Although her parents were also in the frontier, Qi Si River was her true hometown.

Thinking about the glistening river surface, the yellow autumn leaves, and the pleasant climate, she felt a deep longing.

“I wonder who the leader of the workgroup from Hongyan will be?” Nie Bozhao was thinking aloud, “I’m very familiar with Hongyan. I’ve often traveled back there on business, but I haven’t heard of anyone stirring up a revolution there.”

“Stop thinking about it. Hurry up! Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve. Last year, you left on the 29th, and I wanted to make some meatballs but had no help. At least you’re here this year. Hurry up and get the food for tomorrow ready.”

“Wow, pork? Where did you get pork from?”

“What are you thinking? It’s beef, but with a lot of fennel and star anise, I seasoned it to make it taste like pork. I’m making meatballs to stew with vermicelli, your sons love it.”

“Holiday or no holiday, it’s just a formality. It’s already midnight, go to sleep. I’m really too tired to do anything,” Nie Bozhao said lazily, looking at his wife’s little backside. “On New Year’s Eve, I’ll get a satellite launched for you.”

Chen Lina suddenly burst out laughing. “Okay, Old Nie, didn’t realize you had your moments? But no, first, the cold war isn’t over. Second, we need to get the food for tomorrow ready first.”

“You seem to like it. What’s the matter? Are the high heels not romantic enough?”

Nie Bozhao thought women didn’t like that kind of thing, just like what Worker Sun said—he thought it was just to release his own desires.

He had worked up the courage for a long time to say this, but to his surprise, his wife was laughing and seemed quite happy.

“Wasn’t that your way of apologizing to me? And by the way, can you stop talking about things like making reports? If you want to please a woman, you can be more proactive, like lying next to me and singing a song, or like the first time, when you tied the belt, hehe, it was so manly.”

Nie Bozhao frowned. “So, you’re addicted to me tying you up?” What kind of logic was this—she liked him tying her up?

But Chen Lina didn’t say anything more, turning around to start making the meatballs.

“Come on, Miss Chen, let’s get serious and have a thorough discussion about the bed things, how about it?” Nie Bozhao was trying to flirt, but Chen Lina’s playful teasing kept him on edge.

“Do you hear that? It sounds like a child is crying next door.”

“Wang Jie just had a baby boy, born premature. Her mother came to help, and she brought along two of her own grandsons. Wang Jie’s family already has a tight budget, and with two more nephews eating, how long can a worker’s salary and food stamps last? I’ve heard that recently, Tiantian’s been getting scolded by her grandma for snatching food.”

Sure enough, as soon as Chen Lina finished speaking, there was a scolding voice from next door. “What’s with that little girl? How can she eat so much? Two buns in one meal, and she’s sneaking food at midnight. Look how fat you are, no other girl in this base is as fat as you. Feeding a year-end pig can help, but feeding a fat girl is useless.”

Chen Lina listened for a moment, then couldn’t take it anymore. She called out through the wall, “Tiantian, Auntie’s making meatballs, come over and eat.”

In the kitchen, the meatballs were frying in hot oil.

Nie Bozhao was squatting by the stove, stoking the fire.

The three children had already fallen asleep, stacked like little monks.

Tian Tian, wrapped in her little cotton jacket and rubbing her eyes, came over.

Honestly, ever since she had a little brother and her grandma brought two of her older brothers, this little girl had lost a lot of weight.

“Yes, the farm’s boss has plenty of grain and food. If you’re really capable, you can go live at their house and never come back.” The old lady continued grumbling, still scolding from next door.

Suddenly, a piece of wood flew over, hitting the old lady’s head.

She yelped, “Who—who’s throwing things at me?”

“Ah, Auntie, I was just carrying firewood, did I hit you by mistake? I’m the farm manager, but times are tough. We don’t have more food than others, but I can still feed a few kids. Labor is glorious, I’m proud of what I can dig up with my own hands from the soil. How about you? Are you mad that I’m eating meatballs and you can’t sleep?” Chen Lina retorted.

It was no use being jealous; it would only make you mad, Chen Lina thought to herself.

What she hated the most were those kind of women who exploited girls, ate up their resources, and because they had a daughter of their own, they wished they could support the whole family.

Those cruel grandmothers.

“If you can afford to raise her, then that’s fine. Go ahead and take her,” the old lady said.

“Alright, send her to me when she grows up, as long as she has the figure, the skills, and the ability to work. But don’t come crying to me then,” Chen Lina replied sharply, throwing another log into the fire. “Be careful, if you hit yourself again, I won’t take responsibility.”

She took a bowl of freshly fried meatballs, sprinkled with a little salt, and sat down with Tian Tian in the living room.

Tian Tian, with tears in her eyes, finished the meatballs.

Of course, Tian Tian refused to leave, and after Chen Lina gave her a playful pat on the bottom, she let her go back to join her three sons.

When Er Dan woke up in the morning and saw Tian Tian lying beside him, he was overjoyed, almost going crazy.

He pounced on her and hugged her tightly: “Wow, Mom, Tian Tian sleepwalked into our house!”

Well, two years had passed since they arrived at the base, and now the family felt somewhat settled.

As usual, Mom had fried sweet, crispy little twists of dough, and the meatballs were piled high like little mounds of snow.

There were cucumbers, baby bok choy, and small tomatoes from the greenhouse, and they even got half a basket of those.

Today, they could eat as much as they wanted.

Nie Weimin only ate vegetables, while Er Dan kept eating meatballs and little twists of dough, his mouth never closing.

Originally, the base didn’t have the custom of putting up Spring Festival couplets.

Of course, most of the people there were rough, and there were no elderly people to supervise the traditions.

This year, Chen Lina insisted that Nie Bozhao put up a couplet for their home.

Well, now every household was following suit.

When the red paper was spread out, the couplets read things like “Joyous Minshan, with snow as far as the eye can see, and after the army passes, all will smile,” and “If heaven has love, it will grow old, but the right path on earth is marked by the passage of time.” Within half a day, when the milk delivery man arrived at the base for his final delivery, he almost had his eyes pop out from surprise.

The large characters were beautifully written in a flowing, bold style.

“Old Nie, the couplets are up, the whole family area is decorated. How does it feel? A sense of accomplishment, right?” Chen Lina asked.

“Yes, there’s a sense of accomplishment, but my back is sore. Hey, where are the kids?” Nie Bozhao asked.

“I heard they’re at Wang Fan’s house listening to tapes. Hurry up and come in, the weather’s changing, it’s probably going to snow soon.”

“Dad, Dad, Wang Fan’s firecrackers are so loud!” As he was speaking, Er Dan came running in like a little tiger, and immediately said upon entering.

Nie Weimin followed behind, almost at a loss for words: “Didn’t you hear it? Wang Fan’s dad set off a huge one, didn’t you hear it?”

When it comes to the New Year, you can’t do without firecrackers, especially for the kids, who love setting off fireworks the most.

Sure enough, while they were talking, someone outside threw in a big firecracker, and with a loud bang, it exploded right at San Dan’s feet, scaring the child who screamed out loud.

“Da Dan, scared now? Come on, set off a firecracker yourself if you’re not afraid,” it was actually Qian Gaodans, whose dad bought lots of firecrackers. He always carried a small incense stick and liked setting off firecrackers right in front of Nie Weimin’s house.

The three kids then turned to look at Chen Lina: “Mom, are our firecrackers ready?”

“They’re in the small warehouse. Come on, I’ll take you to get them.” Chen Lina had locked them in the small storage shed to prevent the kids from lighting them too early.

However, when they got there, the back of the small shed had a broken board, and snow had already gotten inside.

Fortunately, the potatoes and cabbage, which were stored there to prevent mice, weren’t placed there, or the winter vegetables would have been ruined.

“Mom, someone must have stolen from our small warehouse!” Nie Weimin said.

Er Dan rummaged around: “The firecrackers are gone.”

It was just the New Year, and they hadn’t even had the chance to enjoy them, and now they were all gone.

To make matters worse, Qian Gaodans was outside shouting: “Da Dan, come out and compete with firecrackers. Anyone who’s afraid to set one off is a coward.”

Nie Weimin’s brothers were stunned, as if they had just heard a grenade go off right in front of them.

“Is there anything else missing?” Chen Lina asked.

“Besides the firecrackers, there’s also coal. We’re short by one bag.”

“Do you want me to check the footprints and see if I can find the thief?” Nie Bozhao said, preparing to inspect the footprints. But Chen Lina immediately stopped him: “No need. Hurry and find some firecrackers for the kids. We’ll deal with the other things later. Coal is something everyone has, but if they took mine, I’m going to make them return it.”

“Comrade Chen, I think your eyes are a bit sinister.”

“What, are you scared?”

“Yes, I’m scared,” he admitted. It was the New Year, and he was afraid she might end up arguing with someone again.

“Go, take a pack of cigarettes, and ask around at the neighbors’ houses if anyone has extra firecrackers. See if they’ll share a few for your son to set off.”

“Xiao Chen, it’s just a few firecrackers. After they sleep, by tomorrow morning it’ll be all over. Is it really necessary to go door to door asking for some?”

“Yes, it is.”

Chen Lina said, then went inside to get some cigarettes.

Nowadays, most of the leaders are heavy smokers. Whenever Nie Gong goes on business trips, whether it’s to the base, Hongyan, Yanbian, or places like Beijing, as soon as he arrives, the leaders will always offer him cigarettes.

He didn’t smoke himself but would take them home and use them to give away when the time was right, as a way to build rapport.

Nie Gong got the cigarettes but was too lazy to go out and swap for firecrackers. He said, “How about we give each of them a cigarette to play with?”

“Hmm, maybe you can offer them some rice and place yourself on the altar as an ancestor; they might even bow to you,” Chen Lina replied, and really brought out two bowls of rice, placing them on the table as an offering.

On the table was a black-and-white photo in a wooden frame, with a black flower on top.

This was a photo of the children’s mother, Sun Gong.

Of course, Sun Gong, who had passed away, always had a memorial photo.

After all, no matter how advanced they were in technology, they were still born from their parents, and so a memorial photo was inevitable.

Chen Lina had found Sun Gong’s memorial photo last year when cleaning.

Nie Bozhao had hidden it in the deepest drawer.

Normally, it was fine, but since it was the New Year, it had to be taken out to honor and offer incense, so the children could pay their respects.