Chapter 56: Finally Seeing the Seeds
An Ning made her decision happily. Seeing An Guoping up ahead, she habitually reached into her pocket.
’Huh? I changed clothes.’
"Wait for me a second."
An Ning ran into her room and came out again a moment later.
"Take this. Tell me when you run out of money."
But An Guoping, standing across from her, didn’t reach out. Instead, he put his hands behind his back, a pleading expression on his face.
"Sis, my dearest sis, I’m begging you, please don’t give me any more money. I really don’t know what to buy."
"I was distracted all morning in class, constantly thinking about those two yuan. It’s too much. It makes me feel uneasy."
An Ning stared intently at An Guoping and frowned slightly.
"Little brother, you have poor mental fortitude. You need to train more."
After saying this, An Ning took out a five-yuan bill from her pocket.
Without allowing any protest, she grabbed An Guoping’s hand and slapped the six yuan into his palm.
"Go spend it. I’ll give you more when it’s gone."
An Guoping looked down at the money in his palm, then looked up at An Ning, who was already turning to leave.
’What in the world was that all about?!’
He seriously suspected he hadn’t made himself clear. How did he end up with more money?!
As for An Ning, she wasn’t really sure how to treat An Guoping, either. Everyone else in the An family was older than her.
An Guoping was the only one younger than her, and in An Ning’s view, younger ones especially needed her protection.
For now, aside from giving him money, An Ning hadn’t yet found a better way.
As for the fate An Guoping met in her past life—ending up in prison—An Ning was convinced it would not happen this time.
An Ning walked into the kitchen and took a look around. The pot was covered with a lid, so she couldn’t see what was inside.
So, she went out to the backyard. Lin Cuihua had said the cucumbers were about ready to eat and told her to go pick a couple.
An Ning carefully recalled the body’s original owner’s memories and had a general idea of what a ripe one looked like.
As for Miao Xiaohua’s memories, she hadn’t absorbed any of them. She only extracted some information and shattered the rest.
An Ning searched carefully around the cucumber trellis and finally found one.
A little pleased, she reached out to pick it.
"Ow—it’s quite prickly."
The palm-sized cucumber was covered in hard little spines.
Even the stem at its base was ringed with small spines.
An Ning coated her hand with spiritual power, which allowed her to pick the cucumber. She then found two more and headed inside with the three of them.
The moment she stepped into the kitchen, she heard her sister-in-law say, "Quick, put those down. Are they prickly?"
"It’s fine."
An Ning placed the cucumbers into the small basin her sister-in-law held out, and her sister-in-law took them away to be washed.
An Ning saw that her sister-in-law also seemed wary of the spines. Just as An Ning was about to help, her older brother, An Guoqing, came over, took the basin, and went outside with it.
With his two large hands, he washed the cucumbers clean in just a few passes, then casually handed the basin back to his wife. It was a completely ordinary moment.
His wife took the basin with a smile in her eyes and went back to preparing dinner.
Having been subjected to this public display of affection, An Ning simply grabbed a small stool and sat down by the back door, sketching something in a notebook.
"Dinner’s ready!"
At Lin Cuihua’s call, An Ning quickly closed her notebook and returned it to her room.
When An Ning came back out, Lin Cuihua was serving a dish from a large pot.
The pieces of meat jiggled tenderly. The lean parts were a deep, firm color, while the fatty portions were lighter, almost translucent.
Two jin of meat was naturally not enough for a family this large, so Lin Cuihua had added plenty of potatoes and some dried mushrooms to the pot.
The An family gathered around the table. As was customary, An Guoping took a bowl of braised pork over to his eldest uncle’s house, and the rest waited for him to return.
When An Guoping came back, An Sancheng picked up his chopsticks and said, "Let’s eat. Everyone, dig in."
An Ning waited for everyone else to start before reaching for the food with her chopsticks. But before she could grab anything, several pieces of meat were placed in her bowl.
"Eat up, Little Sis."
"That’s right, eat more, Little Sis. Your work is mentally taxing."
"Sis, you were the one who bought this. You should eat."
Each of her three brothers had given her a piece. An Ning smiled, pulling back her chopsticks. She then picked up a piece from her bowl and popped it into her mouth.
’Delicious.’
’It’s truly delicious.’
An Ning had never tasted other braised pork, but the flavor of this first bite was so good that she would remember it for a very, very long time.
It wasn’t that Lin Cuihua’s culinary skills were particularly exceptional. She had simply caramelized some sugar for color, and aside from soy sauce, there were no other seasonings.
But the pork itself was exceptional—a "model specimen" of perfectly layered pork belly, ideal for this dish.
"It’s delicious."
"If you like it, eat more. We’ll buy more meat in a couple of days, and I’ll make it for you again."
Lin Cuihua was never stingy when everyone was doing hard physical labor. If you don’t eat, you won’t have any strength.
Everyone was incredibly satisfied with the meal. Even the sauce from the dish was divided up and sopped up with rice until not a drop was left.
Just then, An Ning was happily munching on a small cucumber dipped in soybean paste.
"These cucumbers grow fast. Go pick them whenever, otherwise they’ll get too old on the vine."
An Sancheng also held a cucumber, munching on it loudly. CRUNCH, CRUNCH.
"I know, I know. When have I ever needed you to worry about it? In a bit, I’ll plant the pickling cucumbers too. The harvests should line up, so we’ll have cucumbers all the way through fall."
An Ning, who had been listening quietly, suddenly looked up, a secret tension welling inside her.
"Mom, do you have the seeds?"
"Of course. I saved cucumber seeds from last year."
An Ning put down her cucumber, her heart leaping into her throat. "Can you give me a few?"
Lin Cuihua looked at An Ning in confusion. "What do you want those things for? It’s still a bit early to plant. You have to wait a few more days."
An Ning’s mind raced.
"I want to use them for research."
As soon as the word "research" was out, her request suddenly sounded very grand and impressive.
Lin Cuihua thought about the machine her daughter had managed to build in just a few days. An Sancheng, who was sitting nearby, chimed in, "If our girl wants them, just give them to her. We don’t understand that stuff she does anyway. Let her tinker by herself. Nobody should bother her."
An Sancheng’s philosophy was simple: if you don’t understand it, don’t meddle.
"When did I say I wouldn’t? Always trying to be the good guy," Lin Cuihua grumbled.
After her brief grumble, she turned to An Ning and said, "Alright, I’ll get them for you in a bit."
"Okay!"
An Ning’s smile was dazzling, completely different from her usual expression.
No one could quite put their finger on what was different, though. After dinner, everyone just went about their business.
Only An Ning continued to follow Lin Cuihua, to the point that Lin Cuihua gave up on her chores and headed into the east room.
"I don’t know what you’re in such a rush for. It’s not like these things can grow legs and run away."
An Ning just smiled without a word. ’No one could possibly understand how I feel.’
’In the entire interstellar era, not a single crop plant existed.’
’Humanity’s feelings toward the food of legends went far beyond what the word "desire" could possibly describe.’
An Ning watched as Lin Cuihua took a box out of a cabinet.
After opening the box, An Ning saw several small paper packets inside. Her mother picked one out and handed it to her.
"Are these all seeds?"