While Feng Qingxue and Wang Fengqiao were chatting and laughing at home, the old leader was warmly greeting Lu Zhiyuan and Wang Zhengguo.
Wang Zhengguo was so excited that his answers were inevitably stuttering.
The old leader joked, "No wonder you are Xibao’s uncle, your way of speaking is quite similar!"
Xibao is young and started talking relatively late, he still can’t utter long sentences, always speaking in bursts of two or three words at a time. If the sentence is too long, he stutters and pauses in between.
Wang Zhengguo couldn’t believe how approachable and humorous the old leader was. He felt relieved and said, "I dare not compare myself to Xibao."
"Ah?" Xibao looked puzzled.
The old leader patted his head, "Eat your fruit, your Grandpa, and Uncles are talking."
"Oh!" Xibao continued burying his head in the bowl, waving his fork to pierce an apple in the middle. He took a gulp of the canned fruit that Secretary Tang poured into the bowl for him to eat by himself.
The old leader turned to Lu Zhiyuan, "Comrade Lu Zhiyuan, I have heard so much about you. It’s good to finally meet you in person."
Zhiyuan smiled, "We have admired you for a long time, and if you were not so approachable and always remembered the small past events, we wouldn’t have the chance to meet you. Xibao must have caused you some troubles these past few days."
"This boy is very smart and adorable, he brings joy, how could he be a bother? Anyway, as your grandson, he is also a little creditor of the country!" The old leader glanced at Xibao, then turned his attention to the slim yet cultivated looking gentleman in front of him and said earnestly, "Contributing to the country does not depend on the size of the effort. Everyone who contributes has their merit. Comrade Lu’s donation was a substantial support to the resistance war. How could it be seen as a small feat?"
On hearing this, Zhiyuan seriously responded, "You are overly praising me, old leader. Wealth is nothing but worldly possessions. It may be the crystallization of the hard work of our ancestors and fellow villagers, but it can’t compare to the heroic resistance effort led by you. It was through the sacrifice of countless heroes shedding their blood that we have today’s peace and prosperity. Last month, didn’t we just detonate an atomic bomb? The news was everywhere. One atomic bomb adds a powerful weapon to our country, putting an end to the humiliation by the great powers. Without the backing of the country, how could the technicians calmly carry out their research?"
At this point, he smiled faintly, "Country, country, without a country, there is no home. If you, old leader, have the opportunity, you should really visit our village, and listen to the heartfelt gratitude and respect of the common people for you. We all survived the years of war, crawling out of heaps of dead bodies, our current peace and tranquility are hard-earned! Old leader, under your shining care, we and our fellow villagers don’t have to live in a tense atmosphere. How can we, therefore, claim to be the creditors of the country? Xibao is young and doesn’t understand these things. We can’t tell him all the time that he is a little creditor, which might mislead him into thinking that the country really owes him. If we speak of debt, it’s not the country that owes us, but we who owe the country, for saving our lives."
The old leader was deeply moved by his words, he patted Lu Zhiyuan’s shoulder, "Little Xibao is well-brought-up. I knew it, without elders’ teaching and influence, there would not be the delightful Xibao as he is now!"