Chapter 73

Croquettes

"Mom, we really can't eat the cucumbers, tomatoes, and strawberries on the passenger seat?"

"Each person can eat one strawberry, but since you have already eaten all the cucumbers, don't eat them anymore."

Erdan was the first to grab the biggest one, took a bite and said, "Oh my god, it's so sweet."

"Yes, so you can only eat one."

The one that Nie Weimin picked looked small, but when he took it out, he saw that it was the biggest one in the box. However, he didn't eat it and just held it in his hand.

"Tell me, brother, who do you want to give it to?" Erdan was sharp-eyed and wanted to steal something from Nie Weimin. Nie Weimin refused to give it to him and said, "Hey, leave me alone, Comrade Xiao Chen. Look, Erdan is stealing my things again."

"Erdan, don't bully your brother. He doesn't like to eat these. It's up to him to give them to whomever he wants, but you can't take them away."

"Mom, I've eaten the butt, you eat the head." Sandaner lay on the driver's seat and really ate the butt of Strawberry, leaving the sweetest one for Chen Lina, stuffed it into her mouth, gave her a sweet taste, and asked, "Is it delicious?"

"It's delicious and sweet. Son, please go to the back and sit down."

"You actually drove this car to Base No. 2?" Nie Bozhao had a look of disbelief on his face and a scruffy beard. He stood by the road and watched for a long time before he dared to get in the car.

"Dad, mines, mines, be careful."

Before Nie Bozhao sat down, his three sons started shouting together. Erdan was so anxious that he cried out and his head hit the ceiling.

"Strawberries and cucumbers, sure, Chen Lina, are these all grown in your farm?" Nie Bozhao carefully lifted up the vegetable basket, and the three children sat back at the same time.

"Yes, we worked hard for a whole winter and only produced such a small amount of stuff. If we take it to the production and sales fair, it will probably make a sensation in the whole republic, right?"

"In such a cold and harsh place like our frontier, they were very happy that we were able to cultivate the mining area for half a year last year. I heard that we can grow vegetables in winter. I'm afraid the leaders will be so happy that they can't sleep."

"Of course, but the situation on the farm is very bad now. Your old colleagues and comrades will be affected."

The worker was holding the strawberries and examining them carefully.

"Everyone has one, and you can have one too," said Chen Lina.

"Dad!" the three children shouted at the same time. Nie Bozhao picked up a strawberry with his big hand and looked back at the three children. Their eyes were rounder than each other, and it was obvious that they all wanted to eat it.

Chen Lina also looked at him with a smile.

Well, to let them learn to share, not all good things should be given to children instead of parents.

So Nie Bozhao threw the small strawberry with his big hand, and it went into his mouth and disappeared.

The three brothers sat back down at the same time. Erdan climbed over again and asked, "Dad, is it delicious?"

Nie Bozhao, who was chewing, nodded quickly, "It's delicious. Very delicious."

But Sandaner didn't think so. "You should give it to mom. Mom loves strawberries the most."

"Mom ate so much strawberries that she vomited for a while, especially strawberries that were out of season in winter. At that time, one pound cost one hundred yuan. Your dad always bought a few big boxes for Mom to eat. Now Mom doesn't want to eat it anymore." Chen Lina said lightly.

Nie Bozhao began to take a breath. "Can we not mention that bastard who spends money like water? He is rich, but is he a national advanced worker? Is he a model worker?" Well, he started to be jealous of that old Nie from his previous life again.

When they arrived at the mining area, they went straight to Secretary A's house. Chen Lina went upstairs alone without saying anything. She just left two kilograms of cucumbers, a small portion of strawberries and some tomatoes, and then came out.

Secretary A is a big leader, the head of the mining area. He dare not move this god for trivial matters, but the gifts must be delivered. They are all produced in the farm, so he will definitely accept them. Of course, Sister Alai will also say a few good words to him.

This time, Chen Lina's top priority is still District Chief Gao Feng, after all, he is the person in charge of the farm.

Carrying the remaining gift, the worker, and her three sons, Chen Lina went straight to District Chief Gao's house.

When they reached the stairs, Nie Weimin knocked on the door first, followed closely by Erdan and Sandan. Chen Lina was playing with her hair when she suddenly felt her lips getting hot and a strawberry was already at her mouth.

This is the one that Nie Bozhao pretended to eat just now, but he didn’t eat it and kept it hidden in his hand.

This was not enough. The master opened the door and his three sons turned around. At the corner of the stairs, he suddenly opened her head and gave her a deep kiss while she was eating strawberries. "Chen Lina, tell me the truth. You haven't sung the song of the apricot tree fork."

Chen Lina thought about it seriously and said yes.

"He really does it once a day?"

"Once a day, sometimes two or three times. When I have my period, he will lie next to me and sing to me, saying, baby, it doesn't hurt, it will be fine soon." In fact, this is also bragging. In his previous life, Lao Nie was almost as strict as this in this regard.

"He has no moral integrity." The worker was angry. "I will shoot him sooner or later."

The New Year is coming soon, and the mining area agencies have already gone on holiday. Gao's house has heating, so it's warm as soon as you enter the house.

"Hey, our Director Chen is here, welcome." District Chief Gao said, and invited the family to sit on his sofa.

Gao Xiaobing is reading in the small bedroom.

After Director He washed the strawberries, he handed them to the four children. Erdan and Sandan were afraid of being scolded by their mother, so they did not dare to grab them. They were so steady that they ate one for every strawberry Gao Xiaobing handed to them and sat beside him like two well-fed puppies.

Gao Xiaobing grabbed one, took a bite, then stuffed it to Nie Weimin and said, "It's sweet, try it." But in fact, it was sour.

Nie Weimin looked at Sister Gao's saliva on the food, pursed his lips and said, "I don't like this." He was disliking other people's saliva.

Okay, Gao Xiaobing passed it to Erdan.

Nie Weimin had hidden one of his own and was going to ask Gao Xiaobing to exchange it for a book. But when he saw that his precious thing was just a casual treat in the leader's house, he ate it himself. He slipped into Gao Xiaobing's bedroom and went to find a book to read.

"Lina, when you told me that you could grow cucumbers in a greenhouse, I didn't believe you. Oh, you actually grew them?" He Lanshan was so impressed with Chen Lina that he patted the cucumber and said, "Go and chat with Lao Gao for a while. I'll cook for today."

The meal that he cooks to the factory director is not called meal, it is called dark cuisine.

Chen Lina beat the eggs herself, and when she opened the kitchen drawer, she saw that there was only half a bucket of oil. She didn't dare to add more oil, so she fried an egg with a cucumber and boiled half a bowl of tomato sauce. She first rinsed the potatoes and then fried them with the tomato sauce.

"Lina, what's the name of this dish? It tastes quite sweet."

"Dongxiang potato chips, the way they are made in Hongyan, mainly because yours has a lot of sugar, so I don't feel bad about it." Chen Lina said.

"I have to sincerely apologize to you for what happened to He Min on the farm. He's doing a lot of nonsense in our oil refinery now. It really annoys me. I really want to transfer him away." He Lanshan then said.

Chen Lina smiled and said nothing.

It seems that the halo of family affection is not enough to cover up He Min's scumbagness.

Seeing that Director He had lost his temper due to the torture of He Min, Chen Lina just wanted to laugh out loud. You brother-supporting maniac, just tremble.

After dinner, it’s time to talk about the old professors.

"Director Chen, you don't know the severity of the current situation. Because our revolutionary work in the mining area has not made any progress and we haven't set an example, the higher-ups have hung up on us again and again. "Cixi" even called Secretary Ah on the red phone herself. I was in the office at the time, and we stood together and listened to her talk for half an hour about the importance of revolution. Then, she also said that if there was no further progress in the revolutionary work, she would personally transfer people from Hongyan to supervise our work."

"Cixi", after looking at each other, Nie Bozhao and Chen Lina both knew who he was talking about.

Although the Umay mining area is far away in the border area, its economic output last year exceeded that of several major provinces in the Central Plains. The leaders personally visited it and praised it.

She has personally set her sights on the mining area, so you must set up one or two examples.

But who should we plant? We must look for them in the farms. After all, all the intellectuals with flaws in their own qualities are in the farms.

"So, I was able to hide your files and keep your job, but I was already risking losing my job. Let's put it this way, you make a list of the old professors on the farm, and we'll keep the really important ones, and hand over a few of the unimportant ones, and that's considered completing the mission. Director Chen, this year almost all of our mining district's profits have been handed over. Not to mention the constant pressure from above, even the employees and cadres in the mining district are very emotional. After all, they are basically both red and professional. If something really happens, the anger will be transferred to your farm."

"If the leader says so, hand it over to me first." Nie Bozhao said straightforwardly.

"What are you talking about, sir? What do you mean I'll hand it over to you first? If you stop working, won't all our oil wells have to stop working?"

He Lanshan peeled the apples and said, "Let's plant two models. I just had an argument with our District Chief Gao. We should plant as many as we can. There will be no risk to us. What do you two think? Is it okay?"

Nie Bozhao took off his glasses and stopped talking.

District Chief Gao and He Lanshan looked at Chen Lina at the same time. Of course, they still hoped that she would voluntarily hand over the two men, punish them with a heavier crime, and have a big fight with them, so as to set an example and set an example for those above.

"Director Gao, in fact, our farm still has several tons of fruits and these cucumbers and vegetables that can be used for welfare distribution. I think these things can ease the anger of the mining workers." Chen Lina said directly.

District Chief Gao's face changed. "Director Chen, what you did is wrong. At the time of autumn harvest, shouldn't all agricultural products be handed over to the public? You actually withheld a batch privately?"

"In the fall, we delivered grain, vegetables, fruits and cotton, but how many are left in the mining area now? District Chief Gao, those things have all been transferred to people from the provincial government. You have nothing, and you still have to bear the workers' complaints. Why?"

It is true that although it is not as popular now as it was during the Great Leap Forward, everyone is bragging about the satellite being able to go into space.

However, the provincial government took away all their agricultural and sideline products and used them to brag about their achievements.

District Chief Gao has to deal with inspections and pressure from above, and appease the workers' complaints from below. It's just like grilling a fish, after grilling the front side you have to grill the back side. His life is not easy.

"You just need to say that these things are produced by the farm after the autumn harvest, so they are not considered autumn grain, but winter grain. Winter grain is not included in the tax plan. You can distribute welfare and appease the people's grievances. As for the pressure from above..."

District Chief Gao was anxious at first, so he sat back down, thought for a while, and then laughed, "He Lanshan, you always scold me for being incompetent. As a district chief, can't I even get a few fruits for the New Year? Just go to the farm tomorrow and get them. We have them at our farm."

Hearing that there are benefits, who wouldn’t be happy?

The workers in the mining area all have an old tradition of not causing trouble, so if they really want to start a revolution from below, it will not work.

Chen Lina added, "Isn't it that Cixi wants to transfer people from Hongyan to supervise the work? When the Hongyan working group arrives, let them go directly to the farm. I think I can find a way to deal with it."

"Lina, I don't know much about the situation in Hongyan, but I heard that the leader of the revolutionary group there is a man of great courage, efficiency and determination. Can you really handle him?"

"If he's a human being, I can deal with him," said Chen Lina.

Well, when we left District Chief Gao’s house, it was already nine o’clock in the evening.

Erdan and Sandan ate until their bellies were full. Nie Weimin held a book in his arms and read it so intently that he insisted on turning on the lights when getting in the car to read.

Nie Bozhao took it from his son and took a look at it.

"Galaxy Empire Base" Traditional Chinese, District Chief Gao's sister works at the customs, and it is estimated that she is the only one who can bring these books into the country.

He once again looked at his son with a different eye. There were not many first-grade kids who read as much as he did.

"You did it on purpose, didn't you? You knew that no matter how much the farm produced, it would all be taken away by the provincial government, so you deliberately kept some of it on the farm, just waiting for District Chief Gao to get anxious today."

"District Chief Gao also has to weigh it himself. When it comes to grain production, there are more people and more seeds are thrown away. As long as everyone is willing to work, who can't do it? But what is really important is these out-of-season vegetables and fruits. The difficulty is period.

To put it bluntly, the most important thing is to have enough food. For the workers in the mining area, as long as the family gets four or five apples during the Chinese New Year, once they see the words "Mulan Farm" written on the apple box, they know who is more important. If anyone wants to mess with the farm, they will be the first to oppose it. "

Therefore, it is actually very easy to avoid revolution, but it requires wisdom, patience, and of course, the selfless support of the great leaders.

"Hongyan, I haven't been back for a long time. I really miss home." Chen Lina started talking about it when she got home.

Although her parents are also in the frontier, the banks of the Qisi River are her hometown after all. Thinking of the rippling river surface, the yellow leaves in autumn and the pleasant climate of her hometown, she really misses it.

"I don't know who will be the leader of the working group sent by Cixi from Hongyan?" Nie Bozhao was thinking, "I am very familiar with Hongyan. I often go there on business trips, but I have never heard of anyone making a big fuss about the revolution."

"Don't think about it, hurry up, tomorrow is New Year's Eve. Last year you ran away on the 29th, and no one helped me fry meatballs. This year at least you are here, hurry up and make food for tomorrow."

"Wow, pork, where did you get that pork?"

"What are you thinking? This is beef, but it has a lot of fennel and star anise, and it has been seasoned to give it this flavor. Fry it into meatballs and stew it with vermicelli. Your sons will love it."

"It's not just a formality to celebrate the festival. It's the middle of the night. Go to bed early. I really don't want to move." The laborer was really too lazy to do it. He looked up at his wife's small buttocks and said, "It's New Year's Eve. I'll give you something exciting."

Chen Lina suddenly laughed, "Okay, Old Nie, didn't you realize that you will eventually come to your senses? But no, first, the Cold War is not over, and second, we have to prepare food for tomorrow."

"From your reaction, I can tell you that you like it too. What? High heels aren't romantic enough?"

Well, Nie Gong thought that women didn’t like that kind of thing in bed. For example, just like what Sun Gong said, he was just venting his own animal desires.

It took him a long time to muster up the courage to say this, but he didn't expect his lover to smile and look quite happy.

"Isn't that your way of apologizing to me? Besides, can you always ask this kind of question like you are doing a report? You want to please a woman.

You can take the initiative, like, lie next to me and sing a song, or, like the first time, tie the belt, hey, so manly. "

Nie Gong frowned and said, "So, you can get addicted even if I tie you up?" What kind of logic is this? She likes him tying her up?

But she refused to say anything more and turned back to making balls.

"Come on, Miss Chen, let's get serious and discuss the things on the kang, how about that?" Whether she wanted to tease or not, the little princess could always make the worker feel anxious and excited.

"Listen, is there a child crying next door?"

"Sister Wang gave birth to a little boy, but he was born prematurely. Her mother came to take care of him and brought two of her own grandchildren. Sister Wang's family was already in a tight situation, and now there are two nephews to eat with. How long can a worker's salary and food coupons last? I heard that Tiantian has been scolded by her grandmother recently for snatching food."

Sure enough, just as Chen Lina finished her words, the people next door started to curse, "How can a little girl eat so much in a day? Ah, two steamed buns for a meal, and you have to get up in the middle of the night to steal food. Look how fat you are. There is no girl as fat as you in this base. Really, you can feed a New Year pig and then kill it. What's the point of fattening a little girl?"

Chen Lina couldn't stand it anymore after listening for a while, so she said through the wall, "Tiantian, Auntie is making meatballs, come and eat."

Meatballs were frying in the pan, Nie Bozhao was squatting under the stove lighting the fire, and the three children were lying on top of each other, having fallen asleep early.

Chen Tiantian came over wearing her little cotton-padded jacket, rubbing her eyes. To be honest, this little girl has lost a lot of weight since she had a little brother and her grandmother brought in two older brothers.

"Yes, the farm manager has plenty of food and the food is good. If you are really capable, go live with him and never come back." Well, the old lady was not giving in and was still scolding in the next yard.

Suddenly a piece of wood hit the old lady on the head. She cried out, "Who is it? That short-lived guy is hitting me."

"Auntie, I'm carrying firewood here. Did I accidentally hit you? I'm the manager, but now is a difficult time. I don't have more food than other families, but I can still afford to raise a child. Labor is the most glorious. I eat what I dig out from the soil with my own hands and feet. I am honored. What's wrong? Are you angry? Are you jealous? You can't sleep when you smell my fried meatballs. Do you have to beat the children to vent your anger?"

There's no point being jealous, it will only make you angry to death, Chen Lina thought to herself.

What she hated most in her life were those wicked grandmothers who took advantage of girls, ate girls, and, after giving birth to a concubine, wanted to raise the whole family.

"If you can afford it, that would be great. I'll give it to you as a gift." said the old lady.

"Okay, let her be my son's wife, but when she grows up, she'll be pretty and fit, and able to work. Don't regret it." Chen Lina said, pulling out a handful of firewood. "Be careful, if she hits you again, I won't be responsible."

I picked a bowl of freshly fried meatballs, sprinkled a little salt on them, and ate them sweetly in tears while sitting in the living room.

Of course, Tiantian refused to leave, so Chen Lina patted her butt and let her in to go with her three sons.