An Ning uttered a word of thanks, then slumped onto Lin Cuihua’s back with no strength left.

Jiang Xia stood beside Lin Cuihua, ready to lend a hand at a moment’s notice.

Her sister-in-law, who was resting at home during her pregnancy, stood by with a worried look on her face, but she didn’t dare to step in.

"I don’t need your help. I can carry her."

After Lin Cuihua said this to her sister-in-law, Zhou Guifen, the latter hurried ahead to open the door and lay out the bedding on the kang.

Lin Cuihua was used to manual labor and had plenty of brute strength.

She carried An Ning into the house on her back. Jiang Xia stopped at the doorway, not going any further inside, instead calling into the room, "Auntie, should I go call Uncle Sancheng and the others back?"

"Yes, please. Thank you for the trouble, Jiang Xia."

"It’s no trouble."

Jiang Xia strode out and patted the roof of the car, which then drove away.

Jiang Xia, meanwhile, ran off in another direction.

He hadn’t run far before he heard barking.

"Da Huang!"

"WOOF WOOF WOOF!"

Da Huang came bounding from the distance and leaped into Jiang Xia’s arms.

Jiang Xia struggled to pull Da Huang off him.

"Settle down, settle down! I’ve got something to do."

Da Huang seemed to understand. Its doggy face was filled with grievance, exactly like a wife accusing her husband of cheating.

"It’s An Ning. Isn’t she your favorite?"

"WOOF WOOF WOOF WOOF---WOOF WOOF WOOF---"

The previously crestfallen Da Huang instantly looked worried and began circling Jiang Xia.

"You’re really something else..." Jiang Xia didn’t even know how to describe the dog.

The man and dog ran toward the fields. Before they got there, they saw An Sancheng and An Guoping walking toward them.

A villager had seen the car go to the An family’s house and had passed the word along.

The speed of gossip is always faster than the speed of truth.

Jiang Xia explained the situation to An Sancheng, though as for the reason why, he didn’t know either.

"Thank you, Jiang Xia. We’re going to head home first."

Jiang Xia nodded and stepped out of their way, but he didn’t follow them.

As an outsider, and a man at that, it wasn’t appropriate for him to go.

Jiang Xia started to head home, but a restless feeling stirred within him. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it or understand why.

Meanwhile, An Ning was already lying on the kang. She had told Lin Cuihua that she just wanted to be alone and sleep.

Lin Cuihua worriedly wanted to stay and watch over her, but An Ning wouldn’t let her.

"Honestly, child, why are you so stubborn!"

In the end, Lin Cuihua closed the door, leaving An Ning to rest in the room by herself.

The moment she closed the door, she leaned against the wall and started wiping away tears.

"Mom, it’s alright. Our little sister is so clever, she’ll be fine."

The sister-in-law was worried too, but at that moment, neither of them knew what they should do.

"Mm-hm."

Lin Cuihua wiped the tears from her face and declared, "I’ll cook. Kill a chicken. Eating something nutritious can’t be wrong."

Acting out of a mix of worry and frustration, Lin Cuihua grabbed a cleaver from the cutting board and stormed toward the chicken coop.

"CLUCK CLUCK CLUCK---CLUCK CLUCK CLUCK---"

A hen that hadn’t been laying eggs very diligently failed to escape the formidable Lin Cuihua.

The rooster, which had developed some common sense, quietly hid in a corner—one from which it could easily fly away.

’Sigh. See? I told you not laying eggs was a bad idea.’

’Wait a minute, I don’t lay eggs either, do I?’

The rooster was baffled.

"What in the world is going on?"

An Sancheng entered the courtyard and knew something was wrong the moment he saw Lin Cuihua.

After decades together as husband and wife, he could read her in a single glance.

"What else could it be? That stubborn mule of a daughter of yours! Her face is drained of all color, but she refuses to go to the hospital, insisting that a nap will make her better!"

As she spoke, Lin Cuihua couldn’t hold back her tears again.

An Guoping immediately dashed into the house. He was about to push open the door to check on An Ning, but before he could, he heard her yell, "Get out!"

An Guoping froze, his hand on the door, not daring to push it open.

He looked back anxiously at An Sancheng, who had just come in. An Sancheng glanced at the door and said, "Let your sister be alone for a bit."

An Sancheng walked to the door. "Daughter," he said, "call for us if you feel unwell. We’ll all be right outside."

"I know, Dad."

An Ning gritted her teeth as she said this. The Klein Bottle was about to emerge.

’What should I do?’

’I can’t let it come out here.’

’I have to get to the mountains.’

An Ning desperately marshaled her spiritual power, forcing some color back into her face.

She got off the kang and opened the door.

"Dad, I’m fine. It was just carsickness making me feel bad. I was just changing my clothes."

"I feel all stuffy. I want to go outside for some fresh air."

An Ning’s face was now rosy, and she had changed into a different set of clothes. She looked nothing like she had moments before.

Lin Cuihua entered, carrying the hen with its severed neck, just in time to hear what An Ning said.

"You little spendthrift! All this for a bit of carsickness... It’s like—I killed one of my chickens for nothing."

"Now, now, it wasn’t for nothing. We’ll just cook it for our girl to eat."

An Sancheng hadn’t seen how pale An Ning was earlier, so he instinctively believed the excuse about carsickness.

Although Lin Cuihua was pained by the loss of a chicken, she still looked at An Ning with concern. "Are you really okay now?"

"I’m really fine."

An Ning forced a smile, saying with some difficulty, "It’s just so stuffy. I’ll feel better if I go for a walk."

"Go on, go on."

An Sancheng stepped aside and gave An Guoping a little kick.

An Guoping understood immediately and followed her, saying with a grin, "Sis, I’ll go with you."

"Okay."

An Ning agreed for now. ’I’ll deal with him once we’re outside,’ she thought.

The brother and sister left the courtyard together, with An Ning heading slowly toward the mountain.

Partway there, An Ning reached into her pocket and pulled out a bankbook.

"I brought this with me. Take it back home so it doesn’t get lost."

"What is it?"

An Guoping took it and opened it. The next second, he froze solid.

"Sis... my dear sister... this thing... don’t... don’t give it to me. I’m scared."

"This is too much."

An Guoping acted like a thief, his hands sweating as he clutched the book. He lowered his voice to a whisper, terrified someone might overhear.

"Oh no, Da Huang went back. Now there’s no one to guard the yard at night. What’ll we do if a burglar comes?"

An Ning had no patience for this. "Go home and put it somewhere safe," she urged. "Go on."

"Okay, I’m going!"

An Guoping turned to run, but then he stopped, looking back at An Ning worriedly.

"But Sis, what about you?"

"I won’t get lost. Now go."

"Okay."

Shooed away by An Ning, An Guoping clutched the bankbook to his chest and sprinted back to the An family’s house as if his life depended on it.

"Lao San, why are you back? Where’s your sister?"

Lin Cuihua craned her neck, looking toward the main gate, but she didn’t see An Ning.

"Mom, inside!"

Still clutching his chest with both hands, An Guoping used his body to shove Lin Cuihua into the house.

When An Guoping got to the main room, An Sancheng was already there.

An Guoping quickly shut the door with his back, his eyes darting outside. Once he was sure no one was watching, he finally pulled the bankbook out from his shirt.

"Dad, Sis told me to bring this back. That trip scared me to death."

"I was so afraid I’d drop it."

An Sancheng looked at his third son’s sweaty face and said disdainfully, "You useless brat. Getting this scared over a little something."

He reached over, took the little book, and flipped it open. He nearly fell right off the edge of the kang.

An Sancheng braced himself with one hand on the edge of the kang and snapped the bankbook shut.

"Where’s your sister?"