Liu Xiangqian, a young man with thick eyebrows and big eyes, had walked in with steady steps, just like Song Qingshan.

But when he saw a woman standing in the yard, he quickly covered his crotch and asked, “Commander, is this your wife?”

“Hurry up and go,” Song Qingshan said.

Discrimination, it seemed, was everywhere.

Liu Xiangqian looked at the two little ones in front of him.

They were identical in height, both had round heads and large eyes.

However, one exuded an air of dominance, while the other came across as timid.

He patted Ludan, who seemed perpetually ready to be called upon, and said, “Come, let’s go pick up our clothes together.”

Goudan immediately inhaled deeply and started sucking his thumb. Clearly, he wanted to go too, but he also knew that he wasn’t going to get the chance.

Su Xiangwan hadn’t paid much attention to this before, thinking that just feeding them well was enough.

But now, noticing this discrimination, of course, she had to help Goudan get his turn, right?

She quickly called out, “Comrade! Hey, Comrade!”

Liu Xiangqian, still clutching his underwear, replied, “Sister-in-law, what’s the matter?” The young man was clearly embarrassed, having been caught in an awkward situation by the leader’s wife.

Su Xiangwan pushed Gǒudan forward. “Whatever you’re planning to do with them, take them both, okay?”

Liu Xiangqian, being a straightforward person, patted Gǒudan on the shoulder and said, “Alright, let’s all go together.”

The two brothers looked at each other, and Ludan gave Goudan a playful punch.

Goudan returned the punch, and the two linked arms and followed the soldier.

Meanwhile, in the Deputy Director’s office, Song Tingxiu was interrogating a group of small-time speculators.

Just as Su Xianghong had said, despite their young age, these individuals were brazen, constantly accusing the authorities of persecution and refusing to cooperate with the investigation.

Song Tingxiu, whom Su Xiangwan had thought was rash and incapable, surprised her with his sharp tongue. “Persecution? You keep accusing me of persecuting you. Then let me ask you, all those workers at the printing factory who toiled day and night to produce those quotations and slogans—was it me who told you to trample all over them with your dirty footprints?”

“What do you know, Public Security Uncle? Which foot of ours stepped on them? Did you see it yourself?” A cocky 16- or 17-year-old youth, sitting with his legs crossed, replied smugly. “Maybe it was you guys, the Public Security, who stepped on them.”

“And what about your speculation and profiteering? Hiding and selling contraband velvet fabric, and scamming rural women out of their money—are you denying that too?”

“That fabric was confiscated contraband. As for your claim that we scammed people, bring out whoever you say we scammed. Let’s see them!”

Qian Jianjian, the young man speaking, wasn’t afraid of getting caught. He was confident that no one would dare file a report against him, and if they did, he’d make sure to find out and retaliate.

Song Tingxiu slammed the fabric on the table. “This wasn’t just sold by you today?”

“Oh, that rural woman, huh? Pretty sharp and pretty, too. Fine, I’ll remember her.”

When Song Tingxiu heard him insult his sister-in-law, he couldn’t hold back and slammed his hand on the table. “Comrade, mind your words! Don’t insult women with such language.”

“You blue-skinned dog, watch your own attitude. Do you even know who I am? Do you know what ‘fighting to the end’ means? If I really lose my temper, I’ll have this whole place torn down tomorrow!” the young man roared.

Song Tingxiu rolled up his sleeves and was about to stomp on him when Song Qingshan entered and pulled him back.

But by then, the group of troublemakers had already started shouting, “Ow! Public Security is hitting people! Public Security is hitting people!”

Song Qingshan, wearing only a shirt and no military coat, patted the sharp-eyed youth and said, “There are so many of us here, and none of us saw the Public Security hitting anyone. Young man, what’s your name?”

“You haven’t hit anyone yet, but you’re the one who hits the most!” the young man retorted, pointing at Song Qingshan.

This youth was none other than Qian Jianjian.

Song Qingshan replied crisply, “That’s because you were attacking Public Security officers. Even if you claim to be revolutionary fighters, our Public Security warriors will not tolerate being beaten under any circumstances.”

Earlier, Qian Jianjian and his gang had nearly beaten Song Tingxiu and Officer Lü to death on the street, until a group of shirtless, burly men appeared out of nowhere and subdued them. Among those who subdued them, the most formidable one was the man holding him now.

That explosive power, precision, and ruthlessness had left Qian Jianjian awestruck.

At that moment, Qian Xiaofang rushed into the Public Security Bureau.

Seeing Song Qingshan, she called out, “Qingshan! Qingshan! It’s me, Qian Xiaofang. Don’t you recognize me?”

Song Qingshan recognized her. “Sister Qian? Is this cocky young man claiming to be a revolutionary fighter your relative?”

When Song Qingshan had left home years ago, Fang Jinhuan was only two.

At the time, Qian Xiaofang was working as a nanny at Fang Gaodi’s house. Even after over a decade, she hadn’t changed much.

“Yes, he’s my little brother. Oh, I’ve already heard that you’re now the Chief Commander at Qingshui Gorge Reservoir. Tough job, isn’t it? Do you have enough cigarettes? Here, take a carton of Yuxi. It’s on me; I won’t charge you.” Qian Xiaofang offered as she tried to hand him the cigarettes.

Yuxi cigarettes were a luxury, available only to cadres of division-level rank or higher. Regular folks could only dream of them.

Song Qingshan, without pockets to carry them, naturally refused.

“What’s going on? Tell me,” he asked.

Qian Xiaofang explained, “Just a rural woman—a particularly uncouth one. Jianjian pitied her and gave her some velvet fabric, taking a little money in return. Who knew she’d file a report? We’re all acquainted, and Jianjian considers you his brother. I wouldn’t shortchange you. Why not talk to Tingxiu and have this case dropped?”

“What rural woman?” Song Qingshan asked.

At that moment, Su Xiangwan, who had been in another office, walked out.

“Are you talking about her?” Song Qingshan asked, pointing at Su Xiangwan.

Qian Xiaofang turned around and saw Su Xiangwan standing behind her with her arms crossed.

…

At this moment, Qian Jianjian was still shouting inside: “Sis, what are you standing here for? Hurry and find someone! You know, that person, that one, that one.”

Qian Xiaofang heard this and immediately turned around, running off.

Right, she still had Fang Gaodi, though she hadn’t seen him in days. But the team that Fang Jinhui had organized was exactly the group Qian Jianjian was in. If the children were in trouble, Fang Gaodi definitely couldn’t ignore it.

Su Xiangwan thought that Song Qingshan would chase after Qian Xiaofang, but unexpectedly, he didn’t. Instead, he walked in, saw that Song Tingxiu couldn’t get anything from the interrogation, patted his shoulder, and said, “Hurry up and take care of your wound. These young men, I’ll handle it.”

“Brother, we can’t let them go. You think they’re just kids, but they’re not. When they chased and tried to cut me with machetes just now, they were much fiercer than adults,” Song Tingxiu said.

Song Qingshan nodded: “I know. Hurry and take care of your wound.”

Qian Jianjian and his gang were still sneering: “Old man, we’re minors. If the police catch us, they can only educate us. You two—one is Song Tingxiu, the other is Song Qingshan, right? Fine, we’ll remember you. We’ll settle the score once we’re out of here.”

Song Qingshan walked over, patted Qian Jianjian’s shoulder, and said, “Come on, young man, let’s have a good talk, just the two of us.”

“Old man, what do you want to talk to me about?” Qian Jianjian asked.

Song Qingshan placed his hands on his hips: “Let’s talk about whether we can make an agreement to let you go.” He said this with a serious smile.

In this way, Song Qingshan took Qian Jianjian to another office. It was said that they were having a friendly negotiation, and the process went very smoothly.

However, about fifteen minutes later, there were several loud cries from inside, and Song Qingshan came out first.

He turned to the noisy gang and said seriously, “Alright, Qian Jianjian has admitted that you’re involved in black market activities, and he’s very clear about his guilty attitude. He strongly requests to go to the reservoir for labor reform. I’ll take you to the reservoir, and we’ll go through the motions. Work for a few days, alright?”

The group of young men hadn’t figured out what was going on.

Then, a dejected-looking Qian Jianjian came staggering out of the room.

He raised his hands high: “I willingly accept the people’s judgment. I’ll go for labor reform. I admit my guilt, really, I admit it!”

Song Tingxiu, who had beaten this guy the most today, saw him looking tough earlier and now seeing his cowardly appearance, he was also puzzled: “Brother, what else are you interrogating him for?”

“Another time, I’ll tell you when you go home,” Song Qingshan said. “Look, the kids are all exhausted. We’ll leave now. Tingxiu, the work of the police isn’t easy, but you have to protect yourself too, understand?”

Song Tingxiu nodded.

After reflecting, he realized he was too rash, so he sent his brother and sister-in-law off.

When they got home, it was already midnight.

The two kids had eaten two old bread rolls bought by their little uncle on the way, so they weren’t hungry and had fallen asleep.

Zhi Zhi, who had been sleeping on her mom’s back all day, wasn’t tired and was holding the wall, walking around the kang and playing.

There were more people at the labor reform center now.

Three young male intellectuals were still talking outside, making a lot of noise.

Su Xiangwan made two bowls of soup, gave one to Song Qingshan, and kept one for herself. She said, “You guys took off your clothes earlier to avoid others seeing that you were soldiers, right?”

Song Qingshan hummed in agreement: “If soldiers are seen fighting children on the street, even if it’s a legal duty, it would be very unseemly. We’re soldiers of the Republic, and we can’t tarnish the image of the Republic. More importantly, no matter how chaotic the world becomes, we have to maintain the image of a soldier, no matter what others do.”

Su Xiangwan had to admit, growing up, she had never seen a soldier from the Republic act improperly in public. They would always give up their seats for the elderly, step forward when there was any difficulty, and of course, never raise a hand to strike anyone.

It was probably this excellent tradition, maintained generation after generation, year after year, starting from people like Song Qingshan, that made it possible.

“Honestly, how did you make Qian Jianjian confess and agree to go to the reservoir for labor reform? He was such a troublemaker,” Su Xiangwan was curious about this.

“You’re not my wife, why should I tell you?” Song Qingshan replied.

Su Xiangwan rolled her eyes, giving him a cold stare: “Who says I’m not your wife? We have a marriage certificate, hurry up and tell me.”

Song Qingshan looked at her with a knowing expression, took a deep breath of soup, bit a piece of bread, and glanced at Su Xiangwan: “If we were really husband and wife, would we be able to do it?”

“Of course we can, come on,” Su Xiangwan said. “You have protection, and you’re not afraid I’ll get pregnant, so what’s the hesitation?”

Song Qingshan stared at Su Xiangwan, his gaze lingering for a long time. Finally, he saw her eyes shimmering with tears, lips red and teeth white, and suddenly said, “Sorry, I meant it seriously.”

This man always had the scent of cement, sand, and gunpowder.

But, was that it?

“Are you really not going to do it?” Wasn’t he a man? Had he really lost his courage?

“Su Xiangwan, this time, I’ll wait for you to take the initiative, really.” He turned around, lay down on the kang, becoming a little poplar guarding the frontier.

Su Xiangwan lay on the kang, softly humming a song about a little poplar growing next to a sentry post, its roots firm and leaves strong, guarding the border. La la la, she fell asleep.

Stand guard for a lifetime, you.