Chapter 1385: with translation of chapter title

My brother's Shou Bing is just a hassle for Zheng Lao Ban.

I'm going back to look at the X-ray. Zheng Ren neither affirmed nor denied.

No wonder Song Ying mingles in the mortal world, while this one has to eat sand in the northwest; people's temperaments are completely different.

Zhou Chun Yong's deference to Zheng Ren could be described as utter submission, yet Zheng Ren remained somewhat wary. This person's bluntness is infuriating, yet Zheng Ren suddenly found him somewhat interesting.

There was no particular aversion, but rather a pleasant feeling of like-mindedness.

Zheng Ren suddenly realized that he might also be such a person. He had always thought he belonged to the type who was particularly shrewd, but after meeting Fan Tao, he suddenly realized he might also give that impression...

Both were neither good at nor fond of chatting.

Thus the journey ahead became lonely.

The surrounding vehicles grew fewer and fewer; after nearly an hour, Zheng Ren didn't see a single car.

Could it be that we've crossed the border? Zheng Ren sometimes had this thought.

Passing several small deserts, he could faintly see vehicles parked over there. Travelers were photographing the straight smoke of the vast desert; even though they were just tiny ant-like specks, Zheng Ren could feel their joy.

Every time Zheng Ren felt they were about to arrive, Fan Tao just silently drove past, kicking up yellow sand all the way.

"What work does Mr. Fan do here?" Zheng Ren, this kind of steel-straight man, also felt embarrassed; he held it in for a while and finally blurted out this sentence.

"Building roads." Fan Tao said.

"Railway?"

"Hmm."

Building a railway in the desert is backbreaking work; Zheng Ren knew this. Upon hearing Fan Tao say so, he felt respect for him.

Inner and Outer Mongolia aren't just about grass bending in the wind revealing cattle and sheep; there's far more desert.

"The Mu Us Desert?" Zheng Ren asked.

"Hmm." Fan Tao nodded; it was obvious he was especially pleased that Zheng Ren knew the name Mu Us Desert.

"After the founding of the nation, the first desert railway was built—the Baolan Railway, dubbed impossible to construct. Sand prevention and fixation required work countless times greater than building railways in the southeast."

Zheng Ren nodded, picturing workers building the railway amidst endless wind and sand, his heart filled with respect.

"Later the state began constructing the Ganwu connector line from Gan Tang Station on the Baolan Railway to Wuwei South Station on the Lanxin Railway. Though the Ganwu Railway is only a short 172 kilometers, most of its line runs through the Tengger Desert, making it extremely difficult."

"What are you building here?" Zheng Ren probed.

Fan Tao remained silent.

Zheng Ren knew some things shouldn't be asked or said; it's better not to ask.

"The Linci Railway has launched a passenger train; in seasons with less wind and sand, riding the train to view the vast desert's solitary smoke and the desert's poplars is still quite nice." Fan Tao also felt a bit awkward, so he tried to ease the conversation.

Two steel-straight men discussed the topic of building railways in the desert, a subject that would leave them mouthfuls of sand with every word.

"What technology is used? Micro-irrigation?" Zheng Ren asked.

This is a technology that saves 90% more water than Israel's drip‑irrigation invention, based on the principle of biomembrane osmosis.

After water flows through the pipes covered with semi‑permeable membrane, they begin to seep more or less depending on the surrounding soil's moisture content.

The micro‑irrigation pipes buried underground allow crops, shrubs, and forests to grow above them; combined with sand‑fixation technology, the Mu Us Desert is turned into an oasis in this way.

Fan Tao nodded, quite surprised that a doctor like Zheng Ren would know such "miscellaneous" things.

"How much area has been reclaimed?"

"About 20%. Before, they used high‑water‑consuming trees, which didn't work well. With micro‑irrigation, the speed is much greater." Fan Tao said: "It's just for sand fixation and road building; we haven't done that much. If the desert turned into farmland, heaven would probably be angry."

Zheng Ren laughed.

Fan Tao is someone who has a sense of measure in his heart.

Earth's deserts cover one‑third of non‑oceanic land, which is enormous. As the population grows, deserts have become places humans covet.

If deserts became normal land, they would need to absorb 200–300 units of atmospheric carbon. Thus atmospheric carbon levels would plummet, oceanic carbon would be released, but it likely wouldn't fill the gap.

Plant photosynthesis would be hindered, the greenhouse effect would reverse, Earth would cool and plants would die off en masse, returning to desert. To alter this process, unless we simultaneously burn massive amounts of fossil fuels to keep atmospheric carbon in dynamic balance.

But this is an extreme scenario; Zheng Ren was just idly thinking. Turning all global deserts into oases at once is impossible.

The infrastructure maniac, in order to build the railway, forced the desert to sprout plants, turning the Mu Us Desert into an oasis—truly something that could be called heaven‑defying.

But after that, how many people like Fan Tao, who eat the wind and sleep outdoors, squat in the desert eating sand?

Zheng Ren felt quite moved.

After a brief exchange, the two fell into silence in unison.

"How much longer?" After an unknown period of silence, Zheng Ren finally asked.

"Another half hour." Fan Tao didn't check the time; instead he narrowed his eyes at the sun and said in a low voice: "Then we'll enter the sea of sand, and after another hour we'll arrive."

How far is that…… Zheng Ren was speechless.

After an hour and a half, in the distance they saw a convoy of over ten vehicles arranged in a semicircle, a large pile of bonfires blazing, and a familiar figure near the fire seemed to be drinking.

"This area is fairly quiet, basically no one around." Fan Tao said: "At night, the vehicles have down jackets, sleeping bags, and warm packs—watch out for the cold."

The instructions were fairly detailed.

After all, he's not a professional; even seeing bits of knowledge, he couldn't truly empathize.

He gave a reply, and the silence continued in the car.

Along the way Zheng Ren didn't feel embarrassed; his fondness for Fan Tao grew considerably.

After all, he's so quiet; two grown men in the car, still unfamiliar, if they talked too much Zheng Ren would feel awkward.

Upon reaching the bonfire, Fan Tao didn't do any drifting or flashy driving; he simply parked the vehicle quietly at the edge of the convoy.

"Chief Zheng!" Chu Yan zhi rose, arms outstretched in greeting. Heizi had already come running over, limping but still fast.

Zheng Ren laughed.

He opened the car door and stepped out; the northwest wind slapped his face, carrying sand, like a small knife.

In such a place, who knows what's fun to do.

Beside the bonfire, Su Yun held a bottle of wine, sat on the ground, and raised the bottle in his hand toward Zheng Ren as a greeting. Then he tilted his head back and took a big gulp.

Fan Tao's complexion looked somewhat bad; Zheng Ren caught sight of it, felt something was off, and asked, 'Mr. Fan, what's wrong?'

'That's Donkey-knocker; if you drink it like that, finishing a bottle might land you back at Xilin Zhen Yiyuan Hospital.' Fan Tao didn't try to stop him, merely said in a low voice.

'Oh, should be fine, let me take a look.' Zheng Ren smiled, squatted down, and stroked Heizi's head.

Heizi's exhaled breath carried a strong muttony smell, suggesting he had eaten a lot of lamb.

'Be good, okay?' Zheng Ren asked Heizi with a smile.

Heizi rubbed his head against Zheng Ren's hand, looking well-behaved. To those who didn't know, they'd think he was a pet dog kept at home.

'A military dog from the unit?' Fan Tao frowned and asked.

'Mm.' Zheng Ren stroked the dog, replying happily, 'During the Earthquake Relief, Heizi was among the first batch of rescue dogs to go in; his leg got injured, and after retiring, Sister Lin used her connections to handle the paperwork and bring him back.'

Fan Tao fell silent, watching Heizi.

Heizi was a bit alert, but Zheng Ren's stroking felt good, so he gradually grew lazy.

'Retirement is retirement; one should enjoy life a bit.' Zheng Ren said, 'In the residential area, I dare not let loose, for fear of biting someone else's dog. Especially those mischievous little dogs—if they really got bitten, the family would come to confront, and then I'd bite the person badly, making it impossible to explain.'

'Coming here is pretty good; at least Heizi can run however he wants. Although he can't run fast, he can't even move much.'

Hearing Zheng Ren speak slowly and leisurely, a hint of softness also appeared on Fan Tao's face.

'Boss, stop petting the dog, there's something for you at home.' Su Yun shouted loudly, his voice carrying across the open field; paired with the Donkey-knocker, it also had a touch of grandeur.

'Is there a signal here?' Zheng Ren patted Heizi's belly, then stood up, took out his phone, glanced at it, and asked.

'This side needs a satellite phone.' Fan Tao said.

'Sister Lin's call, Director Kong placed it directly.' Su Yun said.

Zheng Ren walked over; Xie Yiren was roasting skewers together with Chu Yanran, her cheeks flushed. Seeing Zheng Ren approach, she picked up a skewer and handed it over.

Taking a bite, one's mouth filled with oil, stimulating the taste buds.

'Zheng Lao Ban, someone's looking for you at home; they say Doctor Olsson has flown in from Sweden.' Lin JiaoJiao said with a smile.

'Doctor Olsson?'

'Doctor Olsson of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, chair of the physics prize judging committee.'

'What does he want from me? Do Shou Bing?' Zheng Ren stared for a moment.

'If it's someone like that, they should notify the institute, but… no, Doctor Mei Ha'er told me earlier that someone wants me to create a physics experiment model for turbulence.'

'That must be Doctor Olsson.'

'Zheng Lao Ban, let's do a video call on my phone.' Lin JiaoJiao said: 'A call every ten or so minutes, they've been urging me nonstop until now.'

'A satellite phone video call, pretty expensive, huh?' Zheng Ren laughed as he took the phone.

'Coastal fishermen heading out to sea all use satellite phones; it's not that costly, just a bit rare.' Lin JiaoJiao said.

Zheng Ren didn't immediately video call, but instead went over to Xie Yiren's side.

'Chief Zheng, even when you're busy coming out to play, you still have matters.' Chu Yanran asked.

'Nothing of the sort.' Zheng Ren laughed: 'Just small things, small things.'

'Tch.' Chu Yan zhi appeared from behind, 'This afternoon you said you wanted to take a family portrait, but you're not here.'

That's indeed a pity.

Zheng Ren smiled, leaned against Xie Yiren, and all his fatigue vanished.

'Go ahead and get busy; when you're done, I'll grill meat for you.' Xie Yiren stroked Zheng Ren's head and said gently.

'Mm.' Zheng Ren gave a hehe laugh, like Heizi, rubbing his head against Xiao Yi Ren's hand, then stood up.

'Go to the tent, the wind is strong outside.' Lin JiaoJiao led the way, bringing Zheng Ren to a tent: 'Just give Director Kong a call; he's accompanying Doctor Olsson together with Vice President Yuan and Director Ye.'

Zheng Ren smiled and nodded to indicate he understood.

……

……

Note: Moist Technique is a Technique I like. The changes in the Maowusu Desert have nothing to do with the Moist Technique. Fan Tao is also fictional, merely one corner of the countless sturdy figures who built bridges and paved roads.