The old lady had considered finding another family to work for, to help with household chores, and do whatever work she could.

But this was a time before family planning, when there was not enough food, and a surplus of people—who could afford to feed more?

Soon, all the onlookers who had been disgusted with Gao Bin quietly left.

Gao Bin waved his fan again and said, “See? She’s just a burden. Who else would want to take care of her, except me? The government refuses to solve this problem, so I have to complain about them.”

At that moment, Su Xiangwan arrived with a group of children.

Lu Dan was holding onto Gou Dan, Gou Dan was holding onto Li Chengze, and Li Chengze had Zhi Zhi around his neck.

The four children stayed close to Su Xiangwan, walking in a neat little line behind her.

“Hey, isn’t that the Deputy Director of the Women’s Federation? Where are the biscuits? Where’s the soda? You bring me here to this event to offer your condolences, surely there are some snacks for me?” Gao Bin rushed over, his hand already reaching out.

Su Xiangwan saw how many people were watching and decided it was the perfect time to show her charm as a Women’s Federation cadre.

She shouted, “Abusing an old woman, turning your foster mother into nothing but skin and bones, and you think you’re in the right?”

“Don’t try that with me. I, Gao Bin, have no shame in the county. This old woman is under my care, so she’s my burden. If you don’t give me some supplements, don’t blame me for accidentally knocking her over or hurting her.” Gao Bin yelled, trying to assert himself.

The old lady had been placed on a rickety chair by him.

At that moment, he deliberately pushed her so that she almost fell off the chair.

But just then, Su Xiangwan, who had been facing him, suddenly lifted her leg and kicked.

The kick hit Gao Bin’s hand, causing him a sharp pain.

He couldn’t even lift his hand after that.

“How can the Women’s Federation Director hit people?” Gao Bin shouted loudly. “National officials are hitting people! National officials are hitting people!”

“Can’t national officials hit people? I’m hitting you because you’re a son who doesn’t respect your elders, and you’re constantly threatening to throw away your old mother, you bastard!” Su Xiangwan retorted sharply.

She turned to the crowd on the square and asked, “Do you think I was right to hit him?”

“Yes, people like this should be beaten,” some people in the crowd immediately called out.

But there were also voices of dissent: “Comrade, don’t be impulsive. This old lady is disabled. If Gao Bin doesn’t take care of her, no one will. Are you going to take her in and care for her yourself?”

Hearing this, Gao Bin became smug.

He kicked the old lady’s chair and declared, “Right, I’m saying it right in front of the officials. I’m not taking care of this old lady anymore. From now on, she’s got nothing to do with me.”

“This is what you said yourself. If you really want to give up the adoption relationship, then sign an agreement right now,” Su Xiangwan said, pointing at Gao Bin’s nose.

Gao Bin wasn’t going to back down. “Fine, I’ll sign it. From now on, I have nothing to do with this old lady.”

With a loud slap, a piece of paper was thrown onto Gao Bin’s body.

Su Xiangwan slapped the paper, “Here’s the agreement. Sign it and stamp it. As for this old lady, I’ll arrange her separately. If you, you bastard, dare to harass her again, this won’t be a family dispute; it will be public disturbance, and I’ll report you to the police!”

Gao Bin, in front of everyone in the county, quickly signed his name and then pointed at Su Xiangwan’s nose. “Good, Su, the great cadre, the kind-hearted person. Fellow comrades of the county, if there are any old ladies who can’t be taken care of, send them all to Su. Let her take care of them, feeding them, cleaning them up, whatever.”

Almost everyone in the square was hissing, but some people began to wonder if the Women’s Federation had done too well with its work—could it really be possible to send elderly people or children that one couldn’t care for to the Women’s Federation?

Of course, someone immediately spoke up: “Comrade Cadre, now that our country has such good welfare, if we have elderly people we can’t take care of at home, can you help us take care of them?”

“Socialism is really good. I also have an elderly lady at home who can’t move. Comrade Cadre, can you take care of her too?” someone else said in a sarcastic tone.

Now, the situation became unmanageable, and more and more people gathered around.

Li Yifan and Ma He were also standing in the crowd.

Ma He, having no children and not understanding the challenges in cadre work, wiped her eyes. “Oh, I didn’t realize. Little Su is really a good person. I bet starting tomorrow, this old lady will be living in her house.”

Li Yifan was very angry. “The way she’s doing this is disrupting the systematic nature of administrative work. Ma He, this woman doesn’t understand anything, yet she wants to be a cadre. I won’t give her the Women’s Federation position.”

Ma He disagreed. “Why not? That old lady is so pitiful. At least Little Su has helped her escape from her ungrateful son. I think this is a good thing.”

“By handling the situation this way, she’s made herself look good, but tomorrow morning, a bunch of people will probably bring their elderly mothers or mentally disabled children to the Women’s Federation. What will the Women’s Federation do then?” Li Yifan was furious. “I shouldn’t have let her handle this. She’s just creating trouble for herself.”

Of course, Li Chengze, Lu Dan, and Gou Dan were also confused.

With a bunch of kids at home and a paralyzed elderly mother, how could they possibly manage?

Life seemed impossible to handle.

At this point, Su Xiangwan scanned the crowd.

She saw Li Yifan, whose head looked like two horns and eyes darkened, standing not far away.

His face practically screamed “anger,” and she knew he was about to explode in displeasure.

Fine, it was time to show her work skills.

In front of everyone, who either worried, didn’t understand, or hoped to take advantage, Su Xiangwan turned around and took the microphone from the projectionist.

She turned on the microphone, but didn’t speak for a while.

The microphone emitted a sharp screeching sound.

Immediately, the entire crowd fell silent.

Clearly, this female cadre wasn’t just about mediation—she was also there to solve the problem.

The people in the county were a bit more sophisticated than those in the countryside, and someone whispered to the person next to them: “Shh, quiet. This cadre seems like she wants to speak.”

“Hello, hello, can you hear me?” Su Xiangwan gently tapped the microphone, and the entire crowd went silent.

“Comrades of the county, fellow citizens, raising children is not easy, but people grow old. When we’re old, we want our children to take care of us. We were all once children, and we will all grow old. The county government’s finances are also very tight. Who in our country right now is full and not struggling? I’m a cadre, but look at my three young boys and one little girl. Aren’t they being raised on our salaries, which are stretched thin?”

From a personal perspective, who isn’t struggling these days?

Who isn’t living with tight budgets?

“As for this old lady, if anyone wants to help take care of her, the Women’s Federation can provide five pounds of flour per month to support her until her death,” Su Xiangwan said, speaking in a tone that invited discussion.

The five pounds of flour was the maximum allowance from the Women’s Federation.

But how long would five pounds of flour last?

Who would want to care for a paralyzed old lady for just five pounds of flour?

Instantly, people began to think this cadre wasn’t serious.

Even Li Yifan, standing at a distance, sneered. “Little Su’s brain works better than I imagined, but this is a tough problem. Who would want to take care of a paralyzed old lady?”

Well, she wasn’t getting the Women’s Federation job, and the position of director was probably just a fantasy.

But at this moment, a young woman in the crowd stood up and raised her hand. “Comrade Cadre, I can take care of this old lady.”

The entire crowd was stunned.

Everyone turned to see which young woman had lost her mind and was willing to care for a paralyzed old lady?

The crowd was hushed, and a young girl’s voice rang out: “I’m just a student at Hongzhuan School, but I know a bit of acupuncture. I want to take this old lady home and care for her. I also want to use acupuncture to help her stand up. But I’d like to ask the government to approve my opening a small clinic to help the elderly people in the city and earn some tuition. Is that okay?”

At this point, the film should have started, but the projectionist was also intrigued, watching how the Women’s Federation cadre was handling the situation.

Naturally, the movie was postponed.

The whole square was in shock: “Someone really wants to take care of a paralyzed old lady?”

“Wow, this young girl doesn’t look very old, and she knows acupuncture?”

“I know this girl. Her name is Su Xianghong. She really does acupuncture. She’s done it for me before,” an old lady suddenly said loudly.

“Comrade cadre from the Women’s Federation, hurry up and approve her opening a clinic. Our county is damp, and rheumatism is very common. When our legs hurt, we’ll come to her for acupuncture,” another old lady added.

Suddenly, the entire crowd burst into excitement.

Su Xiangwan looked at her younger sister, Su Xianghong, who stepped out of the crowd, and pulled her to the front.

She grabbed the microphone and said loudly, “Look, this is our new generation of youth—beautiful, kind-hearted, and willing to help the government with its difficulties. Since everyone supports it, I’ll go to the county health bureau and get her a certificate to open a clinic. When that happens, everyone should support her, so she can make enough money to take care of Wang Daniu. Is that alright?”

“Yes, we will definitely support her!” Almost everyone said in unison.

In fact, when Su Xiangwan saw Wang Daniu, she had already thought of her sister, Xianghong.

She was an acupuncturist, and Wang Daniu’s paralysis was caused by rheumatism.

Acupuncture was a common treatment for rheumatism, and it would be easy to treat Wang Daniu’s condition.

Wang Daniu was just over fifty years old. If her legs recovered, she could still be a very capable worker.

So, Su Xiangwan had gone to ask Xianghong the day before if she could take care of Wang Daniu.

Of course, her main goal was to use this opportunity to get approval from the county committee for Xianghong to open a clinic openly.

Clinics and pharmacies were always profitable businesses, and it would be great for her sister to have a way to make money.

Su Xianghong agreed immediately.

After all, as a doctor, it was the perfect opportunity for her to practice acupuncture on a patient.

Wang Daniu was a lonely old woman who could still make matchboxes to support herself.

So, Su Xiangwan’s plan was flawless.

The kind-hearted Su Xianghong stood up in front of everyone and helped Wang Daniu to her feet.

Since she was so beautiful, several kind-hearted older women immediately jumped up to help and offered to take Wang Daniu to her place.

Su Xianghong was renting a metal house at the transformer station.

She planned to settle Wang Daniu in her metal house, and after school, she would take care of the old lady, giving her acupuncture treatments to maintain her daily health.

Although it sounded a bit troublesome, Su Xianghong had adopted the old lady in public.

In this world, kind people were always in the majority compared to those with malicious intentions.

Not only did people help her take the old lady home, but many also spontaneously brought eggs, snacks, and other nutritious food like millet flour bread.