In the corridor of the clinic, the doctors hadn’t started their shifts yet.

As usual, they first recited slogans and then sang songs, starting from “Unity is Strength” to “On the Golden Hill of Beijing.”

Chen Lina was also exhausted, so she didn’t hesitate to lie down on a bed, holding both children in her arms, and quickly fell asleep.

The sun rose high, warming the family’s backs as the heating pipes on the wall suddenly became scalding hot.

This was because the boiler workers had arrived at work and were adding coal to the furnace.

Suddenly, a flurry of footsteps startled her awake.

“Engineer Nie! It’s really you. Oh dear, I don’t even know what to say, is your child’s illness serious?” A group of doctors, all in white coats, rushed into the room.

Nie Bozhao didn’t recognize any of them, so he stood up and shook hands. “Who are you?”

“This is our clinic’s director,” someone said, introducing the man.

Nie Bozhao shook the director’s hand. “Hello, Director.”

“Engineer Nie, we were told that the miners worked all night to collect the samples you needed. They were waiting for you to go down into the mine to analyze them today. But when they couldn’t find you, they called Secretary A, and Secretary A called the hospital, and that’s how we learned you were here.”

The director then shook Nie Bozhao’s hand vigorously. “Secretary A called just now to criticize our work. From now on, the clinic must have staff on duty, and the medicine must be well-stocked. We can’t let your work get delayed again.”

Nie Bozhao’s work schedule was even being pushed by Secretary A.

Secretary A had a direct line to Beijing and reported progress every day.

Naturally, he was anxious because, after all, pushing forward oil development was something the current leadership cared deeply about.

At present, even the Soviet Union, Europe, and America were trying to obtain his research results through various channels.

This meant that his importance, in some ways, outweighed that of the entire base.

“Director, can you check on my son and see if it’s polio? Also, he hasn’t taken his sugar pills. He may need a booster shot,” Nie Bozhao said.

Chen Lina was too tired to get up.

Nie Bozhao then carefully lifted the child from her arms.

The director, who personally examined the child, used a stethoscope, lifted the eyelids, listened to the heart and lungs, and after a thorough check, said, “It’s not polio. His fever has already gone down, so it’s unrelated to polio. But wait—this child hasn’t been given the sugar pill?”

Nie Bozhao lowered his gaze. “His grandmother was supposed to give it to him but forgot the booster.”

“Then give him the booster. It’s no big deal. Just make sure you give him another one next year. All the children in the base have taken the sugar pill, so he’ll be fine,” the director reassured him.

After Chen Lina took the children out, she was really startled.

The security team from the base was standing right outside the door.

“Dad, do you think they’re here to catch car thieves?” Nie Weimin asked, his voice filled with nervousness and fear, since he was the thief.

Nie Bozhao laughed. “There’s no bread hanging from the steering wheel. Who would be driving the car now?”

Whoever stole the car would be the one to return it.

Chen Lina said, “I’ll drive.”

Once in the car, Chen Lina couldn’t help but ask, “Are these people here to catch the car thief or to find you? Will they think I stole the car and take me away?”

Nie Bozhao, holding San Dan in the back, said with a touch of pride, “Comrade Chen, when you were playing dumb back then, did you ever think you’d marry someone so important to the Republic? They’re actually here for me. I didn’t go down to the mine today, and that delayed the work schedule. Beijing is anxious about it. As for the car, don’t worry. I’ll get one for you.”

It was obvious that, in this vast and lonely desert, she really wanted a car—something like a Jeep, the kind boys dream of.

“You’re important to the Republic?” she asked, somewhat skeptical.

“I probably am. With me around, we won’t have to follow the U.S. and go to the Middle East to fight wars, like bandits fighting over oil,” Nie Bozhao said with a hint of smugness.

Chen Lina smiled to herself, thinking, How conceited.

She remembered the times when, seeing the rising oil prices, Nie Bozhao would sigh and say that if he were still working with oil, he’d definitely lower the prices.

She found that amusing.

The Jeep was leading the way, with several Dongfeng trucks closely following behind.

As they were driving, the Jeep in front suddenly stopped.

In the car, Nie Bozhao was holding San Dan, while Nie Weimin and Er Dan squeezed next to him.

The four father and sons were sleeping soundly in the warmth of the car.

Chen Lina stopped the car, opened the door, and got out.

The bright snow of the early morning was blinding, so bright that she could barely keep her eyes open.

In the middle of the road, there was a snow-white rabbit, its fluffy white fur standing out against the snow.

It was crouched, not afraid of people, and kept hopping towards Chen Lina’s legs.

She crouched down and picked up the little rabbit.

The wind and snow were blowing wildly, and its white fur was so beautiful.

However, the little creature seemed to have snow blindness and couldn’t see anything, which was why it had hopped onto the road.

Turning around, she placed it in the car’s trunk.

Back at the base, Secretary A and Chief Engineer Wang were waiting at the gate, and Xiao Chen was also there.

When they saw Chen Lina driving the car in, their eyes widened, and Chief Engineer Wang let out a whistle.

“Nie Gong, how’s the child doing? It’s just a cold and fever, is it necessary to go to the hospital? Look at Secretary A, he came early this morning?” Chief Engineer Wang immediately began to vent his frustration.

“Leaders, it’s not that I want to delay work, but I have three sons. Even though research is important, I still have to take care of the kids.

Comrade Chen is still a child herself, but she helps me take care of the three boys. If I were to just neglect everything like before, I’m afraid something could happen. Shouldn’t you all help solve my difficulties, and the difficulties of the base staff?” Nie Bozhao said.

“What difficulties? You tell us, and we’ll help you solve them,” Secretary A responded.

It was freezing cold, the sky was a piercing blue, and the air was thin.

Everyone’s noses were red from the cold, and the air was dry—so dry.

“The base needs more than just a small clinic; we need a permanent doctor’s hospital, that’s a must.

Also, our Base No. 1 has been established for seven or eight years now, and there are a lot of families here. There are many things that need to be sorted out.

Leaders, please look into it and address these issues. As for me, I’m focused on research, so I’ll leave it to the leaders to discuss these matters,” Nie Bozhao continued, giving Chief Engineer Wang a look.

It seemed like the opportunity for welfare had arrived.

“Secretary A, our mining area’s profits this year are quite impressive, right? I saw the summary from last month, and even Daqing Oilfield couldn’t match our output,” Chief Engineer Wang quickly caught on and started to negotiate.

Secretary A smiled. “That’s right. The leadership called personally to praise our Base No. 1, and the first one mentioned was you, Nie Bozhao. I was just thinking, maybe we should assign a confidential secretary to Nie Gong. And perhaps we should add two more people to his research team.”

“I don’t need a secretary, but I do need two students from North Industrial University with relevant expertise. Also, I need a small car, like the one Xiao Gong has. Otherwise, if there’s an emergency, a big truck is hard to mobilize and too obvious. I need a car that I can use to come and go from the base at any time,” Nie Bozhao said.

Chief Engineer Wang pretended to be angry. “Nie Gong, people can’t be so demanding. You know that universities are closed now, and if Secretary A helps you get people from the university, that’s a big risk.

As for the car, forget it. You should know that we have very few small cars in the mining area. Secretary A just got a new Shanghai car recently, replacing his old Hongqi. He certainly won’t give it to us. If you need to go urgently, I’ll personally use a bicycle to take you to Wuma Yi.”

Secretary A really did have an old Hongqi, but now he had been rewarded with a new Shanghai car. He was considering giving the old one to a leader at another base.

Although the base had opened several other locations, Base No. 1 had been established from the beginning—starting with the survey, construction, drilling, and installation of equipment.

The leadership had changed several times, but only Nie Bozhao had remained.

Others had left, complaining about the hard work, but Nie Bozhao had stuck it out.

Secretary A had always been considering whether he should give the Hongqi car to this veteran of Base No. 1.

However, since Chief Engineer Wang brought it up, he had to respond politely. “As for the small car, I was planning to give it to you, Wang Gong. You can use it for meetings at the mining area so you don’t always have to sit in a big truck.”

Chief Engineer Wang waved his hand. “Secretary A, I’m used to the big truck. I can’t ride a small car. How about this: Give the car to Nie Gong, let him drive it at the base. After all, he’s the real head of research, and I don’t want him wasting time on unnecessary matters.”

Secretary A immediately agreed, “Alright. Tomorrow, we’ll send a driver to bring the car to Nie Gong.”

“Secretary A, we need to be clear: I can take the car, but I don’t have a driver’s license right now. If there’s an emergency, let my family drive it for me. You can’t say I’m using official vehicles for personal purposes,” Nie Bozhao said.

It was important to draw a clear line between public and private use, so that when the car arrived at the base and Chen Lina drove it, the other families wouldn’t complain or gossip about it.

“Alright,” Nie Bozhao thought to himself, “You’re eyeing the small car, I’ll get one for you. This is love, right?”

The sun was warm today, and long icicles hung from the eaves of every house.