Chapter 146

What is power?

When the children heard the adults in the room singing, they threw away their bowls, wiped their mouths, and ran over to join in the fun.

Chen Lina said, "No, I won't sing, and I won't eat. I want to go home now. Pregnant women need rest."

"You're still competing with me for the title of March 8th Red Flag Bearer. You're leaving today. You're just a loser." He Lanshan refused. "We are so happy today. The wool textile factory has achieved a profit in the first month. Our mining area is also an economic pilot zone. No one can leave unless they are happy during the gathering."

Secretary Ah took the lead and said, "Since the female comrades are shy and unwilling to sing, I will sing one for you."

He started tapping the plate with his chopsticks. "What a lovely rose, Sadimaria... I was riding a horse hunting in the mountains that day, and you were singing in the mountains, your voice so sweet..."

This is the Kazakh folk song "What a lovely rose", and a group of rough guys immediately started to applaud, "Good singing."

Alai has been busy taking care of several elderly people, and he only comes here during mealtime.

Secretary A, although you are usually very serious, you can be very passionate when you sing. He went into the kitchen while singing, but couldn't find Hua, so he took a clove of garlic from the table, poked it with chopsticks, and handed it to A Lai while singing.

Including the laborers, Gao Feng, Gao Dayong who had just arrived for lunch, and a group of chief engineers standing outside, all the men were laughing so hard that they almost choked.

I can only say that Shushuji has a rustic and Western feel.

Leng Qi turned around, picked a blooming rose from the garden, knelt on one knee with a cigarette in one hand, and replaced the garlic in Alai's sister-in-law's hand with a rose.

Well, that's a bit more romantic.

Look, Secretary A had just sung halfway when sister-in-law Alai started singing.

She sang in Kazakh, and the song was truly melodious and graceful.

There are too many couples like the fat sister-in-law Alai and the thin secretary A in the border areas. They are just like this and cannot get along well at all.

After the song was over, even Chen Lina started clapping crazily. "I didn't expect Secretary Ah to be so talented. No, there will be a social gathering this year, and you must be the first to go on stage and sing a song for us."

"If your wool textile factory can sustain itself this year and make a profit next year and pay taxes to our mining area, I will sing for you." Secretary Ah actually agreed.

He Lanshan also insisted on singing a song. Before he even started, Bao Manli said, "Let me sing a song for everyone. It's an English song, which is also my specialty. What do you think?"

She was a retired member of a song and dance troupe, and she was also the girl Hu Xuanang was dating. They were about to get married, so everyone had to give her some face.

However, Bao Manli wants to sing, so her lineup is different from others.

She had the accompaniment recorded in her tape recorder, so she stood on the balcony and started singing.

As expected by Chen Lina, the song she sang was "Yesterday Again", which is a really popular and classic song.

Moreover, Manli Bao often traveled abroad and spoke English better than her. She spoke English fluently and pronounced every word clearly, and her singing was very beautiful, just like a professional singer.

However, it was not like when Secretary Ah sang and everyone laughed so hard that they held their stomachs. Her sad song immediately brought down the atmosphere.

It was normal. When she finished singing, everyone applauded, and then there was a brief silence.

"Workers, how about we just hold a simple meeting and let Director Chen come to my house to have a nap?" Gao Feng then said.

"Yes, yes, yes. All you do all day is hold meetings. No, I want to sing a song for everyone together with Director He." If Bao Manli didn't sing, Chen Lina wouldn't sing.

But her left-wing nature is that it is usually quite lively when everyone gets together. It is our party's revolutionary tradition. It is so happy to drink soda, play musical instruments, sing, and chat together.

You know, she also wanted to force Lao Nie to sing a song.

The clove of garlic that Secretary A gave to A Lai made Chen Lina's heart bloom instantly.

She felt like she had seen the tenderness of a tough guy.

But as soon as Manli Bao sang, the atmosphere disappeared.

She stood up and didn't want any accompaniment. She said, "Come on, Sister He, you always hum "Peach Blossoms Are Red, Apricot Blossoms Are White" in the workshop. Let's sing it together, okay?"

"Okay, I'll do it."

"The Peach Blossoms are Red, the Apricot Blossoms are White" is a Shanxi folk song, sung by the Shanxi girls assigned to the workshop.

"The peach blossoms are still red, the apricot blossoms are still white. I've come over mountains and ridges to find you, ah, ah, ah. The red hollyhocks are still blooming, so red that my lover's heart is sweet when he sees them." As soon as He Lanshan sang this, even Gao Feng was stunned and clapped his hands vigorously, "I didn't realize, Director He, you sing so well."

He Lanshan gave Chen Lina a look, and Chen Lina took a water cup to beat the rhythm and sang along, "Golden needles make you bloom, six petals make you yellow, I hope to be a couple with my brother, Agegedai..."

Well, the two women sang in unison, lively and cheerful, and a group of chief workers who were smoking outside not only clapped loudly, but also clapped their feet to the beat.

District Chief Hu is from Shanxi, so he clapped his hands and said, "No, no, this is my local accent. You have to sing another part for me."

The two women looked at each other, and then sang a long series of Xintianyou songs, such as "Ten Farewells to the Red Army", "Going West", "Lan Hua Hua" and "Ge Liang Liang", which were the specialties of this group of old educated youth.

As the chief engineers from several bases listened to the song one after another, they became interested and some were sitting down and some were standing up, and they all wanted to sing a song.

"What's wrong? Did you realize that you came to the wrong place and have no place to display your special skills?" Leng Qi asked when he saw Bao Manli standing at the kitchen door unhappily.

Bao Manli didn't understand at all. "Leng Qi, in our mainland, singing and dancing are things that professional actors do. You asked the crowd to sing a song, and he was embarrassed. Why aren't people here embarrassed?"

"Culture, people are generally enthusiastic, good at singing and dancing." Leng Qi said, turned around and took a look, and then said, "No, Manli, the meal is over, you should wash the pot. Also, Hu Xuanang must have borrowed a lot of bowls from here and there, so you have to return them one by one, right?"

Bao Manli raised her hands and shook her head repeatedly. "Don't even think about it. I don't know how to wash dishes. Besides, I have other things to do."

"It's not okay not to wash the dishes. As long as you can eat, you can wash them. Now, let's wash the dishes together." He Lanshan said.

In fact, in He Lanshan's family, there are also service staff and secretaries, but today is the weekend and they don't need to rest.

Besides, to put it bluntly, He Lanshan treated Bao Manli as a vase, looked down on her, and made her work if he caught her. "Anna and Jiao Lai Di are weavers in the woolen textile factory, not long-term workers in the landlord's house in the old society. Why should they wash vegetables and dishes for you? Anna, you and Jiao Lai Di, come back, we will wash the dishes today."

Some people sat and some stood in the living room. It was the weekend, and the purpose was to convey the spirit and to encourage everyone to continue working hard.

The mining area is such a harsh place, and last year it suffered an unprecedented snowstorm that froze all the winter wheat. The textile mill had just opened and owed a large sum of money, so the task was unprecedentedly difficult.

If the leader doesn't tighten the screws at this time, some people really can't stand it and will start to slack off.

Just as Chen Lina rolled up her sleeves, He Lanshan came over and said, "You are pregnant, come to my house and lie down for a while until they finish the meeting. We can have a meal alone in the evening. Noodles are not working, I will cook some vegetables and steam rice for you."

Chen Lina was not lazy, so she reached out her hand and said, "Let's wash together. You have running water in the city, and it's just a few bowls. Why should I be lazy?"

"By the way, Lina, I heard that Bozhao was promoted to senior engineer. Congratulations to him." Bao Manli put her hand into the water, but pulled it out immediately. Anyway, she refused to wash it.

"Yes, he is the only senior engineer in our mining area. What's wrong?" Chen Lina asked.

Bao Manli said, "It's nothing. It's just that the leaders of the mining area will be promoted one day or another. For example, our District Chief Hu will only serve for one or two terms at most. We will definitely be transferred to other places. I'm afraid you will have to stay here forever."

"The border is pretty good. The people are simple, the land is vast, the cities are getting bigger and bigger, and it will get better and better in the future. I am used to living here and don't want to move."

"But everyone has been promoted. You know, if you give someone a hard time now, your life as a worker will be over. What if someone becomes a leader in the future and gives you a hard time?" Bao Manli raised her eyelids. The meaning was obvious. She and Hu Xuanang were going to get married, and the leader's family would definitely give Chen Lina a hard time.

He Lanshan is washing the dishes.

Bao Manli was afraid that He Lanshan would scold her, so she spoke in a low voice.

But even if it was a small thing, as long as she heard it, it would be enough to anger Chen Lina.

"Bao Manli, do you know what power is? Do you know that even Emperor Taizong of Tang once said that water can carry a boat but can also overturn it? You haven't even become District Chief Hu's family member yet, and you are using your power to raise a big banner. Does District Chief Hu know?" She shook the rag and said, "If you really don't know, look at Gao Dayong. He was our Minister of Armed Forces. Go ask your little sister Bao and see how his wife ended up in prison. Then you will understand what I mean."

After saying this, Chen Lina still thought that Bao Manli would argue with her again.

Unexpectedly, she turned around and went to chat with Chief Engineer Wang.

At this point, Chen Lina found Comrade Bao Manli more and more interesting.

You say there's nothing wrong with her, but she has problems all over. But if you want to criticize her, you have no place to criticize.

Because apart from being a little extravagant, vain, sneaky and lazy, she seems to be like a piece of plasticine, no matter how you pinch her, she won't fight back.

Look, she came up and shook hands.

Although Chief Engineer Wang didn't know who she was, he shook her hand subconsciously and asked, "Who is this?"

"Old Hu, everyone is asking me, why don't you introduce me to everyone?"

District Chief Hu is speaking now. He was quite hesitant at first, but after hesitating for a long time, he decided that a second marriage is not as good as a first one, and there are not many unmarried women of Bao Manli's age.

So he said, "Well, I have to introduce my situation to everyone. My former lover died a long time ago. After arriving at the mining area, Comrade Manli and I got along well. So after repeated consideration, we decided to wait until her political review was completed before we got married."

This is the final announcement of Bao Manli's identity as her fiancée.

Nie Gong was listening to Gao Feng talking about the autonomous region. When he heard Gao Feng was going to introduce Bao Manli, he gestured to Gao Feng to stop, turned around and took something out of his leather hardcover bag with the Great Hall of the People printed on it.

In the future, only retired cadres will carry this kind of hard-skin bag around all day long.

But it is still a fashionable thing now. After all, you can't get it unless you go to the Great Hall of the People for a meeting.

Nie Gong adjusted his glasses again and said, "Director He, District Chief Hu and I have something to discuss. How about I lend it to your house?"

"What's the matter? Can't you wait for Lao Hu to finish speaking?" Bao Manli was unhappy.

Moreover, they were classmates after all, so she had a natural tendency to act coquettishly towards people like Nie Gong and Leng Qi.

"Do you want to hear about the lab's work on shallow oil extraction technology?"

"Yes, of course. Let's go over there." Bao Manli's eyes were shining. Even to this extent, Chen Lina felt that she was not normal.

As for Nie Gong, for so long, he adopted the three principles of not talking, not discussing, and not mentioning his most beautiful female classmate.

Even in front of Chen Lina, he never talked about her.

The only people who came were Chen Lina, Nian Gong, District Chief Hu and Bao Manli.

Several people sat down and the door was closed, but Nie Bozhao didn't say anything for a long time and just stared at Bao Manli.

"Bo Zhao, are you okay?" Chen Lina asked when she saw that Nie Gong looked unhappy.

Bao Manli also thought he was a little weird, but they were classmates after all, and Nie Gong was an old scholar, so she thought he really had some major breakthrough in the oil field to report to District Chief Hu, so she said, "You're just keeping it a secret, okay? I'm also a member of your organization. If you want me to say something that I can't listen to, then Chen Lina can't listen to it either. If we all want to listen, just say it quickly."

"Actually, District Chief Hu, I want to ask, has Manli really passed the political review?" Nie Gong actually asked this.

"Well, Nie Gong, I know Manli's situation clearly. She was originally from the military song and dance troupe, and her political background is clean. I have applied for a political review from the organization, and the organization has agreed to our marriage. It's nothing, it's just a formality."

"Have you asked Manli how much it would cost to buy the bracelet on her hand?" Nie Gong asked again.

District Chief Hu said, "She earns a good salary and doesn't have to support a family. She has said that she spends all her salary on clothes. I don't object to this. After all, supporting a family is a man's job."

"50 US dollars, equivalent to one hundred yuan in RMB," said Nie Gong.

Bao Manli smiled and said, "It's just a bracelet. Bo Zhao, you are making a big fuss about it."

"But your earrings and clothes are all foreign brands. The total cost of this outfit is no less than two thousand yuan. Is this an exaggeration?"

As Nie Gong said this, he took out an English magazine from his wallet and slammed it on the table. "Hey, Bao Manli, let me ask you what's going on?"

Bao Manli blew on her hair and said, "It's just an English magazine, Nie, what's wrong with you? You look so fierce."

"I don't care how you and Zhu Hailiang know each other. I just want to know how much the Americans paid you for this paper." Nie Gong said, picking up a magazine and flipping through it. "Do you know that my core research theory is included in it? If capitalist countries get it, they can save at least hundreds of thousands of dollars in research costs. And that money is enough to equip a missile and launch it to your doorstep?"

He practically shouted as the magazine came closer and closer, almost hitting Manli's face.

"I didn't, Bo Zhao, what are you crazy about? I never sold your paper."

"No, you sold it. Not only did you sell it, you also got 5,000 US dollars, which is 10,000 yuan in RMB. You only sold it for 10,000 yuan for something worth 1 million yuan. You are worse than a thief. You are a big fool."

This time, not only District Chief Hu, but also Chen Lina's face turned pale.

No, it should be that she thought Bao Manli had someone higher up, but she didn't expect that she would actually be a business spy.

You know, generally speaking, a spy should have very strong abilities. How could he be a useless beauty like Bao Manli who only knows how to dance?

"Nian Gong, do you have any evidence?" District Chief Hu took the magazine that was thrown to pieces and started flipping through it. Suddenly he looked up at Bao Manli and his whole body started shaking.

The laborers were delivering things one by one.

"This one has a needle at the bottom and a glass tube at the top. This is a Soviet eavesdropping device. This one is a little bit clumsy, it's American style. This is an American eavesdropping device. Old Hu, go back and check if there is such a thing in the lamp or phone at home. And Old Hu, take a look at this, the latest issue of Offshore Oil Engineer. Is the paper published on it exactly the same as the shallow oil extraction technology I recently studied?"

Then the worker said, "Do you know how much Bao Manli sold this thing for? Five hundred dollars."

Hu Xuanang took the new issue of the magazine, flipped through it, and asked, "Bao Manli, you approached me, are you trying to sell our missile data?"

The reason why some people are called traitors and why traitors are hateful is not because they are greedy, but because they sell the country's assets worth tens of millions at a low price, and the meager rewards they get are not even enough to comfort their stupid IQ.

Just now, she had hinted to Chen Lina, overtly and covertly, that if Hu Xuanang got promoted in the future, she would make things difficult for her.

As expected, these spies are always smart and quick-witted, but they don't have great wisdom.