The old lady Song sat on the kang, unable to cry out but already choking on her sobs. “What? My son, who served as a soldier for thirteen years, will just be a doorman when he returns? Why? How can this happen?”

After a moment, with a sharp cry, Gou Dan, resembling a puff of black smoke, slipped out of the room and ran off.

At the labor reform site, Su Xiangwan was making shoes for Zhi Zhi.

The child had only one pair of woolen socks before, but now that she was over a year old and starting to walk, he needed a pair of soft shoes.

So, she started sewing shoes with a thin base.

Gou Dan, with a ferocious expression, was trying to eat a pear.

He had lost one tooth, and the other one was also loose. He bit down on the pear, but the pear didn’t even budge, and his front tooth nearly fell out.

“Mom, I think I should let my grandma bleed me. She’s the one who knocked my tooth out,” the little one said, grimacing.

Su Xiangwan quickly replied, “I nearly broke her ribs. I’ve already avenged you, don’t worry.” The child had a strong sense of vengeance, and she didn’t want to plant hatred in his heart.

The child wanted the pear but couldn’t get it in his mouth.

What to do?

Su Xiangwan didn’t know where Song Qingshan got the nerve to bring so many pears from the old house, but she decided to peel three of them, slice them up, and steam them on high heat.

Soon, the sweet, sour, and fragrant aroma of cooked pears filled the air.

After steaming, she drizzled honey on them.

The family didn’t have spoons, so she used chopsticks to blow on the pears and gave Gou Dan a bite, then gave Zhi Zhi a bite.

Gou Dan was so overwhelmed by the sweetness, he said, “Mom, pears can be eaten like this? Is there anything tastier in this world?”

Su Xiangwan smiled. “There’s plenty, you just haven’t had it before.”

“Mom, mom, my grandma and dad are planning to divorce you,” Lu dan said, carrying a stick and barging in from outside.

Su Xiangwan froze for a moment.

She thought: “I just wrote some corrections for Song Qingshan, and now he wants to divorce me?”

Was this man acting out because she had been so gentle recently?

Was he getting inflated?

Or was he petty enough to want to take advantage of the old grudges between Song Tingxiu and Zhao Guodong?

To be clear, Su Xiangwan had always been outstanding.

She had taught in remote areas, worked in a Fortune 500 company, earned a black belt in taekwondo, and was skilled in dance, piano, and painting.

Although society now was very different from the future, if she really had to make a hard decision, now that the father of her children had returned, she could leave them behind and still find a stable life anywhere.

A few days ago, she hadn’t even touched any meat.

But today, she picked up the knife and began cutting the meat that Song Qingshan had brought back. “I just want to ask you both, do you want some meat?”

Lu Dan had never eaten meat before.

Smelling the aroma, he opened his mouth wide. “We don’t want anything from Song Qingshan. We won’t eat it. He wants to divorce you anyway.”

Gou Dan, who never liked his father, directly said, “Let him take his meat away.”

They wouldn’t eat food offered in disdain.

Hmph.

At this point, Song Qingshan was outside banging on the door.

The two kids heard it but deliberately didn’t open the door.

It was Su Xiangwan who went outside and opened the door.

“Song Qingshan, if you divorce, we’ll stay with my mom, not with you.” Lu Dan stood with his stick, looking wild.

Gou Dan’s voice was even louder: “Zhao is a thousand times, a million times better than you! I love Zhao, not you. Tomorrow, I’ll have Zhao be my dad.”

“Shut your mouths. He is your father, and our issues won’t change the fact that he’s your dad,” Su Xiangwan said loudly, suppressing her two sons.

Her two sons, full of strength, stood firmly by her sides, guarding her.

Song Qingshan probably wanted to say something, but just then, the donkeys in the barn started braying loudly.

Song Qingshan, recalling his childhood working with farm animals, grabbed the sickle and went out to cut some grass to feed the two donkeys.

Su Xiangwan first stir-fried some cured pork with garlic chives she had grown last month, the fat and lean parts mixed together, giving off a delicious smell.

The house had no white flour left, only cornmeal she had exchanged for work points from the collective. She sifted it thoroughly, removing the coarse bits, and kneaded it into dough.

Cornmeal alone couldn’t be rolled into noodles, so she cut it into thick sticks.

But in an era when every household had sour soup and rice noodles for every meal, this simple dish of thick cornmeal sticks was still a rare treat.

After all, you might have money, but if you don’t have tickets, where can you buy good things?

“Mom, Song Qingshan is feeding the donkey hay,” said Ludan.

Goudan was lying on the windowsill. “He’s washed his hands. He’s coming in. Quick, let’s settle the account with him.”

“Why, such fragrant cured meat, aren’t you going to eat?” Song Qingshan asked as he picked up a bowl.

He could smell his favorite cornmeal sticks, which made him happy.

Then he saw a plate of garlic shoots stir-fried with cured meat, and it smelled even more delicious.

But his two sons didn’t seem too interested.

However, hearing that they could eat meat, the two of them hesitated for a moment.

Goudan grabbed a piece with his chopsticks but was too quick and dropped it on the ground.

Well, kids love meat, and Goudan made an “ouch” sound, bent down to pick it up, and was about to put it in his mouth when Su Xiangwan immediately slapped him on the head. “That’s dirty! Don’t eat it, throw it away.”

With such a small gesture, Ludan immediately pouted and stopped eating.

Was it because he didn’t get hit?

Su Xiangwan also gave him a slap.

Fine, the two kids’ expressions were finally the same.

But still, they wouldn’t acknowledge Song Qingshan.

Only little Zhi Zhi glanced at him shyly from Su Xiangwan’s arms, looking at him for a moment, then quickly hid again.

“Why don’t you just get divorced?” Ludan put both hands on the table and lightly knocked. “I’m the man in Su Xiangwan’s family. As long as Su Xiangwan wants a divorce, I can make that decision for her.”

Don’t let his six years fool you, and don’t let his skinny body like a monkey mislead you.

When he said this, his tone was as forceful as a mighty storm.

No wonder even with both legs missing below the knees, he could still be the male lead.

Moreover, he was the highest-rated criminal investigator in the entire Republic.

Su Xiangwan smiled and said nothing.

Song Qingshan pushed the watch over and said, “This is the watch I bought for you when we got married. You keep it.”

Oh, so the watch was returned.

This black-hearted man, the one who never communicated with his parents, seemed like he really wanted a divorce.

In fact, in the original story, after Song Qingshan returned, he divorced the original character and they lived separately.

Su Xiangwan took the watch.

She wasn’t the type to beat around the bush and was someone who would speak her mind when upset.

Naturally, she didn’t want to let Song Qingshan off lightly. “What, are we really getting a divorce, Ludan’s dad?” she asked.

Goudan and Ludan simply put down their bowls, and sitting on either side, looked at Song Qingshan. “Divorce? Mom, with Cadre Zhang, could we still eat pigs with fur? We support your divorce.”

This, of course, was adding fuel to the fire.

“Why divorce when everything is fine?” Song Qingshan snapped a corn stick with his chopsticks and fed it to Zhi Zhi, who was munching with her cute red little mouth, making the most adorable sounds, and then called out “Dad.”

His expression softened for a rare moment, showing a tenderness not often seen.

Of course, even if he didn’t bring up divorce, Su Xiangwan didn’t intend to let him off the hook.

“You want to honor your elders, that’s fine, but last time when we split up, it wasn’t really a split, it was that your family, the Song family, kicked me and the three kids out. Forget the radios and flashlights for now, but as for the private land, if we’re splitting up, at least each family should get half. I don’t need more, but my share should be given to me. And that pear tree, it’s mine. Now, my kids want a pear, and they have to beg for it. Why is that?” Su Xiangwan said as the two kids nodded along.

She, too, spoke with force. “Look at you, all sticky like this. If you don’t bring up divorce, I’ll bring it up. Let’s get a divorce.”

She glanced at the three kids, especially little Zhi Zhi, who was curled up in her arms, so obedient like a little angel.

Her resolve hardened, and she said, “I’ll take all the kids.”

Song Qingshan put down his chopsticks, looked at Su Xiangwan, and said, “Of course, the elderly must be cared for, and the family should be divided. But the division wasn’t done right last time. I’ll promise you that this time, the division will be done properly and to your satisfaction.”

“You know how to divide it so I’ll be satisfied?” Su Xiangwan nearly laughed herself to death.

Based on Ludan’s words, this man had just been lamenting with his mom about family bonds, and now he was talking about dividing the family to her satisfaction.

Wasn’t that a joke?

But Song Qingshan was certain. “I said I’ll do it, and I will. You know well that after I died, you still waited for two years. I can’t let you lose out on this.”

“But you have to tell me, why, after we agreed to divorce, are you still here when I came back?” Song Qingshan then asked.

Su Xiangwan nearly jumped up. “What do you mean? When did I ever say I wanted a divorce?”

“Su Xiangwan, do you really not remember what you said and did when you came to Dongfeng City?” Song Qingshan coldly looked at Su Xiangwan and gently pushed the watch over to her. “And this is your favorite watch. I can’t imagine you would give it to my mom.”

Seeing the watch, Su Xiangwan suddenly felt like maybe she had been found out.

But, she instinctively thought that they hadn’t actually discussed a divorce—he was probably just trying to deceive her.

Calmly, she said, “A divorce? Can a divorce result in a child?”

Was Zhi Zhi conceived through a breakup?