An Ning’s question made Jiang Xia’s brain freeze for a moment.

’That was a good question. Why did he want to buy supplies with the An family?’

"Your family is buying a lot, and I’m just buying a little. If I don’t buy enough, they won’t deliver."

Jiang Xia’s explanation was flawless and perfectly reasonable. An Ning accepted it calmly and even praised him, saying, "That’s true, it does save money. Good thinking."

For the first time, Jiang Xia’s smile felt a little awkward. It was an excuse he had just come up with on the spot.

"So, you’ll handle the arrangements, and I’ll provide the money, is that right?"

An Ning asked again, and Jiang Xia dazedly agreed.

As he watched An Ning’s figure recede on her bicycle, a troubled expression crossed his face.

’What did I even come here for?’

Jiang Xia shook his head and even touched his own forehead suspiciously. No fever.

’I guess I really am a good guy after all.’

With that bit of self-praise, Jiang Xia found the nearest place to make a phone call.

With one phone call, he negotiated the price of cement down to 116 yuan per ton. As for bricks, there was a local brickyard, and he planned to check it out before making a decision.

The matter of the cement and bricks was left to Jiang Xia.

Meanwhile, An Ning didn’t go straight home. She found a place to make a phone call.

"Director Jin, this is An Ning."

An Ning introduced herself, and Director Jin on the other end was incredibly enthusiastic, solicitously asking what she needed.

"I’d like to buy some glass for windows."

"Okay, thank you."

"It’s no trouble. Really, you don’t have to."

An Ning held the dead receiver to her ear, a puzzled look on her face. ’Did I ask for anything else?’ she wondered.

’No, I only mentioned buying glass.’

An Ning hung up the phone, paid the fee, and left.

When she returned to the An family home, there were several people in the courtyard.

"Mom, Eldest Aunt, Sister-in-law."

An Ning went to greet them; the women from her eldest uncle’s family had all come over.

"An Ning, come here."

Lin Cuihua beckoned An Ning over.

An Ning obediently walked over and leaned in to listen to what Lin Cuihua had to say.

"Alright, I’ll go right now."

An Ning turned and left again.

She needed to go up the mountain to get some meat. A lot of people were coming to help the An family dig their foundation that afternoon.

Most of them were part of the An clan and wouldn’t accept any payment.

Since they wouldn’t take money, providing a good meal was the least they could do.

This was also why her eldest aunt’s family had come over to help.

An Ning took a machete and a basket for her back and headed up the mountain.

She wasn’t picky. Scanning with her spiritual power, she hunted whatever she saw—pheasants, rabbits, roe deer.

As An Ning came down the mountain, she emerged on the far side of the river, where several children were trying to trap fish in the shallows.

Carrying her basket, An Ning walked past the children and asked curiously, "Caught any?"

The children all knew An Ning, so they weren’t shy about talking to her.

"Just a few small ones."

"And two loaches."

An Ning glanced at the small bucket beside them. There really wasn’t much in it.

She first took the basket back to the An family home for Lin Cuihua to start cooking.

As for the cooking itself, Lin Cuihua didn’t let An Ning help; she truly had no talent for it.

After dropping off the game, An Ning grabbed her basket again, along with a bucket, and went back out.

She returned to the river, found a spot where the current was relatively calm, and used some stones to dam the water, leaving only a narrow gap.

Next, she secured her basket with a rope and placed it just downstream of the gap.

Then, her spiritual power plunged into the water, searching for fish.

Once she found a school, she used her spiritual power to herd the fish into her basket.

In no time, she had caught six fish—more than enough for an extra dish at dinner.

An Ning was about to call it a day when her spiritual power suddenly detected a massive school of fish.

’So many fish.’

An Ning stood up and shouted to the children who were about to leave, "Quick, go get help! There are tons of fish here!"

The children craned their necks just in time to see An Ning lift a large bamboo basket out of the water.

The next moment, An Ning heaved it up, revealing a basket full of dark, flopping fish. They were so lively that several jumped right out and landed on the ground beside her.

"So many fish!"

"Quick, go get people!"

"Come quick, everyone!"

Some of the children ran to get help, while others rushed straight toward her.

An Ning kept scooping up fish—one basketful, then another, and another.

In just a short while, the riverbank was covered in a huge pile of fish, all writhing and flopping about.

"Who fell in? Where?"

Many people working nearby came running. Some had already stripped off their shirts, ready to jump into the river for a rescue.

When the children explained and everyone saw the fish gasping on the ground, they all became overjoyed.

"An Ning, these fish...?"

"There’s a share for everyone."

An Ning knew she couldn’t keep them all for herself. Catching a few for her own family was one thing, but hoarding such a large bounty would surely stir up jealousy.

Sure enough, as soon as An Ning said that, everyone broke into wide, happy grins.

The current in this river was swift, and the fish were clever, making them very hard to catch.

Who had the leisure to spend a whole morning fishing here with no guarantee of even catching one?

More and more people gathered, and soon the team leader, Sun Dazhuang, arrived and began to organize things.

He made sure that, at the very least, every family would get one fish.

For a while, the riverbank was a scene of joyous chaos.

Some people threaded a blade of grass through a fish’s gills to carry it home; others simply cradled a fish in their arms; still others brought basins to carry their share home.

Regardless of the method, every household ended up with at least one fish.

An Ning finally withdrew her spiritual power, allowing the rest of the school to pass.

As the riverbank gradually quieted down, Jiang Xia strolled over to An Ning’s side, two fish dangling from his hand.

"The fish were unusually cooperative today."

"Not scared of people in the slightest."

Jiang Xia stared thoughtfully at the river, completely baffled.

He was genuinely perplexed and didn’t suspect An Ning of having some special trick up her sleeve.

An Ning, however, grew a little wary. She calmly explained, "It’s a phenomenon of schooling fish. They were all heading in one direction, but once they got disorganized, they lost their bearings and bunched up, which gave us an opportunity."

"How do you know that?"

An Ning picked up her basket and offered Jiang Xia three words of advice.

"Read more books."

"Hey, what’s that supposed to mean? Are you saying I don’t read books!?"

But Jiang Xia didn’t manage to stop her. An Ning simply headed home, carrying more than ten fish on her back.

Jiang Xia was left holding his two fish, which he brandished fiercely.

"What are you looking at? I’ll turn you into sweet and sour fish as soon as I get home!"

Jiang Xia carried the fish home. Once there, he didn’t need Grandpa Jiang’s help. He killed the fish, scaled them, gutted them, mixed the sauce, and tossed them in the pot.

He moved through the steps with practiced ease, and soon the fragrant aroma of cooking fish filled the kitchen.

"I’ve got to hand it to you, your cooking skills have really improved. At least I don’t have to worry about you starving to death."

Grandpa Jiang sat on a low stool, watching Jiang Xia tend the stove fire.

"What’s so hard about it? It’s a piece of cake."

Grandpa Jiang watched his proud grandson and, fanning himself with a cattail fan, said, "We should probably just make rice. Making cornbread patties is too difficult."

"What’s so difficult about it? Just you wait."

Jiang Xia stood up and started mixing the dough. Behind him, Grandpa Jiang wore a cunning, knowing smile.

Tonight, they would have fish stew with cornbread patties. The meal was all set.