Song Qingshan returned from the reservoir with County Magistrate Li Yifan and Deputy Magistrate Zhao Guodong.

Li Yifan had an extreme obsession with cleanliness.

She refused to ride in other people’s cars.

When the county-assigned driver smoked a single cigarette in the car, she immediately fired him on the spot.

After inspecting all the vehicles for odors, she determined that only Commander Song’s car didn’t smell of smoke and unceremoniously got in.

Li Yifan was indeed dressed entirely in black, even down to her shirt, and she was fuming in the car, scolding Zhao Guodong.

“Comrade Xiao Zhao, I hope you understand where the problems in this county lie. The province entrusted this work to us not so that you could muddle along, sightseeing and enjoying yourself. The nuclear energy team’s experts will be here soon, and you are in charge of coordinating with Qingshan’s engineering corps. Now you’re telling me you don’t even have a detailed plan? What on earth are you doing?”

Zhao Guodong could only apologize, “I’m sorry, Magistrate. I’ll submit a plan to you tomorrow.”

“And regarding Su Xiangwan’s transfer order—I don’t care if it came from the provincial level; I cannot agree to it. A rural woman who only finished second grade, and you want her to be the deputy head of the Women’s Federation? Zhao Guodong, tell me honestly, do you think this is appropriate?”

Zhao Guodong glanced at Song Qingshan, who was driving, and said softly, “Comrade Su Xiangwan is exceptionally capable. You should meet her before making a decision.”

Li Yifan said, “Of course I’ll meet her, but I’ll advise her to stay home and assist Commander Song with logistics. This is something I will discuss with Commander Song, but as for the provincial transfer order, I absolutely won’t execute it.”

Song Qingshan cleared his throat gently, but Li Yifan didn’t lower her voice. “Commander Song, am I wrong? Your professional abilities are undoubtedly exceptional, but your wife only completed second grade. There’s no way she can be the Women’s Federation head under my jurisdiction—not even the deputy.”

When they reached the county committee office, Zhao Guodong had to get out of the car.

By the time he left, his forehead was dripping with sweat from being reprimanded by Li Yifan.

He kept wiping it off as he walked away.

Once Zhao Guodong was gone, Song Qingshan finally spoke. “Sister Li, that’s enough. Su Xiangwan is my wife. Zhao Guodong’s recommendation of her file fully complies with our policy requirements. If you keep this up…”

“What do you mean complies with policy requirements? Don’t you understand how chaotic the policies are right now?” Li Yifan retorted without backing down. “In such a mess, what we need to uphold is the last bit of dignity of our Party. I will not allow someone like your wife, who used backdoor connections, to take a position in my jurisdiction.”

Song Qingshan sighed and said, “Then you can get out and walk back to the Tusi Office yourself. I don’t appreciate people making sarcastic remarks about my wife in my car.”

“Fine, let’s talk about this. Forget about the state or the Party for a moment. You and I both attended university, so you should at least understand what privacy rights are, right? Human rights and privacy rights. Your wife violated Gu Nan’s privacy rights. Do you get that?”

Rummaging through someone’s private diary—such a deeply personal thing—was itself an invasion of privacy.

Regardless of what Gu Nan wrote in her diary, even if there were legitimate reasons to investigate her now, the character of the person conducting the investigation was also open to question.

Song Qingshan wasn’t particularly familiar with his wife’s deeper nature.

But he had one redeeming quality: he followed organizational orders outside the home and deferred to his wife at home. As long as his wife’s actions didn’t harm the Party, the country, or the people’s interests and safety, he generally refrained from interfering too much.

“Then are you willing to expose that notebook and ruin the Gu family?” Song Qingshan stopped the car and turned around to argue with Li Yifan.

Li Yifan, of course, knew the stakes: “If I were a petty person, I might show up at your door with a knife and go after your family, but I won’t. It’s because she didn’t expose that diary. But that’s not what we’re talking about right now. What we’re discussing is a matter of personal integrity. Your family member shouldn’t have gone through Gu Nan’s diary.”

“Even if someone else gets a hold of Gu Nan’s diary, the entire Gu family is done for,” Song Qingshan said.

Li Yifan had seen a few pages of Gu Nan’s diary, and he gritted his teeth in anger. “But the problem with your family member isn’t that she reported Gu Nan. The issue is that she shouldn’t expect to be a cadre in my department.”

The two of them were not seeing eye to eye.

Song Qingshan parked the jeep at the entrance of the Tusi office and casually said, “Fine, let’s skip dinner tonight. We’ll continue with the work at the reservoir tomorrow, or maybe focus on the work at hand.”

Li Yifan, fired up, refused. “No, she still needs to come over. We need to talk about the work, and I need to understand what exactly happened between Gu Nan and her.”

She was a clean, organized, career-focused woman with clear boundaries who could scold her male subordinates to the point of tears.

The two men parted at the doorstep, while the scent of dinner from next door wafted in.

When Song Qingshan entered the house, he saw the two kids doing their homework.

Gou Dan was meticulous and fast; his homework was already done, and his notebook looked brand new. His writing was so neat it looked like it was printed.

Lu Dan still had a few words to finish, gritting his teeth as he rushed to complete it.

“The neighbors are inviting us to dinner. County Chief Li probably wants you to voluntarily resign from the position of deputy head of the Women’s Federation. After all, you need to take care of the kids. You can just resign when the time comes. If she says anything unpleasant, we don’t have to eat, just stop by and leave. Understand?” Song Qingshan said.

In his opinion, as long as Su Xiangwan had his salary and could stay home to take care of the kids, there was no need for her to take that deputy position.

But clearly, his wife had a taste for official titles, whether they were as small as a sesame seed or as big as a mung bean; she liked to hold them.

And the diary that Gu Nan had once said she would hand over to the Revolutionary Committee, she had kept it in her hands in the end.

If she wanted to ruin Gu Nan, she could tear out a few pages and make Gu Nan’s life a living hell.

Li Yifan definitely wanted that diary today, and Su Xiangwan definitely wouldn’t give it to her.

Song Qingshan had a bad feeling that a storm was brewing between the two women.

It was time to head next door.

“I’ll change clothes first, and then we’ll go,” Su Xiangwan said as she turned toward the room to change. “Smelling the aroma from their house, my stomach is growling.”

“Dad, wait for me, watch when Mom comes out,” Gou Dan ran over, sneaky-eyed. “She has a really beautiful dress, she just hung it out, and I swear she’s ironed it several times.”

Song Qingshan didn’t remember Su Xiangwan owning any particularly beautiful clothes. She always wore his old military jacket, altered to fit, simple but sturdy and practical.

However, when Su Xiangwan came out of the room with Zhi Zhi, not only did Song Qingshan’s eyes widen, but even Li Chengze, who was usually indifferent and kept his distance from the family, was visibly impressed.

Su Xiangwan wore a black-and-white wave-patterned dress, and so did Zhi Zhi.

Hers was fine—just a basic dress—but Zhi Zhi’s dress was really adorable. A small, pleated white dress with layers, it was incredibly pretty.

“Let’s go, why are you standing there?” Su Xiangwan said.

“This dress was a great purchase, look, you have one, and you could even make one for Zhi Zhi.” Song Qingshan looked at it for a long time, then gave a thumbs up. “Su Xiangwan, I truly admire you. You really know how to live.”

From now on, buy everything in the largest size—it’s always right.

Su Xiangwan rolled her eyes at him, thinking, this man must still be a fool.

Doesn’t he know that what I need is for someone to compliment how beautiful I look?

Oh my, how did I end up marrying such a fool?

The whole family set off, and though Li Chengze didn’t want to go, Su Xiangwan pulled him along.

As she put it, “You don’t have to eat, but we must visit as guests. It’s polite.”

They quickly arrived next door.

As soon as they entered, Su Xiangwan could tell that Li Yifan’s cleanliness obsession was extreme.

And indeed, she was dressed in all black, her hair seemed especially thick, cropped short, but after being blown by the wind at the reservoir, it almost looked like two big horns on her head.

No wonder Li Chengze had said she looked like she might eat kids. Her eyes were big, high, and deep, with deep dark circles, making children look genuinely afraid.

“Hello, Comrade Su, I’m Li Yifan, the current county head of Qingshui County,” Li Yifan said as she extended her hand.

But when she looked around, her gaze was filled with dislike for the few mischievous boys—no, it was more like she wished she could grab them and throw them far away to some remote place.

Su Xiangwan didn’t shake her hand.

Instead, she said, “I just held the baby, my hands are dirty, let’s skip the handshake. I’m Su Xiangwan, I’m sure County Chief knows me already.”

“Alright, then no handshake,” Li Yifan, the black-clad woman, actually smiled.

Both Song Qingshan and Li Chengze, who had been expecting a fierce confrontation, were stunned.

No way, Li Yifan had a notorious temper, and Su Xiangwan refused to shake her hand—but she didn’t get angry?

In fact, Li Yifan had a severe cleanliness obsession and hated shaking hands with people.

But as an official, shaking hands was part of her job.

As a public servant, her hands weren’t just hands—they represented the power of the Party.

Especially at the grassroots level, when shaking hands with the people, it was a way to convey the credibility of the Party.

Despite her obsession, she would never reject a handshake, no matter how dirty the hands were.

As for Su Xiangwan, her dress was beautiful, and she carried herself gracefully.

During their first meeting, she took the initiative not to offer a handshake and even explained that it was because her hands were dirty.

For some reason, Li Yifan didn’t dislike her right away.

Okay, Li Yifan thought, this must be a misunderstanding.

After all, Gu Nan had written in her letter that this woman had a petty heart, always seeking revenge. It was because of a dispute over a cultural promoter position that she had put herself in a bad situation.

Li Yifan, like her own mother, was preparing to continue picking at Su Xiangwan.

“Little Su is a housewife, so you must be good in the kitchen, right? How about coming to help me in the kitchen?” she said.

Su Xiangwan responded, “Sure, but I need to wash my hands first.”

It felt nice to wash her hands before entering the kitchen.

Li Yifan, who usually looked down on everyone, couldn’t help but compliment her, “Little Su, this dress is really beautiful.”

Once the words left her mouth, she regretted saying it.

Why would she say something like that?

Song Qingshan, however, felt that his wife was about to walk straight into the jaws of a big bad wolf and pulled Su Xiangwan aside. “This woman isn’t easy to deal with. You’d better not go to the kitchen.”