Chapter 131: Chapter 131: Preparing to Go Out

An Ning trailed behind the crowd, holding a red washbasin filled with a considerable number of coins.

This was supposedly called a "treasure basin."

An Ning looked at the basin in her hands. She wanted to laugh but didn’t dare, afraid she’d get a beating.

When it came to moving-day superstitions, Lin Cuihua was a firm believer. She called it "the wisdom of the ancestors."

The moving procession grew larger as it went.

The men of the An family were at the front, each of them carrying an armful of things.

Most of these items had been brought back by An Guoming, though some were gifts from the villagers.

The An family had called An Guoming before moving into the new house.

He had asked Director Li for time off, and Director Li had readily granted his request.

Not only did he grant the leave, but he also sent An Guoming back with plenty of things, including the big, red metal basin that An Ning was carrying.

Director Li said they were all housewarming gifts.

Somehow, news of the An family’s move reached Director Jin, and he also prepared a lot of things.

Old Man Zhang Qihua was with him, and he brought plenty as well.

With everything added together, An Guoming couldn’t possibly carry it all himself. In the end, he had to catch a ride back on one of the factory’s trucks.

At the head of the procession were villagers playing suonas, joyfully arriving at the An family’s new house.

"This gate is huge."

"How much must this big slab of iron have cost?"

The villagers’ simple, unadorned praise paused after An Sancheng opened the main gate.

As the two halves of the gate swung open, an enormous house appeared before everyone.

The An family’s original design was for six rooms in the front and six in the back, so the front courtyard was very long, nearly fifty to sixty meters.

But due to time constraints, the front six rooms hadn’t been built, only the back six.

The six rooms were much taller and grander than others in the village, and there were even steps leading to the door.

A red brick-and-tile house with transparent glass windows was definitely one of a kind in the village.

It would likely remain one of a kind for years to come.

An Sancheng was the first to step through the main gate, walk across the long courtyard, and open the door to the house.

CRACKLE-POP—DING—THUD

The sounds of small firecrackers and two-stage bangers exploded one after another at the entrance.

"Congratulations, congratulations."

"May you have great fortune and great profit."

"May you have a surplus year after year."

One by one, the younger members of the An family recited their lines of blessing and entered the house.

This had all been arranged by Lin Cuihua in advance. Everyone had their own line and had been forced to practice many times.

After the younger family members who had spoken their blessings went inside, they placed the things they were carrying on the kitchen floor, and the villagers behind them followed to have a look.

None of the visiting villagers came empty-handed. Gifts like two jin of millet, two jin of eggs, or one jin of rice were all written down by the person keeping accounts. These were social debts that would have to be repaid in the future.

"This house is so spacious and bright."

"Isn’t it? Maybe we can build one like this in the future."

"Having windows in both the front and back is really nice."

"Look at this big kitchen! It’ll be so roomy for meals."

"And there are two small utility rooms in the back. Good for storage, and it won’t be as cold in the winter."

The people who came in looked all around, filled with envy.

The An family’s house had a similar layout to their old one, only everything was scaled up.

The central kitchen was over five meters wide and more than seven meters long, with double doors at both the front and back, making it spacious and bright.

The house still had an east room and a west room, but each was much larger now, about thirty to forty square meters per room.

Behind these two rooms was a smaller, two-meter-wide room used for storage or miscellaneous items. In the future, a bathroom could also be set up here.

Six rooms, two entrances.

An Sancheng and Lin Cuihua took one suite, with An Ning still in the room opposite them.

An Guoqing and his wife took the west room in the other suite, while the east room was temporarily given to An Guoping and An Guoming. They would move out once the front building was completed.

However, An Guoming was only staying for two days before leaving, and An Guoping likely wouldn’t be living in the village anymore since he was supposed to go to university.

Today, the An family had arranged a big meal. In folk tradition, this is called "warming the hearth."

The meal didn’t completely wrap up until two or three in the afternoon. After everything was cleaned up, the An household finally quieted down.

Lin Cuihua, who had been sitting down, found a new burst of energy and called for everyone to get up.

"Let’s put up the door curtains and the window curtains."

"We’ll rest after everything’s done."

Everyone stood up and started installing the door curtains and window curtains.

Thankfully, Director Li had given them a lot of fabric. Otherwise, who would dare use such a large piece of cloth just to make a curtain?

The family spent several more hours tidying up. After night fell, Lin Cuihua boiled some dried noodles and made a meat sauce. They reheated the leftovers from lunch and finished their dinner.

After washing up, An Ning returned to her room. The kang was toasty warm, the windows were bright, and the ceiling was much higher.

There was also a concrete floor, which would definitely reduce the appearance of mice.

A set of modular cabinets was placed in the room. Facing the door was a desk and a small bookshelf.

There was also a cabinet on the kang, built with drawers to make it easy for An Ning to grab things.

On top of the kang cabinet, many books were also displayed.

An Ning lay on the kang, gazing at the ceiling.

’All that’s missing is electricity.’

Shili Gou didn’t have electricity yet. If it did, that would be truly wonderful.

An Ning closed her eyes, and just as she was about to fall asleep, her spiritual power vibrated.

She immediately opened her eyes, made sure the curtains were drawn, and skillfully pulled the cotton quilt over her head. The Klein Bottle appeared.

"One, two, three, four, five... nine."

There were nine gemstones in total, of all different colors.

Perfect cuts, exquisite colors, and top-grade clarity.

A small pile of supreme-quality gemstones and diamonds.

’Perfect timing.’

An Ning had already finished her blueprints and was preparing to go on a trip. The arrival of these gems was perfectly timed.

’I’ll go to the city, or maybe a bigger one, and try selling one.’ 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

An Ning put them back into the Klein Bottle, took the quilt off her head, and went to sleep.

The next morning, the members of the An family emerged from their rooms looking refreshed and invigorated. Every one of them had slept well.

Lin Cuihua was in an exceptionally good mood while making breakfast that morning. She was living in her new house!

An Ning, who had woken up early, didn’t go up the mountain. Instead, she got up to prepare practice problems for An Guoping and Yin Xuemei, getting things ready for her trip.

At breakfast, the An family sat around the table.

"Dad, Mom, I’m getting ready to go on a trip."

After An Ning spoke, Lin Cuihua and An Sancheng didn’t have much of a reaction. An Ning leaving home had become a regular occurrence.

"To the county town?"

"No."

That single word, "No," finally caught everyone’s attention.

An Sancheng asked with concern, "Then where are you going?"

"I’m planning to take a trip to the South to look for money-making opportunities."

’The South?’

The food in An Sancheng’s hands suddenly lost its appeal.

To him, the South was too far away.

An Ning could see An Sancheng’s apprehension and tried to reassure him, "I’ll call or send a telegram back at every place I stop. I’m so strong, nothing will happen to me."

An Sancheng was still not at ease. When people are bad, they are capable of anything.

A single person’s strength is ultimately limited. He couldn’t help but worry.