She handed it to Zhizi and whispered something to her. Zhizi, holding the flowers, walked over confidently and presented them to Liu Zaiye.

“Uncle Liu, all the children at the kindergarten will remember you forever, because our kindergarten will be named after you—‘Zaiye Kindergarten.’”

Three thousand yuan for naming rights—how could you not feel moved?

After the girls finished their song, most of them shyly turned and ran off.

Only Zhizi remained, standing confidently and raising her voice as she presented the flowers to Liu Zaiye.

Li Yifan, seated at the side of the stage, saw Su Xiangwan come down and pulled her aside. “That guy is trash, a mad dog. I told you to deal with him, and this is what you came up with? Making the kids sing for him?”

“Flattery never fails,” Su Xiangwan bent over and replied. “Didn’t you see? He was about to cry.”

Li Yifan had almost been moved to tears himself while listening to the song.

Seeing Su Xiangwan about to leave, he grabbed her again. “Where did that song come from? It made me feel so heartbroken, but it was so beautiful.”

Su Xiangwan thought to herself, “In the future, songs like Grateful Heart and The Greatness of Heaven will dominate charity events. They’ll be played to death.”

She had heard such songs so many times that she had become immune to their effects. But for now, the people here had never heard them, so the hall was filled with a deep, reflective silence.

When the song ended, applause started slowly but grew louder and more enthusiastic. Many people clapped for a long time.

Although Liu Zaiye remained seated without saying a word, Su Xiangwan was certain that starting tomorrow, he would ease up on the county committee staff.

The event was only halfway through, with the next segment featuring performances by the county’s dance troupe.

Su Xiangwan came off the stage.

She had been busy preparing the program and planning this emotional appeal for Liu Zaiye, leaving her no time to focus on the kids.

Just now, she thought she saw Lu Dan and Gou Dan fighting under the stage again.

Jealousy between children can be particularly hard to resolve.

Lu Dan was stubborn and loyal, always standing up for Song Fu if he was bullied.

Meanwhile, Gou Dan had fully invested his trust in Chen Xiaoli.

Because Song Fu and Chen Xiaoli lived close to the Tusi Courtyard, they constantly ran into Lu Dan and Gou Dan.

But as Su Xiangwan stepped off the stage and squeezed through the crowd, a woman suddenly grabbed her. With a loud slap, she struck Su Xiangwan’s face directly.

In her previous life, Su Xiangwan had trained in Taekwondo.

This experience allowed her to spar with heavyweight men like Ma Xijun when she was in Haixi. Naturally, her reflexes were top-notch.

Grabbing the woman’s hand, Su Xiangwan twisted it behind her back, almost dislocating her arm.

“Help! The head of the Women’s Federation is assaulting people!” screamed none other than Fang Baoyu.

“Fang Baoyu, are you out of your mind? What are you trying to do?” Su Xiangwan let go of her hand and asked loudly.

Fang Baoyu, disheveled, deliberately messed up her hair further and shrieked, “Ha! Su Xiangwan, the so-called Women’s Federation head.

Let me tell you all, she’s nothing but an uncultured troublemaker. Her son beat up my daughter, leaving her covered in bruises. I demand justice—what are you all going to do about this?”

“The head of the Women’s Federation’s son beat someone? And a little girl at that?” A commotion arose among the crowd.

Even the staff members of the Women’s Federation came over, apologizing profusely to Fang Baoyu. “The child probably didn’t mean it. Comrade, can we please not make this a public scene?”

But Fang Baoyu wouldn’t relent.

She spotted Lu Dan being brought over and, without hesitation, slapped him across the face. “Bah! I don’t care who’s a cadre or not! Back in Xiao Song Village, Su Xiangwan was infamous for being bossy, loud, and violent. Even her mother-in-law wasn’t spared when she felt like hitting someone. And now, her son has beaten up my daughter. What are you going to do about it, Su Xiangwan? Come hit me! Go ahead, hit me!”

As a government official, Su Xiangwan couldn’t possibly hit someone in public.

However, she wasn’t about to let Fang Baoyu harm Lu Dan.

She swiftly grabbed Fang Baoyu by the arm and said, “Fang Baoyu, can you stop this nonsense in public?”

“You broke up my family! Did you think of that when you ruined us? And now you want me to stay quiet?” Fang Baoyu shouted even louder as the crowd grew. “Come and see, everyone! See how the Women’s Federation head assaults people! You’ve read Water Margin, haven’t you? Su Xiangwan here is Gao Qiu, and her son is none other than Gao Yanei!”

To Su Xiangwan, it seemed like Fang Baoyu had a whole team coaching her on how to cause chaos.

Today, apart from the county party secretary, at least three deputy county chiefs were present, including County Chief Li Yifan.

Donkey Egg, dragged and tugged by Fang Baoyu, was stumbling back and forth in the crowd. Soon, the county’s public security officers, tasked with maintaining order, surrounded the scene.

Fang Baoyu was intent on creating a huge mess, determined to humiliate Su Xiangwan in front of all the county’s officials.

After all, her brother Fang Gaodi and her nephew Fang Jinhua had both died because of Su Xiangwan.

If Su Xiangwan were a man, Fang Baoyu would have likely succeeded in ruining her reputation by now.

But Su Xiangwan wasn’t a man—she was a feisty, fiery woman.

At that time, most women couldn’t afford belts, so they used simple cloth strips to hold their pants up. Su Xiangwan pretended to be shoved forward by the crowd, got close to Fang Baoyu, and used a sneaky move—Black Tiger Stealing the Heart—to grab the cloth belt on Fang Baoyu’s pants. With a swift tug, the belt came off.

Holding Fang Baoyu’s belt high, Su Xiangwan shouted mockingly, “Baoyu, calm down! Look, your belt fell off. Hurry and pull up your pants!”

Back then, pants were made with loose waists to extend their use. Without a belt, they’d fall off immediately.

Sure enough, Fang Baoyu let go of Lu Dan, stopped yelling, and quickly used both hands to pull up her pants.

By now, the crowd had grown even larger.

Su Xiangwan scanned the crowd and spotted Chen Xiaoli. Without hesitation, she grabbed her.

It was clear Fang Baoyu had come to stir up trouble, but there had to be some underlying issue.

Su Xiangwan was determined to find out what role Chen Xiaoli played in turning Lu Dan and Goudan, the two brothers, against each other—and why she incited such chaos during the event.

“Tell me, who exactly hit you just now?” Su Xiangwan grabbed Chen Xiaoli, raising her voice.

Chen Xiaoli, of course, said nothing.

She only cried, continuously sobbing.

Then, in front of everyone, she slowly unbuttoned her little padded jacket. Underneath, she rolled up the sleeve of her sweater, revealing a section of her arm.

Her arm was covered in red marks, looking as if she had indeed been beaten.

This little girl—no wonder she caused two boys to fight to the death over her in the original story.

Despite being a bit chubby, her round face and pouting lips, paired with her silent, pitiful performance, instantly made everyone around her fall silent.

“Auntie, I have marks on my back too. Do you want to see?” she asked timidly, tilting her head up with an innocent, scared expression.

Suddenly, Lu Dan burst forward. “Bullshit! Not only did Song Fu not hit you, I didn’t either. We didn’t even touch you!”

The crowd erupted in chatter again. Watching Lu Dan’s agitated demeanor, who would believe he hadn’t hit anyone?

At nearly nine years old, Lu Dan was at that age where he seemed to annoy everyone—dogs wouldn’t like him, pigs wouldn’t tolerate him.

He scratched his head, clenching his small fists.

Originally, he wanted to hit Chen Xiaoli, but when he couldn’t, he turned and punched Gou Dan instead. “Song Xiling, you’re blind! I’m telling you, this girl is no good. She’s a liar and a troublemaker!”

“My friends don’t lie!” Gou Dan argued confidently. “It’s clear you and Song Fu don’t like her and hit her!”

Su Xiangwan took two steps back, signaling the women’s federation cadres to push back the onlookers.

She crouched down, cupping Chen Xiaoli’s small arm in her hands, and gently asked, “Does it hurt, child?”

Chen Xiaoli, teary-eyed and trembling, shook her head. “It doesn’t hurt, Auntie, but I’m scared.”

Su Xiangwan lightly scratched at the girl’s unblemished skin, then asked, “Now, tell me, were these marks made by Song Donghai?”

Chen Xiaoli timidly glanced at Lu Dan, her voice so small it seemed like she had gathered all her courage just to speak: “Yes.”

Lu Dan was so angry he nearly jumped up, turning around to punch Gou Dan.

Just like that, the brothers were at odds.

But at that moment, Su Xiangwan gently extended her hand and scratched the child’s arm a few times.

Suddenly, she turned and yelled at Fang Baoyu, “You, Fang Baoyu, claim to be a woman of the new era. The child has hives! A little scratch and it will leave marks. You didn’t even think to take the child to the doctor, and yet here you are shouting and causing a scene.”

“What’s hives?” someone asked.

Su Xiangwan didn’t hesitate; she picked up the chubby little Chen Xiaoli, ignoring her struggles, and forcefully stretched her arm out for everyone to see. “Look! See how it turns red just from a light scratch? That’s hives. Don’t believe me? You can scratch and see for yourselves.”

At that time, many people didn’t know what hives were, but there were enough educated people around—doctors and such—that the crowd was soon informed.

“That child is lying! I knew it! In the middle of winter, how could a person get bruises like that?” someone exclaimed, realization dawning on them.

Fang Baoyu, realizing her mistake, hurriedly approached Su Xiangwan, trying to block her.

She grabbed Chen Xiaoli and started to run.

Su Xiangwan blocked her path with her foot, but the scene had gotten too chaotic.

Suddenly, a group of people appeared, attempting to mediate. “Alright, let her go take the child to the doctor. Su Director, would you mind stepping back a little?”

Fang Baoyu slapped Chen Xiaoli twice, then grabbed her and quickly tried to escape.

It was clear that Fang Baoyu didn’t even realize Chen Xiaoli had been lying, and she was now in a panic, trying to hide.

Su Xiangwan didn’t know what Song Qingshan, the father, was thinking when the brothers fought in the original story.

But now, as their guardian, she was already feeling desperate.

It was like when Lu Dan had poor grades, and Goudan would always tease and laugh at him.

Now, Chen Xiaoli clearly had hives, but she insisted she was beaten.

To Lu Dan, it felt like Goudan had lost, so after the meeting ended, Lu Dan walked ahead, humming proudly: “Marching proudly, crossing the Yalu River…”

Goudan, on the other hand, had adapted well to life in the city.

He was studious, kept himself clean, and was a quiet, reserved child.

After being often beaten, he had hardly any friends other than Chen Xiaoli.

At first, Goudan had thought that Lu Dan and Song Qingshan had really beaten Chen Xiaoli, but now he realized it was a slap in the face.

He wasn’t good at expressing his emotions, but the more Lu Dan mocked him, the angrier he got. His pale little face twisted with frustration.

Back home, Lu Dan proudly practiced aiming his gun in the yard, while Goudan quietly entered the kitchen to help Su Xiangwan with the chores.

“Mom, does this mean I can’t be friends with Chen Xiaoli anymore?” the child asked timidly.