Chapter 115: Chapter 115: Digging the Foundation

Jiang Xia had just finished kneading the dough when he finally reacted.

He held the dough basin, a smear of white flour still on his face, and stared at his grandfather sitting by the door.

"The older the ginger, the spicier it gets."

"Heh heh, you flatter me."

Grandpa Jiang didn’t show the slightest guilt at being caught. In fact, he added fuel to the fire, saying, "I quite like this personality of yours. Whatever you do, don’t change."

Jiang Xia stared speechlessly at the roof, then started sticking flatbreads to the side of the pot with the stewing fish.

’I’m not usually like this, okay?’

’It’s only around Grandpa that I let my guard down like this. I only did it because he wanted me to.’

’If it were anyone else, I wouldn’t have even bothered.’

’No, that’s not right.’ Jiang Xia’s hands paused.

’There’s also that sika deer, An Ning.’

Jiang Xia resumed sticking the flatbreads to the pot, comforting himself. ’An Ning is different. She’s a rival—a competitor I have yet to defeat even once.’

’And she had the nerve to say I don’t read enough.’

Jiang Xia put the lid on the pot, turned around, went back inside to find a book, and sat down in the kitchen to start reading.

To Grandpa Jiang, who was sitting by the door, it felt like the entire mood had suddenly shifted.

He looked closely and confirmed that Jiang Xia was, in fact, genuinely and seriously reading.

’Did he get provoked?’

There was only one person here who could provoke Jiang Xia like that: An Ning.

The mere thought of An Ning made Mr. Jiang Sr.’s smile widen.

’That little girl is really something else. Honest, brave, smart, with a sweet-looking face, and she’s a great fighter too. She’s really perfect in every way.’

Mr. Jiang Sr.’s thoughts began to wander as he glanced at the reading Jiang Xia.

’Is my own grandson a little out of her league?’

He shook his head with a laugh, suppressing the thought.

’It’s best if I don’t meddle in the affairs of the younger generation.’

At the Jiang family’s home, the aroma of fish filled the air.

As if it were a signal, the same fishy aroma began to drift from every household in the village.

And so it was at the An family’s home as well.

Two round tables were set up in the courtyard, laden with several dishes.

Cold-dressed cucumber, scrambled eggs with onion, fish stew with tofu, chicken stew with potatoes, salted boiled peanuts, and cabbage with vermicelli noodles.

There were six dishes in total, and the portions for each were massive.

A spread like this was something even a family hosting a wedding might not be able to put out, but here you could get it just for helping the An family with some work.

It had to be said, life for the An family had truly gotten better.

The two tables in the courtyard were filled with men.

An Sancheng and Uncle An each hosted one table, while the women ate inside the house.

The dishes were the same inside.

An Ning had already finished her rice and the main dishes. Now, she was eating the salted boiled peanuts one after another.

These peanuts were grown by Lin Cuihua in the backyard.

The peanuts had just been pulled from the ground, washed clean of dirt, and simply boiled in salt water. An Ning found the flavor addictive.

It wasn’t just the boiled ones; An Ning also ate plenty of freshly shelled raw peanuts.

Their light fragrance carried a hint of sweetness, they were crisp and moist—everything about them was perfectly delicious.

Outside, the men ate and drank, the meal lasting over an hour before everyone dispersed.

Uncle An’s wife and a few other women stayed behind to help Lin Cuihua clean up before leaving.

After everyone had left, Lin Cuihua finally sat down, holding her lower back.

She massaged her back, her voice tinged with exhaustion.

"Are we feeding them again tomorrow?"

"Yes, we have to."

An Sancheng nodded. "We don’t need to make so many dishes tomorrow. Just enough to fill them up is fine."

"Okay, okay."

Lin Cuihua answered listlessly. An Ning brought a small stool and sat down beside her.

"Mom, let me massage it for you."

Lin Cuihua’s hand stopped. She stared at An Ning and said with a tiny bit of worry, "You better be gentle. Mom’s back isn’t as sturdy as a cutting board."

Amused by her mother, An Ning retorted, "And I don’t have a kitchen knife in my hand, either."

After saying this, An Ning met Lin Cuihua’s gaze and asked, "Was that not funny?"

Lin Cuihua shook her head and turned her back to An Ning.

"An Sancheng, you do it. I don’t dare let her."

An Ning’s kind offer was coldly rejected by Lin Cuihua.

She stood up with a shrug, shaking her head in regret. "I was being completely serious, you know."

"I’m going out for a walk."

An Ning went out for a stroll. Although it was getting dark, no one was too worried about her anymore.

She had become powerful enough that they could rest easy.

Once outside, An Ning headed for the foot of the mountain.

She was carrying a shovel, preparing to go dig the foundation for a while.

She had her spiritual power, so she could work even without a light.

An Ning was digging the foundation by herself. After about half an hour, a familiar bark sounded.

"Da Huang?"

"WOOF WOOF WOOF!"

Da Huang came bounding over, followed by Jiang Xia, who was also carrying a shovel.

"Jiang Xia, what are you doing here?"

Jiang Xia walked up to face An Ning, set down his shovel, and just started digging the foundation.

"I ate too much. Just burning it off."

"Don’t get the wrong idea. I’m not here to help you."

Proud and stubborn, Jiang Xia kept his back to An Ning, digging away.

An Ning, busy with her work, accepted Jiang Xia’s reason without any suspicion.

"I’m not getting the wrong idea. I’m a little stuffed myself."

The two of them, both stuffed from dinner, dug at the foundation, one shovelful at a time.

Around ten o’clock, they finally stopped working. An Ning asked casually, "Still feeling full?"

Jiang Xia waved his hand dismissively. "Nope."

Not only was he not full, he was actually hungry now.

Jiang Xia shouldered his shovel and left first. As for Da Huang, he escorted An Ning home.

When they reached her gate, An Ning waved at Da Huang. The dog didn’t make a sound—he was remarkably intelligent—and went home.

An Ning walked into the courtyard and looked down.

"Were you waiting for me?"

"Cluck cluck cluck—"

The big rooster clucked softly a few times, circled around An Ning, and rubbed its body against her pant leg before returning to its coop, satisfied.

An Ning washed up quietly and went back to her room.

Once in her room, she took out a small note she had written during the day.

The note described how to plant pumpkin and cucumber seeds, how to care for them as they grew, when to harvest them, and how to save seeds for the next planting.

An Ning stared at it for a moment before putting it away again.

’I’ll transmit it after the foundation is done.’

An Ning put the note away safely. She was worried that transmitting the note would consume a great deal of her spiritual power.

If that happened, she wouldn’t be able to work effectively during the day.

Her life here with the An family was also very important to the current An Ning.

Having made her decision, An Ning slipped into her quilt and went to sleep.

The next morning, everyone in the An family was up before dawn.

An Sancheng, An Guoping, and An Guoqing all went to the new house site to continue working.

An Ning went with them. As for her morning lessons, they would be suspended for a few days.

When the group arrived at the foot of the mountain, they discovered that a portion of the foundation had already been dug out. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

An Ning offered a brief explanation, but didn’t mention Jiang Xia.

The others had only asked casually, and soon everyone who had come joined the work crew.

The An family was building a large house, but a great many people had come to help.

Basically, any able-bodied person with the surname An had shown up.

At this rate, they would finish digging the entire foundation in two or three days.