Chapter 89

National Security

Early in the morning, all the date trees in the mining area are in bloom, hanging on the branches like little bells, with the sound of birds singing and the fragrance of flowers.

Of course, the busy spring planting season has also come to an end, and everyone can be said to be exhausted.

But that’s not all. Once the spring planting is finished, we have to wait for the wheat to sprout, and then we have to start interplanting cotton. Once the cotton is planted in the ground, we have to spray the newly sprouted wheat with pesticides and weed.

As soon as the children from the mining area primary school got out of school, Chen Tiantian came to find Nie Weimin and said, "Dadan, Dadan, let's go to your house to buy carrots for your sister. Let's go together."

"Okay, but girl, aren't you coming to my house today?" He was quick to stop Liu Xiaohong, who was running away as soon as school was over.

"No, Weimin, my mother is eight months pregnant and will give birth soon. I have to go home and cook for her."

"You still have your grandma, why does she ask you to cook every day? I won't let you go back today."

"No, Weimin, I have to go."

"Look, your dad didn't come to pick you up."

"I can ride a bicycle by myself, look." There was indeed a 28-inch bicycle parked at the school gate. The child was too small to ride on the big bars, so he put his feet through the forks. Liu Xiaohong rode it very well.

"Well, Erdan and my son Dandan both have a fever, shouldn't you go see them?" Nie Weimin then said.

Well, Liu Xiaohong jumped off the bike and said, "Erdan's fever hasn't subsided yet, and this spring is almost over."

Erdan has had a fever since he was injured. In fact, he doesn't want to recover from the illness. It's quite nice to lie at home without the teacher scolding him endlessly.

"So, go help my mom cook, she's too busy." Mainly to help Chen Lina wash clothes, otherwise, she's too busy. As for Nie Weimin, he was busy reading, so of course he didn't have time to help Chen Lina.

"Okay then, Tiantian, come sit on it and I'll take you with me."

"Take me with you." Nie Weimin jumped on the bike immediately, and Tiantian followed behind him, "Sister Xiaohong, take me with you. I want to ride a bike, too."

Liu Xiaohong had just learned how to ride a bicycle. She twisted and turned, sweating profusely, and led Nie Weimin for a while. Then she let him go and led Tiantian for a while.

"Liu Xiaohong, don't you think you should call me brother? I've been calling you sister." Liu Xiaohong was riding her horse attentively when suddenly Nie Weimin came over and said something.

Liu Xiaohong's driving skills were not good to begin with. She didn't step on the bike correctly, and with a clang, she slipped. Well, they both fell to the ground. Chen Tiantian shouted from behind, "Dadan'er, Dadan'er, are you hurt?"

"Can you ride a bike? Look, my pants are torn." Nie Weimin climbed up and looked at his knees. Wow, his corduroy pants were torn.

"Come on if you can." Liu Xiaohong's palm was scratched. She was so angry that she threw her bicycle and left in a huff.

Originally, Nie Weimin had never even touched a bicycle before. He propped himself up, looked at it for a while, stepped on it, and lo and behold, he actually rode away.

"Come on, Sister Xiaohong, look, Dadan is carrying me, you should come and sit too." Liu Xiaohong took two steps forward angrily, and saw Nie Weimin riding a bicycle, about to pass her.

Well, the boy said unsteadily, "My mom said that even a dog with a cookie on the steering wheel can drive a car, so this bicycle should be easy to ride, right? I heard that you spent half a month on the farm to learn it?"

He had long legs, so he didn't need to stretch his legs sideways like Liu Xiaohong. He just climbed over the big bar, hung his schoolbag in front of his chest, and then took Chen Tiantian along, and rode very smoothly.

"Come on, girl, come up and sit."

"No."

"Come on, you see how dangerous it is for me to ride a bike with one hand, quickly jump onto the big bar." Chen Tiantian was sitting in the back, and if Liu Xiaohong really wanted to sit on the bike, she would have to jump onto the big bar. Nie Weimin rode slowly, and almost fell down due to the twists and turns, but he still stretched out one hand, motioning her to get on.

Well, Liu Xiaohong walked slowly for a few steps, then suddenly ran two steps quickly, and Nie Weimin picked her up again.

There is a girl in front and a girl behind. It's like a winner in life. I feel so good just riding.

"What's going on? Why are there so many guests at home today?" When Nie Weimin arrived at the door with the two girls, he saw the car parked outside and jumped out of the car.

"Tiantian, go home quickly. I think we have important guests at my house. Look, that is a land patrol ship, a wartime command vehicle, which belongs to Minister Gao of our mining area's armed forces department. That car belongs to Secretary Ah. I think all the leaders of the mining area are at my house."

Tiantian said, "But I want to feed my sister."

"You want to eat carrots, right? I'll pick two and throw them over the wall to you." With that, Nie Weimin pushed Chen Tiantian back to her home.

"Look, Xiao Ma ran away, Xiao You also ran away, and now only Gong Hongxing is left. She doesn't leave, but she doesn't take any action either. She just wanders around the mining area every day. She must have some agenda. I think she is plotting something." Gao Dayong said in the living room.

District Chief Gao and his wife also came. They looked at each other and asked Secretary Ah, "What do you think? What should we do with her?"

"The pressure from above has been intense recently, and I have been able to withstand it all. She can't cause any trouble, so she just left. There's nothing to be afraid of. Ah, nothing to be afraid of." Secretary Ah was still trying to smooth things over.

Nie Weimin looked over one by one, then turned to Liu Xiaohong and said, "Good fellows, all the leaders of our mining area are here. It looks like Gong Hongxing is not far from being kicked out."

"But it sounds like the adults don't seem to be able to do anything about it."

"Don't worry, my mother is confident." Nie Weimin said, patting his chest.

In Nie Weimin's eyes, his parents are like towering mountains.

"Sister He, can you help me out today and make some long noodles for us?" Chen Lina said with a smile, "It's almost noon now, let's have a meal at my house."

There are seven or eight adults and several children. It is not easy to cook for so many people, so He Lanshan has to come in to help.

Liu Xiaohong threw away her schoolbag and ran to the field to help Chen Lina pick beans. The mutton and sauce soup, with stewed beans, eggplant seeds, tomatoes and diced carrots, couldn't be more delicious.

Fry the pan, first fry the mutton and then add the ingredients. After a while, a big pot of臊子汤 will be ready.

"This little girl is so diligent and efficient at her work. Lina, you are not planning to make her your daughter-in-law, are you?" He Lanshan was rolling out long noodles while looking at Liu Xiaohong under the stove.

"If I really like her, what do you think, Sister He?"

"Being efficient and diligent is good."

"Hey, the little girl is blushing. Come on, add some more fuel. I'm down there." He Lanshan said.

"Okay, Sister He, you can't make fun of my daughter like that. To be honest, I don't see anyone in the entire mining area who would be my son-in-law."

"It's your sister's, so how come it's yours? By the way, you and Nie Gong, are you really not planning to have another child?" He Lanshan pursed his lips and whispered, "Just look at those three guys, it proves that Lao Nie is good at martial arts, why can't you have one?"

"What about you? Why don't you have another child?"

"Lao Gao went to Shanghai for a checkup and found out that he has weak sperm. He is already capable of having Xiao Bing. I am afraid that he will be less able to get pregnant as he gets older."

"It's the same for girls and boys. You take good care of your Xiaobing, and I will take good care of my three sons. When we are old, we can let them build the border for us."

"You have to believe me. My daughter is definitely better than all your sons. To be honest, among your three sons, only Weimin has some potential. The younger one is too young, and Erdan only knows how to eat. Alas, it would be better for you to be a daughter than a son like him."

"That's not necessarily true, Sister He. I think none of my sons are weak."

After they bickered for a while, the long noodles were already out of the pot, and two large plates of shredded potatoes were served with them. Each of them slurped up two large bowls, and after wiping their mouths, everyone prepared to leave.

Who knew that at this time, Chen Lina just came to the table.

"Wei Min, take Xiao Hong to wash the dishes. Mom and Dad have something to tell these uncles today." After Chen Lina cleaned up the table and made tea for everyone again, she spoke to Nie Wei Min.

"Okay, Mom." The young man went into the kitchen and saw Liu Xiaohong rolling noodles again.

"Get two more buckets of water, put them at the foot of the wall, and scoop a pot of water over here. I want to cook for Erdan and Sandan." Even now, the two little ones who were sleeping on the kang with a fever had not eaten yet.

"Okay, I'll do whatever you say." Nie Weimin said straightforwardly.

"Here, wash the radishes and throw them over the wall to Tiantian."

Liu Xiaohong gave them two carrots whenever she could. There was no other way. The laborer was meticulous in his work and knew how to mix chemical fertilizers and farm manure. The three acres of land in the backyard was fertilized to the point of being full of oil. The carrots grown there were sweeter than other people's beets.

"Oh, it's not you. I forgot about it. Wait, I'll throw some carrots to Tiantian."

Nie Weimin turned around and was about to leave when he saw Liu Xiaohong staring at him with a smile.

The young man suddenly felt something was wrong. "Liu Xiaohong, why are you laughing? I just gave two carrots as a gift. Why are you laughing at me like that?"

"What a promising future." Liu Xiaohong said, and turned back to roll out noodles.

Here, Chen Lina brought herself a cup of tea, and when she saw Nie Gong offering his seat to Xian, she sat in his seat.

"Minister Gao, how is the work of your armed forces department going recently?" Chen Lina asked with a smile.

Before Minister Gao could say anything, Staff Officer Yu immediately said, "We can't be worse than Director Chen. It's our mission to do our best to keep the mine safe."

"There is nothing new on the border. Since the Wulankhan incident, the relationship between our border and the Sudan seems to have improved a lot?" Chen Lina asked.

Staff Officer Yu looked at Minister Gao and said, "Since the European and American leaders visited the Republic two years ago, and with the success of the hydrogen bomb experiment, the war situation was resolved, and the Soviet Union withdrew its troops significantly, we also withdrew our troops. Now, our relationship with the Soviet Union is indeed not tense anymore."

"So, let's put the horses in the southern mountains and withdraw the troops from Yili. Everyone thinks that there will never be a war, right?"

"Really?"

"In fact, when Gong Hongxing was at our base, he sent the coordinate data of his laboratory, the Baiyang River Bridge, and several of our large oil wells to the higher-ups. Do you think that coordinates are the most important data in a military strike?"

As soon as she said this, everyone sat up straight.

Nie Gong pulled out a map directly from the small study, a printed map of the border, but he enlarged the part and printed it out himself. Then, the farms, oil wells and oil fields in the entire Umay mining area, and even every country road were clearly marked.

"To get from Mulan Farm to Alimu Forest Farm, you have to cross the Baiyang River. Look, this is the Baiyang River Bridge. The Baiyang River Bridge is the first truly super bridge built in the frontier since the founding of our Republic.

Whether we want to transport oil products or deliver strategic materials to Tacheng and Kizilgar, we have to pass through it.

After Gong Hongxing sent the coordinates to the higher-ups, I made a special trip to the No. 5 oil well in Kizilgarh and recorded a large amount of Soviet radio communications at the border. I discovered that the coordinates of our Baiyang River Bridge frequently appeared in Soviet radio. Don’t you think this has something to do with Gong Hongxing?”

"Nie Gong, your idea is a bit far-fetched. You know, according to the introduction letter, Gong Hongxing is a time-tested communist fighter and the most active person in the entire Red Rock ideology. If you say that she is indiscriminate and radical in order to fight for the revolution, I believe it, but if you say that she is a spy for Su Xiu, I can't believe it."

"Whether she is a Soviet revisionist or not, I have enough evidence to prove it for you, but that's not what I want to talk about today. What I want to say is that as long as it is confirmed that she is a Soviet revisionist and she has sent us her coordinates, we can work backwards. Secretary, tell me, is the reason she came to our mining area purely to engage in revolution?"

"Nie Gong, what do you mean by that?" Chief of Staff Yu was the most alert. "You don't think that there is also Su Xiu up there, and she was sent by Su Xiu to get the coordinates, right?"

"Then, if she was sent by Su Xiu, where do you think the real Su Xiu is?" Chen Lina asked immediately.

That can only prove that there are real Soviet revisionists at the top.

But did all the people wake up, or was there only one person? They didn't even dare to guess whether it was true or not.

Secretary Ah saw Nie Weimin standing outside the window, feeding a fluffy white rabbit.

He first handed over a small radio that he had been carrying to Nie Weimin, and then said, "If anyone still has these things, please hand them over."

Others were not like him, who had the habit of carrying a radio with them to listen to the news wherever they went, but they also immediately stood up and searched their pockets to prove their innocence.

"Wei Min, go and close the gate of your house. We have something important to discuss now." Secretary Ah said.

In fact, at the beginning, when Nie Gong invited them, he thought that Nie Gong had made important scientific research results and did not have time to report them to the mining area, so he had to show them in the laboratory. He did not expect that it was such an important matter.

"Nie Gong, this is a major accident that endangers national security. You should report it in the office. How can you do it in your home?"

"We have a bug in our house, which was sent by Gong Hongxing. But I recorded a song for her with no breaks and sang it to her every day. I'm not sure if there's anyone eavesdropping in your office."

Everyone looked at each other and suddenly realized that he was right.

If the Soviet Union really wanted to launch an attack on the mining area, and even joined forces with some people above, then their office might have been equipped with eavesdropping devices. And Nie Gong's house was really the safest place, after all, he was in the field of radio, and that was a family tradition.

"I have evidence that Gong Hongxing sent our coordinates up there, and I've also cracked the Soviet radio code, which is to blow up the Baiyang River Bridge. You know, the Baiyang River Bridge is a strategic bridge, and if it's really blown up, the significance is immeasurable. Regardless of whether there will be a war between China and the Soviet Union, the leaders of our entire mining area will all be implicated.

By then, we will be held accountable and treated as Soviet revisionists. New leadership will be appointed from above, and without the data from Well No. 1 and my laboratory, our mining area’s scientific research achievements and technology will regress to the level of ten years ago.”

In other words, if a cannon shot was fired at the Baiyang River Bridge, the entire mining area would be cleansed.

"What if it's just a false alarm? We can't launch a military action just because of your words."

"If it's just a false alarm and your armed forces are dispatched in vain, just leave your command car behind. I have a Mercedes-Benz engine for experiments. I can modify it for you. What do you think?" Nie Bozhao said.

Well, Minister Gao stood up and then sat back down. "I agree with the action, Secretary, District Chief, what do you think?"

Needless to say, this kind of thing, whether it happens or not, whether there will be Soviet spies coming tomorrow or not, we must go to the banks of the Baiyang River and wait.

To blow up a bridge, at least 500 kilograms of gunpowder is needed. It is certainly not possible to rely on one or two people. That is a military action. The most likely scenario is that the Soviet Union directly airdropped suicide squads to fill the key positions of the bridge and set them on fire. This was not uncommon in the south where Chiang Kai-shek was ready to make a move. If they were caught, it would be a great achievement.

Well, when Liu Xiaohong finished cooking, she saw the uncles and aunts getting up to say goodbye.

The two little idiots with fever were no longer snoring, they were helped up and coaxed into a bowl of noodles each. Erdan looked at the long and thin noodles with臊子 and craved for it very much, but he just couldn't eat it. You can imagine how serious the fever of this child must be.

"Old Nie, you are not talking nonsense, are you? If you really have a Mercedes-Benz engine, you should have a Mercedes-Benz. Why do I feel like you are fooling me?" Minister Gao said after leaving the hospital.

"Didn't the Shanghai Automotive Industry Park import one in 1970 for disassembly and research on how to build cars? I wanted to study their original engine oil, so I asked for it after submitting a request for review," said Nie Bozhao.

"Well, I have to be honest, I really hope the Soviets will take action. Anyway, we will definitely catch them. I hope it's not a false alarm."

"Okay, whether there will be a military action or not, I will install the engine on your car. I have already used it up anyway, so is that okay?" Nie Bozhao said.

Minister Gao had won a victory before the battle even started, thanks to the extra engines. He was so happy that he waved to the worker from a distance.

The line of cars had already turned their heads and were arranged in order of their positions. First it was Secretary Ah's, then District Chief Gao's, and one after another, they left the Nie family's house.

"That's great. Cixi wants to get Gong Hongxing arrested by persecuting you. Her radio station and secret reports are all solid evidence. This time, it's enough to change the world." Chen Lina said with a smile as she watched the leaders leave.

Before he finished speaking, Qian Gou'er's mother came in with two bowls of water.

"Xiao Chen, my earthworm water and chicken shit soup are ready. They are really good for curing diseases. Come on, bring them to Erdan and Xiaodandan. The two children have been coughing and vomiting for nearly half a month, right?" Qian Goudan's mother came in with a bowl of soup after the leaders had left.

Oh, a big leader came to my neighbor's house, and after the leader left, I came in to take a look around, which made my humble home glorious.

Chen Lina took the earthworm water and chicken shit soup and smelled them. Seeing Qian Goudan's face was yellow and he was standing behind his mother unhappily, she said, "Mrs. Qian, has Goudan also drunk this?"

"Drink it, why not? He got better after drinking earthworm water and chicken shit soup."

Qian Goudan vomited immediately, but still forced a smile and said, "Big Egg, you should drink a bowl too. It can cure any illness or keep you healthy. This soup tastes great."

Nie Weimin said, "Thank you, Qian Gou'er, but I'll ask you to drink mine yourself. I won't get sick."

"Okay, thank you, Sister Qian. I'll give it to the two kids later. After they're done, I'll ask Wei Min to bring the bowls to you." She said this, but as soon as Sister Qian turned around and walked out the door, Chen Lina poured out both bowls of soup.

"I thought you were really going to feed this stuff to my son. Why, do you think that taking medicine would be more effective?" Nie Bozhao said.

Chen Lina also asked him back, "Why, this earthworm soup can't really cure cough, and chicken shit water can't really cure digestion?" The two children's current problems are cough and digestion respectively.

"In principle, it's OK, but there are good medicines, why give this to children?"

In the room, the two little kids were already feeling very uncomfortable. After hearing this, they were so excited that tears welled up in their eyes. After all, Qian Goudan's mother had been bragging about her own folk remedy for a long time.

If it were the day lily, earthworm water, and chicken shit soup, they would have to be poured into their mouths while pinching their noses.

After all, if you want to treat an illness, why spend money to get medicine if you can just look for folk remedies? Don’t you think so?

Hey, that’s why people say that mothers are the best in the world.