Lu Dan and Gou Dan, not having seen many films, were overjoyed at the opportunity to go to the cinema and didn’t want to do their homework.

Li Chengze, on the other hand, remained calm but began showing signs of worry, having a bit of paranoia about managing the younger children during the outing.

“Four kids, Su Auntie, I can carry Zhi Zhi, but I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to keep an eye on Song Xiling and Song Donghai. Maybe we shouldn’t go?” Li Chengze suggested.

Su Xiangwan firmly disagreed. “I’m not just going to watch the movie, I also have work to do. Tomorrow, taking care of the kids is your responsibility.”

Li Chengze, with a sigh, thought to himself, “This woman must really think I’m her nanny.”

Just as they were discussing this, the sound of a car could be heard outside.

Song Qingshan had returned from work, driving a jeep, which he parked in front of the house.

Though Song Qingshan hadn’t liked driving his jeep before, since Li Yifan arrived, she insisted on riding in it, so he had no choice but to drive it.

The two of them went to work together and left together, talking loudly all the way. It was clear that they were still discussing the nuclear power plant issue.

“How’s it going? The work at the Women’s Federation must be tough,” Li Yifan said, seeing Su Xiangwan standing by the door rinsing rice.

She had overheard Director Liu from the Women’s Federation complain several times about how tricky the work was, to the point where it could only be written off as a bad case.

Of course, as a nearly forty-year-old woman who had traveled from Xinjiang to Tibet and visited many places, Li Yifan had seen plenty of things in life that couldn’t be measured by law or solved by systems.

This was, of course, a way for her to assert some authority over Su Xiangwan. If she couldn’t resolve this case, she wouldn’t get the appointment at the Women’s Federation and would have to go home and become a housewife.

“Leader, give me one more day. I promise I’ll have the case of Wang Damu being abused by her son settled by tomorrow night. How about that?” Su Xiangwan said with a smile, so carefree that Li Yifan thought she was just a naive rural woman, unaware of the gravity of the situation and still blindly optimistic.

Li Yifan remained serious: “Don’t you have any kind of report or document for me?”

Su Xiangwan took the keys to the jeep from Song Qingshan, shrugged, and said, “I only went to school for two years. I don’t write much, so no report for you. But I’ll handle it tomorrow, I guarantee it.”

In Su Xiangwan’s view, grassroots workers should just get things done.

As for long-winded reports, sure, she could write them, and make them sound impressive, but right now she wasn’t focused on playing with words.

She was a two-year elementary school dropout, illiterate when it came to complex reports.

Li Yifan wasn’t stupid, though.

She had already suspected that the handwriting in Gu Nan’s letters didn’t match her usual style.

Of course, she also suspected that there might be something off with this female comrade from the Women’s Federation.

In front of a leader, one had to know when to show off and when to hide one’s weaknesses.

Li Yifan smiled meaningfully: “Comrade Xiao Su, this is a task the organization assigned to you. Don’t always think you can rely on Qingshan or Tingxiu. A real cadre should rely on their own ability to solve problems.”

She feared that Su Xiangwan might want to get Song Qingshan to punch Gao Bin, the mooching son, and send him off to prison for reeducation through labor.

It would feel good, sure, but the work of an entire county couldn’t be carried out with just fists.

Su Xiangwan smiled in return: “Don’t worry, I really don’t need to rely on Qingshan. I can handle the work myself.”

Li Yifan had already turned to leave but suddenly turned back and whispered, “The letter from Gu Nan, sent from Haixi County, we can assume she had someone write it for her. After all, she’s in a labor camp, and might not have the freedom to write letters. But the handwriting in this letter is very suspicious.”

“So, does the county head think that apart from Gu Nan, others might know what’s written in it?” The most unrefutable point for Li Yifan was that the things Gu Nan wrote in her diary, or the evaluations she made of their whole family, were only known by Gu Nan herself.

Li Yifan thought again about Gu Nan and became frustrated.

But seeing Su Xiangwan washing rice over and over again, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of calm.

It couldn’t be helped—she was someone who liked cleanliness.

She liked women like Su Xiangwan who were clean and efficient.

It must be an illusion, Li Yifan decided.

She would try to limit her contact with Su Xiangwan in the future.

“Then it’s the day after tomorrow. I’ll be waiting for the result of your handling of Wang Damu’s case. If you can’t handle it, you can go home and be a housewife,” Li Yifan said.

Su Xiangwan smiled and replied, “Alright, no problem. But if I really solve this, and do it beautifully, with everyone happy, I hope you, County Head, can cast aside your prejudice and believe that there are virtuous people among the working class.”

Was she implying that she was one of those virtuous people?

Li Yifan, confident, capable, and decisive, didn’t like timid people.

What she liked were those who, like Su Xiangwan, were confident, lively, and able to show their strengths.

Li Yifan couldn’t help but feel that she was starting to dislike Su Xiangwan less and less.

But she quickly decided it was just an illusion, and she had to overcome it.

However, as soon as she entered her own yard and saw Mother He braiding little Zhi Zhi’s hair, she couldn’t resist snatching the comb.

After all, which woman doesn’t like to braid the hair of a sweet, obedient little girl?

The county head was now braiding Zhi Zhi’s hair.

That evening, it was time to sleep.

Two days ago, Song Qingshan had given Su Xiangwan a big box of liquor-filled chocolates.

That night, Comrade Su was enthusiastic and lasted for twenty minutes.

After twenty minutes, she called it quits, citing pain as the reason.

He sat down to review his notebook, where he had previously chatted with war correspondent Adrian, preparing to ask Su Xiangwan to come to bed earlier for some “couple time.”

Of course, he first put Zhi Zhi to bed.

But as soon as Su Xiangwan climbed into bed, she complained, “I’m tired. Come rub my back and wash my underwear.”

She was going straight to sleep and asking him to wash her underwear?

“Comrade Xiao Su, this is too much, I’m tired too. I’ve been working all day. Can’t you wear them for just one more day?”

“You’re tired? Can your tiredness compare to mine? Song Qingshan, you go to work and come home, only washing dishes. Have you done any housework?” Su Xiangwan replied. “But look at me. I work all day, cook three meals for the kids, and still earn fifty bucks. Why can’t I ask you to wash my underwear?”

“You could stay home. After all, the money I give you is enough.” Song Qingshan’s issue was that he still wanted Su Xiangwan to stay at home and take care of the kids.

Su Xiangwan sneered, “One day, my salary will be higher than yours. I might even become the county head, or the governor. You’ll just be a cadre’s spouse. If you don’t wash, you won’t get in bed tonight. And as for ‘couple time,’ I’m a female cadre. Why should I satisfy your animalistic desires?”

“Animalistic desires?” Song Qingshan’s eyes nearly popped out. “If you keep saying that, I might not even touch you again. I’ve been single before, I can go back to that.”

He had also carefully prepared a copy of the Dagongbao (a historical Chinese newspaper) from the day she was born, intending to give it to her later.

Since she mentioned “beastly desires,” he decided not to give her the newspaper anymore and prepared to continue lying on the bed like a little white poplar.

After getting off the bed, he quietly washed her underwear.

Suddenly, Song Qingshan heard Su Xiangwan say, “Where did this old newspaper come from?”

The newspaper was hidden under the pillow, intended to surprise her.

“Oh, Dagongbao, from 1944?”

Su Xiangwan was lying on the bed.

Because she couldn’t read traditional Chinese characters, she looked at it for a while, then slammed it shut and said, “I just remembered something. Where I’m from, there was a poll online about the most outdated gift a man could give a woman. An old newspaper from the day she was born topped the list. This probably isn’t what you wanted to give me, right?”

Song Qingshan’s face immediately turned red. “No, no! How could I? I don’t know who put this newspaper here.”

It seems French men aren’t perfect after all.

Song Qingshan immediately crossed out this idea from his notebook, taught to him by Adrian.

“Do you still want it?” As he lay back down, Su Xiangwan’s voice was soft.

Her face was rosy, like a little apple, and she asked again.

“Do you want it?” she repeated.

“If you want it, then come,” she said teasingly. “I’m just saying it. This time, be gentler. I can tell this newspaper was carefully prepared, and it’s great. Remember to keep it up next time.” She thought a horse needs a bit of grass to run fast, not just criticism but also praise.

Otherwise, the man loses motivation.

Song Qingshan lay there for a while, then suddenly arched his back and flipped over.

She was simply a sorceress, the kind that evolved every day.

Song Qingshan didn’t want to at first, but while the mind could control the brain, it couldn’t control the body, so… he was deeply trapped in the mire, unable to stop.

At 7:30 PM the next evening, Gao Bin arrived at the county people’s square with his elderly mother.

He had taken the most advantageous spot, holding a large fan in his hand, waving it back and forth.

Because of his regular abuse of his foster mother, Gao Bin had become somewhat of a local celebrity in the county.

Some people saw him bringing Wang Damu to watch a movie and said, “Wow, Gao Bin, how come you’re letting your mother come to the movies?”

“The Women’s Federation is helping us solve some problems and giving us some snacks,” Gao Bin replied smugly, fanning himself.

“You’re always hitting your old mother, and now you think you’re in the right?” Someone, unable to stand it anymore, started arguing with him.

Hearing this, Gao Bin became even more pleased with himself.

He shoved the old lady: “I hit her. You don’t like it? If you don’t like it, take her home. She’s a disabled old woman. If you want her, I’ll send her to you right now.”

The elderly woman had a sad look on her face, letting her adopted son push her around.

When she was young, she had raised him with all her heart, probably even treating Gao Bin better than her own children.

But now, old and unable to move, her adopted son treated her this way.

Any time he got mad, he would threaten to send her away, abandon her, or force her to go to the county government to beg the Women’s Federation for food or help.