Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Maybe Wang Jianli really wanted to help him. He called a meeting in the Village Committee in the afternoon to discuss this matter.
The majority parts of those lands belonged to nobody. In the past few years, Wang Yao had gained himself a good reputation. Therefore, no one in the committee was against the proposal.
Wang Jianli visited Wang Yao in his home that night.
âHello, Jianli, please come in,â Zhang Xiuying said.
âEvening, Uncle Jianli,â Wang Yao said.
âYour proposal has been passed by the committee. Come to the office to complete the paperwork tomorrow,â Wang Jianli said.
âThank you very much,â Wang Yao said.
He didnât expect any big barriers for his proposal, but he was still surprised that the matter was settled so fast.
âIt would be a waste to leave those lands empty anyway. By the way, what are you going to do with them?â Wang Jianli asked.
âI want to plant some trees there to improve the environment,â Wang Yao said.
âReally?â Wang Jianli asked with surprise.
âYeah, I just want to plant some trees,â Wang Yao said.
âFair enough,â Wang Jianli said with a smile as he shook his hand.
He didnât really get why Wang Yao, such a capable young man, was willing to stay in this small village. He was different to most people of his age, and he was a really nice person. It didnât cost much for the villagers to see him in the clinic. Some of the villagers didnât even have to pay at all to get cured. So, Wang Jianli thought Wang Yao was worth his help.
Wang Jianli went home after chatting and smoking with Wang Yaoâs family and smoking.
Wang Yao left home soon after Wang Jianliâs departure.
âSan Xian, that piece of land at the foot of the hill will be ours, too,â Wang Yao said as he pointed at the land.
Woof! Woof! San Xian was barking happily as if he understood what Wang Yao said.
âYouâll have more space in the future,â Wang Yao said.
Should I get more help since the piece of land is so big?
Wang Yao thought he should have more animal friends to look after his land and hill.
âMaybe I should have a few more dogs?â Wang Yao asked.
Woof! Woof!
âWhat? You donât want company?â Wang Yao asked.
Woof! Woof!
âYou want to stay single? Alright, fair enough,â Wang Yao said with a smile as he patted San Xian.
The next morning, Wang Yao went to the Village Committee to complete the paperwork. In the afternoon, he didnât return to his clinic because Li Shiyu came with a big truck of trees.
âDr. Wang, how many more do you need?â Li Shiyu asked.
âI need a lot,â Wang Yao said. âSee? That big piece of land will belong to me.â Wang Yao pointed at a U-shaped piece of land at the foot of Nanshan hill.
There was a small reservoir near Nanshan Hill that had been contracted by one of Wang Jianliâs brothers. Wang Jianli mentioned the previous night that the reservoir would also belong to Wang Yao after the contract ended in a month.
âDo you want to plant trees in majority of the land?â Li Shiyu asked.
âYes,â Wang Yao said.
He had a plan. He was going to divide the piece of land into blocks and plant different trees in different blocks. He was going to plant apple trees, pear trees, and cherry trees. Once the fruits were ripe, he could offer them to his friends and family.
âDo you want me to offer all the trees?â Li Shiyu asked.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
âYes,â Wang Yao said âIs there a problem?â
âOf course not. Iâll offer you the best trees with the most reasonable prices,â Li Shiyu said as he patted on his chest.
Wang Yao would need a large amount of trees for such a big piece of land. This was a great business opportunity for Li Shiyu.
He thought it was pleasant to do business with Wang Yao, who always made payment straight away. Of course, that was partly because the trees provided by Li Shiyu were of high quality.
âThese trees are all I need for now,â Wang Yao said. âIn the near future, here and over there will belong to me. Iâve contracted all the hills nearby.â He pointed to the hills on the east and west sides.
âAre you going to plant trees all over those places?â Li Shiyu asked.
âIâm going to plant trees at majority of the places,â Wang Yao said.
He planned to have trees and herbs in those areas.
âGood! Good!â Li Shiyu looked at those vacant lands as if he was looking at a big amount of cash waving at him. âThatâs great!â
âWell, shall we take the trees off the truck?â Wang Yao suggested.
âSure.â Li Shiyu asked his co-workers to take the trees off the truck.
At the same time, Wang Yao transferred payment to Li Shiyuâs bank account through his mobile phone.
âI have to go now,â Li Shiyu said.
âThatâs fine, see you later,â Wang Yao said.
The trees were of different sizes, all meeting Wang Yaoâs requirements.
âLetâs start to work, San Xian,â he said.
Wang Yao had divided the area into different blocks and ordered two types of trees this time, white birches and elms. He was going to build a wall with the trees, a big wall of trees to almost block the entrance of Nanshan Hill. He only wanted to leave a narrow path leading to the hill.
There had been some trees around that area, most of which were old hawthorn trees. Some of them were even older than Wang Yao. He was not going to touch those old trees. He would let them continue to grow. He was going to plant new trees in vacant areas only.
As the piece of land was U-shaped, a large amount of trees would be required. The distance from east to west was nearly 1,640 feet. It would take thousands of trees to block that area.
Wang Yao also wanted to block the entrance of Dongshan Hill and Xishan Hill. However, he was in no hurry.
He planted dozens of trees in the afternoon at the foot of Nanshan Hill. He dug a small creek to attract the water from reservoir to the trees he had just planted.
A small piece of green appeared on the U-shaped land.
I shouldnât interfere with that piece of cultivated land. Wang Yao looked north as he was standing on a tree. The land he was looking at was the most level piece of land in the village. There was a small river running in the middle. That piece of land was the most suitable for growing wheat and corns.
But, the other areas will be wasted.
Woof! Woof! San Xian suddenly barked as he saw two people walking on the footpath in the distance.
âHow are you feeling? Tired?â one of them asked.
âNo, Iâm fine, Bro,â the other one said.
The two people were Zhong Xiuchuan and Zhong Anxin. They had a walk after evening dinner and came toward Nanshan Hill.
Wang Yao jumped off the tree, which was several feet tall.
âHmm?â Zhong Liuchuan heard the noise Wang Yao made and looked up. However, he only saw trees.
âSan Xian, go back to the herbal field now,â Wang Yao said.
San Xian ran off immediately.
âWow, brother, what is that?â Zhong Anxin asked.
She saw an animal as big as a small lion in distance running up the hill rapidly.
âI think itâs a dog,â Zhong Liuchuan said.
âWow, itâs huge!â Zhong Anxin was amazed.
âYeah, it is huge,â Zhong Xiuchuan said. Although they were still far from Nanshan Hill, he could tell San Xian was a very big dog.
Soon, they saw Wang Yao appear on the path.
âHello, Dr. Wang,â Zhong Liuchuan said.
âHello, having a walk?â Wang Yao asked.
âYes. We just finished dinner and wanted a bit of exercise,â Zhong Liuchuan said.
âYou look well. How are you feeling?â Wang Yao asked Zhong Anxin.
âMuch better. I donât feel any pain in my belly, and I feel stronger,â Zhong Anxin replied.
She had two treatment sessions in the past few days. The unhealthy yellowish color on her face had almost disappeared. The color of her eyes had also returned to normal. She looked much better.
âGood, you guys take your time. I have to go now,â Wang Yao said.
âOK, see you later,â Zhong Liuchuan said.
Wang Yao went home alone.
âHmm? Auntie and Uncle are here?â He found visitors in his house.
âYes, weâve been waiting for you,â Zhang Xiuying said.
It just occurred to Wang Yao when he was having dinner that his cousin, his youngest auntâs son, was about to take the university entry exam. This cousin was doing very well at school. He was among the top 20 students in his year.
âWhich university is Zhen Fang applying?â Wang Yao asked.
âNot sure. It depends on the results of the university entry exam,â Wang Yaoâs youngest aunt said.
âZhen Fang is a good student. Heâll be fine,â Wang Yao said.
His aunt and her husband didnât stay long after dinner. They just chatted with Zhang Xiuying for a short while. Wang Yao gave them quite a bit of food before they left.
âYou donât need to give us all this,â Wang Yaoâs aunt said.
âWe donât need so much food. We wonât be able to eat all of it. Take it with you.â Zhang Xiuying placed all the food inside the trunk of the car.
âYour auntieâs husband has been having some problems at work,â Zhang Xiuying said after her sister had left.
âWhat happened?â Wang Yao asked.
âYou know your auntieâs husband is a very quiet person,â Zhang Xiuying said. âThe management recently changed in his workplace. All the new managers are much younger. He has been transferred back to the front line.â
âHe doesnât want to work at the front line?â Wang Yao asked.
âNo, working at the back is less busy,â Zhang Xiuying said.
âI see. Mom, ask auntie if her husband really wants to go back to his previous role. I might be able to help him,â Wang Yao said.
âYou know any of the managers there?â Zhang Xiuying asked.
âNot really, but one of my friends knows someone there,â Wang Yao said.
He had gotten to know quite a few people lately. However, he wouldnât ask for help from one of his patients.
âOK, Iâm ringing your auntie now,â Zhang Xiuying said.
Wang Yao waited at home instead of leaving for Nanshan Hill.
âHe said he prefers his previous role,â Zhang Xiuying said after hanging up.
âOK, I see,â Wang Yao said.
He left home for Nanshan Hill after confirming the information with his mother.
It was very windy that night.
Wang Yao took out a piece of paper and placed it on the table in his cottage. He had made adjustments to the draft. He had been working on the arrangement of the U-shaped land for days.