In winter, in the area of Wumayi, there’s always a heavy snowstorm at night, and by morning, the doors are often frozen shut.

But as soon as the sun rises, the sky turns a brilliant blue, and the sunlight is blinding.

Nie Bozhao got up early and went to work.

Today, Chen Lina had to make cotton clothes for the three children.

The children were eagerly waiting for their new clothes, hoping to go out and play in the snow and build snowmen.

They surrounded her, each munching on a big apple.

“Da Dan, come out and play!” Chen Tiantian, wearing a woolen hat and a little red cotton jacket, was waving outside the window with a few little boys jumping around.

Nie Weimin, anxious to get out, was tripping over his own feet: “Comrade Chen, please hurry up with the sewing. I really want to go play.”

Chen Lina hummed a little, “I ate lazy lumps yesterday, and I don’t have strength in my hands. I haven’t even finished sweeping the kang yet. I’ll sew once I finish cleaning.”

“Then let me help you sweep!” Nie Weimin, eager to help, grabbed a broom and started sweeping.

Though his sweeping wasn’t perfect, Chen Lina appreciated that he was willing to help.

She smiled and said, “Okay,” then spread out the cotton clothes, taking the biggest one and starting to sew it for him.

Er Dan saw that he couldn’t fall behind, so he grabbed a broom, puffing up his little bottom, and started sweeping too.

But in the dry northern winter, the floor was full of dust.

As Er Dan swept, the whole room got filled with dust.

San Dan, who was sitting on the kang playing, began coughing.

“Er Dan, you need to sprinkle water on the floor before you sweep. If you don’t, your brother will choke on the dust. Quickly bring the half-basin of water from outside and sprinkle it on the floor. Wait until it’s half-dried, then we’ll sweep it.”

“Okay!” The little one dragged the basin in and almost poured all the water onto the floor.

Chen Lina didn’t scold him but just smiled as she watched him make mud pies with the broom on the brick floor.

“Wow, you really got the kids to help you with chores?” Wang Jie walked in, holding two sock pads.

“Of course,” Chen Lina replied.

“Here at the base, not everyone is like us, busy with gossip. If someone else saw, they might say you’re making the kids work for you as a stepmother,” Wang Jie said, glancing at the three children.

Most of the families at the base didn’t work.

Their daily tasks included cooking, taking care of the children, and doing needlework like sewing clothes and making insoles.

Wang Jie was particularly industrious, always with needle and thread in hand.

However, needlework also gave them time to gossip.

Chen Lina had been there for several days and hadn’t really socialized with the other families.

Apart from the two neighbors, she hadn’t interacted with anyone else.

The other families at the base were curious about her, and of course, they wanted to gossip.

But because she stayed indoors, there was nothing to gossip about.

Chen Lina smiled and invited Wang Jie to sit down: “Does a biological mother never make her kids do chores? I came here to be their mom, not their nanny. Why shouldn’t they work?”

Being a stepmother wasn’t easy, but seeing the kids working happily, Wang Jie didn’t say anything more.

They sat for a while when suddenly, the sound of a bicycle ringing outside could be heard.

Chen Tiantian, playing in the snow, shouted loudly, “Milk, milk! The milk is here!”

Wang Jie immediately jumped up, saying, “Oh, I forgot! The milk delivery is here today. The milkman is bringing milk from the Mulan Farm. Do you want me to help you collect it?”

She paused midway, then slapped her forehead. “Oh, right! Your kids don’t drink milk.”

“What’s going on? Does everyone at the base order milk?” Chen Lina asked, as milk was much cheaper than formula and fresh milk was definitely more nutritious.

Wang Jie replied, “It’s not ordered, it’s a welfare benefit provided by the base. Every family gets seven jin of milk a week. It’s your child who doesn’t like it, so… well, I suppose it’s been taken by Old Sun’s mother.”

Chen Lina was taken aback.

Was this really happening?

People were even stealing the kids’ milk?

She waited for the milkman to finish his rounds before she went out to the family area to ask, “Comrade, is the milk rationed?”

“Of course it’s rationed, but there’s usually a little leftover. If the families want more, they either need to pay for it or provide a voucher,” the milkman explained.

He was also from the base, delivering milk twice a week from the Loulan Farm, distributing it to families at designated locations.

Of course, there was usually some leftover milk, but how much depended on the delivery.

As he spoke, he shook the metal drum behind him, clearly containing some leftover milk.

With a red nose and cheeks from the cold, Nie Weimin and Er Dan sneaked out. “Comrade Chen, we don’t drink milk. It smells too strong.”

Chen Lina rolled her eyes at him and said, “That’s why you’re not growing taller. Look at Chen Tiantian—she’s much taller than you.”

Nie Weimin’s face immediately turned red.

Er Dan, who was only four years old, had a sharp tongue, and now he was even taller than him.

“Comrade, here’s the situation. Our family has three kids, and with food supplies so tight, they all need to drink milk to grow strong. Today, I’ll pay to buy some milk from you, but I strongly request that when you deliver the next batch, you must bring back the milk for our family. Is that alright?”

The milk delivery worker flipped through his notebook and said directly, “But the milk for Nie Gong’s family has already been deducted at the Mulan Farm.”

“Is it because of Sun Gong’s mother, that his child’s grandmother stopped it? If that’s the case, you just keep delivering, and if she tries to interfere again, let her come find me. I’ll deal with her,” Chen Lina said, thinking, “I don’t believe we can’t handle this old shrew.”

Hearing Chen Lina’s confidence, the milkman didn’t argue further.

A pound of milk cost one dime, so he sold her three pounds of milk, then hopped back on his tricycle and left.

“We’re done for this time,” Nie Weimin said anxiously when he saw Chen Lina busy in the kitchen.

The little guy, with big, fluttering eyes, was actually very pretty.

Among their three children, he looked the most like Nie Bozhao.

Of course, when it came to the public trial and firing squad, many young people didn’t believe that such a refined, handsome young man could be the head of a mafia.

Chen Lina smiled and asked, “Why? Are you worried that I’ve stolen your grandma’s milk and she’s going to cause trouble?”

Nie Weimin sighed, “We don’t really like milk, but my uncle loves it. He also likes cheese, so we give it to him. He’s the only hope for the Sun family, all of my aunt’s hopes are pinned on him.”

That was the problem.

She had many sisters, and in the end, they had one big treasure, a son who was the apple of everyone’s eye.

The aunt was probably the one who brainwashed all the other girls into becoming “brother-supporters” from a young age, which is why even the milk for her own family was being given to her brother.

“Why don’t you like milk?” Chen Lina asked directly, wanting to get to the bottom of it.

Er Dan thought for a moment and said, “Because it smells fishy… it has a kind of iron-like smell.”

Chen Lina understood.

Milk was typically cooked in aluminum pots, but it seemed that the family used a small iron pot at home.

Since the pot was difficult to clean and wasn’t wiped dry after washing, when they boiled the milk in it, the rusty water would make the milk taste metallic.

No wonder the kids hated it.

“Today, I’m going to make something delicious. I promise, from tomorrow onwards, you’ll all like drinking milk,” she said.

Nie Weimin became curious and said, “Then hurry and make it, we’ll watch.”

“It won’t work unless you put on my big flowery cotton coat and take the coal basket outside to pick up coal. After that, don’t touch anything and wash your hands before you come in to watch. Then I’ll make it for you,” she instructed.

“Ah, picking coal!” Little Nie Weimin put on the cotton coat and ran out.

Now, if she simply boiled the milk in an aluminum pot and let the kids taste its natural flavor, that would be fine.

But Chen Lina was a perfectionist, and she couldn’t stand doing anything halfway.

By coincidence, she had bought a bottle of rice wine from a Kazakh trader the day before.

She boiled the milk, then filtered out the dregs of the rice wine.

As the milk boiled, she poured in the rice wine, stirring as she did.

Soon, the milk began to form curds, and as she added more rice wine, the curds increased.

When the curds were almost ready, she turned off the heat, filtered out the excess water with a piece of cloth, and transferred the thickened milk to a bowl.

In front of her three hungry kids, she deliberately added snow-white sugar to it, which looked like snowy flakes.

Sweet!

Just seeing the sugar had the kids drooling.

But she didn’t let them eat it yet.

She took the bowl outside to the window and set it in the natural “freezer” to freeze for a while.

Only when it solidified would she bring it back inside to eat.

“Mom, what is this called?” Er Dan licked his lips, nearly burning with anticipation.

“This is called cheese, but it’s different from what the Uyghurs or Kazakhs make. This is Han-style cheese. I guarantee that even those who dislike fishy smells won’t taste any of it here,” Chen Lina said.

Nie Bozhao had gone to the No. 2 oil well that day, and on his way, he passed by the Mulan Farm.

This farm was home to many farmers who had migrated from inland China.

They mainly grew soybeans, cotton, and raised dairy cows.

Compared to the mainland, the land here was vast, exempt from taxes, and the region had abundant resources.

With more people, they didn’t have to worry about going hungry, making it a relatively good place.

However, there were always people who wanted more.

For example, Huang Huacai, Sun Zhuangnan’s mother.

Thanks to her son’s recent success and her ability to place her brothers in various departments, she had become the dominant figure in the Mulan Farm.

Yet, she wasn’t satisfied.

Since Sun Zhuangnan had passed away, and she no longer had anyone at the oil base to rely on, she wanted to marry off her youngest daughter, Sun Duoyu, to Xiao Chen.

But Xiao Chen’s father was the factory director of a car plant in Shanghai, and even though he had been relocated, he was still a man of status.

There was no way he would be interested in someone like Sun Duoyu.

So, the old lady turned her attention to Fu Yongdong, a clerk in the personnel department.

But Fu Yongdong wasn’t brave enough to accept her.

The old lady, still desperate, began to push for a match with a neighbor, Ha Gong.

However, due to her domineering nature, though Ha Gong had some interest in Sun Duoyu, he dared not marry her.

As a large truck passed by Mulan Farm, Nie Bozhao spotted Huang Huacai standing at the farm’s entrance.

When she saw the truck approaching, she blocked its path with both hands, unafraid of being run over.

“Xiao Chen, tell me, has the base paid the salaries this month?” she asked.

The driver, Xiao Chen, saw Nie Weimin sitting upright in the back and quickly made up a lie. “The snow is heavy, and the accountant hasn’t sent out the registered mail yet. Please wait a little longer.”

Huang Huacai craned her neck to look, but the truck was too high for her to see Nie Weimin sitting behind.

Doubtful, she asked again, “Xiao Chen, I heard Nie Gong married someone new from his hometown. Is that true?”

Xiao Chen broke into a cold sweat.

He glanced back and saw Nie Weimin and two oil rig workers sitting in the second row, hidden by thick cotton curtains.

Nie Weimin waved his hand in frustration, and Xiao Chen immediately replied, “I… I don’t know.”

He stepped on the gas and quickly sped away.

Huang Huacai stood there, fuming.

She felt that if she didn’t receive the registered mail by tonight, she would go to the base tomorrow and demand answers.