Chapter 68

Fighting

"Your brother is a bastard, he loves to show off and is complacent. I transferred him from Daqing to increase the output of the farm. Look at what he has done. Look at what he wrote. Ah, I want to ask you, He Lanshan."

"Gao, I am the pacesetter in this cotton picking operation on the farm. I picked much more cotton than you did."

"That doesn't change the fact that your brother is a jerk."

"But my second mother will be transferred here soon to be the principal of Base No. 1. You can't transfer He Min back now."

"So what do you say we should do?"

"Transfer him from Mulan Farm to our oil refinery. That should work. I believe in his ability to work. You don't want him, but I do."

"Okay, why not? Just take care of your useless brother." District Chief Gao kicked the stool and came out.

Well, He Min's stay or departure was decided so easily.

Perhaps the aura of family affection allowed Director He to share his credit with him. In any case, from today on, he will completely leave the farm.

In front of the warehouse, cotton was being weighed with large scales and model workers were being evaluated.

Of course, the arm wrestling event will start soon.

"Dad, you should eat a bowl of squash dumplings before arm wrestling with others. The more you eat, the stronger you will be." Erdan held the bowl in his hand. In the bowl was the squash dumplings made by Liu Xiaohong. The steamed squash was as soft and glutinous as egg yolk, and the diamond-shaped dough was softly wrapped inside. It was so delicious.

"Dad, I don't think you can beat Uncle Yu. Look how young he is." Sandan was simply adding insult to injury.

"Dandan, since you want daddy to win, don't let him hold you all the time. He needs to accumulate strength to arm wrestle with Uncle Yu." Nie Weimin said seriously.

Well, Sandaner slipped out of his father's arms.

Of course, my mother also came back from her trip to Uluru in the truck to buy soda, cakes and snacks.

Director He was waiting on the way here, along with head of the cultural troupe Wu Qiong and the families of the leaders of the mining area, waiting to bring in the soda.

"Manager Chen, thank you for your hard work. After finishing your work, you still have to drive the truck to buy things. Okay, our red women's army, let's start moving the soda now." He Lanshan was actually quite angry because of He Min's departure.

If she had approached the leaders and tried harder, He Min might have been able to stay.

However, Chen Lina's popularity and Ken Gan also shocked her. Although she won, she knew that Chen Lina deliberately let her go, so for the sake of the overall situation, she chose to accept the fact that He Min left.

As soon as Wu Qiong waved his hand, the female soldiers from the art troupe rushed to get the soda.

Chen Lina got out of the car, her eyes blurry with tiredness. She looked at He Lanshan again, and saw his small stature but agile and energetic figure. She couldn't help but secretly give him a thumbs up.

No matter how much of a fool He Min is, factory director He Lanshan is a real strong woman.

"Well, Director He, just let the educated youth do the work. How about you take a bottle of soda and take a rest in the cultural center for a while?" Chen Lina asked.

He Lanshan waved his hand and said, "No need. Only when the leader takes the lead can everyone be motivated. I will lead everyone to work together. Director Chen, you can go and have a rest. Don't worry about us."

It seems that no one can stop Director He when he gets angry.

Well, when the cotton was finally weighed here and the total amount was added up, Helanshan was undoubtedly the top model on the farm.

She picked a total of 1,050 kilograms, an average of 150 kilograms a day. You have to know that after the water is removed from the cotton, there is not much weight left.

Such a labor model will certainly be praised by everyone.

Therefore, when Comrade He Lanshan appeared at the People's Cultural Center, he was immediately welcomed with the warmest applause. Minister Gao immediately said, "The person who wins the arm wrestling today should dance the first dance with Director He. Our Director He is the real labor model."

He Lanshan smiled and was about to say something, but suddenly he seemed to remember something, turned around and went out again.

She doesn't care much about honor, she just doesn't want to admit defeat.

Of course, Chen Lina also applauded her sincerely. If it weren't for her determination to risk her life, the officers wouldn't be motivated and production wouldn't be completed so quickly.

She gave Anna a wink, and Anna, along with the female educated youth, immediately took out the carefully wrapped bouquet of flowers that had just been picked from Professor Tian's greenhouse. When He Lanshan came back, she would present it to He Lanshan on behalf of the farm.

Well, a table was set aside, and the two men who had made the bet before, Nie Bozhao and Chief of Staff Yu, were going to arm wrestle.

All the people from Base No. 1 stood on Nie Bozhao's side, cheering for Engineer Nie, while the people from the Armed Forces stood behind Staff Officer Yu, cheering him on.

The best tradition of the frontier working people, arm wrestling, officially begins.

"Mom, do you think my dad can win?" Sandaner asked Chen Lina.

Chen Lina shook her head. "Even if he doesn't win, he is still your father. Winning and losing are common in the military. We don't need to care too much about winning or losing." After all, compared with a young man in his early twenties, Nie Gong has little chance of winning. She has to do some ideological work on the children.

"He should stabilize himself first, withstand Staff Officer Yu's explosive power, and then slowly counter his endurance." Nie Weimin was so anxious that he almost wanted to jump up.

"Aunt, aunt." At this moment, someone suddenly pulled Chen Lina's clothes from behind.

Looking back, it turned out to be Liu Xiaohong who had been staying at home cooking.

"Xiao Hong, you are here too. Come stand in front of me. Your uncle is arm wrestling with someone. Come and see."

"Aunt, can you come back home with me?" Liu Xiaohong looked quite frustrated.

"What's the matter?" Chen Lina asked.

Liu Xiaohong thought for a moment and said, "Oh, Gao Xiaobing has been crying. I have bullied her and I accept the punishment. You can go over and take a look."

"Sister Xiaohong, did Sister Gao scold you again?" Sandaner said.

Erdan and Nie Weimin were still cheering for Nie Bozhao. Without turning back, Sandan immediately said to Chen Lina, "Mom, Sister Xiaobing bullied Sister Xiaohong several times."

But it turns out.

When Gao Xiaobing first arrived at the farm, Nie Weimin accompanied her to catch insects and feed woodpeckers.

Besides, she is one year older, knows more, and has read more books, so we have a lot in common and have a lot of fun.

As a result, after a few days, Nie Weimin said that his sister had diarrhea and had to stay at home to take care of her, so he did not come to the farm, leaving Gao Xiaobing alone. In order to grab cotton, He Chang slept in the farm's cultural center all night and did not even go home.

Gao Xiaobing had no choice but to squeeze into the den of Chen's father and mother with Liu Xiaohong.

In today's underground dwellings, each family has only one large shop, and at most there is a curtain between the children and the elderly. The conditions are certainly very difficult.

Gao Xiaobing stayed in the farm for two consecutive nights and was in a very unhappy mood.

So, in addition to cooking for everyone, Liu Xiaohong also has to take care of Sandaner and Gao Xiaobing.

Sandan was the easiest to fool. He would give him something to eat and he would catch sparrows and snails to feed his own woodpecker. He would eat when his mother came home in the evening and when she fed him. If the adults were busy and couldn't come back, he would eat by himself. In a word, he was a very easy-to-care-for child.

Gao Xiaobing is different.

Of course, she was a city girl and had never lived in such a harsh place as a cave. She woke up with an itchy head this morning and insisted that she was infected by lice on Liu Xiaohong's head and needed water to wash her hair.

Originally, the farm got its drinking water from the Baiyang River.

Now that we have karez, everyone gets water from them.

However, the karez draws groundwater from the vicinity of the Baiyang River, which is brought in through a series of vertical wells in parallel. The wells are very deep.

Time and again, Liu Xiaohong brought water for Gao Xiaobing, and washed her hair and bathed her twice. She also washed and changed her clothes. She took a nap at noon, and when she woke up in the afternoon she kept talking about lice, insisting that she was infected by the lice on Liu Xiaohong's body, and that she was dirty and that the floor was dirty.

Even so, Liu Xiaohong endured it all the time and made pumpkin dumplings for the adults and children. She took care of Sandan and Erdan until they finished their meal, and then she swept the floor again from the beams to the ground.

Living in a crowded place is always tough.

But Liu Xiaohong believes that her own cave is the cleanest in the entire farm.

As a result, just now, when she served food to Gao Xiaobing and urged him to eat a bowl of squash, Gao Xiaobing sat on the bed and smashed the bowl directly, "I won't eat food cooked by someone with lice on his body."

You have to know that a bowl needs to be exchanged from the farm, which requires work points. Five full work points are required for a bowl, which is a precious item and may not be exchanged for.

Liu Xiaohong got angry and slapped Gao Xiaobing in the face. "Why are you venting your anger on me? Why are you smashing my bowl?"

Gao Xiaobing was also stunned. "From childhood to adulthood, even my father and mother have never hit me."

Then she rushed over and the two of them started wrestling with each other.

Gao Xiaobing is one year older than Liu Xiaohong, but as a city kid, she was thin, pale and quiet, and had no strength in her hands, so she was pushed to the bed by Liu Xiaohong.

When Liu Xiaohong came out, she was still crying and hadn't gotten up.

Well, if the model worker saw his daughter being bullied, considering Director He's hot temper, he would probably eat Liu Xiaohong.

Liu Xiaohong's impulsive temper is the same as Chen Lina's. She gets angry sometimes.

But after all, she was still young and didn't have Chen Lina's ability to handle things. After she had done it, she was scared, so she hurried to find Chen Lina to put out the fire.

"I think Director He has gone to look for Gao Xiaobing. Let's go and take a look."

She was exhausted after a day's work, and when she heard that her daughter was bullied, Chen Lina thought He Lanshan would jump up in anger.

By the time Chen Lina arrived, He Lanshan was already in the cave.

"Chen Lina, I just want to ask you, is bullying children a tradition on your farm? Look at the slap marks on my daughter's face." He Lanshan was really angry. He pulled Gao Xiaobing up and said directly, "Let's go. We won't attend any party. I can see that your farm not only doesn't welcome He Min, but also doesn't welcome us, the mining officials who took time out of our busy schedule to help everyone pick cotton."

"How can you say that, Director He?" Chen Lina quickly stopped He Lanshan and said, "You are the model of our farm tonight. Everyone is waiting to dance with you. How can you leave now?"

"This little girl is too fierce. I want to ask you, how can she hit someone, not apologize after hitting him, and run to ask for help? Don't tell me whether she is a model soldier or not. We have to leave now. Besides, this matter is not over yet."

"Xiaohong, although Gao Xiaobing was wrong to break the bowl, she did break the bowl and wasted food, so naturally her mother will criticize her. Hurry up and apologize to your sister Gao." Chen Lina said as she pushed Liu Xiaohong.

"Sister Gao, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have hit you."

"Never mind. I forgive you."

"My cousin is at the cultural center. Let's go and play with him together, okay?" Liu Xiaohong knew exactly why Gao Xiaobing was unhappy.

"Really? Then let's go together!"

Gao Xiaobing actually has a very good personality. As for why she was so irritable today, it was simply because Nie Weimin didn't come and there was no one to play with her, so the little girl was bored.

When she heard that Nie Weimin was at the cultural center, she thought, it would be fun to be with him, so she happily ran after Liu Xiaohong.

"Okay, Director He, we all look so dirty, it won't look good if we go dancing. You didn't bring any clothes, right? I have a skirt, how about you wear it?" Chen Lina said, and took out her own black long skirt from the big cabinet on the head of her sister's bed, and gave it to He Lanshan.

Women all love beauty. He Lanshan touched his head and said, "Oh, if you wear a skirt, you should also perm your hair. My hair doesn't look good."

"I'm a first-rate perm expert. Hurry up, wash your hair with hot water, and I'll show you my perm skills." Chen Lina said, then turned to the car and took out her iron.

Well, after washing his hair, He Lanshan lay down on the bed, put on two pieces of clothes, and waited for Chen Lina to perm his hair.

After a while, Director He stood up. Chen Lina immediately handed him her palm-sized mirror and asked, "How about Director He? I just want to ask you if you are beautiful?"

Director He had short hair, and after Chen Lina permed it, all the hair surrounded her face, instantly making her face look much smaller.

"Oh, I didn't realize you're really good at perming your hair, Director Chen."

"Okay, let's go dance." Chen Lina said.

Well, Director He had long forgotten that his brother He Min was kicked out of the farm.

A skirt, a nice permed hairstyle, and the joy of receiving praise after hard work replaced everything, and she happily went to the party.

Accordion, harmonica and various other musical instruments are already playing in the cultural center.

Chen Lina stood outside the door and waited for a long time, then saw Nie Weimin, who looked frightened, come out first.

Well, as soon as she saw the expression on Nie Weimin's face, she knew that Nie Gong had lost the arm wrestling competition as expected. Comrade Nie was the most concerned about gain and loss, and he was the unhappiest person because his father lost.

"Okay, Mom is very tired. Let's go home early tonight. I'll give each of you a bottle of soda. How about that?"

"Uncle Yu was the winner without dancing. Dad could have won the fight, but he told a joke while he was fighting, and my dad laughed, and the fight was ruined."

You've failed yet, do you think your father is a martial arts hero, Chen Lina thought to herself.

Nie Gong himself was also unhappy, but he couldn't help laughing, "Xiao Yu is too much, too much."

"Wei Min, tell me what kind of joke can make a serious person like your dad laugh."

Nie Weimin didn't say anything, but thought about it and smiled again.

Erdan said, "Mom, I'll tell you." After thinking for a long time, he exclaimed, "Mom, I forgot."

The joke was too long and the child didn't remember it.

Seeing Chen Lina loading things into the car, Nie Bozhao was surprised, "Director Chen, didn't you say that you don't keep anything to yourself and never covet even a single stitch of the farm's supplies? Why are you taking soda home?"

"This is the subsidy you and the people of Weiguo get after working. Every family has it, including ours."

"They are probably going to drink soda, chat and sing until dawn tonight. Are you really not going in? Are you going home?"

"I am the director, in charge of production. Once the production task is completed, my task is also completed. The rest should be handed over to the deputy director. I am really exhausted."

"Then let's just run away quietly. I don't want to sing in front of public." Nie Gong felt relieved.

Erdan noticed that the color of the soda today was different from the last time, so he bit open the bottle cap with his teeth, took a sip, and said, "Dandan, you have a sip too."

Sandan also took a sip, and they both looked at each other in disbelief, "It's so sweet." It was completely different from the unpalatable soda last time, it was really sweet.

So, bang, bang, bang, they finished a bottle of soda before even getting on the bus.

Here, Chen Lili took He Laner to see a movie. Wang Hongbing, the deputy director in charge of production, took the captains of the twelve production teams to patrol. Liu Xiaohong sent Gao Xiaobing to the cultural center and came back alone.

There was no electricity in the cave, so she could only light an oil lamp. After lighting an oil lamp, she sat on the bed and stared at the bowl on the table in a daze.

There was a bowl on the table, what a pity it was smashed. There were only five bowls in the house. Now, starting tomorrow, Dad will have to serve the pot for meals.

"Sister Gao, Sister Gao." Someone suddenly shouted outside the door.

She ran out of the cave and saw Nie Weimin standing on the side of the road. When the two saw each other, Nie Weimin was quite surprised, "Isn't Gao Xiaobing here? Why are you alone?"

Liu Xiaohong said, "She's not here. She went to the Cultural Center to look for you. Did you miss her?"

Nie Weimin said with disappointment, and handed his soda to Liu Xiaohong, "Here, my soda, I give it to you."

"Don't you want to take it back to Tiantian?" Liu Xiaohong was quite curious.

"I brought two snacks for Tiantian. She will be happy."

He stuffed the soda into Liu Xiaohong's pocket and said, "Oh, that's enough. You should go back soon. Remember to close the door. There are too many people in the farm today. It's not safe." Originally, the soda was intended for Gao Xiaobing. She had a copy of "Twenty Thousand Miles Under the Sea" at home, and she promised to give it to him. He was going to exchange it for the soda.

If Gao Xiaobing is not here, then give it to Liu Xiaohong.

Having said that, he turned and ran away.

Soon Chen Lina's car started moving. In the Black Crow farm, two beams of light passed over the poplar trees and moved farther and farther away.

"I just don't believe that you, Old Nie, can really sing." After arriving home and taking a bath, the children were all rushed to bed. Chen Lina lazily lay on the big kang, watching Nie Bozhao tuning the accordion on the floor. She found it so funny.

He could treat something like tuning the accordion as serious and rigorous as if it were an experiment.

But as soon as he opened his mouth, Chen Lina sat up straight.

afaraayfairynd, thereisafairygirl…

Well, her voice is rich, round and full of energy. She didn’t realize that her husband Nie is a singer.

"This tune sounds so familiar, but I've never heard of this song before. What are you singing?" Chen Lina asked.

The worker cleared his throat and sang again in Chinese;

In that faraway place, there was a good girl.

When people passed by her felt room, they would turn back and look at her lingeringly.

Her pink smiling face looks like the red sun.

Her beautiful eyes are like the bright moon in the sky...

Well, there is an English version of this song.

Chen Lina lay back, closed her eyes and listened, sighing, "Lao Nie, romantic, really romantic, listening to your singing, my ears are getting pregnant."

No, you can’t watch it.

His eyes were already deep, and when he stared at her at this moment, Chen Lina felt so regretful. She was not wearing any makeup, a skirt, or even a pair of beautiful high heels. She was not worthy of being stared at by such a pair of affectionate eyes and listening to him sing such a touching love song to her.

"There's a social gathering at the farm today, with your favorite music and dancing. Logically, this should be your most prominent and glorious day. How come you came back without even dancing?" Nie Gong threw away his accordion, lay down next to his lover, and asked.

Chen Lina smiled and said, "I have long since gotten rid of the limelight in my previous life. Now, for me, working is the most glorious thing."

There was once a saying that labor is the most glorious.

When Chen Lina went to the border, she saw special stone tablets mentioning this word everywhere, but she never understood the meaning of this sentence.

Only after living her life again, standing on the Gobi Desert, standing in the cotton fields, and watching the members and educated youth sweating profusely, did Chen Lina fully understand the meaning of this sentence.

No matter what the current situation is, no matter how this society will eventually develop.

Indeed, the workers who exchange a drop of sweat for a grain of food are the most glorious.

Chen Lina is not a hardworking person, nor is she a particularly competitive person. Even before she started picking cotton, she did not think she could persist for a week. It was He Lanshan's close pursuit that motivated her to do such high-intensity work.

Then, all the glory should go to the competitive He Lanshan.

As for her, it was enough for her to have this man by her side, who, though never romantic, could occasionally be so romantic as to make her ears pregnant.

The two of them lay together, and Chen Lina said, "You are so happy tonight, how about we have a try?"

The man turned around and looked at the woman in disbelief. "Xiao Chen, you are a woman, you wouldn't think about this kind of thing? Didn't you just have this happen the day before yesterday? Let's forget about it today. We should protect our bodies and fight for the revolutionary cause."

The woman came closer and said, "You've already given birth to three sons, you're so stupid, how can you be so unromantic? Look how white and fragrant my hair is after I wash it. You've fantasized more than once about kissing your lover from hair to toes. Your lover is willing to do that, too. She's willing to give you a good kiss from head to toe, and then to your little nipples. I want to ask you, does that feel good? Is it enjoyable?"

Her voice was gentle and seductive, her skin was as soft as silk, and she whispered in his ear. In an instant, all the hair on Old Nie's head from his hair to his toes stood up.

The light was turned off with a snap, and Lao Nie's eyes were filled with stars and the sea.

I was struggling with my conscience and my desires in my mind. I was just thinking, this woman has taken the initiative, should I go against my vows to international communism if she does it again? Then I heard bang bang bang. Someone was knocking on the door outside.