When they returned home in the evening, the water outside had turned to ice, and the three children were rolling on the warm kang (heated brick bed).

Though the Kazakh peddler was responsible for delivering the goods to the base, he only reached the gate; the rest had to be carried back by Chen Lina herself.

Back and forth, she made several trips, hauling potatoes, apples, and cotton fabric.

After seven or eight trips, even though she was young and in good shape, she was panting from the effort.

After walking all day, the fire wall had gone out, and she had to start the fire again.

Once the fire wall was lit, Chen Lina, wanting to take a short break, sat down beside it to roll the cotton thread she had bought into balls.

“Comrade Little Nie, could you wash an apple for each of us?” Chen Lina was too lazy to move and wanted to eat an apple, so she asked Nie Weimin.

Nie Weimin was enjoying himself and thought it was natural for Chen Lina to work.

He shook his head and said, “No, you wash it.”

The two younger children shook their heads like rattles: “Mom wash, Mom wash.”

Chen Lina rolled her eyes at the three kids, washed a big apple, and started eating it while eyeing them. “You three are all lazy little lumps.”

Nie Weimin wasn’t happy: “But you said you came to be our mom. Doesn’t that mean a mom should wash apples for her children?”

“Children have hands and feet, and they can work. Why should I be the one to wash? I think you’re just lazy,” Chen Lina retorted.

Nie Weimin hated being told he was lazy. His face turned red: “I’m not lazy.”

“You are lazy,” Chen Lina insisted.

In a huff, Nie Weimin ran to the kitchen, fetched some water, and washed an apple for each of the three children.

They sat in a row on the kang, eating the apples.

He wanted to show by his actions that he wasn’t lazy, just didn’t want to wash the apples for Chen Lina.

However, the children were always hungry.

Today, because she had been busy rolling cotton thread and laying out the cotton quilt, Chen Lina had cooked late.

Now, the sun was setting, and there was still no sign of dinner.

Nie Weimin, who loved food, couldn’t wait any longer: “Hey, Comrade Chen, haven’t you made dinner yet?”

“Dinner will be simple today. Just fool your dad when he comes in,” Chen Lina said.

“What are we having? It doesn’t even smell like anything?” Nie Bozhao asked as he entered, shaking the snow off his shoulders and stamping his feet. “Hey, just now, the snow started falling again, and it’s really coming down hard.”

Curious, he looked into the kitchen, where the stove was cold and the pots were empty.

This was not Chen Lina’s usual style.

Could it be that the saying, “A new bride works hard for three days, and after that, she becomes as lazy as a pig,” was proving true for Chen Lina too?

At that moment, Nie Bozhao also assumed Chen Lina would get restless.

Though he hadn’t dared to get the marriage certificate yet, he had already prepared the money, planning to tell her the unfortunate news when she wanted to meet her pen pal, then send her back on the train, back to Qi Sihuang.

However, before he could say “If you want to leave, I’ll send you,” Chen Lina stood up.

The three children, now hungry and with their stomachs growling, especially Nie Weimin, kept glancing toward the kitchen: “Comrade Chen, what are we having today?”

Chen Lina lifted the pot lid and pulled out some dough that had already been fermented, saying, “Lazy lumps.”

“You’ve caught me, and you’re still calling me names. I said you’re like Aunt Yao, and you call me lazy lump,” Nie Weimin said, finally catching Chen Lina in a slip-up.

Chen Lina wasn’t upset.

She opened another pot, revealing a bowl of fermented liquid she had gotten from Wang Jie, Chen Tiantian’s mother, next door.

It had been flavored with scallions, peppercorns, and red chilies and was heating on the stove.

Now, with a pot of boiling water, a bowl of cold water, and a hand sieve, she pressed some dough through the sieve, making little dumplings that slid into the pot like little fish.

“This is called lazy lump, made for lazy people. You, Comrade Little Nie, were too lazy to wash the apples, so you only deserve to eat lazy lumps.”

These lazy lumps, also known as “leaky fish,” were small and slippery, and the kids loved them.

Plus, with the cold winter and the fire wall burning day and night, the three kids were getting hot and thirsty, so the fermented liquid helped cool them down.

Paired with a plate of lamb fried with cumin and scallions, the kids gobbled down one bowl after another, and before long, the big pot was nearly empty.

After dinner, Chen Lina grinned, looking at the kids: “Who will help Mom take the dishes to the kitchen?”

Licking their lips, Nie Weimin, reluctant to complain anymore under his father’s glare, took all the dishes to the kitchen in a proper manner.

After a while, the three kids were sent to bed.

Chen Lina spread the cotton and fabric to make the quilt.

“Look, this is a report from Silicon Valley about computers,” Nie Bozhao tossed a magazine over.

Chen Lina was busy making the quilt. She had to finish it tonight.

The five of them only had one quilt, and every night, Nie Bozhao would sleep in his own clothes.

Chen Lina and the three kids squeezed into one quilt, leaving the children to get the warmth.

As a result, she was left curled up like a pancake, almost burning on one side, while the other side froze.

Chen Lina had had enough.

“Hmm, a computer?” She glanced at him and scoffed, “A real computer isn’t this big. A desktop is a bit larger, and a laptop is the size of a book—it can be tucked under your arm and taken anywhere.”

Nie Bozhao sat down on the edge of the kang (a traditional heated bed), watching the three children still playing and oblivious to him.

He whispered, “Some of the things you’re saying don’t make any sense. You don’t seriously have a mental illness, do you?”

Chen Lina rolled her eyes. “Yes, I must have a mental illness to marry you and help take care of your kids. Otherwise, why would a beautiful young woman like me marry you?”

Outside, heavy snow began to fall, drifting in the cold wind that howled like wolves.

But inside the house, it was as warm as spring.

In the large basin on the wall, the vegetable seedlings that had been watered were already sprouting and breaking through the soil.

“What do you want?” Nie Bozhao was even more confused.

Chen Lina lifted her head, the 40-watt light bulb casting a soft glow on Nie Bozhao’s face.

His thick eyebrows, big eyes, and determined nose were highlighted by the light.

His eyes were clear and bright, and he still had none of the weariness of adulthood.

He wore a blue work shirt, still exuding that scholarly vibe.

Among all the popular young actors nowadays, Chen Lina didn’t care to watch them, but even her favorite Chen Daoming didn’t have his looks.

“I just want you to be handsome, and I want you to spoil me, spoil me like a princess,” Chen Lina said, satisfied.

Nie Bozhao twitched his lips, looking at the big girl in front of him, whose face was as round as an egg.

He thought to himself, “Oh, she really might have a messed-up brain, but she just doesn’t know it.”

He then added, “Xiao Chen said he’ll pay for meals, and wants to eat here from now on. It’s just an extra bowl and pair of chopsticks, what’s the harm?”

“Is this about paying for meals? Nie Bozhao, why don’t your invite all the single men in the whole base over and open a big cafeteria?” Chen Lina stretched out her hands. “Three kids are enough to keep me busy. You don’t even wash your own bowl. You throw your chopsticks aside and run off in the morning, and now you want me to do you a favor? Not happening.”

“Fine, I won’t do it. I’ll cancel it. But why are you so angry? What’s with the fiery temper?”

“It’s not about canceling or not,” Chen Lina said with a frown. “You call yourselves friends, but there’s a way to do things with a sense of boundaries. If he eats here once in a while, that’s normal.

But if he gives you money or food, and starts coming every day, you’ll be doing him a favor, and he might even think I’m taking advantage of him for a bit of food money.

Plus, Xiao Chen’s a young man. I just married you, don’t you worry about the gossip around the base?”

Nie Bozhao paused and thought about it.

Xiao Chen, coming from a big city like Shanghai, was probably not interested in the local girls.

The young guys from the Mulan farm were too rural for his taste, but young men always had a natural interest in young women.

He’d heard that Chen Lina was a university student and knew about cars—of course, Xiao Chen would feel a sense of connection.

Ah, Nie Bozhao almost slapped his forehead.

He had really been clueless.

“You’re not like this in the future. You’ll be much smoother in handling things. But right now, you really are just like a hot-headed young fool,” Chen Lina said again, speaking of the future.

Her words made Nie Bozhao think: Was it possible that his new wife wasn’t just crazy but actually had some truth to what she said?

Maybe she really was from the future.

That night, they finally had a new big blanket.

The three kids were thrilled and fought over who would sleep in the big bed.

However, Nie Bozhao allocated the bedding.

He and Nie Weimin got the old, smaller blankets, while Chen Lina took the two younger kids with her to sleep under the big blanket.

Nie Weimin wasn’t happy. “I want to sleep in the big blanket too. The small one is thin and cold.”

“Fine, I’ll sleep with your dad. You go into the big blanket,” Chen Lina said with a smile.

Nie Weimin rolled into the big blanket.

Alright, he had completely forgotten he was supposed to be the father.

Nie Bozhao nearly spat blood.

While he might have trouble sleeping at night, Chen Lina was too bold.

Didn’t she realize his situation?

She wanted to share a blanket with him?

Since the kids had gone to bed early, they were all making noise—grinding their teeth, snoring, farting.

Like a pair of secret agents, Nie Bozhao kept his voice down, trying his best to stay close to the wall and avoid touching the warm, soft, fragrant body in the blanket.

“Tell me honestly, where are you really from?” he whispered.

To keep their conversation quiet, his head leaned in closer.

Chen Lina’s hair brushed his face, bringing with it the scent of her snowflake cream.

It made his heart race.

“We’ve been married for years now, I’ve got nothing to hide from you. I lived another life, and I met you around 15 years from now.

Back then, you had just started a business in the internet industry. I had just divorced. You chased me for a long time and finally won me over with a good meal.

You could cook so well back then, and I loved it. We even had a couple of drinks, and you spoiled me. You treated me like a princess.” Chen Lina leaned in closer, her breath warm and sweet, just after brushing her teeth.

Nie Bozhao backed away against the wall and thought carefully.

Then he asked, “What about our three kids? Since you’re from the future, you must know how they’ll turn out. Tell me, what will they be like?”

Chen Lina thought for a moment, then gently said, “The older two, they’ll become notorious gang leaders in Hongyan Province.

During the crackdowns, they’ll be publicly tried and executed. The youngest one, he’ll get polio and won’t be able to walk.

But he’ll be a brilliant hacker. When you start your business, he’ll help you out, though he’ll almost end up in prison.”

Nie Bozhao sucked in a cold breath and, after thinking for a moment, said, “Alright, I see. I think you really do have a mental illness. Let’s just pretend you never said any of that. Let’s sleep.”

Chen Lina was furious.

She wanted to kick this clueless man, but after a long pause, she heard him sigh deeply.

Thinking about it from another perspective, who could believe that these three kids, who were all so innocent and adorable, would end up being tried and executed in the future?

Fine, Chen Lina thought.

Just let them think I’m crazy.