After the old lady had a stroke, she quieted down quite a bit.

At least she could no longer interfere with Dahua’s marriage or cause trouble for Tingxiu in the city.

However, she recently had a sudden notion and started persuading Song Qingshan every day to move back home.

Of course, she made it sound nice, saying that since she had a stroke and half her body was paralyzed, it was too troublesome for Song Qingshan to run back and forth daily to care for her.

Wouldn’t it be better if he just moved back to the old house? That way, her son wouldn’t have to work so hard, right?

But could Su Xiangwan not understand the old lady’s intentions?

She wasn’t thinking that if her son could stay in the old house, she’d be able to handle his salary and other matters, was she?

Nice thought.

As for Su Xiangwan’s position as the village head, it had now entered the stage of applying fertilizer.

This year, she not only had to raise pigs to produce piglets, but she also needed to increase the crop yield.

The key to boosting agricultural output was the organic fertilizer, which Song Qingshan hauled over with his tractor, one load after another.

Just half a month after the fertilizer was applied, the newly sprouted bean seedlings in the two neighboring fields, in Xiaosongzhuang, were already twice as tall as those in Dazongzhuang.

Not to mention the wheat seedlings returning to green. Xiaosongzhuang’s were growing much taller than those in Dazongzhuang.

Next came weeding and thinning.

Though the work didn’t stop, it wasn’t hard or tiring.

Su Xiangwan had Zhao Guodong assign all the tasks to the women, freeing the men to clear new land in the mountains and plant medicinal herbs.

Now, it was time for Lu Dan and Gou Dan to go to school.

The elementary school in Hongxing Commune was four miles away, and there were only two teachers, one of whom was severely nearsighted and had chronic tuberculosis.

After discussing with the village women, Su Xiangwan decided to apply to the team, and they set up a primary school in the village, next to the village office.

There were two empty rooms, so they started with just first grade, with Tao Hongwu as the teacher.

She remembered that Gou Dan had never liked school. When he was young, he would skip school and even had been locked in the classroom by Song Qingshan using an iron chain.

How harsh was he on himself?

To avoid school, he would rub his hands until they bled, and in front of his father, he would use a pencil sharpener to scratch his hands and feet, and then stubbornly refuse to speak to Song Qingshan.

Song Qingshan had to take him to the doctor to bandage his wounds, then continue to lock him in the classroom, only unlocking it after school.

Eventually, the father and son even had a confrontation where Gou Dan stole his father’s gun and pointed it at him, threatening to escape.

Su Xiangwan was worried that Gou Dan wouldn’t want to go to school, but she didn’t want to resort to locking him up with an iron chain again.

Of course, before school started, Su Xiangwan began to talk to him about it.

“Gou Dan, do you know what I miss the most from when I was young?” Su Xiangwan asked.

Gou Dan knew: “Mom said that Grandma bought white sugar and put it on paper for you and my aunt to lick.”

“Yes, that’s one thing, but what I miss the most is going to school. At that time, I was too lazy to go to school and didn’t learn many characters. You know, I couldn’t even write a letter to your second uncle, and the whole village laughed at me,” Su Xiangwan said.

Gou Dan, mimicking his father, put his hands on his hips, proud: “Alright, I, Song Xiling, won’t be like Mom. I’ve already learned a lot of words from my dad. Teacher Tao says I’m a smart kid, and I’ll definitely get first place when I go to school.”

He took Dashan(Dog), put Little Zhi Zhi on Dashan’s back, and went for a stroll in the village: “Mom, don’t worry about me going to school. You should focus on your work.”

All the persuasive words Su Xiangwan had prepared didn’t work. Her son was so determined to go to school?

Su Xiangwan stared in surprise, really feeling that the half-year she spent last year wasn’t wasted.

Little Zhi Zhi was probably the first kid to ride a dog.

She held onto Dashan1’s leash and kept shouting “Jia Jia Jia” as she walked behind her mom, waving her hand: “Mom, goodbye, goodbye!”

That afternoon, Su Xianghong took a bus, carrying a big bag, and left the city, heading to Hongxing Commune.

On the way, she overheard the quiet conversation between Fang Caiqi and Fang Gaodi, who were sitting next to her.

Su Xianghong recognized Fang Gaodi from when she attended Su Xiangwan’s wedding, but Fang Gaodi didn’t recognize her, so they chatted without any reservations.

Of course, Su Xianghong wasn’t curious about Song Dahua’s family matters.

But even so, hearing this all the way, Su Xianghong nearly lost her temper.

In short, Fang Gaodi said: “Yes, I’ve hit her before, but I didn’t really hit her. I just lightly tapped her a few times. You’ve all seen it, right? Is it normal for your mom to want a divorce over this?”

Fang Caiqi replied: “Then just don’t hit her again. You’re so timid outside. The security guards at the county committee’s compound yell at you, and you don’t even speak up, but you hit my mom! Isn’t it annoying?”

“Dad won’t hit her again. I’ll buy her a pair of small leather shoes from the department store. What else does she want? A green schoolbag? Then you’ll convince her, she can’t divorce me, okay?”

Fang Caiqi pointed her finger at Fang Gaodi’s nose: “You better keep your word.”

Fang Gaodi’s injuries hadn’t fully healed yet. He was leaning on a cane, nodding in agreement: “I’ll keep my word. I’ll keep my word.”

So, the two of them were coming to Hongxing Commune to visit Fang Quezi.

Fang Caiqi, with her two small braids and fashionable schoolbag, looked bright like a little flag on the bus.

Su Xianghong also got off at Hongxing Commune and went straight to Xiaosongzhuang. She took out a bundle of meat from her bag, wrapped in oil paper.

The weather was cold, and the freshly butchered pig from the morning smelled very fresh.

When Su Xiangwan saw the meat, she nearly dropped her jaw: “How did you bring so much meat? Didn’t someone steal it from you?”

Recently, Sun Shufen had gone to the city to visit her daughter. Her daughter gave her a chicken, and Sun Shufen showed it off along the way.

By the time she got off the bus, the chicken had mysteriously turned into a pound of red dates. She didn’t even know when it had been swapped.

Meat was a treasure these days, especially the tender and fatty pig front ribs.

Su Xianghong laughed and said, “I’ve been hugging it all the way, worried someone would try to snatch it. Today, I’ll make dumplings for us.”

She quickly minced the meat, preparing to make dumplings.

Three young men from the countryside had all gone to work, and the two children were playing with the dog in the yard.

“Su Xiangwan, is Su Xiangwan here?” At that moment, someone was calling at the door.

It was the village Party branch secretary, Lin Shuhong. He got straight to the point: “Secretary Su, someone has reported you to the village, saying that you shouldn’t be living in the village’s public property. The village has discussed this, and it seems that it’s not quite right. How about we talk it over and help you move to another place?”

You should know, Su Xianghong had just arrived, and Su Xiangwan was happily preparing to start a new life with her younger sister.

She considered herself a good person in the village and hadn’t offended anyone, so who would report her?

The two sisters were busy wrapping dumplings when Su Xiangwan was still thinking about this.

At this moment, Fang Baoyu walked in with a sly grin.

“Big sister-in-law, is it true that the labor camp won’t let you live here anymore?” she asked.

Su Xiangwan didn’t respond, taking the knife and chopping vegetables vigorously.

“If they won’t let you stay, why not move back to the old house? Our old house has a big yard, you can all fit in there. What do you think?” Fang Baoyu smiled slyly and continued.

Su Xiangwan stopped chopping and suddenly looked up, “Fang Baoyu, was it you who reported us?”

Fang Baoyu awkwardly laughed, “No, how could I?”

“Well, it’s my mother and my grandmother, right? Anyway, you have to move out, ha-ha,” said Song Fushen, almost sabotaging things.

Before anyone could react, Dog Egg, unable to hold back, rushed forward and knocked Song Fushen to the ground with a crash. “Your whole family is despicable, shameless scoundrels, making us homeless!” Dog Egg shouted.

Fang Baoyu screamed, “Big sister-in-law, control your dog! Song Fushen was just speaking out of anger, it’s not us!”

Su Xiangwan slammed the knife down with a cold laugh: “I always heard people say that others won’t envy you for living a better life because it has nothing to do with them. But when it’s your own relatives, they’re the ones who envy you. Now I believe it, seeing your family.”

Fang Baoyu awkwardly slipped away.

When Song Qingshan returned that evening, he saw that his wife’s nose was out of place, his son’s eyes looked strange, and the whole family had a changed expression.

There was also a new sister-in-law cooking in the kitchen.

Song Qingshan said nothing and turned to enter the old donkey shed. He had worked all day and needed to wash up.

“Sis, don’t argue with my brother-in-law. Even if it was your family who reported us, it has nothing to do with my brother-in-law,” Su Xianghong quickly tried to persuade Su Xiangwan.

Su Xiangwan knew that Song Qingshan was a filial son.

She always admired him for being respectful to his mother without being overly indulgent, and for treating his son and daughter-in-law equally.

But now, she felt that if the problem with the old lady and the old house wasn’t solved, she wouldn’t want to stay in this small Song village any longer, really.

“I need a bath. Come scrub my back,” Song Qingshan suddenly said in front of the younger sister-in-law.

Su Xianghong quickly pushed her sister, “Brother-in-law has been working all day. He’s tired, go help him.”

Su Xiangwan raised an eyebrow, thinking to herself, “This man still has his own mess to deal with and dares to ask me to scrub his back? Does he want to get hit?”

She fetched a large bucket of water, and Song Qingshan stripped off all his clothes, leaving only his coarse linen underwear.

A towel was draped over his shoulder as he stood with his legs apart, pouring a large ladle of water over his head. “Scrub my back,” he said.

If it weren’t for Su Xianghong being there, Su Xiangwan would have grabbed a broom and beaten him.

She deliberately scrubbed harder and then asked, “Your mom reported us and wants us to move, asking you to go back to the old house. What do you think? Why don’t you move back by yourself? Then you can be close to your mother.”

“Scrub harder, you’re not using enough strength,” Song Qingshan said.

Su Xiangwan scrubbed roughly a few more times, reddening his back.

She slapped it and asked, “Song Qingshan, are you still a man?”

“It’s just that the commune doesn’t want us to live in this yard,” Song Qingshan replied, lathering soap on his head and rubbing it. “This should have been settled long ago. We should have a new house. I’ll take care of it for you, no worries. Scrub harder.”

Su Xiangwan scrubbed him even harder, but her wrists were too thin, and she lacked strength.

Song Qingshan frowned in impatience. “Haven’t you eaten today? Why don’t you have any strength?”

He stretched his arms, with beads of water glistening on his skin, and said, “Pour water on me.”

Su Xiangwan gritted her teeth in anger: “Song Qingshan, if you don’t solve this problem, we’ll divorce. I’m not your wife anymore. I’ll take my kids and leave.”

“Well, if it’s solved, can you come to me tonight?” Song Qingshan suddenly opened his eyes and asked.

Su Xiangwan poured an entire ladle of water over his head and threw the ladle aside before walking out.

The next morning, the village secretary was too embarrassed to come himself, so he sent the secretary to urge Su Xiangwan to hurry up and come to discuss the move.

All the village women came to visit Su Xiangwan, all very enthusiastic, inviting her to live with them.

For example, the wife of Ershan, Gao Baiyu, who lived next to the old house, had known that the report was from the old house, so she brought Su Xiangwan a bowl of buckwheat noodles, saying she was afraid moving would be hard, and wanted to give her some extra nutrition.

Of course, the old lady, though half paralyzed, still found satisfaction in the situation.

Building a house was a big deal, and now the village was urging them every day. In the end, no one would be as caring as a mother. If Su Xiangwan made a fuss, she’d have to move back—otherwise, she’d be out on the streets.

Su Xianghong also advised Su Xiangwan: “How about this, I’ll go back to the city. Sis, you and your family move back to the old house. After all, your old house is still family, right?”

However, in fact, Su Xiangwan never expected Song Qingshan’s attitude toward handling things. She never imagined his speed at dealing with things either.

In the morning, he first went to the construction site. After returning, he went to the village team office, explained his situation, and asked if they had approved a piece of land for building a house.

Then, he asked Su Xiangwan for money, planning to buy the land.

When Gou Dan and Lu Dan heard that a new house was going to be built, they were of course excited. Lu Dan said, “Let’s build it further up, along the main road. That would be great.”

But Gou Dan said, “No, let’s build it by the river. I want to be closer to A She.”

Song Qingshan asked, “Su Xiangwan, what do you think?”