But the truth can't be hidden forever. When Ashan's father discovered that the leader of the "Crusaders" was actually Ashan, he gave him a good scolding. However, despite the scolding and the beatings, the fights continued, as they had become a part of the childhood of the village kids.
Soon, everyone grew up a bit, and Ashan entered middle school. His grades didn't suffer from the fights; in fact, Ashan represented his school in writing competitions both in elementary and middle school!
At that time, movies were the main source of entertainment for the common people. The Ministry of National Defense's Arts and Cultural Corps would occasionally come to the village to show outdoor movies, which were very popular. Villagers of all ages would bring out all kinds of chairs to sit on, filling up the small square in front of the village, turning it into a temporary outdoor cinema.
Naturally, the nearby residents would also come to watch, and everyone gradually got to know each other. The villagers felt proud, and the Ministry of National Defense emphasized the unity between the military and the civilians. Enjoying the movies together helped to dissolve regional differences and fostered neighborly feelings. Thus, "outdoor movies" became the most effective tool.
At this time, the boys in the village suddenly found the nearby girls to be pretty and cute. To show their gentlemanly manners, they often gave up their seats to these girls. How could they continue to fight with their brothers after that?
Similarly, the boys from the nearby houses, who were once enemies, began to show courtesy to the village girls. Thus, thanks to the influence of hormones, the two sides that had fought for years finally made peace, calling each other brothers and watching movies together. The Ministry of National Defense probably never expected that showing movies could have such a good effect, transforming these hot-blooded boys from enemies to friends.
Another catalyst for the integration of the village and the local residents was the exchange of food. At that time, flour and soybeans were scarce in the market, but the military families had rations. So, some military families would trade their extra flour for the locally grown rice, as the rice provided by the military wasn't very tasty. Some families even set up stalls outside the village to sell soy milk and steamed buns, which gradually became popular among the local people.
Thus, starting from the most basic barter trade, exchanging what they had for what they needed, the village and the local residents slowly moved from suspicion to understanding, from opposition to cooperation, and from estrangement to forming familial bonds.
但是事情是紙包不住火的。當阿三爸發覺「十字軍」的總司令竟然是阿三時，可好好地把阿三修理了一頓。可是打歸打，罵歸罵，架還是要打的，這已經成了眷村小孩子們成長的一部份。
很快地，大家都長大了些，阿三也入中學了。他的功課並沒有因打架而退步，並且阿三在小學、中學都還是學校參加作文比賽的代表呢！
在那個時代，電影是老百姓最主要的娛樂。國防部藝工總隊會不時到各個眷村放露天電影，當時是非常受大家的歡迎。只見村子裏老老小小，家家搬出各式各樣的椅子，坐得滿滿的，把村前的小廣場，變成了臨時露天電影院。
當然住在附近的居民也一定會來觀賞，大家也慢慢地熟悉了起來。村子裏的人也覺得很有面子，國防部也強調軍民一家。大家一起同樂，會使得省籍沖淡，也促進街坊鄰居的感情。於是「露天電影」變成了最有效的工具。
這時村子裏的男孩，突然覺得附近民家的小女孩們，都變得漂亮可愛起來。為了表示風度，也常常讓位子給這些女孩們。如此怎麼再可以跟她們的兄長打架呢？
同樣的，附近原來死對頭的男孩們，也對村子裏的女孩禮貌起來了。於是多年常打架的兩方，由於賀爾蒙的作用，終於言歸於好，互相稱兄道弟，而一齊看電影了。國防部當初大概沒有想到放電影有這麼好的作用，能夠使這一批血性方剛的男孩子們，化干戈為玉帛。
眷村與當地民家融合的另一種催化劑，是食物的交換。當時市面上麵粉及黃豆都很少，但是軍眷都有配給。於是有的眷戶就把多餘的麵粉，與當地民家換成蓬萊米，因為軍方配給的米並不好吃。也有眷戶在村外擺起攤子，賣豆漿及饅頭。當地民眾也漸漸喜歡上這些北方的小吃。
於是從最原始的以物易物，互通有無，眷村與當地居民慢慢由猜忌到瞭解，由對立到合作，由死不往來到結成親家。
