Sun Dazhuang sat on the rock by the door, and An Ning sat down with him, waiting for him to speak.

"An Ning, do you know how to get in touch with Jiang Xia? I saw he left Da Huang with you."

"I do. Jiang Xia left his phone number."

An Ning answered truthfully.

Sun Dazhuang had An Ning follow him inside, where they both sat down on stools.

Sun Dazhuang began to speak. "An Ning, what I’m about to tell you is confidential. Don’t tell anyone else."

"Then, in a little while, I need you to call Jiang Xia and tell him."

"Okay."

An Ning agreed.

"That man from just now is Jiang Xia’s biological father. I don’t know the full story between them, but he came here, gave me money, and told me to block Jiang Xia’s registration transfer so he can’t leave."

"I can’t take this money. It’s too hot to handle."

Sun Dazhuang got up, reminding An Ning, "Make sure you tell Jiang Xia."

"Okay, I will."

After Sun Dazhuang left, An Ning immediately dialed the number.

She had memorized the address and phone number Jiang Xia had left behind.

After a few rings, someone picked up on the other end. It was the voice of a man she didn’t recognize.

"I’m looking for Jiang Xia."

"Oh? Why don’t you leave your number, and I’ll have Jiang Xia call you back when he returns."

"Okay, thank you."

An Ning left her number and hung up.

She walked out of the brigade headquarters. It was noon by the time she reached the An family home, and everyone was there.

"My sister’s back!"

"WOOF WOOF WOOF!"

"CLUCK CLUCK CLUCK!"

A trio of sounds from An Guoping, Da Huang, and the big rooster filled the courtyard, and the once-quiet yard instantly burst with life.

"You’re back, sweetie! Hurry up and eat. You must be hungry, right?"

Lin Cuihua quickly grabbed an extra bowl and chopsticks and set them on the table.

An Ning was indeed hungry. She washed her hands first, then sat down to eat with everyone.

"I’m going to stay in the county town for a few days. I’ll be helping the machinery factory with some work, and they’re paying me."

"Second Brother is learning to drive at the textile factory, and they’ve arranged a dorm for him."

With those two concise sentences, she had summarized everything and was ready to eat.

"Does your brother get paid as an apprentice? And how many people are in his dorm?"

"Where will you be staying for the machinery factory job?"

Lin Cuihua and An Sancheng fired off several questions. An Ning looked up, a little embarrassed.

"I don’t know. I didn’t ask."

For a moment, An Sancheng found that he didn’t see anything wrong with her attitude at all.

"It’s fine. As long as you can take care of yourself, that’s all that matters. Don’t worry about your brother; he’s not a child."

"That’s right. My main concern is where you’ll be staying and what you’ll do for meals."

Lin Cuihua was also worried about An Ning. It wasn’t easy for a young woman to be on her own.

"Last night, I stayed in the staff dorm and ate in the cafeteria. I won’t be gone for many days. I still have to come back to do farm work."

The first part of her explanation sounded perfectly normal, but the An family simply ignored the last sentence.

’They really couldn’t understand what was so appealing about farm work.’

An Ning couldn’t explain it to them. Her spiritual power was her greatest secret.

"So when are you leaving?"

An Ning thought for a moment. ’I need to wait for Jiang Xia’s call, and I also have to prepare some practice problems for An Guoping.’

"I’ll leave tomorrow afternoon."

"Then there’s no rush. Eat first. You can pack after you finish."

Lin Cuihua was already mentally planning what to pack for An Ning.

Just as they finished their meal, a return call came through for An Ning, and she went to take it.

Lin Cuihua started packing An Ning’s things.

When An Ning arrived at the brigade headquarters, the phone started ringing before she even had a chance to place her call.

The telephone operator, who was back at her post, pointed to the phone and said, "That’ll be Jiang Xia."

"Thank you."

An Ning picked up the receiver. The operator stepped out—not because she was particularly perceptive, but because the brigade leader had told her to give them privacy.

"Hello, An Ning? Is something wrong with Da Huang?"

Jiang Xia’s voice was filled with anxiety. ’He couldn’t imagine any other reason for An Ning to call him.’

"Da Huang is fine. I need to talk to you about something."

"Oh? What is it?"

At that moment, Jiang Xia was wearing a white dress shirt, and his entire demeanor was worlds apart from how he had been in the village.

An Ning didn’t waste a single word. "A man claiming to be your biological father—about five-foot-ten, wearing gold-rimmed glasses—came to the village and tried to bribe the brigade leader. He wanted him to block your production team registration to prevent you from leaving."

On the other end of the line, Jiang Xia stood in a spacious, brightly-lit living room. His hand clenched into a fist, his eyes glinting with a cold light.

"I’m guessing he was run out of the village, wasn’t he?"

"Yes. It was pretty brutal. I threw three handfuls of grass at him."

"HAHAHAHA!"

On the other end, Jiang Xia burst into laughter at An Ning’s words.

It was the first time he had laughed so hard—a truly genuine laugh—since arriving in Beijing.

"You didn’t throw enough. With your skills, you could’ve managed at least ten handfuls."

An Ning completely missed his teasing tone and instead analyzed the situation seriously. "There were too many people attacking at the front. It was going fine at first, everyone was using their tools, but then someone threw a whole head of napa cabbage. That was too wasteful, so I suggested everyone throw grass instead."

"HAHAHAHA—"

Jiang Xia couldn’t stop laughing. He slapped the table where the phone sat, laughing so hard his stomach started to hurt.

"That’s amazing! If only I could have seen it with my own eyes. What a shame."

Jiang Xia was genuinely regretful, and An Ning could feel his disappointment even through the phone.

"I could draw it for you. Would you buy it?"

"Buy!"

With that one word, they hung up the phone.

An Ning had relayed the message and even secured a small windfall. ’Not bad at all.’

After the call, she didn’t go home, but went straight to the fields to work instead.

「Meanwhile」

On the other side, Jiang Xia hung up the phone, a vicious glint in his eyes.

’Trying to cut off my escape route? Too bad. I wasn’t planning on staying here anyway.’

Jiang Xia rubbed his fingertips together. He had to get things done quickly; he still planned on returning to the village.

Jiang Xia went upstairs, found Mr. Jiang Sr., and told him what had happened.

Mr. Jiang Sr. was completely unperturbed, as if they weren’t even discussing his own biological son.

"Jiang Xia, have you thought this through? Are you sure you want to go back?"

"I’m going back. But first, I’m transferring all the assets. When we go back to the village, they won’t get a single thing."

Mr. Jiang Sr. nodded in complete agreement. "We should’ve done this damn thing ages ago!"

Jiang Xia and his grandfather exchanged a look, their eyes filled with mutual understanding and relief.

They had known what kind of man Jiang Dongcheng was ten years ago.

"Jiang Xia, listen to me. Once you’re back, you have to take the university entrance exams. By this time next year, you must be enrolled in your classes."

"I know. The only reason I didn’t take the exams before was because you weren’t allowed to travel freely. But now your retirement is finalized and you’re a free man. What’s there to be afraid of?"

Mr. Jiang Sr. nodded. It was true.

He had been permitted to return, but he was getting on in years. After reclaiming most of his former assets and processing his retirement, he was now a free man. All he wanted was to return to that little mountain village and live out his remaining years in peace.

His only remaining worry had been the stubborn Jiang Xia, but now, that too was resolved.

With Jiang Xia heading off to university, he had nothing left to be concerned about.

The grandfather and grandson had been busy with paperwork for the past several days. As soon as they were finished, they planned to head back.

As for Jiang Dongcheng, all his scheming was destined to be for naught. He wasn’t going to get a thing.