Interstellar to 80s: A Scientist's Farming Mission

Inside the open iron doors was a complete set of machinery.

”It’s exactly what you think it is. Our new car needs this kind of equipment, so we built it.”

Wang Hua couldn’t bear to look away from the equipment, but her words were as blunt as ever. ”You have a way of saying things that makes me want to punch you... but I like it!”

”Push me inside!”

”Quick, quick! I love this kind of straight talk!”

Sun Xiaomei had a helpless expression on her face, but her eyes were full of love for her mother. She placed her hands on the wheelchair, and Wang Hua finally went inside.

Once inside, Wang Hua gazed at the machinery with utter fascination. It was a love like that of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, meeting for their once-a-year reunion.

To Wang Hua, the machine before her was far more endearing than her own child’s father.

Wang Hua held out a hand, looked at An Ning, and asked, ”May I...?”

”Of course. Please, feel free to look around.”

An Ning’s generosity made it impossible for Wang Hua to resist any longer, and she reached out to touch it.

Sun Xiaomei knew her mother well. She took a few steps back, letting Wang Hua propel the wheelchair herself, savoring and admiring the machine before her, inch by inch.

An Ning and Sun Xiaomei stood at the entrance, watching Wang Hua inside.

”Your mother really loves this stuff.”

”Yes. She’d give her life for it.”

Sun Xiaomei said emotionally, ”I’m afraid I’ll never reach her level, that I won’t even learn a fraction of her skills.”

An Ning looked at the clearly changed Sun Xiaomei and asked with some curiosity, ”You’re going to be a technician?”

”Yes!”

Sun Xiaomei’s reply was firm, her gaze resolute as she met An Ning’s eyes.

”I... I was deceived. Deceived pretty badly. It took my mom losing her legs to wake me up. I can’t, and I won’t, let the thing she’s loved her whole life lose its future.”

An Ning hadn’t expected that to be the reason. She didn’t press further, but the other woman seemed to have a desire to talk.

”I still remember what you said when we parted ways last time. You said that no matter how down and out, how destitute I became, if I could always keep my desire to help others, you’d be very impressed with me.”

Sun Xiaomei said with a self-deprecating laugh, ”I swore up and down that I could do it. Thinking back now, I really was so stupid, so naive.”

Sun Xiaomei continued her story, and An Ning learned that she had met a down-on-his-luck man, like one of the tragic scholars from an opera—handsome and full of talent.

Out of the kindness of her heart, Sun Xiaomei gradually found herself drawn to the man, and her young heart was stirred.

Her family background was excellent. Her mother, Wang Hua, was the most skilled technician in the factory, and her father was a chef who ran the entire factory’s kitchen. As the only daughter, she was doted on.

As Sun Xiaomei and the man grew closer, they began to discuss marriage. But her mother, Wang Hua, felt the man wasn’t grounded—he was superficial, and what he showed on the outside didn’t match who he was on the inside.

Sun Xiaomei wasn’t the type to be blinded by love, so she decided to wait. Unfortunately, she was a true idealist, believing that everything in the world was good and that even bad people had compelling reasons for their actions.

The man tricked her with a story about an injured family member, convincing her to steal her family’s passbook. When she went to give it to him, she was drugged and abducted.

It turned out that when his marriage scam failed, the man decided he didn’t just want money—he wanted to sell Sun Xiaomei as well.

It was Wang Hua who discovered the plot in time. She fought desperately against the man and his accomplices to save Sun Xiaomei, but in the process, Wang Hua herself was severely injured, her legs broken.

From then on, the pampered darling of the family, the young lady who’d never had to lift a finger, devoted herself wholeheartedly to inheriting her mother’s mantle and becoming a technician.

After hearing the whole story, An Ning was filled with a sense of emotion.

”You have a good mother.”

”Yes, a very, very good one.”

Sun Xiaomei gazed at Wang Hua in her wheelchair, who was trying to figure out the machine’s operation. Sun Xiaomei’s eyes held self-reproach, but also a fierce determination.

”I will become the best technician there is.”

”I don’t know if you’ll become the best, but at the very least, your starting point is higher than others’. You have a very skilled master.”

An Ning’s words made Sun Xiaomei’s eyes fill with gratitude.

”Thank you. You’re the second person who hasn’t dismissed me.”

It went without saying who the first person was.

”Xiaomei, come quick! Let me explain this to you.”

Wang Hua waved Sun Xiaomei over. Sun Xiaomei ran over happily and listened intently by her mother’s side, trying her best to absorb everything.

When Wang Hua called for her, An Ning also walked over to answer her questions and clear up any confusion.

When Director Zhou Zheng came by that evening for an answer, a reluctant Wang Hua kept asking, ”Can I just pitch a tent in here?”

The answer, of course, was no.

Sun Xiaomei had to forcibly wheel Wang Hua away. At that moment, their roles were reversed; the daughter had become the nagging mother.

An Ning and Director Zhou Zheng walked behind them. An Ning, who rarely meddled in others’ affairs, asked, ”Can Wang Hua still work?”

”Some things, yes.”

Director Zhou Zheng answered truthfully.

”So how does your factory plan to accommodate her?”

”Accommodate her? Of course, we’ll be taking care of her for life.” Zhou Zheng said this without a hint of difficulty, explaining to An Ning, ”You might not know this, but half of the ten technicians in our factory are Wang Hua’s apprentices. She may not be able to do much physical work, but her eye for detail and her experience are all still there.”

”Let me tell you, an elder in the house is a treasure.”

An Ning’s opinion of Zhou Zheng improved considerably after hearing his words.

”You’re absolutely right. The machine has been confirmed. What’s the next step?”

”Next step? We stand them up, of course! Let me tell you, if we weren’t in such a weak position right now, I’d be rubbing it in their faces. You have no idea how hard it is for us to buy anything. We’re always having to grovel and play nice—”

Zhou Zheng’s words came to an abrupt halt. He slapped his own mouth in embarrassment. ”Look at me, running my mouth. Nonsense, just nonsense.”

”I quite liked your ’nonsense’.”

An Ning prepared to leave. Before she left, she said something to Zhou Zheng, and he agreed with overjoyed surprise.

After returning, An Ning began to work through the night, drafting plans, creating designs, and organizing the technical data.

The perfect implementation of a set of technologies involved many industries. She wanted to produce the best possible plan, one that was also the most suitable for the current stage of development.

The next day, An Ning got up and went downstairs at the crack of dawn.

Just as she reached the dormitory entrance, a satisfied smile appeared on her face.

”Morning, Sun Xiaomei.”

”Good morning, An... Comrade.”

An Ning nodded. ”Let’s eat first. For the rest of the day, you’ll stay by my side. How much you learn will be up to you.”

”Yes! Thank you!”

”Don’t thank me. You have a good mother.”

Sun Xiaomei followed behind An Ning, nodding vigorously. She really did have a good mother.

Throughout the day, An Ning kept Sun Xiaomei with her. She personally built a new piece of equipment, and Sun Xiaomei studied every step diligently.

”When you’re making equipment and precision instruments, being smart is only part of it. Your hands have to be steady. Go home and ask your mom how to practice.”

”Also, hands-on experience is important, but so is studying the theory. The two complement each other.”

Sun Xiaomei studied earnestly, committing every lesson to heart.