Interstellar to 80s: A Scientist's Farming Mission

After sending the message and putting away the Klein Bottle, An Ning planned to go out once the interstellar transmission arrived.

With the autumn harvest in the north now over, it was no longer ideal for recovering her spiritual power.

An Ning took out her design notebook and continued to sketch and write.

She planned to finish designing the machine she was working on, then take a trip down south.

According to the books she’d read, there were still crops in the south, and she wanted to go see for herself.

Furthermore, she needed to build some structures in the north so that she could grow crops even in winter.

The An family’s roots were here. She couldn’t just make everyone uproot their lives and follow her south for the sake of her spiritual power recovery.

"Sis—"

An Ning’s train of thought was interrupted by An Guoping.

She put down her pen, gathered her designs, and placed them on top of a cabinet.

An Ning turned, grabbed the practice problems for today’s lesson, and walked out.

In the courtyard, Yin Xuemei and An Guoping were standing in front of the small, temporary blackboard, just like usual.

But today, there was an extra person in the courtyard.

It was Yang Jianguo—the once insufferably narcissistic young man whom An Ning had scared witless with a single branch.

Yin Xuemei took a step forward, her face full of embarrassment.

"An Ning, he saw me working on the problems and insisted on coming along. I told him he couldn’t, but he came anyway."

As she spoke, Yin Xuemei glared angrily at Yang Jianguo.

An Ning patted Yin Xuemei’s shoulder. "It’s fine. His legs are his own; you can’t control where they take him."

An Ning’s gaze shifted to Yang Jianguo, but she said nothing.

Yang Jianguo, under her gaze, forced a fawning smile.

"An Ning, everything that happened before was my fault. I came here today to apologize. I’m truly sorry."

Yang Jianguo held out all his money with both hands, offering it to An Ning.

"Why are you giving me money?"

An Ning wasn’t as angry as Yang Jianguo expected. In fact, she wasn’t angry at all.

The past was in the past.

Besides, it wasn’t as if there was some deep-seated grudge between them.

Yang Jianguo remained bowed.

"This is all the money I have. I’m sincere in my apology, and I want to study with you."

At this, Yang Jianguo finally straightened up.

"My apology is sincere. I truly won’t dare to cross you again, and I’m also serious about wanting to learn."

Yang Jianguo watched An Ning with great anxiety. He hadn’t been accepted into university, and his family had no connections to arrange for his return to the city.

He couldn’t accept the idea of being stuck in the countryside for life, so when he saw Yin Xuemei working on her exercises, he saw a glimmer of hope.

An Ning didn’t take the money. She looked at Yang Jianguo calmly and said, "I don’t want your money. I’ll give you one month. During this month, you are to go up the mountain and chop firewood. I won’t set a quota; you manage that yourself."

"After one month, if I’m satisfied with your actions, I will consider letting you attend my lessons, provided you pay a certain tuition fee."

"Understood?"

"Understood."

Yang Jianguo agreed immediately, his heart filled with genuine gratitude.

’If the roles were reversed,’ he thought, ’I definitely wouldn’t be as magnanimous as An Ning.’

"Thank you!"

Yang Jianguo thanked her again, then turned and ran out of the An family’s courtyard.

An Ning didn’t give it another thought. She turned to Yin Xuemei and An Guoping. "Let’s begin."

The two of them nodded, sat in their designated chairs, and began the day’s lesson.

After the class, both of them received An Ning’s "exclusive service": a one-on-one session to go over their practice problems.

After An Ning had gone over all their incorrect answers, Yin Xuemei took a lunchbox from her bag and handed it to her.

"What’s this?"

An Ning took the lunchbox and gave Yin Xuemei a questioning look.

"Rolling Donkey."

The two words left An Ning completely baffled for a moment.

"Isn’t this lunchbox a bit small? How could a donkey fit in here?"

Yin Xuemei clapped a hand over her mouth, trying to stifle her laughter.

"You’re hilarious."

Yin Xuemei opened the lunchbox. Inside, eight plump, grayish rolls were squeezed together neatly.

"It’s a type of snack," she explained. "It’s made from glutinous rice, and then it’s rolled around in this powder, which is why people call it a ’Rolling Donkey.’"

"Oh—how interesting."

An Ning laughed along. She’d suspected her initial thought was wrong, but she couldn’t resist asking anyway.

’The naming conventions on Ancient Earth were worlds apart from those in the interstellar era.’

’On Ancient Earth, names were often associative and imaginative. In the interstellar era, however, names were based on the most practical facts—you knew what something was the moment you heard its name.’

Yin Xuemei put the lid back on the box. "They’re for you," she said to An Ning. "I’ll make you other kinds of snacks in the future."

"Okay! I’d love that."

An Ning’s pleasure was, as always, expressed with utter directness.

She wanted them, Yin Xuemei wanted to give them, so she accepted without the slightest hesitation.

Yin Xuemei enjoyed being with An Ning. It wasn’t exhausting; you could just say whatever was on your mind.

Yin Xuemei picked up her schoolbag, said goodbye to the An family, and headed back to the Educated Youth Point.

Lin Cuihua had gotten used to it. At first, she would always try to get Yin Xuemei to stay for dinner, but she never once succeeded.

Not only were her invitations unsuccessful, but the girl also always came over to help her with chores.

’She’s a good girl.’

Lin Cuihua truly liked Yin Xuemei, so much so that she’d even briefly entertained the idea of playing matchmaker for her. But she eventually dismissed it.

’It’s better to let the kids figure out their own affairs.’

The An family began to set out their meal. An Ning brought out the "Rolling Donkey" snacks and gave one piece to each person, leaving two.

"You should eat the rest yourself."

Lin Cuihua picked up a "Rolling Donkey" and took a bite.

"Mmm, this is delicious. Not too sweet, it’s just right."

Lin Cuihua really liked it. After another bite, she said, "This is her way of finding a way to thank you."

An Ning had stuffed a whole "Rolling Donkey" into her mouth in one go. Her cheeks bulged out, making her eyes look wide.

"Mmph, mmph, mmph."

An Ning’s string of muffled hums made Lin Cuihua not know whether to laugh or cry.

"What’s the rush?"

An Ning’s eyes crinkled into a smile. ’It’s really delicious,’ she wanted to say.

’Soft and sticky, with just the right amount of sweetness and a pleasant, springy chewiness.’

After breakfast, the members of the An family got busy.

An Sancheng took An Guoping over to the new house to install the windows and build the kang.

Once those tasks were finished, they could move in.

An Guoqing went to drive the tractor, and Lin Cuihua went to work at the brigade headquarters.

At the brigade headquarters, they were drying all sorts of grain. Once it was ready, the grain would be distributed to each household, and from then on, everyone would be responsible for themselves.

An Ning stayed at home, continuing her design work. She planned to sell the designs for money to fund her trip south.

The days passed peacefully. That very afternoon, Yang Jianguo delivered two bundles of firewood.

An Ning showed him where to stack the firewood without saying a word.

Ten days later, the firewood drop-off spot was moved to the An family’s new house.

The two rear buildings of the An family’s new house were finished, the courtyard walls were up, and the main gate was, without a doubt, the most impressive in the village.

After fires had been lit for several days to dry out the new construction and some simple cabinets had been moved in, the An family chose an auspicious date to officially move.

An Guoming also returned from the county town, bringing back firecrackers and lots of candy.

The CRACKLE-POP of firecrackers rang out,