Chapter 29
Lamb and Chicken Platter
Little Nie Weimin sobbed for a while, then said, "What if Liu Xiaohong wants to snatch you away? Auntie Xiao Ai seems to always beat Liu Xiaohong, and she doesn't like it. She calls her Zhangxian County Yao Po."
"What do you mean by Zhangxian Yao Po? Isn't your little aunt Ai very nice? Besides, you are a jerk, always getting your clothes dirty, and you are even more disobedient. Not only do you not dare to go out to play, but you always like to bully the weak. You like Chen Tiantian when she is dressed pretty, and you always like to reject Liu Xiaohong when she is not dressed pretty. If you continue to bully girls like this, I will really be Liu Xiaohong's mother, and I will feel pity for her."
If we don't catch him and bully him now to make him feel a sense of crisis, when will we do that?
Not sure if Chen Lina was joking, little Nie Weimin thought about it seriously.
The reason he didn't dare go out to play was because the older boys in the base always liked to bully him. He was not as undignified as Erdan. When he was bullied or beaten, he would just laugh it off.
He always has a sense of shame.
I always think, I am embarrassed, why am I so useless that I got beaten up.
And if someone hit Erdan, he would feel even more distressed.
He is the older brother, and he will always blame himself for not protecting his younger brother.
So, when it comes to going out to play, Nie Weimin really doesn’t dare. His grandmother’s beatings over a long period of time have turned him into a little monkey who only dares to play in his own yard.
"How about this, I'll ask my dad to give you love, and he will give it to you." The little guy with a round head and a pair of beautiful almond eyes thought for a long time and suddenly blurted out something.
Chen Lina burst out laughing immediately. "Oh my god, what are you talking about, kid?"
As soon as she smiled, Nie Weimin immediately became embarrassed and angry, "I told you that you didn't really want to take us with you, huh." As he said that, the little guy wanted to run away.
Chen Lina hugged the skinny guy, whose waist was only as thick as her palms, and rubbed his head twice, ignoring his disdain. She said, "Little guy, love is a very precious thing. You can't give it to anyone you want. For example, if you meet a girl who is willing to marry you and give birth to your children, you can give her love, but this thing is invisible. You only have it if you think you have it. Also, if you dare to eavesdrop on me and your dad again, I will spank you."
"Will Chen Tiantian accept my love?" Nie Weimin thought for a moment and asked Chen Lina with great curiosity.
Neighbors and childhood sweethearts, Chen Lina blurted out, "Yes, as long as she likes you and you like her, that's love."
Suddenly, she paused again.
After patting her head, Chen Lina remembered why she felt that the girl Liu Xiaohong looked familiar.
That was in her previous life, when she was in the provincial capital of Hongyan. Of course, she had been paying attention to the two children who were shot, which Nie Bozhao never mentioned. Then, she had seen it in a street stall tabloid.
In the crudely printed newspaper, there was a very beautiful little girl named Liu Xiaohong. The newspaper said that she was the child of an employee in the Umayyi mining area and was executed for drug trafficking.
However, according to the tabloids, Liu Xiaohong was the mistress of the gangster Nie Weimin, and the drugs were actually planted on him by another gang in order to defeat Nie Weimin.
The mistress Liu Xiaohong was charged with the crime and became the first young female prisoner to be executed in the history of New China.
She seemed to be only eighteen years old that year. Although the printing of the Pheasant News was crude, it was obvious that the girl was really beautiful.
Chen Lina sighed in her heart and said, this is really an ethical drama. Now looking at Nie Weimin's expression, it is Chen Tiantian who likes him.
"Comrade Xiao Nie, let me ask you, do you think Chen Tiantian is prettier or Liu Xiaohong is prettier?"
"Chen Tiantian." The child didn't even think about it.
"Nonsense, Liu Xiaohong is obviously prettier."
Liu Xiaohong is really beautiful, with big eyes and a high nose bridge, but without the awkward feeling of a foreigner.
Nie Weimin was happy at this moment and was picking vegetables for the rabbit from the big bathtub.
The vegetables grown by Chen Lina were so precious that she only dared to pick a little every day to make them green. But they picked them all and fed them to the rabbits.
"Chen Tiantian loves to laugh and eats with relish," said the child.
Well, Chen Lina thought that girls who love to laugh and eat will never have bad luck.
When they came back at night, they saw a rabbit cage hanging outside. Nie Bozhao was staring at it thoughtfully. Little Nie Weimin and Erdan immediately ran out of the house, "Dad, you can't eat it."
"But it looks quite fat." Nie Bozhao was actually teasing the child on purpose.
There are many gray rabbits in the border areas, running all over the mountains and fields, but there are not many rabbits with pure white fur, as white as this one.
Why are the edges of the rabbit cage covered with rabbit feces that look like sheep feces eggs? Obviously, the children fed them too much.
"You can't eat fat either. Do you want to learn from my uncle?" Nie Weimin was particularly angry. "Why do you adults always think about eating?"
Nie Bozhao said with a smile, "It's okay if you don't eat it, but it's your job to feed the rabbit. If it poops, you have to clean it up immediately. Otherwise, when you wake up tomorrow morning, the rabbit may still be there, but it will only have two legs left."
Erdan counted them and found that there were four legs. "What about the other two?"
"Your mother and I each took one and ate it."
Erdan burst into tears, "Rabbits can't have two legs." He couldn't imagine what a two-legged rabbit would look like.
"Then remember to clean up its poop. After all, Dad really likes to eat rabbit legs."
The two brothers rushed to get a small broom and went to sweep the rabbit poop.
"Have you found out who is chasing us at Mulan Farm?" Chen Lina first brought him a bowl of yogurt.
Well, the family got new bowls, very beautiful coarse porcelain, I don’t know where she got them from.
Nie Bozhao looked a little uncomfortable. "They said they were from the security team. They might think we were profiteers or Soviet revisionists."
"Security team? I heard that your brother-in-law is in the Security Team. Could it be your brother-in-law?" Those eyes were like x-rays.
Nie Bozhao waved his hands and said, "I didn't ask for details. Anyway, the Federation of Trade Unions negotiated with them. We don't need to care about this. But the driver was hit and injured. I heard that he was sent to the mining area hospital this morning."
Chen Lina smiled and understood in her heart. She guessed it was his brother-in-law. This man was guilty, huh.
Sun Dabao is only 20 years old, the eldest baby of the Sun family. Although he has bad habits, Huang Huacai adheres to the tradition of loving a son without holding him, and loving a son without spoiling him. He has not become a mama's boy. He can become a security captain, which is quite promising.
Well, who told him to chase her car? He decided life and death based on his skills, so he deserved to be killed.
Sandan'er broke the bowl and looked at his father eagerly. Nie Bozhao then scooped yogurt into the child's mouth one spoonful at a time and changed the subject. He said, "What do you think of that car? It's a second-hand car from a retired leader, but there is only one in the entire Wumayi mining area. You have good skills, so you can drive it yourself. If you run out of gas, go to the security captain Qin Sheng and he will fill it up for you. Our base is not short of gas."
Oh, he was quite proud, and asked in a hoarse voice, "Do you like it?"
Chen Lina was actually very happy in her heart, but she raised her eyebrows, looked calm, took the bowl and went to feed Sandaner, "Let's make peace."
Little princess, you can't lower your posture so easily.
As early as November, Chen Lili sent a telegram saying that she and her ex-husband Wang Hongbing had already set off for Umayyi, but it was already late August and Chen Lina still hadn't seen anyone.
She had been preparing for her sister's arrival. She bought a big rooster, gathered mutton, got enough cotton from a Kazakh businessman to make two large quilts, and pulled out a yard of black velvet. While making cotton shoes for the children, she also made two pairs of large cotton shoes for her sister to wear when she came.
It was almost a month, and Chen Lina was anxious when she thought about the educated youth who had their noses frozen and their hands and feet covered with frostbite while riding on the trucks.
Finally, on the third day of the twelfth lunar month, news came.
Someone brought a message from Umay, saying that someone from the Umay mining area had sent a message to Chen Lina, saying that it was a relative of hers, and asked her to hurry and pick up the person.
The two younger ones were difficult to take care of, so Chen Lina entrusted them to Sister Wang's care. She took little Nie Weimin with her and drove the Hongqi sedan to pick them up.
Inside the Umayyi Mining District Security Office, Chen Lili and Wang Hongbing were huddled together, crying with their heads in their hands.
Because Wang Hongbing was a bad element, he could not get a letter of introduction, so he sneaked here on the train.
Only he himself knows how hard it is to climb on a train.
Because the train had to check the letter of introduction and the ticket at any time, he didn't have a ticket, so he curled up under two seats for two days without eating or drinking. This was not the hardship.
When he arrived at the border, he found that the household registration management system in the border area was much stricter than that in the mainland. Without an introduction letter, he could not buy a bus ticket to Umayyad.
So the two of them followed a group of bad guys who wanted to sneak into Mulan Farm, and prepared to walk from Uruguay to Umay.
They had to sleep in the open air along the way, and at night they would go to various farms or the homes of fellow countrymen to borrow some food, all while trying to avoid being tracked down by security officers.
In fact, the security officers had good intentions. In this cold and snowy winter, these illegal immigrants would really freeze to death if they had to spend the night in the wilderness.
However, they did not want to be deported, so they had to sneak away and risk their lives.
We walked and stopped along the way for nearly five days before we reached Umayyad.
Wang Hongbing's legs were not in good condition to begin with, and became even more serious after being frostbitten. It was Chen Lili who carried him to the Umayyad Health Hospital.
So, after the doctor at the health center gave him some medicine and treated him until he was almost able to walk, he was sent to the Umayyi Police Station.
"Lili, I can't produce a letter of introduction. It seems that you really have to be repatriated. You have to go to the oil base alone. From now on, take care of yourself." Wang Hongbing rested his head against his ex-wife's forehead, really not knowing what to say.
Chen Lili made up her mind, "If you want to stay, we can stay together. If you really need to be deported, I will go with you."
In the ice and snow, the two sat on a large chair outside the police station, looking at the vast border. Of course, this was also a refuge for many bad elements from the mainland, and a place where educated youth wanted to fight and devote themselves to the Republic.
They also came here with great enthusiasm, but if they cannot stay, there is nothing that can be done.
Suddenly, a car honked outside the police station, and then the police station staff rushed out of the house and opened the big iron gate.
"We won't do that and just scare the leaders." Wang Hongbing was also frightened because the license plate number of the car was Xinjiang 0002. There were not many cars like this in the entire border area, and if there were any, it must be for the top leaders.
As a result, unexpectedly, the driver's door opened, and as the security guards saluted, it was Chen Lina who got out.
"Sister, I told you that the base is thirty kilometers away from Umayee. Why did you run so far?" Chen Lina said as she came to pick up the luggage.
Wang Hongbing was still afraid to leave, so Chen Lina said, "Come on, brother-in-law, why don't you leave?"
Wang Hongbing went to see the security officers who had just interrogated him. They were all smiling and had no intention of asking him to hand over a letter of introduction or proof of household registration. He made up his mind and got into the car.
Hey, when we were leaving the police station, the security guards saluted collectively.
Perhaps, like him, they also mistook this car for the leader's car, Wang Hongbing thought.
To be honest, when Chen Lili was trying her best to bring her sister and Nie Bozhao together, she was just thinking about getting rid of her twenty-dollar debt.
Seeing my sister driving a car in the frontier, I couldn't help but sigh, "Everyone has their own destiny. You were admitted to high school, but I couldn't get into high school after three years of junior high school. I thought, how could my sister be so lucky? Now I think your fate is simply heaven-forgotten."
Chen Lina smiled and said nothing.
In fact, Chen Lili felt quite jealous. If she had taken the initiative at that time, she would have been the one to follow Nie Bozhao to the border.
Looking at her ex-husband Wang Hongbing again, Chen Lili's uncomfortable feeling disappeared again.
Well, everyone has their own destiny and fate in life. After all, her ex-husband was a college graduate. Although he was not as talented as Nie Bozhao, he was also able to endure hardships. Besides, she was determined to follow him because he divorced her decisively.
In the evening, Chen Lina roasted two large lamb legs, cooked a large pot of chicken with potatoes, carrots and vermicelli, and made some pork dumplings for the three children.
Northerners' kitchens are particularly rich with large plates of meat and large basins of chicken.
Chen Lili and Wang Hongbing were both starving. When they saw that Chen Lina served them not naan but the fried pancakes that her family loved the most, Chen Lili started crying. "Sister, you don't know, we stayed at a fellow villager's house these few days. At first, we gobbled up the mutton, but later we couldn't eat anymore. I just wanted to cry. Finally, I can smell the smell of my hometown."
As soon as the door rang, Erdan rushed out, "Dad, Dad, there are guests at home."
Nie Bozhao came in wearing work clothes, a woolen scarf and a tweed coat, and Wang Hongbing took a look.
Oh, this man, with black-framed glasses, tall and thin, a well-mannered intellectual, looks really handsome.
"Nie, Nie Gong?" He suddenly stood up. "Do you still recognize me? I'm Wang Hongbing."
Nie Bozhao half-squinted his eyes and looked at him for a long time, then pointed at him and said, "Are you the engineer Wang who was sent to the provincial capital of Hongyan by the Water Conservancy and Hydropower Bureau to learn how to install water turbine generators?"
"That's right. The laborer is a busy man. It's normal that he doesn't remember me."
But it turned out that these two people actually knew each other.
However, Wang Hongbing, an employee of a water conservancy and hydropower station, has nothing now because of his background and has to start from scratch.
They smiled and shook hands, then sat down in the warm living room, and the family gathered around to start eating.
At this time, little Nie Weimin's stubborn temper came back and he refused to sit at the table to eat.
Chen Lina pulled him up to the table and was so angry that she wanted to slap his little butt twice.
In the future he would at least be a prominent figure in the provincial capital of Hongyan, a gangster boss who was invincible. So why was he so shameless when he was a child?
"I know your sister is going to Mulan Farm. Can you not go to the farm? If you don't go, I will eat at the table." The little guy looked pitiful and the request he made was simply unbelievable.
Chen Lina was very curious and asked, "Why can't I go to Mulan Farm? Give me a reason."
"That's my mother's place. My mother said that Mulan Farm belongs to her and no one else can get involved. You are already our mother, so the farm should be given to our mother in front."
The child is actually still very naive, and perhaps he doesn't even know the meaning of this sentence. He is just repeating his mother's original words.
But to Chen Lina, this was interesting.
You have to know that Mulan Farm is different from the farms under the Construction Corps. It belongs to the military, has militarized management, and uses militarized farming. The educated youth there are also workers, and farming is their job. No matter how much they plant, the military will harvest and manage it all, and only provide them with food rations.
Mulan Farm belongs to the mining area and is managed by the mining area.
As far as Chen Lina knew, the warehouse manager of Mulan Farm should be Sun Zhuan'an's second sister, Sun Xiang'an.
Her husband should also have some status in the Umayyad mining area, probably in charge of personnel.
As for Sun Zhuan'an's other sisters, they all have their own jobs at Mulan Farm and have left the farming business.
So, little Nie Weimin said that he didn't want his stepmother to go to Mulan Farm. He just wanted to keep a unique memory of his mother.
But Sun Zhuan'nan said that the farm belonged to her, and that was really because the farm really did belong to her.
Now that she is dead, the farm belongs to the entire Sun family. It is no wonder that Huang Huacai dares to act so arrogantly in the base. After all, he is the bully of Mulan Farm.
In order to comfort the children and avoid hostility with the farm for the time being, Chen Lina said, "Comrade Xiao Nie, I can only agree to half of your request, that is, I can not go at present, but in the future, if there is any emergency, I will still go. After all, just like you love Erdan and Sandan, I also love my sister. My sister is in Mulan Farm, and I can't just ignore her."
When it comes to dealing with bullies, Chen Lina, who had fought wits and courage with urban management officials and hooligans when she was doing business in her previous life, thinks she is the best at it.
Nie Weimin thought about it and said, "Okay, but you must go with my consent."
He agreed readily and soon sat down to eat.
After the meal, Chen Lina gave Nie Bozhao a look, which of course meant to ask him to take the initiative to wash the dishes. Who knew that Nie Bozhao also acted stupid. After all, people he knew were there, and how could he, an engineer, wash the dishes?
"Comrade Lao Nie, go wash the dishes." Chen Lina couldn't move her eyes, so she had to speak out and stepped on his foot.
Nie Bozhao quickly said, "Xiao Chen is also a joker. What kind of man would wash dishes at home?"
Erdan immediately said heartlessly, "Dad washes it. Dad washes it every day."
The two guests were a little embarrassed, and Chen Lili quickly rolled up her sleeves and said, "Okay, okay, Lina has cooked the meal, and I'll wash the dishes."
Having said that, she went into the kitchen.
In the small bedroom, Chen Lina was busy making the bed when Nie Bozhao came in and said, "Comrade Chen, please give me some face. What's wrong with you? Relatives are coming to our house, how can you ask me to wash the dishes?"
Chen Lina glared at him and said, "I want to ask you, Lao Nie, Chen Gong, Qian Gong, Liu Han, and Fu Yongdong, did I ask you to wash the dishes when they came?"
“No.”
Not only did she not let him wash the dishes, but whenever someone came to discuss work or chat, she would send all the children to the bedroom, make tea and water, and busy herself with cleaning up.
When they arrived at the unit during the day and went down to the oil well, everyone gave a thumbs up and praised the new lover that the worker had found for being hardworking, caring, virtuous and kind.
Of course, it’s mainly beauty. She’s very pretty. In the entire border area, as the people at Harbin Institute of Technology say, even the legendary Awarguli is not as beautiful as Comrade Xiao Chen.
Nie Bozhao was used to doing things in public, so he was not used to doing the dishes all of a sudden.
"My brother-in-law is a very passionate and capable person. However, he is a male chauvinist in private. He wants a divorce and he gets a divorce. He is also a lazy guy at home and does nothing. My sister is responsible for cooking, washing dishes and washing pots. Although they are divorced, it is obvious that they will not separate in this life. Since they want to live together, it is very important for men and women to divide the work and respect each other. You are his leader, and he will definitely learn from you. So, I give you face in front of others, and you should give me face now.
Otherwise, next time your students and subordinates come to report their work, I will not only not pour you tea or water, but I will also use you to do the work. It is up to you to decide whether to sabotage each other or give each other face. "
Nie Bozhao was convinced by what he said and raised his hands. "Your sister has washed the dishes. I will make breakfast tomorrow morning. Is that ok?"
Chen Lina didn't say anything. That's right, you have to get hard when you need to, otherwise he will really get used to it.