1968: Started from breeding

Chapter 294 Leaving the Capital (Transitional Chapter)

Su Wenchen, who had just left the Engineering Bureau, stepped off the steps of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry building.

Just then, the winter sun slanted down, and Su Wenchen squinted as he watched Zhang Qianjin standing by the flower bed rolling a cigarette in the distance.

Yang Fusheng, standing to the side, kept rubbing his hands together and pacing back and forth on the cement floor.

"Brother Qianjin, do you think our performance this morning was so bad? Won't the boss be unhappy?"

"Why hasn't Director Su come out for so long?!"

Zhang Qianjin said irritably.

"Calm down. The leader announced it in the meeting; how could it be changed so easily!"

"Don't worry, unless we mess things up later, it won't have any impact!"

Just then, Su Wenchen also walked down the steps in a few steps.

"Brother Qianjin, you haven't gone back yet! Are you waiting for me? Is there something else going on?"

Upon hearing Su Wenchen's voice, Zhang Qianjin quickly turned around.

"Hey bro, are you done with your work?"

"It's nothing else, it's just that Brother Yang insisted on keeping me here waiting for you!"

"I said I wanted to thank you properly!"

“I already told him that having a meal together is meaningless; it’s more important for him to go back and take good care of the cows!”

"But he insisted on inviting you in person, so there's no need to prepare anything in advance today. You've already embarrassed yourself enough."

Hearing Zhang Qianjin's words, Yang Fusheng awkwardly leaned closer.

"Comrade Qianjin, I'm sorry, I was really a little nervous in the meeting room this morning."

"This is a problem I've had since I was a child; I stutter a little when I'm nervous!"

Zhang Qianjin waved his hand.

"Why are you telling me you're embarrassed? It's not me who's ashamed that you're nervous. Besides, I don't know anything either."

"We've embarrassed ourselves together. If it weren't for Brother Wenchen's help, we would probably have been replaced as soon as we were asked questions, since we knew nothing about it."

Upon hearing this, Su Wenchen tucked his briefcase under his arm and offered the two men two cigarettes.

"How can you be so self-deprecating!"

“It’s not like the project is already halfway through and you still know nothing about it.”

"Isn't it normal to not know some things when a project is in the preparation stage?"

"The leaders didn't mean to criticize you!"

"Besides, we're not judging you by your words. As long as you get things done, that's what matters. Proving it with concrete actions is more important than anything else."

Upon hearing Su Wenchen's words, Yang Fusheng immediately nodded.

"Director Su, don't worry, I will definitely handle the rest of the matter well."

"It was thanks to Director Su and Comrade Qianjin's support that I was able to participate in this project."

"Let's find a place at noon so I can express my gratitude."

Su Wenchen shook his head.

“You don’t need to do that. It just so happens that your local cattle breeds do have enough advantages.”

"Otherwise, the ministry wouldn't have called you all over for the year-end meeting!"

Yang Fusheng waved his hand repeatedly.

"We have to invite them, we absolutely have to invite them. The reason they called us over is that the Animal Husbandry Bureau originally planned to establish a Dengchuan cattle conservation base in our area."

"Because after several attempts, we found that many problems would arise when transporting them, the animal husbandry bureau had actually given up on our breed of cattle."

"It's just being protected as a high-quality local breed for its heritage."

"Director Su, if it weren't for your participation, we definitely wouldn't have been able to seize this last chance."

"Don't worry, I will definitely seize this opportunity when I get back and help you transport the healthy cattle down from the plateau."

Su Wenchen smiled and waved.

"Don't talk about taking sides, let's all work together!"

"Let's work together to bring our Dengchuan cattle down from the plateau and let our high-fat fresh milk enter every household."

"Entering the international market will also let foreigners know that our country not only has dairy cattle breeds, but also top-quality dairy cattle breeds with the highest milk fat content."

Upon hearing this, Yang Fusheng also revealed a look of longing, his throat bobbing violently.

"I really hope to see that day."

Before he could finish speaking, his stomach started growling.

It was clear that the two men, who were staying at the guesthouse, had been taken to a meeting early in the morning and hadn't had breakfast.

After a half-day meeting, I waited for Su Wenchen at the door for quite a while.

They were practically pressed against each other's backs by now.

Seeing this, Su Wenchen also laughed.

"Haha, you guys probably didn't eat this morning! Let's go! Let's have a farewell meal at the cafeteria!"

Yang Fusheng immediately said anxiously.

"Director Su, you don't need to save money for me. I can afford to pay for the three of us to eat out. Besides, I specially asked someone to exchange extra national food coupons."

Su Wenchen waved his hand.

"Let's go! Eating anywhere is the same, so eating at the cafeteria is the most cost-effective!"

After saying that, he walked towards the cafeteria.

Seeing this, Yang Fusheng had no choice but to follow, but he still said something.

"Well then, when it's time to pay, you two better not try to take the money from me!"

Zhang Qianjin rolled his eyes.

"Don't worry, no one will try to take it from you!"

"By the way, bro, have you booked your train tickets yet? I need to book mine after lunch too. I was thinking of booking one for you this afternoon!"

Su Wenchen smiled and waved his hand.

"Then you'd better hurry, brother. I heard from my father-in-law that these days are all people leaving Beijing after the New Year. I heard that train tickets are not easy to buy!"

Before the holiday was over, Su Wenchen had already heard about this from Jiang's father.

After the Lunar New Year, a large number of educated youth who had returned home for the holiday, as well as soldiers or cadres who had returned to visit relatives or take leave, began to return to their original units one after another.

So tickets were in short supply at this time, but Su Wenchen certainly didn't need to worry about not being able to buy a ticket.

After finishing their meal at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry's canteen, the three of them went their separate ways.

Su Wenchen returned home.

Watching Jiang Li start packing up a huge pile of things, I felt a little uneasy!

"Ali, why did you buy so much stuff? Are you sure you can carry all this back?"

As she spoke, she looked at the plastic thermos with a big red flower printed on it on the ground. "Why did you buy this? I remember when we got married, didn't I ask someone to buy two thermoses with peonies printed on them?"

"Those two aren't broken either, are they?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Li slapped Su Wenchen in an annoyed tone.

"What are you saying! This thing can't break so easily. It was brought by my eldest sister-in-law and second sister-in-law."

"Otherwise, how could you possibly eat such a big leg of lamb for free!"

Su Wenchen touched his chin.

"Why are you bringing a thermos? I remember my eldest and second eldest brothers have thermoses!"

Jiang Li said helplessly as she packed her things into the box.

"Yes, but the outer shell was made of bamboo. The inner lining back then wasn't as warm as the plastic kind we have now."

"Let me tell you, these plastic-shelled thermos flasks are lighter than tin thermos flasks and keep warmer than bamboo-shelled ones. They're very popular where I'm from."

"My second brother has made several trips to the city to buy a plastic thermos, but he has never managed to get one. Basically, the department stores in the city sell out the very next day as soon as they receive the stock."

"Do you think everyone in our family is like you, with the opportunity to travel around big cities?"

"Besides, you're always out and about, and I've never seen you think of anything the family needs and bring it back with you."

Upon hearing this, Su Wenchen walked directly to Jiang Li's side and put his arm around her.

"Isn't it because I have you, my wife!"

"You see, I can't think about things as carefully as you do. If I were to go shopping, I would usually just buy some food and that would be it."

"How can you still be thinking about what other people need?"

Upon hearing Su Wenchen's words, Jiang Li's lips curled up slightly, but she still said...

"Alright, I know you're focused on your work."

"Hurry up and help me tidy up!"

Seeing this, Su Wenchen also began to tidy up.

"Hey, why did you buy malted milk powder? Don't we already have that at home?"

"That's for my parents. The can you bought last time is almost finished."

Su Wenchen nodded and picked up several comic books with a revolutionary theme, such as "Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy".

"Did you buy this for Shi Tou? He's a big kid now, why would he need this?"

Jiang Li rolled her eyes.

"What else? Did you buy someone a set of math, physics, and chemistry textbooks two years ago, just like you?"

"And you even expect the stone to say thank you with tears in its eyes!"

Su Wenchen replied with a smile.

"Of course! He'll definitely thank me for that set of books later!"

The next day.

On the busy platform, there were crowds of people carrying luggage everywhere.

A variety of farewell scenes are repeated here, including mutual instructions between relatives, farewell banter between brothers, and parting of childhood sweethearts.

Next to a military jeep.

Mr. Jiang turned around and looked at his son-in-law, who was getting out of the car and taking his luggage, and his daughter, who was opening the car door and preparing to get out. A trace of reluctance flashed in his eyes.

Just as I was about to say something, the stationmaster, panting, jogged over.

"Boss, you've arrived!"

Father Jiang nodded slightly.

"Yes, my daughter is going back now. I'll see her off. You all go about your business and don't worry about me."

After seeing Su Wenchen unload all the things from the car.

Father Jiang turned to Jiang Li and spoke slowly.

"Go back and take good care of yourself. Call home when you're about to give birth!"

I'll let you have it.

After thinking about it, Mr. Jiang still felt it was inappropriate. Given his daughter's current state with her second wife, it would be unsuitable for her to take care of her.

So he turned to Su Wenchen and said.

“Since Xiaoli is pregnant, we can only ask your parents to take care of her. I’ve thought about it and it’s not appropriate to have Aqin go.”

Su Wenchen naturally understood his father-in-law's meaning.

Generally speaking, if it's a biological mother and daughter, there's definitely no problem, but this is in the case of a stepmother and a strained relationship.

Su Wenchen felt it was best to avoid getting the two of them together.

"Dad, don't worry, I'll make time to spend more time with Ali!"

As they spoke, they watched as the crowd on the platform began to gradually decrease.

Only those who were reluctant to part remained in the same spot.

"Dad, let's do it this way! It's almost time, don't delay the departure of the vehicle."

Father Jiang nodded slightly.

"Okay, call me when you get home!"

"When you have time in the future, bring Ali and the children back to visit more often!"

Su Wenchen picked up the two large packages with both hands and nodded with a smile.

"Okay, Dad, if we have time, we'll definitely bring the kids to see you!"

When the stationmaster saw Su Wenchen preparing to board the train, he also gave a wink to the staff member wearing an armband on the other side.

The other person immediately walked towards Su Wenchen.

"Comrade, you have a lot of things, let me help you carry some!"

Seeing this, Su Wenchen said somewhat embarrassedly.

"This isn't right! It's interfering with your duties."

"It's okay, we'll help out anyone else who has luggage they can't carry."

"This is part of our job duties on the platform."

After the two got into the car.

"Ugh——!"

A loud siren blared!
The train slowly started moving, and the scenery outside the window began to recede little by little. Su Wenchen waved goodbye to Jiang's father, who was standing outside the platform.

　From now on, it will be divided into two chapters, one in the afternoon and one in the evening.

　　There will be more tonight!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)