An Ning handed the rectangular box to An Guoming. He had a guess as to what it was, and for a mont, he didn’t dare to take it.
"For... ?"
"Yes. Second Brother, you’ll be going out to do business sooner or later. You’ll need this."
An Guoming’s palm opened and closed. He even wiped it twice on his clothes to get rid of the sweat.
He finally took the box and opened it with a sigh of relief, his eyes filled with a goofy, adoring smile.
"A... watch! A watch! Mom, look, a watch!"
An Guoming held up the watch box with both hands for everyone to see. It wasn’t that he wanted to show off, but that he wanted everyone to help him confirm that he really, truly owned a watch.
"Hurry up and put it on. Don’t be so giddy you drop it."
Lin Cuihua was no less nervous than An Guoming as she urged him to put it on.
An Guoming nodded repeatedly. He finally put the watch on his wrist, and for a mont, he didn’t even know how to hold his arm.
"How am I supposed to hold my arm?"
An Guoming held up his wrist, cupping his other hand underneath the watch, constantly afraid he would drop it.
"Second Brother, you don’t have to do that. The strap is very sturdy. I bought one for myself, too."
An Ning opened another box, took out a lady’s watch, and put it on her own wrist. She then gave it a little shake for her family to see.
"Mom, Dad, Eldest Brother, Sister-in-law, I didn’t have enough ration coupons. When I get more in the future, I’ll buy so for you."
"This ti, I wanted to buy a large clock, but the town was out of stock. I’ll buy one for the family next ti."
The mont An Ning finished speaking, Lin Cuihua quickly stopped her.
"Oh, stop it. Do you really think money grows on trees? If you keep spending like this, no amount of money will be enough."
"Little Sister, you don’t need to buy things for your big brother and . You’ve already given us too much."
Her sister-in-law, Zhou Guifen, also chid in to dissuade her. She liked the idea, but she could earn money to buy things herself; she couldn’t take advantage of her husband’s younger sister.
An Ning didn’t argue. She just gave a faint smile and changed the subject. "Mom, should we have bones for dinner tonight?"
"Sure! I’ll start stewing the bones this afternoon. They’ll be delicious when they’re fall-off-the-bone tender."
After the gifts were distributed, An Sancheng and An Guoqing prepared to go work in the fields, and An Ning naturally went with them.
She wanted to keep her spiritual power in peak condition so she could perform the second seed transmission.
’It seems I get exhausted after every seed transmission.’
’Then again, it makes sense. Every transmission crosses two different spacetis, so it’s normal for it to consu a lot of spiritual power.’
An Ning drank so water first. Only then did she rember that she had forgotten to buy a water bottle.
’Next ti.’
Having eaten and drunk her fill, An Ning watched An Sancheng as he was about to leave and asked, "Dad, why aren’t you wearing the new rubber boots?"
An Sancheng didn’t say anything, but An Ning understood. He couldn’t bear to wear them.
"Dad, now is the perfect ti to wear them. In a few days, it’ll be too hot, and since it’s not raining, they won’t get too dirty."
Perhaps An Ning’s reasoning was too compelling, because An Sancheng changed into the green rubber boots.
"This thing is great. So soft."
Seeing An Sancheng put them on, An Guoqing couldn’t be bothered with whether his feet were clean or not. He had been wanting to wear them for a long ti.
With their new boots on, the father and son walked out with a different gait. It looked a bit like how a pregnant woman walks.
"Lao San, nice boots."
"So those are the rubber boots, huh?"
"They look brand new."
An Sancheng glanced down at his boots, his pride poorly concealed.
"Yup. My daughter bought them for . I told her not to, but she insisted."
It was a textbook case of saying no but aning yes.
An Guoqing, next to him, was the complete opposite. He was genuinely showing off.
Without anyone even asking, he went up to people, showing off and gloating as he grabbed whoever he could and said, "My little sister bought them for . They’re aweso!"
"Let tell you, these rubber boots are the best."
An Ning followed behind the two of them, unable to stop herself from smiling at An Guoqing’s giddy showing off.
’Good thing Eldest Brother has a certain reputation, or he might have gotten beaten up for this.’
The An family had just produced another piece of gossip.
Not only did they buy a bicycle, but they also bought rubber boots—and a pair for every single family mber.
They must be making real money!
Soone started to inquire.
"Lao San, are those schoolbags of yours selling well?"
As soon as the topic of schoolbags ca up, An Sancheng imdiately grew serious. He couldn’t speak recklessly.
"We don’t know yet. We haven’t started selling them."
"Haven’t started selling? Then An Ning—"
"Ah, don’t ntion it. The wretched child doesn’t listen. She spent her own dowry money."
As he said this, An Sancheng’s expression soured a bit, as if he was heartbroken over his troubleso child.
The person asking didn’t know if it was true or not, but hearing this seed to quell most of their jealousy.
As for An Guoqing on the other side, his answers were even simpler.
"I don’t know."
"How should I know?"
"I really don’t know."
Answering every question with "I don’t know" was a perfect reflection of An Guoqing.
Along the way, everyone chattered and asked questions, and it was hard to tell how much of it was true or false. Finally, they reached the place where they were to work.
When they arrived at the edge of the fields, An Ning was called away by Sun Dazhuang.
An Ning walked over to a large elm tree. Its dense, leafy branches blocked the scorching sun, bringing a trace of coolness to the laboring people.
"Team Leader."
"An Ning, you’re here. I wanted to ask you about sothing. Have you decided on the fee for those parts? I need to get the money sorted out for you."
’So it’s about this.’
An Ning thought for a mont before speaking. "Team Leader, how about I charge five yuan? Is that okay?"
Sun Dazhuang asked for confirmation. "Just five yuan? Are you sure? That pile of stuff would be worth several yuan even if you sold it for scrap tal."
"I’m sure. It wouldn’t be right to ask for nothing, but it also wouldn’t be right to ask for too much. A token amount is fine."
After she spoke, she and Sun Dazhuang calculated the other items: five yuan for scrap materials and three for the plastic.
"Alright, I’ll give you fifteen. Go find Accountant Liu in a bit and get a signed note, and I’ll get you the money."
Sun Dazhuang directly offered fifteen, and An Ning didn’t refuse.
After they settled the matter, An Ning asked about the watering situation.
"It’ll still be a few days. This is already fast enough."
An Ning nodded, picked up a tool, and went into the fields to work.
Throughout the afternoon, An Ning focused on her work, taking the opportunity to restore and maintain her spiritual power.
When the whistle blew to signal the end of the workday, An Ning quickened her pace and caught up to her eldest brother, An Guoqing.
"Eldest Brother, co with to Chen Mingliang’s house. We’re going to collect the money he owes."
"Okay! Big Brother will go with you."
An Ning felt An Guoqing instantly straighten his back. The goofy smile vanished from his face, and as he fell silent, he looked just like an imposing, majestic Door God.
’Seen like this, Eldest Brother is actually a bit scary.’
The brother and sister pair headed toward Chen Mingliang’s ho. He and Miao Xiaohua had been separated from the main family and were living in the old Chen family house.
It was the house that had belonged to Chen Mingliang’s grandparents, a one-room adobe house.
An Guoqing led the way with An Ning following behind. Just as they arrived, they heard a woman’s bloodcurdling scream slice through the air.
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