After a moment, he quickly ran back. He said with a big smile on his face, “Mrs. Ji brought her siblings to the Angel Orphanage to show their compassion for others. They are also giving out dumplings to passersby. There are many different flavors of dumplings, and they smell delicious!”
“Oh?” the old man raised his eyebrows with interest. “It’s quite tiring since we have all walked for so long. Come, let’s go and get a bowl of dumplings to eat.”
“Professor Xu.” The young assistant looked at the crowd and advised worriedly, “It’s not safe with so many people over there. What if you get crushed by the crowd? I’ll go and get you a bowl.”
“I’m not that fragile,” Professor Xu waved his hand indifferently and smiled, “Isn’t everyone lining up? It’s fine. They’re giving everyone a little something, so we should thank them personally.”
Seeing that Professor Xu insisted, the assistant had no choice but to stand by his side and line up. The other students cheered and followed him. When Professor Xu was at the front of the line, a new set of dumplings just happened to have finished cooking.
“Happy new year, old man,” Shen Hanxing smiled and handed over the bowl of dumplings.
“Thank you. Happy new year to you too.” Professor Xu held the bowl of dumplings and stood on the other side, making room for the people behind him. The dumplings were white and plump, they looked very tempting. When he took a bite, the fragrance of cabbage mixed with meat rushed to his face, and his taste buds were instantly satisfied.
Professor Xu could not help but smile. He looked at the children in the orphanage who were also eating dumplings. He said with a smile, “You are doing a very great deed, Mrs. Ji.”
“What good deed? I just want us to celebrate the new year together,” Shen Hanxing smiled. Her delicate eyebrows were misty and warm in the steam. “The children are happy, and when I look at them like that, I’m happy too. It’s a win-win for everyone.”
“That’s something rare, Mrs. Ji.” The wrinkles on Professor Xu’s face relaxed. Suddenly, he said, “I heard that you have lived in the west of the city for a period of time, Mrs. Ji. So you should be very familiar with this place, right?” If he suddenly mentioned Shen Hanxing’s unglamorous background, she would probably turn hostile if she were anyone else. After all, Shen Hanxing was now the wife of a wealthy family. How many people would be willing to listen to others talk about their disgraceful past after they became rich?
The young assistant, who was happily eating dumplings, quickly looked up and tried to remedy the situation. “Um, Mrs. Ji, Professor Xu didn’t mean that. Please don’t misunderstand…”
“What’s there to misunderstand?” Shen Hanxing shook her head and smiled, “I know quite a bit about this place. My grandma lives here, and a few of my friends also live here. They live in a more remote back alley. That area is more chaotic and poorer than this area.” She did not feel that her past was something she should be ashamed of.
“Back alley? We just came from there,” Professor Xu nodded. He said ruefully, “It’s hard to imagine that there’s such a place in S City now.” There were some places that didn’t even have concrete pavement. The short buildings were messy and disorderly. Occasionally, there were small shacks mixed in, and clothes were hung outside. It was dirty and narrow.
“The city is developing, and the west side of the city will get better and better.” Shen Hanxing didn’t complain too much about the environment here. She smiled and said, “I just heard from your young assistant that you’re a university professor, right? Did you bring the students here to do a project?”
“We came here to take a look,” Professor Xu said casually. After finishing the last dumpling in his bowl, he handed his bowl to Shen Hanxing. He said, “I’ll have to trouble you to add some more dumpling soup, Mrs. Ji.”
After drinking the hot dumpling soup, the chill he felt in his body was completely dispelled. Professor Xu sighed in satisfaction. “Recently, it seems that the Ji Corporation is more optimistic about the development of the west side of the city, right? But it would be difficult to develop this side,” he said casually in a rueful manner.
“It’s not exactly difficult.” Shen Hanxing was always more patient with older people. She smiled and said, “The east side of the city has the advantage of the east side, and the west side also has the advantage of the west side. As long as we fully utilize the advantages of the west side, it’s not difficult to develop.”
“Oh?” Professor Xu raised his eyebrows with interest. He continued, “Tell me more about it.”
“It’s just my humble opinion on this matter,” Shen Hanxing smiled and lowered her eyes. She stirred the dumplings in the pot twice. “The west of the city is an old city district. It has a deep cultural heritage and many old buildings from the past. If we complement this aspect and develop the west side of the city, we would be able to fully utilize the advantages of nostalgia and retro. Isn’t the combination of modern and ancient buildings also a new way of advertising and promoting the city?”
People nowadays liked to pursue things that were retro, so they liked to travel to places with historical relics and feel the traces of history. Why couldn’t the west of the city, which already had these ancient buildings, become one of the scenic spots in the city?
Both modern and yet nostalgic. In the fast-growing S City, this would be something new.