Su Xiangwan acted surprised. “Of course not. Being friends with anyone is your right. You get to decide who you want to be friends with. I won’t make that decision for you.”

Goudan seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. “Don’t worry, Mom. Next time I see Chen Xiaoli, I’ll definitely teach her not to lie. If she lies again, she won’t be my friend. Really.”

Normally, a parent would advise their child to stay away from someone who had bad intentions, like Chen Xiaoli.

But Su Xiangwan wouldn’t do that.

She knew that if she forbade the friendship, Goudan’s curiosity would only grow stronger, and he would want to know the truth behind Chen Xiaoli’s actions.

It was like when a colleague of hers, a beautiful and wealthy woman, insisted on marrying a man from a poor family with three older sisters.

Her parents begged her to reconsider for her future happiness.

But in the end, she chose to marry the man, believing in true love.

After they got married, the three sisters constantly nagged her husband, and she, once a well-off woman, had to justify buying a simple discounted vest to her husband, who complained it was too expensive compared to his sisters’ cheaper clothes.

In the end, she cried as she left her marriage, returning to her parents’ home, losing her wedding house in the process.

It was a prime property in the best district of the capital—something money couldn’t easily buy.

So, Su Xiangwan wouldn’t discourage Goudan from continuing his friendship with Chen Xiaoli.

She believed that through their interactions, Goudan would slowly realize Chen Xiaoli’s true nature.

At the moment, he still held hope, thinking he could teach her not to lie, and that if she ever lied again, they wouldn’t be friends anymore.

But eventually, when he realized that Chen Xiaoli wouldn’t change, he would have to let go of her on his own, and their bond would finally end.

The same applied to the brothers.

Since childhood, Lu Dan and Goudan had received unequal treatment. Like a boil, it was only because of their family’s financial struggles that they had once been united.

Now that the family was stable, the brothers were drifting apart, due to differences in their studies and their friends.

As time passed, the dissatisfaction between them began to surface.

Su Xiangwan knew that what was needed wasn’t just coaxing the brothers to reconcile.

What was truly important was identifying and addressing the core issues of their dissatisfaction—both the symptoms and the root causes.

Seeing Goudan leave, Su Xiangwan called in Li Chengze, urging him to keep an eye on the two boys.

They could fight, but she didn’t want either of them to get hurt.

She was busy in the kitchen frying youquanquan (fried dough rings) for the New Year when suddenly, a loud bang broke the quiet. It was a gunshot.

The dog, Dashan, barked furiously. Then came silence, followed by the sound of a child crying softly.

Su Xiangwan, who was still frying dough, quickly took the hot oil pan off the stove and ran outside. There, she saw three boys standing frozen in shock.

By the apricot tree near the corner of the wall, a huge chunk of bark had been blown away.

Goudan clenched his fists tightly, glaring at Lu Dan in fury. “What’s the big deal about missing? If you’re so great, aim here! Right at my forehead!”

Lu Dan didn’t back down. “Chen Xiaoli isn’t worth a damn. And you still don’t see it? Ugh, you’re such an idiot. If you keep acting this stupid, I’ll really shoot you!” He pulled the bolt back on the gun and pointed it at Goudan again.

“Song Donghai, slowly, give the gun to Mom. Right now. If this thing fires again, we’re all going to jail. Understand?” Su Xiangwan cautiously reached out her hand, her tone calm but firm.

Slowly, she managed to take the gun from Lu Dan.

As soon as she secured it, Lu Dan stomped his foot in frustration and stormed back into the house.

Goudan wiped his face with exaggerated nonchalance and said, “I don’t care anyway. He’s not my brother anymore, and he doesn’t respect me. If I die, so what? What’s there to be scared of?”

Su Xiangwan locked Goudan in her bedroom and turned to see Li Chengze lingering behind her. “The two of them nearly started a war. What were you doing?”

Li Chengze, feeling the need to explain, said, “Song Donghai and I found the gun bolt and were figuring out how to use it. We only loaded one bullet. We were aiming at the apricot tree, but Song Xiling misunderstood us.”

“You’re just kids, and you’re playing with guns? Don’t you know it’s illegal for children to touch firearms, especially since your father works in law enforcement?” Su Xiangwan snapped, grabbing a broom and swatting Li Chengze twice on the backside.

Rubbing his head, Li Chengze protested indignantly, “It never worked before! How was I supposed to know the gun could actually be fixed?”

It’s said that parents of boys often feel like raising them is a game of chance, relying on sheer luck and divine intervention. Every child’s survival seems like a miracle, especially when they’re as mischievous as these.

And on New Year’s, mischief had to be dealt with.

Su Xiangwan separated the boys and locked them in different rooms.

She decided to wait for Song Qinshan to come home—he’d have to step in and handle this mess as their father.

Meanwhile, Song Qinshan was at the reservoir’s command center.

Unexpectedly, Gu Bei, Li Yifan’s husband, arrived just before the end of the workday to deliver some urgent news.

He told Song Qinshan to prepare for military training in Shanghai after the New Year, followed by an operation codenamed “571.”

Song Qingshan was one of the nation’s top experts in mine-laying and mine-clearing. For any military conflict, he was always among the first to be deployed.

Instinctively, he asked, “Was this operation approved by the capital? Is it directed at Taiwan?”

Gu Bei didn’t seem to know much himself. He only conveyed the orders from above, exchanged a few pleasantries, and left.

Since his deployment to Zhenbao Island in 1968, Song Qingshan hadn’t seen combat.

For a soldier, the chance to go to war stirred a mix of nerves and excitement—like a sword being unsheathed. It was exhilarating.

Walking home after work, Song Qingshan was in high spirits.

But as he approached his family’s compound, he saw his younger brother, Song Laosan, standing by the entrance.

“Why don’t you go inside?” Song Qingshan asked.

Song Laosan, carrying a woven bag on his back, set it down and handed it to his brother. Wiping his face, he said, “Big Brother, I won’t say much. Mom and Dad are in good health now, and I’ll stay home to take care of them. Here are some potatoes and radishes from our family’s field, plus two pig trotters for the kids. I’m heading off now.”

“What’s wrong with you?” Song Qingshan asked, noticing his brother’s downcast expression.

But Song Laosan just laughed it off. “Nothing’s wrong, Brother. You go on inside.”

Opening the bag, Song Qingshan found a half-sack of potatoes, a few large radishes, and the two pig trotters—carefully cleaned and singed.

His kids loved meat, and the family hadn’t received much in terms of New Year’s rations this year.

The meat distributed by the Women’s Federation had mostly gone to impoverished households.

Su Xiangwan, being a leader, had managed to get four extra pig trotters. With these two from his brother, they could have a feast tonight.

Song Qingshan walked into the house, already imagining the delicious meal they’d have.

But as soon as he stepped inside, his wife drenched him in cold reality.

She thrust an old Chauchat 1915 light machine gun into his arms and snapped, “Didn’t you say this gun was broken, missing its bolt? Tell me, where did your son find the bolt and how did he fix it? He just blew half the apricot tree apart with this thing! If Li Yifan hadn’t gone back to Qinzhou for New Year’s and the neighbors had been around, you’d be facing military court right now!”

“Wow, impressive!” Song Qingshan exclaimed, testing the gun bolt. It was a bit stiff, but functional.

The Chauchat 1915 was infamous for being unreliable—so much so that soldiers in WWI often surrendered rather than try to use it.

Song Qingshan examined the gun like he’d discovered a treasure. “This kid’s got talent. He must’ve found the bolt in my parts cabinet. Forget everything else—he should just aim for military school.”

“It’s not about whether your son can enter the military academy now. He nearly shot his brother in the head, and you’re still proud of it?” Su Xiangwan thought this person was out of his mind.

The two sons were fighting as if their lives depended on it, and yet he was thinking about Lu Dan’s talent with weapons.

“What do you think will happen to them in the future?” Song Qingshan suddenly raised his head and asked.

Su Xiangwan replied, “They’ll turn against each other, aiming guns at one another.”

“So what do you want me to do now?” Song Qingshan asked again.

“The ultimate goal is, of course, to have them reconcile,” Su Xiangwan said.

Song Qingshan stood the gun upright and said, “And what about Chen Xiaoli? You said before that the brothers will turn against each other because of that girl, right?”

This was how things turned out when they grew up.

When they were young, Chen Xiaoli only liked Song Xiling.

She would point at him and complain that he always stole things for her.

But because she spoke good Mandarin and was also pretty, after she grew up, she went to a vocational broadcasting school, and later became a radio host in Qinzhou City.

At this point, she started liking Song Donghai, who worked in the criminal police department, and she actively pursued him.

One night, they ended up together.

The problem was, Song Xiling came back to look for her just at that moment.

After all, she had almost been raised by Song Xiling since childhood, so she was a bit afraid of him and didn’t know how to explain herself.

Out of nowhere, she had the idea to claim that Song Donghai had raped her.

The two brothers, fighting over the same woman, pointed guns at each other and became mortal enemies.

“What do you want me to do?” Song Qingshan asked.

Su Xiangwan replied, “You have to educate the children. Sometimes it’s a solo effort for either a man or a woman, but more often, it’s about teamwork. You play the bad cop, and I’ll play the good cop. You need to rile them up, the more you stir them up, the better.”

It was New Year’s Eve, and with firecrackers popping in the distance, the couple started their parenting journey like this.