Interstellar to 80s: A Scientist's Farming Mission

Teacher Wen’s lack of response left the mother and daughter deeply disappointed.

But the mother was a very prideful woman. She agreed with a beaming smile, took the test paper, and led her daughter out of the office.

Just outside, the mother once again warned her daughter to stay far away from An Ning and An Guoping.

”For people like them, going to school is a waste.”

”You’re different. You’re going to be the top scholar.”

The girl nodded, and her mother was satisfied.

Meanwhile, the siblings who had left found their parked bicycle. An Guoping rode in the front with An Ning on the back, and they headed to the bus station first.

”Sis, what about the registration?”

”Just handle it for me when you get back. The village chief won’t make things difficult for us.”

”That’s true.”

An Guoping pedaled hard, and they quickly reached the bus station.

An Ning hopped off the bike, shouldered her schoolbag, gave a casual wave, bought a ticket, and boarded the bus.

While An Guoping rode off on the bicycle, An Ning was on her way to the textile factory.

A little after twelve noon, An Ning arrived at the county town.

Familiar with the route, she headed straight for the textile factory.

Naturally, An Ning’s arrival was met with a warm welcome from Director Li.

However, An Ning was short on time and got straight to work as soon as she arrived.

She delivered the latest blueprints: a new textile technology for a complete production line.

Director Li held the notebook, filled entirely with hand-drawn schematics and handwritten notes. It felt weighty in his hands.

’It’s so thick,’ he thought. ’This couldn’t have been done overnight.’

He felt a pang of shame.

He had previously thought that An Ning had grown to look down on their small factory.

But now...

”An Ning, I’m sorry.”

An Ning, who was busy adjusting a machine, poked her head out from underneath and looked at Director Li in confusion. ”You didn’t step on my foot.”

”Huh? No, that’s not it.”

After stammering out a brief explanation, Director Li said, ”I’m truly sorry. A production line like this... you must have spent a very, very long time designing it.”

”It was all my fault. I was too narrow-minded. I’ll definitely change in the future.”

Lying on a mechanic’s creeper, An Ning’s expression remained perfectly composed, but her fingers, wrapped around a wrench, tightened slightly.

”It’s fine. It’s a small matter.”

She gave a slight push with her foot, and the creeper slid back under the machine.

’Should I tell Director Li I only put this together after the baby’s one-month celebration?’ An Ning wondered.

After some careful thought, An Ning decided it wasn’t really necessary.

’No more thinking about it. Work is what’s important.’

That day, An Ning repaired several machines for the textile factory.

As for the new production line, she and Director Li went to the mechanical factory. The first reason was to arrange for the production of the new machines, and the second was because this was An Ning’s next stop anyway.

Upon arriving at the mechanical factory, An Ning was received by old Master Zhang Qihua. The former director, Director Jin, had been transferred to the city proper thanks to An Ning’s contributions.

The current director was someone An Ning didn’t know well, but he was a person Master Zhang Qihua couldn’t be more familiar with: his own son.

The three of them took a long tour of the workshop floor.

By the time they finished the tour, it was already very late.

The group arranged for An Ning to have dinner, after which she was settled into a dormitory room to rest. Everything else would wait until morning.

An Ning was up before dawn the next day.

The two directors and Master Zhang Qihua were up as well.

The three men launched into a discussion about the textile factory’s new production line.

Once the textile factory’s business was sorted out, An Ning provided the mechanical factory with a new machine for manufacturing parts.

Small parts such as nuts, for instance.

An Ning spent three days at the City Mechanical Factory. Once everything was taken care of, she took an overnight train to the provincial capital.

She was on the 10 p.m. train, and she had bought a sleeper ticket so she could rest and be ready to work during the day.

WHOO WHOO—CLACKETY-CLACK—

The train pulled out of the station. With all the noise, many people found it difficult to fall asleep.

As An Ning slid open the door to her sleeper compartment, a bright light from outside streamed through the window. Her eyes met a young woman’s, and for a moment, they saw each other clearly.

The young woman had a very pleasant demeanor. She gave An Ning a friendly smile, pointed to the lower bunk on the left, and whispered, ”Is this one yours?”

An Ning nodded and set down her schoolbag.

She took off her shoes, pulled back the blanket, and prepared to sleep.

”Hold on.”

The young woman whispered, stopping her. An Ning, sitting on the edge of the bunk, watched as the woman took a large piece of cloth from her own bag.

”The person before you was a man. You should use this sheet.”

An Ning wouldn’t normally have cared. She had been through field training in environments that were countless times worse.

But the young woman’s next words made her reconsider.

”The man seemed pleasant enough, but the smell from his feet was so bad I couldn’t sleep at all.”

The young woman smiled, a little embarrassed but also with the slight thrill of sharing a small secret.

”Thank you, but I’ll just use my own clothes.”

An Ning had only taken off her shoes and outer jacket; her clothes underneath were still on, so she wouldn’t be in direct contact with the bedding.

She took a clean shirt out of her backpack.

She spread the jacket she’d taken off over the pillow and placed the clean shirt over her chest.

As for the train’s blanket, she only pulled it up to cover the area below her chest, so it didn’t directly touch her skin.

The young woman across from her didn’t insist. She put her extra sheet away, settled into her own bunk, and lay down, ready to sleep.

An Ning closed her eyes, silently making a mental note.

’Bring a bedsheet for sleeper cars.’

The train continued on, stopping many times along the way.

Back then, there were fewer railway lines, so trains often had to pull over to let others pass. Sometimes, it would stop in the middle of nowhere for thirty or forty minutes at a time.

As a result, a trip that should have taken only a few hours ended up lasting the entire night.

At 8:40 the next morning, the train finally pulled into the station.

An Ning gathered her belongings, preparing to disembark.

The young woman across the way had also gathered her things. She gave An Ning a radiant smile. ”Are you getting off here, too?”

”Yes.”

An Ning wasn’t very good at talking to strangers and only gave a simple reply.

The young woman across from her didn’t seem to mind, though.

The train was slowing to a crawl, and passengers began moving toward the exits.

An Ning and the young woman left the compartment together, heading for the car’s exit.

What’s the most tempting thing in the world the moment you step off a train?

The air.

That crisp air that washes the staleness from your lungs. Nothing is more tempting.

Especially the morning air, with its faint chill that invigorates the senses.

An Ning followed the signs, walking toward the station exit.

As she exited the station, she scanned the area, looking for a bus stop.

Then, she saw the young woman from the train again.

The woman was taking out money to give to a person dressed like a beggar.

An Ning noticed several nearby pickpockets stirring, ready to make their move.

’Never flash your money in public,’ An Ning thought, ’especially not in a place like a train station.’