Interstellar to 80s: A Scientist's Farming Mission

Jiang Xia wasn’t the least bit angry. Instead, he pressed on, ”Da Huang could really work. After all, they’re both four-legged animals... wait, no, I have four limbs too. It’s fine. What I mean is, if we dress Da Huang up a bit, he can at least pass for one.”

An Ning stopped and looked Jiang Xia up and down.

”You really are a good brother to Da Huang, huh.”

”You know it. He’s family, so we don’t stand on ceremony.”

An Ning almost laughed at Jiang Xia’s shamelessness. She started walking again. ”No, that won’t work. I can’t move my legs, and if it’s only arm movements, it won’t look impressive enough.”

”Hey... I’ve got it! How about archery?”

An Ning gave Jiang Xia’s suggestion two seconds of serious thought.

”Archery... We can put that on the list of possibilities.”

They continued their discussion until they reached an intersection.

”I’m heading this way for class. You?”

Jiang Xia asked. An Ning waved him off. ”No class for me. I have things to take care of.”

And with that, they parted ways—one heading to class, the other leaving the school grounds.

Once outside, An Ning strolled back to her place. ’As for Xiao Lang, I’ll go pick him up tonight.’

An Ning spent the whole afternoon writing.

She took out all her textbooks. Following her own understanding, she made notes and added supplementary material, essentially creating a new book from them.

That evening, Yu Zheng brought Xiao Lang back. An Ning then took the cub and headed out once more.

She’d realized while writing that afternoon that she was out of vegetables for her regular interstellar delivery.

An Ning had sent plenty of seeds before, but now she was also sending fresh produce.

This mature produce had been discovered to cure defects and ailments related to spiritual power.

All the food was immediately supplied to the soldiers on the front lines to treat injuries sustained on the battlefield.

An Ning wondered why the food had no effect on her, but in reality, her spiritual power had already undergone two qualitative transformations.

So, whenever her spiritual power was sufficient, she did her best to send as much as possible.

In the dark of night, the car arrived at the plot of land An Ning had bought in the suburbs of Beijing.

With Xiao Lang in tow, she walked toward a gleaming point in the darkness—the greenhouse she’d had Yu Zheng set up.

An Ning had come to do the planting herself and had visited twice since. Now, some of the leafy greens inside were about ready to be harvested.

Thanks to her spiritual power, the vegetables tasted just like the ones from Shili Gou.

An Ning could see clearly in the dark, so she didn’t use a flashlight. As for Xiao Lang, he had no need for one whatsoever.

The night was his element.

An Ning picked her way across the uneven ground while Xiao Lang, full of energy, bounded ahead.

”Slow down, wait for m—”

”WOOF WOOF WOOF—WOOF WOOF WOOF—”

”AWOOOO—”

The urgent barks, followed by an abrupt howl, caused the surrounding area to light up in an instant.

”Get the thief!”

”Son of a bitch, you dare to come back!”

”Grab your tools, charge!”

The sudden glare of flashlights and torches all around made An Ning realize something was wrong.

But before she could react, she was surrounded.

”It’s a woman?”

”So what if it’s a woman? You think women can’t be thieves?”

”Yeah! Should we call the police?”

”Why call the police? Let’s rough her up a bit first.”

”That’s probably not a good idea.”

”Wait, she’s crippled?”

”Talk about dedicated. She’s fucking crippled and still out here stealing.”

As the villagers chattered back and forth, An Ning couldn’t get a word in edgewise.

”SHUT THE FUCK UP!”

An Ning’s furious roar earned her a single second of silence. The next moment, the air raid began.

”Stop! Don’t hit me!”

”I’m not a thief!”

”This greenhouse is mine!”

”Nonsense! Your greenhouse? Have you no shame?”

”Yeah, right! What kind of decent person wanders around out here without a flashlight?”

An Ning was speechless. ’Could she really tell them she didn’t need one?’

An Ning couldn’t bring herself to fight back. She guessed these were the people who worked for her at the greenhouse. ’Someone must have been stealing vegetables,’ she thought, ’and they were lying in wait. I just got unlucky.’

An Ning covered her head, using her spiritual power to shield her vital areas. She let the dirt and leaves rain down on her, all the while yelling that she wasn’t a thief.

For the first time, An Ning truly understood what it felt like to be completely unable to defend herself.

”Yu Zheng—”

”Yu Zheng—”

Using her spiritual power, An Ning bellowed for Yu Zheng, who she had told to wait in the car.

By the time Yu Zheng got there, An Ning’s face was completely covered in grime.

”What do you think you’re doing?”

Yu Zheng pushed his way through the crowd and shielded An Ning.

”Boss Yu?”

”Is that really Boss Yu?”

”Yeah, I’ve seen him around.”

Someone recognized Yu Zheng. He had, after all, handled all the paperwork and hiring. As for An Ning, even though she had come to do the planting, she always worked alone in the greenhouse, so most of them didn’t have a clear impression of her.

The villagers finally realized they’d gotten the wrong person. Not only that, they had attacked their boss’s boss—the *real* boss.

The villagers apologized profusely, terrified of losing a job that was the envy of others.

An Ning wiped her face a couple of times and told them she understood their actions and wouldn’t hold it against them.

The villagers invited her into one of their homes to clean herself up. Yu Zheng brought a spare set of clothes he always kept in the car, and An Ning went to change.

After changing, An Ning came out and, at the villagers’ insistence, took the seat of honor to hear about the thefts.

It had started three days ago, when a villager discovered a corner of the greenhouse torn open and a good deal of vegetables missing from inside.

The same thing happened for three consecutive days, which led to tonight’s stakeout.

They had planned to catch the thief first so they would have something to report to Yu Zheng. They never expected they would end up catching An Ning.

”It’s alright, everyone was just trying to—” An Ning stopped short. ”Wait, where’s Xiao Lang?”

An Ning shot to her feet, making Yu Zheng jump.

”Your leg!”

”Huh? Oh, it’s fine, it’s fine. Xiao Lang is still out there. He was running ahead of me.”

An Ning grabbed her crutch, ready to go look for Xiao Lang. Yu Zheng supported her as they headed outside, describing the cub to the villagers as they went.

”He’s a very small... dog. Gray fur, black eyes.”

Yu Zheng, who knew full well that Xiao Lang was a wolf, suppressed his conscience and called him a dog. The villagers didn’t understand why An Ning was so worried about a dog, but if the boss was worried, then they were worried too.

Everyone headed out of the house to look for Xiao Lang. Just as they flicked on their flashlights, they saw a small, gray dog at the door, dragging in an animal several times its own size.

”Xiao Lang!”

An Ning hopped forward.

Xiao Lang dropped his catch and lifted his little head proudly, as if to say, ’Look at me! Aren’t I amazing?’

”Amazing! You’re so amazing!”

Upon receiving An Ning’s praise, Xiao Lang’s tail couldn’t help but give a few wags, making An Ning want to laugh.

’Xiao Lang probably hadn’t even noticed it himself, but some of his behaviors were becoming more and more dog-like.’

However, that thought vanished when An Ning looked at the animal on the ground with its throat torn out.

”Well, I’ll be. Isn’t that a Huang Daxian?”

”A Huang Daxian this big? It must be a demon.”

”You think it was the one stealing the vegetables?”