Chapter 1133 - 750: Not Ugly, Not Ugly—Ma Siyuan Is the One Who Looks Ugly!

"I’m exhausted! Every weekend is like this, too busy to even catch my breath."

Xiao Meng turned around, seeing her father wipe his sweat and retreat into the glass house. She noticed Xing Chang greeting him warmly amidst the hustle. Mayor Ma had helped a lot when the Botanical Garden first opened.

"Uncle Su."

Mayor Ma’s address seemed quite close and familiar. Su Chengji had led the earliest group of parents and children in a circle around the garden since the morning, his mouth dry from introducing the plants and flowers. Upon entering, he saw that the tea had already been brewed, skipped the small tea cup, grabbed a large tea mug, and poured the tea straight in, drinking it down!

Su Xiaomeng raised her eyebrows at the sight of the large tea mug in Su Chengji’s hand, reminiscent of the 1960s and 70s, and couldn’t help but mutter,

"Dad, where’d you get such a tea mug?"

"Your grandpa was sorting through old things recently and found it. He wanted to toss it out, but I thought it was quite nice, so I brought it over to use."

"Let me take a picture, this is truly a vintage item..."

Su Xiaomeng said, genuinely pulling out her phone to seriously take a picture. Su Chengji glanced at her, "Look at you, acting like you’ve never seen the world..."

"I’m not worldly, how could I compare to you, Dad?"

"True!" Su Chengji said proudly, standing in the glass house with the large tea mug, his old eyes still tightly watching every inch of grass and flower outside...

In this Botanical Garden, the plants have already surpassed the status of family members...

"Hey? Why are Little Shuangshuang and Huang Huang standing here dazed? That Little Ma is wandering outside by himself, why isn’t he joining them?"

"..."

Su Xiaomeng thought, now even the grandchildren need a long look for him to notice.

"Hmm... Why does Little Shuangshuang look like that? She seems on the verge of tears... Meng Meng, who’s been bullying my precious granddaughter?"

Su Chengji approached Shuangshuang and held the little girl’s hand, "Shuangshuang?"

Shuangshuang glanced at her grandfather and muttered listlessly, "Grandpa, I’m fine, don’t worry about me..."

"Not letting grandpa worry about you... does that really mean it’s fine?"

"Dad, seriously, don’t bother her. It’s not something you can handle, she’s having a spat with Ma Siyuan, no one knows what about."

Su Xiaomeng immediately interjected.

Su Chengji, immensely protective, quickly turned to Xing Chang, "What’s going on with your son? Shuangshuang’s been back for only a few days, why’s there a spat already? Explain this!"

Su Xiaomeng was startled by the tone between Su Chengji and Xing Chang and quickly signaled to Su Chengji: Dad, that’s the Mayor! He’s the Mayor! Do you still want to keep this Botanical Garden open?

But Su Chengji didn’t even look at Su Xiaomeng, his eyes kept glaring at Xing Chang, waiting for a satisfactory explanation!

Xing Chang leaned on the chair, his legs crossed, showing no semblance of mayor-like presence, his speech light and casual,

"Uncle Su, it’s nothing serious, just kids’ stuff. Trust me, they can sort it out themselves."

"But why does Little Shuangshuang seem so aggrieved?"

"Adults have their moods, children have their emotions too. Dad, don’t meddle. Little Shuangshuang isn’t one to get easily upset. If she says it’s okay now, let her be. If she’s really hurt, she’ll definitely come to you crying."

Originally Su Xiaomeng was worried herself, but after hearing Xing Chang’s explanation, she found relief. Seeing her father’s doting concern for Shuangshuang, she instinctively didn’t want him to intervene.

"Then... why’s Huang Huang just standing here dazed?"

"Grandpa, I’m not dazed, I’m thinking."

Prince Huang looked up at Su Chengji, correcting earnestly.

Su Chengji blinked in mild confusion, processing Prince Huang’s words, "... Isn’t that still dazed?"

"..."

"..."

"Dad, don’t worry about them. They might not do much else, but they sure know how to play, right? Come and sit for a bit."

Su Xiaomeng hurriedly urged Su Chengji to sit beside her, adding more water to his tea mug, smiling with squinted eyes as she handed him the drink,

"Dad, the garden’s still free on weekends, huh?"

"Yeah, more and more people are coming this weekend... I can’t keep up..."

Su Chengji muttered.

Su Xiaomeng still smiling with narrowed eyes, leaned closer to Su Chengji and asked, "So... have you noticed that the weekday visitor count has been dropping?"

Su Chengji smacked his thigh,

"You’re right! It wasn’t like this when the garden first opened. Even last summer was better. Now, Monday through Friday, it’s all so quiet... Weekends, the garden’s just jam-packed! Meng Meng, why’s this happening?"

"Want to know why?"

Xiao Meng continued with her gentle, smiling tone.

Su Chengji nodded eagerly, "Of course!"

"Because... normal families don’t have a generous son-in-law to support them."

Su Xiaomeng flashed a grin, picked up the tea cup, and chuckled lightly.

Su Chengji finally realized, it turned out his daughter was being sarcastic about him, "Su Xiaomeng."

Xiao Meng took a deep breath and then exhaled, "When the weekend comes, the kids are all off, and here you have the air conditioning on, tea service, and free explanations. Nowadays, zoos, aquariums, amusement parks, historical museums, all of them are hiking ticket prices and giving you the stink eye while doing it. If it were me, I’d also bring my kids here too on weekends. Do you think you can handle it during weekends, my dear dad?!"

Su Chengji raised his eyebrows, touched his nose, and smiled with pride, "My dear, I misunderstood you. You’re complimenting me for doing well..."

The expression on Su Xiaomeng’s face disappeared in a second, looking in disbelief at her dad who seemed a bit obsessed, seeing him happily sipping water from a big cup...

She turned to Ma Xingchang seeking empathy, only to find even the seldom-smiling Mayor Ma was laughing...

Su Xiaomeng sighed, shaking her head, feeling both frustrated and amused.

"In today’s society, there are too few people like Uncle Su."

Ma Xingchang said nonchalantly.

Running a botanical garden, losing seventy to eighty thousand a month... and still running it so happily... it’s more than just rare; it’s one of a kind, like nothing else on earth.

"That’s because Yin Shixiu spoils him!"

Su Xiaomeng said resentfully, and after speaking, felt another bout of frustration.

Su Chengji chuckled twice, surprisingly didn’t deny it, but sincerely said, "Little Ma, if it weren’t for my son-in-law fulfilling this wish for me, maybe in this lifetime I’d only dream of scenes like this. Now that this dream has come true, what more could I want?"

"Uncle Su is right, and besides, it counts as public welfare. The education bureau even mentioned Uncle Su’s Si Xian Botanical Garden in their meetings, saying they plan to officially list it as a quality education demonstration site. But there’s no rush; someone from the education bureau will probably come to have a chat with Uncle Su. If it’s successful, the government will definitely subsidize it."

Su Chengji blinked, "Subsidies! I feel the government’s subsidies should go to the children who truly need it. As for the garden’s management, Ah Shu has already arranged everything neatly."

Su Xiaomeng knew her father had been thoroughly spoiled by Yin Shixiu.

But still...

"Mayor Ma, what my dad said is true. Even though this botanical garden loses money, seeing so many parents bring their kids here on weekends for visits and education gives my dad, who loves tinkering with plants and flowers his whole life, a great sense of achievement."

"Shixiu indeed treats this as a public welfare project... All the operational funds come directly from the Yin Family. So... if the education bureau is interested in this botanical garden and grants it the status of a quality education demonstration site, my dad would probably feel very proud, right?"

Su Xiaomeng cheerfully patted Su Chengji on the shoulder, who chuckled while touching his face, "Of course that’s a matter of pride..."

"But as for subsidies, we really don’t need them. I think... no matter how much money we lose, the important thing is for dad to have enough freedom in what he loves to do... Shixiu... should feel the same."

Su Chengji touched his nose, feeling a sense of happiness beyond words.

Ma Xingchang looked at the father and daughter duo in front of him. Su Xiaomeng kept saying that Yin Shixiu had spoiled this gentleman, but in his eyes, this daughter was equally indulging her father.

The three of them chatted in the glass house for quite a while before they realized Shuangshuang and Huang Huang had already gone out and were wandering in the garden.

Shuangshuang, following behind Prince Huang, still seemed quite gloomy... as Prince Huang stopped in front of a strangely shaped plant, looking at the plant explanation nearby, muttering, "A new species..."

Shuangshuang truly had no interest in the plants, tugging on Prince Huang’s sleeve,

"Brother... turn around."

"Ah?"

"Quick, turn around, let me have a good look at you!"

Shuangshuang cupped Prince Huang’s face. Suddenly, two nearly identical faces were facing each other at a close distance, with two pairs of round eyes gazing at each other...

Prince Huang was extremely embarrassed, "What are you doing?"

"Not ugly at all, so pretty, with big eyes, a straight nose, fair skin, really good-looking..."

Prince Huang rolled his eyes at her, "Nonsense."

"Then why did Little Ma say I look ugly?"

"You are ugly."

Prince Huang said without thinking.

"How could that be?"

"Why not?"

Shuangshuang widened her eyes, looking at Prince Huang in shock, "Brother... hasn’t anyone ever told you that you’re not good-looking?"

"How could that be?" Prince Huang rolled his eyes at her again, "I’m not like you."

Shuangshuang pointed at him, then herself, "...The same."

"Where the same?" Prince Huang glanced at her, then... paused with his mouth open before retracting, muttering softly, "Damn, actually the same..."

Shuangshuang didn’t hear this mutter, kept tugging on Prince Huang’s sleeve,

"Brother... we’re not ugly... brother..."

"Not ugly, not ugly! It’s Little Ma who is ugly himself!"

"..."

Shuangshuang suddenly fell silent, blinking to see Ma Siyuan somehow got pushed by the crowd to the side of them.

He didn’t hear that... right...?