Interstellar to 80s: A Scientist's Farming Mission

A police officer twisted the woman’s arm behind her back, pinning her against the black sedan. She finally shut her mouth.

“Yeah!”

An Ning started clapping, and a thunderous round of applause immediately followed.

“Let me go! Let me go! Do you have any idea who I am? Let go of me, or you’ll regret this!”

The woman started shouting again, apparently quite confident in her connections.

The officer behind her remained unfazed. He hauled the woman to her feet and, with a shove, bundled her into the police car.

If she wasn’t going to cooperate, they would take her back to the station to cool down. People usually become much more cooperative once they see the iron bars of a cell.

Iron bars are the best cure for a stubborn mouth.

“Officer, I’m willing to go with you to the station and give a statement.”

An Ning raised her hand, volunteering. She had never despised someone so intensely before.

She was determined to see how this ended for the woman. If she wasn’t satisfied with the outcome, she wouldn’t hesitate to take matters into her own hands.

Eventually, insurance agents arrived to take photos and gather evidence. A fleet of tow trucks also showed up. Drivers whose cars were still functional drove themselves off the highway, while the others were towed away.

Onlookers helped the truck driver pick up some of his scattered cargo, but the items that were too damaged had to be left behind.

An Ning noticed that the truck driver actually worked for Green Land.

She immediately called An Guoming to tell him what had happened and ensure the driver wouldn’t be held liable for the damages.

“What? You were in an accident? Where are you?”

An Ning could already hear An Guoming opening a door, followed by the sound of hurried footsteps.

“Second Brother, stand at attention, do an about-face, and sit down. Now, listen to me calmly. I’m fine.”

An Ning had to repeat herself countless times and even sent An Guoming a full-body photo to finally convince him not to come rushing over.

“Okay, Second Brother, I have to go with the police to cooperate with the investigation now.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll call you.”

“Don’t tell Mom. I didn’t even tell her I was coming home today. It’s supposed to be a surprise.”

Once they had agreed, the two siblings hung up.

An Guoming was still a little worried, but he knew An Ning didn’t lie. Besides, she was far more capable than he was.

He couldn’t go there in person, but he could certainly keep tabs on the case.

By now, An Ning was off the highway and had arrived at the police station.

The truck driver was there with her. The two of them had suffered the most significant losses; most of the other vehicles had been drivable.

However, everyone had left their contact information and were awaiting the police department’s findings.

After arriving at the station, the belligerent woman made a phone call. By the time she hung up, her face had turned deathly pale.

Once the call was over, the woman’s attitude completely changed.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. It was my first time on the highway, and I didn’t know you couldn’t make a U-turn. I really didn’t mean to do it. I was just in a huge rush. I’m truly sorry.”

Several police officers, An Ning, and the truck driver all watched the woman apologize. No one was moved.

If she had said that from the start, it might have had some small effect. But saying it now just seemed laughable.

“You didn’t know? How did you get your license if you didn’t know that?”

“I bought it!”

At those three words, the police officers looked at each other in surprise. This was an unexpected development.

Two years ago, the driver’s licensing system had been reformed to require standardized testing and centralized issuance. The old master-apprentice model was a thing of the past.

It was simply that veteran drivers from before the reforms had an easier time getting their licenses.

“When did you buy it?”

“Just a few days ago.”

‘She bought it just a few days ago and was already driving today. No wonder she had the guts to stop and make a U-turn on the highway.’

The officer continued impassively, “Where did you buy it from?”

It was unclear what had been said on that phone call, but whatever it was, the woman was now surprisingly cooperative.

An Ning and the truck driver were both asked to step outside, as this now involved a separate case.

Once outside, An Ning thought back to the woman’s phone call and almost laughed.

It had been a man on the other end of the line. After hearing her story, he had told her that the best course of action was to cooperate fully, tell the truth, and pay whatever compensation was required. He said there wasn’t much he could do to help, and that honesty was her best option.

‘The man was right,’ An Ning thought, ‘but he probably didn’t count on the woman being a complete idiot. She told a little *too much* of the truth.’

‘Like pulling a radish and bringing up the mud it was planted in. Given the woman’s arrogance, the man backing her was probably deeply entangled in this.’

Overcome by curiosity, An Ning couldn’t resist using her spiritual power to eavesdrop for a moment.

Sure enough, the conversation had escalated from buying a driver’s license to not even having to pay for it—someone had eagerly gifted it to her.

‘They’re already on the topic of accepting bribes.’

‘The logic of these big shots is truly something else.’

The rest was resolved easily. The woman was to compensate for all damages, and she herself was detained at the police station.

“Why am I still locked up? I already said I’d pay for everything!”

The woman, now in handcuffs, shouted in confusion, but no one gave her an answer.

She sobbed and wailed, “I told the truth! Why won’t you let me go? Let me out! Let me out!”

No one paid her any mind. With a loud CLANG, an iron door shut, and the woman was led into a temporary holding cell in the back.

An Ning and the truck driver left their contact information and bank account numbers. All they had to do now was go home and wait for the court’s decision on the compensation.

Outside the police station, the truck driver turned to thank An Ning.

“Thank you, ma’am. I’ll be more careful next time. I promise.”

“Don’t worry about it. You did the right thing. If you had hit her, a life could have been lost. The cargo doesn’t matter.”

After they parted ways, the truck driver went to a truck repair specialist to wait for his vehicle, while An Ning drove her own car to a repair shop.

However, the local shop didn’t have the parts she needed. She would have to wait for them to be ordered, and there was no telling how many days that would take.

Upon hearing this, An Ning decided to take matters into her own hands, putting on a performance worthy of someone who could bend steel bars.

With a few forceful tugs, she straightened out the crumpled hood enough to get it mostly flat. She started the engine—it was drivable.

“Thanks, but I won’t be needing a repair after all.”

An Ning decided to take the back roads home. ‘Probably best to stay off the highway for now.’

She nursed the car all the way to the county town.

Once in town, An Ning parked her car in the backyard of the Green Land office and switched to one of their electric scooters.

After quite the ordeal, she was finally almost home.

It had been a rather eventful journey.

As the electric scooter entered Shili Gou, An Ning glanced over toward the Big Willow Tree as she passed it.

And just as she expected, she saw Lin Cuihua.

“Mom—!”

Her shout made a whole group of people turn their heads.

For a split second, An Ning regretted shouting. But when Lin Cuihua got up happily and came trotting over, a large cattail-leaf fan in her hand, a goofy grin spread across An Ning’s face.

“Mom.”

“You rascal, why didn’t you tell me you were coming back? Your oldest brother said you’d be home soon, but he didn’t say which day. I was just thinking about calling you.”

Lin Cuihua chattered as she climbed onto the back of the scooter, rambling on about how they had already butchered a pig and were just waiting for An Ning to come home to eat.

“Then my timing is perfect, isn’t it?”

“Perfect, absolutely perfect! Master Tang made a big pot of stew, and it smells amazing!”

As Lin Cuihua chattered on, the scooter reached the foot of the mountain. The unique aroma of freshly made pork and sauerkraut stew wafted toward them, and An Ning took a deep, blissful sniff.

“You still have pickled cabbage in the summer?”

“Silly girl, don’t we have a refrigerator?”