Interstellar to 80s: A Scientist's Farming Mission

Jiang Xia hacked away relentlessly, but An Ning’s technique was so impressive he couldn’t help but comment.

Three wild boars now surrounded him.

It seemed even the boars knew who the soft target was; the one near An Ning dodged and scurried over to Jiang Xia’s side.

”Damn it, Sika, help me!”

Jiang Xia yelled at the top of his lungs. When it was a matter of life and death, dignity was worthless.

An Ning had been keeping an eye on the surroundings. Before Jiang Xia’s voice could even fade, he saw her appear at his side. Her machete rose high and fell, and another wild boar’s head rolled to the ground.

”Badass!”

Jiang Xia resumed the fight and finally hacked one to death in a flurry of strikes. Da Huang, for his part, had also taken one down.

As for An Ning, one only had to count the heads on the ground to know how many she’d dealt with.

The area around the pair and the dog was now clear of wild boars, but Jiang Xia didn’t dare relax in the slightest. Wild boars weren’t the only creatures on this mountain.

”Sika, hurry and clean up. The stench of blood is too strong, it’ll attract a wolf pack.”

”Right!”

An Ning was incredibly efficient. She and Jiang Xia used ropes to tie the wild boars in a line, lashing logs together underneath them.

”Okay, let’s give it a try. We’ll take as many as we can move.”

An Ning looked at Jiang Xia with disapproval. ”I want to take all of them.”

’I went to all the trouble of killing them. How could I possibly leave any behind?’

Jiang Xia slung one end of the rope over his shoulder, while An Ning held the other.

”I want to take them all too, but there are seven wild boars here, and they’re all huge. Together they must weigh at least two thousand jin. Even with this rig, it’ll be a real struggle.”

An Ning said nothing. She just slung the other rope over her shoulder and began to pull.

Jiang Xia pulled along with her. Da Huang even grabbed the side of the rope with his teeth and joined the effort.

”Whoa, it’s moving! It’s moving!”

Jiang Xia was genuinely shocked. Even though they were going downhill, just getting the load to budge was no small feat.

Jiang Xia glanced sideways at An Ning, then said nothing more, simply gritting his teeth and hauling on the rope.

An Ning’s face was a rare shade of red, the veins on her neck bulging slightly. She looked like she was straining with all her might.

In reality, An Ning was thinking, ’This should keep people from getting too suspicious, right?’

She was barely breaking a sweat.

As someone chosen from across the interstellar space, An Ning’s spiritual power was naturally among the best.

The energy she expended fighting wild boars was nothing compared to what she used teleporting seeds.

It was just that normal people had limits, and An Ning couldn’t afford to seem too out of the ordinary.

She had already done the math: going downhill, aided by the rolling logs, two people and a dog could manage the load. It was feasible.

The two people and one dog truly gritted their teeth and endured, dragging the load all the way down to the foot of the mountain.

Jiang Xia plopped right down on the ground, so out of breath he couldn’t speak a single word.

Da Huang was in the same state, the only difference being that his tongue was lolling out.

To keep from standing out, An Ning also sat to one side and panted heavily.

After several minutes, Jiang Xia finally recovered enough to speak. ”Let’s hide the boars here for now. I’ll go into town to get Fatty. He has a truck.”

”Alright. You go, I’ll stay here.”

Feigning exhaustion, An Ning gave a limp wave. Her hand rose halfway before flopping back down.

Jiang Xia got to his feet, his legs still a bit wobbly. Without another useless word, he unhooked a canteen from his waist and set it down beside An Ning.

”Have some water. Da Huang will keep you company.”

Jiang Xia took a deep breath and headed for town.

An Ning remained seated on the ground until Jiang Xia was out of sight.

The performance was over. An Ning sat up straight and looked at the canteen Jiang Xia had left behind.

It was army green, with a round base and an opening on top the size of a coin.

She gave the cap a curious pull, but it didn’t budge. ’It must twist off,’ she thought.

Having finally twisted it open, An Ning realized she was actually a little thirsty. She raised the canteen and took a sip, careful not to touch the spout with her lips.

’Hm? It’s sweet?’

An Ning glanced in the direction of the dirt road. ’I didn’t expect Jiang Xia to have such a sweet tooth.’

She took two more sips, then drank no more.

「An hour later」

Jiang Xia returned from down the village road, riding in a beat-up truck that RATTLED AND CLANKED. But apart from Da Huang, there was no one else there.

A jolt of alarm shot through Jiang Xia. He leaped from the truck bed and yelled, ”Sika!”

”I’m over here.”

Jiang Xia followed the sound of her voice, his face a mask of confusion. ’What is she doing?’

An Ning, who had been pulling weeds by hand in a nearby field, patted the dirt off her hands and walked over. ”Let’s go,” she said to Jiang Xia. ”Time to sell the boars.”

”Wait, what were you just doing?”

”Pulling weeds.”

”Does this field belong to our village?”

”I don’t know. Is that important?”

”Is it not important?”

An Ning gave the question one second of consideration before shaking her head. ”No, it’s not. It’s all just land that needs weeding, isn’t it?”

In that moment, Jiang Xia was instantly reminded of all the times An Ning had left him utterly speechless.

”Fine, whatever. If it’s not important, it’s not important. Let’s just sell the boars.”

The two of them walked over to the parked truck, where Fatty stepped forward, rubbing his hands together with a brilliant smile.

”So you two know each other! I was just wondering who could be so capable.”

Fatty was a skilled conversationalist, but unfortunately, both Jiang Xia and An Ning were direct people who weren’t much for small talk.

”The boars are over here.”

An Ning led Fatty over to the boars. When he saw the pile of severed heads, he felt a chill seep into his very bones.

’Must not get on their bad side. Definitely must not.’

”I brought a scale, we can weigh them right now. Eighty cents a jin, hide-on.”

An Ning looked at Jiang Xia, and he nodded. Having reached an agreement, they said in unison, ”Deal.”

Fatty chuckled and set to work. He’d brought his own men, and they were quick and efficient. All seven wild boars, heads included, were weighed.

”The total comes to two thousand, three hundred forty-nine jin and six liang. Let’s call it an even two thousand, three hundred fifty jin. The money comes out to...”

”One thousand eight hundred and eighty.”

”One thousand eight hundred and eighty.”

Jiang Xia and An Ning had once again spoken in perfect unison, stating the exact number.

An Ning actually gave Jiang Xia a second look, but something about her gaze made him bristle.

”What are you looking at me for? You think I even need to calculate a number like that?!”

’That’s true,’ An Ning thought.

”You’re right.”

The Fatty, who was still doing his own calculations, paused for a second, but then mentally steeled himself and kept going.

”It really is one thousand eight hundred and eighty.”

The moment he finished, he was met with two sharp gazes. He let out a nervous chuckle.

”I was just praising myself, you see. Since my math matches yours, it must be correct.”

Wiping the sweat from his brow, Fatty put away his scratch paper and began to count out their money.

”You two should count it.”

Jiang Xia took the money and, standing across from An Ning, counted it once through.

”It’s all here.”

”Yep, it’s all here.”

Once they both confirmed the amount, Fatty didn’t linger—fresh meat sells best. He drove off in the truck that looked like it could fall apart at any second.