Chapter 290

Su Xinghui waved his hand with a smile and stood up. Seeing Su Xinghui rise to leave, Lei Ming also stood up and said, "Are you eating here at noon? Shall we have a few drinks?"

Su Xinghui said, "Let's do it next time. I just got back to the township government and haven't even warmed my seat yet. I'm out on business; it wouldn't look good to go back smelling of alcohol."

Lei Ming could only nod, "Alright, then come find me for a drink after work one of these days."

Returning to the township government, Su Xinghui went into Chen Hongfu's office and told him the news that Ji Tao and Zhang Kaishan would be coming to Meng Hu Ling Township again in two days.

Hearing this news, Chen Hongfu was naturally very happy. County leaders coming to Meng Hu Ling frequently was, of course, a good thing for him.

He asked Su Xinghui, "Are Secretary Ji and County Magistrate Zhang coming because of the visit from Secretary-General Lu?"

Su Xinghui nodded, "That's exactly why they're coming."

After thinking for a moment, Chen Hongfu said, "The most worth-seeing place in the township right now is Ye Zhugou Village. How about this: tomorrow morning, I'll go to Ye Zhugou with you."

Su Xinghui said, "Sounds good."

Su Xinghui left Chen Hongfu's office and happened to run into Cheng Taoxian. She smiled at Su Xinghui and said, "Little Su, Happy New Year!"

Su Xinghui quickly said, "Happy New Year, Sister Cheng!"

Cheng Taoxian said, "Come eat at my place at noon. Your Brother Luo specifically asked me to call you. He's cooking right now."

Su Xinghui teased, "Sister Cheng, Brother Luo really dotes on you. It seems like ever since he got back, he's taken over all the cooking duties?"

Cheng Taoxian blushed slightly and said, "Isn't that what he should do? Who told him to only come home once a year?"

Su Xinghui nodded, "Alright, I'll go after work."

Cheng Taoxian said happily, "Then I'll go back and prepare."

Seeing that it was almost time to get off work, Su Xinghui went out to buy some pastries for little Luo Wei and carried them to Cheng Taoxian's house. Luo Wenchang was stir-frying dishes. Seeing the pastries in Su Xinghui's hand, he complained, "You're coming for a meal, why bring things?"

Su Xinghui said, "I bought them for Weiwei. I haven't seen him in so long, I missed him a bit."

Luo Wenchang didn't say anything more and pointed inside, "Go in and sit. There are two more dishes to stir-fry, then we can eat."

Su Xinghui entered the room and placed the pastries on the table. Luo Wei called out, "Uncle Su!" Su Xinghui happily picked Luo Wei up, held him under the armpits, and spun him around in a circle in the room. This was a game he and Luo Wei often played, and Luo Wei laughed happily.

Cheng Taoxian was startled and said to Su Xinghui, "Little Su, be careful not to drop him."

Su Xinghui stopped with a smile, put Luo Wei down, and said, "Weiwei, your mom won't let you play anymore."

Luo Wei said, "No, I still want to play."

Cheng Taoxian said, "Weiwei, you can't play this game all the time. If you play too much, Uncle will get tired."

Luo Wei was still a very obedient child. Hearing his mother's words, he nodded and said, "Then let's not play anymore."

Luo Wenchang came in carrying a plate of food: "Dinner is served!"

Su Xinghui quickly went to help carry the other plates in and set them on the table. Luo Wenchang took a pot of wine, poured a glass for Su Xinghui, filled his own, and said, "Try this wine; it's brewed by our family."

Su Xinghui raised his glass and said, "Alright, this glass is to wish your whole family a Happy New Year!"

Luo Wenchang and Cheng Taoxian both said, "Thank you!"

Su Xinghui drank the wine. It tasted quite good, very mellow, not inferior to Shangjun Daqu. He nodded and said, "Mm, this wine is very good."

Luo Wenchang added, "Try this cured meat, too. It's smoked by our family; it's very fragrant."

Su Xinghui ate a piece of the cured meat as suggested. Sure enough, the meat was smoked with branches from pine and several types of fruit trees, filled with a clear fragrance. Stir-fried with garlic, it tasted wonderful. He nodded and said, "Mm, this cured meat is delicious."

Seeing that Su Xinghui liked his family's food, Luo Wenchang nodded happily and said, "As long as you like it. I brought a lot from my hometown. If you want to eat it these days, just come over to my place; don't be a stranger."

Su Xinghui said, "Alright, but I have a good appetite, so don't let me eat all your cured meat."

Luo Wenchang laughed heartily, "No worries, I'm only happy if you eat a lot."

After three glasses of wine, Luo Wenchang said to Su Xinghui, "Little Su, I want to tell you something: I want to retire from the military this year!"

Su Xinghui said in surprise, "Brother Luo, have you made up your mind? Isn't it a bit of a pity? You have a limitless future in the military!"

Luo Wenchang indeed had a limitless future in the military. Being a deputy regimental commander at only 32 was rare. He had participated in the self-defense counterattack war and attended military academy; as long as he stayed in the military, his promotion would surely be fast.

But if he made up his mind to retire to civilian life, it would be impossible to maintain his deputy regimental rank—which was equivalent to deputy county level—upon returning to civilian life. He would have to be demoted by at least one level, or perhaps even two. In other words, he would be at most a deputy section-level or section-level cadre, which would be a great loss.

Therefore, making such a decision was not easy at all.

Luo Wenchang said, "I've made up my mind. I've thought about it. The self-defense counterattack war is basically over now, and I estimate there won't be any more wars in our country for the next few years. I want to retire to make up for the debt I owe Taoxian all these years, and little Wei—if I keep coming home only once a year like this, next time he might not even recognize me."

As Luo Wenchang spoke, he patted little Luo Wei's head. Luo Wei asked, "Dad, are you coming back?"

Luo Wenchang nodded, "Yes, Dad might be able to come back in a few months."

Luo Wei clapped his hands happily, "That's great! Dad is coming back!"

Cheng Taoxian's face was also filled with a happy smile as she fed little Luo Wei a spoonful of rice.