“Qingshan, where’s the money?” Early in the morning, the old lady asked her son, “Did you get it from Xiangwan?”

Song Qingshan twitched his lips. “It’s coming, but I saved some myself. Don’t worry about it.” As he spoke, he took another package of Xianyao Pills.

Old lady Song cried out, “Aah!”

She was upset. Her son had completely stopped listening to her.

She didn’t want those damn pills; she wanted money!

Qingyu also said, “Brother, you’re going too far. Even if you listen to your wife, you should at least leave some money for Mom and Dad. Have you forgotten how you grew up?”

“Qingyu, your new cotton-padded clothes, is it new?” Song Qingshan suddenly asked. “Do you know how long it’s been since your sister-in-law wore new cotton clothes?”

“What does that have to do with me?” Qingyu replied.

Song Qingshan stood up, then stayed silent. He walked away.

When people in the village heard that Su Xiangwan was going to the town to swear in for the party, everyone in Xiao Song Village was in an uproar.

However, what surprised them even more was that they didn’t expect Song Qingshan, who had been away for so long, to leave holding his little daughter, Zhi Zhi.

In Qinzhou’s old traditions, men usually don’t hold children—boys aren’t held at all, let alone girls.

But Song Qingshan was holding his own little daughter.

Zhi Zhi was really cute.

Today, she was dressed beautifully.

The women in the village loved teasing her.

Although she couldn’t walk steadily yet, her little mouth was becoming more nimble and she kept calling, “Dad, Dad.”

Song Qingshan only responded with a soft “Hmm,” but as Xiong Danma said: “You could tell his heart was melting.”

Xiao Song Village was a strange place; there were many boys but few girls.

However, every girl there was exceptionally beautiful.

When Xiong Danma saw Zhi Zhi, she couldn’t help but think of Little Ashe, and a wave of sadness came over her again.

Su Xiangwan had only a small piece of fabric, so she made a new outfit for Gou Dan, but didn’t make one for Lu Dan.

However, Lu Dan, being broad-minded, followed behind Gou Dan and kept complimenting him: “Gou Dan, you look just like Yang Zirong today.”

Gou Dan wore a small military-style suit, and Su Xiangwan also sewed him a little military cap.

The brim of the hat was stiff with a piece of felt inside.

Surprisingly, it looked pretty good. Since there was no red star, she bought a red pen from the credit union and drew one herself. It was a small victory for the child’s vanity.

When Su Xiangwan saw Gou Dan strutting ahead confidently, she thought, if she didn’t tie him down, he might just float up to the sky.

On the way to the town, everyone they met greeted them: “Oh, isn’t that our Pork Secretary?”

It was clearly teasing them.

Song Qingshan thought Su Xiangwan might get angry, but instead, she was very generous. “Yes, Aunt, Uncle, I’m planning to make sure everyone in Xiao Song Village gets pork every day. Don’t change my name—just call me Pork Secretary from now on, alright?”

The villagers, seeing her sitting on the tractor without any embarrassment, immediately burst into laughter.

Initially, they might have looked down on her, but now, while they didn’t exactly admire her, they felt she was quite bold and open.

At the township government office, Su Xiangwan handed Zhi Zhi back to her father.

“This child is good. When she needs to pee, she’ll wiggle her bottom and say ‘pee.’ When you notice her wiggling, hand her to Lu Dan. He’ll help her with the potty.”

After handing over the child, there was also a bottle of milk. “This is her milk bottle, it’s cleaned. Around eleven, go to the village commune and get a cup of hot water. Make her milk and wait for it to cool down before feeding her.”

She handed over the bottle and reminded, “This is our only bottle. It cost me five yuan. If anyone breaks it today, I’ll sell you and buy a new one.”

Gou Dan was the only one who had to accompany his mother to take the oath to join the Party.

Standing in front of the entrance to the village government yard, he suddenly began to shiver, though he didn’t know why.

Despite the trembling, he was determined not to embarrass his mother. His little military uniform was neatly pressed, and his small hands were firmly pressed against his pants.

“By the way, you’ve already given Gou Dan a full name, right? If anyone asks him his name when we go in, how should he respond?” Su Xiangwan suddenly asked.

Song Qingshan was taken aback, thought for a long while, and then replied, “Xiling. His name is Song Xiling.”

It was a simple three-character name, one that Gou Dan probably didn’t even know how to read.

Yet, he still held his little fists tight, trying to march like a soldier, step by step, into the village government office.

His little fists were clenched tightly.

“Comrade Su, welcome, welcome,” greeted the village chief, Han, who was the person who had supported Su Xiangwan when she had caused a commotion over the division of property, long before Song Qingshan had returned.

Of course, Han knew Su Xiangwan well. He respected her greatly because, after her husband died as a martyr, she had held the family together and raised her children. He admired her persistence.

However, while he respected her as a person, work was another matter.

“Someone reported that you were growing medicinal herbs and vegetables on your family’s plots before the winter freeze. Is that true?” Han asked directly.

Su Xiangwan replied, “Yes,” and added, “My father taught me this. Before the liberation, he delivered food to the Eighth Route Army, and I think this idea came from an Eighth Route Army commander.”

Using the Eighth Route Army as a reference, the leaders were less likely to ask too many questions.

Han, leaning on the desk, smiled and asked, “I also heard that Song Qingshan used a wild boar to bribe his way into becoming the village party secretary. Is that true?”

Su Xiangwan suspected it was the Fang family who had reported it.

She nodded, “Yes,” because she knew she couldn’t lie in front of the village leaders.

However, since the village chief had summoned her, it wasn’t to scold her. They just wanted to understand the facts.

“I also heard that both Qingshan and Zhao Guodong said you wanted to be the village secretary to make sure the kids could get enough to eat, so they recommended you for the position. But, Comrade Su, right now, we can’t even think about ensuring everyone has enough food. Our priority is just to prevent anyone from starving, do you understand?” Han said.

Su Xiangwan quickly responded, “I understand.”

Party Secretary Liu Simin added, “Zhao Guodong has said that you have a good sense of duty. In any case, the work of Xiaosong Village will be led by him, with you supporting him. Everything should follow Guodong’s lead. We’re eager to increase grain production to prevent hunger, but there’s only so much land, and with an output of 100 jin per mu, it’s a hard limit.”

In reality, the village leaders considered Zhao Guodong the primary leader of Xiaosong Village, and Su Xiangwan’s role as the village secretary was more of a supporting one.

“Alright, let’s proceed with the oath,” Han said, leading Su Xiangwan to the flag. He cleared his throat, adjusted his uniform, and raised his fist.

After Su Xiangwan finished the oath, Secretary Liu Simin noticed a six-year-old boy standing beside her, dressed in a neat Eighth Route Army uniform.

However, he didn’t have a belt but was using a piece of straw rope to tie it.

He stood very straight.

“Comrade, what’s your name?” Liu Simin asked, half-joking, half-seriously.

“Song Xiling, I’m Song Xiling,” Gou Dan responded, still standing straight, with his little hands firmly by his sides.

Sweat was already beading on his forehead.

Liu Simin and Han exchanged a smile. “Oh, Comrade Su, your son is quite something! He speaks loudly, stands straight, and looks like he’ll amount to something in the future.”

Upon hearing this, Gou Dan stood even straighter.

At the village level, leaders like the village chief and the secretary had seen people with much less education and capability than Su Xiangwan.

Many village secretaries were even “village bullies” who clearly weren’t suited for leadership roles.

But the policy was the policy. In the election process, many unexpected things could happen.

A village secretary served for three years, and if they didn’t perform well, they could be removed at any time. It was essentially a “see as you go” situation.

Thus, the village chief and the secretary took turns explaining the work process to Su Xiangwan, detailing what she needed to pay attention to, how to mediate problems in the village, and how to report to higher authorities when necessary.

In her previous life, Su Xiangwan had subconsciously thought that these grassroots leaders would do little and just drink.

But today, after hearing them talk for a while, she realized they were genuinely concerned about their work.

Though it was tedious, they were thorough, and at the grassroots level, the leaders were often the ones who cared the most about personal connections.

By the time their discussion ended, it was almost noon. Su Xiangwan then asked, “Leaders, does our entire village not use any fertilizer?”

“What’s fertilizer?” Han looked at her.

Su Xiangwan shook her head, “It’s nothing. I just heard about it, but if we don’t have it, it’s fine.”

She knew that modern agriculture depended on hybridization and fertilizers to increase yield.

In her past life, Su Xiangwan had worked in the world’s largest heavy-duty agricultural machinery factory, so she knew a little about agriculture.

She recalled watching a promotional video that explained how, before the founding of the country, rice yielded only 100 jin per mu, but after the reform and opening-up, it could yield up to 1,000 jin per mu, thanks to fertilizers.

Without fertilizers, how could agricultural products be produced in large quantities?

She wasn’t after a government position; she just had a simple wish: to ensure the children wouldn’t go hungry.

In the books, Song Qingshan would later create the country’s largest fertilizer factory, producing nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium fertilizers.

He would be the first in the Republic to lead the development and production of such products.

What should she do? She had been pretending so well, hoping that if the town had fertilizer, she wouldn’t need to trouble Song Qingshan.

But just now, when she flipped through the agricultural guidebook from Beijing, there was no mention of fertilizer.

If that’s the case, then she had to be honest with Song Qingshan about where she got it from.

Because she needed to ask him for fertilizer.

How should she confess?

….

Outside, Lu Dan and Song Qingshan were both taking care of Zhi Zhi.

Song Qingshan strictly followed Su Xiangwan’s instructions, asking Zhi Zhi every three minutes: “Do you need to pee?”

Zhi Zhi’s voice was small: “No.”

Then, when it was almost 11:00, they began to bring water to prepare her milk.

The milk powder was wrapped in paper, and Lu Dan insisted on using boiling water, but Song Qingshan, knowing some parenting tips, thought it should be cooled down first before adding the powder.

The father and son argued about it, with Lu Dan being wild since he wasn’t under his mother’s control: “You’re only a little taller and stronger than me, but I’ll tell you, in three years, I’ll be just as tall and strong as you.”

Song Qingshan nodded, “Good idea. Shake the bottle to cool the water faster. That’s exercise too. Go ahead.”

Lu Dan continued, “You don’t know how good I am to my mom. No matter what she does, I think it’s right. I always obey her.”

Song Qingshan teased him, “I obey my mom too, so there’s no difference between us.”

Lu Dan, unable to argue back, was very frustrated.

Finally, when the water cooled, Lu Dan mixed the milk powder and handed it to little Zhi Zhi. Surprisingly, she drank two gulps and said, “Sweet, brother, sweet.”

Lu Dan was puzzled: “No way, is milk powder made with warm water really better?”

But he wouldn’t miss the chance to tease his dad.

Usually, after drinking milk, a child would need to pee within three minutes.

Sure enough, Zhi Zhi wiggled her little bottom and whispered, “Pee, pee!”

But Song Qingshan was distracted and didn’t notice.

Lu Dan complained, “Dad, Zhi Zhi has been saying she needs to pee for a while, and you haven’t helped her yet.”

Because Su Xiangwan was a modern woman, unlike many mothers today who still make their older children wear split-crotch pants, Zhi Zhi wore pants with a full seat. Song Qingshan couldn’t figure out how to take them off in time.

Lu Dan quickly undid them and, solemnly, closed his eyes: “Dad, my sister’s a girl, and Mom said we shouldn’t look when she’s peeing.”

Song Qingshan stayed silent, feeling awkward and clumsy, not saying a word.