“Why?” Chen Lina gently asked as she picked up the little child. “Tell Mom, we three brothers have always loved Mama the most.”

In the beginning, she found the child heavy, but recently, even though he had grown fatter and taller, she noticed he was much lighter than before when she picked him up.

This is probably what’s meant by the connection between a mother and child—this child was always closest to her, and when she held him, he never felt heavy.

“I don’t want to sleep away from Mom,” the little one finally expressed his feelings, sounding particularly sad, “Tear down the bed Dad made, tear it down.”

In order to give the three children their own separate room, Ne Bozhao had returned from the No. 3 base and built a small warehouse beside the house, clearing out the little storage room next to his study.

He built a large bed and a firewall, setting up a new bed for the children.

Ne Weimin was very happy, leading his little companions to help his father with the work, carrying bricks and tiles.

Er Dan was like a little muddy pig, not caring about anything.

Only San Dan wasn’t happy, because the new bed meant he would have to sleep separately from his parents.

“Your two brothers will take care of you,” Ne Bozhao said.

“I want to sleep with Mom, or I’ll beat Jinbao.” After all, Mom smelled the best.

Both of his brothers were smelly.

This logic made no sense—because he couldn’t sleep with his parents, he wanted to beat another child.

The little one, San Dan, would grow up to be a hacker.

After a bombing at a national embassy abroad, he would attack and disable the security websites of major European and American countries with just a computer, even though he could barely move at that time.

One can imagine how shocked the authorities would be when they found out that the leader of the so-called hacker group was actually a disabled person who could only move his hands, lying in bed.

The consequences of this incident would cause Ne Bozhao a great deal of negative impact.

An experienced engineer and a leader of a company set to go public, his two eldest sons were executed, and only the youngest was left, paralyzed, but still able to accomplish something huge.

This was truly a small villain with a unique mindset since childhood.

“Alright then, for now, Mom will let you sleep with us, but first, go apologize to Grandma.”

“Thank you, Mom.” The little one sincerely went to apologize to Grandma.

He Lan’er wasn’t going to argue with the child, but she did want to stay and help her daughter look after the kids.

After finishing her meal, she busied herself with various tasks and finally said, “Lina, if it doesn’t work out, I won’t go to the farm. I’ll stay and cook for you.”

“No, Mom’s cooking is the best,” Er Dan said, his voice hoarse and full of suspicion.

Ne Weimin, always good at keeping up appearances, grabbed a broom and started sweeping the yard. “Grandma, look at how obedient we are. We can take care of ourselves,” making it clear that he didn’t want her to stay.

That evening, when it was time to sleep, He Lan’er said, “I see these three kids are doing fine. No matter how big they get, they’ve always been good, filial children. It’s just that you’ve had to raise them alone. How can I help you? I really want to ease your burden.”

“It’s okay mother, you haven’t even started adjusting to the new environment. Just focus on yourself. Though there are no struggles here, the climate in the frontier is tough. When you get to the farm, make sure to take care of your health. A healthy you is the best thing for us.”

Chen Lina usually didn’t say much to her mother, and according to the rules of the base, even if family members came to visit, they could only stay one night.

The next day, she sent her mother off to the farm.

Having seen Chen Lina and Ne Bozhao’s well-off life, He Lan’er soon realized the reality of her daughter’s life at the farm when she saw the daily meals of cornmeal and corn dough buns.

It was clear that life there was humble, like that of a cadre’s family.

Fortunately, Wang Hongbing was the vice director of the farm.

Upon arrival, they were greeted by a group of university professors and plant experts who were working on renovations in the cow shed.

They drank the local bitter brick tea and shared stories of their experiences while being sent down for labor reform.

In the past, He Lan’er and her husband thought they had suffered greatly because of an old man.

But after hearing the stories of these experts, who were in even worse conditions, they realized their own hardships hadn’t been too bad.

Finally, after enduring more than half a year of suffering in the frontier, they managed to smile with relief.

That day, when Chen Lina was returning from the farm, she ran into Liu Xiaohong and Liu Xiaogang by the roadside, waiting for a truck.

One man, with a dark complexion, looked like Liu Han’s brother.

The woman was holding Liu Xiaohong’s hand.

“Goodbye, Aunt Chen, we’re going back to our hometown,” they said.

“Oh, are these your relatives?” Chen Lina asked.

Liu Han’s brother confirmed, and the woman added, “Leader, I’m also.”

Chen Lina became cautious: “Is Liu Han from Sichuan? Are you returning to Sichuan?” The woman had a Henan accent.

“Yes,” both of them answered at once, though their accents were completely different.

Just as the truck arrived, Liu Xiaohong waved goodbye to Chen Lina and climbed onto the truck with her uncle and the woman.

“She’s so young, I even came all the way here. Honestly, she’s not worth 30 bucks, you should give me five more,” the man muttered quietly.

“If you think she’s too small, I’ll find someone else. I don’t believe this lovely girl can’t be wanted,” Liu Han’s brother and the dark-faced woman whispered together as the truck shook and rolled down the road.

Since Liu Han had already left the base, Liu Xiaohong and Liu Xiaogang’s fate had become uncertain.

The base had contacted their relatives, and their uncle had come to pick them up from Sichuan, which made them happy, thinking they were returning home.

However, as the truck traveled, several other trucks began to follow, and a small car overtook them and blocked the road.

Security team leader Qin Sheng and his men boarded the truck.

“Liu brothers, you say this woman is your family. Then, where’s your marriage certificate?”

“We didn’t bring them.”

“What about the letter of introduction, the household registration certificate?”

“We forgot them at home.”

“That’s nonsense! In these times, with such tight security, how could you be without a marriage certificate, letter of introduction, and household registration? Who are you fooling?”

Standing by the car, Chen Lina stretched out her hand and pulled Liu Xiaohong down. “Captain Qin, this woman is definitely a human trafficker. Listen to her accent, it’s from Henan, and then listen to the Liu family brothers—they have a Sichuan accent. Nowadays, with the strict control over population movement, and with the Liu family brothers being in their teens, how could they be a married couple?”

The security team immediately dragged the two black-hearted individuals out and into the desert.

The Liu brothers still stubbornly argued: “My brother turned into a counter-revolutionary. It’s a miracle I can help him raise his son. A little girl who can’t earn work points is useless. Why should I raise her? It’s only natural that I sold her. She’s my Liu family’s daughter, and you can’t control it.”

“If she’s your Liu family’s daughter, you can just sell her off at will? Why don’t you sell your own children then?”

“I’ve already given away three of my own kids. Who’s going to control me? I’ve already taken money for this child, and I won’t give it back.”

Captain Qin was so angry he hissed. “You’re not giving her away; once money’s involved, it’s called trafficking. Fine, there’s no use reasoning with someone like you. Let’s go; we’ve got a good place in the security team where we can clear your mind.”

Turning to salute, he said, “Director Chen, I apologize. Our security team didn’t do our job well, and these two got through.”

“It’s not your fault. Who would have thought that their own uncle would sell a child?” Chen Lina replied.

The local customs were still simple, and people hadn’t been swindled or deceived much.

Unlike Chen Lina, who had spent her life struggling and crawling through difficult situations, she could spot a bad person from a mile away.

“Chen Ayi, what do we do now?” Liu Xiaogang asked helplessly, standing in the desert and looking at his uncle being taken away by the security team.

“You have hands and feet, you can help with the boiler work at the base. For now, stay there. I’ll figure out something else.” Chen Lina said.

She then quietly asked Liu Xiaohong, “Didn’t I give you three yuan every month? Was that not enough?”

Liu Xiaohong quickly nodded. “It’s enough, it’s enough.”

“Alright then. Stay at the base for now. Don’t follow people like them. If you need money, just ask me.”

Chen Lina thought to herself, Oh my, Nie Weimin, I’m repaying you for the debt from the previous life.

She wondered whether this little girl, who had been Nie Weimin’s mistress at the age of fifteen or sixteen, had ever made Nie Weimin feel heartbroken when she was executed for taking the blame for him.

…..

Recently, Nie Bozhao seemed to be very irritable—genuinely irritable.

The weather had warmed up, and the children’s kang (a type of heated bed) had dried, so the two older ones were sleeping separately, leaving only Chen Lina and San Dan sleeping together.

The family only had a few cotton blankets, and since the new cotton wasn’t ready yet, Chen Lina had to patch things up by taking apart some of the kids’ old cotton clothes and making a little blanket for San Dan.

However, he was too tall and big for it, so his feet still stuck out. She had to use it as a mattress instead.

“Just come sleep with us, the blanket is enough for everyone. You were fine before, what happened these past two months?”

“No, I’ll sleep in the small bedroom.”

“Why? Comrade Nie, am I ugly? Tasteless? Or am I like Dong Shi? Do you not even want to sleep together with me?”

“No, no, no, you’re the snow lotus from the Tianshan mountains, you’re Awal Gu Li. But this is my problem, you don’t need to worry about me.”

Nie Bozhao was on the edge.

If he was on a business trip, it would be fine, but staying at home and staring at the calendar made him realize how long a month could be.

He felt like a finely crafted, tightly wound machine.

Since his late wife passed, he had strictly adhered to the routine of sleeping together once a month, unwilling to break it.

After all, as a soldier in peacetime, he didn’t have to face enemy bombardment or threats.

But life’s temptations were just as much a test, and he was a veteran revolutionary soldier who couldn’t let himself break the rules he set for himself.

Recently, with US-China relations thawing and the Soviet Union making moves, helicopters had been hovering in the sky, and the oil fields in the major mining area bases had ceased large-scale production, so Nie Bozhoa had too much idle time on his hands.

It felt like adding insult to injury, so he planned a trip to distract himself.

“I’ve been quite free recently. Comrade Chen, your farm’s spring planting has just been completed. Tell me, would you like to visit somewhere? I can accompany you.”

“Dad, we want to go to Devil’s City. I heard there are devils there!” Nie Weimin suddenly rushed in from outside.

“Weimin, let me make a request: could you stop eavesdropping on your parents’ conversations?”

“I wasn’t eavesdropping, but didn’t you just tell Xiao Zhu this morning that you’d finish your work and then take us out to play?” Nie Weimin said, standing firm.

“Devil’s City? Let’s go, I’ve only heard the name, but never seen what it looks like,” Chen Lina said.

Nie Bozhao then asked, “Has Xing Shuchai taken you there? If he has, I’ll avoid that place.”

“No, he’s only been to Uru when he came to the frontier. Uma Yi is his sad place; he’s never stepped foot there. This should be fine, right?”

“Alright, then let’s all go to Devil’s City together. Afterward, I’ll take you to the Dushanzi base to soak in the hot springs. How about that?” Nie Bozhao said.