The two older ones were wearing bright and shiny navy uniforms, freshly washed yesterday, and had been drying by the fire wall all night.

They were so white, they looked almost blinding, like the snow piled up by the roadside.

The small leather shoes were polished by Nie Weimin himself, shiny and bright, almost reflecting a person’s shadow.

San Dan didn’t have a navy uniform to wear, but he didn’t need one.

He would just be carried to the car.

Anna sat in the front, while Xiao Chen sat in the back, holding the child.

They were driving to the Mulan Farm.

In the future, next to this large farm, there would be a cotton and wool enterprise that would rank among the top in the entire Republic.

Chen Lina had visited during business talks, seeing the modern factory, the assembly lines, all integrated into the Umai District.

But for now, it was just a small oasis in the middle of the Gobi Desert.

“That, that’s my grandmother’s house,” Nie Weimin said, his ears perked up like a rabbit’s.

As soon as they entered the gate of Mulan Farm and Xiao Chen got out to greet the security guards, Nie Weimin continued, “Let’s take the road on the left, so my grandmother won’t see us.”

Right inside the farm, the best spots were occupied by the relocated households from Zhang County.

The sand pits had white steamed buns scattered around, with chickens jumping and dogs running.

It wasn’t very tidy.

The women, under the blazing sun, were either washing clothes or gossiping.

Just as they entered, Chen Lina heard the voice of the elderly woman Huang Huacai crying out.

“The oil base has no good people. This morning, I went to find the leaders, hoping to get our son Dabao released from the security office, but after freezing for half a day, I couldn’t even get through the gate of the base.”

“Why wouldn’t they let you in, sister-in-law? You’re the number one person in Umai!” A fellow villager, knowing the old lady liked to boast, always made sure to lift her up.

The old lady clapped her hands and said, “They said the base is checking for ‘Soviet revisionism,’ and with the new security policy, no one can enter without a permit. My heartless son-in-law didn’t even come to get me.”

Nie Weimin listened closely, then heard the old lady continue, “If it’s really impossible, I’ll have to pay to get him out. I asked my second son-in-law, and he said it’ll cost at least 500 yuan.”

“500 yuan, that’s a lot of money! We’ve never even seen that much money in our lives!”

“Honestly, my family isn’t short of 500 yuan. You’ve never seen the money my family has. Have you seen 5,000 or 10,000 yuan? My family has it. I don’t believe I can’t get my son out with money.”

Ha, it was as if she thought all her children’s money was hers to control.

The car was too conspicuous. If the old lady saw it, Chen Lina wasn’t afraid of confronting her, but today she had other people to deal with.

However, hearing the old lady talk about using her 5,000 yuan to rescue her son Dabao, Chen Lina couldn’t help but sneer coldly: “Wait until I’ve got the position of farm manager, then come and collect that money.”

With a quick press of the accelerator, the car zoomed away, and Huang Huacai, still ranting, could only hear the engine’s roar as Chen Lina sped off.

Chen Lili and Wang Hongbing’s house was deep inside the farm, in the 12th production team, at least a 20-minute drive.

Wang Hongbing had gone to dig the salt ditches, so Chen Lili was at home.

As soon as she heard the sound of a car, she rushed out.

She had been waiting eagerly for this moment, hoping to finally see her family.

Since the sand pit was half-underground, it was warmer than above ground.

They had a small stove in the middle, and the room felt as warm as spring.

After placing Sandan on the bed, the little one was curious and started grabbing Wang Hongbing’s abacus.

The round, smooth, black beads kept him entertained for a while.

Nie Weimin and his brother were clearly outstanding in this sandpit.

The children of the relocated families were all quite young, and a few had followed the car.

They stood outside, watching the two boys in their white navy uniforms with curiosity.

One was fair-skinned and delicate, while the other had a round face and looked tough.

One was quiet, the other a bit brash.

The two boys seemed a bit awkward.

Chen Lili had nothing special to offer the kids, so when Chen Lina pulled something out of the trunk, she just tore it open and gave it to them.

At home, they had plenty of New Year’s goods, but the kids’ stomachs were bottomless pits.

Candy was a rare treat, limited to one piece a day at home, but at relatives’ houses, they could eat as much as they liked.

It was just common sense.

However, when Er Dan shouted “Auntie! Auntie!” and ran over to grab some candy, he suddenly noticed his mother’s eyes turning cold and menacing.

It was the same look she had given him when she packed up his things the day Auntie left.

“Auntie, I’ll only have one piece,” Er Dan said, grabbing a big white rabbit candy and eyeing it longingly.

“This is for Auntie’s family, who still need to entertain guests. Each of you can have three pieces. Play outside in front of the door, but don’t run too far.”

Nie Weimin immediately brightened up and picked three pieces of shrimp crisps, saying, “Thank you, Auntie, thank you, Comrade Chen. But I can take six pieces because I have to take some for San Dan too.”

This contradictory boy, sometimes so mature that Chen Lina felt like he wasn’t a child, but at other times so innocent, as if his intelligence was only five years old.

He still remembered how he had hesitated to eat the big white rabbit candy that once made him lose two teeth, but now he was reluctant to eat it.

“Let’s go quickly and grab some coal! Our farm has a daily coal allowance of three kilograms per household. I’ve been freezing all winter, and only those who give gifts to Sun Xiangnan can get better coal. Otherwise, they’ll just get iron coal.”

The two sisters rushed to the warehouse to grab coal.

Sun Xiangnan’s second sister, Sun Xiangnan, sat high behind the counter in the warehouse, looking like an old-time landlord, distributing coal to the members of the production team.

The coal was weighed on a scale, and you can imagine how bad it was.

“Warehouse manager, this doesn’t even seem to be three kilograms of coal. These few pieces couldn’t even cook a meal.”

“If it won’t cook, eat it raw. This farm isn’t yours. If you don’t like it, go collect firewood from the Gobi Desert,” Sun Xiangnan retorted.

Chen Lina squeezed forward, grabbed the coal basket, and handed it over.

Sun Xiangnan just glanced at it, tossing two lumps of hard coal into the basket.

“Sun warehouse manager, is this really three kilograms of coal?” Chen Lina asked.

“It is! It’s three kilograms of coal. If you don’t believe me, we can weigh it,” Sun Xiangnan replied, standing behind the high counter with her chin raised.

“Out of the way, next!” she added.

Chen Lina carried the coal bucket and temporarily held her frustration.

The farm’s warehouse was incredibly slow. Collecting coal took a full hour, and that wasn’t the end because everyone still needed to receive their New Year’s benefits.

The benefits at the base were big fish, big meat, and big fat chickens, but once they got to the farm, it was pitiful.

“How many pounds of fine flour did you get?” one young intellectual asked another, who shook his head. “Sigh, two pounds.”

“Two pounds? That’s enough for one meal of dumplings, right? Let’s make do, let’s light a fire tonight.” The two young intellectuals each carried a cloth bag and walked off.

Chen Lina went forward to get her share as well.

To her surprise, even for two people, they only got two pounds of fine flour.

She was stunned. “Sun, we’re a family of two. Are you only giving us two pounds of fine flour for the New Year?”

“Well, the warehouse doesn’t have flour, only mice. Would you like some mice?” Sun Xiangnan said, slapping the table. “Who is this woman? Why is no one managing her? Hurry up, next! I’ve got to go home and cook for my Qiuwa.”

Grabbing the basket of dead coal, Chen Lina jumped up and slammed it down on the counter.

With a loud shout, she said, “Who are you fooling? The coal you gave is dead iron coal, it only produces smoke, it can’t even light a fire! Moreover, the standard distribution from the mine to the farm production team is 150 pounds of coal per household per month, which equals five pounds a day.

Why, when it comes to you, Sun Xiangnan, is it only three pounds? And for the New Year, the standard is 20 pounds of fine flour and three pounds of oil per young intellectual.

Why, when it comes to you, we only got two pounds of flour, and not even a single ounce of oil?”

All the young intellectuals and farm workers gathered around, looking at each other in confusion. “Wait, the mine really gives us 150 pounds of coal per month?”

“Everyone, I have a document here. It’s the notice from the mine about the coal subsidy for the farm production teams. It says one household gets five pounds of coal per day.

For the New Year, 20 pounds of fine flour and three pounds of oil. If you don’t believe it, I’ll stick it up here, and you can see for yourselves.”

As she spoke, she really pulled out a piece of paper from her pocket, had a chubby kid lick his finger, and with a slap, pasted it on the warehouse door.

“Who is this comrade?”

“She looks quite young, seems like a young intellectual, but her clothes don’t match. Do you know who she is?”

Looking at the paper on the wall, they saw it was a red-headed document.

The young intellectuals, who could read, started reading aloud, “20 pounds of fine flour, 3 pounds of oil. Hey, this is real! Were we really cheated by Sun, the warehouse manager?”

Sun Xiangnan couldn’t read much, but in the farm, she got the position as warehouse manager thanks to her connections with Sun Zhuanman.

When she heard this, she was terrified and started shouting, “Who said that? This is nonsense! The coal is three pounds!”

“The red-headed document was personally signed by Comrade Sun. Sun Xiangnan, you must know her name, right? She’s a martyr, and you’re withholding coal and flour from us. You’re an embarrassment to Comrade Sun!” a male young intellectual shouted.