Wang Zhengguo’s mouth opened even wider. He was no stranger to the name Wang Xinsheng!
A founding father of the nation, holding high authority, the greatest pride of their Huaibei City, who wouldn’t give him a thumbs up when his name was mentioned?
He thought Cheng Baoguo already held a pretty high ranking being the mayor, but the one in front of him was even more remarkable. He truly deserved to be the boss of the three sworn friends from Taoyuan. No wonder Lu’s father always lived so comfortably, no wonder Qingxue and Xibao had the opportunity to make appearances before the leaders. Turns out Lu’s father’s two sworn brothers have achieved a lot; they didn’t forget their roots and obviously used their power to promote Lu Jiang and Feng Qingxue.
Why did they all change their names after they went out to make their fortunes? It made him afraid to recognize them.
Suddenly, Xibao said, "Grandpa, grandpa!", pointing to his own mouth.
Wang Zhengguo abruptly closed his mouth, at a loss for what to do for the moment.
Nevertheless, Lu’s father was very composed. He laughed and said, "Zhengguo, sit down. There’s no need to be so formal. We have been together for so many years, who doesn’t understand whom? If elder brother was pretentious, he wouldn’t come here. I thought of telling you this when Tie Dan was in my house in the past in order to relieve you from being uneasy because of the deferential way Tie Dan looked at you. But I didn’t know how to bring it up. Now that we met, I won’t hide it from you anymore."
"Yes, Zhengguo, let’s have a good drink together tonight, reminiscing the past. It has been over 30 years since we last met."
"Time flies so fast, more than half of our lives have passed." Wang Zhengguo lamented.
Though Wang Fengqiao was not aware of the secret that Wang Xinsheng and Lu’s father were sworn brothers, which they no longer planned to reveal, once Wang Zhengguo gave the word, she began to prepare a table of food after making soup for Feng Qingxue. The three of them sat around a small table, chatting and drinking, without mentioning the past, only discussing the current cultural atmosphere of their hometown, or playing with little Xibao.
"Xibao, come, let’s clink our glasses!"Wang Xinsheng raised his cup.
Xibao’s eyes lit up. Under the smiling gaze of Lu’s father and Wang Zhengguo, he quickly raised his own cup filled with plain water, "Brother... let’s clink our glasses! Grandpa, grandpa!", calling Lu’s father and Wang Zhengguo in a hurried manner.
Lu’s father and Wang Zhengguo had no choice but to raise their own glasses and the ringing sound of the four cups clinking together was crisp and melodious.
As if he’d become an adult himself after clinking glasses, Xibao happily sat on the chair, swinging his two chubby legs and chewing on a soft, white bun from his hand. After eating a few bites, he glanced at the bun and exclaimed, "Sister!"
Thinking of his sister, he slid from the chair onto the floor and darted into the east bedroom.
"Sister!" Xibao held up the bun towards Fubao’s crib, wanting to feed her.
Fubao woke up and cooed.
Amidst Wang Fengqiao’s laughter, Feng Qingxue hurriedly pulled her son back to sit on the chair with her. "Xibao," she said, "Mommy has to tell you, your sister is still small, she can’t eat buns. You eat it instead, okay?"
Feng Qingxue fed him a spoonful of chicken soup. Since the soup didn’t have salt, Xibao took a sip, then shook his head repeatedly. "No, no!"
Holding his bun, he ran outside again.
Xibao was running around, his chubby figure adding a touch of fun to the room.
After sipping his drink, Wang Xinsheng solemnly said, "Zhengguo, even though you and the Wanglou Brigade have made your names known to the former leaders, it is not easy to keep that momentum. You need to work twice as hard! You absolutely must work twice as hard. If there is even a slight mistake, if living standards are compromised, and if the local government fails to boast about the Wanglou Brigade, the blame will inevitably fall on you."