Interstellar to 80s: A Scientist's Farming Mission

After confirming the address, the principal continued his inquiry. ”So, do you know where Anning’s house is?”

The little boy didn’t answer right away. Instead, he sized up the principal from head to toe, glanced at the other two men, and then looked at their car.

”What do you want with Sister Anning?”

The child’s cautiousness only made the principal more curious. He asked, ”This Sister Anning you mentioned, did she take the college entrance exam this year?”

The little boy tilted his head in thought, then nodded. ”Yeah! Sister Anning is amazing. She’s definitely going to be number one.”

The boy’s words were filled with a shared sense of pride and admiration, which made the principal and his companions even more curious about this Anning.

”You’re a sharp one! We’re here to deliver the test scores to your Sister Anning.”

The little boy let out a sound of realization. ”Oh! Well, follow me then. I’ll take you to Sister Anning’s house!”

The boy turned to his friends. ”Da Zhuang, go tell the village chief. Xiao Zhuang, go tell my mom that I’m taking these people to Sister Anning’s house.”

Having received their orders, Da Zhuang and Xiao Zhuang snapped to attention, gave a salute, and took off running.

The principal asked curiously, ”You seem to be quite the leader.”

”That’s right! I’m the safety patrol captain!”

One moment, the boy was puffed up with pride. The next, his expression turned serious as he looked at the three men. ”Are you bad guys?”

The question stumped all three of them.

Seeing the growing suspicion in his young guide’s eyes, the principal quickly replied, ”No, no, not at all. I’m a respected university principal.”

”A principal? We have a principal at our school, too.”

The boy seemed to believe him and continued to lead the way.

The principal, curious, asked the boy why he was the safety patrol captain. The answer he received was that An Ning had once thrashed a villainous beggar.

An image of a formidable, powerful An Ning immediately formed in the principal’s mind.

’Who would have thought,’ the principal mused, ’that not only is she a top student, but she’s also skilled in combat.’

Lost in his own imagination, the principal soon found himself at the gate of the An family’s home.

Along the way, word had spread that a university principal was visiting the An family. The news passed from person to person, and many curious villagers headed to the An family’s home to watch the excitement and share in the good fortune.

”This is Sister Anning’s house.”

The principal looked at the lock on the gate, then back at the boy. ”It’s locked?”

”Of course. Everyone locks their doors when they go to work in the fields. Didn’t you know?”

The boy’s expression clearly read, ’You’re a principal and you don’t even know that?’

”No, that’s not what I mean. I’m asking where the family went. Where can we find them?”

The boy pointed casually. ”They’re up on the mountain, working.”

The principal followed the boy’s finger toward the distant mountain peaks, but he couldn’t see anyone. Just as he was about to ask someone for help, Master Tang from next door came out, with Da Huang at his side.

”Who are you looking for?”

Finally seeing an adult he could speak with, the principal strode over and introduced himself.

However, Master Tang’s reaction was remarkably placid, as if Beijing University was of no great importance.

He simply looked at the principal calmly and asked, ”What was An Ning’s rank?”

”First. First in the entire country.”

”Oh...” Master Tang drew out the sound. ”That makes sense. It wouldn’t be right if she did poorly.”

After muttering to himself, Master Tang patted Da Huang’s head. ”Go! Go up the mountain and tell the An family to come down.”

Da Huang let out a ”WOOF!” and bolted toward the mountain.

The principal pointed a finger at Da Huang, opening his mouth to speak but then hesitating.

”What is it? You have a problem with my Da Huang?”

A wave of protectiveness washed over Master Tang. The principal’s lips quivered as he hastily shook his head.

”No, no, not at all.”

Master Tang shot the principal a glance, then sat on a rock by the doorway and began to trim vegetables.

His level of focus made the three visitors wonder if perhaps they were making too big a deal out of this.

’Isn’t being number one in the country that important?’

’Pah!’

The principal screamed internally. ’Of course it’s important!’

A strange silence fell over the entrance to the An family’s home. The onlookers who had come to see the excitement also fell quiet, waiting off to the side for the family to come down from the mountain.

Uncle An was the first to arrive, slightly out of breath.

Seeing Uncle An, Master Tang immediately put down his vegetables and went over to help him. ”Don’t rush, don’t rush,” he said warmly. ”They’re not going anywhere.”

”I’m alright, I’m alright.”

Uncle An sat down first. His wife and others who had heard the news arrived soon after, but everyone had a tacit understanding not to ask any questions. They were saving that moment for An Sancheng.

The principal of Beijing University had never received such a reception. His curiosity about this place had reached its peak.

”WOOF WOOF—”

At the sound of Da Huang’s barking, two dogs came charging down the mountain. Behind them, An Sancheng was running so fast he lost a shoe. An Guoping, who was right behind him, picked it up and chased after him.

”Dad—your shoe!”

”Forget it!”

An Sancheng reached the gate with one bare foot. He looked at the three strangers, wiped his chapped hands on his clothes, and reached out to shake their hands.

”I’m An Sancheng, An Ning’s father. Are the scores out?”

”Hello, Mr. An. I’m the principal of Beijing University, and this is...”

After finishing the introductions, the principal formally announced to An Sancheng, ”An Ning’s performance was exceptional. With a score of six hundred and forty, she achieved a perfect score, ranking first in the entire country.”

An Sancheng, whose hands were still being held, burst into tears. After asking for confirmation several times, he did the exact same thing Lin Cuihua had done.

”Ai... my daughter... a perfect score... number one!”

”HAHAHAHAHA! My girl got a perfect score, number one!”

Excited as a child, An Sancheng shared a rare hug with Uncle An.

”Big brother, smoke is rising from our ancestral graves!”

”It is, it is! Enough to smoke for days!”

Uncle An was so excited he was babbling incoherently. The whole An family was overcome with emotion—some were wiping away tears, others were laughing hysterically.

The villagers shared in the happiness, but no one was particularly surprised by An Ning’s score.

”That’s more like it. Of course An Ning would be number one.”

”You said it. If she wasn’t number one, I’d have suspected they made a mistake.”

”Exactly.”

”Hey... what about the others who took the test?”

With that one question, everyone’s attention was brought slightly back to the matter at hand. An Sancheng stepped forward to ask, ”Do you happen to know the scores for the others? For Jiang Xia, Zhou Xiaoshan, An Guoping, Yin Xuemei, and Yang Jianguo?”

Hearing the five names rattled off in one breath, the principal mentally checked them against a list.

”I do. Zhou Xiaoshan is second in the country, Jiang Xia is third, An Guoping is fifteenth, Yin Xuemei is twentieth, and Yang Jianguo is twenty-seventh.”

The principal announced all five of their rankings in one breath.

An Sancheng turned to the dumbfounded An Guoping, gave him a playful punch on the shoulder, and then pulled him into a hug.

”Guoping—you got in!”

”Me? Fifteenth in the country?”

An Guoping pinched his own cheek, unable to believe it. The sting of pain made him break into a foolish grin.

Meanwhile, Zhou Xiaoshan, who had just arrived, nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world. ”I figured I’d be second.”