The millet flour was crispy, and the potatoes were soft and sticky, then lightly fried with a bit of oil.

To go with that, a dish stir-fried with chili threads was perfect. Lu Dan had his mouth wide open, eating without making a sound, as if he feared that in the blink of an eye, the pancake would be gone.

Li Chengze was deep in thought, knowing that Su Xiangwan was trying to compete with Hu Min in terms of beauty.

He didn’t care to eat and kept his eyes fixed outside, eager to see how much Hu Min would be shocked.

However, he didn’t expect that Su Xiangwan neither changed her clothes, nor combed her hair, nor washed her face, and was busy washing her hands and applying cold cream in the kitchen.

“You should at least dress up a bit. Look at yourself, you haven’t even put on makeup. What’s going on? Let me wash the dishes, you hurry up and get ready,” Li Chengze said.

Before Su Xiangwan could say “there’s no need,” Hu Min had already entered, “Qingshan, are you home?”

Song Qingshan deliberately raised the leg with the cast and said, “Ah, Sister Hu is here, please sit down, let’s have a meal together.”

Hu Min smiled and said, “I’ve already eaten next door, but where is your wife? Tell her to come out, let’s chat together.”

Su Xiangwan quickly tidied her hair, and despite the look in Li Chengze’s eyes, which seemed to wish he could drag her back to dress up, she went out.

“Sister Hu, please come in and sit down for dinner,” Su Xiangwan said with a smile.

Hu Min’s eyes widened in shock, staring at Su Xiangwan for a long time before saying, “You’re Qingshan’s wife?”

“Of course. Haven’t we met before?” Su Xiangwan laughed as she took Hu Min’s hand.

If it weren’t for that hand, Hu Min wouldn’t have been so shocked, but the fact was, Hu Min had come straight from the kitchen, and yet, not only were her hands free of any grease or smoke, they were soft, as if they could drip water, completely smooth.

Hu Min couldn’t sit down anymore. Her mind was in turmoil.

She had come with the intent to persuade Song Qingshan to go with her, but also for another reason—she had been tasked to find the most beautiful girl in all of Qinzhou and even the five provinces of the Northwest to send to Beijing.

Oh my, looking at Su Xiangwan’s face, she couldn’t believe it.

She had traveled across all these border areas—Qinghai, Tibet, and everywhere—but she never expected the woman she had been looking for would be Song Qingshan’s wife.

Young, beautiful, and with perfect skin.

If she had purposely put on makeup, Hu Min could have said that she was only beautiful because of the makeup.

But here, Su Xiangwan had just walked out of the kitchen after cooking, looking like an ordinary housewife. How could Hu Min accept this?

She had often laughed at and looked down on Su Xiangwan when Hou Qingyue had mentioned her, thinking that with her status and looks, she could easily make Su Xiangwan embarrassed.

But now, as soon as she arrived in Qingshui County, she nearly mistook Su Xiangwan for a young unmarried woman and was almost tricked into sending her to the capital.

Stumbling back two steps, Hu Min took a deep breath, feeling as if she had just encountered a ghost.

She turned and walked away in a daze.

“Could it be that you defeated her without even fighting? Aunt Su, how did you do it?” Li Chengze asked, clearly surprised.

Su Xiangwan smiled lightly, “The real show is tomorrow. What’s the big deal? Hurry up and eat, then wash the dishes with Lu Dan.”

This was only the first round, and Su Xiangwan thought to herself, from now on, I’ll get a good beauty sleep. Tomorrow morning, I’ll continue the fight.

Since New Year’s Eve, Goudan had turned over a new leaf.

He cleaned the chicken coop every day, fed the dog, and took Dashan out for walks—these were all his responsibilities.

Today, after cleaning the chicken coop, he took Dashan out again.

However, as soon as he stepped outside, he saw Chen Xiaoli following the neighbor, Deng Dawa, wandering in the courtyard of the local government office.

Deng Dawa, like Gou Dan and Lu Dan, was eight years old.

Being the son of the Party Secretary, he was kind-hearted, didn’t fight with the other kids, and wasn’t as sharp as Goudan in his studies, but he was still a good student.

Although Deng Dawa and Chen Xiaoli were clearly enjoying themselves, Goudan didn’t even glance at them. He simply turned around, holding Dashan’s leash, and walked away.

Dashan, who used to defecate in the corner, had now been trained by Goudan to squat on the toilet and even use the public restroom.

Goudan was a very reserved child and also good at inventing things.

Last year, Li Chengze had given him a method to make a light bulb from an apple and a potato.

He had spent time tinkering and collecting scrap materials, and eventually managed to create a small fan powered by an apple and a potato.

As he was playing, Chen Xiaoli suddenly ran up and intentionally bumped into Goudan, causing his fan to break into pieces.

“You, Chen Xiaoli, try that again,” Goudan said, his fist raised.

“Deng Ge, come quickly, Song Xiling is hitting me!” Chen Xiaoli shouted.

Had she not called Deng Dawa, Goudan would have let it go, but as soon as she shouted for Deng Dawa, Goudan got angry.

He quickly raised his fist and slammed Chen Xiaoli against the wall. “You said Song Fu hit you every day, that Fang Baoyu mistreated you, and that you were always hungry and cold. I gave you at least thirty yuan in the past few months. Chen Xiaoli, look at yourself! You’re a selfish person, and you have no dignity at all. I despise you.”

Chen Xiaoli gasped for breath and stammered, “Pfft, look at you. You’re skinny, with a big head, looking like a monster. Who would want to be with you except me?”

Indeed, Goudan’s head was relatively large because he had lacked proper nutrition as a child.

Because of this, the other children at school used to bully him.

And apart from Chen Xiaoli, no one else would play with him.

For this very reason, he had once greatly cherished his friend Chen Xiaoli.

He clenched his fist, but ultimately didn’t throw a punch.

Instead, he calmly said, “I said you look like a friend I used to have. It would be an insult and desecration to my friend. Really, Chen Xiaoli, you’re not worthy.”

Chen Xiaoli had something to say as well: “Deng Dawa is much more generous than you. Who’s like you, so stingy you can’t even spare a few cents.”

Ah, the young girl, for her to say such a thing, she must have seen enough of money’s power.

If it had been some other guy, he probably would have punched Chen Xiaoli right there and then.

But not Goudan.

He wiped his nose and disdainfully curled his lips, walking off proudly while leading Dashan.

What’s that saying?

His mother taught him that the greatest form of contempt is to ignore someone.

He ignored Chen Xiaoli’s existence. What he needed was to grow stronger and have more friends.

After Goudan finished walking Dashan and it had its bowel movement, he took it for a stroll around the local government office courtyard.

It was at this moment that he encountered a man who looked unfamiliar.

The man was dressed in military attire, similar to Song Qingshan’s, and first saluted Goudan before speaking: “Little comrade, I heard your father was injured. It’s not too serious, is it?”

“It’s serious, really serious. I heard that leg of his might be ruined,” Goudan said solemnly.

The man nodded as if he had just understood, stroked Dashan’s back, and said, “Child, you’re a good Liberation Army soldier, a truthful kid. Go on now.”

Goudan looked at the man carefully, feeling like he had seen him somewhere before, but couldn’t remember where. So, he turned around and ran back home.

Of course, as soon as he got home, he immediately told Song Qingshan about the encounter, mentioning how this man asked about his father’s leg injury.

Song Qingshan and Su Xiangwan sat facing each other for a long while. Suddenly, Song Qingshan opened his photo album and asked Goudan, “Is it this person?”

In the black-and-white photo, one side showed Song Qingshan, and the other side was a man with thick eyebrows, single eyelids, and large eyes.

Goudan quickly nodded, “I’m sure, it’s him, Song Xiling!”

Song Qingshan and Su Xiangwan both looked up at the same time. “The tiger is coming.”

This wasn’t the plot from the book anymore. Song Qingshan and Su Xiangwan’s lives had fully blended into the history that was about to unfold.

It seemed that after Lin Liguo couldn’t reach Song Tuan, not only did he send Hu Min as a negotiator, but he also came secretly to Qingshui County to confirm Song Tuan’s injury.

“What should we do?” Su Xiangwan looked at Song Qingshan and suddenly said, “I really want to see what the tiger looks like.”

The feeling of being part of history was both novel and unsettling.

Although even Goudan felt that the situation must be serious, his father, being his father, was incredibly calm as he said, “We’ll deal with tomorrow’s problems tomorrow. Go to bed now.”

Lin Liguo wasn’t a fool.

He had secretly flown in, first from Guangzhou to Qinzhou, and then drove from there to Qingshui County. Of course, once he investigated, it was clear that Song Qingshan was lying.

After all, a brigade commander injuring his leg like that would have had to go to the hospital. There should have been medical records, right?

But there was nothing—just a cast and a claim of a leg injury. How could that be?

So, that night, at the guesthouse, he summoned Hu Min and directly gave the highest order: “Tomorrow, you must clearly tell Song Qingshan.

If he continues to defy the highest orders, I’ll have to figure out how to remove him from his position and make trouble for him.”

Hu Min smiled and said, “But, Ye Zong also told me to pick someone for you. Should we proceed with this matter?”

Since about 1970, the Vice Commander and his wife had been looking for a spouse for their son, Lin Liguo, who was already 25 and of marrying age. They began selecting candidates from all over the country.

The requirements were that the family background shouldn’t be too high, but it must be solid and unblemished. The most important characteristic was that the girl must be beautiful and have fair skin.

This selection process had been ongoing for a year now, with many beautiful girls from good families being considered in the capital.

However, despite several rounds of selection, Lin Liguo had yet to find someone he liked.

So, this process, which was referred to as “selecting a concubine” in history, was still ongoing.

Lin Liguo himself wasn’t in a hurry for a spouse, so he waved his hand and said, “Don’t bother with this. Just help me get rid of Song Qingshan if he keeps causing trouble.”

After all, Song Tuan had already figured out Lin Liguo’s intentions. At this point, the only options left were to either use him or remove him.

That evening, Hu Min had to go back to Li Yifan’s house.