Year: I planted trees in Saihanba

Chapter 354 Choice (1)

Dinner was over soon.

Mr. Shen looked at Sui Zhichao, who was sitting next to Shen Mengyin, and spoke calmly.

"Little Sui, come with me!"

Although his tone was calm, it carried a hint of undeniable authority.

Shen Mengyin felt a pang of anxiety when she saw her father's serious expression and wanted to stop him.

But her mother grabbed her hand.

"Nannan, come with me, I have something to tell you!"

Shen Mengyin looked at Sui Zhichao, then at her own mother, her eyes filled with worry.

When she looked at Sui Zhichao, his gaze also happened to be on her.

Their eyes met, and Sui Zhichao gave her a reassuring look before following Shen's father to the Shen family study.

Looking at his back, one gets a sense of "The wind howls, the Yi River is cold, the hero departs, never to return."

The Shen family study was filled with the scent of aged sandalwood and Xuan paper, while the leaves of the plane trees rustled outside the French windows.

Sui Zhichao stood at the edge of the Persian carpet, watching Shen's father slowly caress the paperweight on the rosewood desk, his throat tightening.

"Little Sui, don't be so nervous. I just invited you here to have a casual chat."

Mr. Shen suddenly looked up, a smile forming at the corner of his eyes, but it didn't reach his eyes.

"Please sit down!"

Sui Zhichao sat cautiously on the leather chair, as if facing a formidable enemy.

My back was taut and straight, and I even unconsciously slowed down my breathing.

When his father asked him if he wanted something to drink, he hurriedly waved his hand.

"No need, thank you, Uncle!"

"Okay, then I'll be frank! My daughter has never suffered any hardship since she was little."

“If we hadn’t been forced to, we wouldn’t have let her go to Saihanba alone.”

"I heard the conditions there are really tough, is that true?"

Sui Zhichao's thoughts were instantly pulled back to the howling winds on the dam.

I remembered the sandstorms when I first arrived at Saihanba, and how I almost starved to death on the barren land of Saihanba that winter.

But these images linger on the tongue, ultimately culminating in a light, understated remark.

"The conditions were indeed quite tough during the first year after we arrived at the dam."

"As the advance team for tree planting in Saihanba, we were stationed on the dam and did encounter a lot of difficulties."

"However, all difficulties are temporary."

"After the forest farm was built, the conditions were no longer so harsh."

"Although the conditions are not as good as at home, we still have no problem with basic living expenses."

Shen's father's knuckles tapped the table unconsciously, making a regular "tap-tap" sound.

He recalled his daughter's understated "all is well" in her letter.

Although Sui Zhichao spoke lightly, one could still imagine the conditions on the dam from his description.

Thinking about all this, Mr. Shen felt a dull ache in his chest, as if a ball of cotton had been stuffed inside.

After calming himself down, Mr. Shen asked again.

How did you and our little girl meet?

"When did you start dating?"

Sui Zhichao's ear tips turned a light red, and his Adam's apple slid up and down with difficulty.

"Mengyin and I were college students who went to the dam in the same batch."

"When I first met her, I felt that we were destined to be together."

“I’m from Tianjin, and she’s from Shanghai.”

"And both of our university majors were related to pests and diseases."

"From that moment on, I felt that she was the person I wanted to protect for the rest of my life!"

Memories flooded back, and he recalled the scene of his first meeting with Shen Mengyin at the Chengde Imperial Palace.

Thinking back on all the little things I did with Shen Mengyin later.

I remember how excited she was when she received the coffee beans I sent her.

Those fragmented images pieced together his aspirations for the rest of his life.