Chapter 4033

However, life for the Xia family had undergone a complete transformation, which filled Su Xinghui with great emotion.

Despite his emotions, Su Xinghui would not allow any lapse in etiquette. Seeing Xia Song's parents, he stepped forward quickly, took Xia Shisheng's hand, and said, "Uncle Xia, how are you?"

Xia Shisheng nodded repeatedly and said, "Good, good, good. Mayor Su, how are you?"

Su Xinghui nodded and said, "I am doing well, too."

Su Xinghui then shook hands with Xia Song's mother and said, "Auntie Xia, how are you?"

Xia Song's mother was a woman of few words, but she greeted Su Xinghui with a heart full of gratitude.

Lu Xiaoya also greeted them with a smile.

Su Xinghui exchanged pleasantries with the families of Xia Zhu and Xia Mei, then everyone took their seats as hosts and guests, and the waiters began to serve the dishes.

Xia Shisheng said to Su Xinghui, full of gratitude, "Mayor Su, our entire Xia family owes you our thanks. If it weren't for you, how could we have such a good life now?"

Su Xinghui said, "Uncle Xia, please don't be so formal. Wasn't what I did just the right thing to do?"

Both Xia Shisheng and his wife were mountain folk. Although their family was wealthy now, they still lacked eloquence. Unable to express the gratitude in their hearts, they could only nod repeatedly.

Xia Zhu watched all of this with a smile. She still harbored some special feelings for Su Xinghui, but she was a very rational person now. She knew that these feelings must not be revealed in the slightest, or it would be good for no one. Thus, she could only suppress all of her emotions.

Su Xinghui asked about the children of Xia Zhu and Xia Mei. Xia Zhu had given birth to a daughter, while Xia Mei had a boy. Xia Zhu's daughter was only one year younger than Niuniu, and Xia Mei's son was only three or four. Seeing that their children were lively and cute, Su Xinghui felt very gratified.

Niuniu was the oldest among these children, so he called the three children of the Xia siblings to another small table and ate with them there. The three of them were very obedient to Niuniu.

After the dishes were served, Su Xinghui first raised a glass of beverage to Xia Shisheng and his wife and said, "Uncle Xia, Auntie Xia, come, let me toast you. Since you've come this time, you must stay in Linshan for a good while before going back. Linshan is quite fun now."

Xia Shisheng and his wife picked up their glasses, feeling a bit at a loss, and drank with Su Xinghui. Xia Shisheng said, "We can't stay here too long. We have to go back to manage the medicinal herb garden at home. If we don't go back, we'll miss the season."

Su Xinghui said, "Oh, the medicinal herb garden at home must be doing quite well now, right?"

Once this was mentioned, Xia Shisheng opened the floodgates: "Yes, the herb garden at home is excellent. It brings us quite a bit of income every year, several tens of thousands. Xia Zhu and the others keep saying we shouldn't farm the herb garden anymore, but if we didn't, could we earn this much money every year?"

Su Xinghui said with a smile, "Uncle, aren't Xia Zhu and the others just concerned about you? Now that they have all succeeded, they want you to rest more. With them providing for you, what are you afraid of?"

Now, all three Xia siblings had succeeded. In particular, Xia Zhu was a National Arts and Crafts Master; a single bamboo weaving painting of hers could sell for over a hundred thousand. Her bamboo crafts were also of great value. And this was just the small part—one had to know that the man she married, Feng Yuandong, was now the young master of Quanjie Pharmaceutical and a billionaire. How could they be short of those few tens of thousands of yuan a year?

Xia Shisheng laughed and said, "Actually, it's not for those few tens of thousands of yuan a year. I just can't stay idle. We've been laborers all our lives; whenever I'm idle, I feel uncomfortable all over. When I see the herbs in the garden growing well, my heart is happy. If I really stopped farming one day, I reckon I'd fall ill in a few days."

Xia Zhu chided, "Dad, you're talking nonsense again."

Xia Shisheng grinned, laughing happily. He said to Su Xinghui again, "Mayor Su, when will you go back to Meng Hu Ling to take a look? It's very good there now. By the way, the Du Zhong trees you led everyone to plant over a dozen years ago have all matured now. Last year, we already started peeling the bark of our family's Du Zhong trees to sell."

Hearing Xia Shisheng's words, Su Xinghui felt even more emotional. Du Zhong trees take fifteen years to mature, and the trees in Meng Hu Ling were planted when he led the common people there in the second year of his rebirth. Some of the trees were even planted by his own hands. That scene seemed like it was only yesterday, yet he hadn't expected that the trees would have matured after fifteen years.

Su Xinghui said, "The Du Zhong trees have matured? It's been over a dozen years in the blink of an eye. Now the common people of Meng Hu Ling are finally reaping the benefits. It hasn't been easy!"

Xia Shisheng said excitedly, "Yes, life for the people of Meng Hu Ling is very good now. They farm herb gardens, plant fruit trees, engage in animal husbandry, and some work in factories. Which family doesn't have an income of over a hundred thousand a year? Now that the Du Zhong trees have matured, every family has several mu of them, so they've all made a fortune. Everyone says that planting these Du Zhong trees wasn't a loss, and they are all hoping you'll go back to see the Du Zhong forest."

Du Zhong takes over a dozen years to mature; ordinary people would have long since lost the patience. If everyone hadn't trusted Su Xinghui back then, they wouldn't have planted these trees that only yield benefits after a dozen years. But to be honest, many people had their doubts in their hearts. Now that they had made a fortune, they immediately remembered Su Xinghui's words back then, and they all cherished Su Xinghui's kindness.

They still missed Su Xinghui to this day. Although Su Xinghui had only stayed in Meng Hu Ling for less than a year, he was the leader who had brought the greatest change to Meng Hu Ling. Since he left, no other leader had been able to be like him; on the contrary, they were all living off Su Xinghui's legacy.

But even that legacy was enough for them to live on for a lifetime.

Therefore, the people of Meng Hu Ling were sincerely hoping for Su Xinghui to go back and take a look. Most of the common people were still very simple; as long as a leader brought them tangible benefits and did good deeds for them, they would remember him forever.

Su Xinghui mused, "I'm too busy right now, but I will definitely go back to Shangxian County. After all, that is the place where I grew up. When I return to Shangxian County, I will go to Meng Hu Ling to take a look. I also really want to see what the matured Du Zhong forest looks like now."

The Xia Shisheng family all said happily, "That would be truly great!"

Xia Zhu raised her glass and said, "Come, let's have a drink together."

Su Xinghui and Lu Xiaoya picked up their drinks and had a glass together.

Feng Yuandong asked, "Mayor Su, weren't you able to drink before? I remember you never got drunk. Why don't you drink now?"

Su Xinghui smiled without answering, but Lu Xiaoya's face turned red.

Xia Zhu saw the clue and said with a smile, "Yuandong, don't ask. Mayor Su has his reasons for not drinking."

Xia Mei was straightforward and said, "Is Mayor Su planning to have a second child? This year, both Yanbei Province and Hudong Province have started implementing the policy for a second child for single-child couples. Mayor Su and Minister Lu happen to fit this policy."

Everyone suddenly realized, and Lu Xiaoya's face turned even redder. Su Xinghui nodded calmly and said, "Xia Mei, you guessed right."

At the beginning of this year, Yanbei Province and several other provinces had taken the lead in implementing the policy for a second child for single-child couples. Su Xinghui and Lu Xiaoya had long decided to have a second child, so Su Xinghui had stopped drinking several months ago. When socializing, he only drank beverages. This was also for the sake of eugenics—he had to have a healthy baby. Since he didn't drink, no one dared to force him to drink.

Xia Mei said, "What a pity, none of us fit this policy. Otherwise, I would want to have another one too."