This spring came unusually early.

It was only March, and the temperature rose sharply, stabilizing in the teens for half a month.

The ice and snow on Baiyang River melted, wild ducks scattered everywhere, and the land was suddenly covered in fresh green.

After dropping off three elementary school students with small satchels, Chen Lina quickly drove off to the farm to supervise the spring planting.

“Farm manager, today is the first time the plowing machine is going into the field. The one with the red ribbon was specially brought in after listening to the Prime Minister’s speech on the radio in Urumqi. Do you want to drive it, or should I?” As soon as she entered the farm, Wang Guanghai was waiting for her in the barley field.

“Don’t make a fuss about it. Just cut off the red ribbon. You take the trained workers and drive it. I’m just joking, that machine has a lot of power; I can’t handle it,” Chen Lina said.

“Sun Duoyu also wants to drive the plowing machine. She has reactionary tendencies, and I don’t want her to drive it because I’m afraid she’ll break it. Can you talk to her?” Wang Guanghai said again.

“If she wants to drive, let her. She’s strong and skilled. Why not let her drive? Besides, Captain Wang, I think you shouldn’t judge people based on their appearance. Duoyu saved the farm from a fire last year and even got burned. She won’t break our plowing machine,” Chen Lina replied.

Wang Guanghai then turned and jogged away.

In the warehouse, Anna and the young intellectuals were sorting seeds.

“Did I bring this wheat seed from Urumqi?” Chen Lina asked the young intellectuals distributing the seeds.

“Yes, all of them,” Anna quickly replied.

“Make sure to remember the labels. The wheat planted along Baiyang River is High Wheat No. 6, and the drought-resistant wheat No. 11 is planted in the north. The workers here may not be well-educated, and they can only recognize it as wheat, so you must ensure each variety is planted in the right place. If High Wheat is planted in dry land, it won’t yield, and will only grow tall stalks with no crop, leaving the field wasted. Got it?” Chen Lina said.

“Okay, respected farm manager, you remind us every day; our ears are about to get calluses,” the young intellectuals said, moving with a bit of playful rhythm. “Why don’t you dress up a bit? I heard the reporters from Beijing and the other military regions will be visiting soon.”

Indeed, just a few days ago, the mining district had informed that, due to the breakthrough in production at the Mulan Farm last year, Xin Qing Bao had sent reporters to interview Chen Lina, the farm manager.

The aim was to promote the experiences of high-yield seed cultivation to the frontier military regions and farmers in the mainland.

For centuries, the republic has been known for its agriculture, and as a major grain-producing country, feeding its 400 million people is essential.

Those who can produce grain are heroes.

When He Min first tried to submit an article to Xin Qing Bao, he probably never imagined that the newspaper would send a special team directly to the farm for an interview.

Too bad now, he’s too busy with his promotion at the oil refinery and wooing female workers, so he won’t have the chance to steal the spotlight.

Chen Lili and He Lan’er were so surprised when they heard about the interview that their mouths couldn’t close, and one of them even dropped her broom.

“Little sister, quickly make a couple of nice outfits and get your hair done. If the reporters come to cover you, you might even get a big reward from the state.”

“Maybe you’ll even be the March 8th Red Banner Holder this year. Hurry up, Mom will personally take the bus to U’mayi to get fabric and make you clothes. You’ll need them for the photo shoot.” He Lan’er added.

Chen Lina pointed to the photo of last year’s March 8th Red Banner Holder stuck on the wall and said, “Alright, Mom, stop dreaming. The March 8th Red Banner Holder is usually over 60 years old, don’t think about it, and go back to the fields.”

“Little sister, I don’t know how Sun Gong worked so hard back then, but look, my feet are swollen. Can’t I just skip the work today and rest? I really want to sleep for a day.” Chen Lili asked.

“If you want to sleep, go ahead, you’re pregnant. No one will stop you.” Chen Lina said.

Chen Lili wanted to sleep, but when she thought of Nie Weimin—tall, thin, quiet, and smart—she realized that it was best to keep working.

After all, it was because Sun Gong worked so hard that she gave birth to such a smart child.

“Little sister, find a way to get me a few more lamb heads. I’ll eat them after work.”

“Didn’t you already eat all the lamb heads from the first mining district? Enough is enough! Not everyone can turn out like Nie Weimin.”

The 9-year-old child, pointing at the stars in the sky, would casually talk about stars, planets, and satellites.

One day, he even explained to Chen Lina what the Lagrange points, entropy, and cosmic civilizations were.

Chen Lina, a college graduate, felt like an idiot in front of him.

After checking the fields and reminding the workers how to protect the newly sprouted vegetable seedlings from the frost, Chen Lina still had to make a trip to the plastic factory.

The factory manager, Du Qi Ming, was a recent graduate of the “Red and Specialized” program. He was only in his early thirties, a very young leader.

“Farm Manager Chen, we really can’t produce the 0015002 mm polyethylene film you mentioned. Our researchers are almost going bald trying, but it’s just not possible. We’ve never seen anything like that,” Manager Du said, looking quite busy. “I heard the Hongyan work team is coming to investigate my work. I need to go to Urumqi for a training meeting, but we’ll discuss the plastic film issue tomorrow, okay?”

“Manager Du, this is an invitation to the Canton Fair. Are you really going to refuse it?”

In 1973, although China and Japan had not officially established diplomatic relations, thanks to the Prime Minister’s efforts, the first international trade fair was held in Guangzhou.

Chen Lina believed that if Manager Du could attend the Canton Fair and see the plastic films developed by the Japanese, he might come up with something new.

“How about this, Manager Du: skip the spirit-conveying meeting in Urumqi, go to the Canton Fair instead. I’ll make sure you benefit.”

“Farm Manager Chen, what good things do you have for me? I really like your little car. How about you let me drive it for a few days?”

Director Du was joking as well.

Of course, who wouldn’t want to make a little joke when talking to a beautiful, elegant, and confident woman?

“I’ve got cucumbers from the greenhouse in the trunk. You’re going to the Canton Fair? I’ll send you a half-basket of cucumbers for your family to eat,” Chen Lina said.

“I heard Director Chen boasting that she’s got a special soil film to grow cucumbers year-round, but I’ve only had two cucumbers during the Spring Festival. Do you really have them now?”

“I really do,” Chen Lina replied, opening the trunk to show freshly picked cucumbers with flowers still attached.

She had originally planned to stir-fry them for her three sons at lunch, but after a moment’s hesitation, she decided to give them to Director Du.

The reason was that if he agreed to go to the Canton Fair, the use of polyethylene film across the country could be advanced by at least five to seven years.

This, in turn, would greatly boost food production, bringing forward the expected increase in yields.

While one person’s power was limited and could not change the larger environment, Chen Lina knew that, as long as she could, she would make the changes she could.

To ensure Director Du wouldn’t change his mind halfway, Chen Lina accompanied him to buy train tickets to Guangzhou before running to the supply and marketing cooperative to pick up a few things for lunch.

“Mom, I want to eat big bread.” Sandan, upon seeing the large loaves in the display case, refused to move.

“Erdan, Da dan, and Sandan’s tuition fees are a big expense, I don’t have the money for big bread. Let’s look for something else to buy,” Chen Lina said, pulling him away from the bakery counter.

“But didn’t you say last month’s salary was fifty yuan?”

“Yes, last month’s salary was fifty, but your dad’s salary has really dropped, it’s now only one hundred yuan. And the newspapers are all promoting revolution now, so they won’t even take your dad’s articles anymore. Before, we made three hundred a month, and I could save one hundred for your education. But now, we only have one hundred and fifty a month, just enough to cover our daily expenses.”

“Then let’s not buy anything. We still have cornmeal at home. Let’s just eat that,” San Dan said firmly. “I can eat only half and give the rest to Erdan.”

“Is it really that bad? We need to cherish food, but we can’t eat it without being full. Alright, look at this oil residue—it must be from the bakery, fried with mixed oil. Let’s buy that instead,” Chen Lina said, picking up half a pound of oil residue to take home.

On her way out of the cooperative, she saw some small sandals on display, probably left over from last year’s sale.

Plastic sandals were really useful in the summer.

However, Chen Lina hadn’t bought any for the kids last year because she had secretly allocated all her money to the farm to increase crop yields.

That money wasn’t returned to her until recently when the mining district allocated seed funds to the farm.

Originally, a pair of sandals cost five yuan, but now they were only two and a half yuan.

After some thought, Chen Lina decided to buy one pair for herself and another for the four kids, totaling ten yuan.

It seemed like a lot of money, but she made the purchase.

After rushing around, she finally returned home at 12:30 PM.

Nie Weimin was sitting in front of the big iron gate reading, leisurely kicking his feet up.

Erdan was pulling on the iron gate with both hands, and if he had a microphone and a little tear, he could sing “Tears Behind Bars.”

“Mom, we have guests!” Erdan hopped into the car.

“Oh, who’s the guest? Is it from the Sun family or the old Nie family?”

Chen Lina could only imagine that the guest could be from the Nie family or the Sun family, as her own parents had moved to the frontier and wouldn’t be visiting.

As for the Nie family, she only hoped that they would always be healthy and happy and never bother her.

“You’ll find out when you meet them,” Nie Weimin finally looked up from his book, stretching lazily and putting the math book on the back seat. “It’s your relative, coming to find you, and they said they’re staying with us for several days.”

“Is it one of your dad’s classmates?” Chen Lina smiled, sensing something suspicious.

One cousin, Hu Su, was enough; if it was another female classmate, she’d be jealous out of her mind.

Of course, if it was a male classmate, she wouldn’t like it either.

She’d seen plenty of untrustworthy men in her life.

“Here he is! Your soldier cousin’s here. Comrade Xiao Chen, I declare, from now on, I’ll be keeping an eye on him until he leaves.”

Sure enough, standing in front of the Nie family gate was a soldier in a green uniform, wearing a green military cap, standing tall like a pine tree.

With a red star on his head and two red epaulettes on his collar, this was no fake soldier, but a real one.

“Cousin, what are you doing here?” Chen Lina stopped the car, a mix of surprise, confusion, and a hint of suspicion.