“Now about the things in this house,” Chen Lina continued, “according to the rules, the oil field should be providing rice, oil, and flour. So where did all that go? Why is it that, apart from half a sheep, all we have is half a bag of flour that’s gone bad with worms? Also, you only have one quilt in your house. Nie Bozhao, did you and Sun Zhuannan share a quilt on the big kang bed?”

So, when he was making the little ones, was the big one lying next to him?

And what about his mother-in-law?

Was she also sleeping in the same big quilt?

That doesn’t seem right.

“This… we’ll talk about it later,” Nie Bozhao said.

“I need to know now, or else I won’t know how to take care of you,” Chen Lina said, angry.

“Alright, alright. Tomorrow morning, I’ll have Xiao Chen drive you back to Urumqi, and you can buy a train ticket home. How’s that?”

“Old Nie!” Chen Lina was furious.

“Xiao Chen, this is the situation at my house right now. That’s why I said I couldn’t marry you. I can’t take responsibility for you. You’ve seen the situation now, and if you want to leave, it’s… still not too late.”

It sounded harsh, but the tone wasn’t serious.

After all, although he had good personal conditions, when it came to the real issues, if he truly wanted to find a woman from the oil field to marry him and help raise his children, it was impossible.

“Really, it’s still not too late? Then what about my recommendation letter? I’ll buy a ticket right now and go back to Qisi?” Chen Lina was also angry. “This man has gotten used to his temper!”

“Your recommendation letter is tucked inside your ‘How the Steel Was Tempered’ book. But I also found several letters written in Russian inside. Xiao Chen, in 1966, you were still corresponding with a pen pal in Taching, using Russian. And you came to Umaisai, which is only 200 kilometers from Tacheng, intending to raise my kids?” Nie Bozhao said.

“You actually read my letters?” Chen Lina replied, shocked.

She probably had a pen pal who spoke Russian, but it was years ago, and she had completely forgotten about it.

If Nie Bozhao hadn’t mentioned it, she wouldn’t have remembered anything about the pen pal.

She thought to herself, This old Nie, doesn’t he suspect me of being a Soviet spy?

“The Spy Who Was Caught in the Soviet Union,” that was a famous movie, and Chen Lina thought to herself, Fine, if you don’t take me seriously, you should worry and be suspicious.

However, Nie Bozhao wasn’t thinking that way.

Living in the frontier, educated elites who came here were either working on the two bombs and one satellite project or coming for the oil.

Most of them knew each other.

Chen Lina’s pen pal was a Russian interpreter working in the frontier for the two bombs project, and Nie Bozhao happened to know him.

For reasons he didn’t fully understand, he decided to withhold the information about her pen pal’s current situation.

Just as she was about to continue arguing, Nie Bozhao said, “Alright, everyone, go to sleep now, especially you, Nie Weimin. If you don’t sleep, go sleep in the other room.”

Nie Weimin, who was pretending to sleep, thought to himself that he was enjoying their argument.

Why did it stop?

Meanwhile, Er Dan and San Dan were snoring loudly, grinding their teeth and snuggling into their sleep.

The next morning, Nie Bozhao was preparing to go to work.

He was the only engineer at the Umaisai Oil Field specializing in oil-water separation.

With the oil extraction, the field inevitably faced water seepage issues, and his oil-water separation technology was one of the most important and valuable skills in the entire oil field.

“You’re up really early. But are we still having lamb soup for breakfast?” Chen Lina asked.

She shot him a glance and said, “The three kids have been on a train for days. If they eat lamb again, their mouths will rot. They need something to cool down, not more lamb.”

“So what are we eating?” The half-bag of flour was infested with worms, and Nie Bozhao couldn’t think of anything else she could make.

Chen Lina lifted the lid of the pot on the stove, and hot steam rose from the pan. “We’ll eat lamb, but the three of them are having flatbread.”

As she spoke, she brought over an enamel mug, cracked an egg into it, then sprinkled in a handful of finely sifted flour.

After adding water and mixing it into a smooth batter, she added some salt and chopped green onions.

Then she lightly greased the pan and reduced the fire almost to a simmer.

After that, she scooped a spoonful of the batter into the pan, waiting for it to slowly firm up.

When it did, she flipped it over with a spatula, creating a golden, soft pancake.

Only then did she say, “Little Nie, bring Er Dan and San Dan over for breakfast.”

The older two kids rushed out from the big room next door and straight into the kitchen.

Not only had she made pancakes, but she had also stir-fried a small plate of shredded cabbage, cut into very fine strips, which they rolled up and ate.

She also made a bowl of hot noodle soup. Nie Weimin could already smell the aroma.

But just as he reached for the food, Chen Lina quickly stopped him with her hand. “Did you brush your teeth and wash your face?”

“I washed last night,” Nie Weimin protested, stubbornly lifting his dirty little face.

“Then why did you eat dinner last night? Why are you eating again today?” Chen Lina refused to let him eat the pancakes.

The child loved vegetables, but a plate of shredded cabbage already made his mouth water.

“I don’t want to eat your cooking,” Nie Weimin said angrily.

He was a very proud child.

When he saw his dad slurping down lamb soup with last night’s pancakes, he quietly approached him. “Dad, doesn’t this lady want to go home? Why don’t you give her the introduction letter and let her leave?”

“If she leaves, who will cook for you?” Nie Bozhao asked, sipping more lamb soup.

The rich aroma made him feel like he might get a nosebleed if he ate any more.

In winter, the dry heat and lamb were very nourishing.

The men at the base would have a hard time surviving without a wife to keep them going at home.

Every time Nie Weimin was frustrated, it seemed to be because of food.

He gritted his teeth, trying to endure it. “I’ll cook for myself.”

“Well, let’s see if you can reach the stove when you’re tall enough,” Nie Bozhao said.

Nie Weimin pouted and, with tears in his eyes, stared at his dad for half a year.

Finally, still pouting, he walked off.

“Take a look around. Is there anything else you need? I’ll report to the base and have someone send it over,” Nie Bozhao said, putting down his bowl.

Chen Lina scanned the kitchen and asked, “Pot, bowl, dish, basin. Look around. We only have three bowls and an enamel basin. What else do I need? I want a lot, but can you really buy it?”

Nie Bozhao hesitated.

It was hard to get anything, given the heavy snow and the 30-kilometer road to Umaisai.

Chen Lina rolled her eyes.

Just then, Xiao Chen, who was heading to work, passed by and sniffed the air outside.

He shouted, “Nie Gong, can I come over for some food?”

The single men at the oil field often couldn’t solve their breakfast dilemma.

Either they ate flatbread with hot water or went door-to-door sniffing around, begging for food.

Nie Bozhao remembered that he had made a lot of lamb stew the previous night.

He glanced at Chen Lina, who didn’t even raise an eyebrow.

But Nie Bozhao let Xiao Chen in anyway.

With the leftover pancake from last night, Xiao Chen, who had probably never tasted such good lamb stew, kept praising how delicious it was.

He quickly finished a large bowl of it.

“Alright, I’m off to work. I’m leaving the three kids with you,” Nie Bozhao said.

He seemed a bit reluctant.

Before leaving, he had opened the bedroom door and checked the book where Chen Lina kept her introduction letter, making sure it was still there.

Then he locked the door and came out.

Clearly, he was afraid she might leave, but he was too proud to admit it.

The two younger children washed their faces and came to the table to eat.

Only Nie Weimin, still sulking, stood in the corner with his mouth turned down, staring at the dirty water from the others’ face wash and refusing to clean up.

Chen Lina ignored him, wrapping a pancake for each of the two younger ones.

Er Dan eagerly devoured his, saying, “Mom, it’s delicious, the cabbage is so sweet.”

“Wow, a guest at Big Dan’s house?” A woman walked in, noticing Nie Weimin standing in the corner, his little face scrunched up like a crying kitten. “Why is he crying?”

“Er Dan, who is this? Introduce her to mom,” Chen Lina said warmly, inviting the woman in to sit down.

“I’m Old Chen(Xiao Chen)’s wife, Chen Zili’s partner. You can call me Sister Wang. Old Chen manages the vehicle team at the oil field,” the woman introduced herself.

Chen Lina quickly covered her bowl and wiped the table, making room for Sister Wang to sit by the heated kang bed.

She then took out a sweater she had been knitting on the train and started working on it.

She was knitting a sweater for the two younger ones.

By the time she finished, Nie Weimin would have something warm to wear.

Otherwise, he’d be stuck wearing only a vest under his cotton coat, and Chen Lina worried he might catch a cold, especially since the child would get a runny nose just from going outside to use the restroom.

After chatting with Sister Wang for a few minutes, she remarked, “How do you make these pancakes? They smell really good.”

There was another pancake on the table, which Chen Lina wrapped up and handed to Sister Wang. “I figured it out myself. The fire has to be steady, don’t use too much oil, just one egg, and they come out soft and fluffy. Really tasty.”

Sister Wang took a couple of bites, nodding continuously. “Delicious, really delicious.”

Standing by the washbasin rack in the corner, Nie Weimin had always been staring at this pancake.

He thought that, as usual, he could be stubborn enough to outlast Chen Lina.

For example, his grandmother could handle two younger children, but she couldn’t control him.

When he was four years old, with his stubbornness, he could make his grandmother so angry that she would jump around and almost suffer from heart problems.

But now the pancake was gone, and that old woman, Yao, was just sitting there chatting, as calm as could be, not realizing that he had been hungry since he woke up in the morning and was still here, starving.

“Comrade Nie, hurry up and wash your face, then pour the water out,” Chen Lina said.

Nie Weimin was stubborn for a while, but since there were guests, he didn’t want to lose face, so he wiped his face roughly, brushed his teeth quickly, and poured water to bring the basin in.

Then he heard Chen Lina say again: “Take this bowl to the kitchen.”

Some Stepmothers wasn’t soft on kids. She pinched, twisted, and used sticks or ropes to punish them.

Nie Weimin secretly thought to himself, “God, please take this Yao woman away,” and entered the kitchen.

Upon smelling a delicious scent, he lifted the lid from the pot.

Wow!

There was a bowl of hot soup and a pancake filled with vegetables.

His mouth opened wide, and he wanted to cry.

It was so delicious, and he felt wronged.

But there were guests in the house, and he had never seen them before.

The mother from the neighbor’s house, Chen Tiantian, had brought over food for respect and face, so he didn’t want to cry.

He bit into the pancake with his broken teeth, chewing on cabbage stems.

Each bite of pancake and soup made him cry, thinking to himself, “How can it taste so good?”

“Nie Weimin, Er Dan, come out and play!” A little girl bundled up in cotton clothes outside rolled some snow and waved at him.

“Mom, Chen Tiantian is calling me, I want to go out and play!” Er Dan ran in excitedly, and in a flash, he was out the door.

Nie Weimin also wanted to go out, but he had so little clothing—a thin cotton jacket.

It was fine indoors, but if he went outside, he would freeze to death.

And that Yao Tao was still knitting him a sweater, stitch by stitch.

“Comrade Chen, can I go out?” Nie Weimin asked.

Watching Er Dan and Chen Tiantian playing snowball fights in the yard seemed so fun.

Being a kid, Nie Weimin was itching to join.

“No, your cotton clothes are too small. Wait until your mom finishes knitting you a sweater. Then you can wear my big cotton jacket and go out, okay?” While there were guests present, Chen Lina took the opportunity to make Nie Weimin wait.

“Speaking of the three children’s pension, isn’t it a lot? Our unit gives them ten yuan each, and it continues until they are eighteen. How about it? Even though we don’t have cotton tickets, the Kazakhs can still buy some high-priced cotton. How come he’s still wearing your cotton jacket?” Sister Wang, who was stitching a shoe insole, asked curiously.

Chen Lina was just as confused: “The three children still get a pension?”

“Her mom isn’t like us. She was an old cadre from the base. When she died, the base gave five thousand yuan in compensation. Then, the kids’ grandmother negotiated with the leaders, and each child gets ten yuan a month until they come of age. Even though their mother passed away, they should have some security.”

Chen Lina finally understood.

It turned out that the five thousand yuan, plus the ten yuan each month, had all been taken by the children’s grandmother.

Afterward, Sister Wang left.

But after a while, Er Dan returned with his cheeks red from the cold, carrying a pile of things wrapped in his clothes: “Mom, Mom, Tiantian’s mom sent you something.”

Chen Lina took it from him, surprised to find two round tomatoes and two big apples.

“Mom, I want to eat an apple,” Er Dan said eagerly.

In the winter borderlands, fruit was a rare delicacy.

Chen Lina cut one apple into three pieces, removing the core, and gave them to the three children.

Er Dan couldn’t stop staring at the other apple: “Mom, there’s still one left.”

“Mom will eat it,” said San Dan, who was only two years old.

Not many words came out of his mouth, but he handed the apple to Chen Lina.

“Good boy. Mom won’t eat it, but tomorrow, Mom will turn this apple into a pile of apples for you. Now go out and play,” said Chen Lina, taking the other apple.

As night fell, Nie Bozhao returned home, shivering from the cold.

The first thing he smelled was the fragrance of tomatoes.

Chen Lina had made a pot of soup with tomato juice, and in this dry winter, it was deliciously sour and sweet.

The three kids each held a big bowl, eagerly scooping it up.

There was also a plate of cold, shredded radish, and despite their tough, struggling lives, they had made it taste like the kind of luxury one might find in a rich landlord’s house from the old days.

“All three kids need big cotton jackets. I just asked Sister Wang, and Kazakhs have high-priced cotton, five yuan per jin. So, for the three of them, half a jin of cotton should be enough. Nie Bozhao, where did the pension for the three kids go?” After the meal, the three kids went to the kang to play.

Chen Lina was washing the dishes and talking to Nie Bozhao, who was stoking the fire in the wall.

The man with thick eyebrows and big eyes knelt on the ground, cleaning out the ashes.

Once done, he started putting in fresh coal, making sure to place it evenly so the fire would last until morning.

“Well, this is a long story. If you want to hear it, sit down, and I’ll tell you everything,” Nie Bozhao said after finishing with the fire.

He washed his hands, then peeked into the bedroom to check on the kids.

The three of them were on the kang, having fun with their pillows, clearly enjoying themselves.

He went back to the kitchen and pulled out a large, round tangerine from his coat pocket.

After carefully peeling it, he held it out to Chen Lina, watching as she ate a segment, then said, “Comrade Chen, you eat while I tell you.”