Sure enough, Sun Duoyu put too much force into it.

The machine made a few grinding noises, and with a loud crash, it flipped over.

Not only did it damage a section of the soil cover, but it also almost injured a few of the young intellectuals working nearby.

“Sun Duoyu, do you even know how to drive this thing? If not, get out of the way!” Wang Guanghai yelled.

Immediately, a group of young intellectuals joined in, shouting, “That’s right, Sun, you always want to take the lead, but can you stop ruining everyone’s hard work?”

Just as the car passed by, Guo Bin slowly rolled up the window and said, “Did you see that? That woman must have been oppressed. She’s probably the most clear-headed person on this farm. As for the others, I guess they’re still blinded by the Great Leap Forward ideology. After we finish interviewing the director, we should definitely interview her.”

“Hello, Director Chen.”

“Hello, Reporter Guo, hello, Teacher Jin. I am Chen Lina, the director of Mulan Farm, and this is our deputy director, Comrade Wang Hongbing.”

On the barley field, the first batch of strawberries, mulberries, and sweet melons with their enticing fragrance were displayed on the stone millstone.

Nearby, several wooden posts had already been polished smooth by the workers’ busy efforts.

“This melon is produced in our farm during the winter, and the mulberries were just picked. As for the strawberries and cucumbers, they are new varieties cultivated in our greenhouse. Would you two reporters like to try them?”

While speaking, Chen Lina went over to pour water for the two reporters.

“Since this place is close to Su country, I guess all of these things must have come from there. She’s gone through a lot of effort to entertain us,” said Reporter Guo, tossing a strawberry into his mouth and chewing it while sighing, “This is really sweet.”

“Director Chen, why don’t you share your life story with us? Tell us how you, someone so young, became the director of a farm with a production capacity of over a thousand people in this borderland?” Reporter Guo continued, narrowing his eyes slightly as he saw Chen Lina handing over the tea.

He instinctively leaned back, seeming a little cautious.

The photographer, on the other hand, said, “Director Chen, could you turn your head for a moment?”

Chen Lina immediately turned around and smiled.

Well, her slightly curled wavy long hair was elegantly tied up, wearing a small Liberation uniform and a long black skirt, with high cheekbones, fair skin, and an exotic charm.

She was a capable and refreshing beauty.

“How about this: Teacher Jin will take a few more pictures of Director Chen, and I’ll go for a walk in the fields to get some fresh air. As for the interview, you can just write something up and submit it to us in the evening. What do you think?” Guo said, picking up his canvas travel bag and preparing to leave.

“Well, Reporter Guo, how about we first visit our plastic film greenhouse? I think you probably believe that in such a borderland, we can’t grow strawberries or mulberries, and these things must have been imported to impress you. Well then, let’s go see where they’re produced. How about that?” Chen Lina suggested.

Actually, this idea was taught to her by Nie Bozhao.

When reporters from Beijing came, especially when they saw someone as beautiful as Chen Lina as the farm director, their thoughts often strayed in the wrong direction.

So, the best way to convince them was to show them the greenhouse, which had been carefully tended by the professors over the past year.

However, the strong sandstorms since the start of the spring had already destroyed several acres of greenhouses, leaving only two remaining.

Chen Lina urgently needed money to help the plastic factory develop more durable film that could withstand wind, snow, and damage.

But to get that, she needed the reporter to praise her work in the newspaper.

“My goodness, it’s really hot in here, but these strawberries—are they really grown by you?” Guo said.

“They are perennials. As long as the seedlings are planted, we won’t have to worry about fresh fruit,” Chen Lina replied. “But in winter, we have to protect them well. The plastic film is fragile, and the wind is strong in the borderland. Once the snow crushes them, all our hard work will be ruined,” Wang Hongbing added.

Reporter Guo picked a strawberry, took a big bite, and sighed, “Sweet, really sweet, full of juice.” But he immediately thought, “It’s just too little. You can tell this is just a show.”

“However, this new method of cultivation probably couldn’t have been accomplished without strong support from the leaders, right? Like the leaders of the mining district or provincial officials?”

He knew that even in the mainland, such cultivation techniques were rare, let alone in the borderland.

The plastic film was expensive, and what leader would dare to invest so much money into a farm during times when many people couldn’t even get enough food to eat?

“Yes, the leaders in the mining district have been very supportive of us,” Wang Hongbing replied.

“Also, Director Chen dances really well. The comrades from Beijing will be visiting the cultural center tonight. How about Director Chen dances a piece for us?” Some young intellectuals working in the greenhouse gathered around, grinning.

Guo’s expression immediately changed.

To him, it seemed that the beautiful director might have some ability, but it was impossible that she wasn’t tied to political connections.

“Well, let’s eat first, shall we, Reporter?” Wang Hongbing said, rubbing his hands nervously.

To his surprise, that one sentence sparked Guo’s anger: “Director Wang, do you understand what journalistic integrity means? Do you understand what the truth is? We are here as representatives of four billion people to uncover the truth, to understand the farming methods of this farm. We’ve heard you claim 900 jin per mu of wheat, and that’s why we came. What we want is the truth about that 900 jin, not to eat, not to indulge in these capitalist, decadent things like dancing.”

With that, he shot a glare at Wang Hongbing and stormed off.

“Director, why didn’t the reporter even look at us before he left? Isn’t he from Bei Qing Bao? I thought he’d be easy-going, but he turned out to be so harsh. Do you think he thinks we’re just bragging?” said the young intellectual Xiao Qin.

“He came with preconceived notions. He’s biased against our entire farm. Never mind, let’s just continue doing our work. I’ll see what he can do here,” Chen Lina replied.

Meanwhile, Guo walked out of the greenhouse and wandered around the farm.

When he reached the workers’ living quarters of the production team, he overheard an argument between Sun Duoyu and someone else.

“Well, Sun Duoyu, who doesn’t respect the director? Your chickens are eating my vegetables!”

“Down with the landlord class! My chickens are properly penned, they’re not eating your vegetables!”

“Let’s continue the revolution! Just wait, I’ll kick you out of the farm!”

“All reactionary forces are paper tigers. I spit on you! If you try to kick me out of the farm, then I’m not Sun Duoyu!”

To be honest, ever since Huang Huacai left, Sun Duoyu stopped stuttering during arguments.

“Comrade, may I sit in your shack for a while?” Reporter Guo stepped forward and extended his hand. “I’m a reporter from Xinqing Daily. I’d like to interview you, and of course, also join you in some labor to observe your work firsthand. What do you think?”

“Of course, come on in. I’m making lunch, and you’re welcome to join me for a meal,” Sun Duoyu responded.

Sun Duoyu wasn’t very particular about hygiene.

The shack had a strong odor of stinky feet because of a vat of spoiled sauerkraut she kept inside.

“Usually, we just eat cornmeal buns, but since we’re in the middle of the farming season, the director specially gave our workers some white flour. I made a pot of sauerkraut porridge. I was just worried I wouldn’t be able to finish it by myself,” Sun Duoyu added.

She handed Reporter Guo a bowl and served herself from a small aluminum pot. The place, with its bare walls, was simple and sparse.

Guo turned to Jin and said, “Look at this. This is what oppression looks like under the guise of grandiose speeches. Look how hard she’s living, she doesn’t even have a single bowl.”

But both of them were puzzled. “But Sun, if you’re giving us the pot and bowl, what will you eat?”

Sun Duoyu walked over to the door, brought in something, and said, “This is a melon rind from a Hami melon. Come, reporter, you can scoop out a serving from the pot for me.”

“Why? Is it not tasty? Why aren’t you eating?” Sun Duoyu seemed surprised.

Reporter Guo, being an intellectual, couldn’t express his distaste while sitting with the hard-working people, so he grabbed his chopsticks and said, “It’s delicious, really delicious.”

Sun Duoyu didn’t even have chopsticks.

She ran to the door, took two bamboo sticks from the broom, fashioned them into a pair of makeshift chopsticks, and began eating the porridge with them.

And she was eating it with great relish.

Meanwhile, Chen Lina was driving her car back home to prepare lunch.

As she passed by the shack, Sun Duoyu quickly pointed out, “See, that’s our director’s car. You’ve never ridden in one, right? I’ve been in it, and when she drives, she’s so steady.”

Sun Duoyu recalled the time when she was crying in the police station, and Director Chen herself had come to pick her up, draped her in a coat, and let her ride in the car.

Sun Duoyu was so touched that she almost cried.

Before coming, Reporter Guo had known nothing about Chen Lina.

But now, sitting in this shack eating sour porridge, he was becoming more intrigued by her. “So, Xiao Sun, does your director like to show off?”

“Of course! She’s the farm’s brightest star. At the social events, all the men fight to dance with her. Even the Armed Forces comrades have to arm-wrestle just to dance with her,” Sun Duoyu replied.

“Exaggeration, pure exaggeration,” Guo said to Jin.

“Well, Reporter, I’m going to take a nap now, as per Director Chen’s orders. I could keep working, but she says anyone who doesn’t nap won’t be allowed to work in the fields in the afternoon. She has a way of watching us all, like she has eyes everywhere,” Sun Duoyu said mysteriously, pointing at her own eyes.

“This is brainwashing, Jin. This comrade has been very successful at it,” Guo said.

To understand how Director Chen managed to brainwash the workers, Guo and Jin decided to go out and observe while Sun Duoyu took her nap.

Not far from the shack, they encountered several heavily pregnant women working in the barley field, weaving barley stalks.

This method of weaving had also been introduced by Chen Lina.

During the previous autumn harvest, the best and whitest barley stalks were saved, and during the winter, when there was little to do, the women gathered to weave them into baskets, crates, and even hats.

The hats were especially useful for protecting from the sun and even served as rain protection.

Guo was stunned. “My goodness, these women are heavily pregnant. How could they be made to keep working like this?”

The women, shaking their weaving sticks, responded, “Who made us work? Of course, it was our beloved director. She said that pregnant women need to exercise more to have healthier babies.”

The women smiled at Guo and Jin, saying, “Come on, reporter, take a picture of us, will you?”

“One, two, three, snap!” The photo of the pregnant women in the midst of their ‘forced labor’ was taken.

In Guo’s mind, the reality of the borderland was clear.

The people here needed supplies, support, and aid—they desperately needed to be relocated back to the mainland.

Instead, they were being treated like laborers, working hard to help a few people climb the ladder of success.

By now, a report was already beginning to take shape in Guo’s mind.