Chapter 141

Old Bao said, "Fine. How about we visit Professor Qin together that day?"

Su Xinghui said, "Sure, I'll call you when I get to Jiangcheng."

Old Bao said, "Okay, I'll contact the others in the next few days."

Su Xinghui said, "Fine, I also wish your whole family a Happy New Year and all the best!"

Old Bao also said thank you, and the two hung up the phone.

After hanging up, Su Xinghui felt a headache. They were going to work on the seventh day, but he had to go to Jiangcheng on the fifth to visit Lu Zhenghong's family. Lu Xiaoya also asked him to stay in Jiangcheng for two more days. Thinking about the many people he had to visit in Jiangcheng—Professor Qin, Professor Rao, and others—and he had to visit his aunt's house, and meet with these classmates, he realized he couldn't possibly make it back to Menghuling by the seventh.

So, he called Chen Hongfu's house to wish him a Happy New Year and mentioned that he was going to Jiangcheng on the fifth to visit some elders, including Professor Rao and others, and that he might not be able to go to Menghuling on the seventh.

Chen Hongfu told him to go ahead and that it didn't matter if he was a couple of days late for work. He also thanked Su Xinghui for calling to wish him a Happy New Year and wished his whole family a Happy New Year.

After finishing this call, Su Xinghui had just hung up when the phone rang again. He picked it up and found it was Lu Xiaoya. She happily wished Su Xinghui a Happy New Year and wished his whole family all the best.

Su Xinghui thanked her repeatedly and asked if Lu Zhenghong was home. Lu Xiaoya said he had gone out to attend an event and wasn't home. This was normal; Lu Zhenghong was the Secretary-General of the Provincial Party Committee, and the busier it was, the more he had to work. Of course, he couldn't be like ordinary people, staying at home to keep the vigil with his family. This could be considered a trade-off.

After talking to Lu Xiaoya, the phone rang continuously. More and more people were calling to wish him a Happy New Year. Xue Qin, Zhang Cheng, Xu Xiaoguang, Wu Jun, and others all called Su Xinghui to wish him a Happy New Year, and Su Xinghui naturally wished them a Happy New Year one by one.

After receiving more than ten calls, it finally quieted down. By this time, it was almost midnight. Su Xinghui went to the kitchen to check on the soup simmering on the stove. At this time, the pot of lotus root soup had been simmering on low heat for several hours. As soon as he lifted the lid, the fragrance was overwhelming—it was incredibly delicious.

Su Xinghui used chopsticks to test a piece of pork rib and a piece of lotus root. The ribs were tender and falling off the bone, and the lotus root was soft and glutinous. Taking a sip of the soup, it was rich, clear, and sweet—the taste was simply perfect.

Su Xinghui served a bowl of lotus root soup for everyone in the family. Every year during the New Year's vigil, people in Shangjun had to drink a bowl of lotus root soup; without it, it felt like something was missing.

While drinking the soup, the countdown to midnight began on the TV. Su Xinghui quickly brought out a string of firecrackers, went outside to get ready, and the second the countdown on the TV ended, he lit the firecrackers. At this moment, the sound of firecrackers throughout Shangjun County erupted in unison. This sound meant that the traditional Chinese Lunar New Year had arrived.

On the morning of the first day of the New Year, Su Xinghui got up early to exercise as usual. When he went out, he saw that the outside was already covered in white snow, and the heavy snow hadn't stopped; it was still falling.

Su Xinghui thought of his little nephew and couldn't help but laugh. Today he should be able to happily build a snowman and have a snowball fight.

Su Xinghui ran a lap outside and practiced a set of boxing in the yard, working up a sweat, before returning home to dry off. By this time, Su Wenjun and his wife had just gotten up.

After breakfast, Su Xinghui went out to pay New Year's visits; this was something he had to do every year.

He went to the homes of township leaders like Chen Hongfu and Dong Jianshu who lived in the county, visited some close classmates, and went to some teachers' homes. These were all places he had to visit.

Although it was snowing heavily today, there were still many pedestrians on the street. They were all out paying New Year's visits, and everyone's face was full of joy.

After Su Xinghui returned home from his visits, Su Wenjun told him that several of his classmates had also come to the house to pay their respects.

Guo Suhua had already prepared the meal, and the family of three finished eating. Some of Su Wenjun's colleagues from the hospital also came to pay their respects.

Su Wenjun was highly skilled and had noble medical ethics at the People's Hospital, so he was well-respected by his colleagues. Every year during the New Year, many colleagues came to pay their respects.

After the guests left, Guo Suhua counted the gifts they had brought. Of course, the gifts for New Year's visits weren't expensive—nothing more than two bottles of Shangjun Daqu liquor, two boxes of pastries produced in Shangjun, things worth a dozen yuan or so. Su Xinghui also bought these when visiting others.

Guo Suhua counted out several sets of gifts and set them aside, saying they were for Su Xinghui to take to his maternal grandparents and two uncles on the second day of the New Year.

Just as Guo Suhua was telling Su Xinghui which gifts to give to his grandparents, which to his eldest uncle, and which to his youngest uncle, the phone rang.

After Su Wenjun answered the phone, he called Su Xinghui, saying it was for him. Su Xinghui went over and heard it was Zhang Cheng calling.

Listening to Zhang Cheng, Su Xinghui's expression became serious.

It turned out that Tao Yan had an accident. Tao Yan didn't use his driver this morning and drove to the Yulin Region himself. He returned after lunch, and when he was almost at Shangjun County, due to excessive speed and the snowy, slippery road, he accidentally flipped his car while avoiding an oncoming tractor, and the car was thrown into a ditch by the side of the road.

Farmers living by the roadside worked together to lift the car and rescue the people inside. Besides Tao Yan, there was a young woman in the car—a policewoman from the Public Security Bureau. Tao Yan had a strong smell of alcohol on him, so he must have been driving under the influence.

There was a bit of schadenfreude in Zhang Cheng's voice, which was normal. Tao Yan's reputation in Shangjun County was truly terrible, and the bad things he had done were too numerous to record. Su Xinghui guessed that the farmers who saved him didn't know who was in the car; if they had known, Su Xinghui estimated they wouldn't have saved him at all.

Zhang Cheng said Tao Yan and the policewoman had been sent to the hospital, and the county leaders had all rushed to the hospital to handle this emergency. Zhang Kaishan had naturally gone as well.

After Su Xinghui hung up, Su Wenjun asked, "What happened?"

Su Xinghui said, "Tao Yan had a car accident."

Su Wenjun said, "What? It happened today?"

Guo Suhua also straightened up and looked at Su Xinghui.

Su Xinghui nodded and said, "It just happened. I heard he was driving after drinking at noon, and there was a policewoman in the car."

Guo Suhua said, "So it's Director Tao. Him having a car accident can only be called retribution."

Su Wenjun, however, stood up and changed his clothes. Today was the first day of the New Year, and there weren't many staff in the hospital. Now that there was a car accident, both of them were likely injured, and the hospital staff would be even more stretched. He had to go help. Although he didn't have a good impression of Tao Yan, he was, after all, a doctor.

Su Xinghui said, "Dad, I'll go with you."

The father and son arrived at the hospital. The atmosphere in the hospital was very heavy, and the county leaders were basically all there, waiting outside the operating room.

Su Wenjun walked toward the director standing outside the operating room and said, "Director, is there anything I can help with?"

The director saw him and smiled reluctantly, "There's nothing to help with for the time being."