The old lady hesitated.

After all, she was over sixty years old, but she could see it clearly: “Lu Dan is the most straightforward.”

“I’m called Song Donghai,” Lu Dan said.

The old lady looked around again, her eyes always a bit askew.

She replied, “Jingui is the best, at least he knows to say thank you.”

Jingui, with a huff, said, “You all left me alone at home, and I had to beg for food in the village. Only my uncle would give me a meal. Of course, I’m grateful.”

“Is that the only time you’ve ever been thankful?” Song Qingshan countered.

The old lady song paused for a moment and replied, “I give my things to those I love, I don’t need them to say thank you.”

“It’s because you’ve spoiled him from childhood that he dared to steal dynamite,” Song Tingxiu couldn’t hold back, shouting.

The old lady didn’t like that and retorted, “What do you mean by me spoiling him? Second son, Jinhuan only stole some dynamite. Did the dam blow up? If it had, would you and your brother still be here?”

“Because it didn’t explode, he and his son are gone. If it had exploded, we’d all be gone,” Song Tingxiu shouted back.

The old lady turned around and started arguing with Song Tingxiu: “I’ve never had a full meal in my life. I raised you all like this, and now you’re blaming me? I saved on food, clothing, and drinking to raise you, and now it’s my fault?”

The old lady covered her face and began crying, “When I raised you, when you sucked my milk, why didn’t you say it was my fault? Now you’re all grown up, able to run and find your own food, and you turn around to despise your old mother?”

Song Qingshan sat in silence for a while before finally speaking: “Look at Song Fu now, and then look at Jinhuan. If you keep spoiling them, the Song Fu of today will be the Jinhuan of tomorrow. We show you respect because it’s our duty, but no matter who you are, whether it’s Fang Baoyu, my eldest sister, or Su Xiangwan, none of us should spoil the children anymore.”

“Mom, we didn’t educate the children well. I knew I was wrong long ago, but there’s nothing I could do. After all, raising children is not a one-person task, and I still have work to do. But, if we were wrong, we need to admit it,” Song Dahua stood up and said, “Qingshan did nothing wrong, really.”

From the very beginning, when Jin Huan bullied other people’s children, when he repeatedly crossed the line, if he weren’t her own son, Song Dahua would have wanted to strangle him.

However, as the saying goes, some children come to repay debts, and some come to collect debts.

Fang Jinhuan was the debt of her life, a debt that she could never erase.

The old lady thought for a long time before suddenly crying out loud.

Song Dahua hugged the old lady and kept comforting her.

Su Xiangwan, listening outside, felt a sense of sorrow similar to the “rabbit dies, fox mourns” type of sadness.

When the old lady spoiled her children, when she boasted about being the richest in all of Xiao Song Village, when she let Song Fu and Jin Huan ride over other people’s children since they were little, she never thought she would spoil a grandson to the point of leading him to an early grave.

Su Xiangwan was now raising three kids: one was too straightforward and would lose his legs in the future due to a character flaw; another would grow up to be a ruthless villain; and the youngest, the one in her arms, would eventually be buried alive.

Educating children is an art, but sadly, too many parents never learn how to be a good parent before they become one.

The so-called “constant alarm” seems to be just this.

On the radio, the news began to broadcast.

The newspaper, which had been bought by her second son-in-law Zhao Yuanshan, had arrived.

The photos from the explosion were featured prominently on the front page of the newspaper.

At first, Song Dahua was worried it would upset the old lady, so she didn’t want her to see it.

However, Song Qingshan insisted that everyone should see it, and not only should they look, he also asked Song Tingxiu to read every single word aloud for everyone to hear.

The radio continued to broadcast, the newspaper kept being read, and all the members of the Song family, both adults and children, sat quietly and listened.

A disaster, though tragic, was also a form of on-the-spot education.

When it strikes a family, it arrives so suddenly, it’s hard to avoid but must be calmly accepted.

But fortunately, with five thousand years of history behind them, the people of China had endured so many disasters, it seemed that they had an innate ability to calmly accept whatever came their way.

Surprisingly, the old lady did not let this news devastate her.

Although she hadn’t lost her ability to speak, from that moment on, the old lady almost stopped talking altogether.

After dealing with everything, Song Qingshan still had to return to the command center.

Once back at the command center, there was a box on his desk, sent from the provincial capital.

Song Qingshan opened it and, seeing that Little Wu wasn’t around, tried to appear calm as he carefully picked up a book titled Physiology and Hygiene, covered it with a book cover, and wrote in big, serious letters, Selected Works of Marx and Engels.

He was preparing to study this book thoroughly.

Before long, Liu Xiangqian arrived: “Commander, the child you asked me to inquire about, we’ve found him.”

Song Qingshan closed the book. “Li Chengze? Where is he? Is he also in our Qing Shui County?”

Liu Xiangqian replied, “He has found a very excellent woman to be his godmother, and right now, he’s living quite well!”

“Who exactly is it?” Song Qingshan asked. “Stop keeping us in suspense, just tell me.”

Liu Xiangqian said enthusiastically, “It’s the daughter of Division Commander Gu from our provincial military region, Gu Nan. She’s been sent to the countryside to work in Hongqi Commune and is now the women’s director there. In short, she’s an outstanding young lady.”

He continued, “Hongqi Commune is close by, Song, if I want to pursue her, you won’t object, right?”

“Gu Nan?” Song Qingshan thought for a while, but couldn’t remember her.

He said, “Pay attention to discipline. Also, observe her carefully.

A young woman adopting a child—this is suspicious.

After all, although Li Chengze is young, he has a considerable inheritance.”

Although Commander Li passed away after being sent down, he left behind a lot of assets, and his daughter was an archaeologist during her lifetime.

Her writings are numerous and have some authority internationally.

Now, although their family is being held accountable for their political stance, things like property and academic works hold value.

These will eventually belong to Li Chengze.

In short, Song Qingshan didn’t want a woman to be interested in Li Chengze just for these things.

“Leader, I understand. Don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye on it for you,” Liu Xiangqian said, saluting before leaving.

Although Song Dahua was deeply grieving over the loss of her son, she still managed to approve Su Xianghong’s school enrollment request before her official position was revoked.

With her husband and son either dead or missing, she, as the women’s federation director, naturally couldn’t continue her role.

However, given Song Qingshan’s reputation for not being biased or protecting anyone, and for handling urgent matters publicly, the county leaders made an exception and didn’t fully dismiss Song Dahua.

Instead, they reassigned her to a village to serve as the women’s director there.

For Song Dahua, this was a tiny sliver of hope after feeling utterly dejected.

After all, she still had Caiqi to take care of. If she lost her official position and salary, how could a woman raise a child?

Once Su Xianghong received her approved enrollment request, with school already starting and time running out, she rushed home to grab a change of clothes and went straight to the city to register.

The Hongzhuan School didn’t charge tuition and provided food and lodging, along with a monthly stipend of five yuan.

However, their workload wasn’t just about studying.

They had to work even harder than outside laborers.

Even so, Su Xianghong was ecstatic.

As she left, she was still muttering and planning whether to use her first month’s five yuan stipend to buy sandals for Zhi Zhi or clothes for Lu Dan and Gou Dan.

After seeing the chicks, Song Qingshan set up a chicken coop in the corner of the wall.

I have to say, his craftsmanship is really good.

He built a frame inside the chicken cage, so the chickens move around on top, while the chicken droppings fall to the lower level.

The bottom is covered with ash, which helps kill bacteria and prevents the chickens from getting sick and dying due to the germs from staying in the cage.

The lid on top can still be opened.

When the sun comes up, they can open the lid to let the chickens get some sunlight, which helps them grow faster.

After 1968, the policies gradually loosened. Many families started raising chickens quietly, but no one had a chicken cage as scientifically and reasonably designed as Song Qingshan’s.

Today, the two children were going to school for the first time.

As soon as school ended, they raced home, heading straight for the chicken cage to see if the chicks had grown.

“Mom, why haven’t our chicks grown at all?” Lu Dan looked at the chicks, which were the same size as yesterday, and was unhappy. “Did you not feed them?”

Su Xiangwan had just returned from work and replied, “I fed them, of course. But chickens need to grow for at least a year before they can be eaten. Hurry and do your homework.”

“I finished all my homework during the break, I don’t need to do any more,” Lu Dan said confidently. “I even did Jingui’s homework for him.”

“Why are you doing Jin Gui’s homework?” Su Xiangwan asked.

“He has hands, but his hands are hurt. I don’t know who hit him,” Lu Dan said, full of righteousness. “A brother in trouble needs help.”

“So you and Jin Gui aren’t fighting anymore? Now he’s your brother?” Su Xiangwan asked.

“Now that he’s joined me and Gou Dan, and isn’t hanging out with Song Fu anymore, of course, he’s my brother,” Lu Dan said proudly. “We beat up Song Fu today. The little guy is so chubby, it was so fun.”

“But Song Fu didn’t provoke you. You’re not allowed to beat him again,” Su Xiangwan said.

Gou Dan said proudly, “Father is a hero, and the son is a good man. Father is soft and lazy, just like his dad who’s in prison. We’re beating him because of his father.”

Gou Dan noticed that his mother was picking leeks and asked, “Mom, are we having the big oil-fried leek-filled buns again today, with fine noodles?”

“Yes, big oil-fried leek buns, but they’re not for you two. Go stand in the corner,” Su Xiangwan replied.

Gou Dan immediately backed down, seeing his mother was upset.

He quickly went to stand in the corner.

Lu Dan protested, “All the village kids are beating up Song Fu. It’s re-education for the poor and lower-middle peasants, he deserves it.”

“And what if one day someone comes after you? What will you do?” Su Xiangwan countered.

Lu Dan replied confidently, “My dad is a soldier, and my mom is a branch secretary. No one will come after me.”

Su Xiangwan pointed at the chicken coop. “See that? That’s the tail of capitalism. It’s raised by you two brothers, and you’re even planning to eat them yourself. Looks like you two aren’t as ‘red and expert’ as you think.”

Lu Dan froze for a moment.

Oh, right.

He was secretly raising chickens too. If he criticized someone else, shouldn’t he also reconsider his own actions?

“Go, stand in the corner and reflect on it,” Su Xiangwan said. “You’re not allowed to eat until you realize your mistake.”

The policies now were actually quite contrary to human nature.

People can’t break the policies, but they also have their own desires.

Su Xiangwan was still fighting for benefits and food for the villagers, trying to make sure they had enough to eat.

In such a situation, the strict ideological education for children wouldn’t work.

However, teaching them one thing while doing another was also not an option.

What to do?

Gou Dan actually understood many things quite clearly, so she didn’t need to worry too much about him.

As for Lu Dan, a kid like him would have to figure it out for himself.

He would have to change his stubborn ways.

When Song Qingshan came back, he first hugged little Zhizhi, then went into the kitchen and smiled. “Another batch of big leek buns, I love these.”

Su Xiangwan asked, “Has the third son been sentenced? Have you found Jin Hua?”

Song Qingshan replied, “The third son’s case hasn’t been sentenced yet, probably three to five years. The law is harsh for those who make mistakes on ideological grounds, but for those who cause public security problems, the sentences are still too light, too light.”

The steaming hot buns were out of the pot, and only then did Su Xiangwan ask, “And Jin Hua, what’s the situation? Have you found him?”

“Not yet,” Song Qingshan said.

Su Xiangwan immediately pinched him. “You have no ability at all, and you’re still the team leader?”