Interstellar to 80s: A Scientist's Farming Mission

An Ning hadn’t even steadied her arms around Hei Dan’er when Lin Cuihua swooped in and stole him away.

”Give Hei Dan’er to me. You’re covered in dirt.”

As Lin Cuihua unceremoniously snatched Hei Dan’er away, An Ning’s arms were left frozen in a mid-air embrace, holding nothing but air.

”Here, take this instead.”

The fluffy feel and round, bright black eyes made An Ning call out affectionately, ”Xiao Lang, did you miss me?”

Xiao Lang was very obliging, whimpering in response. It found an extremely comfortable spot and curled up in An Ning’s arms to sleep.

Meanwhile, Jiang Xia, the culprit behind this, was completely surrounded by his dog, Da Huang, and couldn’t move an inch.

The aloof Wei Qi stood faithfully at the door, looking like a victorious general who desired no credit for his deeds.

Holding Xiao Lang, An Ning walked over to Wei Qi, crouched down beside him, and spoke to him softly.

”Thank you, Wei Qi, for watching the house for me.”

Wei Qi, having been thanked, lowered his head slightly and shot a scrutinizing look at Xiao Lang in An Ning’s arms.

”I know, I know. I know he’s not a dog.”

An Ning whispered the last sentence. Wei Qi merely lifted his head, resuming his aloof expression as if he couldn’t be bothered with such matters.

Ignoring his demeanor, An Ning reached out and wrapped her arm around Wei Qi’s neck, hugging him several times.

She even thought she saw a hint of shyness on Wei Qi’s face as he squirmed to get away.

The return of An Ning and the others brought a lively atmosphere to the An and Jiang family homes at the foot of the mountain.

Yin Xuemei and Yang Jianguo both returned to the educated youth quarters.

After this, the educated youth quarters would be empty. Those who passed the exam would leave, and of those who didn’t, some would return home, while others had already settled down in the village.

As for the few educated youths who had settled in the village, they were all doing very well.

In Shili Gou, as long as you were willing to work, you could live a better life than some people on the outside.

This was why a clan needed a leader.

At An’s house, the truck was parked, and everyone was busy moving and unpacking things.

That evening, An Ning took An Guoping and Yin Xuemei to the greenhouses to pick vegetables.

Vegetable prices were bound to drop now, but the produce from An Ning’s greenhouses was still the best-selling.

Over the past month or so, the Green Land shop that had opened in the county town had successfully made a name for itself.

Its most amazing feature was the flavor of its vegetables.

According to rumor, picky eaters were no longer picky.

People with poor digestion found their appetites improved after eating them.

Some overweight people even lost weight after eating them.

And for each of these legends, one could even find supporting evidence.

Therefore, even during the peak harvest season for vegetables, the An family’s Green Land shop was still packed with customers every day. The vegetables delivered in the morning were usually sold out by two or three in the afternoon.

As for Green Land’s guarantee not to sell day-old vegetables, they had indeed lived up to their promise.

If there were any vegetables left over at the end of the day, they would be sold at a discount after five o’clock.

Unfortunately for the crowd of people hoping to buy discounted produce, they couldn’t even get their hands on a single leaf. Business was just that good.

「Shili Gou.」

After arriving at the greenhouses, An Ning greeted some of the workers. She and Yin Xuemei then went into a crown daisy greenhouse to pick some for hot pot that evening.

An Guoping went to another greenhouse to pick vegetables.

As the two of them walked into the greenhouse, Yin Xuemei spoke up. ”An Ning, I want to buy a house in the village. Do you think that’s possible?”

”Yes.”

An Ning gave a one-word answer, but it was enough to instantly solidify Yin Xuemei’s wavering resolve, and the words began to pour out.

”I don’t want to go back to my family in the city; there’s no place for me there. I’ve saved up a sum of money. Eventually, I’ll buy a place in Beijing, but I love it here. I want to put down roots, so when I’m old, I have a place to return to.”

An Ning stopped what she was doing and looked at Yin Xuemei seriously. ”I support you. I think the most successful people are the ones who know what they want, work hard for it, and have already achieved some results.”

”Yin Xuemei, have I ever told you? You’re amazing. Truly amazing.”

Yin Xuemei’s nose suddenly tingled, and with a stuffy ”mhm,” she broke into a tearful smile.

”Thank you, An Ning.”

An Ning used a finger to wipe away the tear gathering in the corner of Yin Xuemei’s eye. ”You silly girl. Let’s pick vegetables. I’ll go with you to see the village chief tonight.”

The two continued picking vegetables. After they were done, they found An Guoping and headed home together.

That night, the An family, Jiang Xia, Grandpa Jiang, plus Yang Jianguo and Yin Xuemei, all gathered together for a completely relaxing hot pot dinner.

An Guoping also finally got to eat the popsicle he had been dreaming about all summer.

In the height of summer in July, the sky didn’t get dark until eight at night.

After finishing the hot pot, they were in no hurry to rest. They didn’t have to worry about waking up early, memorizing texts for school, or figuring out what to cook tomorrow.

The family members drifted out of the house in twos and threes. Some went for a stroll by the river, some went to check on the mountain, and others headed to the Big Willow Tree to catch up on the latest gossip.

An Ning took Yin Xuemei to the village chief’s house. Yin Xuemei carried some homemade pastries in her hand.

Before the two had even entered the courtyard, they heard a child playing in the mud at the entrance shout, ”Sister Anning is here! Sister Anning is here!”

The village chief, who had been cooling off in the courtyard, quickly put on his shoes and threw on the shirt that had been draped over his shoulders.

”An Ning, what brings you here? Come on in.”

An Ning went in with Yin Xuemei, presented the pastries, and explained their purpose.

It wasn’t a major issue. There was indeed a vacant property in the village—the very educated youth quarters where Yin Xuemei was currently living was about to be empty anyway.

Besides, Yin Xuemei’s household registration was also in Shili Gou, so nothing would be complicated.

The matter was settled quickly.

All that was left was to take a trip to the town tomorrow to complete the paperwork.

As An Ning and Yin Xuemei were leaving the village chief’s house, his wife asked, a little scheme forming in her mind, ”So that Yin Xuemei is staying in the village? She’s not going back to the city?”

”You can just put away that little scheme of yours,” Sun Dazhuang said, not even waiting for his wife to finish. ”The fact that she can follow An Ning is a testament to her own ability.”

The village chief’s wife pouted and muttered, ”She’s about the same age as San’er.”

”An Ning is about the same age, too. Would you dare?”

The village chief’s one sentence made his wife immediately shake her head. She wouldn’t dare.

”Fine, I won’t think about it anymore, okay? Jeez.”

As she spoke, the village chief’s wife walked out of the courtyard and unleashed a torrent of words on the child playing in the mud by the door.

”You little rascal, look at the mess you’ve made of yourself!”

”You little brat, get back here!”

Sun Dazhuang sat on his little stool, took a puff from his long-stemmed pipe, and said, ”They’re all capable people.”

An Ning and Yin Xuemei didn’t hear the village chief’s sigh of admiration.

By the time the two of them were almost back at the An family’s house, the sky had nearly gone dark.

An Guoping popped out from somewhere, accompanied by Yang Jianguo. The two of them were carrying a box and ran right toward An Ning.

”Sis—”