Interstellar to 80s: A Scientist's Farming Mission

An Ning stood at the intersection for a moment, then turned and walked away.

’It’s better not to watch some spectacles. What if I get dragged into it?’

Back home, An Ning prepared to install the computers.

There were two computers. One would be installed in her sister-in-law and older brother’s room, and the other in Lin Cuihua and An Sancheng’s room.

The old couple said they didn’t want one. It was useless, and they wouldn’t know how to use it anyway.

”Mom, with this thing, you can watch any TV show you want. You don’t have to watch commercials, and you don’t have to wait for it to air on TV.”

”Dad, you can play chess and cards on it. Lots of people do.”

An Ning’s two sentences were enough to pique Lin Cuihua and An Sancheng’s interest and curiosity.

The computers were assembled quickly. An Ning installed the operating systems and downloaded the necessary software. It didn’t take long to get both machines set up.

Next came teaching everyone how to use them.

An Ning sat in a chair, pointed to the large button on the computer tower, and said, ”To turn it on, just press this once and wait.”

As a crowd gathered around to watch, An Ning turned on the computer. When the distinctive startup chime played, several people gasped in pleasant surprise.

”It made a sound.”

”And it’s not quiet either.”

”Where did that sound come from?”

An Ning explained that the computer had small speakers, which was why it could make noise. The group nodded in sudden understanding.

”This program is for chatting, and you can also play some small games. You use this mouse—just double-click the left button to open it.”

An Ning demonstrated by opening a chat program, but before she could move on to the next step, a barrage of questions was thrown at her from behind.

”What’s a ’mouse’?”

”This thing really does look a bit like a mouse.”

”What does ’double-click’ mean?”

At this point, An Ning still hadn’t realized the gravity of the situation. She held up the mouse and explained, ”This is the mouse. See that little flashing arrow on the screen? That’s your mouse cursor.”

”When I move it left, it goes left. When I move it down, it goes down. You move your hand on this mousepad to click on the icons on the computer.”

”Ooh...”

Everyone said ”Ooh...” in unison. An Ning relaxed her right hand and let go of the mouse.

”Big Bro, you try.”

”Alright!”

An Guoqing stepped forward and grasped the mouse with his right hand.

”Little Sis, how hard do I have to grip it? Can I crush it?”

’Crush the mouse?’

An Ning immediately shook her head. ”No, Big Bro. Just rest your hand on it gently.”

”Okay! Okay! Gently!”

An Guoqing’s hand hovered over the mouse like a hollowed-out chicken’s claw, not quite gripping it, not quite letting go.

An Ning’s lips parted several times, but in the end, she didn’t say a word.

”Big Bro, move it.”

”Okay.”

An Ning watched as An Guoqing’s hand on the mouse remained perfectly still, while his entire body started swaying from side to side.

”Little Sis, how long do I have to move?”

An Ning realized things were a little more serious than she’d thought.

”Big Bro, I said move the mouse, not your body.”

A collective ”Ah!” came from several people. Apparently, they had all thought the same thing.

An Guoqing finally understood and started moving the mouse, but each movement was huge, as if he was afraid the cursor wouldn’t reach its destination.

”Big Bro, you don’t need to make such big movements. The mouse is very sensitive. Even a small movement is enough to move it across the screen.”

An Guoqing said he understood, but his hand movements were as stiff as could be.

After ten minutes of mouse practice, he more or less got the hang of it.

”Big Bro, move the little arrow over this icon and double-click. That means clicking twice in a row.”

With a serious expression, An Guoqing moved the mouse over and double-clicked.

”Little Sis, why didn’t it open?”

An Ning felt tongue-tied, searching her brain for every possible way to explain.

She bent one finger and tapped it on the desk.

”Big Bro, it’s not just two clicks, it’s two quick clicks in a row. Look at my finger.”

An Guoqing, who seemed to only half-understand, continued clicking the mouse. He finally got it on his twenty-third try.

By now, An Ning was covered in sweat.

Given the difficulty of the lesson, An Ning decided to just teach a little bit each day. Otherwise, she was liable to give herself a heart attack from the stress.

It wasn’t that they were slow; it was the generation gap.

Because when Hei Dan’er came back that evening, An Ning only had to demonstrate once, and he got it immediately.

An Ning’s eyes lit up as she looked at Hei Dan’er.

”Auntie, why are you looking at me like that?”

”Oh, nothing. I just realized how handsome our Hei Dan’er is.”

The little boy didn’t seem fazed at all by the praise.

”Auntie, I feel like you’re plotting something.”

”Nonsense. We’re family. This is called ’mutual help and support.’”

An Ning slung an arm around Hei Dan’er’s shoulder and took him outside for a chat about life.

When the aunt and nephew returned, the heavy responsibility of teaching An Guoqing and his wife how to use the computer fell squarely on Hei Dan’er’s shoulders.

That evening, just as An Ning was celebrating having one less person to teach, their next-door neighbor, Master Tang, said he wanted a computer too.

An Ning had no choice but to agree.

Life after returning to the village was very routine.

She’d wake up early and head to the fields, which doubled as her morning exercise. Then she’d come home to eat, teach her family how to use the computer, and work in the greenhouse. After lunch and a nap, she’d go back to the fields in the afternoon or head up the mountain to gather branches to dry at home for winter fuel.

In the village, they didn’t uproot trees. They just trimmed the lush branches. People who raised livestock would take the leaves to feed their cows, and the branches were left to dry for firewood.

The village had actually always been quite good at sustainable development.

「On the third day after returning home」

An Ning received a call from Hei Niu.

After returning from the south, she had been seeing a doctor in Beijing and had only come back half a month ago.

In that half-month, Hei Niu had gotten her family affairs in order and was ready to accept the job An Ning had offered her.

”Treating me to a meal?”

”Alright, see you tonight then.”

An Ning hung up the phone and went back to stringing green beans with Lin Cuihua.

”Mom, I won’t be home for dinner tonight.”

”Okay, then I’ll steam less rice.”

”Do I really eat that much?”

Without even looking at An Ning, Lin Cuihua said, ”Don’t you know how much you eat?”

An Ning giggled and continued stringing the beans.

”Mom, what are we going to do with all these green beans we’re picking?”

”Whatever we can’t eat, we’ll freeze for the winter. The green beans that grow in the summer are always tastier than the winter ones.”

An Ning nodded in agreement. That was absolutely true; seasonal produce was always better.

That day, An Ning picked all sorts of beans—long and short, flat and round.

As she picked them, she thought, ’We can never finish them all every year, so why do we plant so many?’

The villagers truly didn’t waste a single inch of land. They always managed to plant something in every nook and cranny.

According to Lin Cuihua: ”It’s no trouble, so why not plant it?”

For lunch, they had an old cucumber soup. It was tart and tangy, which was especially appetizing. An Ning had three large bowls. It also had slippery glass noodles in it.

Around five in the evening, An Ning rode the family’s little scooter out to meet Hei Niu in town.

The two of them were going to eat roasted leg of lamb.