Chapter 242 Changes in the Desert
"Laohukou" was once the largest sandstorm outlet on the western line of Minqin Oasis.

When the wind blows, the wind roars and quicksand rages, and the people nearby feel like they are trying to survive in a tiger's mouth, hence the name.

Today, the once barren land has been turned into a forest of Haloxylon ammodendron, and the sea of ​​sand has been dyed green, just like a "green Great Wall", stubbornly blocking the erosion by wind and sand.

Dozens of miles further ahead, in a barren land, a dead branch that cannot be called a tree stands, and new buds sprout on one side of the dead branch, like the most tenacious green elf.

This is the deepest part of the desert where agriculture, animal husbandry and sand control are carried out.

Last winter, Shahai Agriculture and Animal Husbandry completed the sand compaction project for the more than 14 acres of desert it had contracted.

Starting from March, a new round of tree planting tasks was launched.

When Guo Yang arrived, the scene was still bustling with activity.

The workers were divided into groups of two. One person held a water gun and punched out micro holes for planting in the sand, while the other quickly followed up and planted the saplings. A sapling could be planted in 10 seconds.

Rows of sand barriers and saplings work together to lock down the yellow sand, complementing the edge forest belt on the edge of the Tengger Desert.

Lu Hanbin's complexion seemed to have darkened, his eyes were sharp and bright, and he smiled, "It's almost done, it's almost done. In a few days, the mission will be completed."

The employees seemed to be responding to Lu Hanbin and were planting trees faster and faster.

Guo Yang patted his shoulder and said, "Now that we have finished planting here, do we still need to contract the desert?"

"Hey…"

Lu Hanbin smiled and said, "That's different. Now that these hundreds of thousands of acres are completed, it can be considered a phased completion."

The two of them walked in the desert, one step deep and one step shallow, going deep into the edge of the desert, and looking into the heart of the desert in the distance, there were rolling sand dunes.

Guo Yang asked: "Has the new desert location been determined? Jiahe and Xinjiang Province have also established cooperation to jointly study the sand-to-soil project."

Lu Hanbin asked doubtfully, "Are you going to Xinjiang Province?"

Guo Yang shook his head and said, "Let's stay in Minqin. The battle line is too long and it is not conducive to the management of the sand sea."

More than 95% of Minqin’s territory is desert and desertified land, and the area of ​​the Badain Jaran and Tengger deserts in Minqin exceeds 1200 million mu.

Therefore, it is easy for farmers and herdsmen in the sand sea to find a piece of desert.

Lu Hanbin said, "That would be the best. I have already noticed a piece of desert, on the northwest edge of the Laohukou sand area."

"I have also inquired about the policy. In the 180th Five-Year Plan, there is a good amount of subsidy for sand control, and the subsidy for shrub forest is yuan per mu."

Guo Yang smiled and said, "Just let me know once the location and area are determined. We'll try to sign the contract in the summer, and we can start a new round of sand compaction in the fall."

Guo Yang has discovered that once the desert control is successful, the natural energy accumulation points will increase rapidly.

Guo Yang basically stayed in the desert that day and experienced the daily work of an employee.

At the same time, I also planted a lot of trees myself. It was really tiring, especially because I had to bend over constantly.

They had to stop and rest from time to time, which attracted a lot of ridicule from the women wearing headscarves.

"This is nothing. It was really hard when we were compacting sand. After a day of pressing, my whole body was exhausted."

"It's much better now. We have sand barrier machines and water guns. Apart from planting trees, we don't need to bend down much."

After a busy day, Guo Yang took a look at the rearview mirror of Lu Hanbin's pickup truck and was shocked.

Luo Xiu hurried over and said, "What's wrong, boss?"

"I feel like I'm missing two front teeth." Guo Yang looked at himself in the mirror again and found that his front teeth had turned black.

"Haha..." Guo Yang couldn't help laughing.

Lu Hanbin dipped a rag in water and wiped the windshield. It was the windy and sandy season, and the car windows were covered with a thick layer of dust.

Then he took two bottles of water from the car and handed them to Guo Yang and Luo Xiu, and then said, "It's all the wind. If you don't wear a headscarf, it's easy for dirt to get into your mouth."

Guo Yang took the water, but before he could drink it, he felt his lips turned black as soon as his saliva soaked them.

I had to rinse my mouth with water immediately.

The evening wind was howling between heaven and earth, and my hair was blown into a mess.

"Let's go, let's go."

On the way back, he saw the familiar Haloxylon ammodendron forest again. It was more lush than Guo Yang had expected, and the emerald green leaves emitted an emerald light in the setting sun.

The saxaul trees sway in the evening breeze, swaying out the majesty and magnanimity of their lives. In spring, they weave brocade, and the wind blows away the green waves.

This made Guo Yang very pleased.

This Haloxylon ammodendron forest, and even these tens of thousands of acres of desert, are just a drop in the bucket compared to the tens of millions of acres of desert in Minqin.

But it can improve the ecological environment in a small area, as can be seen from the speed of accumulation of natural energy.

In just a short period of time, he had accumulated more than thirty points of natural energy. As long as Guo Yang wanted, he could cultivate another blue-level variety.

But there is no need for this yet.

Guo Yang did not return to his eldest brother's house in the evening. Instead, he had a small gathering with the people from Shahai before returning to the hotel to rest.

The next day, we continued our itinerary to the Hongyashan Reservoir, and then went all the way down to the Qingtu Lake sand area.

It is the spring irrigation season, and the gurgling Yellow River water is surging and flows into the Hongyashan Reservoir after a long journey of more than 200 kilometers.

Lu Hanbin then introduced: "In order to reduce leakage, the ancient desert river channel has been converted to underground channels for water transportation. At the same time, the Jingdian Administration is also expanding and renovating the water diversion canal. After the renovation, the annual water diversion volume will reach 1 million m."

The reservoir manager nearby also described the changes in the reservoir, "In the past, this was a stinking ditch, with garbage everywhere and a foul smell. When it was hot, we didn't dare to get close to it."

Guo Yang looked into the distance and saw the water and sky merge into one, the waves were endless, patches of reeds swaying in the wind, and flocks of birds flying over the lake from time to time.

"It might be a good idea to transform this place into a park, providing citizens with a place to walk, exercise and breathe fresh air."

Guo Yang just mentioned it briefly, and Lu Hanbin and the reservoir manager didn't say anything.

Golden Harvest has done enough.

And along the way, there are more and more solar greenhouses.

The Shiyang River Basin has also fully implemented the reform of the water rights and water price system, achieved water distribution to households and allocated water rights according to quotas and rounds, and water-saving transformation of irrigation areas is also underway.

Most of the agricultural irrigation wells have also been closed.

All the way to the saline-alkali beach and Qingtu Lake sand area at the bottom, the sky is high and the clouds are vast, and all things are quiet and beautiful.

Lu Hanbin brought Guo Yang to the core area of ​​the closed-off area, and he actually saw water.

Seeing the boss's surprise, Lu Hanbin smiled and said, "Professor Chen from the Water Conservancy College of Gannong University led a team to survey and pointed out these seven points for us to drill wells."

Guo Yang thought of the bad-tempered old man and started looking for him again.

"One, two..."

But I can't count them.

Lu Hanbin smiled faintly on his dark red face. "There are seven wells that flow naturally."

Guo Yang looked at the trickles of water flowing, gathering into a stream, moistening everything silently.

"When did this happen?"

"It was just two months ago. There were no trees planted here at that time." Hearing this, Guo Yang looked at the nearby plants again. In addition to some low reeds, the most numerous were clumps of artificially planted ramie.

There are puddles of water dotted nearby.

Hanhai kenaf is an ecological plant that can beautify the desert, prevent wind and sand, conserve water resources, and improve the local environment.

As long as there is water, it can retain it.

Could it be that the agreement with the big boss has been fulfilled?
Guo Yang was in a trance, "The water from Hongyashan Reservoir can't reach here yet."

“It will be there next year.”

Lu Hanbin smiled and said, "By then there will be enough water, at least to form a small lake here, but Professor Chen is still not optimistic about the recovery of the groundwater level in a short time."

Guo Yang said: "Just plant hemp and sea buckthorn trees all around."

From having water to having no water and then having water again, the changes of Qingtu Lake in the heart of the desert happened too fast, and Guo Yang was not even prepared.

Lu Hanbin pointed to the low reeds and desert plants in the distance. Guo Yang suddenly felt that they looked familiar, as if they were the place where he had met with the top leader last year.

"Maybe next year when the boss comes here again, he will see the reeds swaying, wild ducks roosting in groups, swans flying with their wings spread, and the lake sparkling."

After a moment of silence, Guo Yang smiled again, "Then I'll remember it."

"If the big boss comes again next year, this will be the scene."

"So this is also the mission goal of Shahai's on-the-job profit-sharing plan?"

"Hahaha...of course."

In fact, Guo Yang thought that the big boss would most likely not come again, but since the words had been spoken, he must do it.

Afterwards, Guo Yang followed into the Haloxylon ammodendron forest, where workers were still walking around in the forest harvesting Cistanche deserticola or applying fertilizer and watering.

It is also because of this that the Haloxylon ammodendron trees in the sand sea grow very fast and are also greener.

Most of the Cistanches have been picked. A lot of them are drying in the square of Shahai Farm and Animal Husbandry Institute, and some fresh products are directly collected by merchants.

Lu Hanbin said: "The yield of artificially inoculated Cistanche deserticola is higher than expected. On average, 220 kilograms are harvested per mu. It's just that the price of artificial cultivation is a bit low."

"Oh? What about the specific benefits?" Guo Yang has been busy with his agreement with his senior boss recently and has not paid much attention to this aspect.

"The worst ones only earn 1000 yuan per mu, and the best ones can earn up to 1300 yuan. In total, the first batch of more than 5 mu of land vaccinated will generate more than 6500 million yuan in revenue this year."

Guo Yang's eyes lit up. "Not bad. I remember that the investment will pay off in three or four years."

Lu Hanbin shook his head. "Unless we completely ignore the steps of topdressing, watering and spraying, we can recover our investment in three years."

Guo Yang patted Lu Hanbin on the shoulder and said, "That's enough. Seeing the return money is the biggest victory."

The planted Haloxylon ammodendron seedlings need to be watered several times a year for two years. After three years, the root system of Haloxylon ammodendron will be mature and able to survive independently.

But it is another situation after inoculation with Cistanche deserticola. After inoculation, Cistanche deserticola will absorb a large amount of water and nutrients from Haloxylon ammodendron, affecting its growth.

Therefore, in order to achieve both economic and ecological benefits, fertilization and irrigation are necessary.

According to Guo Yang's observation, Shahai Agriculture and Animal Husbandry does not use drip irrigation, but a small-tube outflow irrigation method, which is a local irrigation technology that only soaks the soil in the active layer of plant roots. It has a high water profit rate and avoids silt blockage.

In short, there is something that has led to its own path, rather than the water-saving drip irrigation that Guo Yang has always been talking about.

On this day, Guo Yang was also wandering around the project, visiting the solar greenhouse, immigration site, nursery, and various project departments.

The mental outlook of the people is getting better and better. Every household is busy making money and has purchased a lot of furniture in their homes.

Guo Yang also went to visit the Haloxylon ammodendron trees planted by the Volunteer Association.

In the village of the founder of the association, the Haloxylon ammodendron trees are scattered randomly in the desert, but with the technical guidance of the sand sea, it seems that they can survive.

However, the natural distribution is much worse than the row-based planting in the sand sea.

In the evening, Guo Yang also logged into the Save Minqin website.

Perhaps because I had just completed my first voluntary tree planting activity, the top post on the forum was a post recording the status of Haloxylon ammodendron.

There were a lot of photos posted in the post, and some people replied below.

"My hands are covered with blisters from planting trees."

"come on!"

"Come on, the first event has ended successfully. Comrades, let's fight again next year."

“Only after you plant Haloxylon ammodendron trees in the desert yourself, you will realize how great the oasis of agriculture and animal husbandry in the sea of ​​sand is.”

"Indeed, when a sandstorm occurs, the sky is dark and gloomy, with sand and rocks flying everywhere. It is not easy for the sand sea to last for so many years."

"Hahahaha... I went to the Haloxylon ammodendron forest in the Shahai Agriculture and Animal Husbandry area and saw that the difference is indeed quite big."

"We can continue next year or the year after. There's nothing to be afraid of. If Sha Hai can do it, so can we."

"I envy you guys."

In addition to this pinned post, the rest of the posts in the forum are also full of laughter.

It was the first voluntary tree planting activity, and thanks to the participation of Tencent and Shahai Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, quite a few people came.

A total of more than 100 volunteers were recruited from the Internet, although the volunteer association only raised more than 3000 yuan in funds.

But with the help of Shahai and Tencent, one provided materials and the other provided funds, the event was finally completed successfully.

The volunteer association is already preparing for autumn activities and, inspired by the sea of ​​sand, is also planning to grow and sell local specialties.

Red dates, desert melons, wolfberries, Cistanches, lamb, and even free-range desert chickens were all discussed in the forum.

The founder of the association, [A Pine Tree], has great respect for the local specialties.

"The abundant sunshine, the huge temperature difference between day and night, and the unique geographical environment make the red dates in Minqin more round and full, with sweet flesh."

“We can also set up professional cooperatives…”

From these remarks, Guo Yang also knew that the association was growing, but it was not enough, and its social influence was still too small. Large-scale charity activities were the end point.

Guo Yang recalled the Ant Forest-like activity he had mentioned to Zhuang Zheng...

"Let me grow for three thousand years..."

Just when Guo Yang was watching intently, the phone rang suddenly. He looked closely and saw that it was his eldest brother Guo Shan calling.

"Hey, brother."

"Yangzi, today I heard from the villagers that you have returned to Minqin, why don't you live at home?"

Guo Yang bought a house in the city for his brother and sister-in-law, and his niece Xiaoxia also teaches in the city and has a stable job.

My eldest brother Guo Shan suffered from the wind and sand because of planting trees and working in the sand pits all year round, and his back became more and more hunched.

I moved to the city completely at the end of last year.

Guo Yang scratched his head unnaturally and said, "I will definitely be back tomorrow."

"That's perfect. Your sister-in-law has found a girl for you. You can meet her..."

(End of this chapter)