Interstellar to 80s: A Scientist's Farming Mission

In the time before the autumn harvest, the An family building their house became the liveliest event in Shili Gou.

Every day before dawn, many people would go and help dig the foundation. The crowd thinned out during the day, but after the day’s work was done, it would swell again in the evening.

Every day, Lin Cuihua had to prepare lunch, which kept her busy all day long.

Three days later, the An family’s foundation was finished.

"Many hands make light work." The saying seemed especially true in the village.

After the foundation was laid, the cement and bricks Jiang Xia had arranged for arrived.

A Jiefang truck, carrying a full load of cement and bricks, arrived at the foot of the mountain in Shili Gou.

The village’s bricklayers and carpenters had all been hired by the An family.

This was a paid job.

While the An family continued to build their house, the harvesting of smaller crops in the fields also began.

For example: sesame, millet, and proso millet.

While the foundation was being dug, An Ning left early and returned late every day. In the evenings, she and Jiang Xia—who was always stuffed from dinner—would stay and work a little longer after dark.

But once the actual construction began, she wasn’t needed as much.

She knew how to design, but when it came to the actual hands-on labor, she was nowhere near as skilled as the villagers.

At times like this, she marveled, finally understanding what it meant to say that farmers were jacks-of-all-trades.

They didn’t just farm; nearly everyone had some other skill.

They might not have been professionals, but what they knew was more than enough.

The An family’s new house changed day by day.

An Ning, meanwhile, went to work in the fields every day, laying the groundwork to pass her secret notes.

When the morning’s work was done, An Ning drove the tractor, hauling a full load of sesame stalks to a designated drop-off point.

An Guoqing, who was supposed to be driving the tractor, was over at the new house, helping with construction.

After unloading the sesame stalks, An Ning drove the tractor back and parked it in front of the An family’s home.

The sound of the tractor drew the attention of someone talking in the courtyard.

"So this must be An Ning. She’s so pretty, and she can even drive a tractor. How capable!"

A middle-aged woman was showering An Ning with overly sweet praise while Lin Cuihua stood beside her, forcing a stiff smile, her eyes filled with reluctance.

"An Ning, why don’t you go rest inside. I need to get started on lunch, they’re waiting to eat over there, so I’ll just—"

"It’s fine, you go ahead with your work. I won’t hold you up. We’ll just talk."

The woman cut Lin Cuihua off and continued talking as if to herself, blocking An Ning from going inside.

"Come here, An Ning. Let’s you and I have a little chat."

An Ning glanced at Lin Cuihua, then turned back to the woman. "My mother is right here."

’Niang meant "mom." Having been here for over two months, An Ning understood that much.’

"Hehehe, you even have a pleasant way of speaking. An Ning, how old are you?"

The woman seemed to have a knack for hearing only what she wanted to hear, ignoring anything unpleasant and instantly pivoting to a new topic.

Unfortunately for her, she had run into An Ning.

An Ning could tell from the look on Lin Cuihua’s face that her mother disliked this woman.

’If she’s not welcome, there’s no need for me to be polite.’

"How old are you?"

An Ning’s question caught the woman off guard, but she recovered quickly. "These old bones of mine can’t compare to you youngsters."

"You must be eighteen, An Ning. Old enough to get a marriage certificate."

The woman continued her monologue. When no one took the bait, she simply pressed on by herself.

"This is the perfect age. It gets harder to find a good match when you’re older. Trust me, you can’t go wrong."

"We’re strangers. Why should I listen to you?" An Ning’s gaze grew cold. She turned and asked bluntly, "Mom, who is this?"

Lin Cuihua didn’t like this matchmaker either, but she didn’t want to be too harsh.

After all, a matchmaker’s entire livelihood depended on her reputation, for better or worse.

"I’m a matchmaker," the woman announced. "Someone from the next village asked me to propose a match."

The matchmaker paid An Ning’s words no mind. The Li family had promised that if this match was successful, they’d give her a one-hundred-yuan fee.

An Ning fixed her gaze on the matchmaker, her face now completely devoid of warmth.

Her expression was as calm as the surface of the deep sea—unreadable, and carrying a hint of something fearsome.

"Our family has no interest in matchmaking. Please leave. It doesn’t matter who sent you; it’s not happening."

As An Ning finished, Lin Cuihua stepped forward from behind her. Her patience had long since run out.

"My daughter’s right. She’s still young and in no hurry to get married. We plan on having her stay with us for a few more years, so you can go back and tell that family."

The matchmaker heard this and thought, ’That won’t do at all.’

She chuckled, not moving an inch, and launched into another tirade.

"Don’t be so hasty! You can’t know if it’s a good match or not until you meet. If you don’t like him, no harm done. Just have a look."

"Let the young people meet and decide for themselves."

The matchmaker was a smooth talker. Showing no sign of anger, she looked at An Ning and said, "That young man, Li Chenggong, is so handsome. You won’t find another one like him in any of the villages around here."

"What nonsense are you spewing! We don’t want to see him! What is wrong with you? I’ve been putting up with you for ages. Do you not understand plain language?"

Lin Cuihua finally snapped. To think she’d just blurt out the young man’s name!

"Mom, here’s the broom."

An Ning handed her the broom, then turned to the matchmaker. "This is your last chance. I am not interested in being matched. Are you going to walk out of here on your own, or do we have to chase you out?"

The matchmaker finally fell silent.

She looked at Lin Cuihua brandishing the large broom, then at the people standing behind her—An Ning’s aunt and some others—and finally at the expressionless, and somehow even more terrifying, An Ning.

"Now why are you getting all worked up? I came here out of the goodness of my heart to make a match for you. How can you treat me like this?"

Seeing that the matchmaker still wouldn’t give up, An Ning called out decisively, "Mom, do it."

"Get out!"

Lin Cuihua brought the broom down in a single stroke.

"Good intentions, my ass! Are you deaf? We said we’re not interested, we’re not interested! Don’t you understand?!"

"Get the hell out! If you ever dare to come back to my house, I’ll beat you senseless!"

Lin Cuihua alone was more than enough to handle the situation.

An Ning stood back and watched as Lin Cuihua chased the matchmaker out the main gate and all the way down the road.

And that wasn’t all. The moment the family’s big rooster saw Lin Cuihua take action, it leaped into the air and flew out after them, aiming straight for the matchmaker’s face.

The terrified matchmaker ran off, screaming at the top of her lungs.

After chasing off the matchmaker, Lin Cuihua spat fiercely in the direction she had fled.

"Shameless woman. I wonder how much money she was paid for this."

Lin Cuihua might not have been farsighted about other things, but when it came to matters like this, she saw things very clearly.

’They could have come any time, but they chose to show up right after the An family started building their house. None of them are any good.’

Lin Cuihua propped the broom upright, looking for all the world like a valiant female general.

An Ning promptly came out and said flatteringly, "Mom, you were amazing!"

"Of course! Don’t you know who your mother is?"

Lin Cuihua tossed the broom to An Ning and whispered, "You did well today. But next time something like this happens, you let your mom handle it. It’s bad for a young girl’s reputation to be seen beating up a matchmaker, you hear?"

"Got it."

An Ning nodded, agreeing for the time being.

’So beating up a matchmaker is bad for my reputation, but beating up other people is fine.’