When Su Xiangwan opened the envelope, she found it contained a household registration form for her late second uncle, Su Baohe, who had already passed away.

It turned out that her mother, Zhao Yinshuang, and her younger brother, Su Fufu, after their background had been confirmed, were allowed by the organization to be relocated to Haixi County in Qinghai Province for re-education by the poor and lower-middle peasants there.

Moreover, before leaving, they had moved their household registration as well.

As for the household registration of Su Xiangwan and her two sisters, it was kept separate.

So, unless someone seriously wanted to target them, their identities would not be affected in this era.

Su Xiangwan had only heard about how many people would fight with their relatives, even to the point of becoming estranged, but this was the first time she had seen someone voluntarily cut ties with their family in order to protect their children and leave for a distant place.

“Where is my sister Xianghong, Director? Tell me the truth, I can accept anything.” Although she wasn’t the original body, Su Xianghong was the original body’s younger sister.

Su Xiangwan feared something might have happened to her.

“Xianghong used to do acupuncture, but recently she’s been harassed by some young men from the revolutionary group. I told her to hide for a while. You know, those revolutionary group people can really be deadly,” Director Wang said. “Don’t worry, all of us in the hospital will protect her.”

Su Xiangwan then asked him, “Director, can you tell me the names of those young men from the revolutionary group? I need to protect my sister.”

Director Wang said, “She hasn’t mentioned them to me, but I’ll ask around and get back to you. Is that okay?”

Those so-called little revolutionaries, the little generals, were a bunch of lawless ruffians.

Su Xiangwan thought to herself, “How dare they bully my sister? I’ll make sure to deal with you all sooner or later.”

“So, Director, please take this seriously. Once you find out, just send me a registered letter, okay?” Su Xiangwan was worried Director Wang wouldn’t agree, so she insisted on giving him two yuan to cover the cost of sending the letter.

With that, Su Xiangwan took her household registration form, gathered the kids, and returned home.

As for Song Qingshan, once he arrived at work, he had to attend a meeting.

Liu Xiangqian, who was busy getting the new workers to dig caves, came in to report to Song Qingshan, saying, “That Song Laosan is particularly disobedient. He eats a lot, works little, and keeps saying he paid to come in and doesn’t want to dig dirt and crush stones. What should we do?”

Song Qingshan replied, “Send him to dig the diversion tunnel. If he dares to come out, handcuff him and make him work until he agrees.”

Lazy bum, I don’t believe I can’t get him to work.

As Liu Xiangqian was about to leave, Song Qingshan suddenly called him back, “Xiangqian, tell me this: If a female comrade who used to treat you badly suddenly treats you well, and you don’t mind her, why do you think that is?”

Liu Xiangqian scratched his ear, “Is she interested in me?”

“Impossible,” Song Qingshan said firmly.

Liu Xiangqian said, “It must be that she’s interested! Otherwise, why would she treat me well? But Song, you’re married. Could it be that the saleswoman from the supply and marketing cooperative in the county town is after you?”

“Go away, how could that be?” Song Qingshan waved his hand but then added, “This matter can’t be told to anyone, alright?”

His wife seemed a bit off, but Song Qingshan didn’t realize she had crossed over.

The more he looked at her, the more something felt wrong.

First, when he came back, he clearly saw her driving the tractor—this was a clue. Second, although her personality hadn’t changed much, her attitude towards him had completely turned around.

Of course, tonight, when he got home, he planned to observe her more closely to figure out what was going on.

At home, as the sky gradually darkened, the two little ones were growing more anxious.

Sure enough, Goudan gathered his courage and said, “Mom, I don’t want Song Qingshan anymore. Let’s close the door tightly tonight and don’t let him in, okay? If you’re afraid, I’ll have Comrade Zhao come and chase him away.”

This was because he was still angry from being slapped on the butt earlier.

Su Xiangwan immediately covered his mouth and pretended to hit him.

When she saw the terror in his little face, she let go and kissed his sweaty little cheek: “If you want to treat Song Qingshan as your dad, I’ll kiss you every day. But if you treat Comrade Zhao as your dad, I’ll slap your butt every day.”

Goudan immediately grinned: “I’ll treat Comrade Zhao as my dad in my heart, but call Song Qingshan ‘Dad’ with my mouth. That should work, right?”

This silly little boy, Su Xiangwan really didn’t know what to do with him.

With his round face and big eyes, his little teeth were still white and unchanging, like little glutinous rice, so cute that Su Xiangwan couldn’t help but kiss him again.

Lu Dan suddenly pouted and turned his back.

Well, it seemed like jealousy.

Though they were brothers, these two would eventually become bitter enemies, and jealousy was deeply embedded in their bones.

Su Xiangwan had no choice but to pull the reluctant Lu Dan over and give him a big kiss as well, finally putting an end to the matter.

Today, Su Xiangwan had also filled the kerosene lamp, so the house could finally have light from the lamp.

Little Zhi Zhi was seeing the kerosene lamp for the first time.

It was bright and fun; she leaned in Su Xiangwan’s arms, constantly pointing at it, saying “Eh?”

Su Xiangwan responded with an “Mm!”

Zhi Zhi’s big, round eyes widened as she nodded enthusiastically.

Well, this was probably baby talk, right?

Su Xiangwan spread out the fabric scraps, piecing them together, sewing the colors that were similar to make patchwork fabric.

She planned to make new clothes for the kids.

It was worth mentioning that Su Xiangwan was indeed quick and skilled—she had grabbed large pieces of fabric, and one piece was enough to make a little outfit for Zhi Zhi.

Lu Dan and Gou Dan had beans and cornmeal with pig lard for their meal again today.

After filling their bellies, they felt quite satisfied.

The two of them were now playing with a flashlight, shining it at the stars in the large, empty courtyard.

Suddenly, the two kids yelled one after the other, “That person, that person’s tractor is back!”

In the distance, the sound of a tractor’s engine could be heard—sure enough, Song Qingshan had returned.

Su Xiangwan quickly opened the window and shouted, “I’m stitching fabric here. Only those who call for their dad will get new clothes. If you don’t call your dad but shout for that person, you’ll just keep running around in the nude.”

As soon as the door opened, the kids’ voices rang out, one louder than the other: “Dad, Daddy.”

Gou Dan’s voice was especially loud: “Dad, you’re finally home!”

“Do we have any fabric left? My shirt’s done for. I’ve been carrying cement all day, and my shoulders are all scraped. Please patch it up quickly,” Song Qingshan said as soon as he entered the door.

“You’re the leader, shouldn’t you just be standing there with a loudspeaker giving orders? Why are you still carrying cement?” Su Xiangwan said, worried he might feel embarrassed taking off his shirt. She quickly added, “Stay there, I’ll kneel on the kang and fix it for you.”

“The reservoir task is tough, and the deadline is tight. Any task always has the leader and the political commissar leading from the front. What do you mean by standing there with a loudspeaker? That’s the messenger’s job,” Song Qingshan replied.

He had the strong smell of cement on him, which was quite pungent.

“I heard that many people died during the 1950s Tang River project. If there are particularly dangerous tasks, please be extra careful,” Su Xiangwan said. In the book, Song Qingshan had barely survived that project.

After all, as the leader, he had to be at the forefront of every task.

But Su Xiangwan couldn’t exactly say, “I know when the graphite leak is going to happen, how many people will be hurt, and what will happen to you.” She could only wait and see when things came to a head.

“Once you wear the military uniform, danger and difficulty should be shouldered by us,” Song Qingshan said indifferently. “There’s a statistic that says that in the past, soldiers in our old army, whenever they went on missions, the highest casualty rate was among the lower-ranking soldiers. But in our Republic’s army, the highest casualty rate is among the cadres. You probably don’t understand, but this is progress in civilization.”

When he said this, there was no pride or smugness in his expression, as though it was just the way things should be.

With his thick eyebrows and big eyes, the man was truly admirable.

Su Xiangwan took the opportunity to observe him.

His muscles were really well-built.

If only one day he would wash up in front of her, she could take a good look at him.

Of course, Song Qingshan was also observing her.

The stitching was ugly, just like before.

The way she spoke, the way she interacted with the children, everything seemed just like the original wife. There was no flaw.

Of course, back then, she didn’t reject his body, otherwise, how could they have done it?

She just, in her heart, loved Song Tingxiu.

As Su Xiangwan knelt on the kang, sewing his clothes, Goudan had just come back after organizing his little followers to win a successful battle.

Upon entering, his face immediately turned sullen. “Dad, can we talk about something?”

“Speak up, you even called me by my full name,” Song Qingshan replied, his tone sharp, knowing a confrontation was coming.

“Can you keep a certain distance from Mom? You’re so tall and strong, if you two fight, Mom won’t stand a chance,” Goudan said, sitting on the soil bench Song Qingshan had just built with clay bricks, casually crossing his legs.

Song Qingshan said, “When have I not kept a distance from your mother? It’s because my clothes are torn, and she offered to patch them up for me.”

“But you should’ve taken off your shirt and stood outside to let her fix it. Do you know she’s been grinding sesame all day? The grinding stone is sharp. She must be so tired and her hands must be sore, and she’s still kneeling to sew your clothes.”

This was Goudan challenging his father’s dignity.

“Fine, if you want to fight, let’s go. What is it, a big slap on the butt? Go ahead, I’m not afraid,” Goudan said, seeing his father’s face turn dark, but still acting indifferent. “Anyway, I hope you keep a certain distance from Mom.”

Song Qingshan waited until Su Xiangwan finished sewing, cut the thread, and then rubbed his hands together before walking over. “Not afraid of a slap on the butt, huh?”

Goudan, who was a bit more timid, only showed bravery when its not a real fight.

Seeing his father’s furious expression, he quickly hid behind the door.

Goudan stood up nonchalantly. “Go ahead, even if my butt gets bruised, it’s just a bit of blood…”

Song Qingshan took a few steps forward, stomping heavily in front of him.

Suddenly, he raised Goudan, along with the stick he was always holding, into the air.

“I’ll grow up soon, and I’ll be just as tall as you, and I won’t be afraid of you, really,” Goudan said, his legs squeezed tightly, looking like a small dog being picked up suddenly.

His face had turned as purple as liver, and he was still tightly clutching the stick.

That was the child’s longstanding dignity.

Song Qingshan gently placed him on the kang (a traditional Chinese heated bed), then glanced at Gou Dan, who was hiding behind the door with a scared look on his face, his eyes filled with resentment.

Su Xiangwan remembered that the only time Gou Dan looked like this was when she mentioned Little Ashe.