Hongqi Commune wasn’t far from Hongxing Commune, and there was a large road connecting the two.

Su Xiangwan planned to visit Hongqi Commune, but since there wasn’t much interaction between the two communes and she had no valid reason to go, just then, Xiong Dan’s mother arrived.

“Xiangwan, did you hear? I heard there’s some black market stuff in Hongqi Commune. They’re selling velvet cloth for just five mao per meter. How about we go take a look?” Xiong Dan’s mother said.

Su Xiangwan replied, “Velvet cloth should cost at least two yuan, right? Can the five mao ones really be used?”

“I heard from Hua Zi from Da Song Village. She said it’s really sturdy, really good to use, and cheap,” Xiong Dan’s mother replied.

“Alright, you wait while I get ready, and in the meantime, why don’t you call a few more women from our village? Let’s go together to visit the Hongqi Commune,” said Su Xiangwan.

She needed to check on Gu Nan to see who she really was, where she came from, and what her story was. She planned to bring a few more women along for cover, just in case the other party discovered her intentions first.

At this time, the elementary school had six days of classes a week, with one day off. Today, both Gou Dan and Lu Dan were going to school.

Old Xingtou had also returned and was busy cleaning up his broken house by the river.

Su Xiangwan brought Old Xingtou a big bowl of mixed grain noodles and quietly gave him a radio and a flashlight, delivering them to him.

“Why haven’t you resigned from the position of village party secretary yet?” Old Xingtou asked in an unpleasant tone.

“If you stay in the village a little longer and still say this, I will resign,” Su Xiangwan replied with a smile.

You see, after the grain yield had increased, the awards and recognition had all gone to Zhao Guodong, but the credit for the achievement was entirely Su Xiangwan’s.

While the outsiders might not know, everyone in Xiaosong Village had witnessed it. If Old Xingtou stayed a bit longer, he would definitely change his view of her, and Su Xiangwan was confident of that.

She got into the tractor, and along with a few women from the village, they headed out of Hongxing Commune toward the water reservoir, which was in the direction of Hongqi Commune.

The terrain in Hongqi Commune wasn’t as flat as in Hongxing Commune, and since it was close to the water reservoir, there were often soldiers and workers coming to buy things. The area was much more bustling.

The so-called black market wasn’t large, just in one residential house where someone was selling things.

However, there really was some velvet fabric, and a batch only cost fifty cents.

What Su Xiangwan didn’t expect was that the person selling it was none other than Song Erhua.

“Xiangwan, you’re here to buy some velvet fabric from me?” Song Erhua was very enthusiastic and quickly invited Su Xiangwan into the house. “Come, come, I have velvet fabric here. I’ll give you a few pieces for free, do you want them?”

Song Erhua had been doing small business in the city, always looking to take advantage of others. She had once looked down on Su Xiangwan, but since Jin Hua had died, she no longer focused on the old lady trying to scam money.

She carried cloth, went from place to place, selling items here and there. Su Xiangwan suspected that she must have smuggled the velvet fabric from somewhere.

“By the way, do you know a woman named Gu Nan in this village?” Su Xiangwan asked.

Song Erhua quickly responded, “She’s a really good person, and she’s the women’s director of Hongqi Commune. Recently, she specifically invited me to sell things here. She’s the one who provided this place for me.”

“Why would she do that for you? What if someone catches her selling on the black market? Won’t they remove her as the women’s director?” Su Xiangwan asked.

“She’s interested in our family show. She wants me to be a matchmaker,” Song Erhua said with a slightly suggestive smile. “I don’t know who she saw the show with, but anyway, she fell for him at first sight. She asked me to help introduce them.”

Song Erhua’s own children were grown up. Big Tiger was helping her organize the velvet fabric, and Second Tiger was counting the money. Both of the young men looked quite spirited.

“Big Tiger, why aren’t you coming to greet your aunt?” Song Erhua said as Big Tiger was still working with the fabric.

Big Tiger wiped his hands and pulled out a piece of patterned cloth. “Mom, I want to give this piece of fabric to Zhi Zhi. Is that okay?”

Song Erhua was a little petty, but since her son asked, she couldn’t say no. “Sure, give it to Zhi Zhi. She can make some clothes with it.”

Song Qingshan was a regiment commander, and both Big Tiger and Second Tiger wanted to join the army, but they were still too young. If they really joined, they would have to rely on Song Qingshan.

Everyone knew how much Song Qingshan liked Zhi Zhi. If anyone wanted to curry favor, it was definitely with Zhi Zhi.

However, Su Xiangwan didn’t want Song Erhua’s fabric. After all, the clothes Su Xianghong had gotten for Zhi Zhi were enough for her for a long time. She didn’t need to owe Song Erhua any favors just for a piece of cloth.

So, she held her child and walked straight to the barley field in Hongqi Commune, not going anywhere else.

Generally speaking, there were only two places where the women’s director worked: one was the office, and the other was the barley field.

She planned to observe carefully to see what kind of person Gu Nan really was.

As she arrived at the youth dormitory in Hongqi Commune, she suddenly heard a burst of cursing from a room.

“Li Chengze, you’re an ingrate! I raised you for nothing! What do you mean by asking me to put the wallet in Su Xianghong’s pocket?” It was the voice of the woman from yesterday.

Then, a child was shoved out of the room: “Get out, go wherever you want! I wasted all my love and care on you!”

It was Li Chengze, wearing the same torn clothes from yesterday. He was pushed out of the room and stood there, confused, outside the door.

“At first, nobody wanted you. You were like a wild dog running around outside. It was me who fed you, me who gave you a place to stay, and now you’re repaying me with betrayal, even going to Hongzhuan School to report me.”

Some of the youth volunteers at the dormitory were trying to persuade the woman inside: “Gu Nan, why are you losing your temper with the child again? He’s a poor kid. If you want to raise him, it’s your choice. If you don’t want to, just send him away. Why always hit and scold him?”

Gu Nan’s voice came from inside: “No, this kid has a bad character. He always says nonsense. He probably put the wallet in that girl student’s pocket himself, and now he’s blaming me. This morning, the police came and scolded me. What kind of thing is this?”

“Then just kick him out. If he has a bad character, there’s no need to keep him. Really,” said one of the youth volunteers.

Li Chengze clenched his little fists tightly, standing there without saying a word.

Suddenly, someone inside called out, “Alright Chengze, come in. Look at you, all pitiful. Come and cook for us.”

Li Chengze was still clenching his fists, but when he heard that Gu Nan was willing to accept him, his spirits immediately lifted. “Okay, godmother,” he said eagerly.

He was quite skilled at doing things.

He moved out the kerosene stove, took a small pot to the well, and carefully fetched some water to wash it.

After cleaning it, he added some cooking oil, sprinkled in some chopped green onions, added a bit of salt, and poured in water. When the water boiled, he tossed in some noodles and squatted by the well, waiting for the noodles to cook.

The little guy’s pants belt was about to snap. His waist was as thin as Gou Dan’s when Su Xiangwan first arrived.

However, now that Gou Dan was eating better, his waist was much thicker than Chengze’s.

It was already noon, and Su Xiangwan was hungry too. She turned around and returned to where Song Erhua had set up her stall. Song Erhua was cooking as well.

Just like Chengze, she was cooking noodles in plain water.

Today, Song Erhua was quite generous and gave a bowl of noodles to each of the women from Xiaosong Village.

Everyone bought her cloth and got a bowl of noodles. The women of Xiaosong Village were all very happy, enjoying themselves.

After finishing her noodles, Su Xiangwan asked Zhao Erhu, “Do you know that Li Chengze, the godson of the village women’s director, Gu Nan?”

“Of course I know him,” Song Erhu said. “He’s the one who called us here. He’s quite something—he can generate electricity himself and even makes firecrackers.”

“Firecrackers?” Su Xiangwan’s eyes lit up. “How does he make firecrackers?”

Erhu shook his head. “I don’t know how he makes them, but he made some for me. I paid him three cents for one, and then I sold it for five cents, making a two-cent profit.”

Alright, Su Xiangwan thought, now she was even more curious about Gu Nan and Li Chengze.

This kid seemed to have some skills from a young age.

She said, “Since it’s noon, go call him here. I want to take a look at him. What do you think?”

Zhao Erhu hesitated. “That kid’s not easy to talk to.”

Just then, Su Xiangwan looked up and saw a young boy standing right in front of her. “Auntie, what do you need me for?”

It was Li Chengze.

The boy looked quite proud but also had a wary expression, standing at a distance and fiddling with the end of his pants belt. “I know you. You’re Su Xiangwan. Your husband’s Song Qingshan, a regiment commander.”

Su Xiangwan pulled the boy into a corner and asked, “Do you know that I’ve been following you?”

Li Chengze pressed his lips together and said, “I have two things at your place. They were taken by your husband.”

“Who told you that? I don’t even know you. What things are with me?” Su Xiangwan asked, deliberately countering him.

Though he seemed mature and calculating, in reality, he was just a child. He replied, “Two things that belonged to my grandfather.”

Su Xiangwan couldn’t help but laugh. “Little money lover.” It turned out that the items were small jade lotus roots and small jade melons.

This boy was different from Gou Dan and Lu Dan.

He had a strong sense of pride, and his face turned red. “It’s not that I’m greedy, but those things originally belonged to my grandfather. He gave them to Song Qingshan and Song Tingxiu, but when my grandfather died, they didn’t show up. They were both his godsons. My grandfather was still worried about how they were doing when he died, but they’re just like everyone else—greedy for our family’s property.”

So, he had come to Qingshui County but hadn’t gone to find the Song brothers.

From what he observed, he believed that Song Tingxiu and the others were just like everyone else, wanting to control him and take his grandfather’s property.

As a result, he joined Gu Nan.

This boy was quite calculating.

Su Xiangwan’s expression grew serious. “Do you know that your great-grandfather was a tomb robber? Those two things were stolen from your family’s tomb. If you keep saying that, shouldn’t the tomb owner come after you?”

“There are no ghosts in this world,” the boy said, confidently.

Su Xiangwan replied, “There are no ghosts, but those items are public property. I plan to hand them over to the museum. I advise you not to always think about revenge. Just focus on living your life. Framing a young girl and accusing her of stealing a wallet isn’t something someone who talks big can do. You talk a lot, but you still framed my sister.”

Li Chengze’s face turned red. Just as he was about to say something, Zhi Zhi suddenly raised her hand and tapped his leg. “Shush, shush.”

She didn’t want Li Chengze to argue with her mother.

Su Xiangwan remembered that in the original book, Li Chengze and Zhi Zhi’s first meeting was during an incident when Li Chengze had kidnapped Zhi Zhi as a hostage while being pursued by the police.

At first, after escaping, he should have either let Zhi Zhi go or killed her, but he did neither. Instead, he kept her with him, treating her like a sister.

Eventually, he raised Zhi Zhi to the point where she would be willing to die for him.

Su Xiangwan had always remembered one thing—she didn’t want this future drug dealer to have any contact with Zhi Zhi. But to her surprise, they had crossed paths so soon.

“By the way, you were also following me yesterday, right? Otherwise, how would you have appeared at the department store and Red Zhuan School? I ran into you twice,” Su Xiangwan asked Li Chengze.

He had appeared twice yesterday, which couldn’t have been a coincidence. It seemed that Gu Nan had sent him to follow her.

Li Chengze’s face turned red, but he didn’t deny it.

He only said, “She said you’re a bad woman, and that your kids aren’t any better. In short, your family is no good. Also, my godmother’s father is a brigade commander, one of the top officials in the province. You can’t do anything to her. She’s taken a huge risk to raise me, and I’m willing to help her with anything.”

Of course, the prevailing belief was that a hero’s son would be a hero, and a coward’s son would be a lazy bum. Kids like him, no one would dare to adopt.

Su Xiangwan now confirmed that Gu Nan, like her, was also a time traveler.

In the original story, Gu Nan was set to become a provincial-level official in the future.

However, she didn’t marry Song Tingxiu as in the book. The current version of her, in an attempt to marry Song Tingxiu, had asked Song Erhua to act as a matchmaker and had even framed Su Xianghong, using despicable tactics.

As for raising Li Chengze, that was just opportunism.

Li Chengze didn’t want to say much more and was about to run off. “I should go now, and if you’re really going to send my stuff to the museum, then I’ll forgive you. My godmother is running for the position of our county’s cultural promoter. She said you were nominated by the Hongxing Commune, and she won’t let you win. In fact, she’ll make you embarrassed. I probably have to do something bad, so now, I’ll give you something as compensation.”

This little brat, forgiving and compensating with something?

Was this a punishment followed by a reward?

And clearly, this kid still had some conscience, but he had to do things for his godmother. The way he was so conflicted was rather funny.

“You’re telling me all this, but will you tell your godmother?” Su Xiangwan said, grabbing him as he was about to run.

Li Chengze bit his lip until it turned white. “I definitely won’t tell her, of course. And you won’t know what I’m planning, right?”

At the same time, Zhi Zhi was persistently punching the older boy with her small fists. When that didn’t work, she resorted to stepping on his worn shoes, stomping hard.

As soon as Su Xiangwan let go, Li Chengze turned and ran off.

They had been at the Hongqi Commune for half a day, and now, a few of the women from the village didn’t want to stay any longer and wanted to go back.

Su Xiangwan thought for a moment before she decided to go to the propaganda board at the Hongqi Commune before leaving.

After all, if she were the women’s director, the propaganda board would be her responsibility.

The handwriting and the content written by a person could reveal a lot about their character, habits, background, and so on.

To her surprise, when she arrived at the propaganda board, everything became clear to her: the handwriting on the blackboard was written by a woman, and she recognized that handwriting better than anyone else.

Why?

Because she had grown up with her cousin, Su Xiaonan.

They often copied each other’s homework when they were young.

She might not recognize other people’s handwriting, but Su Xiaonan’s writing was familiar to her.

It turned out that Su Xiaonan had also traveled to this world.

And since she had been secretly having a child follow Su Xiangwan around, it was clear that Su Xiaonan knew she had traveled and was probably very afraid of her.

At first, Su Xiangwan had thought that as long as she took care of the children, everything else would be easy. She didn’t have any aspirations to enter politics or become an official.

But now that Su Xiaonan wanted to embarrass her, she couldn’t tolerate that.

Running for election wasn’t scary; it was the loser who would be embarrassed.

Originally, Su Xiangwan hadn’t planned on running for cultural promoter, but since Su Xiaonan wanted to compete with her, why not give it a try?

However, Su Xiangwan still couldn’t figure out what Li Chengze meant when he said he was going to “compensate” her with something. When she got home, she found a plump goose tied under the tractor.

Had it been tied on top, it might have still been alive, but because it was tied underneath the tractor, the goose had been strangled.

So, this must have been Li Chengze’s apology gift to her, to make up for his godmother’s scheme to embarrass her.

What kind of child was he?

When Song Qingshan returned home, he saw that Su Xiangwan looked quite happy.

Of course, a mother’s mood was the barometer of a family.

If the mother was happy, the whole family would be happy.

When he saw his mother slaughtering the goose, Gou Dan couldn’t stop drooling, wiping his mouth over and over.

“Mom, how are we going to eat this goose?” As soon as Lu Dan entered, he rushed to the goose.

Su Xiangwan plucked the feathers, scalded it, and roasted it over fire to clean the goose: “Iron pot stewed goose, don’t even mention how fragrant it is.”

Song Qingshan asked, “Who gave it to us?”

Su Xiangwan didn’t answer. She couldn’t exactly say it was from Li Chengze.

“By the way, I’m running for the position of cultural promoter in our village. You know about this, right?” Su Xiangwan said.

Song Qingshan wasn’t particularly interested but pretended to be: “So, if you get elected, will you have to spend all your time reporting and doing propaganda work?”

Su Xiangwan nodded, “Probably, but I’m confident I can balance the family and the children.”

“Do you need my help?” Song Qingshan asked again.

Su Xiangwan was a little surprised: “You’re not opposed to it?”

Song Qingshan answered honestly, “I’ve seen you lead meetings with the villagers. If you really entered politics, you would be a good official.”

Someone who could learn and apply things quickly.

It was just a pity that she had to raise the children, and Zhi Zhi was still so young. If she really became an official, she probably wouldn’t have the energy for it right now.

So, for the time being, he just said some sweet words to please her, since she liked hearing them.

Looking at his wife for a moment, Song Qingshan said, “I’ve never been biased. Whether it’s Donghai or Xiling, I won’t favor either side. But I think, if you enter politics, you really could benefit the people.”

This man, Su Xiangwan thought to herself, maybe he’s not just her husband, but a bit like the worm in her stomach, able to flatter her so skillfully?

What should she do, being a time traveler?

Looking at this naive man, she wanted to unlock a hundred different ways to handle him.

Su Xiangwan had now confirmed that Gu Nan, like her, was also a time traveler.

In the original book, Gu Nan indeed became a provincial-level official in the future.