Chapter 1221: Benefiting one's hometown

Xia Yu is the most famous and influential overseas Chinese in Qianzhou City. Naturally, he received a warm official welcome upon his return to his hometown.

However, when his convoy entered Longfeng County, he was greeted not by the previous Mayor Zhao, but by his successor, Sun Yucai, who took office in August 1981 and is now just 50 years old. He is considered very young and promising for this era, and was transferred from the imperial capital ministries.

In a way, this was Xia Yu's first meeting with Sun Yucai.

However, Qianzhou City was after all his hometown, so when Sun Yucai took office in Qianzhou City more than a year ago, Xia Yu already knew about his background. He was considered the second-generation successor of the Sun family, as his father, Sun Lao, had passed away, and he was the highest-ranking person in the Sun family in his generation.

In terms of rank, he is the highest in Qianzhou City, but if he were to be placed in the capital city, where all the big shots are, he would still be far behind. He was able to come to Qianzhou City only because he gambled everything, almost exhausting most of the connections his father had accumulated.

If Qianzhou City develops brilliantly, then naturally he will have more opportunities to fulfil his ambitions.

So since taking office more than a year ago, Sun Yucai has been diligent and caring, working tirelessly for the development of Qianzhou City.

Unfortunately, Qianzhou City is a mountainous city with weak foundations and difficult construction, and coupled with the lack of resources at his disposal, he has gone gray with worry.

Therefore, when he learned that Xia Yu, the golden thigh that Qianzhou City was most likely to cling to, had returned, Sun Yucai almost put aside all the more secondary work at hand to welcome Xia Yu's arrival.

Back in his hometown, Xia Yu declined Sun Yucai's invitation to a celebratory lunch and the convoy went straight to Xia Village in Nanshi Town.

In recent years, the top leaders of Longfeng County and Nanshi Town had also been replaced, and Xia Yu simply acknowledged them without paying much attention. The two men were far less important in Xia Yu's heart than Xia Anshan, the secretary of Xia Village.

When they heard that Xia Yu, the clan member who had made everyone's lives better, was about to return, the whole village of Xia was abuzz. Men, women, young and old all crowded to the village entrance to welcome Xia Yu's arrival.

Even before Xia Yu's convoy reached the village entrance, they could see the crowd from afar.

'Yu, are they all your clan members? It looks like they're here to welcome you. You're very popular!'

He Chaoying looked out of the car window and saw countless smiling faces in the distance. She blinked and asked curiously.

'Chaoying, the villagers in Xia Village are very simple and honest. I haven't helped them much, so I think they're just trying to express their gratitude to me in this way,'

Xia Yu said with a light smile.

...

After a brief chat, the convoy finally stopped at the entrance to the village, and Xia Yu and the others got out of the car one after the other.

When the five beautiful women with different personalities stood together with Xia Yu, the scene suddenly fell silent, and after a few seconds, the crowd began to whisper.

For the people of Xia Village, they had never seen foreigners in their lives, and now they had seen several at once, which really opened their eyes.

Xia Yu smiled at their performance and fixed his gaze on the few people in the front.

'Uncle, I'm back!'

'Good, you're always welcome back here!'

Xia Anshan was so excited that his face was flushed and his voice trembled a little.

Xia Yu could clearly see that the seventy-year-old Xia Anshan was not as strong as before, his voice was much quieter, his body was slightly stooped, and there were many more wrinkles on his face.

Next to him was Xia Xinhua, one of the wealth leaders of Xia Village. However, his honest and simple nature had not changed. After Xia Yu greeted him, he just kept grinning and saying, 'It's good to be back.'

As for Xia Anshan's sons, including Xia Yongquan, the youngest and closest to Xia Yu, they did not dare to come over, but only dared to wink or wave at Xia Yu from behind Xia Anshan to show that they were here.

'Uncle, this is Secretary Sun Yucai from Qianzhen City.'

'Secretary Sun, this is my uncle, the former secretary of the Xia village Party branch.'

Xia Yu introduced the two to each other with a smile.

Sun Yucai had no airs and graces, slightly bending to shake Xia Anshan's hand, and said very kindly:

"Old secretary, I have to learn from you, still working so hard at such an age, working for the happiness of the masses.'

'Secretary Sun, you are too kind. I am not well educated, and if everyone doesn't mind me, I will do small things for everyone.'

Xia Anshan was beaming with joy as he said this.

...

Afterwards, Xia Yu briefly introduced He Chaoying and Elena, etc. Considering that there were still many children here, Xia Yu didn't want to set a bad example for the children, so he simply said that they were his friends, and that he had brought them to the mainland to sightsee and to visit his hometown.

Whether it was true or not, no one dared to ask, and they could only choose to believe Xia Yu's words.

The lunch was still held in the ancestral hall, and it was set up until the large flat outside the ancestral hall. There were more than 60 tables, and every household sent a representative, so it could be said that the whole village was celebrating.

This lively scene was similar to what He Chaoying and Li Qian had seen in Xiangjiang, but it was new to Elena, Cindy and Sumito Kumiko. They felt very novel and were also infected by the lively and festive atmosphere, each showing a beautiful smile.

After lunch, Xia Yu had a chat with Xia Anshan and others for a while, and then took Elena and the others to his home in Xia Village.

It was a newly built, very beautiful and spacious courtyard, ranking first in the entire Xia Village in terms of size and luxury.

Accompanying Xia Yu to his house were, apart from Sun Yucai, only Xia Anshan and Xia Xinhua.

Xia Yu had thought that the house would look dirty and messy after he had not returned to live there for a year or two, but upon entering the courtyard, he found that the whole courtyard was well-kept and orderly, with no overgrown weeds. It didn't look like it had been cleaned up in a rush, and everything seemed very natural.

At this point, Xia Anshan explained with a smile, 'Ah Yu, your house has always been well-kept by the village, especially the Xinhua family. His wife comes over every day to clean your house and tidy up the yard, just in case you suddenly come back and can move straight in.'

Xia Yu couldn't help but look at Xia Xinhua, but saw him scratching his head, looking embarrassed.

Xia Yu said with a smile, 'Uncle, thank you for your thoughtfulness!'

Xia Xinhua hurriedly said, 'Thank you for what? You have done me such a great favour. I just asked my wife to do some ordinary things.'

Sun Yucai, who was standing nearby, suddenly smiled and said, "An ordinary thing done day after day is also a big thing. The most valuable thing is the initial intention behind the reduction.'

'Mr Xia, the people of Xia Village are sincerely envious of your feelings!'

Xia Yu gave a knowing smile and nodded, saying, "Yes!'

'Ah Yu, we are all family!'

Xia Anshan said cheerfully.

'That's right, we're family!'

Xia Yu laughed and added.

While joking, Xia Yu showed everyone around the house.

The house was a Hakka-style antique house built by Kyushu Infrastructure Co., Ltd. The courtyard faces south and is surrounded on three sides. The two-storey house has a total of 18 rooms. Excluding some storage rooms and the like, there are 12 rooms in the master bedroom and guest rooms.

With five women, Xia Yu, and a number of bodyguards living there, there is definitely enough room!

Each room is fully equipped, and although it is definitely not as good as the mansions where people like Elena and Cindy live, there is definitely no problem living there. This living environment is actually considered one of the best in the entire mainland.

Moreover, the decorations in each room are unique, such as the exquisite carved window sills and coiled dragon columns, which are not seen abroad and are quite attractive to the women.

Three women make a play, and when five women get together, there are of course plenty of topics to discuss. Xia Yu also followed them around the house, while in the small pavilion in the courtyard, he was having tea with Sun Yucai, Xia Anshan, Xia Xinhua and the others.

'Ah Yu, how long are you planning to stay this time?'

As he drank his tea, Xia Anshan looked at Xia Yu expectantly and asked.

Sun Yucai also put down his teacup and looked at Xia Yu with burning eyes.

Xia Yu smiled indifferently and said, 'Uncle, the main reason I came to the mainland this time is to show my friends the beautiful scenery of the motherland. I'll also take the opportunity to appreciate it, so I'll stay here for a couple of days and leave in a couple of days.'

After hearing this, Xia Anshan and Sun Yucai both looked a little disheartened.

Xia Anshan immediately smiled again and said cheerfully, 'It's good to see the whole country.'

Sun Yucai was a little unwilling and asked curiously, "Mr Xia, there are also many places worth visiting in Qianzhou City. Do you know if your travel plan involves them? Do you need me to recommend some fun places to you?'

Xia Yu smiled lightly and said, "Secretary Sun, I plan to go to Jinggangshan for a look as my first stop, and then go to Qianzhou University, before leaving Qianzhou City.'

'I know there are still many interesting places in Qianzhou City, but there are just too many cultural relics and famous rivers and mountains in China. Our schedule is limited, so we have to make some trade-offs.'

Hearing Xia Yu's polite refusal, Sun Yucai sighed inwardly, but he could only laugh in agreement, 'It's true, compared to the motherland, Qianzhou City is indeed much less impressive.'

Xia Yu knew what Sun Yucai was thinking, and he did not disappoint him. After all, Qianzhou City was his hometown in this life and the next. He had the ability, and naturally would not remain indifferent.

Just as he had done before, donating money to support education and building roads and bridges, he was of course happy to do anything that would benefit the people of Qianzhou City.

Compared to a few years ago, his strength has skyrocketed. He has a lot more resources at his disposal, and he can benefit Qianzhou City with just a few of them.

What's more, he knows that Qianzhou City does have its treasures. Instead of letting it take the same wrong path as in his previous life, he would rather guide it onto the right path from the very beginning, benefiting the country, the people, and himself.

Thinking about this, he took a sip of tea and smiled as he said to Sun Yucai, 'Secretary Sun, Qianzhou City is, after all, my hometown, and you are the local government official of my hometown. You must have many ideas about the direction of development for Qianzhou City. If you need my help, I will definitely support you to the best of my ability!'

Upon hearing this, Sun Yucai was overjoyed, and a broad smile appeared on his face...