Interstellar to 80s: A Scientist's Farming Mission

After delivering the acceptance letters, the postman repeatedly urged the village chief to have the students who had returned go to the post office for confirmation. He also said they would visit the village one more time before the school term began to confirm with the students in person.

The village chief understood the postman’s good intentions, and so did Uncle An.

Uncle An chatted with the two postmen for a while, got their addresses, and took the initiative to invite them to the celebratory feast for An Ning and the others, hoping they would honor them with their presence.

The two postmen were naturally delighted to accept, saying they would definitely come to share in the good fortune.

After seeing off the two postmen, An Sancheng and Uncle An thanked the villagers for their congratulations and told everyone they would be treated to a meal at the celebratory feast.

The villagers gradually dispersed. Uncle An reminded An Sancheng to put away the acceptance letters safely and not to leave the house unattended.

An Sancheng agreed to it all and went to put the acceptance letters away.

He searched all over one room, trying several spots, but none seemed quite right.

Finally, he placed the acceptance letters in a tin biscuit box, closed the lid tightly, put it in a cabinet, and then locked the cabinet.

’That should be safe enough now.’

An Sancheng went to work in the fields, while An Guoping and Zhou Xiaoshan both stayed home, looking after Hei Dan’er and watching the house.

The two young men never imagined they’d see the day they were left on house-sitting duty.

That evening, Lin Cuihua arrived home.

Once home, she examined the envelope with the acceptance letter several times. Without opening it, she put it back, deciding to wait for An Ning to open it herself.

Although she didn’t see An Ning’s acceptance letter, she did see An Guoping’s.

Lin Cuihua turned the acceptance letter over and over, examining it again and again. Then she had An Guoping read it to her, word by word, more times than she could count.

”This is wonderful. My son is a college student now.”

”Mom, this is nothing. I’m going to be the best doctor someday.”

”Yes, yes, yes. You’re amazing, you’re the best!”

”I can’t claim that. My sister is the one who’s truly amazing.”

An Guoping’s comment made everyone burst into spontaneous laughter.

With Lin Cuihua’s return, life in the An family household went back to normal.

It was only then that everyone realized just how much Lin Cuihua did, and what a huge difference her presence made.

Time marched on. An Guoming was constantly on the move as Green Land branches opened one after another in the city and the provincial capital.

Meanwhile, he was also gradually building his own fleet of trucks, which traveled up and down the country.

At the provincial capital’s machinery factory, An Ning was provided with the best accommodations and meals. She even had someone to do her laundry and tidy her room.

She threw herself wholeheartedly into innovation and reform.

From the provincial capital to the city, and from the city back to the county, time flew by. Before they knew it, it was late August.

School started in September, and now there were only seven days left before the start of the term.

While An Ning was busy in the county town, her family back in Shili Gou was just as frantic, preparing for the celebratory feast.

The An family was determined to throw a big celebration. The original plan was to hold a joint party with Yin Xuemei, Zhou Xiaoshan, and Jiang Xia. However, Yin Xuemei was swamped with work in Beijing and had no time to return; she even had to ask An Ning to bring her acceptance letter to her.

Yang Jianguo returned once during this time, accompanied by his parents. They brought lavish gifts to thank An Ning, but unfortunately, she wasn’t home.

In the end, Yang Jianguo left first with his acceptance letter. Since his household registration would be transferred to Beijing for college, his celebratory feast would naturally be held at his family’s home.

An Ning and the others didn’t have time to attend, so An Guoping went as their representative.

By the time An Guoping returned, Zhou Xiaoshan had left again. His father had returned from duty injured, so he rushed back to Beijing to take care of him.

Fortunately, his father’s injuries were stable and not life-threatening. The silver lining was that it gave the father and son some time alone together.

So, Zhou Xiaoshan’s celebratory feast was canceled as well.

Finally, there was the mysteriously vanished Jiang Xia.

The mystery surrounding Jiang Xia was that no one knew where he had gone or what he was doing. Not even Grandpa Jiang could get in touch with him.

Ever since Jiang Xia had left, all contact was one-sided; he would occasionally reach out to Grandpa Jiang just to let him know he was safe.

As for the feast, Jiang Xia had no interest in holding one, nor did he have time to return. He simply said he would be at school for the start of the term and that he’d see them there.

In the end, only An Ning and An Guoping were left.

In reality, An Ning’s schedule was also very tight. However, as Uncle An put it, ”I’ve already informed the ancestors. It wouldn’t be right to cancel it, would it?”

After hearing this, An Ning replied with two words: ”Do it!”

As a filial descendant who understood Feng Shui, she couldn’t let her ancestors down.

And so, the celebratory feast was organized with great enthusiasm. As the guest of honor, An Ning didn’t have to do a thing except show up on the day.

So she continued her work in the county town with peace of mind, staying busy until the dead of night before heading back to rest.

While busy in the county town, An Ning didn’t stay in the dormitory. She had her own house there, so she went home by herself every night.

At first, someone would escort An Ning home.

However, after an incident where An Ning pulled off a ”beauty rescuing the hero” stunt, her escort decided not to hold her back anymore.

From then on, An Ning always walked home alone, her only companions the chirping insects and croaking frogs on the quiet night streets.

That night, An Ning left the factory, her mind still racing as she walked.

As she walked, the scent of blood reached her nostrils.

Her pace didn’t falter. ’I don’t want to get involved. I’m going home to sleep.’

”Hey—”

A small pebble clattered on the ground near An Ning’s feet. She crushed it underfoot out of reflex, but that voice made her spin around and head into the alley.

”You’re... pathetic.”

An Ning retorted out of habit as she scooped Jiang Xia up from beside a pile of rubble in a princess carry.

”Spare me some dignity. I can walk on my own.”

”Who are you trying to impress? It’s the middle of the night. The only ones following you are a few ghosts.”

At An Ning’s words, Jiang Xia, still in her arms, threw his hands around her neck in a flash.

”Don’t say things like that! You’re a Feng Shui Master; what you say might actually be true.”

”Heh. Well, why don’t you guess if I’m telling the truth or not?”

Carrying Jiang Xia steadily in her arms, An Ning quickly disappeared from the street and returned to her house.

An Ning gently placed Jiang Xia on the bed, then stood beside it, staring at him intently.

Even while lying on the bed, Jiang Xia still had the strength to joke, ”Are you looking at me like that because you have indecent designs on me?”

An Ning turned, grabbed a round, red plastic-framed mirror, and held it up in front of Jiang Xia’s face.

”Look for yourself.”

In the mirror, Jiang Xia saw a reflection with chapped lips and cracked corners of his mouth. One side of his face was swollen, and his entire face was caked in mud and blood. A deep gash near the corner of his left eye looked like it would surely leave a scar. His hair was a matted mess that even a bird would reject for a nest, and he looked as if he’d been soaking in a sewer for ten days. The sight was enough to bring Jiang Xia back to his senses.

’Damn! Looking like this, will I ever be able to find a wife?!’