Planting a forest for love

　　 In the small town of Maltif in the south of France, there was a boy named Hickory. When he was 16 years old, his father, who was dependent on him, unfortunately, suffered from rare lung disease. Hickory accompanied his father to every major hospital, and the doctors were at their wits' end, suggesting only that "if the patient could live in a large forest with fresh air and improved breathing conditions, there might be a chance of survival." But just how much hope that had, they weren't sure.

　　Unfortunately, Hickory's father was already too weak to endure the long trip to live in a place with a forest. As he watched his father get sicker and sicker, Hickory's heart burned with anxiety. Suddenly, he had a bright idea: "Why don't I plant some trees myself? When these trees grow up, maybe father's illness will get better."

　　When the father heard that his son wanted to plant trees for himself, he was very touched and said to Hickory with a bitter smile, "We lack water here, the climate is dry, the soil is barren, how easy it is to let a tree survive? Let's forget it!" But Hickory still secretly resolved to plant a dense forest in front of his house, because this is the only way to keep his father's life alive.

　　From then on, Hickory saved every penny his father gave him, sometimes not even eating breakfast, and on weekends he went to town to sell newspapers and do some small jobs. After saving some money, Hickory took a bus more than 200 miles away to buy tree seedlings. The owner of the saplings Jefferson advised him not to do useless work because the town's natural conditions are harsh, and the trees are difficult to survive. Others had tried before, but they all failed. But when Jefferson learned that Hickory bought saplings to save his father's life, he was deeply touched by this behavior. Since then, he sold to Hickory saplings often charged only half the price, and sometimes gave him some easy-to-survive saplings, and taught him some cultivation knowledge.

　　Hickory dug pits in front of his house and struggled to carry buckets of water to irrigate the saplings. Due to the local drought and lack of rain, the soil lacked nutrients, most of the saplings soon died after planting, and the few that survived also appeared to be malnourished, growing crooked and thin. Many people in town advised Hickory to give up this "stupid" idea, but he always laughed it off. Every morning, the first thing Hickory did was when he got up. It was to see if the sapling had died and how much it had grown.

　　Late one night, there was a sudden hailstorm, and when Hickory scrambled to set up the tent, the saplings had been smashed down by the hailstorm a large part. Despite this, he planted more than 100 saplings at the beginning of the year, and 43 of them survived.

　　At this time, Hickory had already graduated from high school, but to take care of his father, he took the initiative to give up the opportunity to go to college. Some people said Hickory was insane, some said he was too pedantic to delay his future for a dying man, and no one believed that these plants, which were almost as tall as a man, could save a patient that even doctors could not cure. Hickory never took these rumors to heart and just kept on planting saplings as usual.

　　Year after year, Hickory planted more and more saplings, many of which had grown taller and thicker. Hickory often helped his father to go for a walk in the woods with the fragrance of grass and trees, and the old man's face gradually got rosy, coughing much less than before, and his health was greatly enhanced.

　　At this point, no one ridiculed Hickory as crazy anymore, because all the residents witnessed the magic of green trees, which brought fresh air, attracted singing birds, and made the town more and more beautiful.

　　Hickory's story of planting a tree to save his father's life was broadcast on Paris International TV Channel 6 and was carried by many media outlets. Many people were moved to tears by Hickory's filial piety, love, courage to challenge nature, and indomitable spirit; some terminally ill patients even asked Hickory for leaves, saying that they were a symbol of the green color of life: the people of the town also got involved in planting trees.

　　In 2004, at the age of 39, Hickory was named the healthiest and most dutiful man in France by the Parisian magazine La Vogue. In early 2005, medical experts treated Hickory's father again and found that the lung symptoms had disappeared incredibly and his lungs were as normal as they could be.

　　The doctor said: "In this world, love is the most amazing power, sometimes it is more effective than any advanced medical means!" Yes, as long as there is love in the heart. No matter how barren the soil is, the strongest trees can grow.