Interstellar to 80s: A Scientist's Farming Mission

An Ning decided to take the college entrance exam, but aside from the few members of the An family, she didn’t tell any outsiders.

In An Sancheng’s words: Don’t go broadcasting good news before it’s a done deal. It’s bad luck.

An Ning didn’t know what exactly that entailed, but she believed the older generation truly had their own wisdom.

Early the next morning, An Guoming drove his truck, taking An Guoping and An Ning into town. There was a bicycle in the truck bed so An Guoping could ride it back on his own.

The two didn’t have An Guoming drop them right at the school gate; they got out a short distance away.

When they got out of the truck, they happened upon the group of seven "robbers" waiting for An Guoming by the side of the road.

"Second Brother, how are these guys working out?"

"Great! Absolutely great! I’m getting beaten up way less now."

"Hehehe..."

An Guoming’s comment made An Ning laugh, but she pressed on, "Even with these guys, you’re still getting beaten up?"

"What kind of business are you even running?"

An Ning was starting to question the legality of An Guoming’s business. Her voice turned serious. "Second Brother, please abide by the law."

"What are you thinking!" An Guoming said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. "Don’t worry, at most I’m just exploiting some loopholes. I’m not breaking the law or selling anything shady."

"We have two future university students in our family. If you fail your political review because of me, I’ll have to kill myself at our ancestors’ graves to atone for my sins."

An Guoping, who had been openly listening in, said with certainty, "Second Brother, you’re being too optimistic. Dad and our uncle would tear you limb from limb."

"And most importantly, they’d strike you from the family registry."

An Guoming gave An Guoping a suspicious look. "You little brat, you’ve really thought about this a lot, haven’t you?"

"Hehe, just a random thought, just a random thought."

The two brothers joked around, and An Ning didn’t say anything more.

She and An Guoping got out of the truck. Outside, Li Erniu and the other six men, who had been slouching in all sorts of crooked postures, suddenly inflated like long balloons the moment they saw An Ning, snapping ramrod straight.

"Hello, Boss An!"

"Hello, Boss An!"

The seven men shouting "Boss An" in unison made all the passersby turn to look at An Ning and An Guoping.

An Ning turned her head and glared at An Guoping, who was pointing at her with one finger.

"Put your hand down."

An Guoping slowly retracted his pointing finger, staring straight ahead and pretending to be a completely uninvolved party.

An Ning then looked at the other seven men and gave a calm wave. "Alright, get going."

"Yes, ma’am!" 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

The thunderous "Yes, ma’am!" startled even An Ning.

The seven men—some climbing into the truck bed, others getting in the front—all scrambled into the vehicle and sat bolt upright.

An Guoming, who was driving, looked at Li Erniu beside him and said, "I can’t help but be curious. What on earth happened between you guys and my little sister?"

"Hehe, just normal training. Routine training."

Li Erniu smiled so wide his eyes disappeared, but he didn’t reveal a single useful piece of information.

An Guoming wasn’t truly desperate to know, anyway. He rolled down the window, waved to An Ning outside, and drove off.

As the truck drove away, An Ning and An Guoping lowered their waving hands and prepared to head to the school.

"So young and already up to no good."

"You’d better stay far away from them, you hear?"

The two sentences reached An Ning’s ears, and she turned around.

A woman with her hair combed immaculately had an exquisite little embroidered purse hanging from her wrist. To her right was a girl about An Ning’s age with a hairstyle just like Liu Hulan’s, nodding obediently.

When An Ning turned back, the woman pursed her lips and let out a cold "Tch." The girl beside her glanced over timidly before quickly lowering her head.

"Sis—"

"Ignore them. Let’s go."

An Ning grabbed An Guoping, who looked like he was about to go and argue with them, and walked a few steps away.

"Sis—why?"

"Do you know them?"

An Guoping shook his head.

"There’s a very high chance we’ll never see them again. Even if you went to great lengths to explain, do you think they would believe you?"

"Most of the time, people only believe what they want to believe."

After An Ning finished speaking, she saw that An Guoping beside her had fallen silent.

"What’s wrong? You think I’m wrong?"

An Guoping shook his head so hard it looked like he was trying to shake his brains out.

"Stop. Speak."

At An Ning’s command, An Guoping immediately stopped.

"Sis, as far as I’m concerned, you’re always right. I was quiet because I was thinking about how different you are now."

"Different in a good way."

An Ning shrugged her shoulders and said affirmatively, "It’s called progress."

She walked in front while An Guoping pushed the bicycle behind her. Before long, the two of them arrived at the high school entrance.

It was the first day of the new school year, so the entrance was bustling with people coming and going.

An Guoping was very familiar with the old man at the gate. Even though he didn’t attend classes, he often came back to pick up review materials and borrow notes from classmates to copy at home.

He greeted the old man familiarly and led An Ning into the school.

The two went straight to the homeroom teacher’s office. After knocking and entering, An Guoping explained the reason for An Ning’s visit.

An Guoping’s teacher wore a pair of reading glasses. They had medium-length, salt-and-pepper hair and exuded the air of a teacher.

An Ning’s first impression was one of comfort.

"You’re An Ning, correct? Have you ever attended school before?"

"No."

An Ning shook her head honestly.

"So you’ll be taking the college entrance exam as a non-student applicant?"

"Yes."

The teacher asked a few simple questions to understand the situation but didn’t pry any further.

"An Guoping can register right here with me. An Ning will need to go back to the village, find the person in charge, get a registration form, and have them submit it."

After all that, it turned out An Ning had come for nothing.

She wasn’t annoyed, though, and accompanied An Guoping as he registered first.

An Guoping took the registration form, filled out his information, and handed in the certificate from the village. With that, his registration was basically complete.

As for things like physical examinations, they weren’t yet common practice.

The two thanked the teacher and opened the door to leave the office, just as someone outside happened to be opening it to come in.

The moment the door opened, the warm smile on the face of the person outside instantly turned cold.

"Little Brother, that must be what Mom calls a shoehorn face."

"No, Sis, that’s a classic kidney-shaped face."

"Oh—you’re right."

After their little duet, the siblings said in unison, "Excuse us."

The woman outside looked even more furious, but she didn’t say a word. She just pulled her daughter aside as if avoiding a virus.

The siblings quickly went down the stairs. The woman at the door led her daughter into the office and politely greeted the teacher.

"Teacher Wen, were those two who just left also students?"

"Yes. Have you completed the procedures?"

"Oh—yes, they’re done. The principal said you’re the best teacher here. We’ll be entrusting our Niao Niao to your care."

The woman pulled the girl next to her by the hand and said in a chiding tone, "This child doesn’t know anything but how to study. When her previous teacher found out she was transferring, they were heartbroken, saying they were losing a potential top scholar."

"Our Niao Niao is just so obedient, not at all like some of those other students."

Teacher Wen simply smiled without a word. They took a stack of test papers, placed them down gently but firmly, and said, "Find some time to complete these. I’ll grade them for you."

The woman didn’t get the praise she was expecting, and her expression soured a little, but she didn’t dare say much more.