Chapter 35: Going to the County
Just as An Ning finished speaking, two voices rang out.
"Absolutely not."
"Yes!"
Lin Cuihua glared at the enthusiastic An Guoming, then snatched the small broom from the kang and swung it at him.
"You little brat! Getting too big for your britches, trying to pass yourself off as some big shot!"
"You can barely manage your own little patch of land here, and you’re already thinking about the county! If you want to go, go by yourself."
An Ning watched, dumbfounded, as Lin Cuihua stood up to smack An Guoming, who deftly hopped away.
Her mother had thrown in a phrase she didn’t quite understand—something about three different animals, it seemed. Nevertheless, she stepped forward.
"Mom, I’m the one who wants to go. Why are you hitting Second Brother?"
"Exactly,"
An Guoming mumbled under his breath, but one glare from Lin Cuihua was enough to make him fall silent.
Lin Cuihua looked at An Ning and said, "Daughter, if there’s a job to be done, let your Second Brother go by himself. I can’t rest easy with you traveling so far from home."
"No way! If I don’t go with him, what if Second Brother gets beaten up? What if he gets robbed? What if he never comes back?"
An Ning’s rapid-fire series of "what ifs" made Lin Cuihua pause and think seriously. An Guoming, however, looked like he had a toothache. ’What a dear little sister I have! Thanks a million.’
Finally, Lin Cuihua turned to look at An Sancheng. In this family, he was the one who made all the final decisions.
"Let them go. The children are grown now, and two of them going is better than one."
Once An Sancheng had spoken, Lin Cuihua said no more.
An Guoming went to get a letter of introduction, while An Ning started packing.
An Ning wasn’t sure what to do, so she looked at Lin Cuihua and asked, "What should I pack? Isn’t bringing money enough?"
"How could that possibly be enough! You won’t have anything you need out there."
Lin Cuihua had never traveled far herself, but she spoke with such conviction that An Ning found herself believing her.
After they finished packing, An Ning stared at the bundle on the kang—it was taller than half a person—and fell into a contemplative silence.
"Do we really need all this?"
"We’re not even done yet! You have to bring everything you need for eating, drinking, and sleeping. Where else are you going to find these things on the road?"
Lin Cuihua had also packed a washbasin and an enamel mug for An Ning. If she hadn’t been worried it would break, she would have wanted to pack the thermos flask, too.
An Ning didn’t get it, so she just let Lin Cuihua pack everything by herself. After Lin Cuihua had finished with the luggage, she went to the west room and came back with a needle, thread, and a scrap of cloth.
"Here, let Mom sew a pocket for you."
"I have pockets."
An Ning patted the pockets on her pants, even sticking one hand inside to show her mother.
"What good are those? There will be so many people on the road. What will you do if your money gets stolen?"
Lin Cuihua expertly bit the thread in two, tied a knot, and then ran the needle across her scalp twice. An Ning watched, her heart in her mouth.
"Hurry over here. I’ll sew it onto your underwear. You can put your money inside it then. It’ll be safe."
An Ning felt a wave of horror wash over her. ’Money... in my underwear? If I want to spend any, how am I supposed to... get it out?’
"Hurry up!"
"Mom, I can keep an eye on my money. I won’t lose it."
An Ning tried to argue her case, but Lin Cuihua wouldn’t have it. Traveling with so much money? Not having a secret inner pocket was out of the question.
"Just get on with it. Even a tiger has to sleep sometime. And let me tell you, don’t count on your Second Brother. What good is a sharp mind if he’s too slow to run away?"
In the end, after some negotiation, An Ning managed to save the underwear she was currently wearing, letting Lin Cuihua sew the cloth pocket onto a clean pair instead.
To make sure it was secure, Lin Cuihua’s stitches were extremely dense. It was so sturdy you’d have to struggle to tear it off.
"There. Remember to change into these tomorrow. Don’t you forget."
"Alright."
Once An Ning agreed, Lin Cuihua finally took her sewing kit and left.
An Ning closed the door and sat on the edge of the kang. Beside her, the pair of underwear lay quietly.
After taking a deep breath, she picked them up. She put all the money she had—from hunting the wild boar and from selling the sika deer—inside the pocket.
In an instant, the underwear was bulging so much you couldn’t even tell what it was anymore. Wearing it would definitely be an eyesore.
「The next day」
An Ning didn’t go up the mountain, but she still woke up very early to go to town and catch the bus.
Everyone in the An family was up bright and early. After they ate together, Lin Cuihua packed some corn cakes and six boiled eggs for the two of them to eat on the road.
After the meal, An Ning went into her room to get her luggage. Her younger brother, An Guoping, was heading out at the same time.
"Sis, let me help you... carry that. Sis, are you moving out?"
An Ning looked especially small with the pack on her back. It towered over her head, and an enamel mug hung from the side, clattering noisily.
"Moving out? What nonsense! Of course you need to pack a lot when you’re traveling."
Lin Cuihua saw nothing wrong with it. She tightened the straps of An Ning’s pack and said, "It’s fine. Take it all."
"Alright."
An Ning didn’t object. It wasn’t particularly heavy, anyway.
An Guoming, returning with his own things, was also taken aback by the size of her pack. He didn’t dare say anything, though, and just urged An Ning to get a move on.
The three siblings left together before the sky had fully brightened.
"Come back soon, and be careful."
"Did you bring the letter of introduction?"
"Guoming, you keep a close eye on your little sister. Don’t let her wander off on her own."
Standing at the door, Lin Cuihua couldn’t help but nag them with a few more reminders. They all just agreed, waved, and walked away.
As the three of them walked, An Guoping offered to help carry the pack, but An Ning refused and urged him to go on ahead.
An Guoming’s pace wasn’t very fast, and An Guoping was in a hurry to get to his morning self-study session, so he ran on ahead by himself.
Watching his younger brother run off, his schoolbag slapping against his thigh, An Guoming nodded and said, "That schoolbag really does look inconvenient."
An Ning said nothing, walking with An Guoming all the way to the town’s bus station. A bus that went to the county seat departed from here every day.
Luckily, they had left early enough that there were still seats available after they bought their tickets.
As they boarded, An Ning took a closer look at the bus. Her summary: a metal shell wrapped around an engine, with four wheels attached.
"Sis, over here."
An Guoming sat down in two adjacent seats in the second-to-last row. An Ning took off her pack and placed it on the rack overhead.
Her single pack took up almost the entire rack.
An Ning took the window seat, with An Guoming on the aisle. The bus didn’t have many seats to begin with, and they quickly filled up.
The people who boarded after them without seats sat on the engine cover first. Once that was taken, the rest had to stand.
With nothing else to do, An Ning took out a dictionary and began flipping through it, page by page.
As for An Guoming, he was already chatting up a storm with the person next to him. He didn’t reveal anything about himself, just shot the breeze about anything and everything.
"Ming Liang, hurry up!"
The familiar voice made An Guoming snap his head up. It was Miao Xiaohua and Chen Mingliang, just boarding the bus.
"What rotten luck."
An Guoming cursed under his breath and nudged the engrossed An Ning with his elbow.
An Ning looked up slightly and saw An Guoming gesturing with his mouth toward one side.
"Second Brother, is your mouth cramping up?"
An Ning raised the dictionary in her hand. The way she held it was enough to make An Guoming quickly stop her.
"No, no, it’s not cramping." An Guoming pointed a finger toward the door of the bus and whispered, "Those two morons."
An Ning put down her dictionary and looked toward the door.
Miao Xiaohua and Chen Mingliang.
"Oh."
An Ning gave a calm "Oh," then went back to her dictionary to study the characters.
"They’re not important."
Hearing that, An Guoming figured she was right. He simply leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes to rest.