“Mom, can we really not eat the cucumber, tomatoes, and strawberries on the front passenger seat?”

“One strawberry per person, and you’ve all had cucumber already, so don’t eat more.”

Er Dan quickly grabbed the biggest strawberry, took a bite, and said, “Wow, it’s really sweet.”

“Yes, that’s why you can only eat one.”

Nie Weimin’s strawberry looked small when he picked it, but when he took it out, he was surprised to find it was the biggest one in the box.

However, he didn’t eat it, just held it in his hand.

“Come on, brother, who do you want to give it to?” Er Dan’s sharp eyes noticed Nie Weimin’s strawberry and tried to steal it.

Nie Weimin wouldn’t give it to him and said, “Ah, stop bothering me, comrade Chen, look at Er Dan trying to steal my stuff.”

“Er Dan, stop bullying your brother. He doesn’t want to eat these, he can give them to whoever he wants, but you can’t steal.”

“Mom, I ate the bottom of the strawberry, you can have the top.” San Dan was lying in the front seat, having eaten the bottom of the strawberry, leaving the sweetest part for Chen Lina, who he fed with a smile, asking, “Is it good?”

“It’s delicious, so sweet. Son, go sit in the back and sit properly.” Chen Lina said.

“You actually brought this little car to Base No. 2?” Nie Bozhao looked incredulously, standing by the roadside for a long time before daring to get in the car.

“Dad, mines, mines, be careful.”

Before Nie Bozhao could sit down, all three sons yelled out in alarm, with Er Dan even jumping up, his head almost touching the ceiling.

“Strawberries, cucumbers, wow, Chen Lina, these were grown on your farm?” Nie Bozhao cautiously lifted the basket of vegetables. The three children sat back down at the same time.

“Yes, we worked hard all winter, and this is all we have to show for it. If we bring it to a production and sales conference, it might cause a sensation across the whole country!” Chen Lina replied.

“Such a harsh and cold place like our frontier, last year we were happy just to feed the mining area for half the year. I heard that even in winter we can grow vegetables now, the Premier might be so happy he won’t be able to sleep!” Nie Bozhao said.

“Indeed, but the situation on the farm isn’t good, and your old colleagues and comrades are going to be affected.” Chen Lin said.

Nie Gong was carefully inspecting the strawberries.

“Everyone can have one, and you can have one too,” Chen Lina said.

“Dad!” All three children called out from the back.

Nie Bozhao picked up a strawberry and turned to look at the kids, each of their eyes wide open, clearly wanting to eat.

Chen Lina smiled and watched him.

Well, it’s time they learn to share. Not all good things should go to the children, some should go to the parents too.

So, Nie Bozhao tossed the small strawberry into his mouth, and it disappeared instantly.

The three brothers sat back down, but Er Dan wasn’t giving up and climbed over to ask, “Dad, was it good?”

Nie Bozhao, chewing eagerly, nodded quickly, “Yes, very good.”

But San Dan didn’t think so, “You should have given it to Mom. Mom loves strawberries the most.”

“Mom ate so many strawberries that she threw up once, especially those off-season strawberries in winter, when they were a hundred yuan a pound. Your dad would buy several big boxes, and Mom ate so many, but now she doesn’t want to eat them anymore.” Chen Lina said casually.

Nie Bozhao started to breathe deeply, “Can we not talk about that fool who spends money like water? He may be rich, but is he a national advanced worker? A labor model?” Okay, he was getting jealous of that old Nie again.

Arriving at the mining area, they headed straight for Secretary A’s house.

Chen Lina went upstairs alone, said nothing, and just left behind two pounds of cucumbers, a small portion of strawberries, and some tomatoes before coming back out.

Secretary A was a big leader, the top official of the mining area. People didn’t dare to approach him for trivial matters, but gifts had to be delivered.

The things from the farm would definitely be accepted, and of course, A Laijie would sweet-talk him a little.

But this time, the real target was District Chief Gao, who was in charge of the farm.

Carrying the remaining gift and bringing Nie Bozhao along with the three children, Chen Lina went straight to District Chief Gao’s house.

As they reached the stairs, Nie Weimin knocked first, followed closely by Er Dan and San Dan.

Chen Lina was adjusting her hair when she suddenly felt a warm sensation on her lips—a strawberry had been brought to her mouth.

It was the strawberry that Nie Bozhao had pretended to eat earlier but had actually hidden in his hand.

And that wasn’t all.

As they were about to open the door, Nie Bozhao took the opportunity to quickly pull her head toward him and gave her a deep kiss while she was eating the strawberry. “Chen Lina, tell me the truth, you didn’t sing the song of the ‘turning-over peasants’ for the apricot tree, did you? And you didn’t help send satellites into space, did you?”

Chen Lina thought seriously for a moment and replied, “There is a way.”

“Does he really do it every day?”

“Every single day, sometimes even two or three times. When I have my period, he’ll lie next to me and sing, telling the baby not to hurt, saying it’ll be okay soon.” Of course, that was a bit of an exaggeration.

In her previous life, Old Nie had been just as serious in this aspect.

“That’s completely shameless,” Nie Bozhao fumed. “One day, I’m going to shoot him.”

With the New Year approaching, the administrative units of the mining district were already on break. At the Gao family home, the heating was on, making it warm and cozy.

“Oh, here comes our Farm Director Chen! Welcome, welcome,” District Chief Gao said, ushering the family onto the sofa in his home.

Gao Xiaobing was reading in a small bedroom.

Director He brought out freshly washed strawberries and offered them to the four children.

Er Dan and San Dan, afraid of being scolded by their mother, restrained themselves and behaved unexpectedly well.

They waited for Gao Xiaobing to hand them each a strawberry before eating, looking like two well-trained puppies.

Gao Xiaobing took a bite of a strawberry and handed it to Nie Weimin. “It’s sweet. Try it.” Actually, it was sour.

Nie Weimin saw her saliva on it, pressed his lips together, and said, “I don’t like this.” He didn’t want to share her saliva.

Fine. Gao Xiaobing handed it to Er Dan instead.

Nie Weimin, meanwhile, had kept a single strawberry to himself, intending to trade it for books with Gao Xiaobing.

But seeing how casually something he cherished was treated here, he decided to eat it himself and slipped off to browse books in Gao Xiaobing’s room.

“Lina, when you said you could grow cucumbers in a greenhouse, I didn’t believe you. But wow, you really did it!” He Lan, now thoroughly impressed with Chen Lina, sliced a cucumber and said, “Go chat with Old Gao for a bit. I’ll handle dinner today.”

Director He’s cooking wasn’t cooking—it was an experiment in culinary chaos.

Chen Lina cracked some eggs and, checking the kitchen drawer, found only half a bucket of oil. Using it sparingly, she stir-fried cucumbers and eggs, made a small bowl of tomato sauce, and boiled some potatoes before tossing them with the sauce.

“Lina, what’s this dish called? It tastes quite sweet,” someone asked.

“Dongxiang Potato Slices,” she said. “It’s a recipe from Hongyan. Your family has plenty of sugar, so I didn’t hold back.”

“About He Min causing trouble back when he was at the farm—I owe you a serious apology for that. Now he’s in our oil refinery, making an absolute mess of things. He’s driving me up the wall; I really want to transfer him out,” He Lan sighed.

Chen Lina smiled but said nothing.

It seemed even family ties couldn’t mask He Min’s incompetence. Watching Director He struggle, she felt a smug satisfaction. So much for the “family protector” act—feel the pain now.

After dinner, it was time to discuss the old professors.

“Director Chen, you don’t understand how dire the situation is right now. The higher-ups have been pressuring us non-stop because there’s been no revolutionary progress in the mining district, nor any examples to showcase. The Empress herself called Secretary A directly on the red phone. I was in the office when it happened. We both stood there listening to her talk for half an hour about the importance of revolution. She even said that if there’s no progress soon, she’ll personally transfer people from Hongyan to oversee our work.”

The “Empress”—a shared look between Nie Bozhao and Chen Lina confirmed they both knew who he meant.

Although the Umai mining district was in a remote border region, last year it had outperformed several provinces in central China in economic output, drawing the leader’s personal attention and praise.

Now that she was focused on the district, not producing revolutionary examples wasn’t an option.

“But who do we choose as examples?” Director He continued. “It’ll obviously have to come from the farm. After all, the intellectuals with questionable backgrounds are all there.”

“I’ve already taken a huge risk by hiding your files and keeping your job intact,” Gao District Chief said. “Let’s do this: make a list of the old professors at the farm. We’ll protect the truly important ones and hand over a few others to complete the task. The workers and cadres in the district are already upset; they’re all staunchly red and professional. If something sparks their anger, it will turn against your farm.”

“If that’s the case, hand me over first,” Nie Bozhao said decisively.

“What are you saying, Engineer Nie? If you leave, all our oil wells will shut down!”

Director He, peeling an apple, chimed in, “Just hand over two people to set an example. We’ll limit our own risk. What do you two think?”

Nie Bozhao removed his glasses and stayed silent.

District Chief Gao and Director He both turned to Chen Lina, clearly hoping she would voluntarily suggest two people to sacrifice for the cause. A dramatic public display was needed to placate the higher-ups and set a precedent.

“District Chief Gao,” Chen Lina began, “our farm still has several tons of fruits, cucumbers, and vegetables that can be distributed as welfare. I believe these supplies can help ease the anger of the mining district workers.”

District Chief Gao’s face changed. “Director Chen, isn’t that against the rules? During the autumn harvest, weren’t all farm products supposed to be turned over to the state? Did you secretly withhold some?”

“In autumn, we handed over our grains, fruits, and cotton. But what’s left in the district now? District Chief Gao, didn’t the province take all of it for their own use? They took everything, leaving nothing for us, and now you’re left to deal with the workers’ complaints. Why?”

It was true.

Although the current situation wasn’t as exaggerated as during the Great Leap Forward, when people boasted about satellites reaching the skies, the province had indeed commandeered all their agricultural products to bolster their own image and achievements.

District Chief Gao was caught between higher-ups’ inspections and pressure and the workers’ complaints, living like a fish being grilled on both sides.

“You just need to claim that these were winter harvests, not part of the autumn quota. Winter produce isn’t subject to the same tax obligations. You can distribute it openly as welfare to placate the workers’ grievances. As for the higher-ups’ pressure…”

District Chief Gao, who had been anxious earlier, sat back down, thinking for a while before suddenly laughing. “He Lan, you always scold me for being incompetent, but as a district chief, I can’t even get a few fruits for the New Year? Well, tomorrow, let’s take some from the farm. We have plenty there.”

Hearing there would be benefits, who wouldn’t be happy?

The workers in the mining area had a long-standing tradition of not causing trouble. If a revolution were to happen from below, it simply wouldn’t succeed.

Chen Lina then said, “Isn’t Cixi going to send people from Hongyan to supervise the work? Once the workgroup from Hongyan arrives, I’ll let them go straight to the farm, and I’ll handle things my way.”

“Lina, I’m not too familiar with Hongyan, but I’ve heard that the leader of the revolutionary group there is someone decisive, very capable, and has a lot of authority. Do you think you can handle him?”

“As long as they’re human, I can handle them,” Chen Lina replied.

Alright, after leaving District Chief Gao’s house, it was already nine at night.

Er Dan and San Dan were full, their bellies round.

Nie Weimin was holding a book, engrossed in reading. He insisted on having the light on in the car to read.

Nie Bozhao took the book from his son’s hand for a moment and glanced at it.

It was The Foundation from the Galactic Empire series, in traditional Chinese characters.

District Chief Gao’s sister worked at customs, so it was probably only through her that such books could be brought into the country.

Nie Bozhao looked at his son with new admiration.

For a first grader to read such a book, it was really rare.

“You did this on purpose, didn’t you? You knew that no matter how much we produce on the farm, the province will take it all, so you purposely kept some back at the farm, waiting for District Chief Gao to get anxious today.”

“District Chief Gao has to think carefully. When it comes to grain production, with more people, more seeds, and if everyone is willing to work hard, who can’t succeed? But what’s really important are these off-season vegetables and fruits. In difficult times, let’s be honest, the most important thing is food.

The mining workers, if they can get four or five apples for the New Year, once they see the words ‘Mulan Farm’ on the apple box, they’ll understand who’s more important. If anyone wants to stir up trouble at the farm, they’ll oppose it first.”

So, avoiding a revolution was actually quite easy, but it required wisdom, patience, and, of course, the selfless support of the big leaders.

“Old Nie, I haven’t been back in so long. I really miss home,” Chen Lina said when she got home.