On the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth lunar month, Sheng Xiping and Zhou Qinglan got engaged.
The Sheng family prepared a very generous engagement gift, and the Zhou family also gave many gifts in return.
Both sides respected each other, and the marriage of the two young people was settled in an amicable manner.
Afterwards, Wang Chunxiu asked Zhou Mingyuan and Li Yuqin to stay in the house to chat with the Sheng couple, while she led her daughter to the kitchen to cook.
Wang Chunxiu also put a lot of thought into this engagement banquet.
At any rate, the Chinese New Year is approaching, and stores have appropriately relaxed their quotas on various non-staple foods, and hospitals and machine repair shops have also given out New Year benefits.
In addition to the things Zhou Qinglan brought back before, Wang Chunxiu prepared eight dishes and one soup.
There is a saying in this era, "Four dishes and one soup, cadres go to the countryside."
The standard for cadres going to the countryside is only four dishes and one soup. Eight dishes and one soup means that the standards are quite high.
Wang Chunxiu's cooking is really average. Fortunately, many dishes have been prepared in advance. Now you only need to stir-fry or add some mushroom vermicelli and the like to stew.
Zhou Qinglan's cooking skills are better than Wang Chunxiu's.
In the end, he became the chef Zhou Qinglan, and Wang Chunxiu served as his assistant.
In the outhouse kitchen, the two women were busy cooking and frying.
In the east room, Zhou Mingyuan chatted with Sheng Liancheng's family and Li Yuqin.
As they talked, they started talking about Zhou Mingyuan's overseas inspection.
"In-laws, when you go abroad for inspection, what do you inspect?
So, are forestry workers abroad doing the same as we do here?
I always hear people say that some developed countries abroad are advanced in everything they do, but what are their advanced methods? Can you tell me?"
As a veteran forestry worker, Sheng Liancheng witnessed the arduous journey of Songjianghe Forestry Bureau from scratch.
Recalling the hardships that forestry workers suffered in those days, Sheng Liancheng couldn't help but wonder, how do people work abroad?
Hearing Sheng Liancheng's question, Zhou Mingyuan couldn't help but sigh.
"Brother, if we don't go out and see other people, we really don't know how far behind we are."
"Brother, you have been in the forestry system for so many years. You should know that there are many types of logging in our forest areas.
Clear cutting, main cutting, selective cutting, thinning, restricted cutting, and prohibited cutting.
But now, most of us are still clear-cutting.
When we decide which area to cut down, we just cut down all the trees, regardless of tree type or size, just like pushing the hair of the tree."
“One of the reasons for this is that we urgently need a large amount of wood for construction.
The other is that our technical equipment, funds, and logging technology are all very different from others." Zhou Mingyuan shook his head as he spoke.
"I used to feel that the gap between us and others was quite big, but this time I went out and realized that it was not just a small gap, but a huge gap.
In countries with advanced forestry, a group of three people is equipped with a helicopter.
According to the marks on the drawing, drive up into the sky and head straight for the tree you want to cut down.
Use a hanging basket to place the two workers on the treetop, lower the wire rope and tighten the trunk to hang it.
Then they put the two people on the ground and used an advanced spiral forking machine to rotate the big branch from the root to the top of the tree a few times to become a smooth single branch.
The two operators finally cut the tree down along the ground, and the aircraft tightened the steel rope and lifted the wood straight to the wood storage yard."
Zhou Mingyuan couldn't help but feel sad when he recalled what he saw during their inspection.
"We have a work team of about 20 people. We are exhausted every day, dirty and miserable.
The annual production of wood is 10,000 to 20,000 cubic meters, which can only be achieved with mechanization.
With purely manual operations like Xiping's, they can cut down 10,000 cubic meters in one winter, which is a very high output.
How much output is average per person?"
"For those foreign forestry workers, a three-person working group can produce more than 5,000 cubic meters a year, and one person can complete more than 1,500 cubic meters.
This is the gap, a huge gap."
The more Zhou Mingyuan talked, the more emotional he became, and the more he felt helpless against reality.
With such a huge gap, how long will it take to catch up? When their technology catches up, how many trees will be left for future generations?
Sheng Lian Chengdu was dumbfounded. He didn't even dare to think about what Zhou Mingyuan said.
A team of three people can produce 5,000 cubic meters per year, with an average output of 1,500 to 6,000 cubic meters per person.
How much labor will be saved? How much money do workers earn per year?
"Brother, when do you think we can have such technology? At our age, can we still wait?"
Sheng Liancheng looked at Zhou Mingyuan expectantly.
As an old forestry person, he really wants to see that one day in the future, their forestry bureau can also use this method.
Sheng Xiping on the side couldn't help but sigh after hearing this.
Not to mention Sheng Liancheng, not even Sheng Xiping could wait for such technology.
What they are waiting for is the lack of forestry resources and the transformation and disintegration of the Forestry Bureau.
"Dad, don't think about these things. All we can do is obey the orders of our superiors and do whatever our superiors tell us to do."
Sheng Xiping spoke in time, stopping Sheng Liancheng and Zhou Mingyuan from continuing the discussion.
This is simply an impossible wish, and there is no point in discussing it further.
Furthermore, in the current environment, many things cannot be said casually.
Fortunately, this is the Zhou family, and there are no outsiders today.
Otherwise, once word gets out and people misinterpret it, it will be of no benefit to Zhou Mingyuan or Sheng Liancheng.
After being reminded like this by Sheng Xiping, Zhou Mingyuan and Sheng Liancheng also sighed deeply.
"Yes, let's not mention this, it's not something we can worry about.
In-laws, let's discuss when the two children will get married?" Sheng Liancheng immediately changed the subject.
"Xiping's work team almost completed the logging task years ago.
After the new year, it will be just a matter of transporting it down the mountain, returning it to Leng, and cleaning up the site. It will probably only take a month.
I was thinking, why not choose a similar date at the end of March or the beginning of April to get the wedding of the two children?"
Sheng Liancheng and Zhang Shuzhen have been thinking about this matter for a long time.
Qianchuan Forest Farm is close to the main peak of Changbai Mountain and has a late solar term.
In late March and early April, the temperature is slightly higher during the day and freezing at night, so it is neither too cold nor too hot.
Meat can still be stored in the shade, and it won't be too cold to be unbearable during the day. It's a good time to hold a banquet.
It just so happened that winter mining and transportation had basically ended at that time, afforestation had not yet begun, and the agricultural team had not yet planted the land.
It's a free period, so you can prepare for the wedding.
Zhou Mingyuan is also from the forestry system. How could he have imagined this?
"My in-laws think the same thing as I do, and I also think this is a good time.
That’s it, let’s prepare according to this time period first, look back at Xiping’s team’s progress after the year, and then set a specific date.”
Sheng Liancheng and Zhou Mingyuan agreed, and the two fathers made a decision.
In late March or early April next year, find a suitable time to hold a wedding for Sheng Xiping and Zhou Qinglan.