Chapter 132: Chapter 132: Hitching a Ride with Second Brother

The An family home.

The dining table fell silent.

An Sancheng was quiet, Lin Cuihua was anxious, their eldest daughter-in-law was worried, and their youngest son was silent.

"Sis, how about I go with you?"

An Guoqing was the first to speak. "Sis, I’ll go with you. Wherever you want to go, I’ll go."

"That’s right, let your big brother go with you."

Her sister-in-law, Zhou Guifen, also chimed in to persuade her. "Your big brother is strong. With a big man like him by your side, even bad guys would have to think twice."

Zhou Guifen was a clear-sighted person. She knew that her sister-in-law was the reason for all of the An family’s good fortune.

Her and An Guoqing’s skills were limited to farming and raising some livestock in the countryside. They wouldn’t get far if they left.

Lin Cuihua couldn’t help but add, "I think that’s a good idea. With the eldest’s build, he could intimidate anyone, anywhere. If you two go together, I’ll worry a little less."

The entire family’s gazes fell on An Ning once again.

"Big Brother, I want to go by myself."

"Dad, Mom, you don’t need to worry. When it comes to strength, Big Brother can’t beat me."

The room fell silent again.

An Guoming, who had been quiet the whole time, finally spoke up.

"Sis, I’m heading back to the county tomorrow. We can leave together. I’ll see if our factory has any trucks going south. How about you ride with me?"

"Once we get to the south, I’ll ask Director Li for some time off and hang around with you. I’ll just follow you. You can do whatever you want."

At this point, An Guoming looked at An Ning seriously and said, "Actually, after I go back this time, I was also planning to take a trip down south. I want to try and hawk some goods to bring back."

An Ning thought for a moment, then looked at the rest of the An family.

"Alright, I’ll take Second Brother’s truck and go with him."

An Ning turned to An Guoqing and said, "Big Brother, the family needs you here. It’s not that I don’t want to go with you, but no one else can drive the tractor, and Sister-in-law is pregnant. It’s better if you don’t leave."

"I know. As long as someone is going with you, I’m fine with it."

An Guoqing didn’t mind at all. His main concern was for An Ning’s safety.

Finally, An Ning looked at An Sancheng, who had no choice but to agree.

After the meal, Lin Cuihua got busy again, preparing a bedroll and luggage for An Ning.

This time, An Ning stopped her. It would be too difficult to carry so much; just a few essentials would be enough.

This put Lin Cuihua in a difficult position. In her eyes, every single item was useful.

With the decision made, An Ning didn’t have much to prepare.

The jewels and her bankbook were all inside her Klein Bottle.

In an outer pocket, she kept some cash and ration coupons.

An Ning just packed a single backpack containing a few changes of clothes and a small enamel mug she could use for drinking water and brushing her teeth. She took almost nothing else.

An Ning spent the entire day at home writing out practice problems.

Early the next morning, she gave the practice problems she had prepared to An Guoping and Yin Xuemei.

"You two study on your own at home and do a set number of problems each day. When I get back, I’ll check your progress."

"Got it, Sis."

"I will, An Ning."

After taking her set of problems, Yin Xuemei handed An Ning a small cloth bag containing three meal tins.

"What’s this?"

An Ning could feel that it was quite heavy and had some real heft to it.

Yin Xuemei opened the bag and showed An Ning the contents one by one. "This tin has tea eggs. There are six of them. Eat these first."

"This one has pastries, which can last for a few days."

"And this one has stewed beef. You should eat it soon, as it spoils easily."

An Ning’s nose couldn’t help but twitch. It smelled so fragrant.

"Where did you get the money for this?"

After asking, An Ning felt her question was a bit improper and quickly explained, "I’m not trying to pry into your private life. I just don’t want you to thank me by spending beyond your means." 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Yin Xuemei didn’t seem offended. Instead, she asked, "Do you think my cooking is good?"

"Delicious!"

An Ning gave her the highest praise.

Pleased by the compliment, Yin Xuemei pointed to the first tin of tea eggs. "Lately, I’ve been boiling tea eggs and selling them at the train station in town."

"Don’t worry, this is all well within my financial means."

Hearing Yin Xuemei’s explanation, An Ning felt a sense of relief.

"Yin Xuemei, you’re amazing."

After they finished talking, An Ning took the food from Yin Xuemei, shouldered her backpack, slung a water canteen around her neck, and left with An Guoming.

The brother and sister duo walked to town. While waiting for the bus, they ate two of the tea eggs.

"Mm? Delicious. This is really delicious."

An Guoming nodded repeatedly after taking a bite. These tea eggs were much tastier than plain boiled eggs.

The fragrance was rich and unique. Even the yolk inside was infused with flavor, making it less dry and chalky than usual.

"This stuff is so good, I could eat several of these in one go."

"Have another."

An Ning handed another one to An Guoming, who happily accepted it. In the short time they sat there, the two of them finished all six tea eggs.

"Sis, did Yin Xuemei make these?"

"Yes."

An Guoming took a sip of water, swished it around in his mouth, and fell into thought.

"Second Brother, what are you thinking about?"

"Hm?"

An Guoming smiled. "I’m not sure. I was just thinking that this recipe must be one-of-a-kind. And one-of-a-kind things are always a business opportunity."

"But I don’t have anything right now. We’ll talk more after we get back from the south. I want to go see the world a bit, too."

An Ning completely agreed with An Guoming. Rarity creates value. If you have a skill that others don’t, it has commercial potential.

The two of them waited for over an hour before it was finally time to board the bus.

The bus was as crowded as ever. It wasn’t very big. An Ning got a seat, but An Guoming didn’t, so he stood for the time being.

An Guoming observed the situation on the bus. In his eyes, this too was a business opportunity.

More and more people were traveling, but there clearly weren’t enough buses.

He looked away and shook his head with a self-deprecating smile.

’So many ideas,’ he thought. ’But first, I don’t have the resources, and second, you can’t bite off more than you can chew.’

’It would be an achievement just to succeed in one industry.’

An Guoming’s thoughts turned to the goods in his backpack. He’d see what he could do once they reached the south.

The bus started up and headed toward the county town.

At the same time, a black sedan also departed from Sanhe Town.

If An Ning had seen the driver, she would have recognized him.

In the black sedan, the man with the baby face from before held the steering wheel with one hand, his other arm resting coolly on the open window, a lit cigarette dangling between two fingers.

"Brother Xiatian, want one?"

In the passenger seat, Jiang Xia leaned back against the headrest with his eyes closed and let out a lazy yawn.

"I cherish my life."

"Put it out. Now."

The baby-faced man casually pinched out the cigarette and tossed it onto the road. After letting the smell dissipate, he rolled up the window.

"Brother Xiatian, what are we going to the south for?"

"I don’t know."

Jiang Xia truly didn’t know. He just had a feeling he should make the trip.

As he’d said before, no one ever complains about having too much money.

Besides, the Plum Blossom Deer was planning to start her own venture. How could he just sit around and squander his fortune?