Reborn as Zhao Ruilong of Handong, I will defy fate.

Chapter 586 Ten thousand years is too long, let's seize the day!

The sky was clear and blue, and the sun blazed fiercely.

Several vehicles drove across the construction access road, kicking up clouds of dust.

As soon as the car stopped outside the cordon, Fu Wenbing immediately opened the door and got out.

In an instant, a wave of heat hit us.

It felt as if the sun was shining brightly overhead, but rather as if there were scorching hot coals above my head.

As soon as I got off the bus, I felt like my skin was being burned, burning hot.

After scanning the construction site, Fu Wenbing did not see Zhao Ruilong and hurriedly took out his mobile phone.

"Hey, I'm here. Where are you?"

"What? You're in the field? Where?"

Fu Wenbing held his phone and looked around.

"Director Fu, he's over there!"

The secretary pointed southwest, and Fu Wenbing quickly turned his head to look.

Zhao Ruilong, who wasn't wearing a white safety helmet but a straw hat, was waving at me from the mulberry field.

The two guards who were ordered to protect him at all times were now dressed like farmers, wearing hats and carrying small baskets.

"My goodness!"

"Weren't you here to inspect the construction site?"

"Why did you go to the fields to become a farmer?"

Fu Wenbing looked astonished, hardly believing his eyes.

He knew that after Zhao Lichun, the secretary of the Party branch, came to Xichang for inspection and research, Huilong Group followed suit and carried out industrial poverty alleviation. He knew that Zhao Ruilong would come sooner or later.

But he didn't expect that Zhao Ruilong would come to inspect the project without saying a word or even a greeting.

Even more unexpectedly, the son of a top-tier noble family with wealth comparable to that of a country would actually do farm work.

Given Zhao Ruilong's status and position, he clearly doesn't need to engage in political posturing.

If you're going to put on a show, you can't just travel light and arrive in Xichang without a word, let alone go to work in the fields without bringing reporters or photographers.

Therefore, Fu Wenbing immediately felt that Zhao Ruilong was used to being a city dweller and had never been a farmer before. He was just curious and wanted to experience what it was like to be a farmer.

"You've finished your inspection? You told me to wait for you, but you haven't come for ages. Since I had nothing to do, I helped the elderly pick mulberries. Come over and pick some to try, they're so sweet!"

"what???"

Fu Wenbing was taken aback.

If brains could grow question marks, his head would be covered in them by now.

They asked me to go pick mulberries?

Did something go wrong?

I am the Director of the Transportation Department of Sichuan Province!

I flew all the way from Xi'an to Chengdu to see you, to discuss investing in the construction of a highway!

You asked me to pick mulberries in the field because you think I've never experienced what it's like to pick and taste them in the field?

"What? Come here right now! Pick it straight from the tree and eat it, it's sweeter than first love!"

Upon hearing Zhao Ruilong's words, Fu Wenbing nearly fainted.

Is it really that exaggerated? It can actually be sweeter than first love?

But since we're already here, how can we not go?

Wasn't that why I came here to find him?

not to mention……

Fu Wenbing, who also came from a privileged background, had indeed never been a farmer.

I only know that mulberries are good things, that mulberry leaves can be used to raise silkworms, and that the fruit can be eaten, used to make wine, and used in medicine.

"Okay, I'm coming right now!"

"Wait a minute, you can come alone. Don't bring anyone else. Otherwise, there won't be enough mulberries in the field for everyone!"

"Alright, whatever you say, my young master Zhao!"

After hanging up the phone, Fu Wenbing glanced sideways.

"You all wait here, I'll be right back!"

"But Director Fu..."

"There's no 'buts,' just sit in the car and enjoy the air conditioning!"

After saying that, Fu Wenbing walked along the dirt road between the fields, braving the scorching sun, toward the mulberry field where Zhao Ruilong was.

Even before June, Xichang is already as hot as midsummer, but this heat is not stuffy.

Every now and then, a breeze would blow by, making Fu Wenbing feel only sunshine, not heat.

Upon arriving at the field, seeing Zhao Ruilong with his left hand gripping a branch and his right hand picking mulberries, Fu Wenbing immediately exclaimed in surprise:

What happened to your lips? They're all black!

"You've eaten too many mulberries, haven't you? Pick a few and try them, they're really sweet!"

As Zhao Ruilong spoke, he skillfully placed the picked mulberries into the small plastic bucket hanging around his neck.

"Moreover, the elderly folks said that these mulberries are very easy to grow, and they are basically pesticide-free, making them absolutely organic!"

Fu Wenbing nodded slightly, looking at the mulberries, each one like a black gemstone, growing on the mulberry tree, and couldn't help but sigh:

"These mulberries are huge! I've never seen any this big before!"

"That's right, it's big and sweet!"

Zhao Ruilong picked a mulberry, about the size of a thumb, so ripe it was almost black, and put it in his mouth, eating it with great relish.

"really?"

Fu Wenbing, still somewhat skeptical, picked one and put it in his mouth.

As soon as I closed my mouth, I felt the mulberry burst with juice inside.

Moreover, the juice that bursts out is as sweet as freshly squeezed sugarcane juice, but not cloying at all.

The sweet, honey-like sensation instantly caused Fu Wenbing's eyes to widen and his lips to curl into a smile.

"Haha, look at you, your eyes are shining!"

"I wasn't lying to you, was I? This stuff really is sweet!"

"It's only because of the high altitude, large temperature difference, and abundant sunshine here that such good mulberries can be grown!"

"And when you're choosing, remember this: the bigger, darker, and softer they are, the sweeter they are!"

Zhao Ruilong laughed heartily and continued picking.

As for Fu Wenbing...

Having tasted the sweetness, he no longer had any restraint whatsoever.

They ate one after another, enjoying a great deal of them.

Seeing that Fu Wenbing's lips had turned black from eating, Zhao Ruilong finally spoke up and asked:

"What do you mean? You know this stuff is good for your kidneys and energy, so you're just going to eat it like crazy, right?"

Fu Wenbing asked in surprise, "It can also nourish the kidneys and replenish qi?"

"Of course!"

Zhao Ruilong laughed and said, "If you don't believe me, you can check it online or ask around."

"Dried mulberries, which are dried in the sun, are a kind of medicinal material in themselves. They are rich in a variety of nutrients and have many effects such as quenching thirst, nourishing yin and blood, tonifying the liver and kidneys, and strengthening the essence and calming the fetus."

"Moreover, among all fruits, mulberries have the highest iron content. Using them to make porridge is simply a health supplement that nourishes the blood and beautifies the skin... Hey, hey, hey, eat less of them, or you might have black stools!"

"..."

Fu Wenbing was stunned. "How did you know?"

"Because I ate too much last night, and then this morning... you know!"

Zhao Ruilong revealed a wicked smile.

"Depend on!"

Fu Wenbing threw the mulberries he had picked into Zhao Ruilong's plastic bucket.

"Hey, what are you doing? This thing is very delicate. You can't throw it. You have to handle it gently, or it will easily become sticky!"

As he spoke, Zhao Ruilong took out the mulberry that Fu Wenbing had thrown into the bucket.

"Look, look, you've smashed it to pieces and made it ooze juice!"

"Holy crap! Is it really that delicate?"

"Of course, it's precisely because it's so delicate that it's difficult to store and transport. Otherwise, such a delicious and nutritious fruit would have been sold all over the country long ago!"

Fu Wenbing gave an embarrassed smile.

"That's true. If mulberries were easy to store and transport, this area would have already been cultivating them on a large scale to lift people out of poverty!"

After saying that, Fu Wenbing also began to help with the picking.

One of them was incredibly wealthy, and the other held a high position of power.

They silently picked mulberries around a mulberry tree.

Time passed slowly, and gradually, Fu Wenbing began to feel the strain.

Not only because of the scorching sun overhead and the continuous exposure to the sun, but also because every mulberry needs to be picked by hand.

Such repetitive physical work naturally exhausted him very quickly.

"Oh no, I can't take it anymore."

Fu Wenbing shouted twice, then squatted down and hid in the shade of a tree to catch his breath.

"Seriously? You can't do it? We haven't even finished picking all the mulberry leaves yet! Get up now!"

Zhao Ruilong picked the fruit while urging them on.

"I can't take it anymore, my hands are so sore and my neck hurts."

Fu Wenbing picked a few mulberry leaves and spread them on the ground, then plopped down on his seat.

Zhao Ruilong didn't say anything more.

She silently picked all the remaining ripe mulberries from the tree.

Then, the picked mulberries were poured into a large basket.

Seeing Zhao Ruilong return with an empty bucket, Fu Wenbing hurriedly said:

"That's enough, bro!"

"Don't worry, I won't pick them."

Zhao Ruilong put down the empty bucket, took out a cigarette, and handed one to Fu Wenbing.

The sun hung high in the sky, its rays scorching.

The two sat under the mulberry tree, silently smoking cigarettes.

After a long while, Fu Wenbing broke the silence.

"I knew farmers worked hard, but I didn't expect it to be this hard."

“Every ripe mulberry needs to be picked by hand.”

"If you want to pick a few hundred kilograms to sell, you'd probably have to pick them by hand thousands of times!"

Zhao Ruilong took a deep drag on his cigarette and looked into the distance at the wind turbine base under construction.

"If we're talking about hardship, which working person doesn't have a hard life?"

"Yes!"

Fu Wenbing let out a long sigh of smoke and said with some melancholy:

"Many coastal areas have developed and many families have achieved a comfortable life. However, in the inland areas, especially in the central and western regions, there are still quite a few poor places!"

"To help them become prosperous, we must build more roads and make them better. Only when the roads are open will it be more convenient and efficient for people to go out to study, seek medical treatment, do business or work, or sell agricultural products."

At this point, Fu Wenbing reached out and picked a mulberry.

"Just like these mulberries, which are as sweet as honey but not resistant to storage and transportation, it would be very difficult to transport large quantities of them quickly if we relied solely on Xichang's current transportation conditions!"

"If the produce can't be transported out, and the local market has to absorb it all, then it won't sell for much money at all. As a result, farmers work hard all year round but don't earn much money, so they can't get rich."

"The reason why it is so difficult for hundreds of millions of farmers in our country to escape poverty and become rich is largely due to poor transportation, which prevents agricultural, livestock, fishery and forest products from circulating more quickly and effectively."

Zhao Ruilong nodded silently.

Last night, Zhao Ruilong and Feng Zhengting had a long chat while eating barbecue by the roadside.

The southwestern region of Sichuan not only boasts favorable climate conditions but also extremely rich mineral resources.

In particular, rare earth minerals and vanadium-titanium magnetite are not only of high quality but also have large reserves, and have enormous development potential.

However, why hasn't this land developed rapidly into a particularly wealthy place?

One of the main reasons is that the towering mountains have restricted local development.

If the local transportation conditions can be greatly improved and a large amount of investment is introduced, it is entirely possible to form an industrial cluster worth hundreds of billions of yuan around mining development, vanadium-titanium materials, wind power and photovoltaics.