“Where is Xiao Ai? Why doesn’t she take the blame for Da Bao? Even though she’s his cousin, Da Bao is still the treasure of the old Sun family. What is she doing?”

“Her husband was also arrested, but they haven’t moved against her yet. I guess she’s hiding at the base pretending to be dead,” Liu Han said.

“Bah! She’s the wife of a Soviet spy, and she still has the nerve to pretend to be dead. Just wait, I’ll deal with her!” The old lady was so furious she was about to explode.

“At the time, my brother-in-law was there too. If he hadn’t been around, Da Bao would definitely have resisted. But now, it’s fine. Da Bao trusted my brother-in-law and didn’t hide, but my brother-in-law turned around and got him locked up in prison!”

“Nie Lao Da is still your brother-in-law? Since he met that clean-skinned vixen, he’s already forgotten about my son.” The old lady thought for a moment and immediately said, “No, I have to go to the base again. I need to drive that vixen away and relieve this frustration.”

The old lady may not be good at anything else, but she was excellent at bullying the weak and fearing the strong.

“Mom, don’t be impulsive. Last time, you nearly lost your life in that cold spell,” Liu Xie Fang said.

“That time, I wasn’t prepared. This time, I don’t believe I can’t drive that vixen away,” the old lady said, as she threw the quilt off the kang.

“The leader said, don’t fight an unwinnable battle. I’ve been lying here thinking about it for a month, and I’ve already investigated that vixen’s background. I’m confident I can drive her away in one go.”

Of course, this time, she had learned from her mistakes.

Just like the Japanese soldiers in the tunnel warfare, she sneaked into the village without making a sound, quietly entering the base.

And she wasn’t alone.

She brought her silly daughter, Sun Duoyu, with her.

The two of them parked their tractor outside the base gate and said they were visiting relatives.

The security team naturally let them in.

As for Nie Weimin’s whereabouts, Huang Huacai knew them very well.

This kid had been so used to being protected since he was small that he didn’t dare wander far.

The furthest he would go was to play under the wall at the back of his yard.

So, without much effort, the old lady cornered Nie Weimin and his brother in a small forest.

“Da Dan, let me ask you, did that dirty woman hit you? Did she mistreat you?” the old lady asked.

“Who’s that dirty woman?” Er Dan was still curious.

“Your stepmother, she’s the dirty woman. Look at what you’re wearing, what is that? Now look at what you’re eating, that’s capitalist candy-coated bullets!” The old lady said, and she tried to grab the candy from Nie Weimin’s mouth.

Qian Goudan was the sneakiest. As soon as he saw the old lady, he quickly tried to run, but Sun Duoyu yanked him back.

Kids are still kids, no matter how fierce they act. Sun Duoyu, who was like a little winter melon at home, was now acting tough, and she tightly grabbed Er Dan and Qian Goudan, staring them down.

“She’s a dirty woman , but even so, she’s a good person. She makes clothes for us, gives us cheese to eat. You’re a bad grandma,” Nie Weimin said.

He was a very stubborn child, who saw things in black and white.

However, Huang Huacai had a way with children: “I’ll just ask you this: do you want some instant noodles and eggs? Do you want some stir-fried vegetables?

In Wumayi, your second aunt’s house has that, but now, I need you to go with me to Wumayi Mining District to find the mine boss and report that dirty old Nine for abusing you.”

“She didn’t abuse me. Also, I don’t care for instant noodles. We have better food at home,” Nie Weimin replied.

When Huang Huacai saw that coaxing wouldn’t work, she made up her mind.

“Are you counter-revolutionary? why are you such a stubborn kid?” Huang Haicai asked

Those people nearby heard it and defended the kid.

“Old Huang, there’s no way to call Da Dan a counter-revolutionary, he’s only six years old!”

“Yeah, he’s just a kid, you can’t just slap that label on him.”

“Our base doesn’t follow that stuff from the outside. Here, we’re all good people. Hasn’t anyone stopped this old lady from coming in?”

As the crowd grew, Nie Weimin, feeling shy and embarrassed, turned even redder.

He angrily charged toward Sun Duoyu.

Chen Lina immediately grabbed the child.

“Alright, take Er Dan and go home. I’ll handle this,” she reassured him.

For the first time in his life, Nie Weimin didn’t know how to feel after hitting someone.

His face was hot and red, and he ran straight into Chen Lina’s arms and began crying. “I didn’t mean it! I’m not a counter-revolutionary!”

“I know you’re not a counter-revolutionary, and I know it wasn’t intentional. There’s a law called ‘self-defense,’ which means if someone hits you first, and you fight back, you’re not at fault. You were just defending yourself,” Chen Lina said, pushing him behind her.

Nie Weimin still didn’t want to leave. “I… I’ll stay here and watch over you.”

“The house is full of fire, and San Dan is still too young to understand. What if he starts a fire? You need to go back,” she urged.

When he thought of his younger brother, he finally turned around and ran home.

When Huang Huacai saw Chen Lina, it was like seeing an enemy—her hatred was so intense. “You’re a shameless woman! Don’t think I don’t know. You’re just an old reactionary, running to the base to escape the revolution. I’m going to get rid of you today.”

“You… old reactionary,” Sun Duoyu blurted out. It turned out she was a stutterer.

“Shut your mouth! Listen to me, everyone! This Chen woman has an agenda. She’s a college graduate who came to the frontier—don’t you think she’s suspicious? She’s just hiding here because she couldn’t survive the fight in her hometown. I’m telling you, the base’s decision to bring her in is a risk—a cancer. This cancer must be removed, or the base will close down sooner or later!”

The oil base did indeed employ many educated people, but to work there, one had to go through multiple rounds of political screening.

Simply put, you had to come from a poor family, but be an elite, to earn more than a hundred yuan a month.

Otherwise, no matter how high your degree, you still had to do manual labor and live in a cow shed.

When the words “old reactionary” were spoken, all the family members gasped in shock.

Especially since Chen Lina was driving the only car at the base—the small car that even Engineer Wang didn’t get to use.

Chen Lina thought to herself, no wonder she had the courage to say these things—she thought she had me cornered.

She immediately retorted, “You’re full of nonsense. Our family has been poor for three generations, with a heart that’s redder than red.”

That wasn’t a lie.

Except for her father being a scholar, the Chen family had been impoverished for three generations.

Before her grandfather’s past was exposed last year, she had no issues with her background.

“Oh? You dare to let me see your file?” Huang Huacai clung to her accusation, insisting that Chen Lina was an “old reactionary.” She had gotten this information from her second son-in-law, Wang Fusheng, who had connections in the personnel department at the mine.

However, personnel files were classified documents.

Besides, Nie Bozhao’s family files were locked up in Engineer Wang’s safe—there was no way someone like Huang Huacai could get access to them.

So, Huang Huacai resorted to goading her, throwing mud at her and trying to provoke her into failing to prove her innocence.

But Chen Lina had been through this era before—she wasn’t easily tricked.

She said, “I’m not afraid to share my file with anyone. My name is Chen Lina, born in 1950. My father was a primary school teacher, my grandfather was a poor peasant.

As for myself, I’ve been red and professional since I was young. When I was in elementary school, I even presented flowers to the model worker, Hongyan Province’s March 8th Red Flag bearer.

When I was in middle school, I was even more outstanding—every year I won awards. I was always the one representing the students to present flowers. I had so many certificates that I used them to patch the walls.”

That was true.

Chen Lina was the type who always wanted to be the best.

During the time of Sino-Soviet friendship, she even spoke Russian and was quite popular as a child.

Any event, she was the one chosen to represent the students.

Huang Huacai didn’t believe her. “You’re talking nonsense! If you really have the guts, show us your file. If you don’t, you’re just bragging.”

“Old lady, you have no right to see my file. If you really want to see it, go to Engineer Wang or Party Secretary A. I have to tell you, only the organization has the right to look at someone’s file. Who do you think you are to demand my file?”

Huang Huacai was a big troublemaker in the base.

Honestly, Party Secretary A and Engineer Wang would protect Chen Lina, not side with Huang Huacai.

Since the day Nie Bozhao had her file moved from Hongyan Province’s capital, Chen Lina knew that the leaders at the base were backing her because her file was locked in the base’s safekeeping.

Huang Huacai and her son Sun Dabo were experts at stirring up trouble under the guise of revolution, but when it came to dealing with such people, it was all about who was in the right—whoever was more determined, more loyal to the leader, and more devoted to the republic would win the argument.

Also, since her household registration was with the university collective, she had long moved out of Qishixiang.

If the old lady tried to investigate her there, she would be wasting her time.

If slinging mud didn’t work, she could always escalate and make a scene.