Song Qingshan moved closer to Zhou Duoduo. “We’ve warned people near the reservoir many times to be cautious. Just now, my son said you were using an electric rod to fish. Do you understand the dangers of using an electric rod? You might catch fish, but everyone swimming or working in the reservoir could be electrocuted. Do you want me to shock you instead?”

“Comrade Song, we’re friends. Don’t get too close,” Zhou Duoduo said, showing the explosives on his body. “I can set off the explosives.”

Song Qingshan didn’t know exactly how to act, but his hand moved so fast no one even noticed.

“I’ve told you many times to learn safety protocols, but no one listens. I warned you about fishing with electricity, how it disrupts the entire ecosystem of the reservoir, but you just wouldn’t listen,” Song Qingshan said, kicking Zhou Duoduo far away.

“I can still set off explosives!” Zhou Duoduo yelled as he rolled a distance away, then climbed up and shouted.

It seemed like Song Qingshan was the mad one now.

He stepped forward, kicked Zhou Duoduo again, and lifted him up. “Not only do you ignore safety, but you also believe in rumors. Tell me, who said people from your village are dying because the reservoir is ruining the feng shui?”

He threw a punch, and Zhou Duoduo spit out blood.

Zhou Duoduo’s wife couldn’t stand it anymore. “Comrade Song, it was the feng shui master from our village who said that. The master said the reservoir ruined our land’s feng shui.”

When the topic of feng shui came up, the men in the village raised their voices. “Yes, the fortune teller said that. The reason people are dying is because your dam messed up our feng shui.”

Liu Xiangqian said, “Comrade, go ahead and hit them. These ignorant villagers won’t listen to reason.”

Song Qingshan suddenly turned around while holding Zhou Duoduo. “With water in front and mountains behind, the three mountains form the dragon vein. If we really want to talk about feng shui, this place should produce kings and nobles. How can you say the feng shui is bad?”

A villager asked, “Then why are people dying in our village?”

Song Qingshan continued holding Zhou Duoduo. “Because some people get rich too quickly, and there’s a dispute over the spoils. Also, because you’re all foolish. When the reservoir was built, the first people to get rich were you all. You could fish and make money. Crops and fruits were better than ever. It’s because you had money that you started fighting, and people died. Think about it—fighting, arguing, death—all connected to money.”

The villagers started to look at each other, realizing that Zhou Duoduo’s uncle had died because of a fight over fishing profits.

Zhou Duoduo had even deliberately not warned his uncle while using the electric rod, leading to his uncle’s death in the water.

They began nodding in agreement. “Right, looks like we should learn safety regulations. Duoduo, you were the one who caused your uncle’s death.”

“You can’t listen to Comrade Song. I’m going to set off the explosives!” Zhou Duoduo shouted, pulling on the fuse.

At this point, the soldiers in the artillery unit thought the explosives were going to detonate.

They shouted in unison, “All villagers retreat, retreat!”

They immediately piled on top of Zhou Duoduo, using their bodies as shields to cover him.

The villagers of Xiao Zhou village were all stunned.

The danger came so suddenly that no one had time to run.

Just then, a child shouted, “Mom, we wanted to fight the soldiers, but the soldiers are using their bodies to block the explosives so they don’t hurt us.”

A group of women froze in place, and even the men in the village were stunned.

However, the expected explosion didn’t happen.

Instead, the soldiers were genuinely trying to protect the villagers.

“I already cut the fuse. Everyone, get up,” Song Qingshan said, looking at the soldiers who had formed a human shield around Zhou Duoduo.

He held up a pair of tweezers used to cut fuses and added, “Now, arrest all the men in this village and make them confess. Let’s see who’s been stirring up trouble.”

Feng shui had been a long-standing issue, especially in rural areas where people cared deeply about it.

Indeed, when the reservoir was built, many believed it had ruined the feng shui.

As the boat left the village, all the women, elderly, and children who weren’t arrested kneeled on the dock.

The deputy commander said, “Comrade Song, why do these villagers kneel to us? I feel like we’re the ones being sent off as the dead.”

“No,” Liu Xiangqian responded, “We are their ancestors now. They’re kneeling to send off their ancestors.”

“But Comrade Song, do you really think the feng shui here is good? We are soldiers, we believe in Marxism-Leninism, not superstition,” Liu Xiangqian continued.

Song Qingshan looked at Liu Xiangqian and said, “That’s not superstition; it’s traditional culture. You can’t eradicate it. When carrying out a mission, you have to use the right approach. You’ve got a bad temper, and you’ll only get yourself hurt.”

“When did you cut the fuse?” Liu Xiangqian pressed Song Qingshan. “You were so fast, I didn’t even see it.”

Song Qingshan smiled, standing at the bow of the boat. The soldiers raised their fists and shouted.

Meanwhile, Zhou Duoduo and his cousins, who had been arrested, were squatting in the cabin.

To this day, Zhou Duoduo still couldn’t figure out when the fuse had been cut.

Comrade Song’s hands were truly fast.

But now that he was arrested, he didn’t have to worry about harming Song Qingshan’s children.

All he could say was that superstition really did cause harm.

Li Chengze said, “I believe that’s impossible.”

“Can you tell me who the female comrade from the arts troupe has been helping you recently?” Su Xiangwan suddenly asked.

This little rascal was the type who would shine in the sunlight and get romantic in the moonlight—he could only be struck down time and time again to keep him in line.

Li Chengze curled his lips. “Anyway, she’s a comrade who loves me very, very much.”

Su Xiangwan said meaningfully, “Chengze, you’ve already experienced your godmother, and you still trust others. I find that very surprising.”

Though Li Chengze thought that his previous godmother wasn’t great, it was clear that the current one seemed to be a genuine good person.

So, he generously waved his hand, saying, “In any case, you should believe that everything I do is for Donghai, Xiling and Zhi Zhi.”

Lu Dan turned around and confidently said, “Chengze is a great brother.”

Gou Dan was even more eloquent, “Not just great, but the kind who loves his brother a lot. Mom, he’s my real brother.”

Recently, Li Chengze had been treating Lu Dan and Gou Dan to lots of snacks—either sunflower seeds and soda or cookies and milk.

Every day, right after school, he’d be standing by the elementary school gate.

He was tall, handsome, and had a rogue noble air about him, somewhere between a gangster and an ordinary student, making him the most eye-catching figure at the school gate.

As his brothers, Gou Dan and Lu Dan couldn’t be prouder.

No wonder they called him “Lord Chieftain.”

But just then, Chen Aidang suddenly said, “Report, leader. The cow has been skinned and cleaned. It’s ready for the kiln. Please give instructions.”

A group of young soldiers were laughing in the mess hall yard, arms crossed.

Lu Dan and Li Chengze were okay, steadying themselves, not scared by Chen Zhengwei’s voice, but Gou Dan was terrified.

He immediately buried his head in Su Xiangwan’s arms, crying, “Mom, I’m scared.”

“Don’t be afraid. Didn’t you want to eat beef? Look, there’s such a big cow,” Su Xiangwan said.

She thought it would be a small calf at most, but to her surprise, the cow was big and fat, weighing at least 800 pounds.

Its stomach seemed empty, but who knew what had been stuffed inside before it was sewn back up, with a big red flower on its head, ready for roasting.

Seeing Chen Aidang like that, Su Xiangwan realized he was just trying to scare her.

Of course, these engineering soldiers were usually deep in the mountains, far from home, and it was rare for a family member to visit.

When they did, they had to be as enthusiastic as possible, often in exaggerated styles, making sure to scare their visitors a little.

“You can start preparing the kiln, Comrade Chen Aidang. Please proceed,” Su Xiangwan said.

Since he wanted to call her “leader,” she was happy to play the part.

Li Chengze suddenly stuck his tongue out and laughed, “My mom said that once, when she visited the troops, she scared a bunch of soldiers, but you, you’re not afraid.”

Su Xiangwan smirked, thinking to herself that she had seen everything in her past life, and this life, probably only a big military parade could scare her.

Sometimes, experiencing too much wasn’t a good thing.

There was no sense of novelty anymore.

Just as Su Xiangwan thought there was no more excitement in life, Chen Aidang and his team, right in front of her, built a small kiln about two meters tall and three meters wide using only mud and earth bricks.

“Report, leader. The kiln is ready. Please give instructions to start the fire and roast the beef,” his voice was loud and rough like a broken gong.

“Continue,” Su Xiangwan waved her hand.

She didn’t believe for a second that Chen Aidang could fit a thousand-pound cow into the kiln.

Just then, a loud rumble came from above. Lu Dan and Gou Dan looked up and saw a crane slowly moving over.

Right in front of them, the nearly one-ton cow was hoisted into the kiln.

“Leader, we’ll start roasting the beef now. It should take about two hours. We’ll meet again in two hours, how about it?” Chen Aidang said.

The cow was placed on the grill, and roasting began.

Building a kiln by hand, hoisting a fat cow with a crane—Su Xiangwan had to say, this was the most hardcore roasting of beef she had ever witnessed.

She turned and left with the children.

Gou Dan kept looking back at the intense firelight in the kiln.

This child liked to try everything and eat everything.

He wished the clock would speed up so the two hours would pass quickly.

Hearing that Li Chengze had a crazy uncle, Su Xiangwan took the kids to the cow barn, which was actually the chemical fertilizer research center, to find him.

Without a visit to the construction troops, Su Xiangwan wouldn’t have known how big this military group was and how many industries it governed.

Of course, from the early days of the Republic, military factories had always been at the forefront of the economy, scientific research, and various developments.

This situation continued until the reforms of the 1980s, which is why so many post-reform leaders were former military personnel.

“Li Gong’an, Li Gong’an, stop fooling around and go back inside the house,” said a soldier who was feeding the cows.

Li Chengze’s fifth uncle, Li Hongjun, was standing by the cow pen in a tattered sheepskin coat, leaning on a stick, shaking as he snatched grass from the soldier’s hands to feed the cows.

It was hard to imagine that the stable, handsome, and extremely capable dog, who could even train soldiers, was raised by such a person.

Li Chengze didn’t dare to approach, so Su Xiangwan gave him a push. “Go see your fifth uncle. I heard his mind isn’t right anymore, but don’t worry, I won’t give you to him.”

She then took the donkey egg and dog egg out of the cow barn.

A person as vain as Li Chengze definitely wouldn’t want anyone to see him cry, but seeing how the handsome uncle he once knew, dressed in his military uniform, has now turned into this—he surely couldn’t hold back the tears.

Su Xiangwan felt that she was such a considerate and thoughtful mother.

Sure enough, not long later, Li Chengze, with a red nose, came out from inside.

As soon as he emerged, he threw himself into Su Xiangwan’s arms.

She was wearing a military green liberation suit, and one side was soaked with Dogdan’s sweat, while the other was stained with Li Chengze’s saliva and tears.

No, actually, Li Chengze had just pressed his crying face against her clothes.

After sobbing for a while, Li Chengze finally said, “Liu Minli is a good aunt. She really loves me.”

See? Su Xiangwan had told herself there was no need to force the truth out like an enemy with threats or persuasion.

When it was time to speak, the little rascal would open up on his own.

And indeed, he had voluntarily spilled the beans.

“Liu Minli, the head of the county cultural troupe, who was transferred from the province, right?” Su Xiangwan said.

Li Chengze nodded. “She’s my mom’s good friend. She saw I wasn’t doing well, so she asked me to help her with posters for the troupe, and she paid me.”

Stretching out his hands, Li Chengze said, “I started learning to draw when I was five.”

From a young age, being able to draw things like banknotes and ration tickets, he was truly a drawing genius.

As for Liu Minli, according to the original book, she would only meet Song Qingshan after an accident at the reservoir.

Then, she took the initiative to take care of Lu Dan at her house.

Later, after the crisis at Song Qingshan’s side was resolved, she and Song Qingshan naturally moved on to talk about marriage.

However, later in the story, Song Qingshan suspected her of being a spy and sent her directly to military court.

Of course, in the original book, the more formidable and troublesome character was Liu Minli’s brother, Liu Zaiye.

He and Song Qingshan were truly the life-and-death rivals.

As for Liu Minli’s future, it was never explained in the book, so Su Xiangwan didn’t know what happened to her.

She sat on the dam for a moment, enjoying the breeze, and then Song Qingshan and the others returned with bold strides.

Even the injury on Liu Xiangqian’s arm had already been bandaged.

The soldiers looked enthusiastic, full of fighting spirit, and their steps were firm.

One couldn’t help but admire the difference of the People’s Liberation Army soldiers compared to others.

The three mischievous kids were now incredibly fond of Song Qingshan, especially Li Chengze, who had always been self-important and only worshipped his grandfather and father.

Now, he was showing unprecedented admiration for Song Qingshan.

However, Song Qingshan was busy investigating the case, and he didn’t have time for them at that moment.

About two hours later, Song Qingshan returned to the dam.

“They’ll start the kiln over there soon. Aren’t you going to check how the roasted beef is turning out?” he asked the kids as they met.

Li Chengze was still nagging about what model the bomb was, what the components of the gunpowder were, and how powerful it really was.

Lu Dan and Gou Dan were desperately pulling him along. “Brother, hurry up, let’s go eat the roasted beef!”

Once the kids had left, Song Qingshan briefly told Su Xiangwan about the situation in Xiao Zhou Village.

In short, it was about villagers who had just gotten rich and were initially upset about the distribution of wealth.

Nowadays, older people like to consult fortune tellers, and one of them said the reservoir had ruined their village’s feng shui.

So, they planned to blow up the dam during the weekend when no one was around to restore the feng shui.

It was a simple matter, but it almost turned into a disaster.

“Does the fortune teller have nothing to do with the spy?” Su Xiangwan asked.

A person like her would still prefer to believe that there was a spy causing trouble.

Besides, if it was the spy who caused the reservoir incident, she could investigate the suspicions about Liu Minli, right?

Song Qingshan looked up, staring at the nearby villages surrounding the reservoir.

Xiao Qian Village, because of the incident with Qian Xiaofang, he had been keeping a close eye on it.

In theory, there shouldn’t be any major issues there.

Caojia Zhuang, Song Qingshan’s grandfather’s house, wasn’t far from the reservoir and was also on the mountain, but there was no significant connection between the military group and Caojia Zhuang.

That’s because Song Qingshan’s uncle was the chairman of the county’s Revolutionary Committee.

And the Revolutionary Committee was the one organization that Song Qingshan’s group least wanted to interact with.

Another issue was Xiao Zhou Village, where some of the villagers had been really fooled.

They had indeed been deceived, but even their explosives were found in a cave.

Song Qingshan instinctively felt that it probably wasn’t a spy but rather some nearby villagers who had been fooled by people who cared deeply about feng shui and landforms.

This was because during the construction of the reservoir, many ancestral graves were submerged.

And those people were certainly uncomfortable with that, so they caused trouble under the pretext of restoring the feng shui.

But with so many ancestral graves submerged during the reservoir construction, who exactly was behind this sabotage?

As long as the hidden dangers in the surrounding villages were not cleared up, it seemed that these villagers might continue causing trouble.

Just then, a strong smell of meat wafted through the air, and Song Qingshan turned around, grabbing Su Xiangwan and running toward the source.

“Keep talking, I want to hear more,” Su Xiangwan said.

Song Qingshan replied, “Why talk about this? You don’t know, but the cow’s stomach is stuffed with chicken, duck, goose, potatoes, corn, and sweet potatoes. All of it was grown by the people in our military group. If we’re late, they’ll have eaten it all.”