Interstellar to 80s: A Scientist's Farming Mission

”Your second brother’s biggest advantage is that he’s your second brother.”

An Ning understood. Just as she was about to nod, she heard Yin Xuemei continue, ”Back then, our shop had just expanded. One of the women who worked for me had just gotten married.”

”At that time, I hadn’t decided whether to say yes to your second brother.”

”But when this person I’m talking about first got married, she was the picture of happiness. Less than a month later, however, she was a shadow of her former self. When I asked, I found out her husband was the third son, and he had two very formidable sisters-in-law.”

”According to her, they would fight over something as small as using an extra grain of salt. They were passive-aggressive every day, and she was miserable. But they were all family, so she didn’t know what to do.”

Yin Xuemei looked at An Ning and said, ”At that moment, I was thinking, if your second brother found a wife who wasn’t good to you, how sad you would be.”

”Of course, that wasn’t the main factor, but it was one of the reasons I said yes to your second brother.”

Yin Xuemei said it wasn’t the most important reason, but An Ning had a feeling it carried quite a lot of weight.

However, she could tell from the joy in Yin Xuemei’s voice when she talked about An Guoming that she genuinely liked him.

”Then I really have to thank you. I can’t imagine a better second sister-in-law than you.”

Hearing herself called ”second sister-in-law” made Yin Xuemei blush.

Yin Xuemei handed An Ning a pastry and continued:

”Later, I thought about it and realized I was overthinking things. With your personality, you’d never let yourself be bullied, and your second brother wouldn’t allow it either.”

”Oh—I get it. So you really did fall in love with my second brother.”

”Oh, stop it with the ’love’ talk.”

Yin Xuemei grew shy again.

The two continued to chat idly. An Ning polished off the plate of pastries, successfully delivered her dowry gift, and then took a pot of tea-leaf eggs and some of Yin Xuemei’s braised lotus root slices back with her.

Before she even reached her front door, An Ning ran into Jiang Xia.

”Where are you going?”

”To the convenience store to buy a box of matches.”

Jiang Xia pulled a box of matches from his pocket, smoothly took the pot from An Ning’s hands, and the two of them walked toward the An family’s house.

Along the way, An Ning tried to say something, but the words never left her mouth.

It wasn’t a long walk, and they arrived before she could figure out what to say.

Once they entered the courtyard, any chance for conversation was lost.

”An Ning’s back! Time to eat!”

”Get the big round table, the one that spins!”

”There are still bowls, they’re in the bottom of that cabinet.”

”Argh, I can’t find anything! I’ll go!”

One person shouted, then another, as if everyone was hard of hearing. Amid the clamor, the lively meal began.

Three tables were set up in total: one for the elders, one for the younger generation, and one for the children. This way, everyone could eat comfortably.

There weren’t many different dishes, but the portions were huge.

Each table had a large basin of pig-kill stew, steamed pig’s blood, plus a dish of cucumber and liangpi noodles, and a winter melon meatball soup.

For staples, there was rice and large mantou steamed on the side of the pot. You could eat whichever you wanted.

An Ning sat at the younger generation’s table, with An Guoming on her left and An Guoping on her right. Jiang Xia was squeezed into a far corner, a good distance from An Ning.

”Sis—vermicelli.”

An Guoming first picked up some vermicelli with his chopsticks and put it in An Ning’s bowl, earning a smile that made her eyes crinkle.

She loved it.

She especially loved the vermicelli when it had soaked up the broth, full of the fragrance of vegetables and meat—even better than the meat itself.

”Went to see Xuemei?”

”Mhm.”

”What for?”

”To deliver a dowry gift. I’m on the bride’s side.”

An Ning’s words made An Guoming unable to resist ruffling her hair.

”Alright, you’re on the bride’s side.”

The brother and sister shared a smile and went back to eating.

Throughout the meal, Jiang Xia glanced at An Ning more times than he could count. But she was completely immersed in the food. This led Jiang Xia, recalling the glances he thought they had shared, to conclude that he was definitely reading too much into it.

’Jiang Xia even thought that if a plate of food and he were placed in front of An Ning at the same time, she probably wouldn’t even see him.’

Jiang Xia quickly dismissed the ”unrealistic” thought from his mind.

After the meal, some people sat around and chatted, while others cleared the table. A few of the elders were discussing the wedding details: who would record the gift registry, what time to depart, what time to set off firecrackers, who would set them off, where to set them off, who would officiate, and so on, insisting on assigning every single task to a specific person.

A group of young representatives led by An Ning, along with an even younger contingent led by Hei Dan’er, decided to head to the pond.

The An family’s home was backed by a mountain and faced the water.

A few years ago, Master Tang had advocated for digging a pond to raise some fish and plant lotus roots.

Years went by, and after much effort from many people, the pond had become incredibly beautiful.

In late June, the lotuses in the pond were in full bloom, their emerald leaves stretching as far as the eye could see.

The pink lotus flowers were like individual beauties; some hid shyly behind green leaves, while others bloomed extravagantly, showing off their unique style.

To each their own.

When the group arrived at the pond, they ran into many other villagers and children.

A fence had been built around the pond. There were two small boats by the edge, and a wooden boardwalk, an arched bridge, and even a pavilion in the center of the water had been constructed over it.

An Ning remembered that the first time she saw this pond, she had only asked one question: ”The pond is *this* big?”

At the time, Master Tang had replied, ”They’re all this big when you have money.”

An Ning could only reply, ”You’re right.”

Hei Dan’er and his gang of kids went to an area Master Tang had specifically set aside for them to play in—a shallow bank below the pond, perfect for splashing and fooling around.

The older ones strolled along the edge of the pond. Some went fishing with the dedicated fishing rods that were left there.

After walking a lap, An Ning sighed with feeling, ”This is the perfect place to retire.”

”What, thinking of retiring already?”

Jiang Xia, who had been following her the whole time, asked casually. But An Ning nodded in confirmation.

”I really am.”

An Ning suddenly spun around, and Jiang Xia, who was behind her, couldn’t stop in time. The collision made An Ning stumble, but luckily she caught herself on the railing.

”Are you okay?”

An Ning wanted to say she was fine, but then she thought about women... and men.

”It hurts a little.”

The time had come to feign weakness. But in the next second, An Ning wondered if her ears were broken.

”Why are you so effeminate?”

Stunned, An Ning looked up and stomped hard on Jiang Xia’s foot.

”I *am* a woman to begin with!”

Jiang Xia, whose foot had just been viciously stomped on, felt like his toes were about to break. He pointed at An Ning and yelled, ”I knew it! A scheme within a scheme! Your thirst for revenge is too strong!”

An Ning’s glare was so intense it looked like she wanted to eat Jiang Xia alive. She let out a cold snort.

”You call *this* revenge?”

”AH—An Ning, you—”

An Ning had stomped on Jiang Xia’s other foot. He hopped from one pained foot to the other, spinning in circles on the spot.

An Ning, on the other hand, smiled triumphantly and walked away, feeling great.

’Feigning weakness really isn’t for everyone,’ she thought.

Behind her, Jiang Xia was crouched on the ground, rubbing his feet, a foolish light flickering in his eyes.

’Could it be that time of the month? Why is she so moody? She wasn’t like this before.’