My Peninsula 2007

Chapter 460: Having a Son Makes Everything Happy

Why do you say that?

The reason is simple: any national policy takes time to be implemented and see results. Often, for the sake of the policy's stability, it may even need to be tested on a small scale first. This is the reason behind the saying "governing a large country is like cooking a small fish."

At the same time, a politician needs a forward-looking vision when formulating national policies and strategies. He cannot only consider the present or how the policy will be implemented in the next two or three years, but must consider the situation five, ten, or even twenty years from now.

However, in a country like South Korea, neither the implementation of a policy nor the foresight of policymakers can be sustained in the long term. It's not that no one has the vision and ability to do so, but rather that even if they did, it would be meaningless under South Korea's existing system.

Like Lee Min-bok, he promised voters during his campaign that he would accelerate South Korea's economic development and recreate the prosperity of the "Miracle on the Han River" during his term. However, his term as president is only five years. Moreover, there are so-called parliamentary elections during these five years. If his Grand National Party loses in the parliamentary elections, he will become a "lame president" whose policies are difficult to implement in the Blue House.

In this situation, what's the point of having a president like him formulate five-year or ten-year economic development plans? In any case, after five years, there's a high probability that the policies he promoted during his term will be repealed—even if his successor is also a conservative and also belongs to the Big National Party, they won't continue to use the policies he championed for the sake of their personal reputation.

Therefore, under these realities, national leaders like Li Minbo would not consider long-term national policies or sound implementation strategies. Instead, they would prioritize short-term gains and strive to achieve the desired results in the shortest possible time.

Similarly, after recognizing this reality, the "presidents" who come and go like a revolving door, upon entering the Blue House, naturally no longer have to develop a long-term plan that benefits the country and its people. Instead, they have to do their best to benefit the group they represent within their short term. After all, if you don't use your power, it will expire.

In reality, compared to those countries in utter chaos, South Korea's situation is quite good. At least the president elected by the people is somewhat willing to do something practical. Take Lee Min-bok, for example; if he didn't genuinely want to improve the national economy, he wouldn't have risked international condemnation by visiting the great northern power.

Faced with domestic criticism regarding his visit to the major northern country, Lee Min-bo's strategy seemed to be to remain silent. From late June to early July, the Blue House did not make any statement on the issue of China-South Korea relations.

During this period, the drug trafficking case involving US troops stationed in South Korea, which had almost faded from public attention in South Korea, finally came to an end. The Military Maintenance Command issued a statement announcing that the US Forces Korea Command had taken action against the relevant US military personnel involved. A total of four US military personnel were deported back to the United States, and the US military court will impose further penalties on them.

The reason this case has almost lost public attention is because, after dragging on for so long, the novelty of the case for the South Korean public has long since worn off. In fact, despite the intense media attention it generated initially, every South Korean knows that the South Korean judiciary is powerless against the drug-trafficking US military personnel.

To go further, the anger shown by South Koreans in this matter is not actually a demand for a fair explanation from the United States; they are simply venting their dissatisfaction. In fact, even this dissatisfaction is not directed at the case itself, but rather stems from the psychological imbalance caused by the pressures of life.

Now, a month has passed, and the initial anger of the South Koreans has long been suppressed. Therefore, when the Maintenance Command issued its final announcement, there was very little reaction in South Korea.

During this same period, An Rusong did not pay much attention to the situation in all aspects. His energy was mainly focused on family matters. On the first day of July, Li Caicao gave birth to his first child in this world, a chubby boy weighing eight pounds and four ounces.

On that day, both Mr. and Mrs. An from Wontong Village came to Seoul. Not only that, Mr. An also stubbornly named his grandson An Jung-seok. In the old man's words, the children of An Rusong and his brothers all had to have the character "Jung" in their names.

Well, An Rusong wasn't fixated on what his son should be named. Since the old man was so insistent on naming his grandson, he'd let him be. After all, if it weren't for the old man's son, he wouldn't have been able to be reborn into this world. He'd usurped the old man's son's place, so giving him a grandson was a form of compensation.

Since the beginning of July, the weather in Seoul has been getting hotter day by day. After the Lesser Heat solar term, the temperature continued to rise, with the highest temperature exceeding 39 degrees Celsius, making it impossible for people to even leave their homes.

In the dining room on the first floor of the Renwang Mountain Villa, An Rusong stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray, washed his hands and rinsed his mouth by the sink in the kitchen, and made sure the smell of smoke on his body was very faint before slipping on a pair of slippers and shuffling upstairs.

Since the addition of a new member to the family, An Rusong has changed his habit of smoking in the study. Whenever he feels the urge to smoke, he goes to the dining room on the first floor to have a couple of puffs. Although it is troublesome and inconvenient, he is happy to do so.

As An Rusong walked up the stairs to the entrance of the second-floor living room, before even entering, he heard Rubin's voice coming from inside: "Sister-in-law, where are your Lexus car keys?"

"Isn't it on the coffee table?" Sun Manzhu's voice followed immediately.

An Rusong walked in without stopping, and saw Rubin, dressed in her finest attire, running to the coffee table, grabbing a bunch of keys, and running towards the door.

"Where are you going?" An Rusong asked, looking her up and down as she watched her run over.

The girl was wearing a white tennis outfit; the white pleated skirt was very short, exposing her two pale thighs. "I'm playing tennis with a classmate," Ru Bin said, shaking the tennis bag slung over his shoulder.

An Rusong opened his mouth, wanting to suggest that she change into a longer skirt, but then he remembered that she was originally going to play tennis, so should she change into long pants?

"What classmate? Male or female?" An Rusong asked with a straight face, but changed the subject before asking the question.

"I made an appointment with Yizhi," Rubin replied obediently, still somewhat intimidated by her older brother.

As the two were talking, Sun Manzhu came out of the bedroom. She glanced at Ru Bin and asked, "Have you found the key?"

“Found it,” Rubin held up the key and waved it at his sister-in-law. Then, taking the opportunity, he walked straight past An Rusong and ran out the door in a flash.

"What are you doing with the car keys?" An Rusong turned his head and shouted at the door.

As a result, he only heard Ru Bin's footsteps coming downstairs, but did not receive her reply.

He turned his head helplessly to Sun Manzhu and said, "She's not even eighteen yet, so you're just spoiling her."

Sun Manzhu did not refute him, but gave him a gentle smile, and then turned and walked towards the nursery.

An Rusong followed behind her, glancing at her back as they headed towards the nursery door.

Recently, Sun Manzhu has clearly started paying more attention to her attire at home. At this moment, she is wearing a black lace-trimmed suspender dress. The deep black color and the sheer material make her skin appear even whiter, giving her a rather sexy look.

In the nursery, Li Caicao must have just put the baby to sleep. When the two entered the room, she was bending over and standing next to the crib, looking at the baby sleeping in the crib.

"Are you asleep?" Sun Manzhu walked to the bedside and asked cautiously.

Li Caicao nodded, straightened up, and exhaled, saying, "This guy is too dishonest, I..."

Just as she finished speaking, the child who was sleeping in bed seemed to have been disturbed and suddenly opened his eyes.

As An Rusong walked to the bedside and saw this scene, he felt a chill run down his spine. There was no other reason; for him, putting a child to sleep was much more difficult than scheming against others.

Fortunately, the child's dark eyes closed again soon, his bright lips moved slightly, he blew a bubble, and fell asleep again.

The three people surrounding the bed immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Sun Manzhu tugged at An Rusong's clothes, gestured towards the door with her lips, then took Li Caicao's hand and walked towards the door first.

An Rusong took a step back, looked down at his son on the bed, and then glanced at the space above the bed. There were two sensors mounted on the ceiling above the wind chimes; these were electronic sensors. If the child woke up and made any sudden movements on the bed, the sensors would detect it and activate the alarm installed in Sun Manzhu and Li Caicao's bedroom.

Although he knew his son wasn't sleeping soundly, An Rusong couldn't resist. He reached out and rubbed the back of his index finger against his son's delicate face. When Sun Manzhu, who had returned, tugged at his finger, he chuckled and went out the door.

It's often said that men only truly mature after marriage, but that's clearly not entirely accurate. To be precise, men only become mature after having children. I wonder if this standard applies to An Rusong.

(End of this chapter)