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There were many people outside, and He Jingyu didn't want to talk about these things in front of outsiders.

"Let's plant trees now, we can talk about everything else when we get home," He Jingyu said softly, not wanting his wife to lose her composure in front of so many people.

He Tiantian pulled her mother and whispered, "Mom, don't get excited or sad. The most important thing now is to find the best location for this tree."

With encouragement from her husband and daughter, Wang Shuping calmed down and looked at the mother tree with a complicated expression.

"That's right." Wang Shuping, disregarding her sadness, grabbed a shovel and followed them up the mountain.

Taking into account the terrain, sunlight, and stream, Wang Shuping found the best spot.

He Tiantian was stunned when she saw it; it was not far from the cave entrance.

Fortunately, there were still a few meters left; otherwise, if the entrance had been blocked, it would have been inconvenient to enter the cave later.

He Jingyu and Wang Shuping personally dug the hole and poured water into it before they were able to plant the mother tree!

Following He Jingyu and Wang Shuping's instructions, the others placed the remaining peach trees into the pits, poured water, and filled them with soil. To prevent them from tipping over, bamboo poles or wooden sticks were used to create supports to maintain the stability of the newly planted trees.

A hundred peach trees are not many. Even if they are two years old, they are only about the thickness of a child's arm and are easy to plant.

He Jingyu and Secretary Qi accompanied Niu Peng to look around, while Wang Shuping came to the mother tree and gently stroked it, as if she were stroking her own child.

"Mom, is this tree very precious?" He Tiantian asked. The way her mother looked at the tree was just like the way her mother looked at her—so warm and loving!

“Yes, it’s very precious,” Wang Shuping said softly. “Back when your father and I were in college, we were with our professor in Dongxian, the hometown of peaches. Your father and I discovered a tree whose peaches were exceptionally sweet, but the peaches from that tree were very small, and the farmers didn’t like them, so they dug them up and threw them away. Your father and I felt it was a pity, so we brought it back to the university and planted it in the orchard of the agricultural research institute directly under our university. This was all done privately by your father and me. After seven or eight years of cultivation, this peach tree could grow peaches that were a little bigger than before, but still not as big as other peach trees. Later, we tried propagation by cuttings, planting branches from this tree onto other larger peach trees, and the peaches that grew were big and sweet. Your father and I saw hope. Peaches are not easy to preserve, so your father continued his research and finally developed a good variety. Just as we were about to promote it, trouble broke out in Nanshi.”

He Tiantian thought for a moment, then stretched out her slender fingers, did some calculations, and said, "Mom, this tree is older than me!"

“Yes, it’s three years older than you,” Wang Shuping said. “In your father’s and my hearts, this is our love tree, like our first child. But it’s quite old, and the trunk is large; moving it rashly…”

Wang Shuping didn't finish speaking, but He Tiantian understood.

As the saying goes, "A person thrives when they move, but a tree dies when it's moved!"

This tree is almost twenty years old, with deep roots, and it is unlikely to survive if moved rashly!

You might die elsewhere, but not in Qijia Village. The soil here is good, the water is good, and there is a spiritual energy here.

“Mom, we’ll take good care of it. If fate allows, this peach tree will continue to live,” He Tiantian said. Her parents treat this tree like their own child, and He Tiantian also considers this tree as family.

By noon, the workers had left, but Wang Shuping was still unwilling to leave.

“Mom, even if you want to stay here and look after these peach trees, you have to wait until we build a wooden house here!” He Tiantian said, “Right now it’s just a garden.”

Wang Shuping looked around and nodded, saying, "I hope nothing will happen."

"No, don't worry. This is a task assigned by the higher-ups. If anything goes wrong, the leaders will definitely not let it go and will find out who is causing trouble. So, unless someone is an idiot, no one will cause trouble at this critical juncture," He Tiantian said. "Besides, there are no peaches growing here yet. Even if they want to sabotage, they will wait until there are results before they cause trouble."

Wang Shuping looked around and said, "Are there any large, ferocious beasts here?"

"No, there are very few wild animals in the mountains behind Qijia Village. Even the wild boars were hunted to extinction last winter."

The mother and daughter went back to eat. After the meal, Wang Shuping took He Tiantian to the back mountain.

After seeing off County Chief Niu in the afternoon, He Jingyu drank quite a bit of alcohol, but he wasn't in the mood to sleep. Instead, he went straight to the peach orchard on the back mountain.

"Dad, why aren't you home resting?" He Tiantian saw her father staggering up and quickly went to support He Jingyu.

Wang Shuping got up and let her husband sit on a clean stone.

He Jingyu's mouth was dry and his lips were a little chapped, so He Tiantian picked a few large leaves and went to the mountain stream to fetch some spring water for her father to drink.

"Dad, have some water," He Tiantian said. She remembered that her father always needed to drink a lot of water after drinking alcohol.

"Glug glug..." He Jingyu drank the water in a few gulps, and He Tiantian went to get some more. After going back and forth twice, He Jingyu finally felt less thirsty.

After her husband finished drinking the water, Wang Shuping asked, "Tell me quickly what happened in Nanshi?"

Upon hearing this, He Jingyu's expression froze, and he said with a bitter smile, "Sigh, when I went back this time, I found out that the Agricultural Science Station had changed its leadership and was in chaos again. Not only the Agricultural Science Station, but other places were also in chaos, almost the same as last year, or even more chaotic than before. When I went there, many projects at the Agricultural Science Station had been cut off, and they were preparing to cut down these saplings! These are all my hard work, and that mother tree is also our hard work. How can I just watch these things be ruined?"

Wang Shuping stared wide-eyed, speechless for a long time, her body trembling slightly as she recalled the fear and anxiety of last year.

"Mom, don't be afraid!" He Tiantian gently comforted the timid Wang Shuping, putting her arm around her mother's shoulder to give her strength.

It took Wang Shuping a while to calm down, and she said with deep emotion, "Luckily we came to Huai City, if it were in Nan City..."

"Yes, if it weren't for Lao Huo this time, the two of us would probably have suffered too," He Jingyu said with emotion. "We owe Lao Huo even more favors now."

Wang Shuping nodded and said, "Yes, no wonder! Lifang told me before that she wanted us to leave, and she was afraid that we would overthink it. Actually, they were doing it for our own good. Although we are far from home, at least we can have peace here, and we can stay with our daughter."

He Jingyu was also very pleased and said, "It's good that the family is together. As for where we work, it doesn't matter."

“Mom and Dad, it’s actually quite nice here. Professor Wang and Professor Gu, Grandpa’s former colleagues at the livestock team, could apply to return to Nanshi because of their past merits, but they don’t want to go back. They say the schools in Nanshi are closing down, and they wouldn’t have a use for their skills if they went back, so it’s better for them to stay here and have a quiet life,” He Tiantian explained, trying to comfort her parents and hope they could understand. (To be continued.)