In rural China, there is a tree called the "soaphorn tree", which is quite peculiar, covered with sharp thorns and barbs. A single touch will leave a shocking bloody trail on your fingertips. 
Therefore, whenever the peasants and children saw it, they all wisely chose to take a detour so as not to hurt their hands. In the past, people used to take advantage of this characteristic to plant a lot of soaphorn trees around the yard, and this dense thorn was more intimidating than the sharp blade of a thief. Only a few unlucky rats were injured because they accidentally planted themselves in the bushes. However, this is not the case, and the village is now very safe at night. The bright lights and the chatting villagers are enough to warn any malicious intruders. 
As a result, although time has passed, the saponaria tree has lost its former usefulness. Whenever frost falls, the saponaria tree is full of bright red or yellowish pods. Although it is covered with thorns, it does not hinder the curiosity of the children in the village. They skewered the rough pods with sticks and took them home to dry, making them the best toys for the whole winter. 
It's better to be pricked while playing with a block than to be scolded by your elders. So, in that era when electronic products were not yet popular, saponaria pods brought endless joy to children. With the improvement of people's living standards, the demand for traditional Chinese medicine in prevention and health care is growing, and many traditional medicinal materials have also flourished in recent years. In the process of studying ancient books, some experts found that the thorns, pods, seeds and other parts of the saponaria tree, which are widely distributed in rural areas of China, can be used in medicine and have high medicinal value. 
As soon as this long-lost news was revealed, it quickly caused a sensation in the field of medicinal material production and **. After industrial extraction and processing, the market for each catty of Saponaria medicinal materials is as high as 30 yuan. This figure means a lot to farmers living in poor villages, more than they can harvest in a year. In order to change their lives, they began to organize themselves and go to the nearby mountains to find the remnants of the saponaria trees. At first, it was just a few households, and then gradually grew to the scale of the whole village or even across villages. 
Everyone worked together, the old and weak women and children were responsible for inquiring about the news, and the middle-aged people went deep into the mountains and forests to collect soaphorn. Gradually, acquisition stations sprung up in various places, and Chinese medicine factories of different sizes joined the competition. Residents bring in the harvested saponaria trees for trading, which brings them a considerable by-income. The cash incentive made them re-examine the plant, and the saponaria tree, which was once considered a barren thing, has achieved tangible benefits for so many people. The discovery of the medicinal value of the saponaria tree has given many people hope of getting rich quickly. In order to make more money, they frantically cut down the soaphorn trees around each village. 
The crisp sound of the axe was endless, and the once verdant hillside became a barren bare land in the blink of an eye. Some people also climbed the courtyard of the ** crowd without permission and cut down the few soaphorn trees planted on the edge of the courtyard wall. When the farmers returned home, they were already a leaf in the field, which filled their hearts with powerlessness and anger. 
For a time, the call for "protecting the soaphorn tree" spread everywhere in the countryside. Villagers have voluntarily patrolled the mountains in an attempt to stop the illegal logging from continuing, but with little success. After a period of extensive felling, it is rare to find a complete saponaria tree. Sourcing stations have had to significantly ramp up acquisitions** to keep the business running. Some unscrupulous traders took the opportunity to coax the **, making it unprofitable for the farmers who really relied on collecting saponaria trees to make a living. Driven by economic interests, the number of remaining trees continues to decline and the number is on the verge of depletion. 
It is undeniable that we should pay attention to and protect this plant. It not only has important medicinal and economic value, but also a unique landscape unique to the countryside. Otherwise, if you want to re-cultivate and grow to a usable scale, I am afraid that it will take several generations of painstaking efforts. Now, the saponaria tree is in a crisis, and we must act before it disappears. I believe that with the development of science and technology, people will definitely develop more uses and values of the saponaria tree. It is hard wood or can be used in high-end furniture, and soaphorn extract may also become a core ingredient in some pharmaceutical or daily chemical products. 
At that time, the plant will have its second spring. In order not to lose this gift to future generations, we have a responsibility to take action to protect every saponaria tree that remains in the countryside. I suggest that a subsidy policy could be introduced to provide appropriate economic incentives to villagers who voluntarily contract barren mountains and wasteland and cultivate large areas of soaphorn trees on it. It is believed that this will arouse the enthusiasm of the vast number of peasants and enable them to devote themselves to this protection work. 
When the tree is back in full bloom, picking and selling it will also provide a steady income for the villagers in the mountainous areas**. At the same time, we should continue to publicize the unique value of this plant and raise the awareness of protection in the whole society. You and I should no longer turn a blind eye to them and cut them down at will. Let's join hands to escort the sustainable development of the Saponaria tree.