Chapter 50: Calling the Police
"Mom, I’m fine. I’m getting up now."
An Ning called out first. Lin Cuihua immediately shouted back, "Then hurry up! We’re having company soon. Don’t let them catch you still in bed."
She was clearly worried sick but was too stubborn to admit it.
Lin Cuihua turned and hurried to get An Ning’s food so she could have a hot meal.
Inside the room, An Ning shook her head and chuckled.
After getting up, she first folded her bedding and put it in the kang cabinet, then pulled open the curtains.
’These are so hard to use. They need to be fixed.’
An Ning had to be extremely careful every time she pulled the curtains.
For one, she was strong. For another, the curtain only had a few small iron rings on a very thin iron wire, which made it catch and not slide smoothly.
An Ning rolled up the curtain, tied it in a knot, and that was that.
She sat on the edge of the kang, ready to put on her shoes. Just as she bent over to grab them, she let out a hiss.
Habitually feeling for the sharp little splinter sticking up from the kang mat, An Ning calmly pulled it out. She had really gotten used to being pricked.
Dressed and ready, An Ning opened the door and came out.
"Hurry up and eat. Your two sisters-in-law from your uncle’s family will be here soon."
"Okay, I’m going to the latrine first."
An Ning ran out after speaking. After taking care of business, she returned to wash her hands and face and get ready to eat.
She was the only one in the family who hadn’t eaten. Everyone else had finished long ago, and those who had work to do had already gone to the fields.
"Drink up the millet porridge. Your uncle brought it over for you this morning, along with a bunch of eggs."
Lin Cuihua put down two more bowls. One held boiled eggs and sweet potatoes, and the other contained a bowl of red sugar water—all to help An Ning recover.
In the eyes of the common folk, millet, eggs, and brown sugar were the three treasures, nourishing for anyone who consumed them.
"Don’t worry, I can finish it all."
While An Ning ate alone, Lin Cuihua wasted no time, working on a sewing machine alongside her eldest sister-in-law, Zhou Guifen.
This time, with each of them at a machine, their speed was even faster.
Not only that, but An Guoming was also operating one, and he was doing a pretty good job.
Before An Ning could finish her meal, people arrived at the outer gate. For a moment, she couldn’t tell who was who.
"Mom, someone’s here."
As soon as she called out, Lin Cuihua came right out, walking a few steps to greet them, laughing and chatting with the oldest woman at the front.
Inside, An Ning also put down her bowl and greeted them.
"Aunt, First Sister-in-law, Second Sister-in-law."
An Ning greeted them, and they asked about her health. After the pleasantries, they got down to business.
The three women followed Lin Cuihua to learn the ropes, and once they got the hang of it, they started working.
They all learned quickly, especially fascinated by the sewing machines, which they found to be quite a novelty.
With the work at home underway, An Ning finished her meal, said goodbye to everyone, and went out.
On her way out, An Ning ran into several villagers and spent the whole walk telling them, "I’m fine now, I’ve recovered."
’So enthusiastic.’
An Ning was still not quite used to such local customs. Back in the interstellar era, besides her teachers and combat practice opponents, she had barely interacted with any other humans.
Even when she did interact with others, the interstellar era lacked this kind of atmosphere.
On the way from the An family home to the work site, An Ning’s well-behaved, polite, and composed smile won her the favor of the villagers.
At the work site, An Ning found Sun Dazhuang’s location and headed over to him.
"Captain."
"Why didn’t you stay home for a couple more days? What’s the rush?"
"I’m fine now. I feel uncomfortable all over if I’m not working," An Ning said, earning a nod of approval from Sun Dazhuang.
"Ain’t that the truth. What can I do for you?"
An Ning took a step forward. "I’m planning to report Miao Xiaohua to the police. I wanted to give you a heads-up."
She had learned from An Guoming that the whole An family had been busy taking care of her and hadn’t yet had a chance to settle scores with Miao Xiaohua.
Her older brother, however, had grabbed a pickaxe and wanted to go smash up Miao Xiaohua’s house, but Uncle An stopped him.
They couldn’t let a situation where they were in the right turn into one where they were in the wrong.
An Ning completely agreed with Uncle An’s words, but she was still determined to get back what was owed to her.
Hearing this, Sun Dazhuang lowered his voice to tell An Ning about the situation.
"An Ning, it’s not that you can’t go to the police. That Jiang Xia kid said he’d be your witness, too. But I’m telling you, even if the police come, it’ll be tough for them to take Miao Xiaohua away."
"After you fainted, she changed her story. She’s saying she accidentally tripped on a rock and that it wasn’t on purpose. It’s a hard case to judge."
Sun Dazhuang glanced up at An Ning and continued, "I’m not trying to stop you, just letting you know it might not work. You should be mentally prepared for that."
An Ning smiled and nodded, showing no trace of impatience.
"Thank you, Captain. I’m not expecting them to lock Miao Xiaohua up over this."
Sun Dazhuang immediately understood that An Ning had her own plans.
"Alright then. You handle it as you see fit."
An Ning thanked him and turned to find Jiang Xia.
Jiang Xia, who was working in the fields, had heard yesterday that An Ning was back. He had even looked for her specifically when he came out to work today.
He was still eager to compete with An Ning.
"Jiang Xia."
"Here to ask this Lord to be your witness?"
Jiang Xia looked at An Ning roguishly, but she shook her head.
’Did I guess wrong?’ Jiang Xia began to doubt his own intelligence.
"’Lloyd?’ Who’s that? Was he there that day?"
Jiang Xia felt as if a lump of dry, unleavened bread was stuck in his throat—he couldn’t swallow it down or cough it up. It was an awful feeling.
"I *am* this Lord!" Jiang Xia’s eyes were wide, but he didn’t give An Ning a hard time.
"Don’t worry, being a witness is no problem. I’m a very helpful person."
An Ning looked at Jiang Xia with dawning realization. So ’Lloyd’ was his nickname.
"Thank you for your help. But ’helpful person’ doesn’t really suit you. You didn’t want to save Miao Xiaohua at all that day."
Speaking of which, An Ning realized that Jiang Xia had probably been trying to save *her*. She should prepare a thank-you gift for him.
"Nonsense! I said I’m helpful to *people*. She’s not a person, so why would I help her!"
"You think everyone is as foolishly kind-hearted as you are!"
Jiang Xia tossed his head haughtily and went back to digging with his pickaxe, making it CLANG loudly.
’A sika deer’s brain is no match for mine. I win this round.’
With that thought, Jiang Xia worked with even more vigor.
An Ning was completely unaware that Jiang Xia was secretly competing with her and even keeping score.
After confirming Jiang Xia’s help, she turned and went to the brigade headquarters to make a phone call and report the incident to the police.
After calling the police, An Ning grabbed her tools and went to work, truly not wasting a single moment.
But when she struck the ground with her first swing, she felt something was different. The earth was a bit hard.
’It’s lacking water.’
She had been unconscious for five days. The water pump she had planned to build wasn’t finished yet. After dealing with Miao Xiaohua, she would go home and finish it.
A little over an hour later, a commotion arose in the fields.
"Oh my god, why are the police here?"
"That’s An Ning, over there."
Two police officers had arrived in the village on bicycles. They asked for An Ning, and someone led them over.
At first, most people assumed An Ning was in trouble.
Without a second thought, An Guoqing threw down his hoe and ran to stand in front of An Ning. He puffed out his chest and declared in a booming voice,
"I did it! It has nothing to do with my little sister!"
The two police officers who had come to handle the case stared at each other, nonplussed.
The older one reached out, patted An Guoqing’s shoulder, and said, "We can deal with this comrade’s matter in a moment. First, we need to find Comrade An Ning. She’s the one who called the police on someone else."