It was noon at the An family’s dining table.

"An Ning, nothing happened on the mountain, right?"

An Sancheng asked, still worried. His daughter was quite headstrong, and he wasn’t entirely convinced.

An Ning, who was focused on her food, didn’t expect An Sancheng to bring it up.

An Sancheng had just finished speaking, but before An Ning could answer, Lin Cuihua grew anxious.

"What’s wrong? What happened on the mountain? Was it dangerous?"

Seeing Lin Cuihua’s worried and frightened expression, An Ning didn’t dare tell the truth.

"Mom, the mountain was fine. Look at me, I don’t even have a scratch from a blade of grass. Really, nothing happened at all."

After reassuring Lin Cuihua, An Ning met An Sancheng’s gaze and said, "Dad, the mountain was perfectly fine."

"Alright, I was just asking."

"Why ask such things? You scared me to death."

Lin Cuihua shot An Sancheng a dissatisfied glare. An Sancheng felt completely innocent.

’What did I do?!’

Across from him, An Ning lowered her head, using her rice bowl to hide her smile.

After lunch, her sister-in-law cleared the dishes while Lin Cuihua began to prepare the meat.

There were two very fatty pieces, which Lin Cuihua planned to render into lard. The leftover cracklings would be used to make dumplings for dinner.

While Lin Cuihua and her sister-in-law were busy in the kitchen, An Ning grabbed two tools and a long pole and returned to her room to fix her curtain. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

In the courtyard, An Sancheng and An Guoqing were mixing mud to build a bathhouse and a rabbit hutch as well.

No one in the An family rested that afternoon. Especially when Lin Cuihua started rendering the lard, the aroma was simply irresistible.

An Ning, having fixed her curtain rod, followed the aroma to the kitchen.

"Mom, it smells so good."

"What do you expect from sizzling fat? Of course it smells good."

Lin Cuihua used a ladle to scoop the oil out of the pot, one spoonful at a time, pouring it into a small, dark brown jar.

Once the oil cooled, it would solidify and turn white. Stored in a cool, dry place, it would last for a long time.

"Come here."

An Ning obediently stepped forward, thinking Lin Cuihua was about to give her a chore.

"Open your mouth. It’s a little hot."

An Ning subconsciously opened her mouth, and Lin Cuihua popped a piece of hot crackling into it.

The crispy, savory flavor of rendered fat filled her mouth.

"Delicious."

An Ning didn’t dare to stay. Even though it was delicious, she couldn’t just stand by the pot and help herself.

She turned and went outside, helping with the construction for a while.

When it was about time, she headed back to the fields to work.

An Ning chose to work in the fields again to cultivate her spiritual power, preparing to teleport more seeds that night.

When the evening whistle to end the workday blew, An Ning walked quickly and was the first to arrive back at the An family’s courtyard.

"An Ning, take this to your uncle’s house."

Lin Cuihua was scooping something out of a pot. All An Ning could see was that it was white, and she couldn’t immediately identify what it was.

"Hurry, take this to your uncle’s house. When you get back, we can eat our own dumplings."

’Dumplings?’

In the original owner’s limited memory, she seemed to recall eating them once before.

An Ning quickly took the small basin Lin Cuihua handed her. It was covered with a small woven lid.

"Careful, don’t spill them."

An Ning agreed and carried the basin of dumplings out the main gate, heading toward her uncle’s house.

Fortunately, over the past few days, she had figured out where some of her relatives lived.

"Well, if it isn’t An Ning. Where’re you off to?"

An older woman craned her neck as if trying to stretch it out two meters, her eyes glued to the basin in An Ning’s hands.

"What’s that smell? Smells mighty good. Let your Auntie have a look."

As the woman spoke, she reached out a grimy hand—it wasn’t sun-tanned, but just plain dirty, with black mud caked under the fingernails.

This was the first time An Ning had encountered someone like this. Her experience in communicating with people from her interstellar life was severely lacking.

After all, the main objective of her mission was the seeds; spiritual power was the top priority.

Without enough spiritual power to teleport the seeds, everything else was a waste of time.

"No, I’m in a hurry."

An Ning dodged away, saying the most tactful thing she could manage.

Unfortunately, the woman didn’t give up. She took a step forward and said, "Going to your uncle’s, are you? I’m heading that way too. Come on, let your Auntie see what delicious thing you’ve got."

The woman reached out again. An Ning frowned, dodged once more, and her blunt side surfaced.

"I don’t want you to see it, I don’t want you to touch it, and I certainly don’t want you to eat it."

"Have I made myself clear this time? Do you understand?"

An Ning’s dark, clear eyes stared unblinkingly at the woman.

"Good. I think you probably understand now. Goodbye."

Holding the basin steady, An Ning broke into a run to finish her delivery.

The woman left standing there spat on the ground. "Pah! Who’d want it anyway! Putting on airs."

The woman went home in a huff. Onlookers just pursed their lips; no one paid her any mind.

’A whole family of lazy good-for-nothings, always looking for a free meal. In their dreams.’

Having run off, An Ning quickly arrived at her uncle’s house. She delivered the dumplings and was about to leave.

"Wait, take some eggs back with you."

Her aunt looked at the small basin of white-flour dumplings and couldn’t possibly let An Ning return empty-handed.

But An Ning refused and darted away.

Her aunt took two steps in pursuit, then stopped at the doorway, chuckling as she watched An Ning go. "Ah, to be young. I couldn’t even keep up for a single step."

An Ning, who had vanished in a flash, was soon back home.

"Second Brother, you’re back."

"I’m back. What a day, I’m dead tired."

An Guoming was washing up in the courtyard, so An Ning washed up as well, ready to eat dumplings.

When An Ning got back, Lin Cuihua was still scooping dumplings from the pot. She had cooked a smaller batch first for the delivery, and now she was on the second batch.

"Dinner’s ready! Dumplings are best eaten hot."

At the familiar call to eat, everyone quickly took their seats.

"White-flour dumplings? What’s the special occasion?"

An Guoming picked up a dumpling and was blowing on it to cool it down when he heard Lin Cuihua say, "Can’t even a dumpling shut your mouth? Stop talking nonsense and eat."

An Guoming didn’t mind in the least. With a good-natured chuckle, he bit a dumpling in half.

An Ning had grown used to this atmosphere; she even kind of liked it.

"The wheat-ear-shaped ones are bok choy and pork crackling. The flat ones are zucchini and egg."

Lin Cuihua thought, ’Since we’re having a treat, I might as well make sure everyone eats their fill.’

An Ning looked curiously at the steaming hot dumplings on the table. In the center was a bowl of garlic sauce. She picked up one of the bok choy and pork crackling ones first.

The bok choy was fresh, the pork crackling was fragrant, the flour was pure, and the wrapper was perfectly chewy and smooth.

In a single bite, she tasted the main staple, vegetables, and meat all at once—a perfect, wonderfully simple fusion.

Everyone chatted as they ate.

They learned that An Guoming had been out all day, mainly observing the situation.

"Second Brother, how many more days will it take?"

"Two or three more days, maybe. I’ll take another look."

An Ning nodded without pressing further. Since she’d entrusted the task to her second brother, she would trust him to handle it.

"An Ning, shake the dumplings."

An Ning glanced at Lin Cuihua and saw her shaking the basin of dumplings on the table. The dumplings inside, which had begun to stick together, immediately loosened up.

An Ning understood. Just as she was about to try it herself, she was stopped.

"On second thought, don’t you do it. You’re not even as sturdy as a cutting board."