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By the time Feng Cheng returned from outside, it was already two or three in the afternoon.

No fools dared to pull out any inferior seedlings on their own, so it didn't attract his attention.

He was always carrying water and irrigating like a little bee; perhaps it was the labor that made him feel fulfilled.

Hungry, Feng Cheng went to the canteen first, and Old Wei saved some food for him...

Two steamed buns and a bowl of cabbage soup.

Feng Cheng squatted by the door and ate very quickly, as if he were starving.

At this moment, Su Ning walked over and said, "Comrade Feng Cheng, let's have a meeting after dinner. I have something to tell you."

Feng Cheng looked up, his face bearing traces of wind and sand. "What is it, Director Su?"

"About your nursery."

Feng Cheng was taken aback and put down his bowl: "What happened to the nursery?"

"I'll tell you later, you eat first."

……

The cafeteria served as a makeshift office, where eight students and Zhao Tianshan were all present, as were the members of the advance team.

Su Ning brought Feng Cheng in and introduced him to everyone: "This is Comrade Feng Cheng, a member of the advance team. He stayed in Saihanba alone for three years, and he ran the nursery all by himself."

Feng Cheng was a little reserved. "Hello everyone, my name is Feng Cheng."

Su Ning continued, "Today during the day, Comrade Qin Xuemei inspected your nursery and thought that some of the seedlings were substandard and should be removed and replanted. I didn't let her do it then, saying that we would discuss it when you returned."

Feng Cheng looked at Qin Xuemei, "Second-grade seedlings?"

Qin Xuemei stood up and said very seriously, “Comrade Feng Cheng, I graduated from the Forestry College with a major in seedling cultivation. From a professional point of view, about one-third of the seedlings in your nursery have underdeveloped root systems, yellow leaves, and poor growth. According to seedling standards, these are substandard seedlings. Keeping them will affect the growth of other seedlings. They should be removed and replanted in a different bed.”

Feng Cheng's expression changed. "Pull them up? Those seedlings... I've been planting those seedlings for three years!"

“I know you’ve put in a lot of effort,” Qin Xuemei said sincerely. “But scientific seedling cultivation is about survival of the fittest. Inferior seedlings not only don’t grow well themselves, but they also compete with good seedlings for nutrients and sunlight. Removing them is to allow the good seedlings to grow even better.”

“But…but in Saihanba, it’s not easy to even survive.” Feng Cheng’s voice trembled slightly. “Those seedlings may grow slowly, but at least they’re alive. Pulling them up…it’s such a waste.”

“Pulling them out isn’t about throwing them away; it’s about replanting them,” Qin Xuemei explained. “Giving them a new place and careful nurturing might help them recover. But if you leave them in the same spot, they’ll only get worse.”

The two began to argue, taking turns pointing out points.

Feng Cheng shared his practical experience and discussed the unique conditions of Saihanba; Qin Xuemei shared her theoretical knowledge and discussed the scientific standards for seedling cultivation.

But it was clear that Feng Cheng couldn't win against Qin Xuemei.

Qin Xuemei quoted extensively from classical texts, presenting data, cases, and theories one after another, while Feng Cheng could only repeatedly say, "But in Saihanba, those seedlings survived for three years."

In the end, Feng Cheng was defeated.

He lowered his head and said, "Then... then let's do it your way! Unplug it if you want, change the bed if you want."

Qin Xuemei breathed a sigh of relief: "Comrade Feng Cheng, don't worry, we will be careful and try our best not to damage the seedling's root system."

Just then, Su Ning, who had been silent all along, spoke up.

He picked up a notebook from the table. "I've written down everyone's discussion. Comrade Feng Cheng's opinion, Comrade Qin Xuemei's opinion, and the comments from Comrades Wu Yansheng and Sui Zhichao are all here."

Everyone was stunned.

Su Ning pushed the notebook to the center of the table: "Come on, everyone take a look and make sure you remember your words correctly. Once you're sure, sign below."

"Signature?" Wu Yansheng exclaimed. "Deputy Director Su, what... what does this mean?"

"It means you have to be responsible for your words." Su Ning looked at him. "Today we discussed the issue of transplanting seedlings into new beds, which is a technical decision. Since it's a decision, there must be records and signatures. After the results are released, whether good or bad, we can trace it back to today's discussion and know who made the suggestion and who made the decision."

"What?" The eight students were immediately dumbfounded.

Then Su Ning turned to Zhao Tianshan beside him and said, "Captain Zhao, from now on, all important discussions in the camp must be conducted in this manner. Meeting minutes must be created and signed by relevant personnel. We can't just make empty promises; what we say must be acknowledged, and what we do must be taken responsibility for."

Zhao Tianshan nodded. "Understood, Director Su."

Su Ning then looked at the eight students: "You think I'm targeting you? That's right, I am targeting you, targeting those of you who, as soon as you arrive, try to point fingers, disrespect senior comrades, and make random suggestions without considering the actual situation."

"If these seedlings grow better after being pulled up and moved to a new bed, the credit will go to Comrade Qin Xuemei. If they die, the responsibility will also be hers. Of course, Comrade Feng Cheng also bears responsibility for agreeing to pull up the seedlings. Everyone must be responsible for their words and actions, and don't try to get away with it."

There was silence in the conference room.

The students looked at each other, feeling uncomfortable.

They never expected that pulling up a few seedlings would require signing a document and having it recorded in their files.
This...this is way too serious!

Qin Xuemei was the first to stand up, walk to the table, and carefully read the records.

After confirming that everything was correct, she picked up a pen and neatly signed her name below.

"I'll sign," Qin Xuemei said firmly. "I believe my judgment is correct."

With her taking the lead, others indeed had no choice but to sign.

Wu Yansheng walked over hesitantly, muttering under his breath, "Is it really necessary..."

But I signed it anyway.

Sui Zhichao, Na Da Kui, Meng Yue, Ji Xiurong, Shen Mengyin, and Yan Xiangli all signed.

Feng Cheng also signed, his hand trembling slightly.

Finally, Su Ning signed his name and closed the notebook: "Okay, record and archive. Starting tomorrow, proceed as discussed today: remove the inferior seedlings and replant them in different beds. Comrade Qin Xuemei will be in charge of technical guidance, with Comrade Feng Cheng assisting. Everyone else, go about your business."

After the meeting, the students walked out with their heads down.

Wu Yansheng caught up with Qin Xuemei: "Xuemei, aren't you afraid... what if those seedlings die?"

"What's there to be afraid of?" Qin Xuemei said. "Science is science. I trust my judgment."

"But……"

“No buts.” Qin Xuemei interrupted him. “Director Su is right. We must be responsible for our words. I dare to make suggestions, and I dare to take responsibility.”

She left, leaving Wu Yansheng standing there, his heart filled with unease.

……

Su Ning handed the notebook to Zhao Tianshan: "Keep this safe. Take all meeting minutes like this from now on."

"Yes." Zhao Tianshan took the notebook, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Director Su, won't this... dampen the students' enthusiasm?"

“Enthusiasm must be protected, but rules must also be established,” Su Ning said. “Saihanba is not a school, but a battlefield. Here, every decision can affect success or failure. We cannot let them act recklessly based on feelings or books. With records and signatures, they will be more cautious and truly consider issues in light of reality.”

Zhao Tianshan understood. "You're right. These students have knowledge, but what they lack is this sense of caution."

“Hmm.” Su Ning looked out the window; night had already fallen. “The real test begins tomorrow. Pulling up seedlings and changing beds is just a small matter; there are many more difficult things to come, such as planting trees, creating forests, and fighting sandstorms. If we establish the rules now, we can avoid detours later.”

"Understood, I will cooperate with your work."

Zhao Tianshan is gone.

Suning stood alone in the conference room, looking at the slogans posted on the wall...

"Work hard to green our motherland."

……

After the nursery incident during the day, Feng Cheng felt uneasy.

As evening approached, he approached Zhao Tianshan: "Captain Zhao, I think... we need to set some rules for these college students."

Zhao Tianshan was cleaning his gun when he looked up at him and asked, "What are the rules?"

“Safety rules,” Feng Cheng said seriously. “The dam area is not like the city. There are wolves at night and all sorts of dangers here. These students are new here and don’t know any better. It’s easy for something to happen.”

"You're right," Zhao Tianshan nodded. "So, what exactly do we do?"

“First, the dorm rooms can’t be two people per room, they have to be four people per room,” Feng Cheng said. “More people means they can look out for each other. Second, going out at night is strictly prohibited, especially for female students. I… I made a few toilets for them and put them in their rooms so they can use them at night.”

When the topic of toilets came up, Zhao Tianshan was a little embarrassed: "Is...is this appropriate?"

“What’s inappropriate about it? Safety first,” Feng Cheng said. “In winter, the temperature in Bashang drops to minus forty degrees Celsius, and the north wind is like a knife. If you don’t get used to it beforehand, and you still go out to use the toilet in winter, you might slip and freeze to death, and no one will even know.”

Zhao Tianshan thought for a moment and said, "Okay, I'll go report to Director Su."

After listening to Zhao Tianshan's report, Su Ning thought for a moment and said, "Comrade Feng Cheng has been in Bashang for three years and has experience. His suggestion should be taken seriously. Let's do as he says. Adjust the dormitories to four people per room and strictly prohibit going out at night. As for the female comrades, prepare the toilets and explain the reasons clearly."

"But... will those students be able to accept it?" Zhao Tianshan worried. "Especially the toilet thing, female students are shy and might be embarrassed."

"It's better to feel bad than to have something go wrong," Su Ning said. "Let's decide on this for now, and adjust it if there are any problems."

"yes." ……

Zhao Tianshan then announced the new regulations.

Sure enough, the students were in an uproar.

"Four people in one room? That's too cramped!" Wu Yansheng was the first to jump up. "Two people in one room is already too small, let alone four? Captain Zhao, this doesn't make sense!"

Zhao Tianshan said sternly, "The conditions on the dam are like this. If you want to be picky, go back to the city. Here, safety comes first."

"Then you're not allowed to go out at night?" Qin Xuemei asked. "What about going to the toilet?"

"Comrade Feng Cheng made you a toilet, and it's placed inside the house," Zhao Tianshan said bluntly. "Use that at night, and don't go out."

"A toilet?!" The female students blushed.

Shen Mengyin almost burst into tears: "This...this is too..."

"Too much?" Zhao Tianshan looked at her. "There are wolves on the dam. It's not safe to go out at night. When winter comes, it'll be minus forty degrees Celsius. Would you dare to go out? You'd freeze to death in the toilet and no one would even know!"

That's a strong statement, but it's the truth.

Wu Yansheng was still unconvinced: "Captain Zhao, aren't you exaggerating? We..."

“Comrade Wu Yansheng,” Su Ning suddenly spoke up again, holding a work log in his hand, writing and drawing on it, “You can raise your opinions, but please watch your attitude. Captain Zhao is in charge of the dam area, and his decision is based on safety considerations.”

He looked up at Wu Yansheng and said, "If you're not satisfied, you can write a report and I'll forward it to the Forestry Bureau. But in Bashang, you must obey management. I'll only say this once."

Su Ning's tone was calm, but when Wu Yansheng saw him writing something in the notebook, a chill ran down his spine...

Is this guy holding a grudge about what I said or did again?

Thinking about signing the document during the day, Wu Yansheng chickened out, muttered "I know," and then fell silent.

Seeing that even the most outspoken Wu Yansheng had shut up, the others didn't dare to cause any more trouble.

……

Late at night, the four girls moved in together under the guidance of Qin Xuemei, while the four boys, however, remained unfazed and continued to live in two-person rooms.

Thinking that the boys weren't in much danger, neither Su Ning nor Zhao Tianshan said anything.

Problems soon arose.

The four female students—Qin Xuemei, Meng Yue, Ji Xiurong, and Shen Mengyin—looked at each other in their dormitory.

The wooden toilet in the room was nailed together by Feng Cheng from old wooden planks; it looked very simple.

"This...we really have to use this?" Shen Mengyin blushed.

"What else can we do?" Ji Xiurong said. "The rules don't allow us to go out."

"But...it's so embarrassing," Meng Yue said hesitantly.

Qin Xuemei gritted her teeth: "Rules are rules, use them."

That's what they said, but when it came time to use the toilet, all four of them held it in, and none of them were willing to be the first to use it.

I couldn't hold it in any longer until midnight.

"How about... we sneak out for a bit?" Shen Mengyin whispered. "Just for a little while, we'll be right back."

"But the rules..."

“Rules are rules, but people are flexible,” Shen Mengyin said. “The four of us are together, looking out for each other, so nothing will happen.”

After discussing it, the four of them agreed that it made sense, so they tiptoed out the door.

It was a dark and windy night outside, with the chirping of insects coming from the grass.

The four of them found a patch of grass and had just squatted down when they heard a "whooshing" sound coming from not far away.

"What was that sound?" Meng Yue asked nervously.

No sooner had the words left his mouth than several pairs of bright green eyes appeared in the bushes—wolves!
"Ah—!" Shen Mengyin screamed.

The four people were so frightened that they ran away as fast as they could.

The wolf pack was chasing them, getting closer and closer.

Just when things were at their most critical, a gunshot rang out!
Zhao Tianshan charged forward with his gun raised, firing several more shots, scaring the wolf pack away.

"Are you out of your minds?!" Zhao Tianshan roared. "Who gave you permission to come out?!"

The four female students were still in shock, huddled together and trembling.

……

Back at the camp, Feng Cheng got up and, seeing them, turned pale with anger: "You... why didn't you follow the rules?!"

Qin Xuemei was still in shock, her voice trembling with tears: "We...we're too embarrassed to use the toilet..."

"Sorry?" Feng Cheng trembled with anger. "Sorry is more important than life itself?! Don't you know there are wolves in the dam?!"

Wu Yansheng and the others also got up. Seeing this, instead of reflecting on their actions, they started to jeer: "Feng Cheng, how dare you say that? If you hadn't refused to build the toilet, would they have run away?"

"Exactly! What are you up to? Are you deliberately trying to make fun of the female classmates?"

Looking at the chattering college students, Feng Cheng felt both angry and chilled.

He took a deep breath, his voice trembling with excitement: "Fine, if you want an explanation, I will."

"In winter, the temperature in Bashang drops to minus forty degrees Celsius, and the north wind blows like knives. The toilets are at least a hundred meters from the dormitories, and the roads are all icy. If you develop the habit of going out to use the toilet at night, what will you do in winter? If you fall and can't get up, no one will hear you when you shout for help. By the next day, you'll be found as a frozen corpse!"

He pointed outside the door again: "You think I'm scaring you? I've been in Bashang for three years and seen it more than once! Wild rabbits freeze to death by their burrows, pheasants freeze stiff in the snow. People are the same!"

These words were like a bucket of cold water poured over everyone's head.

Qin Xuemei and the others finally came to their senses and realized that they had almost lost their lives because they were "too embarrassed".

"Comrade Feng Cheng, I'm sorry..." Qin Xuemei lowered her head, "We were wrong."

The other three female students also apologized.

Wu Yansheng wanted to say something, but when he saw Su Ning walking over with the work log, he quickly shut up.

Su Ning stood in front of everyone and opened the logbook: "Today is your first day on the dam. All the shortcomings of the eight students have been exposed."

He looked at Qin Xuemei: "Comrade Qin Xuemei, you are very proactive and your thinking is sound, but you have overlooked the harsh objective conditions of Saihanba. You always try to apply book knowledge and urban experience to the situation here, which results in good intentions leading to bad outcomes. I hope that in the days to come, you can calm down, delve into reality, and avoid any empiricism or dogmatism."

Qin Xuemei nodded, blushing, "I understand, Director Su."

Su Ning then looked at the others: "Sui Zhichao, Na Da Kui, Meng Yue, Ji Xiurong, Shen Mengyin, Yan Xiangli, your problems aren't serious, it's mainly just the adjustment period. But remember, on the dam, safety is always the top priority. Any violation of safety regulations could cost you your life."

"Yes, Director Su."

Finally, Su Ning looked at Wu Yansheng with a cold gaze: "Comrade Wu Yansheng, your situation is the worst. From the moment you arrived at the dam until now, you've been stirring up trouble, spouting nonsense, and making empty promises, always eager to create chaos. Today at the nursery, you fanned the flames; just now at the meeting, you argued with the leaders; now that something has happened, not only do you not reflect on your actions, but you're also leading the charge in framing Comrade Feng Cheng."

Wu Yansheng turned pale and tried to explain, but Su Ning didn't give him the chance.

“I have recorded all your words and actions.” Su Ning held up his work log. “If you do not repent and continue like this, I will formally report you to the Forestry Bureau and organize a discussion on your case. Once it is recorded in your file, you will be held accountable for all your actions.”

Wu Yansheng's legs went weak: "Deputy Director Su, I...I was wrong, I will definitely change..."

“I’m listening to you.” Su Ning closed the logbook. “Captain Zhao.”

"Here!" Zhao Tian stood at attention.

"Starting tomorrow, the advance team and the eight college students will be placed under military-style management," Su Ning said seriously. "You are a former soldier, so show some military discipline. Anyone who disobeys orders or orders will be dealt with severely. I will take responsibility if anything goes wrong."

"Yes!" Zhao Tianshan's voice was loud and clear.

Su Ning scanned everyone: "I'll say it one last time, Saihanba is not a school, it's a battlefield. Here, discipline is the lifeline. Anyone who violates the discipline is playing with their own life and the lives of others."

"Meeting dismissed."

The students lowered their heads and left silently.

They may never forget the lesson they learned tonight.

Suning knew that this was just the beginning.

On the land of Saihanba, even more challenges await these young people.

As the deputy director of logistics for the entire Weichang Forestry Bureau, I couldn't stay in Saihanba forever, so I had to return to the Forestry Bureau tomorrow.

...(End of chapter)