Chapter 42: Busy
An Guoming looked helplessly at An Ning, holding a blueprint with about as much technical complexity as "one plus one equals two."
"Little Sis, your second brother might not be in great shape, but my brain still works just fine."
The moment An Ning heard this, she immediately thought of something.
"Second Brother, I’ve decided to improve your physical condition, starting with running."
"What?"
An Guoming didn’t understand the sudden jump in topic.
"Little Sis, let me tell you, I am not going running! When other people run, they sweat. When I run, it feels like it’s going to kill me."
"Seriously, no way. Are you getting revenge on me for talking to Dad about school?"
An Guoming looked at An Ning with a horrified expression, convinced he had figured out the truth.
"I never would have guessed... I can’t believe you’re this kind of little sister."
An Ning waited quietly for An Guoming to finish his performance, then raised a fist and shook it.
"You can’t beat me in a fight. You don’t get a say."
With a flick of two fingers, An Ning snatched the blueprint away and began explaining it to Lin Cuihua and her sister-in-law.
After she finished explaining, she stayed to help cut the canvas fabric with scissors.
It was a good thing she stayed. Otherwise, with fabric this stiff, it would have taken them half the day just to cut it.
"Alright, we can handle the rest ourselves."
With that one sentence from Lin Cuihua, An Ning headed out immediately. She still had to go work in the fields.
Most importantly, her mind was on the irrigation canal.
Lin Cuihua watched An Ning leave through the main gate and sighed. "She really does love working in the fields."
"Your little sister... she’s so much like your father."
"Your father never liked going to the city. He had a chance to move there when he was young, but he refused no matter what."
As Lin Cuihua recalled the past, a look of relief suddenly appeared on her face.
"So he didn’t go. At the time, it seemed like the wrong choice for your father not to go, but later, when things got chaotic, not going turned out to be the best decision."
Lin Cuihua’s words made the family feel that you really couldn’t predict things when it came to their little sister. Who knew what the future would hold?
The three of them started making backpacks at home, while An Ning ran to the irrigation canal.
But... where was everyone?
An Ning looked around. No one was working here anymore. ’Did they move to a different spot?’
She looked further into the distance and did see the figures of people working.
Just as she was about to leave, a barking sound rang out. Da Huang, looking both timid and smug, barked at An Ning a couple of times.
"Go play by yourself. I don’t have time."
An Ning started to leave, but Da Huang followed her, twisting his head back and barking twice. WOOF WOOF.
"They’re over there? You want me to follow you?"
Da Huang spun in a circle to show his excitement. An Ning noticed there were people in the direction Da Huang wanted to go, so she decided to follow him and see.
Seeing that An Ning was following him, Da Huang happily bounded ahead to lead the way.
"I thought you were scared of me."
"WOOF WOOF!"
The girl and the dog walked for several minutes before finally reaching a place with more people. They were also clearing the irrigation canal here.
An Ning patted Da Huang’s head, softly said "thank you," and walked over to Sun Dazhuang.
After getting a pat on the head from An Ning, Da Huang trotted over to the working Jiang Xia and milled around beside him.
"Da Huang, where’d you go?"
The bark that answered Jiang Xia was different from usual—higher-pitched and more excited.
"So happy. Did you catch something to eat?"
The man and the dog, one guessing, the other circling and barking excitedly, made for a very harmonious scene.
Meanwhile, An Ning found Sun Dazhuang to record her work for the day.
"What’s up? Something else?"
An Ning didn’t leave after getting her tools. Sun Dazhuang stopped his shovel and waited for her to speak.
"I was wondering, is that section of the canal finished?"
"Yeah. That section only goes so far. Further on, it’s all uphill, which is hard to work on."
"But if it doesn’t rain, what will happen to the fields over there?"
"We’ll have to carry water. What else can we do?"
"Oh."
An Ning said "oh," shouldered her back-basket, picked up her shovel, and walked toward the section of the canal no one was clearing to start working.
In her mind, however, she was already calculating what she could build with the parts she had on hand.
’And then there’s Miao Xiaohua. I need to find time to get in touch with her.’
For the rest of the afternoon, An Ning worked with her mind on two things at once.
When the whistle blew to signal the end of the workday, she returned her tools and started running home.
The moment An Ning started running, Da Huang came along too.
Jiang Xia, who had been walking slowly, watched as his own dog, Da Huang, ran off after someone else.
"I’m over here! Da Huang, Da Huang, where are you going!"
Jiang Xia broke into a run to chase after them. But An Ning was fast up ahead. The four-legged Da Huang could keep up, but Jiang Xia was struggling.
When An Ning got home, Da Huang excitedly circled her twice, panting with his tongue hanging out.
"Are you racing me?"
"WOOF WOOF!"
An Ning patted Da Huang’s head again and went into the courtyard.
Jiang Xia, who had finally caught up, gasped for breath and swatted Da Huang on the head.
"What are you chasing her for?"
"I’m exhausted!"
Jiang Xia didn’t look around; he just grabbed Da Huang and left.
As he walked, he muttered to himself, "This is too weird. It’s one thing for a grown man like me to be outrun by a dog, but I can’t even outrun a sika deer."
"Starting tomorrow, I’m getting up to run. I refuse to believe I can’t outrun you!"
Jiang Xia’s competitive spirit was fired up again. The main reason was that he hadn’t won a single time since meeting An Ning.
It made him seriously doubt himself. He had always thought he was pretty capable.
Now some random person shows up and beats him at everything. He refused to accept it!
An Ning was completely unaware of all of Jiang Xia’s inner turmoil.
Back at the An family home, she found the parts she had scrounged from the machinery factory and started tinkering.
Lin Cuihua had wanted to show An Ning the finished backpacks, but when she saw An Ning sitting there, seemingly in a world of her own, she didn’t dare disturb her.
When the other members of the An family returned, they had the same reaction upon seeing An Ning like this, and all of them moved more quietly.
In the west room of the main house, lying amidst a kang-full of fabric, were three backpacks.
An Guoming picked one up, slung it over his shoulder, and said in a hushed voice, "Mom, Sister-in-law, this is made so well!"
"It is nice. Feels good on the back."
An Sancheng also added in a quiet voice, while the eldest brother, An Guoqing, was much more direct.
"Now this is a bag for a man. Our little brother’s crappy bag is so sissy."
An Sancheng felt the backpack and asked, "You only made three in one day?"
"No, we spent all day just prepping the fabric. It’ll be faster tomorrow."
"That’s not bad then."
After that, the sister-in-law continued making backpacks, the men tidied up, and Lin Cuihua went out to cook.
When dinner was ready, An Guoming was entrusted with the important task of calling An Ning, and he actually felt nervous.
"Little Sis..."
An Ning turned her head, her brow furrowed with displeasure, but it quickly smoothed out as she asked, "Is it time to eat?"
"Yes, yes! Mom’s calling you for dinner!"
An Guoming quickly passed the buck. An Ning, for her part, readily put down the things in her hands and went to eat.
During dinner, An Ning ate in silence, lost in thought.
She didn’t even notice that everyone else had started eating quietly as well.
This was the mentality of respecting the strong, especially in the countryside.
When you were a good student, people would subconsciously respect your opinions.
An Ning had now achieved that kind of status.