“Er Dan, today we have fine white noodles, why aren’t you eating?”

“I… I’m not hungry today.”

“Not hungry? Then why are you drooling?” Chen Lina found it strange.

Er Dan had only eaten a small bowl and was stubbornly refusing to eat any more.

He watched San Dan picking cucumber strips from the noodles and eating them, drooling, but he wouldn’t eat.

“Why, are you afraid your mom will think you eat too much and send you to your aunt?” Chen Lina asked.

This seemed to be the root of the problem.

Er Dan, whose hands were unusually clean, wiped his tears and said, “Mom, I’ll eat less from now on.”

There wasn’t much noodles to begin with, and seeing how pitiful her child looked, Chen Lina took a bite from her own bowl and gave him a chopstick of noodles, saying, “It’s fine. No one will send you away just because you eat a lot. Eat, your mom can feed you all.”

The moment the three brothers heard that, it seemed like a heavy burden was lifted from their hearts, and they started eagerly eating.

“Bottom of the bowl, bottom of the bowl, all the cucumbers are mine!” Nie Weimin, unusually greedy, claimed the bowl of cucumbers.

This kid loved vegetables.

However, the Nie brothers were enjoying their meal, while across the yard, Qian Goudan seemed very upset and was crying loudly, each cry louder than the last.

“Nie Weimin, get out here!” Outside, Qian Goudan was calling.

“If you don’t come out, I’m telling your mom,” he said.

Er Dan, munching on his cucumber-stripped noodles, came out and shouted in his coarse voice, “Have you ever eaten such delicious cold noodles? Qian Goudan, what’s wrong with you?”

“Tell your brother to come out, I have something to say to him, it’s none of your business,” Qian Goudan said, looking frantic.

Nie Weimin came out directly and asked, “Qian Goudan, are you done?”

“You have to pay for my shoes! Look at my sandals, they’re all ruined because of you.”

It should be known that a pair of plastic sandals was quite expensive at that time—three yuan for a pair.

Two days ago, Qian’s mother had bought the sandals for Goudan from the mining area.

They were meant to be passed down to his younger brother after Gou Dan wore them.

However, when he went tree climbing with Nie Weimin this morning to collect bird eggs, the strap broke.

His mother fixed it with string, but when he walked, it came undone again.

Just now, Qian’s mother had scolded Goudan with the sole of the broken sandals, so Goudan had come to vent his frustration on Nie Weimin.

“My mom said you have to pay for my shoes because your mom is the farm manager, and she has money,” Qian Goudan said.

Nie Weimin didn’t say anything at first, took a few steps, then suddenly turned around and raised his fists.

However, Qian’s mother was watching from inside and called out, “Dandan, what’s gotten into you lately, why are you getting so violent?”

“What’s going on, Weimin?” Chen Lina also came out.

“We were climbing trees together, and his sandals got caught on a branch. It’s not my fault,” Nie Weimin said, his eyes starting to redden.

He was a stubborn kid who rarely cried, but now he was rubbing his eyes.

“Chen, I’m not saying anything else. You should discipline your son. Climbing trees, going into the river, there’s nothing he doesn’t do.

He’s only seven! If he gets older, will he fly into the sky? And Goudan has always been careful. If it weren’t for him, would the strap of the new sandals have broken?”

“Qian’s mother, you can’t say it like that. Dandan is mischievous, but Gou Dan isn’t any better.

As for climbing trees and going into the river, boys of this age can’t be controlled. We can’t tie them up with a rope. If you ask me, let’s each give fifty blows as punishment. I’ll fix the sandals, is that alright?”

At that time, plastic sandals had just become popular.

They were both attractive and comfortable, but once the strap broke, they were hard to fix.

When Qian’s mother heard that Chen Lina could fix them, she immediately said, “Oh, they can’t be fixed. I tried to tie them with cotton thread, but every time the child walked, they’d fall apart.”

Without saying much, Chen Lina picked up the broken sandals, went into the kitchen, and heated the coal tong over the stove until it was red.

She used it to heat the plastic strap, then quickly pressed it to shape.

After doing that, the sandals were fully repaired.

“Qian’s mom, let the kid try them on. How do they feel?” Chen Lina said.

When Qian Goudan tried them on, they were as secure as new, unlike when they were fixed with string.

In the afternoon, Chen Lina drove the three kids to the mining area’s welfare center to visit Liu Xiaohong.

“I’m never going to the Baiyang River to look for wild duck eggs again,” Nie Weimin said in the back seat, sounding particularly down, but then added obediently, “I’m sorry, Mom.”

“You really can’t go to Baiyang River, and I, Chen Lina, swear I will never eat wild duck eggs for the rest of my life,” said Chen Lina.

“Then let’s make a pinky promise, and it will never change for a hundred years,” said Nie Weimin.

However, the three brothers were still uneasy, especially Nie Weimin and San Dan’er, both of whom were deeply troubled.

“Will Mom send me away if I make a mistake?” Finally, San Dan mustered the courage to ask.

“No, no matter how big your mistakes are, I will never send you away. Absolutely not. But one thing is, if you make a mistake, I will be angry. If you fall from a tree or drown in the river, or get hurt, both your dad and I will be sad, very, very sad.”

San Dan didn’t quite understand, but Nie Weimin did: “That’s because you love us.”

Oh, these father and son had such big egos, they even misunderstood that she loved them! Chen Lina almost laughed out loud.

It was them who loved her, okay?

The welfare institute in the mining area wasn’t very large.

Of course, there weren’t many children either.

There were only a few, and most of them were sent there due to disabilities or congenital diseases.

Children like this, unless someone with an overflowing maternal love came along, would typically be adopted.

As for Liu Xiaohong, not only was she beautiful, but as a girl of her age, she could cook and do laundry.

Her uncle had refused to take her in because the family couldn’t afford to feed another mouth, and he only wanted a son.

After all, in the countryside, boys were preferred over girls.

But the miners in the area were provided with food from the company, so they didn’t have to worry about that.

So, when Chen Lina arrived, there were actually a few people wanting to adopt Liu Xiaohong, not just the Song family.

However, on the first day, Chen Lina came up empty.

It was said that the director of the welfare institute had taken Liu Xiaohong to make a final farewell before her father’s cremation.

The farm was still so busy that Chen Lina couldn’t make it in time.

She had to go back to work with the kids first and then come back the next day.

Well, the next day they said they were attending the funeral, and she had to wait until the third day.

On the weekend, after hanging up the phone with the chief engineer, Chen Lina finally heard from the welfare institute that the official adoption procedures for Liu Xiaohong would take place today.

She took her three sons along, planning to watch the adoption process.

“Sis, why are you going to the welfare institute too? What’s going on?” On the way, Chen Lina unexpectedly saw her elder sister, Chen Lili, and her husband getting off a big truck.

They were standing by the side of the road, holding onto a tree branch and throwing up.

She also got dizzy from big trucks.

Chen Lili saw Chen Lina’s car.

She wasn’t too happy that she didn’t bring the kids, but Wang Hongbing said, “We don’t have children, and we heard there’s a little girl at the welfare institute who’s up for adoption, so we came to see.”

“Is she called Liu Xiaohong?”

“Yes.”

“Mom, Auntie also wants to adopt Liu Xiaohong. Let her get in the car, let’s go together,” said Er Dan, jumping up.

They were all children who played together at the base.

When they heard that Liu Xiaohong was going to be adopted and Auntie was eager to get a child, the three of them were nervously plotting.

“Sis, I need to tell you, if you’re really going to adopt a child, you need to be mentally prepared.

A child is not a pet, nor a little dog, but an independent person with their own character.

If you’re in a bad mood, you can’t just hit or scold them. If you’re happy, you can’t spoil them either.

In short, whether biological or adopted, they are not easy to manage since there was no pregnancy for ten months,” said Chen Lili.

After Wang Hongbing got injured last time, Chen Lili had a tough time.

They would only remarry at least ten years later, but after they remarried, they had children.

So, what Chen Lina was worried about now was that her sister wanted to adopt a child, but once she had her own biological child, would she mistreat or neglect the adopted one?

“Sis, I want a child, no matter if it’s a boy or a girl. Your brother-in-law is too busy, and the house feels empty. Moreover, when women reach our age, not having a child is really difficult. You may not give me one, but you can’t stop me from adopting one, right?”

“You don’t know, when they’re obedient, it’s okay.” Chen Lina said, glancing at the three boys sitting neatly in the backseat through the rearview mirror.

They were as obedient as three little kittens.

She couldn’t help but laugh, then continued, “But when you’ve had a tiring day and come home to find they’ve torn the firewood all over the yard, or after it rains, they roll around in the mud like dirty pigs and still want to hug you, that’s when they seem like little demons.”

Nie Weimin punched Er Dan, who immediately raised his hand and said, “Mom, I’ll never play in the water again when it rains.”

“I know, I know kids are hard to raise, especially boys, but Liu Xiaohong isn’t a naughty girl. I’ve seen her at the base; she’s a very well-behaved little girl,” said Chen Lili.

“Mom, let’s help Auntie adopt Liu Xiaohong,” said Nie Weimin, seeing that his mother was still hesitating.

He shook her hand on the gearshift. “Is that okay?”

Everyone in the car, including Wang Hongbing, was looking at Chen Lina.

“I can only say, let’s go and see first. If there’s a better family that can adopt her, then that’s of course great. If not, and if you’re really willing to adopt her, then go ahead and adopt her,” Chen Lina finally exhaled.

In Director Guan’s office at the welfare center, by the time Chen Lina arrived, the room was already packed with people coming to adopt Liu Xiaohong.

Director Guan was an elderly woman from the Xibe ethnic group, with a plump figure.

As for Liu Xiaohong, the little girl was still wearing the small overalls made from leftover khaki cloth when Chen Lina made her own clothes, paired with a flowered shirt that had been altered from one of her old shirts.

Her face was flushed, biting her red lips, her big eyes blinking as she stood in the corner.

“Little sister, I… I’m so sad,” as soon as Chen Lili entered, she grabbed her younger sister’s hand and rested her head on her shoulder. “That little girl looks like someone from the old society who was about to be sold,” she said.

But as soon as Liu Xiaohong saw the Nie Weimin brothers enter, her eyes brightened.

She stood behind Director Guan and waved at Chen Lina.

“Alright, let’s first listen to the situation. It looks like there are a lot of people here,” Chen Lina said.

“Okay, let me introduce Liu Xiaohong to everyone. This little girl’s father had a problematic background; he was a Soviet sympathizer, but she hasn’t been influenced by his ideology.

Her thoughts are very healthy. During the incident at Loulan Farm, she even protected our comrades.

So, she is a very good girl. Now, let everyone introduce themselves,” Director Guan said.

The first to push to the front was actually Sun Ainan.

Her husband had been arrested for corruption, but there were no family privileges in the mining area, so her situation was still relatively good.

They had a two-bedroom, two-living-room apartment in the mining area.

After all, Wang Fusheng had been able to embezzle, so their family must have had some means, although he had aged significantly from the stress.

“I can’t have children of my own, so I really want to adopt a child. If the director gives her to me, I will teach her well in terms of character, health, and education. I will thoroughly eliminate any remnants of her father’s Soviet influence and make her into a child who can contribute to society,” Sun Ainan said.

Director Guan flipped through the file she handed over and saw that her husband had been imprisoned for corruption and disciplinary issues.

Naturally, she furrowed her brow.

However, when she saw another man from a different family, who seemed more reliable, she said, “Alright, please introduce yourselves.”

This couple was from the plastic factory in the mining area, both working full-time.

The man was tall and robust, and the woman was quite capable.

However, when Director Guan flipped through their documents, she asked, “Don’t you already have children? Why do you want to adopt?”

The woman said, “To be honest, Director, we have three sons. The oldest is already sixteen and works in our plastic factory, and the youngest is ten, at that mischievous age.

We’ve always wanted a daughter, but we just can’t have one. We both work, our family isn’t lacking in food, and in the mining area, we have everything we need.

But what we do lack is a child who can help with laundry, cooking, and cleaning.” She then pushed a young man with pimples and a stubbly face forward, saying, “This is my eldest son. He really wants a little sister. I think our family is the best fit to adopt this girl.”

When Chen Lina saw that young man, she felt uncomfortable.

How should she describe it?

His eyes—the ones she had seen in newspapers during the crackdown era—those were the same eyes as those troublemakers who were targeted.

He wasn’t a bad kid by nature, but his eyes had the look of those who hated society, and the kind of rebellious teens who would kick trash cans for no reason—just like the ones described in those reports.

Liu Xiaohong stared at that boy, and clearly, she was frightened, fiddling with her own clothes and looking like she was about to cry.

“I feel like you just want to find a free little maid to help your three sons with laundry and cooking,” Director Guan said, having seen enough of this type of behavior to immediately see through the woman’s intentions.

“What’s wrong with that? She’s just a little girl. If we adopt her and feed her, if she’s smart, she’ll go to school. If she’s not, she can stay at home and cook. I already have three sons, and later, I can marry her off. She’ll never go hungry. With the plastic factory kids, it’s hard to find a job for a girl now,” the woman said.

“But your second son has polio,” Director Guan replied, now not just dissatisfied, but angry. “I see what’s going on. You’re not here to adopt her; you’re looking for a wife for your second son, aren’t you? I won’t say more. You and Comrade Sun over there aren’t suitable. Please leave.”

“Really, it’s just a little girl. It’s already good that someone wants her. Why all these procedures?” the woman grumbled, pulling her eldest son and storming out of the office.

Nie Weimin tugged at Chen Lina’s sleeve and said, “Mom, it’s our turn now.”

“When you need something, you call me mom, but when you don’t, it’s just Comrade Chen. I don’t like this,” she replied.

The little boy, slightly pouting, scratched his nose and, ignoring his mom, peered through her arm to look at Liu Xiaohong.

She was still staring at him, her big eyes gleaming with a strange beauty.

It was odd.

As Nie Weimin grew older, many girls passed through his life.

Even his childhood crush, Chen Tiantian, the girl he had cared for like a little sister, was now a blurry memory.

But Liu Xiaohong’s face, as she stood there, would always appear in his dreams.