Interstellar to 80s: A Scientist's Farming Mission

For the moment, An Ning had no idea what Zhou Yicheng was thinking.

But she had a pretty good idea of what was going through Zhou Xiaoshan’s mind.

After all, she’d had her own prideful phase.

Back in the interstellar era, she wasn’t always the An Ning she was today.

When she first emerged from the culture dish, her spiritual power was judged to have the highest potential, meeting the threshold for selection.

But many people had potential. Who could truly become the final one chosen to bear such a great responsibility? Who could resist the countless temptations and avoid inciting conflict on Ancient Earth, focusing solely on cultivating crops for the interstellar age?

Raw power was just one prerequisite for success. A person’s disposition, character, and resilience—those were the essential qualities the selection process was designed to identify.

And the series of training trials An Ning underwent after her selection were far beyond anything the Zhou Xiaoshan of today could possibly imagine.

An Ning led the four of them on with the tour. They had seen the vegetable greenhouses; now, they were about to enter one for fruit.

The moment she unlocked the door and pushed it open, a sweet fragrance washed over them.

An Ning strode inside, crouched down, and found a bright red fruit.

”Strawberries. They’re almost ripe.”

The entire greenhouse was filled with strawberry plants.

Before An Ning had left, they had just been sprouting leaves and a few flower buds.

”BUZZ—”

A buzzing sound flew past. Zhou Xiaoshan instinctively moved to swat at it, but An Ning, standing up, caught his hand and stopped him.

She released his wrist. ”Without these bees, the strawberries here wouldn’t grow.”

”Remember, bees don’t attack unless provoked. If you don’t hurt it, it won’t sacrifice its life just to get back at you.”

An Ning’s tone was so serious that Zhou Xiaoshan nodded instinctively.

When Zhou Xiaoshan snapped out of it, he cursed himself under his breath.

’What am I so afraid of?’

’What in the world is there to be scared of?’

Zhou Xiaoshan had always thought of himself as fearless. Even with his father, Zhou Yicheng, he had ways of negotiating to get at least some of what he wanted.

But when he faced An Ning, his brain turned to mush. Before he could even process a reaction, a bone-deep fear made him agree to whatever she said without thinking.

’Next time, I absolutely can’t let this happen again,’ Zhou Xiaoshan warned himself.

’I have to stay on guard.’

”Zhou Xiaoshan, get the basket.”

”Yes, ma’am!”

Zhou Xiaoshan instinctively snapped to attention, stopping just short of a salute.

An Ning turned away, a triumphant, and utterly lovely, smile gracing her lips.

’What a little punk.’

In An Ning’s eyes, Zhou Xiaoshan was truly just a little brat.

And right now, she was the drill instructor tasked with taming him.

’This whole process is actually pretty fun.’

An Ning, still squatting, took the basket from Zhou Xiaoshan, then turned and offered him a strawberry.

”Eat.”

”Okay.”

At that moment, Zhou Xiaoshan didn’t care whether the strawberry had been washed. He just popped it into his mouth.

He bit down, and the strawberry burst with juice. A sweet, refreshing fragrance, never cloying, danced across his taste buds, filled his mouth, and settled warmly in his stomach.

Zhou Xiaoshan couldn’t help but take another bite, finishing the strawberry in two mouthfuls.

This was only because the crops An Ning grew were of high quality; nurtured by her spiritual power, her strawberries were larger than others.

But even so, they couldn’t compare to the size of modern-day strawberries.

An Ning continued picking strawberries, telling the others to pick and eat some for themselves.

Zhou Yicheng, who had been uninterested at first, ate one strawberry and found himself unable to resist picking another, and then another.

Nearby, the worldly-wise Yu the Elder remarked, ”Yicheng, you might as well squat down and eat. You’re making it look like hard work.”

A little embarrassed by Yu the Elder’s comment, Zhou Yicheng chuckled. ”It’s not a lack of willpower, these strawberries are just that good.”

Yu the Elder picked up a strawberry, blew the dust off it, and tossed it into his mouth.

”Mmm, you’re right. Delicious.”

All five of them were now squatting and picking strawberries.

After a few minutes of picking, Zhou Xiaoshan stepped out to use the restroom, and Zhou Yicheng followed him.

The two of them had just stepped out of the greenhouse when they came face-to-face with three other people.

One of the men saw that the corners of their mouths were stained red and charged forward without a word.

”Sancheng, grab something! Get some help!”

”You’ve got some nerve, daring to steal strawberries from my family’s farm!”

An Sancheng snatched up a nearby stick and charged.

An Guoping took off running, shouting for backup, while Jiang Xia, at the front, had already engaged Zhou Yicheng.

The more Zhou Yicheng fought, the more alarmed he grew. ’Who is this kid? His skills are on par with mine!’

As Jiang Xia fought, he also realized something was off.

’He’s too professional!’

’This guy’s fighting style is too disciplined.’

Hearing the commotion from inside the greenhouse, An Ning immediately rushed out.

”An Guoping, stop shouting!”

”Dad, they’re with me.”

An Ning first calmed down her two family members, then turned to Jiang Xia and Zhou Yicheng. Both men understood it was all a misunderstanding and knew they should stop.

But that damn male ego, that need to win, kept them locked in a dead heat.

An Ning wasn’t in a rush to intervene at first. ’It’s true that a fight without a clear winner can be pretty frustrating.’

However, the moment their feet trampled one of the small saplings she had planted, An Ning had had enough.

”Stop!”

”You’re stepping on my trees.”

Jiang Xia, who was in the middle of throwing a punch, heard the tone in An Ning’s voice and immediately stopped.

He had witnessed firsthand how protective An Ning was of her saplings, seedlings, and crops.

’Stopping now might save my life. Continuing would be a disaster.’

Jiang Xia abruptly pulled his punch. Zhou Yicheng’s counterattack was already in motion. He quickly changed direction and altered his footwork to dodge Jiang Xia, but in doing so, his foot failed to avoid one of An Ning’s saplings.

”Ah—”

The sapling snapped under his foot.

In that instant, An Ning moved.

She caught Zhou Yicheng’s arm with one hand while her left leg shot out, kicking him squarely in the leg.

To everyone watching, Zhou Yicheng’s lower body lifted into the air until he was parallel with the ground. An Ning, holding his right arm, gave a light tug, sending him flying sideways, still parallel to the ground.

Once Zhou Yicheng was clear of the saplings, An Ning simply let go, letting him fall.

Fortunately, Zhou Yicheng was a battle-hardened veteran. He planted his left hand on the ground and executed a swift flip, landing back on his feet.

An Ning shot him a look, and Zhou Yicheng immediately understood. ”I didn’t step on any trees,” he clarified.

After he spoke, his eyes, fixed on An Ning, were filled with confusion and curiosity.

’Her skills seem even more formidable than that other young man’s, and her strength is extraordinary.’

’To throw me sideways like that requires more than just technique.’

Nearby, Zhou Xiaoshan had watched the entire exchange, completely dumbfounded. ’That was intense.’

But more importantly, ’I’m screwed.’

’Now that my own father has seen how skilled An Ning is, he’ll be even more determined to leave me here.’

”Daughter, are you okay?”

”Sis, are you okay?”

An Sancheng and An Guoping stepped forward anxiously, looking as if they were ready to fight to the death if she said she was hurt.

”I’m fine.”

An Ning shook her head, then pointed happily at the greenhouse. ”Dad, our strawberries are ripe!”

”And they’re super, super sweet!”