Zhang Rui is currently a graduate student in the architecture department of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, and he is serving as an engineer for the construction company.

Although working in the fields is a bit beneath him now, no one expected that his participation in the construction of an ecological farm would lead him to specialize in design in that area.

"Mianmian, you're back."

"Brother Rui, how's the situation now?"

"Zhang Jie and I have almost finished planning, and some areas are ready for construction, but we are worried about the lack of funds."

"That's not a problem. I've made a lot of money in the past few years. I can't say I can maintain this for eight or ten years, but three to five years is no problem. If you have any ideas or needs, just do them boldly."

"Okay, right, this is what I'm thinking. Since we're planning to build a guesthouse here, we can use local materials in some aspects."

"Where?"

“For example, when building a house, I see places where there is little stone, nothing on top, not even the most common grass grows, so that it can be mined and used.”

Have the experts gone to take a look?

"I saw it. They say there are some mineral deposits, but they're located very deep at the foot of that mountain. They've already reported it and are just waiting to start mining. We can use the stones that are mined then."

"Is it okay to use it for building a house?"

"Okay, I went to take a look. Here's what I'm thinking: use the big stones to build houses and the small ones to pave roads. This way, we can solve part of the material problem."

Also, since it's a guesthouse or something similar, it shouldn't be built like a tenement building. I think it could be built like the houses you see in the countryside now.”

"But will such a courtyard house be enough for us when the time comes?"

“No problem, I plan to build two stories. If it’s too tall, it won’t look like a place where people live in the countryside.”

"That's fine. Even though we won't be raising chickens or anything in the yard, we still need to reserve some space. Also, the yard needs to be big enough to grow some vegetables and flowers, so it will look presentable."

"That's what I was thinking too. By the way, did you manage to buy any fruit tree saplings on your trip?"

"I managed to buy some, but not many. I can plant some anyway, so I can't leave them empty. I need to see Miaoshan's produce in the city within the next two to three years, otherwise, not to mention other people's market."

I'm afraid some people in higher positions will have something to say about that.

"That's right. It wasn't easy to get this special approval for you. Many people have made pledges to do so."

"So we need to hurry up and get things done. How are the workers doing?"

“Very good. Don’t underestimate them just because they’re young. In civil engineering, they are much better than others.”

"Then you don't even consider who you're using. They're all veterans who have been transferred back to civilian life."

For them, civil engineering is a specialty. You can explain anything to them clearly—how to build it, what to do—and they'll understand without you having to say a word. They certainly won't cut corners.

"That's right. You don't know how fast they are. Even though they've been out of the military for several months, their way of doing things is the same as before."

“Aren’t we all the same? Even if we didn’t join the army, aren’t we still the same as them in some ways?”

"good."

Speaking of these demobilized soldiers, it must be mentioned that in recent years, the military has been undergoing a large-scale reduction in personnel.

In the past, when people were demobilized from the military, at least they could be assigned a job. But now that the children of workers can no longer find work, they can only be sent to the countryside in batches.

Most of the officers and soldiers who were transferred back to civilian life could only wait. Some of them originally came from rural areas and had no choice but to retire and go home to farm.

When Elder Chen and the others asked me to propose a plan for the "ecological farm" issue last time, I also submitted an application at the same time. This application was about arranging jobs for demobilized soldiers.

Although many soldiers were reassigned to other departments during this round of troop reductions, there are still many rural soldiers who will be demobilized and return to their hometowns to farm.

Rural areas are not wealthy to begin with. If one person in a family becomes a soldier, it can support a family of more than ten people, or even more.

Not long after it was submitted, it was approved. Moreover, in terms of procedures, it went through smoothly without any obstacles.

"Li Mianmian's suggestion is good. It solves both the personnel problem and the personnel resettlement problem for our troops. It's better than letting these young soldiers go back to their hometowns to farm."

"It is indeed a good idea. Putting aside everything else, the housing problem in Beijing is quite severe right now! If they can build the houses according to the designer's requirements, I think we can also allocate a piece of land and build a lot of houses, which can also solve the housing problem in the city."

That's right.

"Then let Comrade Li set up the construction company first and build the farm. As for building houses in the city, one of you can bring it up at the meeting later, and we can discuss it together."

"good"

To solve their employment problems, most of them were soldiers who had been transferred from various departments back to rural areas near Beijing.

Another small group consists of demobilized soldiers from the Beijing Military Region, whose hometowns are also rural areas in various places.

As for families living in the city, or even in towns, it's useless.

Putting aside other things, now that the market is open, anyone with brains, ideas, and money can start a small business.

Rural soldiers had no money, and how much of the resettlement allowance they received was also for demobilization?

They felt that no matter how hard or tiring it was, they would be willing to work as long as they were offered jobs.

But they never expected that their first project would be digging trenches—no, I should say digging ditches. It's not that different from anything else!

But when rows of two-story villas came out, they never imagined that they had built them all with their own hands.

It can be said that they were not only there digging ditches and building houses, but also when planting melons and beans in the spring, harvesting wheat in the summer, harvesting corn and sorghum in the autumn, and planting wheat in the winter.

Besides this, they are also responsible for transportation. There is no other way. On some newly reclaimed land, because the season for planting grains has been missed, vegetables can only be grown. But what to do with a large amount of vegetables after they are ripe? They can only be transported into the city to be sold.

Fortunately, aside from the two factories related to himself, Duan Miao would also want them, and he could also sell four shops in the city.

Most importantly, the small shops and restaurants that I co-owned with many other educated youth who returned to the city also needed vegetables.

Based on this calculation, at least three truckloads of vegetables need to be transported into the city every day.