Su Xiangwan wanted to see what this serious man had in mind, so she decided to choose the location that suited her best: “Let’s build here. Look, the river bends ahead, and in the distance, there are three mountains. One mountain has a pen-shaped peak, which brings good fortune. It’s ideal for feng shui.”

The most important thing, though, was that the location was convenient. Song Qingshan’s tractor could directly drive into the yard without needing to reverse. How perfect would that be?

If they could actually manage to build it.

The children, living in a tiny labor camp dorm, were of course unhappy.

They wanted a big house and a large yard. But Su Xiangwan knew building a house wasn’t that simple.

“Building a house will take at least a month. My question is, where will we stay while the house is being built?”

If he suggested going back to the old house, Su Xiangwan was ready to hit Song Qingshan.

“I’ve taken three days off. The house will be finished in three days. We’ll move in right away. Where else would we go?” Song Qingshan said confidently.

With his two sons looking at him with stars in their eyes, Su Xiangwan replied, “You’re just boasting.”

She had never seen anyone who could build a house in three days.

“If I really can build it in three days, can you crawl over?” Song Qingshan suddenly said quietly.

Su Xiangwan thought to herself, this man was ready to boast to the heavens. She replied, “Fine, if you really manage to build it, not only will I crawl over, but I’ll even move myself.”

Who could be more shameless? She was way better than him!

Song Qingshan stayed silent for a while, then finally realized what she meant by “move myself.”

You see, he had grown up in the countryside and received the most traditional, and of course, the strictest education in the army. He had never encountered a woman like Su Xiangwan.

In Song Qingshan’s mind, life on the kang (a traditional heated platform) was a man’s job. Women were supposed to shyly cover their faces with their hands and never move a muscle.

No, they weren’t even supposed to speak; if they dared to, the only thing they would say would be: “How embarrassing.”

This wasn’t called seduction or temptation. It was a direct shock to his worldview, social views, and values.

But after all, Su Xiangwan was beautiful, her figure neither too tall nor too short, neither too fat nor too thin, especially her full, milk-scented figure.

Every time he looked at her more than once at night, Song Qingshan would end up singing the national anthem twice in his mind, reminding himself that the red flag was dyed with the blood of the ancestors to make himself serious.

With a grim face, in order to prove himself, Song Qingshan drove his tractor out.

After choosing the location, Song Qingshan asked Su Xiangwan what kind of house she wanted.

“Mom, I want a separate room,” Ludan said. “I don’t want to sleep with you anymore.”

Goudan nodded in agreement: “Give me and Zhizhi a room too. We want to sleep together.”

Song Qingshan wasn’t sure if he really had a plan or if he was pretending, but in any case, he seriously made a note: “Song Donghai wants a separate room, Song Xiling and Zhizhi want to share a room, right?”

Ludan quickly added, “My aunt needs a room too. She’s going to live with us now.”

Song Qingshan promised to build a house for Su Xiangwan in three days, which he had said yesterday. Today, one day had already passed.

Last night, Su Xianghong stayed at home, and he simply drove the tractor and slept in the dormitory by the reservoir.

Su Xianghong was uneasy and said, “Brother-in-law, I’m fine with anything. Me and Zhizhi, the three kids, we can just squeeze together and sleep, really.”

But by this point, only two days were left, and Su Xianghong didn’t believe Song Qingshan could build three rooms in that time: “Let’s just build two rooms, two rooms will be enough. You two sleep in one, and I’ll sleep with the kids in the other.”

“No,” Su Xiangwan intentionally disagreed: “There needs to be a bathroom, and a separate kitchen. That’s already two rooms. In the north, when we build houses, it has to be a living room with two sides, so it’s three rooms. You need to build it all for me.”

With only two days left, if he couldn’t finish, Su Xiangwan certainly wouldn’t move back to the old house.

She had already told Xiong Dan’s mother that she would bring the kids and stay at Xiong Dan’s house.

As for Song Qingshan, he could either go back to the old house to take care of his mother, or he could stay by the reservoir.

Su Xiangwan thought to herself that a man like Song Qingshan deserved to live alone, and it was very wise for his first wife to leave him.

By noon, Lin Shuhong came again.

But this time, it wasn’t to hurry them to move, but to help Song Qingshan measure the land.

The villagers were all surprised. Song Qingshan had said he would build a house in three days.

But this was still a cornfield that was being prepared for planting. How could that be possible?

However, since they were all fellow villagers, Song Jianguo rolled up his sleeves and said, “Qingshan, now it’s the time between seasons, and it’s busy with farming. I need to go to work during the day to earn work points and feed the kids. How about this? Tonight, I’ll bring the men from our village to help you build a wall first, set up a small shelter so you can manage for now. The house can be slowly built in September after the harvest. How does that sound?”

Song Qingshan measured the land, then started lifting bricks and smashing them into the ground, marking the boundary.

He looked up and said, “I can do it myself. You really don’t need to help.”

Three young intellectuals arrived and gathered to watch: “Who is this man? I heard he’s the one who screens sand in Qingshui Gorge. Not only does he drive a tractor, but he also wants to build a house by himself.”

Longdan quickly said, “That’s my dad. My dad is…”

The child had the words on the tip of their tongue, but then covered their mouth again.

They remembered what their father had said—he was the group leader, and this was something that couldn’t be shared with anyone in the village.

After the bricks were smashed and the house’s foundation was set, Su Xiangwan thought that Song Qingshan would at least have to go dig or buy materials.

However, to her surprise, he swaggered back to the labor camp without doing anything.

What’s more, he just sat on the doorstep and started playing with little Zhi Zhi.

The oldest of the three educated youth, named Wang Zhanfeng, had recently been getting along with Song Qingyu, and of course, he was also the laziest.

He claimed to have a stomach ache one day, a backache the next, and refused to work in the fields.

The reason the old lady was able to come up with the idea of reporting was because of Wang Zhanfeng’s guidance.

Otherwise, how would a rural old lady even know what reporting was?

Wang Zhanfeng had been carefully observing.

Seeing Song Qingshan talking to a child, he thought this man had no agenda.

So, he hurried to warn Song Qingyu.

Of course, once he delivered the message, the old lady Song and Song Qingyu couldn’t help but laugh.

“Zhi Zhi, doesn’t your dad need to give you a name?” Song Qingshan asked while holding his little daughter.

Zhi Zhi, now able to speak more, responded, “Okay.”

“Ludan and Goudan already have names. How about we call you Nanhu?” Song Qingshan said seriously.

Zhi Zhi puckered her little mouth and thought for a while: “Not good.”

“Then what do you want to be called? You tell me,” Song Qingshan asked.

Zhi Zhi thought for a moment. Since she liked it when Gou Dan called Song Xiling, she said, “Xi, Xi.”

“Alright, Song Nanxi. Not bad, it sounds nice,” Song Qingshan said, writing down his daughter’s name.

During the day, Su Xiangwan worked at the village committee, and when she came back in the evening, she saw Song Qingshan sitting at a small table, calculating something.

She couldn’t help but say, “Only two days left, and you, Dad, are still at it.”

The two children, Gou Dan and Lu Dan, loved Song Qingshan just as much as they had when Su Xiangwan moved with them. They hurriedly said, “Mom, don’t worry, Dad can do it.”

Their blind confidence didn’t even make them fear getting hurt.

“Lu Dan, Gou Dan, in the world of adults, there’s no such thing as easy. Building a house requires laying a foundation first. Even though our rural foundation is simple, it still needs three days to dry. Then we need to make adobe bricks. After we make the bricks and build the walls, we need to add wood to cover the roof. Once the roof is done, we need to add tiles to protect from rain. Once all that’s done, we still have to make doors and windows. Afterward, we need to set up the kang (bedstove) and paint the walls. Do you think building a house is really as easy as your dad said?”

Song Qingshan smiled and said, “Your mom knows a lot now.” Who would’ve known she understood all of this?

“So I said, I’m not your little Su, but you wouldn’t believe it,” Su Xiangwan quietly rolled her eyes at Song Qingshan.

Song Qingshan was confident, “You’re still you. You haven’t changed. Let me see you chop some vegetables again.”

A person’s habits don’t change easily.

When Su Xiangwan got angry, she would grab a knife to chop vegetables. That habit had been going on for seven or eight years without change.

When he said this, Su Xiangwan, indeed, raised the knife again, almost going back to her old habit.

That night, since Su Xianghong was there, Song Qingshan was supposed to return to the reservoir to stay.

At this time, the other two educated youth, Chen Tiangui and Yu Youzhong, also finished their work and were playing in the yard.

Su Xianghong, holding Zhi Zhi, took Gou Dan and Lu Dan outside to play.

Song Qingshan, holding a calculator, had already calculated the number of bricks and asked, “What kind of bed do you want?”

Su Xiangwan instinctively answered, “We need to build a kang. We can’t afford a real bed. And about the house, how much do you plan to spend?”

“Not a penny,” Song Qingshan replied, rubbing his hands together, gathering his courage as he approached her, deciding to try something with her.

Not daring to make a move anywhere else, he started with her hair.

Seeing it was a little messy, he found an excuse to adjust it.

Su Xiangwan felt itchy and instinctively shrank back.

Song Qingshan, wanting to know if she had any sense of shyness, didn’t stop at just adjusting her hair. He gently took a lock of her hair and used it to tickle her neck.

Su Xiangwan, because of the man’s overwhelming presence and his decisive demeanor, felt a little nervous.

But then, an idea popped into her head: “You’re not planning to take materials from the construction site, are you? Song Qingshan, public property can’t be used privately.”

Song Qingshan pressed his lips together and said, “There are over 30,000 people in the whole group, with the political commissar, deputy political commissar, deputy regiment leader, and so many company-level leaders watching. Do you think I can take materials from the construction site?”

“You don’t want money, but where are your bricks coming from?” Su Xiangwan asked again.

Song Qingshan continued to adjust her hair, thinking that her hair felt soft, but her character was so sharp.

Of course, the first time he met her, she was sharp—she criticized his dark skin and his looks.

Back then, she hadn’t said she liked Song Tingxiu, and he had gotten together with her somewhat unintentionally.