The second time they met, in Dongfeng City, she directly said she didn’t think he was as good as Tingxiu and made it clear that she was going to marry Tingxiu.

If she had been that straightforward from the start, things would’ve been much easier.

If she had said she liked Tingxiu on the first day of their marriage, Song Qingshan probably would’ve turned and left without looking back.

He wanted to kiss her, but he didn’t dare. Even when they slept together, she wouldn’t let him touch her in any other way.

Thinking about it, Song Qingshan felt a little scared.

She seemed so obedient now, but it wasn’t like the wife he had before.

“Su Xiangwan, the more I think about it, the more I feel sorry for you.”

Not daring to think more, he just said sorry.

Women always appreciated those words.

Sure enough, as soon as he said “sorry,” Su Xiangwan immediately softened, “How about we spend the next two months building the house? We can live at Song Jianguo’s place for now. He has a vacant kang.”

It wasn’t that she was soft-hearted, but she didn’t want to hear any more of those cheesy love words.
Song Qingshan didn’t say anything. He turned around and left.

The next morning, just before dawn, Song Jianguo was driving a tractor, preparing to take two piglets to the village veterinary station for castration, when he saw a cloud of yellow smoke at the village entrance. To his surprise, a military truck had arrived.

He stared, his mouth agape, then turned to Xiong Dan, who was helping him catch the pigs, and asked, “Do you think some bad element has appeared in our village? Where did these soldiers come from?”

Xiong Dan had never seen such a big truck before. Standing on his father’s tractor, he looked up at it, his mouth watering. “Dad, this truck is so big, really big.”

Before they could recover from their surprise, another truck arrived, stopping by the roadside.

Truck after truck arrived. Xiong Dan started counting, using his fingers, “Dad, there are seven trucks in total. Oh my, is there going to be a war?”

The first truck stopped, and someone jumped out.

Song Jianguo looked closely and saw it was Song Qingshan, directing the trucks, one by one, to the foundation site.

Chen Aidan got out of the truck, his hands on his hips, looking around. “Song, this place is nice. The site you picked is good, and the feng shui looks great.”

The people in the trucks were all soldiers from various units, including officers and soldiers on leave from different squads and platoons.

Liu Xiangqian stepped forward and asked, “Commander, should we start digging the foundation now?”

Song Qingshan replied, “We have two days; the schedule is tight. Let’s start now and dig the foundation first.”

Song Jianguo dropped the tractor and ran toward the village, shouting, “This is unbelievable! Our Qingshan isn’t just screening sand; he’s a commander! A big commander, and he’s brought a bunch of soldiers with him!”

Zhiqing Wang Zhanfeng had just come out of his labor reform site, hands in his pockets, and upon seeing so many military vehicles, his first thought was that the soldiers were coming to arrest him, as he hadn’t been up to much good lately.

When he heard that Song Qingshan was actually a commander, he was stunned and ran back to the old house to report the news to Song Qingshan’s sister.

Su Xiangwan couldn’t believe it either.

Song Qingshan had actually brought a whole convoy to help her build the house.

The soldiers were all shouting, “Commander, where’s your wife? Why doesn’t she come out to meet us?”

Song Qingshan smiled, “She’s shy. You don’t need to see her.”

Su Xiangwan wasn’t shy, but she was very busy, as she still had to manage as the village Party secretary. She had to get up early and go to work.

Lü Dan grabbed Chen Aidan and asked, “Uncle, if I want to join the army tomorrow, would you take me?”

“Of course, I’d be happy to,” Chen Aidan replied, handing him a chalk box. “Here, take this. Let’s lay out the foundation and cut the wood.”

Chen Aidan, who had worked as a carpenter in the military, started cutting wood, making doors and windows, and trimming beams.

They didn’t use small saws. Instead, they brought a generator from the reservoir, and with the electric saw, the wood was quickly transformed into beams and rafters.

Gou Dan and several children from the village climbed onto the trucks, marveling at everything, their eyes dazzled by the new things they saw.

The northern climate was dry and rarely rainy, so there was no tradition of building foundations for mudbrick houses.

Now, they were digging foundations and setting bricks. With over 300 soldiers working together, by 7 a.m., the foundation was already done.

At this point, they laid down their shovels and sat around eating dry rations.

The soldiers with blowers began drying the foundation.

Once the foundation was nearly dry, the bricklayers started moving bricks, and in just a few hours, the framework of the house was up.

It was a particularly hot day, with the sun blindingly bright. By the evening, the walls had dried, and wooden beams were being placed. By 11 p.m., the exterior of the house had already taken shape.

The rest of the soldiers finished up for the day, but Song Qingshan worked through the night, applying cement to the walls of the house.

The next morning, the house was ready for straw and tiles to be laid.

Song Qingshan didn’t have enough straw, so he borrowed some from the brigade. When he went to borrow it, it happened to be the time when Su Xiangwan was about to lend it to him.

“Do you think I can move in after two days?” Su Xiangwan asked, rolling her eyes. “The house is freshly built; it still needs to dry out before anyone can live in it.”

“Are you doubting the ability of our People’s Army?” Song Qingshan responded.

“The house is still damp. I won’t move in,” Su Xiangwan said.

Of course, no matter how much they dried the house, the interior would still be damp. But since it was April or May, with such strong sunlight, the house would be dry within three or four days.

Song Qingshan said, “It’ll only be damp for a few days. If I say we can move in, we can move in.”

Stubbornly, he wanted to prove what it meant to get things done on his own.

Well, in the astonished eyes of the people in the village, the commander of the 307th Regiment had led a group of soldiers to build his own house.

Wang Zhanfeng, who was the only one the old woman had sent to help the old house, saw the soldiers working on the walls, installing large iron doors, and stammered, “Commander, this doesn’t seem right. They’re your soldiers, but they can’t help you for free. Besides, these bricks and things must have come from the army, right? This is using authority for personal gain!”

Song Qingshan didn’t respond, but Chen Aidan furrowed his brow and said, “Young man, what do you mean by using authority for personal gain? Our commander cut the wood himself from the mountain, carried it back during his breaks, and even dried it in his free time. As for the bricks, all the officers and soldiers in our regiment made them in their off hours. And about working for free? Not at all! When I built my house, Song Qingshan helped me too. This is called borrowing labor. Understand?”

“Comrade Chen!” Song Qingshan suddenly said sternly, “Stop talking and help move the things.”

It was already 10 PM. If they didn’t move now, the day would be over.

Wang Zhanfeng had always been scolded by Song Qingshan. Hearing his stern tone, he was so scared that he immediately turned and ran.

“Song, let’s wait for the house to air out for two days, then we’ll help you move,” Liu Xiangqian tried to close the door carefully, saying, “We also want to help Sister-in-law build a garden.”

Song Qingshan replied, “Move the things now.”

Su Xiangwan watched as a group of soldiers carried and hugged all her belongings, moving them to the new house. In fact, within just two days, the whole move only took half an hour.

Political Commissar Chen Aidan had been wanting to have a heart-to-heart with Su Xiangwan. He also took it upon himself to lay her bed.

If Su Xiangwan hadn’t stopped him, he really would have laid the entire bed for her.

“No need for a heart-to-heart, you should go back soon,” Su Xiangwan said.

Chen Aidan was insistent: “Little Chen, I want to thank you for taking care of Song and the kids so well. How about I sing you a song?”

Su Xiangwan had already heard that the people in the army were very enthusiastic. Seeing that Chen Aidan was determined, she said, “Okay, you can sing outside, and I’ll lay the bed inside, is that alright?”

“A Little White Poplar…” Chen Aidan went outside, calling to the comrades who were cleaning up the yard.

Somehow, Song Qingshan suddenly got angry. “Chen Aidan, change the song.”

“Arise, ye who refuse to be slaves…” Chen Aidan switched to another song.

This time, Song Qingshan, furious, threw his iron shovel on the ground. “Can you shut your mouth?”

At this, all the villagers of Xiao Songzhuang came running to watch the commotion.

The generator powered bright light bulbs, electric saws, cement mixers, and the faces of the enthusiastic engineers covered in cement—all of them were new to the villagers.

It wasn’t just a commotion; it was a spectacle. All the people in Xiao Songzhuang only learned today that Song Qingshan was a regiment leader. As for how big a position the regiment leader held, they couldn’t really imagine. They knew there were 30,000 people at the reservoir, but they thought, managing just 300 soldiers meant a huge position.

In the old house, the old lady heard that her son had really built a new home in two days. Leaning on her cane, she came out to see her son’s new house.

With Song Qingyu supporting her, they walked past the labor camp, and there, they saw a brand-new brick courtyard. It looked large and bright.

In all of Xiao Songzhuang, there were no other brick courtyards. The bright red bricks stood out in the open field, surrounded by crops, with the clear river behind it—truly beautiful.

She trembled and stepped forward, unable to believe it. “Is this really the eldest’s house?”

Song Qingyu replied, “My brother is the regiment leader. He brought 300 soldiers. Each person brought a brick, and in no time, the courtyard was built.”

The old lady song didn’t know whether to cry or laugh. “Your big brother is really a regiment leader? Not just bragging?”

Song Qingyu was a little upset. “There are so many fine young soldiers, and my brother doesn’t even introduce one to me.”

She didn’t think, if she hadn’t caused trouble for her sister-in-law, maybe she would have had a partner by now, instead of mixing with the village’s educated youth.

Old Lady Song said, “A regiment leader is great. If he’s really a regiment leader, he could help your uncle’s family a lot. Your uncle’s three sons, and your second uncle’s two sons, are all in the army. This won’t do, we should call your uncles and help their kids—promote them…”

Old Lady Song stumbled and choked as she tried to speak, but couldn’t finish her sentence.

Of course, she had trouble expressing herself, but it wasn’t urgent, and Qingyu didn’t think much of it, helping her back inside.

Originally, they were supposed to build a small garden in the courtyard, but the soldiers didn’t have time. They had to return to the dormitory before 11 PM, so they had already left.

They didn’t have time to set up the kang (bedstove), so there were only two identical single metal frame beds set up in the house.

Gou Dan only waited for Su Xiangwan to finish setting one bed before pulling Zhi Zhi onto it, lying down together. “Mom, this bed is for me and Zhi Zhi. No one else is allowed to sleep here.”

Su Xiangwan didn’t say anything and started setting up the other bed.

A one-meter wide bed—so small.

She thought to herself, how will they all sleep tonight?

Moreover, the big stove couldn’t be used, so the whole family ate the dry food brought by the soldiers. The soldiers’ dry rations consisted of mixed flour cakes with beans and plain water. It was enough to fill their stomachs, but it wasn’t very tasty.

However, since the whole family was busy, the kids were just glad to have beans to eat.

Su Xiangwan herself couldn’t swallow the beans, and seeing it was almost midnight, she cut up the dry food left by the soldiers, cooked it with some lard, and ate it in the kitchen.

“Time to sleep,” Song Qingshan said, pointing at the small bathroom in the corner of the courtyard. “Su Xiangwan, I’ll see what you mean by ‘doing it yourself.’”