132. [Latest] 132 - Completed

Su Yu retired at the age of fifty-five. After retirement, she was rehired to teach at the Capital Forestry University. She renovated the small courtyard house and moved in with Ning Jin. He handed over the transportation affairs in the Northwest to the old employees to handle, and went to check once a month. Moreover, one of the partners was the Forestry Bureau and the other was a foreign company. They were all acquaintances in the desert, so they were not afraid that the other party would cause trouble.

"Grandma, I'm here."

Hearing the childish voice, Grandpa, who hadn't been called yet, went out to greet her first, "Liu Liu is here, have you eaten?"

"I haven't eaten yet, so I'm coming to eat here." It was Da Ya who spoke. After taking care of Lele and sending her to kindergarten, Su Yu persuaded her to come to the capital to help Xiao Yuan take care of her child. Liu Liu was born in 1993. Her full name is Su Liuchi. She looks just like her father and is deeply loved by the whole family. She is four years old this year.

"Grandpa cooked today's meal. Grandma, when are you going to cook? You need to let me know in advance, otherwise I'll have made a wasted trip."

"Grandpa's cooking isn't good? Your grandma doesn't cook, and Professor Su is a teacher, so she doesn't go into the kitchen anymore." Ning Jin picked up a bite of food and thought it tasted pretty good.

"It's delicious, even better than my mom and dad's cooking." Upon hearing that her grandma no longer cooks, she stopped being picky, took a big gulp of soup, and exclaimed dramatically, "It's so fragrant, so fresh and delicious!"

"You little rascal." Su Yu poked her nose and asked her if she was going to school with her or going fishing with her grandfather today.

"Let's go fishing, there are cats where we fish."

"Keep an eye on her so she doesn't get scratched by the cat. If she gets a cut, take her to the hospital for a rabies shot," she instructed Ning Jin before packing her lesson plans and heading to school. She was taking her students on a field trip in a month, so she needed to finish her classes ahead of schedule.

This was a path she never expected. She never imagined she could become a university professor. She wasn't sure if she had the patience to be responsible for her students. She declined twice, but after repeated invitations, she finally accepted. It wasn't as difficult as she had imagined. Her work experience was exactly what her students lacked. She could understand and teach the knowledge from books, and her accumulated experience was actually her most valuable asset.

After graduating from university, I came to the desert and initially worked on the sandy land. After fifteen years of maintenance, the land has now been successfully afforested. The "sand fields" that were built up are now visible as soil. Now, a new round of planting shrubs has begun.

"Professor Su, are these the two trees you planted for your parents? I've seen the metal plaques on them on TV."

"Yes, that's right, it's been five years." Her parents passed away in 1992. Old Mr. Su passed away at night. On the first night of the funeral, Old Mrs. Su said she wanted to go inside to sleep for a while, and then she couldn't be woken up. The two passed away a day apart. The following spring, she planted two sand willows here. After they took root, she wrote an article advocating that people plant a tree for their deceased relatives to remember them.

"Every time someone dies, a new star is added to the sky, but stars are too far away, and there will always be times when we mistake them for something else. Why not plant a tree? It can always belong to you. When you miss your loved ones, you can rest under the tree and lean against its trunk. It can even feel your tears."

Perhaps this public service advertisement was too sentimental, but anyway, Su Yu achieved her goal: nearly half of the people planting shrubs not far from here were volunteers.

*

China is a major timber exporter. To promote economic development, the government has contracted out a portion of its timber protection forests to companies, stipulating that logging must be carried out according to the contract and that logging cannot be carried out outside the designated areas. However, there are always those who try to make a quick buck, given the large area of ​​the protection forests and the limited number of patrol personnel, leading to gaps in the management.

"Can't we cut down trees on the west side? I think the firewood there is better, and I haven't seen many staff members coming over."

"No, there are people watching over there. Even the bosses up there don't dare to mess with them. They tried to cut down trees to plant other trees before, but they were all stopped. Every two months, a woman called Professor Su comes. I heard she used to be the deputy director of the Forestry Bureau. After retiring, she teaches at a university. Her son also works in the Forestry Bureau, and her daughter-in-law is a famous lawyer. Her students are also very capable. What's infuriating is that she's always submitting articles and giving interviews. Nobody wants to become famous through her mouth."

*

Urged by Shu Manpo, Su Yu embarked on another project—compiling a book! It combined Shu Manpo's theoretical knowledge with her practical knowledge, and much of the content was ahead of its time. This was because the theory, which lacked a practical foundation, came from Shu Manpo's world. Fortunately, there was no rush to publish it. If she didn't have time to supplement it, the book would be left for future generations to study.

"You don't have a next life," Su Yu said, stating the truth in a guessing tone.

Shumanpo hummed in agreement. All its energy was used for the escape 28 years ago. Its vessel was Su Yu, and it will dissipate after Su Yu's death.

"So you should live a long life, and I'll be your alarm clock to remind you to exercise."

"Okay, I don't ask to live to be a hundred, I just want to live without illness or disaster."

"I brought you into this world, have you ever regretted it? After all, you never married in your previous life."

Su Yu shook her head. Who would regret something like this? She wasn't some ancient being who had lived for thousands of years. As for being single or married, both outcomes had prerequisites. In her past life, she resisted marriage because of her parents. In this life, she felt okay with a family. With the memories of her past life as a foundation, she was quite carefree in her marriage. Neither Ning Jin nor her two children had caused her any trouble. There were definitely minor frictions and conflicts, but she wasn't always happy being single in her past life, otherwise she wouldn't have had the idea of ​​adopting children.

"If you had a next life, would you stay single or get married?"

"This isn't something I should be thinking about; that's something for my next life. Anyway, whether I was single in my past life or married in this one, I don't regret it. If I went back to my past life, I would still be single, and if I could start over in this life, I would still choose to get married."

Saying it is as good as not saying it; the trees on the hillside shut their mouths and asked no more questions.