In order to beat Chen Lina, He Lanshan took off his gloves, even his mask and hat, not caring about the scorching sun.

He slung a cotton bag over his shoulder and began to pick cotton furiously.

Of course, Chen Lina was equally determined not to lose.

She even dismissed her little follower, Er Dan, because with him around, the victory wouldn’t be fair.

“Comrade leaders, after seven days of sleepless work and wasting thirty sheets of paper, my draft is finally done,” said He Min, who liked to act cunningly, hiding during work and showing up when it was time to take credit.

He was also known for his sycophantic behavior.

And this kind of person, sadly, was the one who could win the leaders’ favor.

Isn’t that frustrating?

“Wow, the photo of Secretary Yu looks impressive! And I’m not bad either. The heroes in peacetime are workers, and this photo of Secretary He is great,” He Min remarked as everyone sat in the field, eating dry rations and passing around photos He Min had taken.

When He Min finished reading his draft, which praised all the leaders, everyone became even more pleased.

“Secretary He, next year, the guidance work for the farm should still be yours,” Secretary A said sincerely.

“I’ll work tirelessly for a whole year to increase production. Oh, these past few days have really worn me out,” He Min continued to praise himself.

“Uncle He, I testify that Uncle He really hasn’t slept for days,” a child suddenly ran into the cotton field, white and clean, tall and thin, with a crisp voice.

It was Nie Weimin, the little genius from the first-grade class, currently the top student.

“Oh, Weimin, tell us, how has Uncle He been staying up?” Secretary A asked with a smile.

Nie Weimin spoke loudly: “He, every night, holds a radio listening to ‘Katyusha,’ listens to ‘Moscow Nights,’ and pretends to hug a female comrade while dancing in the living room.”

Team Leader Gao slapped his thigh and laughed so loudly that it sounded like a donkey braying.

He Min’s face turned red: “Weimin, don’t make jokes, go play over there.”

“He dances for a while, writes a little, gets bored, crosses out the writing, and says that the leaders are all fools, just fooling around,” Nie Weimin didn’t leave.

“Engineer Nie, your son isn’t properly educated, spouting nonsense,” He Min said, almost hopping mad, and tried to grab Nie Weimin, but the child hid behind his father.

“He wrote one sheet of paper and threw it away. After thinking about it, he said, ‘Ah, just copy an article from the newspaper and change the name, and that’s it,’” Nie Weimin said, suddenly waving his hand.

Sheets of paper flew out, all filled with He Min’s discarded drafts, which Nie Weimin had picked up, marked with scribbles.

He Min frantically picked up the papers, one after another.

One sheet was blown in front of District Chief Gao.

Upon opening it, he saw He Min had written a few random strokes and then scrawled: “Gao Feng is a bastard.”

He crumpled up the paper and thought, tonight, he would make his wife, Helanshan, eat it.

Department Head Gao laughed at the right moment: “Secretary A, I told you He Min is a coward, but you didn’t believe me.”

“Well, Weimin, you’re just a child, and children speak innocently. But Uncle He is an adult, and adults sometimes make small mistakes. You shouldn’t speak like that,” Secretary A said with a smile.

Nie Bozhao himself sometimes wrote a draft poorly and added a few random curse words, like the famous phrase of Old Chiang.

Luckily, he had a habit of tearing up papers; otherwise, if someone caught him, he’d probably be in trouble.

But Nie Weimin kept silent.

San Dan, however, still had more to say: “Dad, Uncle He’s house has alcohol and pig’s knuckles to eat. I’m really craving it.”

He smacked his lips and said, “Dad, let’s go to the State-Owned Restaurant and have pig’s knuckles. How about it?”

The talkative San Dan gave He Min a heavy blow.

This made District Chief Gao jump up: “He Min, you said the Corps farm came to learn from us, but when you arranged the reception, you ordered several tables of food at the State-Owned Restaurant for thirty yuan per table. It looks like you used the money I approved for yourself!”

“Leaders, please listen to my explanation!”

“There’s nothing to explain. Our frontier is so tough, the workload is so heavy, and during busy times, even primary school students have to come out to work. But you, instead of working hard, are at home enjoying yourself. You think that fooling around with writing can get you by?” Gao Feng was furious, ready to punch his good-for-nothing brother-in-law.

“Secretary A, I’m really sorry. I shouldn’t have reassigned this person here. Although he has writing skills, his character is really lacking,” District Chief Gao said, not caring about private matters, speaking directly in front of Secretary A.

“Brother-in-law!”

“I don’t have a brother-in-law like you. Go wherever you like. Hurry up and leave,” Gao Feng said angrily. “Really, a worthless bastard that North University has trained!”

Meanwhile, in another cotton field, the women from the Cultural Troupe, the educated youth, and everyone else had stopped to rest, but He Lanshan and Chen Lina were still in a fierce competition.

Everyone cheered them on.

Some believed Chen Lina would win, but others were sure Helanshan would come out on top.

As the sun set, He Lanshan worked even harder, almost like a cotton-picking machine.

Chen Lina picked for a while, then suddenly stopped.

Well, she guessed that her clever little comrade Nie must have already revealed He Min’s secret.

That bastard He Min could finally roll out of her farm.

Wiping the sweat from her forehead, Chen Lina thought: “Engineer Nie, I’m sorry. I really can’t keep going. He Lanshan is a true powerhouse. She’s too strong. You sing a song for everyone.”

“Your brother is such a good-for-nothing, always trying to show off, feeling self-satisfied. I brought him here from Daqing to increase the farm’s production, and look at what he’s done! Look at what he’s written! Tell me, He Lanshan, what do you think?”

“Director Gao, I’m the model worker in this cotton-picking campaign. I’ve picked far more than you!”

“That doesn’t change the fact that your brother is useless!”

“But my second mom is about to be transferred here to become the principal of Base 1. You can’t possibly transfer He Min back, can you?”

“Well, what do you suggest we do then?”

“Transfer him out of Mulan Farm, send him to our refinery. That should work, right? I believe in his work abilities. If you don’t want him, I’ll take him.”

“Fine, whatever. You take care of your useless brother then.” Director Gao kicked a chair and walked out.

Well, just like that, He Min’s fate was decided—so easily.

Perhaps the halo of family affection made Director He share some of his accomplishments with him, but either way, from today onward, He Min would be completely leaving the farm.

In front of the warehouse, workers were weighing cotton and evaluating the model workers.

Of course, soon, the arm-wrestling contest would start.

“Dad, you should eat a bowl of squash before arm wrestling, the more you eat, the stronger you’ll be,” Er Dan said, holding a bowl.

Inside the bowl was the squash dish made by Liu Xiaohong.

The squash was soft and sticky like egg yolk, with diamond-shaped pieces of dough wrapping it, making it absolutely delicious.

“Dad, I don’t think you can beat Uncle Yu, he’s too young,” San Dan added, adding salt to the wound.

“San Dan, if you want Dad to win, stop making him hold you. He needs to save his strength to arm wrestle with Uncle Yu,” Nie Weimin said seriously.

Alright, San Dan slid off his father’s lap.

At this time, while the big truck was in Urumqi buying sodas, cakes, and snacks, Mom had returned.

Director He stood in the way, waiting to unload the sodas with Wu Qiong, the head of the arts troupe, and the families of the mining area leaders.

“Director Chen, thank you for your hard work. After finishing the work, you still have to drive the truck to buy things. Well then, our Red Women’s Army, let’s start unloading the sodas,” He Lanshan said, still upset about He Min’s departure.

If she had been there at the front with the leaders, she might have been able to keep He Min there, but with Chen Lina’s strong leadership and dedication, He Lanshan knew that she had won, yet also realized Chen Lina had intentionally given her a chance.

So, for the greater good, she accepted He Min’s departure.

Wu Qiong waved her hand, and the girls from the arts troupe eagerly came to unload the sodas.

Chen Lina stepped off the truck, feeling exhausted, her vision blurry.

She glanced at He Lanshan, a small woman with quick, efficient movements, and couldn’t help but give her a silent thumbs-up.

No matter how useless He Min was, Director He Lanshan was a true strong woman.

“Director He, let the educated youth do the work. You can take a bottle of soda and rest in the cultural hall. How about that?” Chen Lina asked.

He Lanshan waved her hand. “No need, leaders should lead by example. It will motivate everyone to work. I’ll do it with everyone. You go rest, Director Chen, don’t worry about us.”

When He Lanshan decided to go all out, no one could stop her.

Well, after the last cotton weighed in, He Lanshan had rightfully earned the title of model worker on the farm.

She had picked 1,050 pounds in total, averaging 150 pounds a day.

And cotton loses weight after being picked and dried.

Such a model worker was certainly to be treated like a star.

So, when He Lanshan appeared at the People’s Cultural Hall, she was met with the warmest applause.

Minister Gao immediately said, “The person who won the arm-wrestling contest today should be the one to dance the first dance with Director He. Our Director He is the real labor model.”

He Lanshan smiled and was about to say something when, as if remembering something, she turned around and walked out.

As for honors, she didn’t care much; she just hated to lose.

Of course, Chen Lina genuinely applauded her.

If it hadn’t been for He Lanshan’s determined, go-all-out attitude, the cadres wouldn’t have been motivated, and production wouldn’t have been completed so quickly.

She exchanged a glance with Anna, who quickly led the female educated youth to bring over the bouquet carefully wrapped from the greenhouse of Professor Tian.

Once He Lanshan returned, they would present it to her on behalf of the farm.

Alright, the table was set up, and the two people who had made a bet, Nie Bozhao and Chief of Staff Yu, were about to have their arm-wrestling contest.

Everyone from Base 1 stood behind Nie Bozhao, cheering him on, while the Armed Forces comrades stood behind Chief of Staff Yu, ready to support him.

The tradition of the hardworking frontier people—an arm-wrestling contest—officially began.

“Mom, do you think Dad can win?” San Dan asked Chen Lina.

Chen Lina shook her head. “Even if he doesn’t win, he’s still your dad. Winning or losing is part of the game. We don’t need to focus too much on the outcome,” she said, doing her best to comfort the children.

After all, compared to someone in their twenties, Nie Bozhao didn’t have much chance of winning.

“He should start by stabilizing and enduring Chief Yu’s burst of strength, then slowly counter with endurance,” Nie Weimin said anxiously, almost wanting to jump up in frustration.

“Auntie, Auntie!” At that moment, someone suddenly tugged at Chen Lina’s clothes from behind.