Chapter 39

Fight the Tyrant

The two older ones were wearing shiny navy uniforms that had been washed yesterday and had been left by the fire wall all night. They were so white that they were as dazzling to the eyes as the snow piled up on the roadside.

Nie Weimin polished his own little leather shoes until they were so shiny that you could see your reflection in them.

Sandaner didn't have a navy uniform to wear, but he didn't have to get off the ground, he could just be carried into the car.

Anna sat in the front, Xiao Chen sat in the back holding the child, and drove to Mulan Farm.

In the future, next to this large farm will be a cotton and wool enterprise that is one of the best in the whole republic. Chen Lina had been here when she was discussing business. The modern factory and assembly line have been integrated with the entire Umayyad city area.

Now, it is just a small oasis in the Gobi Desert.

"That, that's my grandma's house." Nie Weimin's ears stood up like a rabbit. As soon as they entered the gate of Mulan Farm, when Xiao Chen got out of the car to greet the security guard, he said, "Let's take the road on the left, so we won't be seen by my grandma."

As soon as you enter the farm, the best location is where the relocated people from Zhang County live.

There were white steamed buns on the sand pit, and there was a lot of commotion in front of the door. It didn't look very neat. The women were either washing clothes or chatting together in the hot sun. The moment she entered the door, Chen Lina heard Huang Huacai crying.

"There are no good people in the oil base. This morning, I went to find the leader to release our Dabao from the police station. Who knew that he had been frozen for a long time and couldn't even get into the base."

"Why shouldn't we let you in, sister-in-law? You are the number one person in Umayee." The village party knew that the old lady loved to brag, so they always praised her highly.

The old lady began to clap her hands. "They said the base is investigating Soviet revisionism and has a new security policy. No one can enter without a guide. My heartless son-in-law didn't even come to pick me up."

Nie Weimin pricked up his ears and listened, and heard the old lady say again, "If it really doesn't work, I will have to spend money to get the person out. I asked around, and my second son-in-law said it would cost at least 500 yuan."

"Five hundred dollars, that's a lot of money. We have never seen that much money in our lives."

"To be honest, my family has more than 500 yuan. You have never seen an endless amount of money in your life. Have you ever seen 5,000 yuan or 10,000 yuan? I don't believe it. I can't save my son even if I have the money."

Oh, when you hear her talk, it's as if all the kids' money belongs to her.

This car is too conspicuous and if it is spotted, Chen Lina is not afraid of fighting with the old lady, but she is looking for someone else today.

However, when she heard that the old lady wanted to use her five thousand yuan to buy her son Sun Dabao, Chen Lina gritted her teeth and sneered, "Old lady, are you going to wait until I get the position of manager before you take the money?"

After brushing her feet with oil, Huanghuali, who was spitting, just heard the sound and realized that Chen Lina's foot had already stepped far away.

Chen Lili and Wang Hongbing's cave was at Production Team No. 12 at the innermost part of the farm, and it took at least 20 minutes to drive there.

Wang Hongbing went to dig a drainage ditch, and Chen Lili was alone at home. When she heard the sound of the car, she rushed out. It can be said that she waited for her loved ones to come back after waiting for so long.

Because the sand nest is half above ground and half underground, it is warmer than the ground. There is only a small simple stove in the middle, and it is as warm as spring inside.

After putting Sandan on the bed, the little guy was very curious and tried to catch Wang Hongbing's abacus.

The round and smooth beads could keep him playing for half a day.

The two brothers Nie Weimin can be regarded as a crane standing out among a flock of chickens in this sand nest.

The children of the relocated households were still young. Some of them came with the car and stood outside, curiously looking at the two young boys in snow-white navy uniforms. The older one had fair skin and a slender face, while the younger one was chubby. One was quiet and the other was rough, and both of them were a little reserved.

Chen Lili didn't have anything good to treat the children to, so she just opened whatever Chen Lina took out from the trunk and fed the children right away.

In fact, there is plenty of New Year's goods at home, but children's stomachs are bottomless pits. They can only eat one piece of candy a day at home, but when they go to their relatives' homes, of course they can eat as much as they want. This is common sense.

However, just as Erdan was calling "Auntie, Auntie" and ran over to grab the candy, he noticed that his mother's eyes became very grim.

Well, just like when she cleaned him up on the day my aunt passed away.

"Aunt, I only want to eat one." Erdan grabbed a big white rabbit and looked at it with greedy eyes, unable to bear it.

"This is something we gave to my aunt. Her family is going to entertain guests. Each person can take three and play with them in front of the door. Don't run too far."

Nie Weimin was immediately delighted, and he picked up three red shrimp cakes and said, "Thank you, Auntie, and thank you, Comrade Xiao Chen. But I can take six, because they are Sandan's, and I have to take them for him."

This dude sometimes matures so precociously that Chen Lina feels that he is not a child.

But sometimes he was so naive that she thought he only had the IQ of a five-year-old.

He still remembered the inner demon that caused him to lose two teeth because of the White Rabbit. He wanted to eat the White Rabbit, but he was determined not to eat it.

"Come on, hurry up and follow me to grab some coal. Our farm has a daily ration of three pounds of coal per household. I've been freezing cold this winter. Only those who give gifts to Sun Xiangnan can get the good ones. Otherwise, you'll have to wait on the poor coal every day."

The two sisters rushed to the big warehouse to grab coal.

Sun Zhuan'an's second sister, Sun Xiang'nan, was sitting high behind the big counter in the warehouse, distributing coal to the members of the production team, just like a landlord in the old society.

The coal is weighed by kilograms, you can imagine how bad it is.

"Warehouse manager, I'm afraid there's less than three pounds of coal here. With just these few pieces, I can't even cook a meal."

"If it's not cooked, just eat it raw. Does the farm belong to your family? If it does, you should save coal. Next one."

Chen Lina squeezed forward, took the coal basket and went up. As soon as she stretched out her hand, Sun Xiangnan just took a glance and threw two pieces of dead coal like iron lumps at her.

"Manager Sun Ku, are you going to give me three pounds of coal?" Chen Lina asked back.

"Yes, just three pounds of coal. How about we weigh it?" Sun Xiangnan stood behind the tall counter, his chin raised high. "Go out and get the next one. If you really don't like it, don't use it. Go pick up firewood on the Gobi Beach to burn."

Okay, Chen Lina picked up the coal bucket and endured it for the time being.

The efficiency of the farm warehouse was really slow. It took a whole hour to collect the coal, and that was not the end of the process, because everyone had to collect their New Year's benefits.

The welfare at the base is delicious fish, meat and fat chickens, but when we get to the farm, it's so pitiful.

"How many kilograms of fine noodles did you get?" one educated youth asked another. The other shook his head and said, "Ah, two kilograms."

"Two pounds, enough for a meal of dumplings. Okay, let's make do with it and build a fire tonight." The two educated youths each carried a cloth bag and left.

Chen Lina also went forward to receive it. A family of two people only received two kilograms of fine noodles. She was shocked. "Boss Sun, there are two people in our family, and we only get two kilograms of fine noodles for the New Year?"

"Well, there's no noodles in the warehouse, only mice. Do you want to eat mice?" Sun Xiangnan said, slapping the table. "Where did this woman come from? Why is there no one to take care of her? Hurry up, next one. When I'm done, I have to go home and cook for my Qiu Wa."

Picking up the basket of dead coal, Chen Lina jumped up and smashed it on the counter.

With a roar, she said, "Who are you kidding? The coal they gave us is dead iron. It only produces smoke and won't light a fire. Besides, our mining area provides 150 catties of coal to the households in the farm production team every month, which is equivalent to 5 catties a day. Why is it that when it comes to you, Sun Xiangnan, it is only 3 catties? I ask you, in addition, during the New Year, the mining area's custom is to give each educated youth 20 catties of fine noodles and 3 catties of cooking oil. Why is it that when it comes to you, there are only 2 catties of fine noodles and even 1 liang of cooking oil left?"

All the educated youth and members of the commune gathered around in an instant, looking at each other in bewilderment. “This, the mine area really gives us 150 kilograms a month?”

"Everyone, I have a document here. It is a notice about coal subsidies from the mining area to the farm production teams. Each household will receive five catties of coal a day, as a New Year's benefit, twenty catties of fine flour, and three catties of cooking oil. If you don't believe me, I'll post it here for you to see for yourself."

As she said this, she really took out a piece of paper from her arms, pulled a fat child over to have him lick the paper, and then with a "snap", she stuck the paper on the warehouse door.

"Who is this comrade?"

"She looks quite young, like an educated youth, but she doesn't wear the clothes that an educated youth would wear. Do you know who she is?"

Looking at the paper on the wall, it turned out to be a red-letter document. The educated youths could read, so they all read it aloud: "20 catties of fine flour, 3 catties of cooking oil. Hey, this is real. Have we been cheated by Sun Kuguan?"

Sun Xiangnan doesn't know many words, but in this farm, it is only thanks to Sun Zhuannan's operation that the farm can be used as a warehouse for storage.

As a result, she was also frightened when she heard it, and she came out and started to yell, "Who, who said that, there is no such thing, the coal is three pounds."

"This is a red-headed document signed by Sun Gong herself. You must be familiar with the three words Sun Kuguan and Sun Zhuannan. She is a sacrificed hero, but you are here withholding our coal and flour. You are simply a disgrace to Sun Gong." A male educated youth shouted.

This official document was signed during the Chinese New Year last year, and it was Sun Zhuan'an himself who signed the document.

Chen Lina found it when she was cleaning the house, and brought it to the farm.

As he was talking, several angry people rushed over, surrounded Sun Xiangnan and started yelling, "Kill this corrupt official! She insulted our Sun Gong. She is not fit to be the custodian of the warehouse."

"No, we should go to the mining area and report her to the leaders of the mining area, so that they will know that she is a corrupt official. After all, she was appointed by the mining area, so she should be dealt with by the mining area. Comrades, please don't be impulsive. You should be rational and be careful that you may become unreasonable when you are right." After shouting in the crowd, Chen Lina took Chen Lili's hand and said, "Okay, sister, let's not have the fine noodles here. I've brought some food and will go back to make it for you."

What she needs to do now is to fan the flames, start a fire from the bottom, and make her grandson's family feel uneasy sitting on the farm, so they go to the mining area and ask the leaders for positions.

As for today, it’s better to spend some time with my sister.

"Mom hasn't written to me for a long time, and I don't know how she and Dad are doing. Our base has to go through layers of approval to bring someone in, but we can still get a spot from Lao Nie. I want my parents to come too. What do you think?" Chen Lina said while cooking.

When Chen Lili arrived, revolution had already begun in the countryside of Qisi.

The two of them managed to escape safely, but Chen's father and mother were caught up in the revolution.

"How can I not be anxious? But I can only be anxious in my heart about this matter. I can only count on your old man Nie."

"Don't worry about that. I will ask Lao Nie to ask Qi Sixiang for the child. You can discuss it with your brother-in-law. I estimate that your parents will have to live with you for the next few years."

"There's nothing to say about him. He's been very diligent recently. He's the one who works in the fields, cleans the tables and sweeps the floor. Your husband Nie set a good example for him." Sighing, Chen Lili said, "No wonder you wanted to marry him after just one meeting. Your brother-in-law is really a good guy."

Chen Lina was busy helping her sister cook. When she turned around, she quietly kissed Sandan on his white cheeks.

Chen Lili is also in her mid-twenties, and she still doesn't have a child.

When I came back from the farm, it was already Chinese New Year.

Because we couldn't delay production, we only had three days off for the New Year. The children only had the chance to eat their fill, set off a few firecrackers, and play together.

Nie Bozhao and his team received a task from above to install a large number of nodding machines. Except for coming back to have dinner on New Year's Eve, they never came back after that.

It was not until the seventh day of the first lunar month, when the annual holiday was over, that the people at the base finally had some free time.

At this time, everyone started visiting relatives and friends and gathering to drink.

The custom in the base is that if a group of people have good relationships, the families will cook at one house today and the men will eat at this house. Tomorrow, the families will cook at another house and the men will eat at another house. In short, it is extremely lively.

Nie Bozhao is an engineer. Unlike other people, no one dares to enter his house except for reporting work. Therefore, Chen Lina no longer has the job of cooking for others every day.

However, favors should not be declined, so after Chen Lina fried the fried fruits and made the Sanzi, she also served some to Mama Hama, Sister Wang, Lu Fangfang and others, which of course meant that she still had favors to show.

When Nie Bozhao came back from the Gobi Desert, he had lost a lot of weight and had a stubbled beard in just seven or eight days.

When I walked in, I picked up Sandan, and the child thought it was the stinky Uncle Ha from next door, and he was so scared that he started crying.

"I can rest for three days this time. District Chief Gao and Secretary A have called me many times. We have to go to Umay and have a meal with them. But, I think I made a mistake?"

"What's wrong?"

"Secretary Ah's family is a housewife, so it's nothing. But District Chief Gao's family is also an officer of our base, so their clothes must be good. I forgot to remind you to cut yourself some nice clothes."

All the cloth they had was used to sew clothes for the children. Chen Lina herself still wore the flowered cotton jacket she wore when she first came here, and a baggy sweater made from Nie Bozhao's work clothes on the outside. In that era, the simpler the better.

"Whether we're going to District Chief Gao's house or Secretary Ah's house, don't worry, I have prepared clothes. Not only me, but the children have too, right? Erdan."

Erdan nodded quickly, "We are little navy."

The same clothes, Nie Weimin's were as white as the snow on the mountain, while his were still dirty no matter how hard Chen Lina rubbed them on the washboard, and they could not be washed clean.

"When I go to the leader's house, I have to prepare some gifts. What should I give?" Nie Bozhao turned around and looked around. He really didn't know what he could give as a gift at home.

Erdan said, "We have big chicken legs to give away."

"What will we eat if we give it to them?" Nie Weimin was unwilling. After all, no one else could make the chicken legs they had.

"There are also small fried dough twists, which are delicious."

"If it's given to others, what will you eat? I only eat one a day, and you want to eat three." One is generous and wants to move his home to others, while the other is stingy and wants to take everything back to his own home.

The personalities of these two brothers are completely different.

"I have already prepared everything. You can just tell me when to leave." Chen Lina said.

Nie Bozhao was a little worried. "Comrade Xiao Chen, Secretary A and District Chief Gao are leaders. For example, things like coffee and red wine are good things. You can buy them and keep them for your own use. You can't take them out in front of the leaders." She is the quietest and most capitalist person in this base.

Buy a bottle of red wine and drink a glass every day before bed, saying it can beautify your skin and ensure a good sleep.

"The purpose of giving gifts is to please both the host and the guest. Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."