Chapter 83: Chapter 83: The College Entrance Exam

「The machinery factory.」

The jaw of Old Master Zhang Qihua, a Level 8 worker, was hanging wide open.

Director Li reached out and pushed the old man’s jaw closed.

"Really? Stop making such a fuss. You look like you’ve never seen the world."

Zhang Qihua snapped his mouth shut and shot Director Li a blatant glare.

"Coming from you? When you first found out, I bet you wanted to kneel before that young lady yourself."

Old Master Zhang Qihua retorted, not to be outdone. He and Director Li glared at each other with mutual disdain.

"Alright, alright. You two are being so childish."

The director of the machinery factory stepped in to mediate. "Who is this young lady?" he asked curiously. "Is she looking for a job? Her drafting skills are incredible."

Director Li, who had been in a staring contest with Zhang Qihua, whipped his head around and glared at the machinery factory director as if he were a mortal enemy.

"You’ve got some nerve. You think you can just hire her on a whim?"

Director Li reached for the drawings, but Zhang Qihua snatched them away.

"Hey, hey, hey! What do you think you’re doing? This is the property of our textile factory. What are you trying to pull?"

Old Master Zhang Qihua paid him no mind.

"Do you still want your machine built or not?"

With that one sentence, he had Director Li right where he wanted him.

In the end, after some discussion, the three agreed that Director Li would be the one to invite An Ning to the machinery factory.

It wasn’t that they couldn’t build the machine. Rather, it needed a few modifications first. Having someone there to provide guidance would be ideal.

Having received his assignment, Director Li headed back to the textile factory.

Meanwhile, An Ning, the subject of all this discussion, was on a bus heading back to Sanhe Town.

After a bumpy ride, she finally arrived.

As she stepped off the bus and onto the street, she noticed it seemed a little more crowded than usual.

She listened closely and soon realized why.

Somehow, it was already July 9th—the day of the college entrance exams.

An Ning scanned the crowd a couple of times but didn’t see anyone from the An family. ’They must not be here,’ she thought.

She lingered for a moment before deciding it was best to just head home.

An Ning walked back to the An family home. The moment she stepped into the yard, the large rooster began to squawk loudly.

Its call was loud and shrill, and she could have sworn it sounded like it was tattling on someone.

"What’s wrong? Did you lose a fight with one of the other chickens?"

Amused, An Ning crouched down and stroked the big rooster’s head.

"Little Sis—you’re finally back!"

An Guoming, his arm wrapped in bandages, emerged from the house and gave An Ning a look of utter grievance.

"Second Brother, you’re creeping me out with that look."

An Ning shivered and stood up, feeling uneasy all over.

"Creepy? You think this is creepy?"

As he spoke, An Guoming’s voice started to break. He hadn’t felt this wronged even when he was swindled in his business dealings.

"This chicken of yours! Every single morning, it stands on my windowsill and crows, and it won’t stop until it sees me get out of bed."

"If I don’t get up, it follows me around, pecking me every so often and clucking non-stop! BOK BOK BOK! My head is going to explode!"

"Forget my head exploding—I’m starting to want to cluck whenever I open my mouth! I’m forgetting how to speak like a human!"

At this, An Guoming shot the big rooster a furious glare. The bird, however, was completely unfazed and simply shuffled a little closer to An Ning.

After hearing the whole story, An Ning could only feel one thing: an overwhelming urge to laugh.

"HAHAHAHAHA!"

An Ning burst out laughing, hugging the big rooster as she did.

"You’re killing me! You’re such a good boy, you really kept a close eye on Second Brother."

Laughing until she nearly had a stitch in her side, An Ning finally straightened up. The big rooster toddled off to play on its own.

"So, Second Brother, is your arm feeling any better?"

"Much better. I can even get out of bed and go to the bathroom on my own now."

For the past couple of days, An Guoming had been forced to wait for their older brother to get home just to help him use the restroom.

"What nonsense are you talking! I offered to help you, but you refused. Who can you blame but yourself?"

Lin Cuihua returned from the backyard just in time to hear An Guoming grumbling.

She took a few steps forward and her face lit up when she saw An Ning.

"Oh, my dear girl, you’re finally back."

Lin Cuihua rushed over to An Ning and looked her over, her brow quickly furrowing in concern.

"You’ve lost weight! What have you been up to?"

"It’s nothing. I’ll gain it back now that I’m home."

An Ning didn’t go into detail and simply followed Lin Cuihua into the house.

An Guoming trailed behind them on his own.

Once inside, An Guoming first found a couple of pastries for An Ning.

"Here, eat something."

Then An Guoming shouted toward the kitchen, "Mom, fry a couple of eggs for Little Sis!"

"I know, I know! You think I needed you to tell me?"

Lin Cuihua grumbled, but her hands moved swiftly. In just a few moments, she emerged from the kitchen with a small plate for An Ning.

"Eat this to tide you over. Mom will go make you a proper meal."

"Okay."

An Ning took the plate. On it sat four glistening fried eggs, drizzled with sesame oil and a dash of soy sauce.

An Ning was indeed famished. In just a few bites, she polished off the eggs and the peach crisps her brother had given her.

"Slow down, slow down."

An Guoming got up, poured a glass of water, and handed it to An Ning.

"Little Sis, did you—"

An Guoming wanted to ask. He had a good idea of what she had done for his sake, and the thought didn’t sit well with him.

After taking a sip of water, An Ning just gave him a faint smile.

"Second Brother, if I were the one who got into trouble, what would you do?"

"If anyone dared to bully you, I’d risk my life to get them—" He trailed off with a wry chuckle. "Ah, you’re right, Little Sis. I get it."

An Guoming understood her point, but he still asked for the details.

An Ning didn’t hide anything, explaining the whole situation to him in detail.

As An Guoming listened, his eyes began to sparkle. ’What a brilliant plan!’

"Second Brother, I was able to do this, but you couldn’t. Do you understand why?"

"You need to use your wits. It might take you longer than it took me. I’m telling you all this because I want you to remember not to underestimate anyone."

"We’re just nobodies from a small town. We might be clever, but the people out there aren’t fools."

When she finished, An Ning stared intently at An Guoming.

There was no trace of displeasure in An Guoming’s eyes, only gratitude.

"Little Sis, lying in that alley... I understood then. There won’t be a next time."

"Good. I believe you, Second Brother." An Ning looked at him with conviction. "From now on, when you do business, I’ll be right behind you. All you have to do is turn around, and I’ll be there."

"Okay! From now on, your brother will make the money, and I’ll support you."

The siblings shared a knowing smile, and the matter was put behind them.

"Oh, right. Is our little brother taking his college entrance exams today?"

"He is. Today was the last day, so he’s finished."

An Guoming stood up and added, "Older Brother went to pick him up. You don’t have to worry about it."

An Ning nodded. She realized that, without noticing, she had already been here for over a month.

’I’ve only transported the seeds twice,’ she thought. ’I’ll do it again tonight.’

Her mind made up, An Ning went to her room and groggily fell asleep.

She was truly exhausted from the past several days.

As she drifted off, the palm of her left hand began to emit a faint glow.