Interstellar to 80s: A Scientist's Farming Mission

Lin Cuihua’s comment made An Ning stifle a laugh.

Hei Dan’er couldn’t even walk yet, and his own grandmother had already prepared a bamboo switch for him.

"Mom, I thought you doted on Hei Dan the most. Could you really bring yourself to hit him?"

An Ning watched Lin Cuihua, enjoying the show. Lin Cuihua gave her a look that said ’you don’t understand’ and explained, "Let me tell you, the darker-skinned a kid is, the more of a troublemaker they’ll be."

"Besides, I’m a good grandmother. Would I hit my own grandkid?"

"When the time comes, I’ll give it to your big brother to use."

Lin Cuihua’s little speech made An Guoping and An Ning give her a thumbs-up in admiration.

’So calculating!’

’They had truly seen it all today.’

Meanwhile, the two children were given a harsh spanking, truly beaten so hard they couldn’t get off the kang bed.

After the beating, the two children were hauled before the An Family by their parents.

"Kneel. Kowtow."

The two children obeyed, dropping to their knees with a THUD and kowtowing.

"No, no, please get up."

Lin Cuihua rushed to help them up, and An Ning did the same.

The two children finished kowtowing and stood up. Just as An Ning was about to breathe a sigh of relief, she saw the children’s parents drop to their knees with a THUMP.

"Oh, please don’t! I really don’t deserve this. Get up, quickly."

An Ning, flustered, once again went to help them up, but the two fathers were resolute.

These tough, unyielding men insisted on kowtowing.

"You do deserve it. These kids are our lives. We really thought we’d never find them."

"His mother and I didn’t want to live anymore."

The man, who was over six feet tall, forcefully wiped his nose with his wrist and said sheepishly, "Uh, I’m really sorry. I didn’t hit my kid for any other reason than fear that if I didn’t do it now, they wouldn’t be scared by the time they got home."

"Right, right. We figured we should make them learn their lesson while the punishment was still fresh."

The other honest-looking man’s words made everyone chuckle.

Punishing a child, best to do it while it’s "fresh."

After exchanging a few more words, everyone got to their feet.

The two children were carried by their parents onto a tractor. The tractor bed was already lined with straw and cotton quilts; they had really come prepared.

Not only that, but the two families had also brought gifts.

"Where we’re from, it’s all mountains. Our families have been growing fruit trees for generations. We don’t have anything too fancy, but you must accept this fruit."

The two men, the two families, had brought several baskets of fruit.

Apples and pears were the main two types.

Seeing all this fruit, An Ning’s mind instantly started buzzing with ideas.

"Are you both veteran fruit farmers?"

"Huh? Yes, we are."

An Ning didn’t ask any more questions. The two families left their names, and she decided she would go find them herself after today.

The two children’s parents left Shili Gou on their tractor, which went CHUG-CHUG-CHUG-CHUG into the distance.

The spectating villagers also went home, with quite a few children mixed in the crowd.

Those children probably learned what it means to ’make an example’ of someone today.

The An family carried the fruit home. An Ning took one of the baskets and headed to Jiang Xia’s house.

’She hadn’t rescued the children all by herself, after all.’

As she entered the courtyard, Da Huang trotted up familiarly and gave the basket a couple of sniffs.

"What’s this? You like them?"

An Ning took out an apple and tossed it to Da Huang.

Da Huang leaped lightly, caught the apple, and happily ran out of the courtyard.

"Hey, where are you going?"

"Probably off to see his old flame."

Jiang Xia was just coming out of the house, and his eyes met An Ning’s surprised gaze.

"What’s an ’old flame’?"

An Ning had never encountered that term before.

Caught by the question, Jiang Xia fidgeted, rubbing his fingers together behind his back.

"It’s like... someone you’re seeing, but not officially."

Jiang Xia’s explanation made An Ning have a sudden realization. ’Isn’t that just having an affair?’

"How do you know Da Huang went to see a flame? I thought he’d be the loyal type."

"Heh heh..."

Jiang Xia gave a strained laugh and started counting on his fingers for An Ning.

"The ones I know of... there’s Xiao Hua at the village entrance, Da Hua from the next village over, Huahua from the Wang Family..."

The more An Ning heard, the more she wanted to laugh.

"Wait, Da Huang’s taste is pretty consistent. Are they all named Hua?"

Jiang Xia laughed along with her. "Well, most of the dogs in the village are pretty closely related, so they’re all relatives to some degree."

"My Da Huang is just a simple country dog who hasn’t seen the world."

The two of them stood in the courtyard, discussing the scandalous gossip of the local dog world, all thanks to Da Huang.

An Ning put down the fruit, said hello to Grandpa Jiang, and left.

When she returned to the An family home, everyone was eating fruit.

"Little Sis, this apple is so sweet."

"This thing doesn’t look all that pretty, but it tastes great."

An Guoqing took a bite of an apple and turned to tease Hei Dan’er.

"Hei Dan’er, this apple looks just like you, all crooked and lumpy."

His sister-in-law, who was holding the baby, was already used to An Guoqing’s teasing.

However, Lin Cuihua, standing to the side, was not pleased.

She was the type who could call her own grandson ugly, but wouldn’t let anyone else do it.

"Shut your mouth. Can’t all that food stop you from talking?"

Lin Cuihua shot An Guoqing a glare. "Guoping," she said, "go get me a bamboo switch tomorrow."

"Aight, got it, Mom!"

An Guoping didn’t bother asking why. If his mom told him to do something, he just did it.

An Ning and An Guoping, who were in on the secret, furtively exchanged a glance before they both turned their eyes to Hei Dan.

’Poor kid!’

’When Hei Dan grew up, he would have to deal with a goofy, critical father and a grandmother who was a master of deep scheming.’

’Life is tough. May he fend for himself.’

That evening, everyone sat around the kitchen eating fruit and chatting until around nine, when they all went to bed.

For the next few days, An Ning went to work on the mountain.

During this time, large trucks kept arriving at the An family’s property, unloading one truckload after another.

This pile of materials was entrusted to Li Chengze, who was responsible for watching over it.

During the day, everyone else went up the mountain to work.

Li Chengze had wanted to go too, but unfortunately, after less than half a day of work, An Ning sent him back down.

She was afraid that if Li Chengze kept working, she’d end up planning his funeral.

So, after finishing his classes, Li Chengze would take a book or a notebook and stand guard by the pile of materials at the entrance.

He wasn’t watching for adults, but for small children.

He was worried they might get hit or crushed by the materials.

「Five days later」

The land reclamation on the mountain was progressing smoothly.

An Ning kept on anyone who worked without major issues.

Uncle An helped manage things for a few days before stepping back, leaving An Sancheng and An Laoqi in charge.

Once most of the materials had arrived, An Ning hired another group of villagers to help install the greenhouses.

The construction was simple; the frame used snap-fit joints and was easy to assemble.

An Ning, wanting to be extra cautious, also had them wrap the frames with steel wire. With the plastic sheeting laid over top, the greenhouses gradually took shape amidst the bustling activity.

Once An Ning saw everyone had gotten the hang of it, she handed over supervision of the work to An Guoping and Yang Jianguo. She herself prepared to make a trip to the city to buy seeds.

But before she went to buy seeds, she needed to make a trip to the homes of those two boys.

To plant fruit trees on the mountain, she needed people who knew how to grow them.

With a backpack on her shoulders, An Ning got on her bicycle and rode off alone towards the Hu Family’s home.