Interstellar to 80s: A Scientist's Farming Mission

On the dirt road leading from the foot of the mountain to the Shili Gou village office.

In the afterglow of the setting sun, shadows stretched long.

An Ning led the way with the two children trailing behind her. Jiang Xia had stayed behind on the mountain, watching over the wood by himself.

”Are you two too tired to walk?”

An Ning stopped, looking with confusion at the two children who were dragging their feet.

The older boy, on the verge of tears, looked at An Ning and said, ”No... Sister An, is my dad going to hit me?”

”WAAAAH—I don’t want to get hit.”

The younger one just burst into tears.

An Ning gave an awkward smile and said, ”Well... I can’t really lie to you. But look at it this way: isn’t getting a beating from your dad better than getting eaten by wolves?”

An Ning’s words did the trick, stopping the two boys’ crying. They stared blankly at her.

An Ning suddenly bared her teeth and let out a roar, making her hands into claws. The two boys jumped in fright.

”AHHH—”

”Help!”

An Ning calmly lowered her hands.

”See? You’re this scared of a fake one. What would you do if you ran into a real one?”

”Even if you’re lucky enough to avoid wolves, bears, and tigers, you’re bound to run into some venomous snakes.”

”It’s all slithery with a long body. The moment it brushes against you, it feels ice-cold. Two little fangs sink into your skin when you’re not paying attention, and the venom flows through your blood. You’ll be seeing King Yan in less than a minute.”

”Actually, venomous snakes are the better option. They give you a painful death, but at least it’s not disgusting.”

”Let me tell you, what the mountain has most are rats and bugs. When you’re asleep, they all crawl out. Swarms of them crawl all over your body. Some might even wriggle into your nostrils, your ears...”

An Ning’s descriptions were so vivid that not only were the two lost boys terrified, but even some of the curious children and adults nearby started to get a little scared.

’Where did she get all this experience from!’

The villagers were even thinking they should memorize her speech. It was way more effective than their own stories about man-eating bears on the mountain.

”I want to go home!”

”I miss my mom!”

The two children tried to out-cry each other in misery, until they were both wailing uncontrollably.

Seeing them cry, An Ning was actually in a great mood.

’That’s more like it. How could they learn if they weren’t scared?’

An Ning continued to lead the way. The two boys started walking faster and faster, eventually urging her to hurry up.

An Ning quickened her pace. When she reached the village office, she asked Sun Dazhuang for help. After two phone calls, they finally got the number for the other village.

She dialed the number, and the line on the other end started ringing.

”Hello—”

”Hi, I’m from Shili Gou. We found two children on the mountain, they said—”

”The children have been found!”

An Ning hadn’t even finished speaking when someone on the other end shouted, followed by a burst of chaotic noise.

It took several minutes before the two sides could communicate properly. The parents on the other end heard their children’s voices, which gradually eased their hearts. Their own voices calmed, which in turn helped the boys settle down.

Coincidentally, the other village also had a tractor, and they said they would drive it over to Shili Gou immediately.

An Ning promised to take good care of the two boys until they arrived, and the people on the other end expressed their gratitude.

After hanging up, An Ning took the two children home with her.

Back home, Lin Cuihua already knew about the two children. The village grapevine was as efficient as ever.

As soon as An Ning got home, she handed the task of looking after the boys to Lin Cuihua. She then headed back up the mountain to find Jiang Xia.

By the time An Ning and Jiang Xia had brought the wood down from the mountain, the boys’ families still hadn’t arrived.

An Ning stood on the logs and patted Jiang Xia’s shoulder twice.

”Thanks, bro.”

”Bro?”

Jiang Xia turned his head and stared at An Ning, his tone somewhat serious. ”We are not bros.”

”Why are you so serious?”

An Ning was just joking around, so she wasn’t quite used to seeing Jiang Xia like this.

Jiang Xia composed his expression and said, ”Of course I’m serious. I’m Da Huang’s bro. No one else can take that spot.”

Da Huang, who had just come out, turned around and went right back inside.

An Ning was amused by Jiang Xia’s nonsensical yet perfectly logical reply, but the main reason she laughed was Da Huang’s hilarious reaction.

”Hey, why has your Da Huang been so disgusted with you lately?”

Jiang Xia glanced at her. ”Probably because I’ve taken the blame for him too many times.”

”Huh?”

An Ning was completely lost and didn’t understand, but Jiang Xia didn’t explain. He just told her to hurry home.

An Ning didn’t waste any more time; she really did have things to take care of at home.

The two of them said goodbye in the backyard and went their separate ways.

After An Ning got home, she ate dinner first.

By then, the two boys had already eaten and been washed clean. They were wearing An Guoping’s clothes, with the sleeves and pants rolled up, sitting on little stools and peering out the door.

During this time, Lin Cuihua had asked the boys several times to sit on the kang bed, but they didn’t want to.

For one, they felt awkward in someone else’s home; for another, they were anxious and just wanted to wait by the door.

After nearly another hour of waiting like this, the sound of a tractor, along with the commotion of running footsteps and voices, drew everyone in the An family out into the yard. They were here.

”Da Bao’er—”

”Er Niu—”

Two women rushed to the front, each grabbing one of the boys in a hug. Behind them were two men and several other villagers who weren’t from Shili Gou.

They clung to their children and broke down crying. The two boys started crying loudly along with them, the fear in their hearts slowly washing away with their tears.

Seeing this, many of the onlookers secretly wiped away tears.

If it had been their own children, they would have been crying even harder.

The crying lasted for about three minutes. Then, as if on cue, both mothers let go of their sons and took a sharp step back in unison.

The fathers stepped forward, and the boys thought it was their turn for a hug.

”You little brat! Spare the rod for three days, and you’ll be tearing the roof tiles off!”

”If I don’t beat you so hard you can’t get off the kang bed today, I’ll take your last name!”

”But we already have the same last name!”

With that one sentence, little Er Niu lit the fuse.

The two fathers had come well-prepared.

Each armed with a bamboo switch, they grabbed their sons, held them down on their thighs, and started smacking their bottoms. WHAP, WHAP, WHAP, WHAP.

”You little turtle bastard, sneaking off to the mountain! You still wanna go? Huh?”

”If I don’t beat you till it hurts, you’ll never learn your lesson!”

WHAP, WHAP, WHAP, WHAP, WHAP!

The sound of the bamboo switches was exceptionally crisp, and it even echoed.

Aside from the boys’ wails, not a single person tried to intervene.

Everyone was in agreement: a lesson like this was necessary.

An Ning was also watching the spectacle, with Lin Cuihua beside her.

As Lin Cuihua watched, she commented, ”That bamboo switch is pretty good. I should get one tomorrow.”

Nearby, An Guoping looked at Lin Cuihua in surprise and asked, ”Mom, my sister and I are all grown up. Isn’t that a bit much?”

Lin Cuihua shot him a look and said, exasperated, ”I’m getting it for Hei Dan’er. What does this have to do with you?”