At home, Song Qingshan was planning his trip to Haixi.

However, he hadn’t shared what specific tasks he would undertake there, and his children didn’t know either.

Knives, scissors, shovels, brushes—one by one, he sharpened them until they gleamed and then packed them neatly into his toolbox.

“It’s so hot now. If we make flatbreads, they won’t last long before going bad on the road. Comrade Xiao Su, when will your work be finished? Hurry and take some time off,” he said.

“I can, very soon. But are we taking the train or the bus?” Su Xiangwan asked from inside the house.

Song Qingshan replied, “Two days by train, one day by shuttle bus, and then probably half a day by donkey cart.”

To Su Xiangwan, this sounded like an unbearable ordeal.

But her two sons, Lu Dan and Gou Dan, lit up with excitement, their mouths grinning from ear to ear: “Does that mean we’ll be traveling to the edge of the world?”

The two second graders hadn’t yet studied geography and still believed the world had an edge.

Song Qingshan pulled his two sons over and took a screwdriver from his toolbox to draw a circle.

He began explaining the shape of the Earth and how it orbits the Sun.

Just as he was speaking, the sound of light footsteps came from the steps outside.

He looked up to see Su Xiangwan, dressed in her most beautiful dress.

It was white with black polka dots, cinched at the waist with a tied belt.

To top it off, she had somehow gotten a pair of beige high heels and was wearing them.

As she walked down the steps, her footsteps made rhythmic sounds, and even the sound alone gave Song Qingshan a sense of musicality.

He stood up, glanced at his hands, dirtied from sharpening tools, and quickly washed them in water. “Aren’t you going to work today? Why are you dressed so… stylish?”

“I am going to work. Today, the Women’s Federation is hosting a live event to explain government policies to thirty struggling families from the city. We’ll also teach them how to become self-reliant and independent,” Su Xiangwan said, taking hold of Zhizi’s hand. “We’ve been preparing for this for over a month. Today, I thought I’d bring the kids along to liven up the atmosphere at the venue.”

Song Qingshan immediately stopped sharpening his scissors. “Why don’t I come along with you?”

Su Xiangwan didn’t reply. Holding Zhizi’s hand, she turned and walked out the door.

Lu Dan and Gou Dan glanced at themselves. Well, they were good kids who had been keeping clean recently. They wouldn’t embarrass their mother by going out with her.

Li Chengze, meanwhile, had an idea about what was going on. Based on Liu Minli’s recent smug demeanor, he guessed that Liu Zaiye was coming.

But if Liu Zaiye was coming, why was Aunt Su dressed so beautifully?

To Li Chengze, this didn’t make sense at all.

He had a strong impression of Liu Zaiye from when he was very young. Once, while playing soccer in the courtyard with his friends, Liu Zaiye, who was still in the army at the time, was dealing with a particularly tough period due to his wife’s severe illness. The kids were being too noisy, and after yelling at them didn’t work, Liu Zaiye shot their soccer ball with an air rifle from upstairs, deflating it completely.

Not only that, but he also dragged them all upstairs to apologize to his sick wife.

Li Chengze had only been five years old then, yet he was hauled to Liu Zaiye’s wife’s bedside. She was gravely ill, emaciated, with her stomach grotesquely bloated, and the room reeked of decay. The sight and smell scared the children so much that they burst into tears.

Their teacher, Commander Li, was very protective of the children.

When he heard that Liu Zaiye had bullied them, even taking them to a highly infectious environment given his wife’s illness, he confronted Liu Zaiye at work.

Things escalated, and during their argument, Liu Zaiye pulled a gun and pointed it directly at Commander Li’s forehead. For this, he was punished with 72 hours of confinement for insubordination.

Later, Liu Zaiye’s wife passed away.

That woman, Li Chengze remembered, bore a striking resemblance to Su Xiangwan—fair-skinned, thin, and gentle when she smiled in her healthier days.

After her death, Liu Zaiye underwent a drastic personality change, left the army, and fully devoted himself to “revolution.”

Whether it was truly revolution or just a way to amass wealth, only Liu Zaiye knew.

“Aunt Su, you know Liu Zaiye is coming, right? What if he shows up today? He’s most critical of women who dress up and wear fancy clothes. How about changing into something simpler for the meeting?” Li Chengze quietly suggested to Su Xiangwan.

But she remained unbothered. “Chengze, pursuing beauty is a natural instinct for women. Besides, which policy forbids women from wearing dresses? I’ve been working nonstop for two months; my feet are practically worn out. For today’s awards ceremony, I want to dress nicely.”

She and Li Yifan had agreed to both wear white dresses to the event. If she didn’t wear hers, Li Yifan would likely hesitate to put on hers as well.

Su Xiangwan was setting an example for her.

Li Yifan had been wavering about wearing something colorful, but so far, she hadn’t taken action.

At the Women’s Federation, all eight staff members, including Director Liu Tang, were busy today.

The struggling families from the city, most of whom either had severely ill family members or were disabled in some way, sent at least one representative from each household.

That alone meant thirty people.

They had to prepare chairs, set up tables, and ensure there was cool water available so no elderly attendees would get heatstroke in the summer sun.

Everyone was working tirelessly.

Liu Minli, who had brought members of the art troupe to invite the families, had just arrived at the venue as Su Xiangwan got there.

When Liu Minli saw Su Xiangwan not only wearing a dress but also carrying an umbrella, her already irritated mood worsened. “Deputy Director Su, this isn’t right. While we’re all busy working on your policies, you’re here dressed up in a dress and carrying an umbrella. Afraid of getting tanned, are you? Don’t you care if we get tanned?”

Su Xiangwan folded her umbrella, exhaled lightly, and said, “Because I’m the leader. As a leader, I get certain privileges. If you’re unhappy with that, then you can try being the leader.”

“Just you wait. My brother will be here today. Let’s see how he deals with you then.”

After all, Liu Zaiye’s primary goal for this trip was to take Su Xiangwan down.

In their phone conversations, Liu Zaiye often boasted that he had prepared everything perfectly. Su Xiangwan, to him, was like wheat in June or melons in July—just waiting to be harvested.

For the first time, the children sat down on little stools to watch their mother lead a meeting.

Meanwhile, Liu Minli and a few others were busy running around, serving water to representatives of elderly, infirm, and struggling families.

Su Xiangwan’s meeting was straightforward.

She focused on a few key points: no matter how poor a family might be, they couldn’t rely solely on government relief.

Everyone still had to find ways to create wealth.

For example, they could assemble matchboxes for the local match factory. Another opportunity lay in the county’s herbal medicine procurement station.

Many medicinal materials, like the codonopsis and astragalus produced in Xiao Song Village, required drying, slicing, and processing before they could be used.

If families in need couldn’t go to work, Su Xiangwan proposed a partnership with Xiao Song Village.

The villagers could deliver the herbs to the town, and the needy families could dry, slice, and process them before sending them to the health clinic.

This way, everyone could earn money.

The struggling families in the audience clapped as they listened.

Although this was just a “big promise” for now, the process of envisioning and desiring better prospects brought genuine joy to these people.

Standing on the sidelines was Song Qingshan.

Zhi Zhi would complain about needing to use the bathroom, Gou Dan would beg for water, and Lu Dan would occasionally dart around wildly.

Song Qingshan, who wasn’t used to handling kids, tried to wrangle them all together.

To placate them, he left briefly and returned with popsicles for everyone.

Zhi Zhi licked her popsicle, smearing it all over her face.

Song Qingshan patiently wiped her face, displaying immense fatherly patience.

In his slightly wrinkled military uniform, with his buzz cut, thick eyebrows, and sharp features, he looked strikingly handsome.

Little Zhi Zhi, a tiny girl whose head wasn’t even as broad as his shoulder, sat in his arms—a picture of harmony.

To Su Xiangwan, a father with four children was a beautiful sight.

To Liu Minli, however, it was the shattering of her ideal prince.

She couldn’t understand how she had ever been attracted to this man.

Among Song Qingshan’s children, only Lu Dan was remotely pleasing to her; the others were as unruly as monkeys and as annoying as could be.

Now, Liu Minli harbored no fantasies about Song Qingshan.

As she internally criticized and cursed Song Qingshan, she also resented Su Xiangwan.

But just as her thoughts spiraled, Su Xiangwan stepped off the stage, and it was Liu Tang’s turn to speak.

“Why are you staring at my husband?” Su Xiangwan chuckled, drinking a sip of cool water.

Liu Minli rolled her eyes. “Your husband is just a regiment-level officer—arrogant and full of himself. What’s there to look at?”

“Exactly. Married and unmarried people are worlds apart,” Su Xiangwan teased. “You should like someone single—full of energy and unburdened by children.”

Liu Minli bristled. “Deputy Director Su, are you suggesting I’d ever like your bad-tempered husband? You’re giving him too much credit. Besides, even if we’re not outright enemies, you’re still the person I dislike most in Qingshui County. We have nothing to talk about.”

Su Xiangwan chuckled, then suddenly put down her water glass and announced loudly, “Next, let’s welcome the head of our art troupe, Liu Minli, to speak. This event’s success is entirely thanks to her and the troupe. A round of applause!”

Moments ago, the two had been bickering. Now, Su Xiangwan pushed Liu Minli onto the stage.

As the head of the art troupe and a performer by trade, Liu Minli didn’t know what to say. Facing a crowd of elderly and struggling families, she hesitated, then said, “Forget the speech. How about I sing a song instead?”

A song was far better than a dull speech.

While leaders and officials had frequent events to enjoy, the poor rarely had any entertainment.

Even though there were only about thirty people in the audience, Liu Minli’s rendition of “Nanniwan” earned her the most enthusiastic applause of her career.

Though she still disliked Su Xiangwan, Liu Minli couldn’t deny that Su Xiangwan was magnanimous—not in a deliberate or condescending way, but genuinely open-minded and without prejudice.

From the start, Su Xiangwan understood why she was in Qingshui County and why she had to deceive Li Chengze.

Yet, Su Xiangwan never exposed Liu Minli’s secrets, such as her hidden affection for Song Qingshan or her copy of Dream of the Red Chamber.

Though she held every advantage, Su Xiangwan never used them against her.

Thinking of her brother Liu Zaiye’s impending arrival and his plans to metaphorically crush Su Xiangwan and her husband like mosquitoes, Liu Minli felt an inexplicable pang of guilt.

Just then, several jeeps pulled up outside the county committee building.

A man with fair skin stepped out, wearing a short-sleeved white shirt and army-green pants.