Nie Weimin couldn’t describe it, but he felt that he could easily finish off the small aluminum pot all by himself.

However, he was also the most filial.

When he saw Er Dan quickly devour half a bowl, his eyes still fixed on the pot, he immediately took the pot outside.

“Don’t forget about Dad. He hasn’t had his share yet. We can only have one bowl each, no more.”

Er Dan truly hadn’t had enough, but it was because the cheese was so smooth that with a single slurp, it slid straight down his throat.

It was like Zhu Bajie eating ginseng fruit—he didn’t even get to savor the flavor.

“Mom, can I have just one more bite? I’m still hungry,” Er Dan said, licking his lips.

It took three jin of milk to make one jin of cheese, and Chen Lina thought that since Nie Bozhao had never tasted it before, she wanted him to try.

Naturally, she wouldn’t feed Er Dan, the bottomless pit, any more.

However, the leftover whey from making the cheese was still there.

It had the fragrance of rice wine and milk, and when mixed with sugar and chilled with a chopstick placed inside, it turned into a natural homemade ice pop.

For dinner, they had noodles, but since the three kids had already filled their stomachs with other food, Chen Lina didn’t make much.

After dinner, she finished mending Nie Weimin’s little cotton jacket, adding a stand-up collar.

She couldn’t find any buttons, so she took buttons from other clothes and sewed them onto the kids’ clothes.

Chen Lina cleverly made him a traditional knot button.

Knot buttons are difficult to tie, but once done, they look much more beautiful than regular buttons.

The little guy’s face was pale, with two round, thin-skinned, Danfeng eyes, as pretty as a character from a Chinese picture book.

Nie Weimin felt quite pleased but didn’t want to make Chen Lina think he was overly happy.

He kept moving around, sitting and standing, showing off his new jacket.

When eating the homemade ice pop, he was careful not to ruin his clothes, licking it slowly, with his neck stretched long.

The snow outside had stopped, and when the moon rose, it shone so brightly that it was as if it were daylight.

Just like the saying, “In the morning, wear cotton clothes; at noon, wear silk. Eating watermelon by the stove,” the three kids sat by the warm stove, each licking an ice pop, sweating from the heat but enjoying the cold treat.

After finishing the ice pops and brushing their teeth, they should’ve gone to bed.

However, Er Dan secretly crept away, hands behind his back, preparing to run outside.

“Er Dan, that ice pop was for Dad. You can’t take it,” Nie Weimin said sharply, spotting him immediately.

Er Dan was a generous kid, but he argued, “Chen Tiantian must want an ice pop too, so I’m getting one for her.”

“She doesn’t want one. Put it down,” Nie Weimin said, being quite particular about food.

Er Dan, being stubborn, responded, “She does want one! Who wouldn’t want a sweet, cold ice pop?”

Chen Lina noticed that Er Dan was generous and open, while Nie Weimin was more of a homebody.

The contrast between the two children’s personalities was especially cute.

It’s said that when they grow up to be the leaders of a gang, one will handle the fights and turf wars, while the other will manage the money.

One will be the muscle, the other the brains.

Every gang has its internal struggles, and when these two eventually get caught, during their public trial, they would be the first to take the blame for each other, a united front.

Perhaps that’s why when other gang leaders serve a few years and get out, the1se two were executed—each crime they committed was doubled in their cases.

“Alright, Weimin, I just asked him. Your dad doesn’t like ice, so take the ice pop and give it to Chen Tiantian,” Chen Lina said. “Girls especially love ice pops. Ice cream, too. I think I need to teach you a lesson on being generous.”

The two kids exchanged a long look.

Er Dan took the ice pop, and Nie Weimin, eager to show off his new cotton jacket, walked out first, with Er Dan following behind.

Though the two houses were right next to each other, Chen Lina was cautious.

It had just snowed, and she stood outside, waiting for them to knock on the neighbor’s door before she returned inside.

Nie Bozhao was in the kitchen, heating water and washing the dishes.

Now, he didn’t dare provoke Chen Lina.

He feared her when she acted spoiled or called herself a little princess.

At the mere mention of it, his skin would crawl.

So, after dinner, to prevent her from acting spoiled, he voluntarily helped Chen Lina with the chores in the kitchen.

Chen Lina didn’t cook like most, avoiding the greasy dishes with old rusted pots.

She made sure the water was hot enough to clean the greasy residue.

And since they couldn’t easily find dishwashing liquid, they mostly used caustic soda, which was harsh on the hands.

Chen Lina cherished her hands, so when Nie Bozhao was around, she wouldn’t wash the dishes.

“I overheard that Weimin still won’t call you ‘Mom.’ Should I talk to him tonight?” Nie Bozhao asked.

“I don’t mind,” Chen Lina replied, “Anyway, he’s not my son by birth. Forcing him to call me Mom would just make him resent me.”

Nie Bozhao thought for a moment and praised his son: “But my son is very polite. He even helped you carry the bowls today. He also swept the floor. He told me himself.”

If sweeping the floor meant playing with mud, then sure, they did that.

“That’s because I respect him. If someone respects me, I’ll respect them even more. Your son was a good kid when he was little,” Chen Lina smiled.

Suddenly, the little kid San Dan started calling, “Dad, I need to poo!”

Chen Lina kicked Nie Bozhao. “Go clean up!”

“But don’t I need to wipe his bottom? That’s not your job,” Nie Bozhao said, surprised.

Of course, he had been rough with his three sons when they were younger.

Back in the countryside, they’d just use mud to wipe themselves.

But now, Chen Lina was applying medicine to treat the child’s rash, which she believed was from using mud in the past.

People can’t easily learn other things, but laziness is very contagious.

Nie Weimin had only recently started becoming a little more diligent, but now, his father had grown lazy again.

Chen Lina, getting anxious, said, “Nie Bozhao, everything I’m doing now is repaying the favors from your past life. Let’s be blunt—I’m a college graduate, and I have a soldier waiting to marry me. Why should I marry you and help clean up after your kids? They’re not even mine! If I’m happy, I’ll do it, but if not, then you can do it.”

“Stop mentioning anything about a past life, Comrade Chen. I’m a materialist, and I only believe in Marx and Lenin. I think I know why you’re here, but please, just don’t bring up that Nie Bozhao from a past life. He was a scoundrel.”

Chen Lina burst out laughing.

To be honest, if she hadn’t been reborn herself, she wouldn’t have believed in something like reincarnation either.

So she replied, “Then maybe I’m really a Soviet revisionist. Does that make you believe me now?” She pouted a bit, playfully.

The key was, this young woman was beautiful—fair skin, a slim waist, and an aura that would make any man’s heart flutter.

“Fine, fine. If I can’t handle you, I’ll just avoid you,” Nie Bozhao said, standing up quickly.

He was tall, and the kitchen door was narrow; on his way out, Chen Lina heard a loud thud—he must have hit his forehead.

Despite his rough appearance, he was quite meticulous when it came to taking care of his son.

He filled a small basin for San Dan’s bath, added some hot water and soap, and carefully washed him.

Only after ensuring he was clean did he apply the ointment for his hemorrhoids.

Little San Dan, just two years old, was clean, white-skinned, and smelled fresh.

With him bathed, Chen Lina would happily cuddle the warm little one to sleep at night.

Nie Bozhao seemed slightly unsettled.

He was reading an English Time magazine with a photo of Chiang Kai-shek on the cover, accompanied by the words: “After eight years of war, the challenges of peace.”

Even in these times, foreigners were keeping an eye on China’s situation.

For someone like Nie Bozhao, a researcher with adoptive parents who were senior Red cadres, he was deeply concerned about the country’s future.

“Don’t worry. Whether it’s the Soviets or Chiang Kai-shek, believe me, no war will start. We have our nuclear and satellite capabilities now,” Chen Lina added offhandedly.

Nie Bozhao put down the magazine, not questioning her further.

He seemed to have dismissed the thought of his sons turning to dark paths in the future, but he still couldn’t let one thing go. “Comrade Chen, let’s say you really had a past life—were you actually married?”

“Of course I was. How else would I be a divorcee?”

“Who was the man?”

“My cousin, Nie Guozhu. You’ve met him before.”

Nie Bozhao was visibly shocked—so shocked that it was a look Chen Lina had never seen from him before.

He was, to put it bluntly, jealous.

His brows furrowed, looking seriously stern like a typical old cadre, but it made him look rather cute.

“You married Nie Guozhu?” he asked, his tone turning stubborn. “That guy? I remember when I went back to the village; he was a lanky young man with no pants, running around bare-bottomed. And you actually married him?”

“That was because he was poor. But poverty has its virtues too. During the 1966 ‘Four Cleanups’ campaign, he was part of the ‘Red Five’ category. I had to go through a lot to marry him in my past life,” Chen Lina explained.

As she finished washing her hands and turned around, she found Nie Bozhao standing right behind her. “So, did you two actually…sleep together?”

Chen Lina laughed and pointed to the wooden box in the bedroom. “Why is that surprising? We were husband and wife; of course we slept together. You were married before too, didn’t you know?”

“Did you…do it, too?” His voice was faint, his throat slightly tight, and he still looked disbelieving.

“Did you and Engineer Sun just lie in bed reciting Mao’s words? How do you think these three kids came along?” Chen Lina retorted, exasperated by his logic.

“Nie Guozhu was a soldier stationed in Hongyan.”

“Yes, and his station was near our women’s teacher training college,” Chen Lina confirmed.

“Why do I feel like there’s no such thing as a past life at all? Maybe there’s something you’re not telling me, Comrade Xiao Chen. It would be best if you were honest. If I really wanted to investigate, a single telegram to Hongyan, and I could get a detailed file on your time in the province.”

She told him about how, as a child, she injured her thigh climbing a tree, even offering to show him the apricot tree.

Nie Bozhao didn’t really care about that.

After all, he was also a man with his own baggage. But this was something that needed to be clarified.

“To be honest, wasn’t that apricot tree blamed unfairly?” He suddenly grabbed Chen Lina’s wrist.

Her skin was soft and smooth—a sensation he found difficult to describe, like a jolt of electricity that made him let go immediately.

Soft.

So soft he didn’t even know how to describe it.

Chen Lina looked at him with her large, glistening eyes and began applying her fragrant lotion.

She gave him a meaningful glance. “What’s wrong? Weren’t you the one who said you didn’t care about such things? Now it seems you do care—you’re even jealous.”

Nie Bozhao’s face flushed, but he stubbornly denied it, “Why would I be jealous?”

“Not jealous? Then why are you afraid to touch me?” Chen Lina laughed and went back into the bedroom.

“Comrade Xiao Chen, can we talk about something?” Nie Bozhao followed her.

“Speak.”

“Could you stop mentioning that past life? If I could get my hands on that ‘past-life Nie Bozhao,’ I’d beat him up. Even if I didn’t kill him, I’d break his stick!” He meant the stick that supposedly poked her thigh.

Chen Lina doubled over laughing, unable to hold it in.

But later, when she went to the small bedroom to record their expenses, she found that Nie Bozhao had locked the door.

“There are only a few things left in the small bedroom, like Engineer Sun’s old diary, the account book, and some books. I still need to record today’s expenses. Why did you lock the door?” She pulled at the little lock, baffled.

“An Heshan was once a translator during the nuclear program, holding core information in the field of physics for our Republic.

You and he met at a high school social event. His daughter’s name had the character ‘Na,’ and coincidentally, your name is Lina, and you love Russian.

So he wrote to you, teaching you Russian grammar and sending you Russian books. Comrade Xiao Chen, An Heshan may have only seen you as a pen pal, but if a Soviet agent or someone with ulterior motives managed to get close to you, even a few words in his letters could contain critical intelligence.” Nie Bozhao spoke bluntly.

So, he was finally addressing her pen pal.

An Heshan had once lived in Tacheng and was a Russian translator who had studied abroad.

“How is he doing now? Is he still in Tacheng? If I have time, I really need to see him again. He even promised to invite me to dance to Moscow Nights if I ever came to Tacheng.”

Nie Bozhao thought to himself, is she pretending not to understand, or does she genuinely not get it? If she were pretending, it would be the most flawless disguise.

“An Heshan once shared many stories about the struggles during the nuclear project’s development. You know how many scientific heroes sacrificed themselves in the deserts for a stronger Republic, so that children like Wei Min, San Dan, and others could grow up safely and to protect China’s integrity. You grew up in the New China, and you’re a university student. I don’t need to lecture you; you understand all of this. You don’t have to tell me your intentions, but from now on, you’re not allowed into my study.”

“Then what if I’m willing to sleep with you? Would you tell me anything I ask, like some secret about your field of work?” Actually, Chen Lina had already peeked; his study barely contained anything classified.

He was always careful, only bringing home scholarly papers and research articles, never confidential files.

“Then I’d throw you right out into the drainage ditch by the farm,” he replied instantly.

Chen Lina looked at her young husband, smirking.

Ah, he was so young and handsome.

Back in her time, she always thought he looked his best in a well-tailored suit, conversing fluently with foreign businessmen in English.

But now, she thought he looked even better taking care of their child, upholding his principles, and remaining unwaveringly loyal to his duty.