76.076 Tree Attribution
Two rows of trees were suddenly planted along a road, which was no small matter, especially since the road led to two counties. Su Yu, who planted the trees, was called in for a talk.
"Comrade Su Yu, right? What's the deal with you planting two rows of trees on this road?" People from the neighboring county government came directly to the orchard to find him.
Su Yu glanced at the people who were gathering information in this direction and asked with a smile, "Can't we plant them? I have no other purpose than to plant some trees along the road. First, it will provide shade when I walk along the road in the summer, and second, I heard that the soil for planting trees retains more water. When I have free time, I just dig up any small miscellaneous trees I see and plant them along the road. It's just a casual thing."
The man stared at her, trying to discern the truth in her words.
“If it has any impact, you can cut them down. I just want the environment to be more aesthetically pleasing. Also, my husband encountered a mudslide while driving, and I heard it was because too many trees were cut down and not replaced. So I thought I'd plant more trees…” Su Yu wasn’t quite sure of his purpose, and she hadn’t thought that her good deed of planting trees would alarm the government. Afraid of causing herself any trouble, she first suggested the way to prove her innocence—that they could just cut them down again if necessary.
Compared to her earlier words, the man believed her last statement more: she thought that if she planted more trees, her man would be safer outside. However, planting trees along several kilometers of road just for aesthetics and summer shade was no easy task, nor could it be completed in a short time.
“If it has any impact, we will definitely cut it down. Besides, although you planted those trees, the land belongs to the public, so it has nothing to do with you in the future.” The man was worried that the two county governments would have a dispute over the trees. In the countryside, on unclaimed land, whoever plants the trees owns them. Before he met the person, he wondered if someone had planted so many trees to sell the timber later.
“I know, I never thought that once I planted the trees, they would be mine.” Su Yu breathed a sigh of relief and reiterated her thoughts: “I’m just planting trees for public benefit, and the government can do with those trees as it sees fit.”
She would certainly be unwilling to accept that the trees she has planted for so many years were cut down, but she has no power or influence, and the country's development must prioritize national interests.
"Okay, I'll write an explanation and you can sign it later." As long as she's not using public land for private purposes, it doesn't count as misappropriation of state property.
After signing the document, the two parted ways.
Yu Yuan'an and Qiu Fuli only came over after the person had left, and asked with concern, "Why did the county magistrate's secretary suddenly look for you? Is something wrong?"
"No, it's just about planting trees. I planted too many trees, which attracted the attention of the higher-ups." Su Yu came back to her senses and was a little excited. She couldn't quite describe the feeling. She had started planting trees haphazardly, but later she took the initiative to plant trees, mainly because of the encouragement of her four children. She couldn't say that she had slacked off after she proposed planting more trees to protect the environment, or she would be considered worthless in the eyes of her children.
A very small part of it is that kind of patriotism. The environment in the future will deteriorate, and the most affected will be innocent animals. She has a tree-planting system, and she has the spare time and energy, so she will do a little, and then do a little more.
However, she is quite pessimistic about planting trees to protect the environment. She is fully aware that the overall environment is deteriorating and that economic development will be prioritized in the future, resulting in 100% environmental damage. She also knows that her efforts are not even a drop in the ocean. As she just said, if it hinders the collective interest, then cut it down. She has already made a prediction about those trees in her mind—they will definitely be cut down.
"I told you you had nothing better to do than plant those stupid trees. Look at you, you're working yourself to death, and now you're getting into trouble. It's lucky it was just government officials who bothered you; if you'd planted them on private land, you'd be scolded instead of getting any credit." Yu Yuan'an said indignantly. He had told her many times about planting trees on the road, but she just wouldn't change. Now, people were even suspecting her of trying to profit from it.
"Hey, they just came to ask, they didn't ask me to do anything. The trees are still growing well there. Once all the trees I planted have grown up, this road won't be desolate anymore. It might turn into a highway, with new houses and a bustling market." It's also possible that the government will see the value of these trees and preserve them when planning the future.
Anything is possible. When she first planted the tree, she never thought it would attract the attention of those in power. Perhaps if she persists, she can achieve something in this field like Mr. Zhang Guimei and inspire others with her actions.
"You're still laughing? You're such a fool." Yu Yuan'an thought of the man's suspicious yet threatening expression just now, and he couldn't understand Su Yu's current reaction. Of course, he also couldn't understand her behavior of planting small miscellaneous trees for four consecutive years. If she planted flowers, he could understand that it was because women love beauty, but he had seen the trees she planted: willows, poplars, locusts, elms, and countless small saplings that he couldn't name, none of which were worth planting.
"Since we're just killing time anyway, let's plant them for fun. In ten or twenty years, if the trees are still there, everyone here will know that the trees on this road were planted by a man named Su Yu."
"You're quite fond of empty fame, I didn't realize." Qiu Fuli interrupted Yu Yuan'an's sneer before it could even come out, saying, "Fine, if these trees are still here in ten or twenty years, I'll be the one promoting your name."
"Then I'll leave it to you. Thank you for your hard work!" Su Yu said, making a gesture of cupping her hands in greeting.
"Alright, let's go take a look at the orchard. This whole commotion has taken up half the day." Qiu Fuli urged the two to go and check out the orchard. "This orchard is so big, it will take half a day to walk around it all. And you two never come here. Now that you're here, hurry up and take a look. If there are any problems, I'll hold you accountable."
"I'm going right now." Su Yu immediately headed up the mountain, not wanting to listen to Yu Yuan'an's nagging anymore. Ever since this older brother introduced her father to the old Chinese medicine doctor, and she shared with him the method she and Shu Manpo had come up with to determine the acidity of the soil, he treated her like one of his own, talking a lot and talking non-stop, making Su Yu's ears hurt.
"Will an orange tree grafted onto a peach tree ripen earlier? Will the orange smell like a peach?" She peeled an orange and chatted with the trees all over the hillside as she ran around the orchard.
"You can try it yourself. I'll teach you the method. You can also graft orange and peach branches onto miscellaneous trees like locust and willow. Try it yourself. Anyway, you have money and free time now." It doesn't know everything. The premise for it to discover problems is that problems have arisen. For example, grafting fruit trees onto miscellaneous trees is something it has never seen anyone do before. It also wants to enrich its knowledge base.
"You're right, I can't rely on you for everything." The only thing that can convince someone is their experience and knowledge.
Su Yu found an orange tree that hadn't yet borne fruit and planned to bring scissors and oil paper tomorrow to graft a few branches first, and then graft a few more branches next spring as a comparison.
She had just arrived home in the afternoon when Xiao Yuan told Ping An that someone had come looking for her and asked her to wait at home tomorrow. Based on what happened in the morning, Su Yu guessed that it was someone from the county government. It seemed that the two counties were indeed connected because of those two rows of trees.
The next morning, Su Yu received the government officials and, without saying much, directly signed the agreement regarding the ownership of the tree.
"Besides the two rows of trees along the road, have you planted any other trees elsewhere?" the young man asked.
"Yes, the trees along the small river leading to Xinhe Brigade, as well as the Coptis chinensis and poplar trees along the edges of the fields, were planted by me, my child, and my son's classmates. Oh, and the trees on the wasteland leading to the orchard were also planted by us."
The man stared at her in surprise, then added to what she had said, adding with concern, "The places where you plant trees are either farmland or temporarily abandoned land, but they all belong to the collective and the state, not rural residential land. The trees you plant won't be yours."
“I know, I just planted it for fun, I didn’t mean to own the tree.” Su Yu nodded to show that she understood what he meant.
"Alright, as long as you understand." The man packed his things and left. He had never seen such a strange person before. Planting so many trees just for fun? He glanced at the paper, went back to the government building, got on his bicycle, and planned to go to the place she had mentioned.
"How did it go? Why did it take you so long to get back?" The man in the office looked up and asked as his secretary returned.
"There's no problem." But he felt that no problem meant there was a problem, which was hard to understand. He took a sip of water and told the county magistrate everything he had seen: "Su Yu has planted a lot of trees in the south and west of the town. The willows planted in Xiaoxiwan in the south of the town are as thick as a calf, and others are as thick as a wrist. They are growing better than the crops."
There are actually people who have so much free time that they plant trees! The world is truly full of wonders.
"Did you tell her that the tree doesn't belong to her and the land doesn't belong to her either?" the county magistrate asked.
“I told you, here’s the statement she signed. She’s the one who added the details to the south side of the town, and I added them myself.”
The middle-aged man took it, glanced at it, and asked, "The trees are all alive and well? They didn't die?"
"They're all fine, none of them are dead." Anyway, all he could see were half-withered yellow weeds and tall, miscellaneous trees.
"File it." The county magistrate handed over the paper, and as the secretary was about to leave, he called him back and said, "I remember there was some kind of document about gardens or shelterbelts around the beginning of spring. Find it and contact them to see how things are going over there. Tell them about this person. Someone who can plant trees and make them survive might have some skills."
"Okay, I'll go look for it." He had no recollection of anything about protective forests.
Two days later, Ning Jin returned, bringing with him a radio and a watch, both of which he bought for Su Yu.
"Didn't you buy yourself a watch?" Su Yu put on the Titoni watch, which she had heard people mention many times, and gestured, "Does it look good?"
“It looks good. Your skin is fair, and this silver watch looks good on you. I tried it on, but it made me look even darker, so I didn’t buy it. I’ll buy it when I find something suitable.”
Su Yu suspected he was lying and asked, "Did you use up the money I gave you to buy a radio?" She had never mentioned buying a radio.
Ning Jin chuckled and said, "Compared to the watch, I prefer this thing. My whole family can use it. I can do without the watch, but wearing it is a bit of a hassle. I have to take it off when I shower, and I'm not used to it."
"You can buy another one at the end of the year. Our family savings can afford two watches and a radio," Su Yu suggested to him.
Ning Jin didn't refuse. Thinking about what he had heard at the factory, he said, "In a while, we might have to go south. I heard that there is fruit there in winter. We can bring it over and make it into canned goods or sell it fresh, and it will sell well."
"A little longer?" Su Yu understood his hidden meaning.
"Yeah, it might take several days longer." What Ning Jin didn't say was that he was completely unfamiliar with the roads there, and no one had ever run that route before. It would be more difficult than it was now, but the salary would be higher. Su Yu's salary was higher than his three years ago, and she was still at home taking care of the children. He wanted to give it a try. Since he was going to be out running around anyway, he might as well go and find a job with a higher salary.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
