Chapter 72
Playing the harmonica
A pair of very beautiful high heels, ivory color, soft leather, with the heels only 3 meters high. Holding them in her hands, Chen Lina kissed them twice before saying, "You didn't spend 200 yuan on them, did you? Nie Bozhao, this year is going to be tough, return them quickly."
"Comrade Xiao Chen, do you know how Arab countries collect oil?"
…
"They just drill a hole in the ground and oil gushes out of it like a cut artery. But our oil fields are not so ideal. They have a very high water content.
That is to say, when the oil and water are mixed, and the oil is extracted to a certain extent, oil-water separation technology must be used. Last year, my colleagues and I worked overtime to invent a more advanced process, making our oil extraction technology reach the world's highest level. "
Chen Lina didn't understand, but she was also infected by his excitement. "So, the country rewarded you with a large sum of money?"
That way, we can have a good new year.
"Don't dream, no. When I arrived in Beijing, I was very busy. There were many seminars waiting for me to give reports, and many factories waiting for me to solve problems. One day, I asked my leader for leave, saying that I had something to do. The leader asked me what I was going to do. You have been to Beijing before, do you want to follow others and take a few photos? I told the truth and said that I wanted to buy you a pair of leather shoes. The leader said at the time that this was easy to do, and told me to work with peace of mind and he would take care of the things."
"So, this is what the leader secretly bought for you from Jianhua Fur Store with his own allowance." Nie Bozhao said, and put the leather shoes side by side on the ground. "Okay, try them on. I want to know if the ones I picked are the right size for your feet."
The worker was a little choked up when he spoke.
The leader was sick, and had cancer. Compared to his former tall, handsome and imposing appearance, the leader that Nie Gong saw this time was so thin that he looked like a skeleton.
But even so, even under pressure from all sides, he still worked without rest every day, and together with the intellectuals he had protected with great difficulty, he studied how to achieve the take-off of the Republic in industry, agriculture, national defense, and science and technology.
Even so, he could still take time out to take care of such a trivial matter for the workers. How could the workers not feel sad? How could they not try their best in their jobs and contribute to the development of the Republic?
On the way back on the train, Nie Gong thought seriously for a long time and felt that he had wasted a lot of time on unnecessary things last year. Well, now he is wound up and full of energy.
The cloth socks that Chen Lina was wearing were bought from the supply and marketing cooperative in the mining area, which were certainly not suitable for matching with leather shoes.
She took off her socks and tried it barefoot, and it was exactly the size of her feet.
"You are amazing, thirty-six inches, how do you know the size of my feet?"
"From your weight, body fat percentage, and height ratio..."
"Okay, stop it. I know you're awesome."
Well, the anger subsided, and Chen Lina took off her leather shoes, held them in her arms, imagined for a while, and said, "If one day I am selected as a March 8th Red Flag Bearer, I will wear them to receive the award."
"The average age of the March 8th Red Flag Bearers is over 60 years old. By then, you will be unable to walk. Forget about it."
"Then when Weimin is admitted to college, I will wear it. I will be the youngest and most beautiful among all the mothers of college students."
Nie Bozhao thought that this princess seemed to have nothing else in her mind except going out to blind other women's eyes.
Chen Lina hugged the shoes and kissed them enough, and then said, "This New Year, we are not completely without anything. My brother-in-law dug a cellar for us behind the yard. There are fruits in it. This year, we planted pears and apples in the farm, as well as several kinds of melons, onions and tomatoes.
But the children don’t know about it because I’m afraid they’ll spread the news and let other families in the base know about it, which will have a bad impact. You should talk to them and tell them to eat it and not tell anyone.”
"Doesn't that mean they can lie?"
"Nie Gong, if the organization and the individual cannot be taken care of at the same time, I don't have your high sentiments to abandon the individual and choose the organization. Of course, under extremely difficult circumstances, I will also choose to take care of myself rather than benefit the world. Therefore, when the farm paid the supplies, I chose to keep a batch for the old professors of the farm and our own supplies. The things are not much, but enough for us to have a prosperous New Year."
Nie Gong thought about it and decided, okay, let him take on this difficult task of convincing his sons.
"So, it's not that we don't have food, it's just that Mom hid it?" Erdan rubbed his belly and said, "Dad, I only eat one bowl a day recently, and I'm so hungry that I'm thin."
"You'd be better if you were thinner."
"Can we give some to Tiantian's family? Tiantian's mother just gave birth to a baby recently, and her grandmother always complains that she eats too much." Nie Weimin said.
Before Nie Bozhao could say anything, Chen Lina took over his conversation and said, "The whole mining area has enough white flour, potatoes, radishes, and mutton for the winter. They won't be hungry, but they can't improve their living conditions."
"Okay, I won't invite Tiantian to our house again in the future, but you have to remember to give her a popsicle every week, mom." Nie Weimin said seriously.
Chen Lina could agree to this because the supply of milk was not interrupted.
It seems that whenever there is a flood or oil spill, it is easy for it to happen. The worker stayed at home for only two days. When he heard that there was an oil spill at Base No. 2, he rushed to Base No. 2 again.
As soon as the snow stops, Chen Lina has to go back to the farm to inspect the production of winter vegetables.
"Why did Erdan get up so early?" Chen Lina was surprised to see a child sitting in the living room after getting up so early in the morning.
"Mom, I want to go to the farm, too." Erdan gritted his teeth and struggled with his homework book.
Chen Lina picked it up and took a look. Because the child was so serious, she couldn't bear to say that his handwriting looked like it was chewed by a dog, so she said, "Okay, Mom will take care of you, but you are not allowed to fight with the children on the farm. You can only eat one bowl of rice at your aunt's house. There is not as much food as there is at our house. Do you understand?"
"Okay, Mom, I can skip dinner today."
Well, when Chen Lina went into the kitchen to prepare steamed buns, she saw that four of the big buns she had just steamed last night were missing. Oh my god, Erdan is really a bottomless pit.
When winter comes, the farm's production basically comes to a standstill. Of course, that's how it is in the border areas. After a year of hardship, when the winter comes, all we have to do is store enough cabbage and grain and wait for the winter to pass.
However, compared to the Bingtuan Farm, the work at the Mulan Farm did not stop.
Vegetables are still grown and production is still carried out in the plastic greenhouses made of soil film and bamboo frames.
"The molecules of this soil film are too coarse and too thin. They are easy to crack when frozen. At night, they cannot withstand the cold wind and heavy snow. I led all the members and started sweeping the ground as soon as it started snowing. We worked in three shifts, two hours each, and we managed to save the ten acres of greenhouse. But the soil film of the remaining five acres was crushed, and all the seedlings inside were frozen to death." said Wang Hongbing as he stepped on the accumulated snow.
"I will go to the plastics factory and ask them to research and produce a higher density and stronger plastic film for us. As for the technical problems, I will ask Lao Nie to take some time to visit the plastics factory. I think they can solve them."
"Then you have to hurry. We have lost contact with the things we delivered to the mining area. It's winter, and the people on the farm are all looking forward to having vegetables to eat." Wang Hongbing said.
Chen Lina, with her three children, continued walking forward with him. In the vast expanse of white snow, the greenhouse was crowded with people.
"Dad, how old are you now? Besides, you will be able to teach at the primary school in the base next year, and the work points you earn as a Red Army soldier are enough. Why don't you go home and rest instead of running out to sweep the snow?"
Seeing her father's ears were red from the cold while he was clearing the snow from the greenhouse, Chen Lina asked.
Father Chen laughed, "Everyone else was sweeping the snow, but I was sleeping. What a shame! Professor Qiu Hua's strawberries were frozen to death. I wanted to wait until the strawberries were ripe and give them to my grandson. What a pity."
We are breeding now and going into mass production next year. If the seedlings die in half a year, they will be wasted. Chen Lina also thinks it is a pity.
Looking back, she said, "Defend the people, defend the country, put on your gloves and follow grandpa to sweep the snow."
Father Chen quickly said, "No, no, why do we need them to sweep the snow? Come inside the shed and warm up. My grandson is also in the shed. Go quickly."
It was such a cold day that the three children's toes were frozen and they couldn't find their way home. Of course they didn't want to sweep the snow. When they heard that Liu Xiaohong was also in the greenhouse, they all went into the greenhouse.
"Okay, Dad, you keep talking about grandchildren, I thought they were from my family, but it turns out that your grandchildren are only Xiaohong, and not these three from my family?"
"Your eldest sister is pregnant. The doctor said that it was because of malnutrition. And when dad was criticized, she might have been in a bad mood. Once she was in a good mood, it would be very easy for her to get pregnant. You should go to the hospital twice and take some medicine. What if you get pregnant?"
Well, in his opinion, she should have one of her own.
"Okay, Dad, I'm going to keep my eyes on your strawberries. If Xiaohong eats them and my son can't have them, I won't acknowledge you as his father." Chen Lina said, turning around and going into the soil film greenhouse.
Although it is so cold outside that people's ears become stiff, the soil film can absorb heat. When the sun shines, the greenhouse becomes as warm as spring.
The rows of cucumbers were long and straight because they were well watered. The cauliflower and zucchini were many times bigger than those grown in the open air. Looking at the rows, there was no end in sight.
"Do you want to eat it? Pick one each." Professor Tian said with a smile.
"Ah, can I eat it?" Erdan was the first to get excited. "If I had known, I wouldn't have eaten so many big steamed buns at home in the morning."
Since it was Chinese New Year, Chen's mother cut a red cotton jacket for Liu Xiaohong. She ran out from the grape racks with a smile, "You can eat it, of course you can. I'll pick one for you."
"Xiaohong, you are a child, but you are also the farm manager's child. You have to be careful about this. Just pick one and share it with a few people."
"Okay, auntie, I know." Then Liu Xiaohong picked a cucumber, gave the three of them together, and said, "Let's go and eat under the grape trellis."
"Two days ago, someone from Hongyan wrote a letter to Yili to check my file." Professor Tian and Chen Lina talked while walking in the field. Chen Lina picked the good, straight and long cucumbers and put them in the basket.
"How did you get back to Yili?"
"Of course, they said in Yili that I was transferred to the Umay Oilfield Farm. At that time, I thought that was the end of the matter, but two days ago, the mining area notified me and told me to go to the mining area in two days to make a report, and describe in detail how I came here and what I do in Mulan Farm."
"It looks like someone is targeting you," said Chen Lina.
"Coincidentally, Qiu Hua and several other veteran comrades from Beijing also received a notice to go to the mining area to make a report."
Well, in the last darkness before dawn, in the last struggle of those bad elements, they finally set their sights on these old professors.
After picking half a basket of cucumbers, Chen Lina said, "You can't do this report. If you go, you probably won't be able to come back. I'll take care of this matter. Just focus on production."
"Xiao Chen, to be honest, if it weren't for you, we wouldn't be alive today. But I'm also worried that if you always stand up for us, you'll be implicated. After all, your father also said that his family background is not good either."
If it weren't for the leaders of the mining area, Chen Lina herself would have been criticized. Now that she stood up for the old experts, everyone was naturally worried about her.
"Professor Tian, I promise that I will be fine and you will be able to get through this safely, so don't worry."
Speaking of Chen Lina's previous life, she certainly chose to keep to herself.
And in this life, the leather shoes bought by the leader are still in the cabinet. Even if she cannot help the world, she must try her best to do what she can.
There was a lot of water inside the grape racks, and it was warm and humid. The children, who were dressed like cotton roe deer, were so hot that they were sweating profusely.
"Brother, cucumbers are so delicious." It wouldn't be considered fresh in summer, but it tastes good in winter.
"Erdan, if you want to eat more, I'll secretly pick another one for you." Liu Xiaohong said.
Nie Weimin grabbed her and said, "Whatever mom says is what you have to do. You are not allowed to eat anymore."
However, he was very interested in Liu Xiaohong's harmonica. "I've heard my dad sing this song before. I remember the music score. Who did you learn it from?"
"This is called 'In That Faraway Place'. Grandpa Tian taught me this." Liu Xiaohong said, turning around and handing the harmonica to Nie Weimin. "Since you remember the score, can you play it for me?"
"It's dirty, your saliva." Nie Weimin was disgusted.
But Erdan didn't mind and rushed to blow it. "Come on, come on, I'll blow it for you."
"Forget it, let me blow it." Nie Weimin was quick and grabbed it.
There was still Liu Xiaohong's saliva on the harmonica. He looked up at her with disgust. The little girl had big eyes and a red smiling face that was indeed like the red sun. Nie Weimin disdained it for a long time and did not think of wiping it off. He just started playing with his mouth.
After trying a few notes at the beginning, this boy, who didn't know the musical notation and didn't understand music, quickly became able to play the instrument quite well relying on his mastery of the seven notes.
I went to Chen Lili’s house for lunch at noon.
Oh, now from cooking to washing dishes, it’s all Chen’s mother’s job.
Chen Lili was sitting on the bed, wrapped in a big quilt, eating tomatoes dipped in sugar.
Seeing Chen Lili like this, Chen Lina was unhappy. "Sister, I am the director and my brother-in-law is the deputy director. I don't want members and educated youth to steal and eat. As a family member, you should set an example. Winter vegetables like tomatoes and cucumbers are used for breeding. The yield is not high and all of them have to be handed over to the mining area. The mining area distributes them to truly excellent workers who have made outstanding contributions in various positions. Why did you eat them first?"
"Oh my God, Lina, he's just a farm manager. Are you and Wang Hongbing ready to disown all your relatives now?" Chen Lili had just gotten pregnant, so her voice was much softer than before.
"It's not that we don't recognize our relatives, but this is the situation now. Eating white cabbage will not kill you and it is nutritious. Tomatoes are good things.
But if you eat one, someone with ulterior motives will catch you and report you to the mining area. My brother-in-law and I will lose our jobs. What do you think is more important, the job or a tomato? "
"Okay, Lina, those tomatoes were grown by your father in the earthen shed he built behind our home. There were three fruits in total. Is it wrong for your sister to eat one today? First, the Red Soldiers came and scolded her, and now you are scolding her again. Oh, you are the leaders, and the whole family can't even order food?" This is just a lie. Every family has three acres of private land, and Chen Lina knows what is planted in their own shed.
It would be fine if her sister didn’t understand her, but Chen Lina was really angry that even her own mother couldn’t understand her.
But she never quarreled with her mother, so she just kept silent.
Unexpectedly, Nie Weimin, who had been competing with Liu Xiaohong for the harmonica, spoke up at this moment, "Grandma, my mother said that when she was pregnant with me, the food she ate the most was Chinese cabbage and mutton, especially sheep brains. She ate a sheep's head a day. As for cucumbers and tomatoes, she never ate any of them."
"Really?" Chen Lili threw the tomato away. "Wei Min, tell me again, what did your mother do when she was pregnant with you?"
Since they were young, Sun Zhuan'an and Huang Huacai had told Nie Weimin a lot of glorious stories about their pregnancy. Nie Weimin didn't know whether there was any exaggeration in any of them.
But what he was sure of was that his biological mother, who was tall and had a serious face, was indeed a strong woman.
"She said that she went to the mining area clinic with my father while she was working until the day before she gave birth. It only took her ten minutes to give birth to me, and she walked home with me in her arms after I was born."
What a strong woman.
This is not the end.
Like Nie Bozhao, Nie Weimin was born with a handsome, sincere, yet serious face. He was the kind of person who exuded a strong sense of professionalism even when he was lying.
With his looks, when he gets old, he can go on TV to advertise those deceptive nutritional products. All he needs to do is wear a white robe and a pair of glasses to fool old ladies, and he will definitely succeed.
"My mother's life was not that hard when she was pregnant with Erdan. She took a lot of nutritional supplements and fresh vegetables. She hated eating sheep's heads and never ate any. That's when Erdan was born."
Erdan nodded seriously, thinking that his brother was bragging about him, so he patted his chest and said, "So I'm the best."
"Mom, no, I have to get up and walk around. Is there any snow sweeping work outside? I'll go do it. Also, I don't want to eat these tomatoes. You can cook a pot of mutton, cabbage and vermicelli, and we can eat together. And ask the Red Soldiers to get a few more sheep heads for me to eat."
As she spoke, Chen Lili put on her shoes, got out of bed, went out, picked up the broom, and went to sweep the snow.
After lunch, when Chen Lina came out of the cave and checked the safety belts of the three children, she pointed at Nie Weimin's forehead and poked him, "What a success!"
Nie Weimin looked very proud and said, "What should I do? Who told me I'm so outstanding?"
"But, Mom, where are we going now?" Seeing that they were not heading to the mining area, Nie Weimin became curious.
"Go to Base No. 2 and pick up your father. It's New Year's Day, please ask the God of Wealth to come. Mom needs him to help us protect the grandfathers on the farm."
Well, as soon as the car started, the clarion call to protect the old professors was officially sounded.