Huang Huacai got up from the ground and saw that Chen Lina was about to leave, so she directly lay down in front of her: “You’ve spoiled my oldest grandson and taught him to hurt people! You need to compensate for my losses. Look at my clothes! Oh, my head hurts, my brain is throbbing! I want you to pay for my medical expenses!”

Sun Duoyu stammered, trying to say something: “Chicken… eggs… fish… supplement… health.”

“Oh, so now the child is crying to scare people, and the old lady is pretending to be dead to scare people. You want money, huh? You want some oil-soaked eggs, right?”

At that moment, they saw Chen Lina holding a basket of coal ash, with some embers still burning inside.

Chen Lina turned around and pretended to throw the ash on Huang Huacai. “Oh, so a child accidentally bumps into someone, and that’s called hitting? Since you’re demanding compensation anyway, how about I add a little more?”

“Comrade Xiao Chen, you can’t do this!” Seeing things escalate, someone stepped forward to mediate, dragging out the name of Sun Zhuangnan to play the family card.

“You should call in Manager Wang and District Chief Gao. Either of them will do. If they agree, I’ll agree,” Chen Lina said, holding the basket of coal ash and looking as though she would throw it if anyone dared to argue further.

Someone, eager to solve the problem, rushed to the office building to find someone.

Sun Duoyu, sensing the tension, realized that everyone in the neighborhood had dried fish.

Even though there were fish in the Baiyang River in the north, it had been frozen for years.

The smell of dried fish was something everyone found fresh and appealing. “And… I want dried fish too,” she said.

Huang Huacai continued, “You should know that my second daughter is married in the mining district, and my third daughter’s husband is the head of Mulan Farm.

We have so much food at home, we can feed the birds with the leftover bread. I’m not interested in your fish. What I’m fighting for is the status of my son-in-law here at the base. Even though she’s dead, she’s still honored.”

No matter how tough a mother is, when she speaks too much, it can lose its impact.

Everyone stared at Huang Huacai, uneasy.

Manager Wang was at Oil Well No. 2, but District Chief Gao, who was busy setting up a hospital and school, was stationed here.

When Huang Huacai saw District Chief Gao arriving, she became even more unyielding.

In the freezing winter, she refused to get up from the ground. “District Chief Gao, you have to look at this. This dirty old Nine has spoiled my oldest grandson. She’s turned my well-behaved child into a person who hits others. This dirty old Nine has unhealthy thoughts, improper attitudes, and her actions are even more problematic.”

Sun Duoyu probably also wanted to lie down, but when District Chief Gao arrived, it was no longer the right moment to do so.

District Chief Gao, Gao Feng, was someone Chen Lina would eventually meet in the future.

This was because, in the coming years, Gao Feng would rise to a high position. Starting from 1971, when the campaign to “remove the hats” began, the areas he governed had the most and fastest people stripped of their labels of “black five categories” (enemies of the state).

The development of an enterprise or a region is inseparable from the people behind it.

Wumayi, which had become the “Pearl of the Desert,” owed much of its success to leaders like these, who had a vision and open-mindedness.

A vulgar woman like Huang Huacai could throw a tantrum with Chen Lina, but when it came to the leaders, it was all about evidence.

So, Chen Lina handed the evidence directly to District Chief Gao: “Leader, I am Nie Gong’s family member, and my priority is to ensure Nie Gong’s research and work are not affected. As for the rest, please handle it as you see fit. However, I need to show you something.”

She handed him a brown paper notebook, with the word “Diary” written on it.

District Chief Gao took it, but seeing the name Sun Zhuangnan written inside, he didn’t dare read it in detail.

He flipped to the page marked by Chen Lina with a bookmark and briefly skimmed through it.

Then he said, “Okay, okay, Sun Gong’s mother, I will take care of this. Let’s go, I’ll send a large truck to take you home, is that alright?”

“That dirty woman, she has to compensate me, and she has to give me dried fish,” Huang Huacai continued.

Suddenly, a whole basket of coal ash was tipped over, which startled District Chief Gao.

Nie’s family wasn’t exactly what people expected; this old lady was a real troublemaker.

“Old lady, if you dare call me that dirty woman again and slander my reputation, I’ll kill your entire family,” Chen Lina shouted.

The old lady was so frightened that she dared not say another word, and the coal ash was for nothing.

Chen Lina wasn’t just confident for no reason.

The leaders of the base, while they might care about other things, were generally highly educated and scholarly.

Referring to someone as “dirty woman” was almost in line with their political stance, which was why she felt she could get away with it.

This put District Chief Gao in a tough position.

Unlike Manager Wang, who had a short temper, or Secretary A, who carried a lot of grudges, Gao Feng was patient and had to placate Huang Huacai.

“I still have dried fish. I came here alone, so I can’t finish it. Would you like some?”

Huang Huacai hadn’t quite understood what was going on, but as she clapped her hands, she continued to complain about how bad Nie Weimin was.

Meanwhile, the leader kept nodding, showing understanding.

Before leaving, he even shook her hand and gave her a few pieces of dried fish and a basket of eggs.

Huang Huacai, still confused, assumed the leader would sternly deal with Chen Lina, and she left satisfied, thinking she would also get some compensation.

Little did she know, after Huang Huacai left, District Chief Gao waved his hand, calling in the security team leader, Qin Sheng.

He said with great sincerity, “Captain Qin, from now on, we need to tighten security. Any outsiders must be accompanied by family members to enter the base, especially that old lady. You cannot let her in again.”

Qin Sheng looked puzzled. “Why?”

“It’s their family matter, but this old lady and her daughters, especially Sun Ainan, the wife of the director of the personnel department in the mine, can never be allowed to enter the base unless Nie Gong and his family approve.”

Qin Sheng was still confused, but he took out his notebook and seriously wrote down the names of the people involved.

Nie Weimin, who had just gotten into his first fight, hadn’t fully recovered from the shock yet.

Er Dan was oblivious to everything, carefully eating his fish. “Brother, come eat fish, it’s really delicious!”

Nie Weimin’s hands were still trembling, but what upset him the most was that his beautiful, pristine naval uniform had been torn, not just anywhere but right across his chest.

It was like when Goudan tore his knee, and from that point on, his military uniform never looked the same.

Nie Weimin’s uniform would never be the same either.

The smell of the fish was tempting, and Er Dan happily ate his rice and fish.

Today, Chen Lina had grown a batch of green bean sprouts, and they were stir-fried into a dish, which Er Dan seemed to relish.

But Nie Weimin, feeling down, kept glancing at his torn clothes, thinking life was hopeless.

After dinner, and after washing the dishes, Chen Lina deliberately said, “Comrade Little Nie, please take out the dirty water.”

Well, Nie Weimin, who usually negotiated terms, today, in his sadness, didn’t bother with any.

He picked up the bucket, not even bothering to put on his coat, and went out.

Chen Lina served him a bowl of white rice with two pieces of fish that had been carefully deboned.

She asked, “Do you want to eat?”

Nie Weimin shook his head, looking miserable. “No.”

“Is it because of the clothes, or because you hit someone?”

“…”

“Just the clothes? Don’t worry, I’ll fix them.”

“It’s also wrong to hit people. Mom said, kids should obey and not hit anyone.”

Chen Lina laid the naval uniform on the sewing machine, inspected the damage, and realized she could patch it.

But then an idea struck her, so she cut a piece of cloth, folded it, and patched the front of the uniform before sewing it on.

Alright, now Nie Weimin was willing to eat.

Chen Lina thought to herself, wow, boys are this vain too?

But what could she do?

After all, he was the handsomest boy at the base.

His round head wasn’t large, his nose was similar to his dad’s, but not as striking as his father’s.

He had a delicate face, and his eyes were still red from crying, scraping away at his rice.

He looked both annoying and adorable.

“From now on, if anyone hits you, will you fight back?” The sewing machine hummed as Er Dan, under Chen Lina’s gentle persuasion, was feeding San Dan.

The two were playing with their food, and Chen Lina decided it was time to talk to her stepson.

Nie Weimin thought for a moment, a sly glint flashing in his eyes, then obediently said, “No, I won’t fight back.”

“You should fight back. For example, if Liu Xiaogang, Goudan, or others hit you, even if your punch isn’t strong enough, you should still swing your fist. If you fight back once, they won’t dare to hit you again.”

“What if their parents come?”

“I’ll tell them it was their son who hit my son, but as long as you didn’t start it, I’ll take full responsibility for the medical expenses.”

“You’re really something.” Nie Weimin was eating his white rice when he accidentally bit into a piece of fish, which he usually didn’t like, but to his surprise, it actually tasted quite good.

“Cough, cough!” Well, his father had said he wouldn’t come back, but it was already almost midnight when he returned.

Nie Weimin heard this and quickly grabbed his bowl, scurrying to the kitchen.

“Is there any food left?”

“No, weren’t you supposed to have a big meal at the oil well today? Why are you back?” Chen Lina said as she handed him his clothes, and then seriously said, “When we talk about fighting, it’s just kids fooling around. If others hit you, you should fight back.

But, in life, fighting is not the most important thing. I made you a pencil case, for your pen.

Starting next year, you’ll be a primary school student, Comrade Xiao Nie, and I hope you’ll spend more time with your pen than with your fists.”

The pretty little pencil case was perfect for holding a fountain pen.

Nie Bozhao took the fountain pen from his pocket and slid it into the pencil case.

It fit just right.

Bending down, his father said, “Son, I started school at nine, and I even skipped three grades in my first year.

It’s okay if you can’t do that, but you mustn’t disgrace me. This pen was given to me by the Prime Minister at the National Advanced Workers’ Conference. I’m passing it on to you now, and you must take good care of it.”

When it was time for bed, Nie Weimin still couldn’t bear to take the pen off.

After all, it was his father’s most treasured pen, the one he used to write all his drafts, and most of the respect his father received at the base came from that pen.

Though there was no food, after the three kids went to bed, Chen Lina still brought out a steaming bowl of rice for him. “We just got the fish today. We each ate two pieces, but you can have two pieces too. Go ahead, eat.”

Nie Bozhao didn’t want to eat the steamed bread at the well, but since it was a tough time, at the well, everyone ate big bowls of cabbage soup with a steamed bun.

He was so hungry, his stomach was growling, so he ran back to eat.

Sure enough, there was still food at home.

“You can’t teach kids to fight. I’ve always said, we should resolve things with culture, not violence. If there’s a fight, we avoid it. But you actually said you’ll take full responsibility for the medical expenses. Looks like you really want to raise my son to be a gangster,” Nie Bozhao said while eating.

Chen Lina disagreed. “Being hit, or hitting someone, is something every child has to experience.

Your son is always getting hit, and he’s very sensitive about it. If you keep suppressing him, one day, he’ll explode.

He might even get addicted to fighting and end up on the wrong path. But if he fights back, the other kids won’t dare to hit him again, and that’s how you build his self-respect. Besides, if my son wins, I’ll be happy to pay the medical fees for the other side.”

“My son?” Nie Bozhao paused, then asked with a smile.

Chen Lina shrugged, “I mean, if I had a son.”

Nie Bozhao chuckled, then went back to eating.

Tonight, the little princess was being particularly affectionate.

When he finished his meal, and after seeing him in the small bedroom turning on the desk lamp, she quickly made him a cup of black coffee and brought it over.

The enamel mug was steaming, and just as Nie Bozhao took it, he noticed that Little Chen had moved behind him to massage his back.

“Are you tired? Let me give you a massage?”

“I dare not trouble the princess,” Nie Bozhao said nervously, “But Comrade Chen, you’re not up to something bad, are you? Why do I feel so nervous?”

Under the lamp, the self-proclaimed princess blushed and smiled shyly, which made Nie Bozhao’s hair stand on end. “Do you really have something planned?”