Interstellar to 80s: A Scientist's Farming Mission

At two in the morning in the guesthouse, An Ning peeked through the crack of her door and saw a woman spit at An Guoming’s door. The woman muttered to herself as she sashayed away.

Ohh...

Realization dawned on An Ning as she closed her door.

’Good thing Second Brother didn’t open the door. If he had dared... Hmph! I’ll have Mom break his legs when we get home.’

An Ning’s spiritual power followed the woman. After knocking on a few doors, she actually managed to get into one.

It wasn’t that An Ning despised the woman, but rather the men.

And if the man had a family, she’d despise him even more.

An Guoming didn’t open his door. Relieved, An Ning went to sleep.

As she lay in bed, she wondered, ’Why didn’t anyone knock on my door?’

As she drifted off to sleep, An Ning figured it couldn’t be a one-person job. ’There must be accomplices.’

The next morning, An Ning still felt groggy. She was dazed for a while after getting up before she finally felt awake.

The KNOCK... KNOCK KNOCK at the door instantly reminded her of the previous night.

She opened the door to find An Guoming standing outside with breakfast.

An Guoming propped the door open with a chair and gestured for An Ning to come eat.

An Ning went to the bathroom first, then came back after washing her hands.

She pulled out a chair, sat down, and asked, ”Second Brother, why didn’t you open your door last night?”

PFFT— An Guoming spat out a mouthful of soy milk.

An Ning dodged just in time, her chair tilting back onto its rear legs. She steadied herself with one hand on the table, swaying.

”What’s wrong? Is the soy milk poisoned?”

An Guoming was utterly floored by An Ning’s bizarre leap of logic.

For a moment, he was at a loss for where to even begin.

”The soy milk isn’t poisoned.”

An Guoming set down his soy milk and gave An Ning a strange look, truly at a loss for words.

”Little Sis, how did you know someone was knocking on my door last night?”

”I heard it.”

An Ning answered casually, letting her chair fall back onto all four legs as she started to eat.

”Then... you know what she was doing?”

An Guoming felt the same awkwardness as a parent about to give their teenage child ”the talk.” He hoped she already understood so he wouldn’t have to explain, yet he was also afraid she knew too much—and how she’d found out.

Chewing on a fried dough stick, An Ning nodded under An Guoming’s nervous gaze.

”Of course I know. Exchanging money for physical intimacy. One of the world’s oldest professions.”

Her unique explanation only left An Guoming more bewildered.

”How do you know that?”

”I read about it in a book. As for that woman, I heard her. The man in the room next to mine opened his door.”

”I barely got any sleep.”

An Ning’s remark that she ”barely got any sleep” struck An Guoming like a bolt of lightning. He froze, completely motionless.

’What on earth was his adorable little sister talking about?’

’Heard it? Did she mean what he thought she meant?’

After finishing three fried dough sticks and a bowl of soft tofu pudding, An Ning saw that An Guoming was still frozen in place and gave him a nudge.

”Second Brother, what’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

”I-I-I-I’m fine. Little Sis, you... you... just eat.”

An Guoming had wanted to ask how she knew what those ”sounds” were, but he couldn’t bring himself to say it.

”I’m full. You eat, Second Brother.”

Completely oblivious to the devastating blow she had just dealt An Guoming, An Ning dusted off her hands and went to pack her things.

An Guoming finished the food without tasting a bite, his mind in a turmoil. He returned to his room to pack.

As for how An Ning knew, had An Guoming asked, she would have explained in much greater detail.

Biological needs were a required course in the interstellar era.

An Ning, of course, had taken the class and had an excellent grasp of the textbook knowledge.

...

An Guoming and An Ning left the guesthouse. After promptly settling the bill, he inwardly swore he would never return to this place again.

In fact, An Guoming decided he needed to buy a house; just owning a shop wasn’t enough.

His little sister also needed a house. It was best to avoid staying in guesthouses if possible.

An Guoming knew not to open the door because he had run into similar situations in the south.

”Second Brother, where are we going?”

”We’ll catch a bus up ahead. It’s only a few stops.”

An Ning said, ”Oh,” and followed An Guoming to the bus stop, where they boarded.

Five stops later, the siblings got off and walked a few hundred meters, arriving at a house with a ”For Sale” sign posted on it.

”Second Brother, there are a lot of people.”

”Mhm. There’s never a shortage of people with a good eye for things.”

The courtyard gate was wide open. Even from the outside, one could see figures milling about within—definitely more than one group of people.

The siblings walked in together. The people in the courtyard glanced at them but quickly went back to their conversations, paying them little mind.

An Guoming zeroed in on the owner of the house and politely went to greet him.

The owner of the house sat in a rocking chair, a cattail-leaf fan in hand, which he used to slowly pat his chest, completely ignoring the chaos in the courtyard.

”Yu the Elder, hello.”

The old man, addressed as Yu the Elder, gazed at An Guoming with a smile, nodding but not saying a word.

An Guoming didn’t find this rude; it seemed like a perfectly natural way for the old man to act.

He stepped aside and joined the noisy crowd.

At the center of the crowd was another man, the elder’s son, who seemed to have some say in the matter, but not much.

Still, he was far more approachable than the silent Yu the Elder.

An Ning didn’t join the hubbub. She found a small stool, sat down, and rested her chin in her hands, watching the crowd in much the same manner as Yu the Elder.

”Why aren’t you over there?”

”You’re the one in charge.”

An Ning rested her chin in her hand and turned to look at Yu the Elder.

Her statement, ”You’re the one in charge,” made Yu the Elder give a faint, silent smile.

He set down his fan, however, and picked up a book from the small table to his left, handing it to An Ning.

An Ning took it. She only needed a single glance, without the elder having to say a word.

”The problem isn’t difficult. You can’t solve it?”

Hearing this, Yu the Elder glanced at the table, then back at the book in An Ning’s hand.

’He’d grabbed the wrong one.’

That was the book with the problem he hadn’t been able to solve. He had intended to give her a book of miscellaneous essays to help the little girl pass the time.

”You said the problem isn’t difficult?”

An Ning nodded and showed Yu the Elder with her actions.

She took a pencil and a piece of paper from her schoolbag. The SCRITCH-SCRATCH of her writing made the disbelieving elder sit up a little straighter.

Five minutes later, An Ning handed the sheet of paper, now filled with writing, to Yu the Elder.

”That really was a good problem. It took me a whole five minutes.”

An Ning put her pencil away and went back to watching the chattering crowd, her chin resting in her hand.

Taking the paper, Yu the Elder sat up straight. He looked over the single sheet back and forth, three times in total.

’It’s correct!’

’She... she solved it.’

A math problem that had stumped him for years had just been solved by a little girl.

Yu the Elder began to wonder if he was hallucinating. But the drone of voices in his ears and the feel of the paper in his hand proved this was no figment of his imagination.

”Quiet!”

Yu the Elder’s voice boomed, and the noisy crowd immediately fell silent.

”Eldest, come here.”

The middle-aged man who had been surrounded by the crowd walked over respectfully and bowed toward Yu the Elder.

”Quick, pinch me!”

”Huh? Dad, I wouldn’t dare.”

An Ning, who loved a good spectacle and wasn’t afraid to stir the pot, immediately raised her hand. ”I’ll do it!”