When they returned to the oil field base, Chief Engineer Wang was waiting for Nie Bozhao.

“What’s this, Nie? I heard you got married?” Wang asked directly, his face full of surprise. “You’re getting married and didn’t consult the leaders at the base? What if something happens at Sun Gong’s place in the Mulan Farm?”

Just then, Xiao Chen came in to report work, and he said, “Our Nie Bozhao sure has good luck. Not only is the new wife beautiful, but I also heard she’s a university graduate.”

Nie Bozhao not only felt lucky but also shocked by the conversation.

“And her taste is the best in the whole frontier,” Xiao Chen added, giving a thumbs up. “Apart from the new sister-in-law, I haven’t seen anyone here who can recognize the model of my car.”

“She’s a university graduate, so it’s normal for her to understand that,” Nie Bozhao laughed.

“Not all university graduates understand that. For example, I don’t recognize the model of Xiao Chen’s car,” Wang Chief Engineer commented.

Nie Bozhao chuckled, “Chief Engineer, although universities have suspended classes and sent students to the countryside, a few years ago, there were elective courses.

You remember the policy, right? All university students had to take a few industrial-related courses. I guess Comrade Xiao Chen must have learned about cars back then.

After all, producing cars domestically is as important as catching up with the West, which the leaders emphasized. When I was in university, petroleum refining was just an elective course, but now, look, I’m here in the oil fields.”

At that time, being a university graduate was a golden title.

Even in the oil field base, there weren’t many real university graduates.

“By the way, all of you should not take the keys to the trucks or the Dongfeng cars without approval,” Wang Chief Engineer warned, getting more serious. “Recently, there was a near-scrap between us and the Soviets in Tieliekedi. If there’s an armed conflict, our oil field will be one of the first targets to be bombed, so we must ensure everything is well-hidden.”

He emphasized to Xiao Chen, “Unless I say so, your jeep cannot leave the base.”

“Don’t worry, Chief Engineer. I won’t do anything unauthorized,” Xiao Chen said.

“As long as there’s a driver, I’ve never touched the steering wheel myself, and I won’t divert any vehicles from their planned routes. You can trust me, Chief Engineer,” Nie Bozhao said.

The oil field in Wuma’i bordered the Soviet Union, and just 200 kilometers further was Tacheng, with the Soviet border only 30 kilometers beyond that.

Over the years, there had been continuous friction between the two countries, with several close calls to war.

As someone who grew up in the border region, Nie Bozhao was very familiar with the situation.

He was born in 1940, raised by adoptive parents who were revolutionary fighters, and had grown up with them.

He knew just how hard the new China had to work to get to where it was.

The oil field wasn’t just about producing oil.

While they worked in the oil industry, they also had to take time out every month for military training.

Though busy with oil production, if a war broke out, they would immediately be mobilized as a logistics unit to ensure the soldiers on the border had enough fuel.

“Although it’s brave of someone to marry Nie Bozhao, I’m touched. I’d love to go and congratulate you, but Nie Bozhao, is her political background okay?” Chief Engineer Wang took a deep drag from his cigarette and added.

Of course, this was the most important thing.

The oil field was a pure and vital place, and to keep external influences from infiltrating, they had to ensure everyone’s background was clean.

Nie Bozhao quickly clarified, “Her great-grandfather was the last scholar of the Qing Dynasty. Her family had the status of ‘counterrevolutionary intellectuals,’ which led to her being expelled from university. But Chief Engineer, I don’t think her great-grandfather’s background has anything to do with her.”

Surrounded by cigarette smoke, Wang Chief Engineer looked up and said, “Our oil field values talent. As long as she’s not a Soviet agent, we can use anyone. I was born with a sour smell, but I love ‘counterrevolutionary intellectuals.’ I’ll invite you over sometime, and your wife can cook for us.”

When Nie Bozhao got home, the three kids were all sprawled out on the big kang bed.

Because of the fire stove, their faces were all flushed, like little red apples.

The kitchen smelled wonderful—there was an aroma in the air, not the usual strong lamb smell common in the frontier.

Instead, it had a light, refreshing citrus-like fragrance that made Nie Bozhao feel mentally refreshed.

When Chen Lina set the table, the kids rubbed their eyes and sat up.

There were freshly baked soft flatbreads and a pot of yellow lamb soup simmering.

The second child, Er Dan, grabbed a flatbread and stuffed it into his mouth. “So soft, Mom’s flatbread is so soft.”

“You really won’t eat, Xiao Nie?” Chen Lina served herself a bowl and smiled as she looked at Nie Weimin.

He pouted, “I said I don’t want lamb, I hate lamb, hmph.” His teeth were still showing in defiance.

“You eat whatever your mom makes, children can’t be picky eaters,” Nie Bozhao said, taking a bite of lamb and radish before chewing the flatbread.

The three men were like hungry wolves, devouring their food.

“Just taste a little. If you really don’t like it, I won’t say anything. You can just eat a few bites of flatbread and go back to sleep,” he urged.

Nie Weimin hesitated but finally took a small bite and tasted it. “Wow!”

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s delicious, it’s really delicious!” Nie Weimin couldn’t believe it.

The soup was milky white, without a hint of the usual lamb smell.

It was rich and sweet, and the soup contained bright, clear chunks of radish, topped with finely chopped garlic sprouts.

Nie Weimin didn’t even care that the soup was hot—he quickly drank a whole bowl.

“This is really lamb? It doesn’t taste at all like lamb,” Nie Bozhao said, smacking his lips, still savoring the flavor.

Chen Lina entered the kitchen holding a bowl and pointed at the small half-bucket of oil in the corner. “First, wash it, clean it well, then strain the oil. After it’s strained, stew it. The longer it stews, the more the muttony smell will fade naturally.”

“Comrade Chen, that’s my family’s oil for half a year, and you’re using it all up in one meal?” Nie Bozhao was about to lose it.

The clear mutton soup that was just eaten… was it really the last of the family’s oil?

On the train, he already noticed she was a spendthrift—she could spend money freely, living extravagantly even in poverty.

He thought he could overlook it. But now, she had used up half a year’s worth of oil in one go.

The base had oil, but at his home, it took three months to finish one barrel.

Once it was gone, they’d have to wait three more months for the next barrel.

What would they eat in the meantime?

“The oil you strained from the meat is in that enamel jar, right? Don’t worry, this oil’s been cooked, and I mixed it with some blended oil. Frying pancakes with it will smell amazing.”

When he opened the enamel jar, indeed, it was full of hot oil.

Well, Nie Bozhao, who was about to have a heart attack, felt a little better.

“Comrade Chen, this is just how things are at my place. You really have no intention of leaving?” Nie Bozhao asked cautiously.

She was extravagant, spent money like water, yet was sharp-witted and sensible.

Nie Bozhao still hadn’t figured her out, despite everything he’d observed about her so far.

“I’m not leaving. Not only that, but I remember we still haven’t gotten our marriage certificate,” Chen Lina replied, unfazed.

Indeed, Chen Lina wouldn’t give up.

Her target was still the marriage certificate.

Once they had the certificate, she could show her true colors.

Pretending to be virtuous had been so tiring.

“The leader isn’t here, so I can’t get my letter of introduction. Let’s wait. Besides, with the heavy snow blocking the roads, we can’t even go now. Why don’t we wait a bit more, think it over, and if you’re sure you want to settle down, we’ll go get the certificate. How about that?” Nie Bozhao lied, a little guilty, but thinking that with this big girl, he was worried she might not settle down and take care of his kids.

After all, this was her first day, and everything was in chaos.

There were bound to be more difficulties ahead.

Chen Lina remembered how, in their past life, for the marriage certificate, he had sent someone overseas to select rings, carefully considered what to engrave on them, personally chose the proposal venue—he had really put a lot of thought into it.

She rolled her eyes, thinking, why was he so clueless when he was young?

Rolling her eyes, she put down her chopsticks. “Then you go wash the dishes.”

“You’re not a woman. Shouldn’t you be the one washing the dishes? How can you ask me to wash them?” Nie Bozhao, of course, refused to wash the dishes.

He had never washed dishes in his life.

“So we’ve always done it this way. Whenever I cook, you wash the dishes. Even with the aunt here, it’s still your job. This was agreed upon! Why are you acting like this?” Chen Lina was a bit angry, stamping her foot.

Before she finished speaking, she saw Nie Bozhao looking at her as if she were a ghost.

He said, “Fine, fine, I’ll wash them.”

He was starting to feel something was off about this girl, but couldn’t figure out what it was.

Maybe it was just that her mind didn’t quite match up.

He thought, never mind, better not provoke her. He would wash the dishes.

The three kids had been on a train for three days and were severely sleep-deprived.

When Chen Lina came in to wash her feet and clean up a little, they all rushed back to bed and fell into a deep sleep.

After lying on the warm kang for a long time without seeing Nie Bozhao come in, Chen Lina went to find him and found him in the small bedroom off the living room, sitting alone in a military coat on the bed, reading a book.

The northern “kang” was made to warm up in the winter, with the heat from the fire heating the bed.

But in winter, sleeping on a bed was rare.

Chen Lina hadn’t seen anyone sleep in a bed in winter.

When she opened the door, Nie Bozhao immediately sat up straight.

“Comrade Chen, it’s so late, what are you doing here?”

“Aren’t you afraid of freezing to death?”

“You get used to it, and it’s not cold.” Nie Bozhao was still wearing a heavy cotton-padded jacket, but the green military coat only covered his upper body, leaving his long legs exposed.

His ankles were blue from the cold.

“Are you that afraid to sleep with me?” Chen Lina, who had just come in and was freezing, couldn’t believe he wasn’t cold.

Nie Bozhao spoke seriously, “Comrade Chen, we haven’t gotten our certificate yet, so it wouldn’t be appropriate to sleep together.”

Chen Lina rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry, your three sons can sleep in the middle. I won’t eat you. But don’t you think we should talk about it? You’ve been working for seven years and yet have nothing to show for it. What happened to your wife? Why is it that the moment I walked in, someone was throwing paint on your curtains? All these things, I find them so strange.”

These were secrets Nie Bozhao had never shared with her in their past life.

Back then, when she met him, he was the elegant, cheerful CEO of Zhao Real Estate, always funny and well-spoken, completely different from the man she saw now.

Chen Lina had heard all kinds of stories about him and was very curious about his past.

Now, as revolutionary spouses, she was forcing him to reveal everything. She could see through all of Nie Bozhao’s actions, yet he knew nothing about her. She found it amusing.

Half an hour later, after a lot of effort from Chen Lina, Nie Bozhao finally laid down on the big kang.

The kang was four meters wide, covered with sheepskin.

When someone lay on it, it was so warm that it burned your backside.

“My wife and I were classmates in college. She’s from the neighboring Zhang County. We both came to the oil base after graduating from Industrial University. At that time, weren’t we cooperating with the Russians?

The Russians supported us in developing our oil fields, and we were among the first workers here. I researched mechanical oil extraction technology, while she worked in logistics,” Nie Bozhao explained.

“Hmm, revolutionary spouses, and you had three sons. How did she die?” Chen Lina asked.

“She took six experts from Beijing to the frontline for an inspection. The car crashed, and everyone died,” Nie Bozhao replied.

“All eight people in the car? And the Beijing experts? That’s a major accident!” Chen Lina exclaimed.

“Except for the driver, everyone else didn’t survive,” Nie Bozhao said.

“When my mother died, she said that my father wasn’t allowed to remarry until I turned 20. Hmph.” Nie Weimin, who had apparently been awake, suddenly chimed in.

Chen Lina calculated in her head.

If that was true, Nie Bozhao had indeed kept his promise to Sun Zhuangnan, not marrying for fifteen years and raising the child alone.

She wondered what Sun Zhuangnan’s mindset was when she died, whether she knew that her neglectful parenting would affect her sons’ future paths.

The vow Nie Bozhao made to his deceased wife was not something to be easily broken.

“Weimin, if you don’t sleep, go to the small bedroom next door,” Nie Bozhao said.

Chen Lina didn’t mind. “If you don’t want to sleep, just close your eyes. When my mom was young, she loved it when the whole family would lie on the same kang, turn off the lights, stick their butts on the warm bed, and chat together.”

“I’ll listen to Comrade Chen,” Nie Weimin said smugly.