Dahua went to the county to learn how to plant trees with a mission.
The county said that trees can be sold for money, but just growing crops is not enough and cannot increase farmers' income.
Each household here has little land, and the rice they harvest throughout the year is not much to sell except for what they keep for themselves.
For example, Dahua's family was allocated a total of more than four acres of land. After he and Xiaohua got married, the land was divided and each of them got only more than two acres. This was because Erhua became a son-in-law. Otherwise, each of them would only get more than one acre.
With such a small piece of land, it is impossible to support a family by farming.
The county asked Dahua and others to help promote the idea in the village and encourage everyone to set aside some land for planting trees.
"Dahua, can planting trees really make money?"
Uncle Xu took a puff of his cigarette, frowning, and called everyone in the village who could speak to come and discuss the matter.
"Uncle, you can really make money!" Dahua was in high spirits and answered everyone's questions.
"Each of us has so little land. It's not enough to just grow rice and rapeseed to support our families."
Some nodded and some shook their heads.
"We farm, and every year we get a crop of rice and a crop of rapeseed. We have rice and oil. But how much can trees grow in a year? Isn't that going to starve us to death?"
Someone else nodded.
"Nowadays, the young people in the family either learn a craft or find a job. They don't necessarily need to work on the farm."
"Yes, yes." Someone echoed.
Dahua took what they said into consideration. He listened to everyone's questions while adding water to their thermos.
“The county has taken all these issues into consideration, so they only ask everyone to set aside some land for tree planting, rather than planting all the land with trees. This way, we can have both food and trees.
Indeed, young people nowadays no longer rely on this piece of land to make money, they all have jobs outside.
That’s why we need to plant trees even more!”
"How do you say that?"
"Uncle, look, for example, this camphor tree. If you spend some time planting it, it will be easy to take care of it later. Just water it and prune its branches and leaves from time to time.
Unlike us who grow rice and rapeseed, we can’t do any work outside during the busy farming season!”
Dahua talked about the taste, paused and drank a sip of water slowly, and looked at everyone in between drinks, and their faces were all different colors.
This is natural. Rural people have been farming for generations, and it is really difficult to suddenly ask them to farm something else.
Uncle Xu finished his cigarette, took a sip of tea, and said:
"What Dahua said makes sense. When we old guys can't work anymore, are we still going to expect the young people to plant rice and harvest it?
This year, even during the busy farming season, I took a special leave from the factory for National Day!"
Everyone nodded.
"Why don't we give it a try and plant some trees? Let's plant them well and provide shade for our descendants!"
Someone else said, "You can also plant fruit trees, such as oranges, peaches, loquats, and bayberries. Plant them once a year, and after a few years they will bear fruit every year, and you can have a harvest every year!"
"Flower trees are also good, but they are said to be very expensive!"
Now the conversation started and everyone was talking non-stop. The atmosphere was lively and people were able to talk more.
At this time, someone asked, "Fruit trees can bear fruit, and flower trees can be admired, but what can this camphor tree be used for? Do people in the city use it to make cabinets like we do?"
Dahua nodded repeatedly and said, "That's right, people also use it to hit cabinets and other things.
Camphor trees are a treasure! The roads in the city are different from ours. They are paved with planks and lined with trees on both sides. What kind of trees are planted? Camphor trees.
So we don’t have to worry about planting trees and having no one to harvest them!
Besides, people don’t have to buy them until they’re fully grown trees. They can grow at any stage of growth. Even seedlings that are only a year old are being bought. Isn’t that the harvest?”
Uncle Xu's frown was now open. He patted Dahua and said admiringly, "Dahua has really changed. Before, you couldn't even make him fart even after three sticks hit you. Look at him now!"
Dahua scratched his head and felt a little embarrassed. These people had been to the city to learn how to plant trees, and he had heard a lot from them, so they were different.
As the saying goes, reading thousands of books is like traveling thousands of miles!
Only by reading or traveling can people grow.
After some discussion, everyone still had concerns, and only a few families were willing to give it a try.
Dahua wasn't worried; this was something he had anticipated. It was said that another county had also encountered numerous difficulties in encouraging villagers to plant fruit trees, so everyone was prepared.
Uncle Xu was the first to agree. He and Dahua went home together. It was very cold at night, so he rubbed his neck.
"The dew was heavy at night."
"Yes, uncle, are you cold?"
"It's not cold, your aunt told me to wear something warm when she went out.
You young people are really good and smart. Look, which young person in the village is still farming at home?
What will happen to this land after we pass away?
Hello, Dahua, researching tree planting can protect the land and also produce a harvest. This is a solution for uncle!"
"Uncle, thank you for supporting my work!"
"Why thank you? You are helping us. Those old guys haven't figured it out yet. When they figure it out, they will come to you to learn how to plant trees. Haha!
I've thought it through. I'll leave enough land for the whole family to eat, and plant camphor trees in the rest. I'll plant fruit trees in the little plot of land by the door, and a few flower trees in the yard. They say these flower trees are very expensive."
"Uncle, flowering trees are expensive, but it all depends on their age. Look at the sweet-scented osmanthus tree in my yard. It's been five years old and has been in my yard for another two years. Even if someone wants it, it won't fetch a high price.
But planting trees has long-term benefits, benefiting future generations."
After a while, they arrived at the door. Uncle Xu patted Dahua and prepared to go in. Finally, he sighed: "Young people are great..."
When I got home, Xiaojuan was still awake, but she was dozing off on the dressing table with her forehead propped up.
Dahua gently put his arm around her shoulders and asked, "Why aren't you sleeping yet?"
Zhao Xiaojuan leaned in his arms with sleepy eyes and said, "I can't sleep if you don't come back."
"Why can't you sleep? Look, you're already dozing off."
Dahua gently lifted her up and carried her sideways. Xiaojuan smiled shyly and asked, "How was your discussion? Did it go smoothly?"
"It wasn't very smooth, but it met our expectations. Planting trees is really not easy. It's a huge project. It's not like growing crops, which only crop once a year. Growing a tree is like raising a person."
Xiaojuan lay down, her eyes unable to open. She said in a daze, "Yes, there's no rush. Let's plant the seeds ourselves first."
This reminded Dahua that now that his father and Xiaojuan were both working and the county was subsidizing their wages, he could do some trading in saplings.
He can grow the seedlings first, and then when people want to plant trees later they can get the seedlings directly from him.
Thinking about this, Dahua felt drowsy and hoped that he would have a good dream tonight.
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