Chapter 172
Stewed Lamb Hoof
A gunfight was taking place in the far suburbs of the mining area, near the Alimu Forest Farm.
The crude oil buried underground, the illegal factories, and both the buyers and sellers were eliminated at the same time.
Some refused to surrender and even started a gunfight with the public security police. Although they could not be killed, the mining area’s armed forces still resorted to force against them.
"These bastards are really well-equipped. As for me, I still use this old Wu Si." Looking at the weapons he received, Nie Gong was stunned. He couldn't let go of any gun he picked up.
Leng Qi smiled and said, "If you are willing to take me with you to get your big yellow croaker, Bo Zhao, you can take the gun. These guns don't have numbers now, so if you take them, it's like taking them for nothing."
"Those who died were all good at swimming. The mining area has your armed forces and the police. My gun was issued by the organization for self-defense. One is enough. Why would I use a black gun to feed myself with bullets?"
Leng Qi grabbed the gun angrily and threw it into the trunk of the car. "What I hate most since I was a child is your stubborn attitude. I tell you, Nie Bozhao, there are many people eyeing your big yellow croaker. Without me, Leng Qi, if you can bring those things out of Hongyan, I will turn into a dog and bark for you."
The worker smiled but said nothing.
Although Hu Su felt that Hu Xuanang had always been lukewarm towards her, she felt particularly uncomfortable.
But she was a woman of thirty-six or thirty-seven, and she was past the age of being willful. Moreover, in order to start a serious life, she brought her son from Daqing.
The teachers at the Oilfield Middle School are good, as are the educational resources. In order for her son to get into a good university, Hu Su has to be serious and calm down to work on this relationship with Hu Xuanang.
In order to cater to Hu Xuanang's taste, she even learned how to make oil-splashed noodles from Chen Lina.
Look, the fried noodles are ready. After watching his son eat them, Hu Su remembered that Hu Xuanang would be at the Public Security Bureau all day, so he took his lunch box and went to the bureau to deliver food to him.
At this time, the police and armed forces comrades who were on duty had not returned yet. Hu Xuanang and Secretary A were both very anxious. When they saw Hu Su, they were not happy and said, "Comrades are still waiting for the police to come back. I have nothing to eat. You should go back quickly."
Hu Su was embarrassed by Hu Xuanang in public, but he didn't say anything. After returning home, he put the lunch box at Hu Xuanang's house and went upstairs.
Her ex-husband Li Junyou was a soldier, and her son Li Mingcheng was very handsome. He was only in the second year of high school, but he was almost 1.8 meters tall.
Moreover, the child was very sensible. As soon as Hu Su came home, she would immediately pour hot water for her and rub her legs and knees.
"Mom, does Uncle Hu mind me? If so, I'll go back to my hometown."
"It has nothing to do with you, go to bed quickly." Hu Su said.
Li Mingcheng poured some water for his mother, covered her legs with a blanket, then turned back to his room and went to sleep.
Hu Su used all her connections and resources to get Wumai. She even planned to bring her old classmate Wang Lei over. She really wanted to work with Chen Lina to build this border town into a prosperous one.
She and Chen Lina were so lucky that their classmates at the Party School were all direct leaders from various major cities.
Such a relationship between classmates will bring them tremendous resources, and of course, will also bring great convenience to the mining area in future development.
She came without hesitation, and of course, she also thought that Hu Xuanang's appearance was impeccable.
Of course, even if he seemed impeccable to her at the moment, Hu Su still felt that something was missing in this marriage.
After thinking for a long time, she felt inexplicably cold in the middle of summer.
She understood that what was missing in this marriage was the warmth of mutual support and equal treatment.
In Base No. 1, in the yard of Nie Gong's house, miserable cries were echoing.
"Chen Jinbao, you cowardly kid, come out quickly, we promise not to scare you to death."
"Yes, Chen Jinbao, come out quickly, and watch your brother Erdan kick you to death. Come on."
Chen Jinbao from next door was a little younger than Dandan, and he was frightened by the ferocious Qian Goudan and Erdan and burst into tears.
"Nie Weiguo, could you please stop playing this kind of childish game with Qian Goudan?" Nie Weimin had just returned from working on the farm, and he went crazy as soon as he opened the gate.
Erdan and Qian Goudan were causing a lot of trouble this summer.
They didn't know why they had a sudden idea, but they caught a bunch of mice, strung them up with ropes, and hung them under the grape tree. The mice chirped non-stop, and scared little Jinbao so much that he hid in the house and didn't dare to come out. His cries were so sharp that they could pierce a person's eardrum.
While Erdan and Qian Goudan were playing with mice, they actually thought of something that they thought was particularly fun, which was to step on a live mouse and blow it up.
Chen Jinbao has always been the most timid person. When he saw Erdan crush a mouse with one foot, he closed the door and burst into tears at home, not daring to go out.
"Nie Weiguo has dirtied your mother's yard. Nie Weimin, teach him a lesson." After hearing Nie Weimin's voice, the poor bullied Chen Jinbao finally came back to life.
Nie Weimin was also furious. He kicked Qian Goudan and drove him out, then grabbed Erdan by the collar and said, "Eat all these dead rats for me."
"Brother, I can just sweep, wash and clean up, we are just having fun, why are you so angry?"
Nie Weimin kicked him in anger and said, "I never played with such dirty things when I was a kid. I tell you, Nie Weiguo, you deserve to be punished. Starting tomorrow, come with me to the farm to spray pesticides on the fruit trees."
"But I still have to learn."
"You learn nothing. Mom left you at home to review your lessons, but you acted like a big shot and played with a bunch of other kids. It was a mistake for me to let you study at home."
Erdan was so scolded that he was at a loss for words. As crazy as he was when playing, he felt even more guilty now. He quickly took out a shovel to kill the mouse, brought water to wash the yard, and cleaned the house before Chen Lina came in.
"Brother, look at you two, you've made a mess of the house again." Sandan is a well-behaved boy who can coax his younger sister well. He has been going out with his mother since he was young. Until now, he is still the one who goes out with Chen Lina the most.
"Nie Weixing, did you miss me?" Erdan was covered in dirt, just like a mud pig, and he came over to tease his sister.
After returning from Beijing, because it was a very hot day, Chen Lina shaved her sister's head.
The little fellow had a bald head and wore a small coat. He was tanned and looked fierce. Once he entered the yard, he could not be caught and ran around the yard.
The mice hanging on the grape trellis of Erdan were still squeaking. Nie Weimin had been afraid of mice since he was a child, so he didn't dare to catch them. Sandan didn't dare to catch them either. They both shouted in unison, "Hurry up and throw those mice out."
Erdan was helpless. "Maybe my sister likes mice, too. Look, mice chirping is so funny."
Sandan disagrees. "Our sister doesn't like mice. She likes rabbits."
Erdan carried a bunch of mice and climbed over the wall and ran away. "Then you wait, I'll catch some rabbits for us."
For him, it seems easy to catch anything in the world, whether it is flying in the sky or running on the ground.
Whenever Chen Lina goes out, she has to bring a lot of things with her.
Diapers, bottles, milk powder, and, oh, the fruits and complementary foods that my sister eats every day.
Every time she carried these things, she would thank Sun Gong and Huang Huacai for at least bringing the three Nie Weimin brothers to the point where they could run before letting her take over.
The most difficult period of raising a child is from the moment he or she is born to the age of two.
When she first came, Sandan was already two years old, almost three years old.
So, it’s not that she is capable of raising three children, but that the most difficult journey was completed by Sun Gong and Huang Huacai.
In the middle of summer, the three brothers all clamored to eat lazy dumplings.
To be honest, on such a hot day, when the frogs in the pond behind the residential area were scorched by the sun and became silent, nothing could be better than a bowl of slippery, sour and cool lazy dumplings.
However, the three older ones in the family are all big eaters. If they are only given a bowl of rice dumplings each, Chen Lina will probably not be able to sleep tonight.
Because when they are hungry, they will climb the wall, rummage through the cupboards, and look for food everywhere.
In addition to the supply and marketing cooperatives, there is also a vegetable market in the mining area. Today, after get off work, she took Sandan to the vegetable market and saw a large number of burnt and hairless sheep's trotters.
It is not as high-end as the supply and marketing cooperatives, and the things they sell are just the same.
Many of the things in the market are sold by herdsmen or residents living near the mining area. The sheep’s hooves are washed very clean, the hair is blanched and roasted over a fire to loosen it up, and it tastes amazing as long as you take the time to stew it.
So, after kneading the dough and before making lazy dumplings, Chen Lina asked Sandan to wash some green onions for her.
Add ginger, garlic and other things, and when the dough is kneaded, cover it with plastic cloth and start frying the lamb's trotters.
It is impossible not to eat sheep's feet when you are in the frontier.
The lamb's trotters stewed with Pixian bean paste and red oil are particularly flavorful.
By the time a large pot of fried fish was cooked on the wood stove, the lamb's trotters on the honeycomb coal stove were also stewed until they were shiny.
Sister Wang just came back from the farm. Chen Tiantian came back earlier than her and made mutton noodles.
She brought a bunch of freshly-made chicken oil mushrooms to Chen Lina. As soon as she entered the room, she smelled the fragrance. When she opened the pot and took a look, her mouth almost watered. "Oh my god, your lamb's trotters are stewed and melted. They smell so good."
"I stewed a little too much. Take a bowl and pick out a few for your family to eat with rice," said Chen Lina.
Sister Wang had a heart attack ever since Tiantian ran away. She walked very slowly and dared not speak loudly. She picked up two sheep's trotters with chopsticks. She was a big thing, and she realized that if she picked more, people would not have enough to eat. So she left the chicken oil mushrooms and went back.
Chen Lina saw that there was a lot less food in the pot. She also saw several children outside enjoying the food so much that they were jumping up and down. She was worried that there would not be enough lamb trotters. She happened to have some chicken oil mushrooms. She picked two carrots, cut them into pieces, added them to the pot, put it on the fire and simmered it. The lamb trotters smelled even more fragrant.
Before long, the laborer came back.
Ever since he started recruiting students, he has had students coming to him for advice every now and then.
The students smelled the food cooked by the teacher's wife and their stomachs started growling. At this time, the students hoped that the teacher would invite them to have a meal, which would be better than having to eat a meal every day when they returned to the dormitory.
The worker pretended that he could not hear the students' rumbling stomachs.
There's no way. Their family of five is enough to keep Miss Chen busy.
The laborers were too shameless to allow anyone to stay at home for meals.
"If the time comes and things don't work, we can put Weixing and Weijiang on the farm and let your sister take care of them. We can also take Erdan and Nie Weimin with us." Nie Gong said halfway through the meal.
Before Chen Lina could say anything, Nie Weimin waved his hand and said, "No, the big girl and the second girl are both very fierce and will bully my younger sister. No matter where you go, my younger sister must be taken with you."
"We are going back to Hongyan, and this time we are going by car. Do you know how long it takes to drive back to Hongyan?" Nie Gong raised two fingers and said, "Two people driving non-stop will take 40 hours, which is nearly two days and two nights. How can we take my sister with us?"
"Then I'll stay and take care of my sister. Anyway, I won't let my sister go to my aunt's house." Nie Weimin said.
Erdan and Sandan didn't think much of it, especially Sandan, "Mom, I will take good care of my sister, just take both of us with you, okay?"
Chen Lina thought to herself, your father is going to rob you guys, but who would rob someone and take their children with them?
She said, "No."
However, unlike Chen Lina and Erdan, Nie Gong was very smart. He immediately got the useful information from Nie Weimin's words: "Weimin, why can't we let the farm go? Da Niu and Er Niu are still little girls. They won't really bully our little satellite, right?"
"Of course not. Of course she will. Our sister is too weak in character. She can't speak or complain. So all the grievances she suffers are in vain." said Nie Weimin.
Nie Gong started discussing it seriously, "Once Erniu went to the mining area with you guys. Was she flying a satellite at that time?"
Nie Weimin nodded, "Of course not. Dad, let me tell you, don't just look at the two kids fighting and quarreling. Erniu was just running around in the farm. Our satellite has seen a few people. If we really left and left her in the farm, I think she would be bullied like a little cat in a few days."
This is a difficult thing to do. Think about how grand it was back then. The whole family could just go and leave, leaving the kids in the car.
As for my son, he is tough anyway. No matter how hard he shakes in the car, he will fall asleep and wake up to be a good man again.
But it was different for the young lady. Bringing her younger sister along as well was not only a problem for Ye Gong, but Chen Lina also didn’t dare to think about it.
"Okay, don't worry about it. I have someone to entrust to the satellite. But brother Nie Weimin should not go. We can go alone. It's not you who said that things might be dangerous. Why bring them?"
"We can't live with two kids at home, that's the first. With Weimin, he can help us drive at critical moments. He's a big kid now and can be a big help, that's the second." Nie Gong paused, picked up a stewed sheep's hoof for Chen Lina, and asked, "Have you really not noticed that Nie Weimin often drives your car out for a stroll?"
Chen Lina's mouth suddenly opened into an O shape, and she looked at Nie Weimin for a long time, "Are you really driving my car?"
Erdan and Sandan laughed at the same time, "Haha, Nie Weimin, you're in trouble." Finally, the matter was discovered by their mother.
"That's impossible. I check the fuel gauge every day and it's never low. And the location where I park my car has almost never changed. How could he drive my car out? Didn't anyone at the base see him?"
Anyway, the matter has been exposed, so Nie Weimin doesn't mind it anymore.
"First, I had never driven a jeep before. I had always driven that old Hongqi until my father sold it to Uncle He Min, and then I stopped driving it," said Nie Weimin.
Erdan also started to help out, "My brother is a very good driver. There were many times when we had to go to the farm or the mining area in a hurry, and he would drive away immediately. Mom, let me tell you, my brother's skills are no worse than yours, except that he can't drift."
Chen Lina finished eating a sheep's hoof and pushed the bowl away. "Nonggong, you wash the dishes today."
Then, she said, "Dandan, take your sister to Uncle Ha's house and go play with your uncle's hawker. Erdan, get out too."
Holding the chicken feather duster on the corner, Chen Lina pushed Nie Weimin into the small bedroom.
Needless to say, Hongqi has been sold for a year. One year ago, Nie Weimin was only thirteen years old.
Chen Lina counted on her fingers and this proved that Nie Weimin had secretly driven that old Red Flag around the world when he was twelve years old.
The road is full of heavy trucks and illegal cars driven by gas thieves. This little bastard, a twelve-year-old kid, is driving a car all over the place.
Erdan was about to go out when he heard a miserable and sharp cry. He started laughing, "Dandan, haven't you noticed that my elder brother is a real wimp? I tell you, when mom beat me, I never said a word. If I cry when adults beat me, how can I be a man?"
Sandan was holding the little satellite and preparing to visit Harbin Institute of Technology. Just like letting a puppy out, he wanted to let his sister and Mailiye from Harbin Institute of Technology play for a while.
He said, "You don't understand this, right? The crying child gets the milk. You didn't complain, so you got beaten more. He cried so hard, so his mother just spanked him at most. If you don't believe me, just watch and he'll come out right away. Do you believe it?"
Erdan has always thought that his eldest brother is too weak, and he beats him up one by one without realizing that there are so many mysteries behind it.
He stood on the next wall and looked out, and sure enough, he saw his eldest brother coming out rubbing his butt.
He limped and cried from time to time.
"It's shameful, really shameful. Nie Weijiang, I tell you, I would rather die in pain than cry at every turn like him," said Erdan.
As for the younger sister, she looked at her eldest brother, then at her second brother, and sat in the third brother's arms, probably thinking that they were all reasonable.
However, she didn't know where her cruel mother was going to leave her when she left.
Chen Lina was already surprised enough that Nie Weimin had started this. So, after giving her sister a bath and coaxing her to sleep in the evening, Nie Gong hesitated for a long time and then told Chen Lina what had happened in Bayinguoleng.
"Tell me, did Nie Weimin hit Wang Xiaowu on purpose, or did he do it unintentionally?" Nie Gong threw this question to Chen Lina, who had lived one more life.
Of course he didn't want to believe that his son had hit someone on purpose, but what if it was true? What should he do then?
Is there any good way for Chen Lina to teach him how to recognize his mistakes?