As for Li Chengze, although his father was originally from Haixi, he had never been there himself.

So, this was his first trip to his ancestral hometown, and he was quite excited about it.

After all, with five roosters at home crowing in harmony at 5 a.m., it was hard not to wake up early.

Before Su Xiangwan even got out of bed, the three children were already packing their belongings.

Song Qingshan had taught them how to fold their clothes into tidy “tofu blocks.”

Each child packed a few pieces of worn, homespun clothing and shoes, wrapping everything neatly in bedsheets and tying them into square bundles with nylon ropes.

Each bundle had four toothbrushes and four enamel mugs attached to it.

Li Chengze, feeling particularly thrilled as the morning light brightened, eagerly went to open the courtyard gate.

To his shock, standing outside was the one person he feared most in his life.

Liu Zaiye, with his mischievous smirk, casually saluted and lifted the bundle in his hand. “Morning, Chengze. Looks like we’ll be heading to Haixi together.”

The pale-skinned man, his slicked-back hair shining in the soft light of dawn, smiled like a devil.

In an instant, all of Li Chengze’s excitement and anticipation for the journey vanished.

Liu Zaiye’s decision to join Song Qingshan’s family on the trip was not made on a whim.

Last night, when he returned to the guesthouse, he had already been irritated by the poor food at the Qing Shui County guesthouse.

Then, Liu Limin kept grumbling about how he had been tricked by Su Xiangwan into giving her six hundred yuan.

Six hundred yuan, in an era where a high-quality Soviet-imported Bragi fabric only cost twelve yuan, was an enormous sum.

Moreover, every time Liu Zaiye saw Su Xiangwan, he couldn’t help but think of his wife.

The more he thought about his wife, the more uncomfortable he felt inside.

He despised Su Xiangwan but also hated Song Qingshan.

In short, that couple was a thorn in his side, something he couldn’t ignore. It was the kind of situation where he couldn’t rest easy until he dealt with it.

After some thought, he called up an old comrade from the military district.

He learned that there was a job involving directional blasting in Haixi.

The stone cubes for the directional blasting had reached an unprecedented 20,000 tons, and no one dared to load explosives for it.

It was a job that only someone like Song Qingshan, who was highly specialized in explosives and directional blasting, could handle.

Liu Zaiye was also an expert in directional blasting, as they both came from artillery units.

So, since the military district had issued the order, Liu Zaiye couldn’t stop Song Qingshan from going.

However, since he had connections in the logistics department, he made a few adjustments to the train tickets for Su Xiangwan’s family.

This way, Song Qingshan would either have to travel separately from his family, or he would have to go alone.

If Song Qingshan decided to leave his family behind, Liu Zaiye wouldn’t say anything.

After all, Song Qingshan was the kind of man who could leave his family for five or six years for a task, without any concern or hesitation, something Liu Zaiye could never do.

When his wife was alive, Liu Zaiye could never bring himself to leave her behind.

But Song Qingshan, on the other hand, was the type to leave his family behind and not return home for years, unconcerned.

This time, Liu Zaiye wanted to see whether Song Qingshan would choose his family or the mission.

If Song Qingshan chose his family, Liu Zaiye would take the mission in his place. If Song Qingshan chose the mission, then Liu Zaiye decided that, sorry, he would go with Su Xiangwan on the trip to Haixi.

However, Song Qingshan had no idea about this.

Qing Shui County didn’t have a train station, but it was only an hour away from Qinzhou.

Early this morning, the guard, Xiao Wu, had cleaned the jeep and was waiting outside.

“Mom, why are we taking half a chicken with us on the road? We’ll be fine with just the bread,” Gou Dan said, turning around occasionally to sniff the aroma of the roasted chicken. “It smells so good! How about we eat it now?”

“No, we have to wait until we’re on the train,” Su Xiangwan said, as she firmly turned his head away from the trunk, quietly reminding Lu Dan, who kept kicking his legs. “You need to behave on the train. You can’t keep kicking like that. I know you’re energetic, but others don’t know that. There will be lots of people on the train, and long trips make people irritable. If you keep kicking, people might get upset and argue with their parents. Understand?”

“I’m just kicking my own seat. It’s none of their business,” Lu Dan responded. He liked to mess around and move around. Although not diagnosed with hyperactivity, he was certainly a very active child.

Su Xiangwan noticed that the crumbs from their bread were about to fall onto the floor.

She quickly gathered them up and put them in her mouth. “This is called etiquette. Your dad is a soldier, and soldiers’ children should be different from others. No matter where we are, the principle is not to disturb other people’s comfort.”

“But you always say I look cool when I kick my legs,” Lu Dan still didn’t get it.

Su Xiangwan couldn’t help but ruffle his hair.

The boy’s hair was standing up, just like his father’s.

This little guy was supposed to be the most spoiled one, since he was the main character with a natural halo.

However, Su Xiangwan’s appearance had changed that.

Now, at home, he didn’t have the obedient softness of Gou Dan, nor the good looks and talent of Li Chengze. He was always the one who got ignored.

When they arrived at the train station, the crowd was like an ocean.

At this point, everyone was focused on the kids. Song Qingshan was holding Lu Dan, Su Xiangwan had Gou Dan on her back, and Li Chengze carried Zhi Zhi.

The whole family of six was tightly packed together, making sure not to get separated in the crowd.

The people from the logistics department were waiting in the square at the train station.

He handed Song Qingshan a fast train ticket and three slow train tickets.

Song Qingshan had requested a sleeper ticket for the fast train compartment, but what the logistics department gave him was three slow, hard-seat tickets for the green train and one sleeper ticket.

As Song Qingshan was taking the tickets, Liu Zaiye appeared, carrying his bag, strutting over.

“What’s wrong, Qing Shan? Are the tickets not suitable?” Liu Zaiye asked.

Song Qingshan looked a bit surprised. “Are you going to Haixi too?”

“Of course, you see, I just happen to be on the same train as your wife and the kids—Train 5046. It’s a bit slow and stuffy, but that’s fine. You go ahead. I’ll take good care of your wife and the kids,” Liu Zaiye said nonchalantly.

Song Qingshan, ever the blockhead, was still clueless.

But Su Xiangwan knew exactly what Liu Zaiye was up to.

In the original story, he had been attracted to the original character at first sight.

Though he despised her lack of education and coarseness, he couldn’t resist the desire to possess her—a classic case of insulting while indulging.

The original character, naive as she was, developed deep feelings for Liu Zaiye after Song Tingxiu, genuinely believing that if he slept with her, he would marry her.

Little did she know, Liu Zaiye, after pulling up his pants, would coldly say, “A woman like you is just for fun. Who would actually marry you?”

Su Xiangwan could see right through Liu Zaiye’s petty schemes.

“Xiangwan, wait here for half an hour. I’ll go see if I can coordinate better tickets,” Song Qingshan said.

Su Xiangwan snatched the tickets from him and shook her head. “No need. You wait here. I’ll figure this out myself.”

She cast a cold glance at Liu Zaiye, thinking, You want to play tricks with me? Not today.

With that, Su Xiangwan strapped the youngest child, Zhizi, to her back, grabbed a nylon rope from the packed luggage, and tied the three older children together in front of Liu Zaiye.

“What are you doing?” Song Qingshan asked.

Su Xiangwan finished tying the children and replied, “Finding a way to upgrade to soft sleeper tickets.”

Liu Zaiye crossed his arms, habitually smoothing his neatly combed hair, and laughed. “Comrade Su, stop dreaming.

Train tickets are tighter than ever now. Song Tuan’s train leaves in less than half an hour.

There’s probably not even standing room left, let alone sleepers.

And ticket windows have already stopped selling.”

“That’s my business. Why do you care so much, Liu Zaiye?” Su Xiangwan tugged the children forward. “Come on, let’s figure this out ourselves.”

Liu Zaiye glanced at Song Qingshan. “Your wife always this headstrong? She’s taking four kids. What if someone kidnaps her and the kids? Should we tag along?”

He seemed overly concerned about someone else’s wife, his worry almost palpable.

Song Qingshan pressed a hand firmly on Liu Zaiye’s shoulder. “Stay here and wait.”

“Aren’t you afraid your wife will be abducted?” Liu Zaiye teased.

Song Qingshan gripped his shoulder harder. “I’m not afraid. But it looks like you are.”

Pinned in place, Liu Zaiye couldn’t move.

Seeing the steady, icy look in Song Qingshan’s eyes, he felt as if his intentions had been completely laid bare.

He finally said, “Fine, if you’re not afraid, why should I be? Let’s wait together, then.”

Amid the bustling crowds of the train station, Su Xiangwan, with one child on her back and three tied together, became an instant spectacle.

Seeing there were only thirty minutes left before the train’s departure, she didn’t head to the ticket windows.

Instead, she marched straight to the railway police office.

On the way, she kept rubbing her hands on the ground, then smeared the dirt on her own face and the children’s.

By the time she was done, with their hair deliberately messed up, they looked like a weary and pitiful group of orphans and widows.

“Comrade, comrade, hello,” Su Xiangwan greeted warmly as she entered the office, holding out half a roast chicken to two police officers who were smoking inside. “Comrade, I’m trying to take my kids to Haixi to see their father. Can you tell me if this ticket will get us there by the day after tomorrow?”

The officers, seeing the half chicken and the dusty, disheveled woman, quickly declined. “Madam, just tell us your problem. No need for this. We won’t take your chicken.”

“My husband is stationed in Haixi. I’m taking the kids to visit him. We agreed to meet the day after tomorrow morning in Haixi, where he’ll arrange for a cart to pick us up. But I just heard from someone that this ticket won’t get us there until the day after tomorrow evening. Is that true?” Su Xiangwan’s voice trembled, and she even started to wipe her eyes.

The officers examined her ticket while trying to console her. “It’s just a two-day journey. Why not have your husband wait a little longer?”

“My husband is being deployed to Tangula the day after tomorrow for a three-year post. If we don’t meet now, I won’t see him for three years!” Su Xiangwan’s tears began to flow freely.

Realizing she was the wife of a frontier soldier, the officers immediately took her situation seriously.

Exchanging glances, one officer said, “A couple only meeting once in three years—this is a big deal. We’ll figure something out.”

The other officer promptly stood up, even packing the chicken back into her bag. “Come with me. I’ll help you sort this out.”

Railway police had their own internal privileges, after all.

The officer escorted Su Xiangwan to the ticket hall and instructed her to wait while he negotiated at the ticket counter.

“Mom, were you lying just now? Dad’s a soldier, but he’s right outside the station,” said Lu Dan, the most upright of the children, feeling uneasy about their approach.

Just then, the officer returned. “Madam, no more sleeper tickets are available, not even standing tickets. However, there are soft sleeper berths, but they’re expensive—50 yuan each. Or I can try to get you into the train staff’s rest carriage. What do you think?”

The rest carriage, reserved for train staff to rest and sleep, was an option.

Su Xiangwan, however, knew she had four children with her.

No matter how well-behaved they were, they’d inevitably make noise.

Disturbing the staff wouldn’t be ideal.

She quickly pulled out a stack of money from her pocket: “Let’s buy soft sleepers. The kids can squeeze onto one, and I’ll take another one. That should be enough.”

The officer counted out a hundred yuan and then said, “This is truly a special case because you’re a military family. Just remember, after you get the tickets, use your old ticket stubs to get your passes, and head straight to the soft sleeper compartment, understood?”

Su Xiangwan quickly replied, “Got it.”

A huge problem had just been solved.

On their way back, Donkey Egg kept mumbling, “Mom, this isn’t right.” This child always had a strong sense of justice and couldn’t stand any form of cheating or shortcuts.

At that moment, a woman in the train station hall was shouting continuously, “Dan, Dan, where are you, my child”

It was clear that the woman had lost her child.

Su Xiangwan stopped the children, and they watched until someone returned a child to the woman.

The child was crying, and so was the woman.

Su Xiangwan bent down and whispered to Lu Dan, “Normally, we should buy tickets and board the train properly. But for Song Donghai, as a single mother traveling with you children on a four-day-long train journey, if I lost one of you, my life would be ruined.

I’d spend the rest of my life searching for you. If I found you, it’d be fine, but if I couldn’t find you, I wouldn’t be able to rest in peace.

And right now, there are still tickets available on the train. We didn’t spend too much extra money, and though I lied to the officer, even if the lie gets exposed, the officer will understand me. Do you understand?”

Lu Dan thought for a moment, then pulled Gou Dan into a tight hug. “Don’t worry, Gou Dan. I won’t ever lose you.”

“I’d never lose you either. If anyone gets lost, it’ll be you…” Gou Dan hesitated, then added, “Ugh, ugh, ugh, we can’t lose anyone.”

With two sleeper tickets in hand, they returned to the waiting hall. There were only ten minutes left until the train departed.

Su Xiangwan waved from afar at Song Qingshan. “Quick, I got the tickets.”

Song Qingshan was in charge of the luggage, holding all the bags for the children, around four or five in total.

Seeing Su Xiangwan, who was covered in dust and smiling with the children in tow, he immediately grabbed the bags and strode forward.

Liu Zaiye was stunned. In his mind, how could someone like Su Xiangwan, a woman with little education, manage to get tickets after the ticket booth had closed?

“This is impossible. Qing Shan, stop!” Liu Zaiye called out as he rushed to catch up. “I’m sure there’s something wrong with your family’s tickets.”

As he spoke, he reached out to snatch the tickets from Su Xiangwan’s hands.

The children were all scared, and without their usual sticks, Gou Dan started to throw punches with his hands, while Li Chengze seemed ready to jump in as well.

It looked like they were preparing to take action against Liu Zaiye.

Su Xiangwan was taken aback by Liu Zaiye’s shameless behavior.

Just as it seemed he was about to snatch the tickets, she screamed.

But at that moment, a hand appeared from behind Liu Zaiye, grabbed his wrist, and with a quick shoulder throw, Liu Zaiye was sent flying into the air, landing hard on the ground.

Song Tuan, still in his slightly wrinkled military uniform, firmly pinned Liu Zaiye down, slapping his face lightly. “Zaiye, stop messing around.”

Everyone in the train station froze.

A tall, strong, and sturdy soldier, with a slightly dark expression, his shoulders broad, carrying a stack of bags and holding the children’s hands, quickly turned and walked away.

The two soft sleeper tickets had been secured—two tickets in total.

Song Tuan had one sleeper ticket, and the whole family was on the same train, but they had to stay in different compartments.

Song Qingshan took the children to the bathroom to wash their hands and faces.

Su Xiangwan was busy preparing lunch, taking out the roasted chicken for the kids and also making milk for them.

She had to prepare the pancakes and keep them covered to prevent them from drying out.

Suddenly, she turned around and saw Song Tuan standing behind her.

He had just washed his face, and his dark skin seemed to be radiating heat.

His chest, where he had unbuttoned two buttons, was tanned, and his broad shoulders looked even stronger.

This man, who could throw an adult with just a shoulder throw, clearly had impressive physical strength.

Of course, after sharing a bed with him for two years, Su Xiangwan knew his strength well. If it weren’t for their regular “activities,” he would have certainly worn out her back.

A wet towel was suddenly pressed to her face.

He was wiping her face.

Halfway through, he leaned closer, whispering in her ear, “I don’t even know what to say. Su Xiangwan, I don’t know how I deserve such an excellent wife…”

The soft breath on her ear made Su Xiangwan think he was about to kiss her.

It seemed like Song Tuan was finally showing affection, with love and admiration in his eyes. How rare!

Just as she thought she was about to experience a romantic moment, he abruptly pulled away.

Well, at that moment, the kids, now clean and fresh, came in, shaking their hands and swaying as they entered.