Hu Su sat in the living room under the couple’s watchful eyes, quietly reading a book she had picked out.

As they stepped out of the house, Nie Bozhao spoke earnestly, “After all, you’re a woman. If He Min proves capable of running the farm, you can earn your salary, take care of your family, and enjoy the best of both worlds.”

Chen Lina stayed silent.

But from men to children to the farm, she was never one to relinquish control without a fight.

She decided to wait and see.

In the afternoon, the shadows of the poplar trees stretched long, and sunlight poured into the classroom, making the blackboard’s writing appear blurry.

Er Dan felt so sleepy—hungry and sleepy.

If Mom were here, he’d have enough to eat, and his stomach wouldn’t be growling like this.

But Mom was too busy today, so he’d eaten at Chen Tiantian’s house.

Tiantian’s mom had served thin porridge with cornmeal cakes that made his stomach rumble noisily.

The louder his stomach growled, the more he missed Mom.

Tears began to fill his eyes.

“Swallows fly low, snakes cross paths; chickens return to their coops, and frogs croak. Tobacco gets damp, and leaves swell—big rain is coming soon…

Nie Weigou, should I get you a pillow so you can lie down and sleep properly?” A piece of chalk came flying his way, jolting him from his dreams.

The teacher had already marched up to him.

Er Dan struggled to open his eyes but failed; he just wanted to lie down and sleep.

“If you keep this up, Nie Weiguo, you’ll stand outside the classroom! And I’ll call your parents to take you home,” the teacher barked.

Most kids would see being kicked out of the classroom as a major humiliation.

But Er Dan was delighted: Wow, will Mom really come to pick me up?

He dashed outside and stood by the door, earnestly waiting for his mom.

His stubborn defiance nearly caused the stern teacher, in his thirties, to explode with anger.

Finally, the bell rang.

San Dan peeked out from the back of the classroom.

Er Dan bolted towards him, shouting, “Big brother, Mom’s here!”

“Slow down, there’s plenty. Eat more if you want,” Chen Lina said, watching her two sons devour their food.

She rubbed Er Dan’s ear and asked, “So, I heard your teacher scolded you again?”

“I just wanted Mom to come and take me home,” Er Dan said, chomping on a juicy pork shank.

His face was oily, his eyes were teary, and his voice was muffled by mouthfuls of food.

“You’re still young, but Mom can’t take care of two kids at once. If you can’t catch up this year, we’ll try again next year. I believe you can do it. We’ll fly ahead like the early bird, okay?”

“But the teacher said, ‘Good students will always be good, and bad students will always be bad.’ He said I’ll never get better,” Er Dan muttered.

“My son isn’t stupid. I believe in you,” she replied firmly.

“But he really is a blockhead!” Nie Weimin, who always topped his class, teased as he tousled his brother’s hair. “If only I could give you half the words I know!”

“Alright, what about Tiantian and Xiaohong? Why didn’t you ask them to join us?” In the mining district, eating pork—especially shanks—wasn’t something you flaunted.

Still, Chen Lina wished she could share the treat with her sons’ little friends, especially Tiantian, who always ate with such gusto and never held back.

“No way! We just want to be with Mom,” the older boys said, clinging to her like eager puppies.

For now, they thought the world of their mom.

But as they grew older, she knew they’d inevitably chase after the girls instead.

“You be careful, alright?” The bell had rung three times, but Nie Weimin lingered, reminding her repeatedly. “Don’t get sick again, okay?”

“Alright, off you go to class. I have to head to the farm,” she said.

“Don’t worry. I always score 100 on my tests. The teacher won’t scold me for being a little late,” he said nonchalantly.

As she watched him stroll away, Chen Lina sighed. If only his brilliance could be shared with Er Dan, how wonderful that would be.

Er Dan was the kind of child who might learn a character one day, forget it the next, and have to relearn it again—a true little blockhead.

Before reaching the farm, she was greeted by endless fields of golden autumn wheat. The carefully chosen variety thrived in the district’s alkaline soil, yielding plump grains that had impressed even nearby regiment farms. Every day, farm managers came to learn from their success.

The farm’s residential area bustled with activity. Tractors came and went, unloading grain and threshing barley at the warehouses.

Neither the educated youth nor the production team members were idle. Everyone was busy storing the harvested wheat.

Agricultural mechanization was still in its infancy. Chen Lina had repeatedly petitioned the mining district for threshers, but they wouldn’t arrive this year.

“What’s going on, Anna? Why aren’t you helping with the harvest? Why are you rehearsing a dance instead?” Chen Lina was stunned when she entered the cultural center and saw several young girls with red ribbons around their waists.

“Secretary He asked us to practice. He said the district’s armed forces and cultural troupe are coming for a performance exchange. Whoever dances best might get transferred to the cultural troupe,” one of the girls explained.

The cultural troupe meant singing and dancing instead of labor. Who wouldn’t want that?

One sleazy leader out, another sweet-talking one in, she thought bitterly.

Grabbing a sickle, she declared, “Take off those red ribbons and come harvest wheat with me. I’m the farm manager, and I’m in charge of production. Until the wheat is stored and the cotton is picked, anyone caught dancing will have their legs ‘harvested’ with this sickle.”

The girls, alarmed by their beloved manager’s fury, promptly removed their ribbons, picked up sickles, and hurried out.

Carrying her sickle, she strode purposefully. During harvest season, even three-year-olds scoured the fields for stray grains. There wasn’t a single idle soul. Dancing? Could that fill an empty stomach?

As for He Min, it seemed his incompetence extended beyond personal conduct to professional matters.

Fine, she thought. With a lifetime of experience, if there’s one thing I excel at, it’s cutting down worthless men!

It was almost the end of August, and as soon as the sun came out, it was incredibly hot. The distant mountains looked as though they were about to catch fire.

At the mining area, after the annual autumn harvest, all the government agencies would gather at the farm for a social event.

Of course, at this event, the young intellectuals (zhīqīng) could dance and sing to their heart’s content, and the members of various agencies could join in as well.

This was the time to showcase the farm’s development and vitality to the mining area.

When the leaders saw the progress and potential of the farm, they would certainly pay more attention to it. But this vast land, cultivated by human labor, was so large that no matter how hard everyone worked, it couldn’t be fully harvested by hand.

So, when the leaders arrived and were in a good mood, the farm was bound to get the modern equipment it needed.

Chen Lina had already made up her mind about how to ask the leaders for money to add equipment and increase production.

However, her colleague, He Min, refused to listen to her and insisted on having the young intellectuals perform dances to earn political credit.

It was the weekend, and the Nie brothers had also brought Chen Lina to the farm, where they were picking wheat with Liu Xiaohong and the others. Of course, all the workers from Base 1 who had the day off were also called in to help harvest the wheat.

Chen Lina had worked on a farm in her past life for several years. The sickles swished through the fields, cutting down the wheat stalks which fell neatly to the ground. With one quick motion, she bundled them up, and the plump wheat ears lay quietly, waiting for the male intellectuals to carry them to the tractor and transport them back to the farm.

“Director Chen, my dear Director Chen, the leaders from all the agencies will be coming soon. Could you please select a few people to practice a dance and accompany them?” He Min followed closely behind Chen Lina, continuously speaking.

“Secretary He, you’re the leader. This matter should be directed to the young intellectuals, not me.”

“They said they don’t want to dance, only to focus on production, but I think they will listen to you.”

“No, they listen to their own hearts. They see the wheat drying under the sun, and the grains are about to fall out of the husks, scattering all over the ground. At this moment, they just want to hurry up and harvest the wheat, not dance.”

Chen Lina cut fast, far ahead of the other female intellectuals. The young women were determined to keep up, working hard to cut the wheat.

“Director Chen, Your Majesty, Miss Chen?” He Min, in a panic, jumped up and down, bending over beside Chen Lina. She lowered her voice, trying to be flattering. “You are our farm’s revered queen, and we all follow your lead. Please persuade them to dance. Our farm can’t fall behind at this social event.”

Yes, the production was something she and a team of experts had worked day and night on, and the results were thanks to the hard work of the young intellectuals.

Now that the new leadership had taken over, they were using sweet words to try to win people over, even threatening to disrupt production. Chen Lina was aware of these slippery tactics—calling her Miss Chen?

This kind of capitalist flattery made her want to report He Min right away; if she did, He Min would be arrested and criticized.

But she also knew there would be gossip. She feared that the bad elements in the mining area would spread rumors about her.

As the base’s first family member and the farm director, Chen Lina was keen to protect her reputation.

Moreover, she had always been someone who made others uncomfortable if she wasn’t feeling good herself. So there was no need for further discussion now.

With the sickle in her hand, the wheat fell in neat rows. Suddenly, Chen Lina smiled slyly. Ah, He Min seemed to enjoy being called “Your Majesty.”

Of course, women in power liked to be praised.

“Your Majesty… Ouch! It hurts, it hurts…” He Min bent down suddenly and jumped up like a chicken that had stepped on a hot stove.

“Ah, leader, I wasn’t paying attention. Did I cut your foot? I didn’t mean to. It looks like a deep wound. I’ll hurry and send a tractor to take you to the mining area clinic.”

“Of course, how could Director Chen do it on purpose? It’s my fault for standing in the wrong place.” He Min, sweating and hopping around in pain, still tried to maintain her composure.

A tractor was called, and the young intellectuals worked together to send the injured He Min to the mining area clinic.

Chen Lina stood up and looked around. The young women behind her were covering their mouths, laughing.

Good, now they could fully focus on production.