Interstellar to 80s: A Scientist's Farming Mission

The question was how to get back.

An Ning spread out her spiritual power. There was no one around.

It made sense. Who would be out at a time like this?

Seeing no one, An Ning simply took a large kayak out of her space, got in, and started heading back.

With her spiritual power augmenting the kayak, An Ning made swift progress.

The rain kept falling without any sign of stopping. In fact, it was only coming down harder.

As An Ning slowly approached the village, she saw the village chief, Sun Dazhuang, and many other villagers.

”Chief, there’s a boat!”

”Who’s coming in a boat?”

Many people looked toward the kayak, but because of the heavy rain, no one could see that the person on board was An Ning.

It was only when the kayak drew closer that everyone recognized An Ning’s figure.

”It’s An Ning! An Ning’s back!”

The mention of her name instantly caused a stir.

Sun Dazhuang shouted anxiously, ”What are you doing back here? Why would you come back at a time like this!”

Sun Dazhuang’s urgency made An Ning realize something was wrong. Before she could speak, Uncle An came over.

”An Ning! You silly girl, what are you doing back here?”

”Uncle An, what’s wrong?”

An Ning asked anxiously, and Uncle An didn’t waste any time.

”The Linh River next to us is already starting to overflow. If this keeps up, there’ll be a flash flood! You need to evacuate, now!”

’A flash flood.’

’Evacuate?’

But An Ning had no intention of evacuating.

”Uncle An, where are you all going?”

”Up to Stone Mountain.”

’Stone Mountain?’

An Ning knew the place. She had once thought about selling its rocks to make money.

”Uncle An, you guys go on ahead. I’m going to check on my house.”

Without waiting for anyone to stop her, An Ning steered the kayak toward the An family home. But before she got there, she saw An Sancheng and An Guoqing paddling over in one of the small boats from Lotus Pond.

”Dad— Big Brother—”

The sound of An Ning’s voice made her family on the boat both worried and happy.

The two boats met, and An Sancheng’s first words were, ”No time to chat. Let’s go, now! The flood could hit at any moment.”

”Right, right! An Ning, follow us. We need to get up the mountain first.”

Lin Cuihua, who was holding a large rooster, spoke up, and An Ning nodded. It was obvious the villagers were very experienced with this.

Braving the heavy rain, the villagers and the animals that could swim, led by Da Huang, all made their way toward Stone Mountain.

An Ning used her kayak to ferry a number of children. All the young kids in the village were tossed onto her kayak or into the An family’s small boats from Lotus Pond.

Stone Mountain was on high ground. The closer they got to it, the shallower the water became.

Once they reached a point where the boats could go no further, the parents carried their children on their backs up the mountain.

The village chief, Uncle An, and a few others remained at the foot of the mountain, organizing people and shouting continuously.

”Head for the western platform! The platform! Hurry, hurry! The water is rising too fast!”

Because they lived so close to the river, most of the villagers were good swimmers and were reasonably agile in the water.

The men of the village, young and old, formed two lines, helping the elderly, the weak, the sick, and the disabled, as well as the women and children, get up the mountain first.

There was fear and tension, but everything was orderly.

Clearly, for some of the village elders, this was not their first time experiencing such an event.

Gradually, everyone in the village made it to the platform on the western side of Stone Mountain.

Stone Mountain was, as its name suggested, a natural mountain of rock.

Whenever they quarried for stone, they always avoided this western side. Now, An Ning understood why.

On the stone platform, families sat together under temporary, oversized wooden umbrellas.

These umbrellas were usually kept here. So this was their purpose.

As An Ning sat down with her family, she learned from Lin Cuihua that their village was much better off than many others because they lived by a river and a mountain.

But it was a double-edged sword. When the rains were heavy, their village was also in more danger than others.

”More than twenty years ago, our village went through this once before. It was this mountain that saved so many of us from dying that year.”

”If this rain keeps up, a flood is bound to come sooner or later.”

Lin Cuihua’s words saddened those nearby, and some even began to wipe away tears.

”My new TV... I haven’t even had a chance to watch it yet.”

”My house was just built this year. At least I got to live in it for a little while.”

”I’m heartbroken about our crops. The corn was already tasseling, just about ready for harvest.”

The villagers fretted over their belongings. Life had gotten better, and they had more things in their homes now—possessions they had saved up for bit by bit. Who wouldn’t be heartbroken?

”Attention, all villagers! Attention! Listen to me!”

Sun Dazhuang shouted through a megaphone.

”I know everyone is upset about their things, but what good are things if you lose your life?”

”I’m telling you, don’t think you can go back just because you’re a good swimmer. A flash flood isn’t the same as river water. It’s full of rocks and branches. One wrong move and they’ll knock you out cold, and you won’t be able to swim even if you want to.”

”Besides, we all managed to save plenty of things. We should be content.”

Sun Dazhuang said a lot more, but the main point was to stay put and wait for the water to recede.

Besides, the people of Shili Gou were experienced; they had started preparing as soon as the water level began to rise.

Just like Lin Cuihua, who now took a flatbread from within layers of plastic bags and gave it to An Ning.

”Have something to eat. Mom made a lot. Just drink water sparingly. We don’t know how many days we’ll be here.”

An Ning took the flatbread and asked, ”Why did you make so much?”

”This stuff lasts the longest and is very filling. Your sister-in-law and I used all three of our big iron woks at home to make a bunch. Everyone does this.”

An Ning gnawed on the dense, unleavened flatbread as she looked around.

Every family had dry rations.

Seeing the scene around her, An Ning’s heart settled down considerably.

Three hours later, An Ning’s phone vibrated. It was a message from Hei Niu.

She had made it home safely and was asking if An Ning was alright.

An Ning replied with a single word: safe. Hei Niu quickly replied that she was taking her family up a mountain, and after that, there were no more messages.

An Ning stared at her phone, lost in thought. In the end, she decided not to tell Jiang Xia.

The moment she put her phone away, a deafening BOOM echoed from the direction of Anning’s house.

”The flash flood is here.”

Lin Cuihua said, pressing her palms together and beginning to pray to Guanyin Buddha and all the other deities.

An Ning’s spiritual power shot out in an instant, allowing her to witness the scene firsthand.

A torrent of water surged down from the mountains.

It was an unstoppable force, crushing and devouring everything in its path.

She watched with her own eyes as the flash flood destroyed their house and their yard.

With every bit it consumed, the flood’s momentum grew stronger.

It was like a monster, growing stronger by swallowing everything.

It swept through the village with the determination to destroy everything.

At this point, it was impossible to tell where the river ended and the village began. Only the tops of a few roofs were still visible.

There was only a vast expanse of murky, yellow water. The village was gone.

The sounds of sobbing and stifled cries reached An Ning’s ears, and in that moment, her own eyes began to well up with tears.