Er Dan, notorious for speaking without thinking, immediately started crying. “Ahh! wuwu.“

“There, there. Don’t cry—your tears might freeze in this cold,” Liu Xiaohong said, pulling out her little handkerchief to wipe his tears.

Although she wasn’t even taller than Er Dan, she was by far the most mature among the kids.

Watching her, Chen Lina thought, If only she were my child. Then I could keep her here openly.

But Liu Xiaohong really was going home this time, and she was ecstatic about it.

“Mom, you don’t seem happy that Xiao Hong is leaving,” said Nie Weimin, ever perceptive about his mother’s feelings.

“It’s not that. It’s just that you could tutor her here, and back at the farm, no one will help her. Her English will fall far behind yours,” Chen Lina replied.

While studying English wasn’t encouraged at the moment, Chen Lina was already looking ahead.

Once the country opened up, knowing English would be invaluable.

She had plans: when the kids grew up, like when Nie Weimin turned 20 in 1984, right in the midst of the reforms, she wanted to send him abroad to study.

Money wasn’t a problem—she could save now and earn more after the reforms.

As long as his English was fluent, she could turn him into a top talent.

Of course, she also wanted to send Liu Xiaohong, but that wouldn’t be possible if her English fell behind.

“Then call her back. Dad’s leaving today anyway, and she can sleep with you. I really don’t mind her staying,” Nie Weimin said nonchalantly.

For the first time, Chen Lina tugged his ear, making it crackle in the winter chill.

She threatened, “You little rascal! You casually say things without thinking. Do you realize how that makes her feel? She might think you dislike her, which only fuels her insecurities. She’s already a bit self-conscious, and you’re not helping!”

“I don’t dislike her! She’s like Tiantian—they’re both my little sisters.” He instinctively covered his behind, recalling past punishments.

“Next time she visits, if you keep silent and don’t see her off properly, I’ll sew a duck on your underwear,” Chen Lina warned.

“A duck? Isn’t the ox and sunflower patch enough? How much do you dislike me?” Nie Weimin retorted. “I’ll just stop wearing your patched underwear altogether!”

“Fine by me. From now on, you can run around in nothing. I’ll give your underwear to San Dan—he’s been wanting a pair for ages.”

As the New Year approached, rumors began to swirl about the mine district. Welfare hadn’t been distributed, and the workers’ families were growing restless.

Lu Fangfang and Gou Dan’s mom, clutching their shoe soles, immediately came to find Chen Lina as soon as she parked her bike.

“Chen Manager, have you heard? They said there’ll be no year-end benefits this year, and the oil field might even stop production. They’re talking about sending us all down to do manual labor.”

Driving on icy roads in winter was nerve-wracking, even for someone as skilled and bold as Chen Lina. She reassured them, “This year might be tough, but things should improve next year. I doubt they’ll actually send people out for manual labor.”

In truth, recalling her previous life, she knew the situation was complicated. Since 1973, as the Republic began to establish diplomatic ties with major nations like the U.S. and Britain, the political landscape had grown increasingly complex.

At the moment, revolutionary factions were at their peak. If it weren’t for Nie Bozhao’s high salary, the family would really struggle this year.

When Nie Gong returned from Beijing empty-handed, the whole family sat staring at each other in shock.

“Nothing? The mine didn’t give us anything?” Old Nie’s eyes widened like copper bells as he searched the storeroom three times, only to confirm there was truly nothing at home.

Last year, there were still longans, big oranges, fruit candies, and fat chickens to go around.

This year, all they had were a few slabs of mutton, piles of cabbages, and big potatoes. Other than that, there was just a single barrel of cooking oil.

“Really, there’s nothing left,” said Chen Lina. “Secretary Ah’s own family can barely scrape by. He even gave me two pounds of peanuts, saying they were for making tangyuan.”

Er Dan chimed in, “Dad, stop looking. If there were anything good, you think I wouldn’t have sniffed it out?”

This little snack thief had already gotten into the two pounds of peanuts. By the time Chen Lina discovered it, only a pound and a half remained.

She’d spent ages trying to catch a mouse she thought was stealing food, only to one day find peanut shells in Er Dan’s pants pocket and realize the “mouse” was him.

Nie Bozhao patted his pockets, then spread his hands helplessly. “Well, this is bad. When I got to Beijing, they gave us a lot of stuff during the conference. But my roommate, Engineer Deng, cried half the night about how his family couldn’t afford to eat, and how his kids were so desperate for meat they ground their teeth in their sleep. So I gave him everything—pork hocks, eight-treasure rice, the lot.”

Both Er Dan and San Dan’s eyes widened in shock. “Dad!” they exclaimed in unison.

The long-craved pork hock was finally obtained, but Nie Bozhao had the audacity to give it away.

“Nie Bozhao, you got a pork hock and didn’t bring it home? You even dared to give it to someone else?” Chen Lina was furious.

Living in a region famous for its beef and lamb, just thinking about a juicy pork hock or a slab of fatty pork belly, even an inch-thick layer of fat, was enough to make her mouth water.

“Alright, calm down and come inside. There’s no pork belly, but I’ve got something even better to show you,” Nie Bozhao said, keeping her in suspense.

Once they entered the bedroom, Chen Lina sat in front of the sewing machine and said sternly, “Nie Gong, don’t forget we’re still in a cold war. Don’t try to sweet-talk your way out of this. Mentioning Sun Zhuannan again won’t make this go away so easily.”

“But when it comes to the apricot branch analogy, you’ve got a whole theory about it, don’t you? Listen, Chen Lina, true feminism means equality between men and women, not you constantly lording over me. And let me say this sincerely—I’m genuinely apologizing to you. Plus, the gift I brought will guarantee you all the romance you could want. Isn’t that enough?”

Initially, Nie Bozhao had planned to focus on work during their silent treatment, but the moment he left the house, he regretted it.

“Balancing work and life—both need to be done well.” That was the advice from his mentor, Teacher Deng, currently far away at the Jiangxi Tractor Factory.

Excelling at work alone wasn’t enough; the true skill was managing life just as well.

Teacher Deng and his wife had never had such arguments.

After some self-reflection, Nie Gong embarked on his trip to Beijing with the determination to surprise his wife with something truly romantic.

“Alright, then show me this so-called surprise. Let’s see it,” Chen Lina demanded.

Without a word, Nie Bozhao unzipped his canvas bag and pulled something out.

At that moment, stars seemed to sparkle in Chen Lina’s eyes.

What was it called again?

Oh yes, the feeling of first love.

She forgot about their cold war, the annoyance he had caused her, and even the enticing aroma of the pork hock.

In that instant, her eyes welled up with tears of joy.

A pair of beautiful high heels, ivory-colored and made of soft cowhide, with heels only 3 cm high, sat in Chen Lina’s hands. She kissed them hard twice before saying, “You didn’t spend 200 yuan on these, did you, Nie Bozhao? This year is already tough enough—hurry up and return them.”

“Comrade Chen, do you know how oil is extracted in Arab countries?”

…

“They just drill a hole in the ground, and oil gushes out like a severed artery. But our oil fields aren’t so ideal—they have very high water content. That means oil and water layers are mixed, so when oil extraction reaches a certain point, advanced oil-water separation techniques are necessary. Last year, my colleagues and I worked overtime in the lab and developed cutting-edge methods that elevated our oil extraction technology to the highest level in the world.”

Chen Lina didn’t fully understand but was infected by his excitement. “So, the state rewarded you with a big bonus?”

That would surely make the New Year much better.

“Stop dreaming. No bonus. When I got to Beijing, I was swamped. There were so many forums where I had to give reports, and plenty of factories needed me to solve technical problems. One day, I asked the Premier for leave, saying I had something personal to attend to. The Premier asked me what I planned to do, saying Beijing wasn’t new to me, so I surely wasn’t going sightseeing. I told him honestly—I wanted to buy you a pair of leather shoes. The Premier said, ‘That’s easy to handle. Focus on your work; I’ll take care of it.’” Nie Bozhao said.

“So, these were secretly purchased by the Premier himself using his allowance, from Jianhua Leather Goods Store,” Nie Bozhao said, placing the shoes neatly on the ground. “Alright, try them on. I want to see if they fit your feet.”

Nie’s voice caught slightly as he spoke.

The Premier was ill—cancer, to be exact. Compared to the tall, handsome figure he had once been, this time Nie Bozhao saw a man so thin he was almost unrecognizable.

Even so, under tremendous pressure, the Premier still worked tirelessly every day, leading the intellectuals he had fought so hard to protect in their efforts to advance the country in industry, agriculture, defense, and science and technology.

And yet, he still found the time to handle this seemingly trivial matter for Nie Bozhao.

How could Nie Bozhao not feel deeply moved?

How could he not dedicate himself entirely to his work, to add his strength to the republic’s rise?

On the train ride back, Nie reflected deeply on how much time he had wasted last year on unnecessary things.

He decided it was time to tighten his focus and dedicate himself with renewed energy.

Chen Lina wore homespun socks from the mining district’s supply co-op, which, of course, didn’t go with leather shoes.

She took off the socks and tried the shoes barefoot. They fit perfectly.

“Wow, how did you get it exactly right? Size 36! How did you know my size?”

“From your weight, body fat percentage, and height-to-foot ratio—”

“Alright, stop. I get it—you’re amazing.”

The anger in her dissipated instantly.

She took off the shoes, hugged them to her chest, and imagined, “One day, if I get selected as a March 8th Red Banner Pacesetter, I’ll wear these to receive my award.”

“The average age for those awards is over 60. By then, you’ll be too old to walk. Don’t bother,” Nie Bozhao replied.

“Then I’ll wear them when Weimin gets into college. I’ll be the youngest, most beautiful mother at the university!” Chen Lina declared.

Nie Bozhao thought to himself, This princess’s head is filled with nothing but plans to dazzle other women.

After hugging the shoes to her satisfaction, Chen Lina said, “This New Year isn’t completely hopeless. My brother-in-law dug us a cellar behind the yard. It’s stocked with fruit—pears and apples grown on the farm this year—as well as several types of squash, onions, and tomatoes. But the kids don’t know, because I’m afraid if they blab, word will get out, and it might affect the base’s morale. Go talk to them and make it clear: they can eat, but they can’t talk about it.”

“Isn’t that just telling them to lie?”

“Nie Gong, when it comes to choosing between the collective and the individual, I’m not as noble as you. I won’t abandon personal interests for the group. But in extremely difficult circumstances, I would choose to take care of myself rather than try to save the world. So when the farm submitted its supplies, I set aside a portion—for the old professors and for our own use. It’s not much, but it’s enough for us to have a bountiful New Year.”

–