Interstellar to 80s: A Scientist's Farming Mission

An Ning took out the beaded necklace again and placed it on the cloth for the old man to inspect.

This time, his inspection was even more meticulous.

It wasn’t just the goateed old man by himself. Someone else came out from the back room to inspect it with him.

Only after both men confirmed its authenticity did they begin to discuss money with An Ning.

"Cash, or a bank transfer?"

"I have a passbook."

Using her schoolbag as cover, An Ning took out her passbook and showed it to the old man.

"Alright. We’ll have to go to the bank together. Do you want to hold on to this, or leave it with me for safekeeping?"

"I’ll leave it here."

This wasn’t An Ning feigning magnanimity, but a display of extreme self-confidence.

The old man could see that, and he smiled with a certain scholarly grace.

"Excellent. It’s true what they say about heroes coming from the younger generation. Let’s go together."

The old man led the way, with An Ning following close behind. An Guoming trailed after them, not saying a word.

’If you can’t help, at least don’t make things worse.’

There was a bank right at the end of the street.

The old man must have been a regular customer. They were in and out in less than ten minutes, the transaction complete.

An Ning’s passbook now had an additional 45,000 yuan.

After the three of them came out, the old man bid An Ning farewell.

"Until next time."

"Are you interested in stones like this?"

In An Ning’s palm lay a perfectly cut blue gemstone.

Behind her, An Guoming thought back. ’Their dad, An Sancheng, hadn’t given her this, had he?’

’She must have found it herself, a lucky find.’

The old man looked at the sapphire in An Ning’s palm. He didn’t take it, merely lowering his head to examine it closely.

The color was good, and its purity was even better. It was a top-grade sapphire, and most importantly, it was truly massive.

"Are you sure you want to sell it?"

"Do you buy them? We can discuss it."

The three of them returned to Cuiyu Pavilion together. The other expert who had come from the back room was a bit confused to see them all return.

"She has more goods."

The goateed old man stood behind the counter, in front of the same black cloth.

An Ning placed the sapphire from her palm onto the black cloth. The two old men behind the counter prepared to pick it up for a closer look.

"Wait, I have more."

Then, a small, fair hand took out a red one, a yellow one, a pink one, a green one, and an enormous clear one.

Six flawless gemstones, perfect in every respect, were now arranged on the black cloth.

The once-large cloth now seemed extraordinarily crowded. The old man was even a little afraid one might get knocked onto the floor.

"Um... you people...?"

The old man trailed off, hesitating. He suspected they were here to fence stolen goods.

"What about us?"

An Ning didn’t understand at first and asked openly.

"Heh, it’s nothing, nothing. We don’t ask about the origin of our items."

The old man’s palms were starting to sweat. He took a silk cloth, wiped his hands, and prepared to examine the gems.

With that one phrase—"we don’t ask about the origin"—An Ning understood.

"Don’t worry, their origin is completely legitimate. No trouble will come knocking on your door."

"Appraise them."

For some reason, the two old men believed An Ning’s words.

However...

"We can’t take this many. At least, not all at once."

An Ning wasn’t disappointed. She said to the two men, "You two pick first. I’ll take back whatever is left."

For a moment, the old man felt like he was picking out cabbages at a market.

Except these cabbages were a little expensive.

This time, after a thorough inspection, the two old men chose three of the gemstones.

One blue, one red, and one green.

The three of them came to 480,000 yuan.

An Ning went to the bank again, and her account balance instantly broke half a million yuan.

When An Ning and An Guoming left the old street, An Guoming remained in a daze for a long time.

He dazedly followed An Ning back to the hotel.

It wasn’t until they were having lunch that he regained some of his senses.

Having regained his senses, An Guoming wanted to ask questions but didn’t dare. There were too many people around, and he couldn’t let anyone know they had money.

After finishing lunch, An Ning and An Guoming returned to the hotel together.

"Little Sis—"

"What is it, Second Brother?"

An Guoming shook his head, grinning foolishly.

"It’s nothing. I’m going to look around this afternoon. Want to come?"

"I’ll follow you, but I won’t talk."

An Ning’s words calmed An Guoming’s heart, which had been racing all morning.

"Alrighty, I’ll come get you in a bit."

An Ning nodded and entered her room.

Back in her room, she began to plan her next steps.

’The gems can be sold for money, so I don’t plan on struggling to earn it myself.’

’But I can’t keep selling them forever. I’ll sell just enough to get the initial investment capital, then focus on developing my business back in the village.’

’In the future, if patent laws are established, I’ll develop some patents. Then I’ll be able to live comfortably and focus on farming without any worries.’

An Ning made a plan in her room, listing out everything she needed to buy and do.

When An Guoming came and knocked on her door, An Ning slung her schoolbag over her shoulder and went out with him.

Just as she had said, An Ning didn’t say a single word this time they went out, simply following An Guoming in silence.

Without An Ning’s help, An Guoming actually managed to find some factories, two of which were on the note Jiang Xia had given him.

An Guoming had a very productive afternoon.

He’d found a source for goods at the factories. They didn’t discriminate; as long as you had the money, you could get the merchandise.

However, how to get it all back was a problem.

That evening, the two siblings ate dinner out.

After dinner, back at the door of his hotel room, An Ning called out to An Guoming.

"Second Brother, let’s buy a truck to drive back."

"Wha-?"

An Guoming’s local dialect slipped out. He had been carefully watching his speech these past few days to avoid getting ripped off.

"Buy a truck. I’ll need it when we get back."

"Alright!"

An Guoming had no reason to refuse.

The siblings returned to their rooms to rest. Early the next morning, after having morning tea and various small pastries, they headed straight for the largest truck market.

However, when they arrived, they were somewhat disappointed.

At this time, the most common trucks were Jiefang brand trucks, which were also the best quality available.

As for other brands, the domestic technology wasn’t there yet, so there were none for now.

In the end, they spent 33,000 yuan on a truck.

They got it registered with local license plates, and since An Guoming knew how to drive, he drove the truck straight to the factory.

An Guoming bought a batch of digital watches, aviator sunglasses, and a batch of clothes.

An Guoming inspected every single box of goods before loading them onto the truck.

There wasn’t a huge amount of merchandise. An Guoming didn’t know what the road conditions would be like, so he decided to test the waters first.

After leaving the factory, the two of them bought some local specialties, particularly a lot of dried seafood products to take back for their family.

Once they had bought the gifts, they checked out of the hotel and started the drive home.

The hotel proprietress was astonished when she was settling their bill.

"You two came here to buy a vehicle?"

An Guoming glanced at the truck parked outside and said with feigned nonchalance, "Just picked it up while we were here."

The ultimate flex, dealing unseen damage to the proprietress!

Under the proprietress’s shocked gaze, the siblings drove away.

Heading home!