After declining countless invitations to dinner along the way.
Su Wenchen finally returned to the family compound.
As he opened the door, the unique warm aroma of food mixed with the dry heat from the charcoal brazier hit him in the face, instantly melting the chill from the wind and snow on Su Wenchen's body.
That familiar smell, the mark of home, easily soothed his tension and fatigue from a month of traveling.
"Dad! Mom! Ali! I'm back!"
Father Su was sitting on a small stool, looking after the children. From the radio on the table not far away came the sound of opera.
Su's mother and Jiang Li, wearing aprons, leaned half of their bodies out of the kitchen when they heard the sound.
"Xiao Li, I just heard the youngest's voice. Is he back?"
Father Su said directly.
"I didn't hear anything at the door, how did you hear it over there? You have such good ears!"
But Su's mother said to Su's father.
"You old fool, you're getting harder of hearing every day. You have to turn up the radio so loud to hear anything. What can you hear?"
After he finished speaking, he saw the door curtain being lifted, revealing the dusty figure of Su Wenchen.
Su's mother immediately rejoiced.
"Oh, you're back, youngest!"
"I told you I heard it right!"
"My ears are working perfectly! Do you think they're like your broken ears? I can't hear you even if someone scolds me from three meters away."
Then he shouted towards the inner room.
"Xiao Li, Achen is back!"
Seeing this, Su Wenchen also spoke directly.
"Mom and Dad, Ali, I'm back."
Su's mother took Su Wenchen's things unhappily.
"Come back if you want to, don't you think anyone cares?"
Su Wenchen looked at the concern on Su's mother's face, but he still refused to give in.
When Jiang Li heard the sound, she quickly walked out of the kitchen. Regardless of the coldness on his shoulders, she naturally took the old wicker box from his hand.
"Drink some water and rest for a while!"
"My mom and I will prepare the meal in a moment."
Mother Su spoke directly to Father Su who was in the distance.
"Come and light the fire, so the youngest can spend some time with his wife and children."
"You old man, you have no sense at all."
Father Su rolled his eyes.
"I haven't even said a word yet! And you're just like a machine gun, just banging away!"
Seeing this, Su Wenchen said directly.
"Mom, wait for me to drink some water, I'll light the fire!"
Father Su said directly in a bad mood.
"Just forget it!"
"If you light the fire, it's unlikely we'll even be able to eat tonight!"
As he said this, he handed the eldest grandson in his arms to Su Wenchen.
"Just keep an eye on your son!"
"Don't tell me, babysitting isn't an easy job. This brat has the demeanor of my younger self, full of energy every day."
"I think he will be a good candidate for the army in the future."
Mother Su snorted coldly.
"You old fool, don't be so quick to ask for a place in the army."
"The youngest one is already a leader, so what can he do in the future be better than being a private?"
When Su Wenchen heard what his mother said, he replied with a smile.
"Qi Jin is still young! We'll see what he does in the future. If he wants to join the army, we'll definitely agree!"
After saying this, Su Wenchen's eyes lingered greedily on the faces of his wife and children.
He immediately bent down and stretched out his hand to his son, "Qi Jin! Come here, let daddy hug you!"
Upon seeing this, Father Su immediately handed his eldest grandson in his arms to Su Wenchen, and then said to Mother Su.
"See, there's a reason I said the youngest couple are so successful."
"It's different when you see it firsthand. It's not like the eldest and second children. Sending them to the army is like sending them to hell."
"If you don't even have this much backbone, how can you ever achieve anything in the future?"
When Su's mother heard this, she grabbed Su's father in dissatisfaction.
"Humph, you're the only one with a backbone. You're always thinking about your inheritance."
"What's so good about being a soldier? If something unexpected happens, I'll see what you'll do!"
"Okay, come with me to the stove and light a fire!"
As he spoke, he pulled Su's father into the kitchen, leaving the space for the family of three.
Holding the little guy in his arms, the milky fragrance and warmth made Su Wenchen's heart soften, and the fatigue of a day's journey seemed to disappear in an instant.
Qijin curiously patted his old father's face with his little hands, and from time to time he pulled Su Wenchen's hand and started to put it into his mouth.
Seeing this, Su Wenchen smiled and said to Jiang Li.
"What's wrong? Are you hungry?"
After Jiang Li helped Su Wenchen put away his luggage, she smiled and said directly.
"He's starting to get teeth, and he wants to put everything in his mouth. Sometimes he even bites me when I'm feeding him!"
As he said this, he used a thermos to pour some hot water into the washbasin for Su Wenchen, and after taking the child, he said directly.
"Drink some water and wash yourself first!"
"I thought you wouldn't be back for the New Year!"
When his cold hands were immersed in the warm water, Su Wenchen sighed softly in comfort.
After washing my face, the warmth brought by the hot water spread from my fingertips, dispelling the last bit of coldness, and the fatigue seemed to be washed away along with the dirt.
Wiping his face, Su Wenchen said directly.
"If the visiting delegation hadn't also asked me to host, I might not have been allowed back this year."
He said this with an apologetic tone.
"But for the next few days, I can only accompany you two at night!"
After saying that, he kissed his son's smooth little face hard, which in turn earned his son's louder "giggle" and his response of slapping his cheeks with his little hands, and even smearing his face with saliva.
Jiang Li stood aside, her eyes curved with brows, and looked tenderly at Su Wenchen, who had his face covered in his son's saliva but looked so happy.
He said unhappily.
"That's enough for the night. Like who needs you during the day."
Su Wenchen pretended to look sad.
"Oh, that's so sad. It seems you only need me at night!"
When Jiang Li heard this, she slapped Su Wenchen in annoyance.
"What are you talking about? Keep your voice down, mom and dad can hear you."
Su Wenchen waved his hand.
"It's okay, we're too far away! We can't hear you."
"By the way, your dad brought you something!"
"Let's go inside and I'll get it for you."
The two of them were affectionate for a while, then went to the kitchen to help prepare dinner.
Soon, under the dim light, steam rose from the table. The aroma of food, the warmth of charcoal fire, and the laughter of relatives intertwined together, filling the small room with the ordinary yet extremely precious atmosphere of everyday life.
This was also Su Wenchen's deepest thought when he was busy working outside.
An extremely pure and profound sense of happiness and satisfaction surged in my heart.
Those unfinished career blueprints, those projects waiting to be implemented, those heavy responsibilities and sense of urgency, all temporarily retreat at this moment, leaving only a brief moment of peace.
But it was only a short time, passing in the blink of an eye.
The first day of the new year.
It should have been a bustling day for visiting relatives and friends, but the streets near the Special Administrative Region Revolutionary Committee Building had already begun to get busy.
Most of the cadres just hurriedly ate dumplings at home and then returned to their posts in the cold wind.
The emergency notice was transmitted to the four counties under the jurisdiction of the Special Administrative Region overnight.
The "Joint Command Center for Presidential Visit and Major Project Construction" was put into operation quickly, led by Su Wenchen and assisted by Chen Guodong, and composed of core members such as Zhao Guohua, Li Kun, Wang Rongshan, Shi Yingduan and Guo Xiangyang from the farm.
The entire Special Administrative Region is like a precision machine wound up, running at high speed under the strong atmosphere of the New Year.
On one side, the site selection and exploration work is in full swing.
Zhao Guohua personally supervised the work, coordinating personnel, measuring earthwork, and calculating water and electricity access points. The outlines of the large fertilizer plant and the future industrial zone gradually became clearer under their feet.
Peixian Feed Factory has also begun cleaning and upgrading to reserve space for modern equipment and make preparations in advance.
On the other side, the final environmental remediation work has also been mobilized in full swing.
Sanitation workers, mobilized cadres and militia became the main force.
A thorough cleanup was started on both sides of the main road leading from the Special Administrative Region to the airport.
The accumulated snow and debris were cleared away, and the newly planted roadside trees were tied with anti-freeze ropes.
People were also organized to help clean and tidy up the village houses we passed by, so as to make them look as clean as possible.
After all, this is the first time they are showcasing their rural life internationally.
The backbone of the SAR’s security department will also be joined by professional security personnel seconded from higher authorities.
We began to repeatedly visit every inspection point planned by the delegation.
From the salt-alkali control demonstration area, to the large-scale alkali-control rabbit breeding site, and even the Golden Feather Chicken Pear Garden in Dangshan, and the Fengxian mushroom greenhouse, Su Wenchen had them all re-surveyed.
Route optimization, security post setting, personnel background check, each task is carried out intensively under the highest confidentiality.
The Special Administrative Region Propaganda Office also works with county and township cadres.
From oral communication to on-site propaganda by the team leaders of the farms... various channels have repeatedly emphasized this.
Just enjoy the New Year peacefully. There is no need to watch deliberately or be overly vigilant.
All we need to do is show their spirit of changing their destiny through hard work.
In this way, time passed quickly in the busyness, and after half a month of preparation.
Time enters, February 25, 1972.
The Huanghuaihai Plain is still chilly in late winter and early spring, but an unprecedented warmth is surging through the Special Administrative Region.
Just after ten o'clock in the morning, the newly built temporary airport in the Special Administrative Region was already heavily guarded.
After nearly half a month of intensive preparations day and night, the various plans under the joint command have been repeatedly rehearsed and confirmed.
The main road leading to the airport was spotlessly clean, and the newly planted saplings on both sides were tied with anti-freeze ropes and stood upright in vigor.
Su Wenchen, wearing a neatly ironed gray Zhongshan suit, stood at the forefront of the cadres of the Special Administrative Region Management Committee and the heads of the four counties.
Everyone looked solemn and reserved, their eyes cast towards the clear but slightly cold sky at the end of the runway.
Finally, a low but clear announcement broke the silence.
"Target appears, altitude is decreasing, and landing is expected in ten minutes."
A prompt from the command center came over the intercom, and Lei Bailiang nodded slightly to Su Wenchen and the leader.
Everyone held their breath and stared at the silver-gray figure that was gradually getting bigger.
A Boeing 707 plane painted with the American flag, like a giant bird of the times, slowly lowered its altitude and landed smoothly on this saline-alkali mudflat that was once considered a barren land.
The huge roar of the engine came from far away and finally stopped steadily.
The hatch opened and the gangway was lowered.
The first to come down were the joint security personnel from both sides, who glanced around vigilantly.
Behind them, hundreds of journalists, with cameras hanging on their shoulders and curious expressions, came down the gangway one after another.
Looking at the crowd in front of me, lined up to welcome us, although they were dressed simply, they were in good spirits.
A few days ago, they had just experienced the capital of this ancient country.
Now they also want to see what other parts of the country, especially the countryside in another dimension, are like.
On the way off the plane, everyone was talking about it, and almost everyone's eyes were full of curiosity and inquiry.
After all the reporters came down, cameras and video cameras were set up.
Immediately afterwards, a tall foreign dignitary in a well-fitting dark suit appeared at the cabin door. His iconic resolute face made him the first American president to visit China.
He stood still for a moment, his eyes sweeping deeply across this land which was unfamiliar to him but full of exploratory potential.
However, the next moment, another figure appeared beside the other person, and everyone's attention was instantly focused on the figure next to him.
"Mr. President, welcome to our Huanghuaihai Special Economic Zone!"
Then a brief and solemn welcome ceremony was held next to the airport apron.
"A new chapter of transforming nature and defeating poverty is being written on this land."
"We hope this visit will allow the American people to see a real Chinese countryside that is developing and working hard to change its destiny." (End of this chapter)
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