Su Xiangwan rummaged through her travel bag for two Band-Aids and a bottle of iodine. She found Liu Zaiye both laughable and pitiable.

She asked, “What on earth are you doing back here? And how did you end up fighting with him?”

Liu Zaiye didn’t know either. “I had just parked, and he came over and punched me. That wasn’t a man; that was a mad dog!”

“But you have a gun, why didn’t you pull it out?” Su Xiangwan asked.

“I have a gun, but I can’t really shoot at the people in the community, can I? What’s more, Ma Xijun is just a thick-headed idiot, a brute who only knows how to fight with his fists. How can a man fight with an animal?” Liu Zaiye spat out some blood, pushing away the Band-Aid that Su Xiangwan handed him.

In reality, when he first got out of the car, Ma Xijun punched him so hard that he was dazed, and his gun was still in the car.

He didn’t even have time to grab it.

Lu Dan didn’t think so. “If it were my dad, he’d definitely be able to handle him. Why can’t you? Just because you can’t fight?”

“Fighting is something savages do. I’m not a savage; I’m a civilized person who’s been educated and has ideas,” Liu Zaiye said, pointing at his own nose.

Lu Dan squinted his eyes, making a sound of disdain. “So civilized people deserve to be beaten? I don’t believe that. I’m sure my dad would have a way to deal with Ma Xijun.”

Gou Dan quickly nodded. “Everyone’s afraid of my dad, even the toughest guy, Jin Huan, is scared of him. He was so scared, he jumped into the reservoir.” This was just boasting, trying to make his dad seem even more impressive.

Liu Zaiye spat again.

He was already frustrated, thinking he had planned to leave, but had ended up stuck in the farm, feeling like he was running into walls.

He was about to slap himself, but his face had already been bruised from Ma Xijun’s punches. The pain prevented him from doing it, so he gave up.

At that moment, a Dongfanghong truck drove down the road.

Lu Dan, Gou Dan, and the others had seen Song Qingshan drive that truck yesterday. They immediately ran towards it, calling out “Dad” as they went.

Song Qingshan parked the truck by the side of the road. When he got out, his steps were a bit unsteady, and he walked forward lightly.

Then, suddenly, he bent down and pointed to his nose. “Donghai, come, hit me with a punch.”

“Really?” Lu Dan said, and then he really threw a punch at Song Qingshan. Laughing, he turned to Liu Zaiye and said, “Liu Uncle, look how tough my dad is.”

The kids all started talking at once, recounting how Ma Xijun had beaten Lu Dan yesterday, how he had hit Liu Zaiye today, and how he had shouted that as long as they were at Baiyang Farm, Zhao Yinshuang and Su Fufu wouldn’t be able to leave.

They repeated everything, parroting Song Qingshan’s words.

Song Qingshan listened intently, nodding as he did. “Someone who can beat your Uncle Liu, and you four couldn’t handle him? Sounds really impressive.”

Lu Dan, holding Song Qingshan, pointed to his forehead. “Look, this is where he hit me. Is it serious?”

In the end, the kids were just egging their dad on to fight Ma Xijun, to show off the power of the Song family.

Song Qingshan set Lu Dan down, clenched his fists, and relaxed his shoulders.

He patted Li Chengze and said, “Alright, go get that Ma Xijun for me. I’ll have a word with him.”

Li Chengze immediately shouted “Yes!” and almost jumped up, running off to declare war.

The kids ran so fast that the dirt on the ground was kicked up into the air, creating a cloud of yellow dust.

Su Xiangwan shoved the iodine and Band-Aids into Liu Zaiye’s hands.

She looked at Song Qingshan, who was still cracking his knuckles, and smiled. “Forget it, Ma Xijun is just an animal. If you want to beat him up, it’ll cause a scene, and if we can’t leave tomorrow, what will we do? Don’t get into a fight; I’ll think of a way to handle him before we leave. Is that alright?”

To Su Xiangwan, this local strongman with brute strength who could work hard needed to be taught a lesson by civilized means.

“Leave it to me,” Song Qingshan smiled.

However, he was still puzzled as to why Liu Zaiye was still here. “Zaiye, why haven’t you left yet?”

Liu Zaiye shoved his hands into his pockets and arrogantly replied, “I’m looking at your disheveled family. I don’t feel like leaving. Do you believe that?”

Su Xiangwan had spent the whole day doing farm work. In Haixi, the sun wasn’t something a simple umbrella could block. She was tanned and covered in dirt, wearing a plain floral cloth shirt that made her look just like the local women.

She immediately got angry. “Liu Zaiye, say that again?”

“I’m just saying you’re dirty, sloppy, and rough. You couldn’t even fight Ma Xijun yesterday. If it weren’t for me, you’d probably have been beaten to death by him. Look at your bruised face. If I could look at you, that’d be a miracle.” Liu Zaiye’s words were as harsh as ever.

But despite being so sharp-tongued, he had still somehow charmed the original person in the book.

Su Xiangwan was so furious that she almost jumped up.

She grabbed with both hands and lunged at him. “Liu Zaiye, if you dare say it again—”

Fortunately, Song Qingshan grabbed her. “Alright, Xiangwan, don’t make a scene. Just treat him like a mad dog. The kids and I think you’re the best. We really like you. We all love you.”

Since Su Xiangwan had crossed over, she had been wholeheartedly focusing on raising her children and making a sincere effort to integrate into this society.

She had never been spoken to so harshly before.

The problem was that she felt just like the local women, truly becoming one with the land, losing her gender and charm, just a real, honest laborer.

It was no wonder that Su Xiaonan wanted to resist and be lazy. In such an era, even the slightest attempt to stand out would earn criticism. But asking a female comrade to give up her femininity and become one with the land—what meaning did her life still have?

Liu Zaiye had essentially exposed the “emperor’s new clothes” that Su Xiangwan had forcefully draped over herself.

She didn’t say anything more, shook off Song Qingshan, and turned to leave.

When Song Qingshan wasn’t around, everyone saw Ma Xijun as the strongest and largest man in the seventh team.

However, Song Qingshan was taller, more solid, and not as bloated, having been in the army for years, training constantly. When he ran out, several children screamed in excitement.

Ma Xijun was still holding a club, about the thickness of a man’s arm, swaggering toward them.

But Song Qingshan performed the same shoulder throw he had used on Liu Zaiye before, almost flipping Ma Xijun over and slamming him to the ground.

Ma Xijun struggled to get up, but then Song Qingshan swiftly kicked his legs apart, delivering another powerful throw.

Ma Xijun landed heavily on his back again.

Song Qingshan’s move was simple but required immense explosive power to execute.

After throwing him down, Song Qingshan stood with his hands on his hips and closed his eyes for a moment.

Ma Xijun never released his club. Struggling to stand up, he swung it at Song Qingshan, who caught it with one hand.

After catching it, Song Qingshan flipped it back, and Ma Xijun’s tall frame crashed to the ground with a loud thud.

This time, Ma Xijun hesitated to get up, looking like he wanted to run.

But Song Qingshan quickly kicked his legs from behind and threw him again with another shoulder toss. The earth around Ma Xijun exploded into a mushroom cloud of dirt as he slammed back into the ground.

Like a dead dog, Ma Xijun lay there, finally unable to move.

“Can you understand me?” Song Qingshan asked.

Ma Xijun, lying on the ground, nodded: “I understand, I understand.”

“Are you still going to hit people for no reason?” Song Qingshan asked again.

Ma Xijun shook his head: “I won’t, really, I won’t hit anyone again.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes, seriously, more serious than serious. I really won’t hit anyone again,” Ma Xijun said, lying there with his hands pressed together, as if praying.

Well, it seemed like he understood.

He just needed to be beaten into submission.

In the past few days, Song Qingshan had been working non-stop—first working, then the construction team would rest, while he would go back to check on the children and his family.

Since arriving in Haixi, he hadn’t slept a wink, working straight through several days.

Lack of sleep over extended periods of time could be managed physically, but it would still make one unfocused, like floating.

When he got off the car earlier, his senses were foggy, and he only managed to snap back by letting Lu Dan punch him in the face. Now, stretching his arms and legs, he felt much more awake.

Of course, after so many years of working with Liu Zaiye, Song Qingshan understood him well.

The more poisonous his words, the more it showed he cared.

For three days in a row, Liu Zaiye hadn’t left and had been circling Su Xiangwan like a dog, clearly ill.

It seemed it was time to apply some “medicine” to him.

“Inye, tomorrow we’re going to blow up the mountain. Xiangwan is coming with me to see the explosion. Are you going too?” Song Qingshan asked after a moment’s thought.

Liu Zaiye had heard about the huge scale of the explosion planned for tomorrow, which would be unprecedented. He naturally wanted to see it and check how well Song Qingshan had done with the work.

“Sure, let’s go together,” Liu Zaiye agreed.

Mom was very upset and went straight to bed as soon as she got back. The children, however, didn’t understand why she was sad.

“Is it because we ate all the watermelon and didn’t leave any for her?” Gou Dan asked timidly.

Li Chengze said, “That shouldn’t be it. She said she didn’t like watermelon and told us to eat it.”

Lu Dan, being the older and wiser one, quickly sent the younger ones away. He went into the room, sat down beside Su Xiangwan on the narrow clay bed, and began fanning her with a broken palm fan.

“Song Donghai, you don’t need to do your homework today. Go out and play, why sit here and cuddle with mom?” Su Xiangwan said.

Lu Dan replied, “There’s nothing to do outside. It’s so hot in here. I’ll just fan mom.”

Though the fan was still blowing hot air, Su Xiangwan wanted some quiet, so she closed her eyes, lying in a half-dreaming state.

“Lu Dan, let mom sleep. I’ll fan her. You go out and play,” Zhao Yinshuang said as she entered, seeing Lu Dan sitting cross-legged on the bed, fanning intently.

Her heart ached for him, but she also thought he was being so obedient.

She pulled him close.

Lu Dan whispered, “Grandma, you don’t know, before my dad came back, mom was sure she was leaving. She packed her little bundle. But in the end, she stayed, to take care of us brothers. From that moment, I swore to myself that no one would ever bully my mom.”

It was undeniable—he was truly the strong eldest son.

What he said was different from the others.

Su Xiangwan hadn’t been fully asleep. Hearing her child’s words, she suddenly realized something.