“Weimin, recite a poem from Mín Nóng (The Farmer) for Dad to listen to,” Nie Bozhao, still in his white shirt and navy-blue work pants, wanted to help his wife with the labor.

However, being a scientist, his hands weren’t made for a sickle, so he ended up picking wheat heads with the children.

“Spring sowing a grain of millet, autumn harvest a thousand seeds; no idle land in the four seas, yet the farmer still dies of hunger.” San Dan recited the lines fluently.

But Nie Weimin didn’t recite the poem.

Instead, he was very meticulous as he picked the wheat: “Dad, did you notice the pattern? Each wheat head has exactly 30 grains.”

“Is there a problem with that?”

“Look at this one, it has three spots that are shriveled. I heard Mom say the farm’s experts are researching how to improve the genetics, to fill those spots and increase the yield to 36 grains per head.”

This child was just like his father—methodical and precise.

His small basket of wheat heads was neatly organized, arranged in rows as though they were marching in formation.

Meanwhile, Er Dan, covered in sweat, grabbed whatever he could—wheat heads, dogtail grass, and even a few earthworms. “Dad, Sister Xiaohong said she’ll make cucumber noodles for me today.”

Nie Bozhao turned around and noticed a little girl following them, carrying her own basket and occasionally wiping San Dan’s drool.

“Alright, we’ll go to your Aunt’s house for cucumber noodles at noon.”

That night, the whole family was exhausted.

Chen Lili made oil cakes from the new wheat flour for the three children.

They were soft and fluffy, with spring onions rolled inside, crispy and delicious.

The first time Nie Weimin stubbornly refused to eat the soft oil cakes was when Chen Lili made them, and it was exactly this taste.

The three brothers each tore off big pieces of the soft, tender cakes, chewing them with fresh, crispy tomatoes.

It wasn’t until the car drove out of the farm gate that Nie Weimin suddenly slapped his forehead. “Something’s not right.”

“What’s wrong, bro?”

“I remember Aunt only made three oil cakes, so Liu Xiaohong definitely didn’t get any.”

“She has oil and flour at home, she can make them herself.”

“You don’t understand, the new wheat flour is only three kilograms per family. We use it all up with just one meal of noodles and one meal of bread. She wants to eat it, but she’ll have to wait until the wheat is stored and divided,” Nie Weimin said.

After thinking for a moment, he realized this wasn’t right. “Okay, when school starts on Monday, I’ll ask Er Dan to give her an eraser as a small gift to make up for it. I can’t take advantage of a little girl.”

Back home, the children had all eaten their fill, but Chen Lina and Nie Bozhao were in desperate need of a bath, as were the three kids.

However, it wasn’t very convenient with an outsider in the house.

Hu Su, who had said she was coming to the farm to relax, hadn’t gone to the fields at all, afraid of the sun.

Since Chen Lina was busy and Nie Bozhao was working overtime, she ended up staying at the Nie family’s house, occasionally visiting He Min’s house.

“Hu Su, you’ve been here for several days. Aren’t you thinking of going back?” Nie Bozhao asked, chasing after her.

He was a grown man, and if there were no outsiders, he would have already stripped down to his underwear and showered the children in the yard, followed by a quick wash for himself.

But with Hu Su around, it was difficult to do so.

Moreover, it was nearly time for his scheduled monthly marital duties, and having an outsider around was really an obstacle.

“Bozhao, I didn’t expect Xiao Chen and the kids to welcome me so warmly, but now you’re asking me to leave.”

“But you have your own children, and with Junyou not here, don’t they need more of your care?” Nie Bozhao said.

Hu Su was in the backyard picking vegetables, planning to make a salad with tomatoes and sugar.

“Bozhao, I’ve already sent the kids back to Junyou’s hometown, where they’re being taken care of. Besides, your family is full of laughter and joy, and I’ve been infected by that atmosphere. Here, I feel like I’ve been healed.”

San Dan was now Chen Lina’s little shadow, following her everywhere she went.

As for Nie Weimin, not long ago, Nie Bozhao had noticed that his son seemed to recognize a lot of characters, so he found some fourth-grade math books to test him.

To his surprise, the boy had already surpassed his expectations.

He had figured out the rules for multiplying decimals and dividing decimals all on his own, asking his father about them.

Nie Bozhao, excited and proud that his son was even more capable than him, felt the kind of excitement that could only be compared to Columbus discovering the New World or Galileo proving that the Earth wasn’t the center of the universe.

All of this, however, was thanks to Chen Lina, who had been tirelessly teaching Weimin and Er Dan all day.

One child couldn’t recognize a single word, while the other understood everything instantly.

It was like having one child who made his parents proud and another who left them sighing in frustration.

“Comrade Chen, tonight give Er Dan one less bowl of rice. His intelligence seems to be all stored in his fat. If this keeps up, it won’t work.”

Little chubby Nie Weiguo(Er Dan) couldn’t learn well, wrote badly, and looked very sad while glancing at his mother, shaking his head and refusing to eat less.

“Alright, it’s like apricot blossoms bloom early, and pear blossoms bloom late. It’s the same tree, but the flowers come at different times.

Maybe he’ll develop later, and besides, he’s two years younger than Weimin. Can you stop being so hard on my son?

He might be a bit chubby now, but when he grows up, he’ll slim down. Don’t worry about it.

Just make sure he eats well now. If you deprive him, he’ll end up overeating later, and that’s what will really make him fat.”

Now, Er Dan wasn’t too chubby—his cheeks and bottom were just a bit rounder.

When compared to the slim Weimin, he looked a bit plumper.

When he grew up, in his military photo, he would probably have a strong, muscular build, with a tough look.

Just looking at the photo, there would be an air of danger around him.

“Comrade Chen, look, I’ll make a cucumber salad, a cold tomato dish, and stir-fry some eggplants with peppers. We’ll have it with rice, okay?” Hu Su said in the kitchen.

Chen Lina glanced at the cutting board, where there was a plate of sliced tomatoes covered with a thick layer of sugar.

“We’ll need to buy more sugar tomorrow. I used up all the sugar; otherwise, the tomatoes won’t be sweet,” Hu Su said.

“Sister Hu, the sugar in our mining district is rationed. One person gets two liang a month. Our whole family gets half a jin, and this month’s is already gone. We’ll have to wait until next month,” Chen Lina replied.

“Wow, I didn’t expect the welfare in your mining district to be this bad.”

“It definitely can’t compare to the military district’s benefits. Their farms have much better production. But we’ll improve soon,” Chen Lina said.

At the dinner table, the three kids were already full.

Even the second son, who usually loved food, looked drowsy.

He barely touched the bland and not-so-fragrant dishes.

By the time dinner was over, the youngest was nodding off, his head almost landing in his bowl.

Seeing the kids’ lack of enthusiasm compared to when their mother cooked, Hu Su said, “Er Dan, come on, eat! There’s so much sugar. Don’t you love sugar the most?”

Er Dan, who hadn’t finished his homework and was experiencing the greatest pain of his young life, remained unmoved.

Besides, when his mother cooked, she would turn the tomatoes into a rich sauce with sugar and oil, pairing it with spring pancakes.

It was delicious.

This plain sugar couldn’t excite his taste buds at all.

“Comrade Chen, did you hear that the factory director’s mother will become the principal of our elementary school? Did you know about this?” Hu Su’s words piqued the interest of the couple, who had been fretting over their son’s studies.

Nie Bozhao immediately responded, “Oh, isn’t she an experienced and outstanding teacher from Daqing?”

“Yes, she even participated in drafting temporary textbooks,” Hu Su said.

Nie Bozhao and Chen Lina exchanged a glance, both sensing an ominous feeling.

The current textbooks were full of content reflecting the era.

The math was straightforward, but Chinese language lessons were lacking in substance.

Most of the characters Nie Weimin knew were taught by Chen Lina using flashcards.

Well, that topic was dropped.

After dinner, Hu Su began again.

“Bozhao, Comrade Chen, your family’s happy atmosphere has touched me. I don’t want to go back to Yili. My house is cold and lifeless. It drives me crazy. I’d rather stay here, become a teacher, and help you take care of the kids. What do you think?”

What could they say?

After all, Hu Su was a top graduate from an industrial university.

Being an elementary school teacher would be a waste of her talent.

“Aunt Hu, we already have teachers. You’d better go back to Yili,” Nie Weimin said directly.

Even the drowsy Er Dan woke up in shock: “No! I want my mom’s cooking. Yours isn’t good.” That was hurtful.

The youngest was even more blunt. He pushed his bowl away and said, “Mom, I don’t like it.”

Chen Lina stayed silent.

Nie Bozhao, taking off his glasses and wiping the frames, said, “You’re a university graduate. Teaching elementary school is laughable. I’ve already written to Daqing for you. You’ll be able to work there soon, and work will distract you from your worries. Now, everyone go to bed.”

Nie Weimin went straight to bed.

Er Dan still had weekend homework to do.

He stayed up late, rubbing his eyes and crying.

Chen Lina pitied him but didn’t dare let him sleep before finishing his homework because of his father’s orders.

She happened to have a handful of dried apricots her sister had given her.

For every word he wrote, she gave him a dried apricot.

They worked quietly like conspirators.

One wrote messily; the other kept him motivated with snacks.

It took who-knows-how-long to fill a single page with 30 new characters.

Nie Bozhao, having spent the day gathering wheat, went to work overtime.

Chen Lina prepared pencils and erasers for her sons for the next day.

Looking up at the calendar, she realized it was almost time for her husband to turn in the family’s grain ration, explaining his irritability.

He was like a machine.

But humans aren’t machines.

Emotions and hormones affect them.

He’d set a monthly deadline for himself, and whenever it approached, he became particularly irritable.

At such times, working overtime became his way of venting.

“Comrade Chen! Comrade Chen!” Suddenly, Nie Weimin cracked open the door, motioning for her.

The little guy’s underwear had a hole, right where his “little buddy” was.

Chen Lina couldn’t find anything to patch it with, so she snipped a corner from the curtain with a sunflower pattern and sewed it on.

The future “tough guy” now had a cute sunflower on his underwear—adorably funny.

The little boy felt shy about the sunflower, covering it with his hands. “Comrade Chen, you need to go to the office building.”

“Why, Little Nie? Why are you up at this hour?”

“Aunt Hu isn’t up to any good. She said she was visiting Uncle He, but I’m sure she’s going to the office to see my dad.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“The other day, when she went to Uncle He’s, she just left casually. But tonight, she did her hair, sprayed perfume, and even changed into high heels. She’s definitely not going to Uncle He’s.”

“Little Nie!”

“… You’ll grow up to be remarkable.”

Ever since the commotion at Loulan Farm, the mining district had stationed armed guards at two farms and Nie Bozhao’s lab for security.

Hu Su running to the lab could only lead to trouble.

Throwing on a coat, Chen Lina left the family quarters.

Before she even reached the office building, she saw armed guards and security gathered on the elementary school playground.

Sure enough, Hu Su had been caught red-handed by the guards.