A Tale of Two Cities Supporting Xinjiang

Having finally looked forward to the arrival of spring, Li Chao floored the accelerator and drove toward the seedling field of Jiulian.

The wind was howling outside the car window, but his heart was beating faster than the car's speed. At that moment, his mind was filled with images of saplings sprouting and turning green.

Before the car had even come to a complete stop, he ran towards the field.

But the scene before him instantly froze him in place.

Not a single sapling in the field had sprouted; the bare branches were brittle and dry. He reached out and gently broke one off, revealing a stark white cut, devoid of any green.

Undeterred, he squatted down and dug away the soil around the roots. The roots had long since turned blackish-brown and died, crumbling into mud with a flick of his fingers, with not a trace of life to be found.

All the suffering I endured in the dead of winter was for nothing!

Li Chao's mind was buzzing; the images of bloodshot eyes, chapped hands, and swollen knees flashed before his eyes.

To reinforce and insulate the saplings, he braved the sub-zero temperatures to build a shed, his hands swollen like steamed buns from the cold, unable to even hold chopsticks.

While replanting in the snow, I slipped and fell hard on the frozen ground. My knee was bruised for half a month, and I walked with a limp, but I still forced myself to get out of bed.

On the day they were transporting agricultural supplies, the truck overturned in the Gobi Desert. Despite being covered in injuries, they carried saplings back with them, afraid that even a single branch would freeze...

Sima Yi's wrinkles were full of smiles: "Officer Li, we trust you. Tell us how to plant it, and we'll do it!"

Aunt Gulijiamali even gave him her only half-acre of good land to try planting, and delivered hot naan and milk tea to the field every day.

And those villagers, they followed him to fetch water, add soil, and cover the ground with felt blankets. They were so cold in the dead of winter that they stamped their feet, but not one of them complained about the hardship or fatigue...

Now that all the saplings are dead, how can he live up to the trust placed in him?

Their psychological defenses completely collapsed.

Li Chao squatted on the edge of the field, wanting to cry but unable to.

Just then, a series of hurried and chaotic footsteps came, accompanied by angry shouts.

Li Chao looked up and saw Musa, Simayi Maimaiti's son, leading four or five young herdsmen, rushing towards him menacingly. From a distance, Musa pointed at him and said, "Li Chao, you heartless bastard."

Musa rushed up to Li Chao, grabbed him by the collar, and pulled him up from the edge of the field.

"Look for yourself, all these saplings are dead."

"You still dare to say it wasn't you who did this? I think you just wanted to steal the credit, so you deliberately bought some cheap saplings to fool us! Don't use the awful weather as an excuse, you're just being malicious!"

Li Chao was being pulled so hard he could hardly breathe. He struggled to break free: "What nonsense are you talking about? These saplings were obtained through legitimate channels. They are all cold-resistant varieties. They were damaged by the freezing winter this year."

"Bullshit!" Musa shoved Li Chao hard, making him stumble and almost fall. "We did all the insulation work you said we should do in winter, wrapping him in straw mats and covering him with plastic film. What did we miss?"

Why did all your saplings die? You must have bought cheap, substandard ones!

As he spoke, he turned to the other herders who had gathered around after hearing the news, raised his voice even higher, and deliberately incited them: "Everyone, come and see!"

This Li Chao played with our trust, tricking us into working for him for half a year, only to cheat us out of our money with inferior saplings.

Now that all the saplings are dead, who will compensate us for our losses? He must compensate us for all our losses, and also give us additional compensation for lost wages.

"No one's leaving today until the compensation is paid in full."

Several young herders who came with him joined in the commotion: "Yes, it was you who did this, you have to pay up!"

"Don't try to argue your way out of this; we want justice!"

Musa and his men caused such a commotion that the scene descended into chaos.

Li Chao's explanation was drowned out by a chorus of accusations, and no one listened to him at all.

Seeing the angry faces, Li Chao knew that continuing the stalemate would only make things worse, so he gritted his teeth and awkwardly pushed his way out of the crowd.

As he walked down the street, the angry shouts of Musa and his gang still echoed in his ears, leaving Li Chao feeling both choked up and heavy-hearted.

He was unwilling to accept this, and he didn't believe that all the saplings would fail to survive.

Uncle Simayi Maimaiti was one of the few people in the village who fully supported him from the beginning, and he has always been meticulous in taking care of the saplings. Maybe his family's situation will be different.

Clinging to this last glimmer of hope, Li Chao changed direction and headed towards Simayi Maimaiti's seedling field.

But as soon as Li Chao stepped into Sima Yi's field, his heart sank completely.

The scene before me was almost identical to the seedling field in Jiulian. The seedlings were all withered branches that could be broken with a touch. When the soil was dug up, the roots were still blackish-brown and necrotic.

He carefully inspected the area and found that Sima Yi's insulation measures were very thorough, with the straw mats tightly wrapped and the plastic film intact, clearly indicating that they had done their best.

Simayi Maimaiti was squatting on the edge of the field smoking when he saw Li Chao come in. He stood up, his face showing no anger, only undisguised regret: "Officer Li, you see, it's not that we didn't take good care of it, it's just that this winter is too cold."

He tapped his pipe on the sole of his shoe and said in a very sincere tone, "I know you did your best. From selecting the seedlings to managing them, you were meticulous in every way. This is not your fault; it's just that things didn't go as planned."

Several other herdsmen who were as rational as Sima Yi nodded in agreement: "Yes, Cadre Li, we've all seen it. You've suffered a lot for these saplings, but there's nothing we can do about it due to the climate."

Li Chao felt a warmth in his heart and was about to bring up the matter of compensation when Sima Yi spoke first: "But Officer Li, we had an agreement back then, and you also promised that if the saplings were not planted well, you would bear the land occupation fee and the labor costs of our labor."

"We've cleared out this land for you to plant saplings for the past six months, and we've spent half the day helping out. You should reimburse us for those costs; it's only right."

Li Chao nodded quickly: "Uncle Sima Yi, don't worry, I will definitely pay this amount. I came here today to discuss compensation with you."

But before he could finish speaking, Musa interrupted angrily, "You think you can just settle this with this much compensation? No way!"

Li Chao turned his head and saw that the same group of young men were still surrounding Musa.

Musa walked up to Li Chao in a few steps, put his hands on his hips, and said in a tough tone: "My dad and the others are easy to talk to, but I'm not!"

We were hoping to sell these saplings after they grew to improve our lives. Why didn't you include that expected profit?

Now all the saplings are dead. Our losses go beyond just land and labor; you must compensate us for any expected profits!

"Yes, you have to compensate us for the expected profits. Otherwise, we'll report you to the management committee for dereliction of duty, for wasting public resources and causing losses to us herders!"

Li Chao quickly explained, "Mousa, I know you're upset, but our original agreement only stipulated compensation for land and labor costs. We really can't calculate the expected returns."

Moreover, the saplings died due to the climate, not because of my dereliction of duty; I have done my best.

Whether you've tried your best or not isn't up to you to decide!

Musa ignored him completely, raising his voice even higher: "Anyway, today you either lose the expected profits, or we'll report you. You choose."

Simayi Maimaiti pulled Musa back: "Musa, don't do anything reckless!"

"Official Li has already said he'll compensate for the land and labor costs, that's enough. Expected returns were never going to happen anyway."

Musa shook off Sima Yi's hand, "You're just too easy to talk to!"

We've worked hard for half a year and ended up with nothing. Why shouldn't we get compensation?

He's a cadre, so he has to be responsible for our losses!

The young herdsman next to him chimed in, "That's right, we can't just let it go like this."

"Either pay me compensation, or I'll report you."

Looking at the tense scene before him, Li Chao felt both anxious and helpless.