Chen Lina found it interesting.

She had just served up a plate of freshly picked greens, barely even developed, and put them on the table with vinegar and oil.

She smiled and asked Nie Weimin, “Tell me, what’s going on with Aunt Xiaoi?”

“Weimin!” Nie Bozhao shook his head, but he couldn’t stop the child from talking.

“When my mom first went there, we went to the farm, and Aunt Xiaoi gave me some candy.”

“Well, old Nie, didn’t you say you weren’t going to remarry for fifteen years? As soon as Sun Gong passed away, you were in a hurry to find someone, and it turns out it was your wife’s distant cousin’s little sister. Hah, you’re an interesting one.”

“That’s not the case.”

“Then what is it? Tell me.”

“She said she wanted to help me raise the child, and the Sun family agreed, but I… I think we’re probably not suitable.”

How to explain it?

Every man feels that if he’s going to raise his own child, it’s better for the wife’s family to be a little more capable.

Besides, Huang Huacai had also said that if Sun Xia Ai helped him raise the child, they wouldn’t marry right away, but if it were someone else, that wouldn’t work at all.

Huang Huacai’s mindset was that she didn’t want to give up on Nie Bozhao, the engineer, but she also wanted to promote her family’s Sun Duoyu.

However, Nie Bozhao absolutely refused, so she changed to promoting her cousin, Sun Xia Ai.

But after Sun Zhuangnan, Nie Bozhao shuddered every time he heard the name “Sun” and resolutely refused.

That was the end of that matter.

However, he never expected that Sun Xia Ai would end up marrying Liu Han, a truck driver.

Chen Lina remained calm. After finishing her meal, she removed all the roots of the little cabbage in the large bath basin and planted another batch of small oilseed vegetables.

Even with vegetables, one had to keep changing up the dishes.

The three children were playing together on the bed.

They were very good playmates.

Nie Weimin was always the police officer, Er Dan was always the thief, and San Dan was trailing behind his two older brothers, with drool hanging from his mouth.

Sometimes he was the accomplice of the thief, and other times he was the police officer’s partner.

The three of them were having so much fun.

However, Chen Lina thought, “If only there were two more girls.”

But, she couldn’t have children, which was truly a regret.

After washing the dishes, Nie Bozhao came out.

Despite the noise in the house, it still felt a bit too quiet.

After thinking for a moment, he realized it was Chen Lina—she had been so quiet today, almost like she was pretending to be dumb again.

“I can explain about Sun Xia Ai,” Nie Bozhao said, feeling uneasy.

Under the light, the twenty-year-old girl smiled sweetly as she stood up from the large bath basin.

Nie Bozhao had learned about the possessiveness of women in these matters.

For example, he came from a red family, both of his adoptive parents were officials, and he was tall and handsome.

Many of his classmates came from good families, and some even secretly pursued him.

Moreover, he was easygoing.

Even if it wasn’t a romantic pursuit, university classmates would talk about ideals and life.

Before his marriage, things were fine.

Sun Zhuangnan didn’t care much about these things and actually encouraged him to interact with female classmates.

But once they were married, things changed.

She started checking his letters.

If a female classmate wrote to him, she would immediately get angry, pull a long face, and start arguing with him.

Because she was three years older than him, she always thought he would be more attracted to female classmates who were younger and prettier than her.

But then, she would invite these female classmates to visit them in the border area and treat them very warmly.

Of course, in front of these classmates, they were like kindred spirits, a model couple working hard in the border for the country, their hands always holding each other.

But once the classmates left, the torment began.

Had he said anything to these female classmates?

Did he smile at them?

Did he think they were prettier?

Every little thing became a reason for her to doubt that he didn’t love her anymore.

Living through those days felt like the weather in the desert—morning ice and noon heat, a fiery, sour experience.

So now, Nie Bozhao was anxious, afraid that he would get into another argument with his new wife, one that would drag on endlessly.

But unexpectedly, the young woman under the light raised her eyebrows and smiled sweetly, “What’s there to explain? With such an excellent woman like me, I’m confident that you, Nie Bozhao, will never fall in love with anyone else.”

Wow, how much confidence did she have to say that?

“Well, then can I sleep in the big bedroom tonight?”

The small bedroom was really cold, and with the coal rationed every month, it wasn’t worth it for him to start a fire just for himself.

“Before you realize your mistake, don’t even think about it.”

Bang!

The door to the big bedroom slammed shut again.

“Old Nie, Old Nie, wake up, wake up quickly!”

In the middle of the night, Nie Bozhao suddenly sat up with a jolt.

“It’s not dawn yet, why are you here?”

“San Dan has a fever, and we don’t have any medicine at home. Hurry and go to the base infirmary to check if the doctor is there,” Chen Lina said.

Nie Bozhao felt the little one’s feet, which were icy cold, but his forehead was burning with a high fever.

Moreover, the child was convulsing badly, which was commonly known as “seizures”—a sign of a high fever.

Nie Bozhao quickly put on his woolen coat over his white shirt and rushed out.

After a while, a cold wind blew through the door, and he came back in.

“What happened? Why are you back empty-handed?” Chen Lina, holding the child on the big kang (a heated platform bed), asked.

Er Dan was sound asleep, and Nie Weimin, being the eldest, poured some water from the thermos and helped Chen Lina wipe San Dan’s face with a cloth.

The water was so hot that the child’s hands were red.

“The infirmary is closed for the weekend; the staff have gone to Wumayi. I had to borrow some medicine from someone else,” Nie Bozhao explained.

“That’s not enough. We need to drive to Wumayi,” Chen Lina insisted.

Nie Bozhao was confused. “It’s just a fever. We can give him some medicine to bring down the fever, what’s the need to go to Wumayi?”

“Yes, but San Dan is vomiting and having diarrhea, which isn’t typical for the flu. And I need to tell you, your son’s severe paralysis was triggered by polio. If he has a fever now, you need to take this seriously,” she explained.

“Impossible. Since 1960, our country has had the polio vaccine. All three kids have taken the sugar pills. He might have a fever, but he definitely won’t get polio,” Nie Bozhao said, still in disbelief.

Chen Lina didn’t argue with him. Instead, she turned to Nie Weimin. “Da Dan, did you take the sugar pill?”

Nie Weimin thought for a moment, then shook his head. “I don’t remember.”

“They were sweet, round little sugar pills. You really don’t remember?” Chen Lina tried coaxing him.

Nie Weimin blinked his big eyes. “Yes, Grandma took us to the health station to get the sugar pills.”

“Sugar pills?”

“Grandma said that Uncle liked to eat them, so she gave them all to him.”

Chen Lina raised her head and shot a glare at Nie Bozhao. “That Sun Dabo is truly a treasure. The polio vaccine only works if it’s taken properly. If he ate too many sugar pills, how could he not be at risk of poisoning himself?”

“Impossible. My little uncle is in his twenties. How could he steal candy from children?” Nie Bozhao still didn’t believe it.

Chen Lina glared at him. “That person obviously didn’t study much. With your mother-in-law’s behavior, she probably thought the sugar pills were some kind of health supplement and gave them all to him.”

Poliomyelitis, also known as polio, reached its peak in the 1930s and 1940s.

But after the vaccine was introduced in the 1960s, the disease gradually disappeared from cities, although some rural areas still experienced cases.

However, there were some ignorant old women who thought that since the country was distributing free sugar pills, they could take as many as they wanted.

The pills were meant for one child each, but some grandmothers gave all of them to their grandchildren, thinking they were good for their health.

Such ignorance was truly harmful.

Chen Lina had even seen cases where people who ate extra sugar pills ended up with brain damage from the fever.

Soon after, Nie Bozhao came back inside. “Let’s go. I found a car. We’re going to Wumayi now.”

“You don’t know how to drive?” Chen Lina asked.

“If a dog can drive with a biscuit hanging from the steering wheel, why can’t I drive?” Nie Bozhao replied.

It was Xiao Chen’s shiny jeep, and despite the winter chill, Xiao Chen had even put a canopy over it to protect it.

“Can’t we just ask Xiao Gong to give us a ride?” Chen Lina asked.

“It’s the weekend. He’s probably over at Mulan Farm, fooling around,” Nie Bozhao said.

Though the 1970s didn’t have bars or nightclubs, the workers at the oil base sure knew how to have fun.

At Mulan Farm, there were casinos, game rooms, and places to smoke, drink, and play cards—all hidden behind closed doors.

Oil workers made good money, and every weekend, they would secretly take a big truck and go there, sometimes spending a whole month’s salary in a single night.

Nie Bozhao tried to drive but had no idea how to operate the car, and the gears wouldn’t engage.

The car revved a few times but stalled.

He tried again, following Xiao Chen’s example, but forgot to press the clutch, and the car jerked forward a few steps before stalling again.

“Alright, you hold the child. I’ll drive,” Chen Lina said decisively.

She handed San Dan to Nie Bozhao, placed the two younger children in the backseat, and then got in the driver’s seat.

She pressed the clutch, shifted gears, and stepped on the gas.

The car zoomed off with a roar before Nie Bozhao had a chance to settle into his seat.

“My mom can really drive. Dad, she drives better than Uncle Xiao!” Er Dan finally woke up when he heard the engine roar.

The two kids crowded behind Chen Lina, their ears perked like rabbits, looking eagerly ahead.

“Can you recognize the road?” Nie Bozhao, holding the child, sat in the back seat, feeling uneasy.

He didn’t believe that such a young girl could drive through the snowstorm and pitch-black night to reach Wumayi.

Chen Lina pointed ahead. “Isn’t that the tire track from a big truck? From the base to Wumayi, there’s only one road, right? The oil has to be transported from the base to the refinery, so it definitely follows this road. Don’t worry, even though there’s no pancake hanging on the steering wheel, I’m sure I’ll find the way.”

“Mom is much better than a dog,” Erdan chuckled, clearly excited.

Her driving skills were indeed impressive.

The tire marks from the large trucks were deep, so the middle of the road was raised significantly.

Even a high-clearance Jeep like theirs would risk scraping its undercarriage if it drove in the middle.

For a beginner driver, it would definitely damage the car.