

Li Chao didn't say anything, but turned his head and looked at the broken insulation cotton all over the ground, and at the drooping, brittle saplings. His heart felt like it had been hit hard by a heavy hammer, and he felt sore, painful, and suffocated.

After a while, Li Chao finally calmed down and said, "Secretary Wang, it's not your fault..."

Aini Abdulsa paused for a moment, then looked up at him.

"It was my carelessness."

Li Chao took a deep breath, suppressing the bitterness in his heart. "I only considered that the cold wave would bring down the temperature, but I didn't expect the wind here to be so strong. It's my responsibility that I didn't ask everyone to prepare more robust reinforcement materials in advance."

After some thought, a sliver of hope slowly rose in Li Chao's heart.

As long as the roots are still alive, they might sprout again when the temperature rises next spring.

The moment this thought popped into his head, it was like a seed that had taken root in his heart.

Without thinking further, he turned to Aini Abdulsay and said, "Secretary, we can't just give up like this; we have to quickly make amends."

Do you still have any hay and burlap left? Let's cover the saplings with a thicker layer of blankets and reinforce the windbreaks.

Aini Abdusaidu was somewhat surprised by this result and quickly nodded, "Yes, there are still some. I'll organize people to come right away."