Interstellar to 80s: A Scientist's Farming Mission

An Ning sat in an armchair, her legs spread wide out of habit. A cool breeze wafted up under her skirt, making her quickly snap them shut and sit uncomfortably like a proper lady.

An Guoping snickered from the side, only to be silenced by a single death glare from An Ning.

At the main gate, An Ercheng and Du Guijuan were wreathed in smiles. The scheming tone was gone from their voices, replaced by a touch of sincerity. It wasn’t much, but it was progress.

An Ning didn’t need to use her spiritual power to analyze them. Just seeing Uncle An trailing behind them was enough to know the couple had genuinely changed.

An Sancheng already knew An Ercheng’s family was coming, so he wasn’t surprised. He and Lin Cuihua went out to greet them, and after a few pleasantries in the courtyard, An Ercheng’s family came inside.

”It was impossible to get more time off, so they only gave us two days. We made sure to come early today to lend a hand.”

Du Guijuan set down the things she was carrying and immediately got ready to help, her eagerness seeming genuine.

Lin Cuihua neither gave Du Guijuan a hard time nor treated her with excessive, distant politeness when asking her to do things.

An Ercheng exchanged a few words with An Ning, praising her briefly before getting to work himself.

Suddenly, only An Jing and An Xiaoming, who had come with their parents, were left with nothing to do, standing out awkwardly in the middle of the kitchen.

An Xiaoming kept his eyes fixed on An Ning, looking like he wanted to say something but didn’t dare. Beside him, An Jing’s eyes roved restlessly, darting from one thing to the next. Her lips would occasionally twist into a sneer, her face a mask of defiance.

”You two, go play outside or wait in one of the other rooms. Don’t get in the way here.”

After their aunt spoke, An Xiaoming obediently went out to the courtyard, while An Jing, after a couple of reluctant glances, headed for An Ning’s room.

”No. Go wait in that room over there.”

Lin Cuihua spoke up first. Beside her, her eldest sister-in-law half-raised her spatula before furtively lowering it, a flicker of displeasure in her eyes as she turned away.

”What’s wrong with this room?”

Naturally rebellious, An Jing had zero respect for her elders. Far from thinking she was in the wrong, she actually felt a sense of pride.

’After all, she was the only one who dared to defy the adults.’

”An Jing! If you’re not going to listen, you can just go home by yourself!”

An Ercheng’s tone was harsh. An Jing let out a cold huff, spun around, and stalked into Lin Cuihua’s room.

From inside the room, An Jing deliberately started making a racket, causing the faces of those in the kitchen to darken with displeasure.

”I’m sorry, Sister-in-law,” Du Guijuan said. ”An Jing... she’s been so disobedient lately.”

Du Guijuan found it hard to make excuses for her daughter. After what An Ning had said last time, she genuinely had been trying to change An Jing’s ways. But An Jing was already a teenager; her personality and character were nearly set in stone and difficult to alter.

Coupled with the fact that Du Guijuan wasn’t very strict in her discipline, An Jing was actually starting to get even worse.

The reason they had brought An Jing with them this time was because she had angered the elders at home so much that they had fallen ill. The couple hadn’t dared to leave her home alone, afraid of what else might happen.

Lin Cuihua said nothing, simply focusing on organizing the work.

’Good or bad, it’s just for one day. An Ercheng’s family is leaving tomorrow anyway.’

The courtyard was getting more and more crowded, to the point where An Ning, serving as the kitchen’s mascot, had no room to stand. She had no choice but to go out for a stroll around the house.

The An family’s courtyard was festooned with lanterns and streamers. Red banners hung everywhere, some bearing words, others plain.

People were setting up tables, assembling temporary stoves, and recording gifts in a ledger.

A steady stream of well-wishers arrived, most of whom were fellow villagers.

As for the various factory directors, none of them came.

It wasn’t that they didn’t want to come; An Ning had told them to stay away. She’d made it clear that if any of them dared to show up, she wouldn’t be working at their factory the next time she took a job.

After a threat like that, who would dare to come?

But even if they didn’t attend in person, their gifts had all been sent in advance.

These included not only the gifts from the factory directors, but also the prize money for her top scholar award, sent from the county, city, and provincial governments.

An Ning donated all the prize money to the village elementary school for expansion: new buildings, new equipment, and even new teachers.

To show its gratitude, the school changed its name to Scholars Academy.

The villagers unanimously loved the new name. Who wouldn’t want to bask in a bit of that good fortune?

At 9:58 AM sharp, the banquet in the An family’s courtyard officially began.

As the guest of honor and the central figure of the celebration, An Ning pulled An Guoping onto the stage with her, and they each said a few words.

They didn’t say much, nor did they need to. The most important thing was for everyone to eat and enjoy themselves.

With that, the feast began.

The An family’s banquet spread was incredible. There were sixteen dishes in total, and half of them were meat—a feast rarely seen even in the city.

Not only were the dishes impressive, but the portions were generous too.

Anyone who gave a gift definitely got more than their money’s worth; they practically made a profit. After all, people now attended banquets with their entire families, so a single monetary gift covered a whole household.

The An family never expected to make money from the event anyway. It was purely a celebration, a chance for the older generation to finally hold their heads high.

The feast lasted from ten until well past eleven. By the end, every table was picked clean. If you wanted to tell one dish from another, you could only do so by the traces of sauce left on the plate.

The guests gradually departed, leaving only those who had helped with the work. The An family would be hosting them for another meal that evening.

Once the last of the guests had gone, An Ning could finally get out of her dress.

She went into the house alone. Pushing open her bedroom door, she froze in her tracks.

”An Jing, what are you doing in my room?”

An Jing showed not a hint of guilt on her face. She was flipping through a book on An Ning’s desk, looking impossibly calm.

”Can’t I come in and look at a book?”

An Jing casually tossed the book back onto the desk and started walking toward the door with a dismissive look.

”What’s the big deal? So arrogant for no reason.”

An Ning hadn’t wanted to say anything; she didn’t want to shatter the harmonious mood of the day. But unfortunately for her cousin, An Ning was the type who never took a loss, whether in action or in words.

She walked over to her desk and enunciated each word with perfect clarity. ”You have a point. All I did was place first in the entire country, win tens of thousands in prize money, and have my school insist on waiving my tuition *and* giving me a monthly stipend. It’s truly a burden. To be so young and already not have to worry about making a living... it really does take away a lot of life’s little pleasures.”

”Wouldn’t you agree, An Jing?”

An Jing stood at the doorway, her breathing growing ragged. She managed to hide the jealousy on her face as she turned to leave, but An Ning’s next action made her see red.

An Ning had found a rag from somewhere and was now meticulously wiping down the book An Jing had just handled. The gesture was deeply insulting, and her words were just as sharp.

”There, there, you poor thing,” she cooed at the book. ”It’s alright, I’ll give you a little bath. Don’t you worry, you’ll be all clean again soon.”

With that said, An Ning provocatively placed the book on the sun-warmed part of the brick bed.

”They say sunlight is a good disinfectant.”

”An Ning—you’ve gone too far!”

”Hmph? Gone too far? You call *this* going too far?”

An Ning’s expression turned sinister as she advanced on An Jing one step at a time. The sound of her footsteps, TAP... TAP... filled the room, making An Jing’s heart pound with sudden dread.

”An Jing, you’ve probably never seen me when I’m truly angry. Why don’t you go home and ask your mother about it?”

Just as An Ning reached her, An Jing abruptly spun around, tossing a parting shot over her shoulder, ”I can’t be bothered with you!”

”That’s a shame. Because right now, bothering with you is the only thing I want to do.”