Chapter 85: Chapter 85: Going to the Market

An Ning considered Lin Cuihua’s words, her mind starting to turn.

’Fireproof building materials... I know how to make those.’

The thought flashed through her mind, but An Ning didn’t dwell on it. She couldn’t afford to take such big strides. For now, she had to focus solely on mechanics.

If her work with machinery drew attention, she could pass it off as being gifted in that area.

But being skilled in too many fields would seem far-fetched.

At that moment, An Ning recalled An Sancheng’s advice about her education. Going to school wasn’t necessarily about what she would learn; it would be an excellent cover.

’But I’ll wait a year before deciding.’

She would wait until she had transported more seeds, until the An family was better situated, and until she had a deeper understanding of this world.

Once she had greater financial power, she could buy a plot of land wherever she ended up going to school.

With a plan slowly taking shape in her mind, An Ning took a short stroll around the courtyard after dinner.

Once she felt her stomach had settled, she went back to her room to sleep.

By the time she returned to her room, it was already past midnight.

She draped the quilt over her shoulders again, pulled the bags of seeds out from the cabinet, and began the transportation process.

The seeds for this transfer were a bit large. Lin Cuihua had said they were pumpkin seeds.

"One, two, three... ten..."

An Ning’s hand froze as she counted the tenth seed.

’What’s going on?’

Last time, she had only managed to fit ten cucumber seeds.

But now, even after putting in ten pumpkin seeds, which were larger than the cucumber seeds, there was still room.

An Ning picked up the Klein Bottle and examined it closely.

"It’s gotten bigger."

She was astonished.

In the interstellar era, the Klein Bottle had infinite storage capacity. After she transmigrated, it was a feat that it had managed to retain any space at all, let alone its current size.

An Ning continued to fill it with seeds. When she reached the sixteenth seed, it was finally full.

Based on the relative volume of the two types of seeds, she calculated that the Klein Bottle’s capacity had nearly doubled.

’The Klein Bottle is directly linked to my spiritual power. Could it be that the farm work has expanded my spiritual power?’

’As my spiritual power grows, the Klein Bottle’s capacity grows with it.’

An Ning mulled it over for a moment before setting the thought aside. She just needed to keep doing what she was doing, step by step.

She put the Klein Bottle away and went to sleep.

The next morning, An Ning first went up the mountain and came back down with two wild pheasants.

Just as she stepped through the courtyard gate, she saw An Guoping.

"What are you doing home?"

An Guoping, in the middle of washing his face, was caught completely off guard. He looked confused for a moment before remembering. His college entrance exams were over.

"Sis, I finished my exams. I’m on break now."

This time, it was An Ning’s turn to be caught off guard at the gate.

"Oh. I forgot."

An Ning carried the two pheasants inside, covered them with a basket on the ground, and then squatted next to An Guoping to wash her hands.

For a moment, things were a little awkward between the siblings.

Neither knew quite what to say.

"So, what are you going to do during your break?"

"Work in the fields, of course."

An Guoping answered as if it were the most natural thing in the world. He grinned. "Work in the fields and earn some work points."

"That makes sense."

An Ning finished washing her face, brushed her teeth with tooth powder, and went inside to eat.

Breakfast was porridge. Lin Cuihua had steamed a large bowl of savory egg custard, sprinkled with minced chives.

"The chives are ready. We should make some flatbreads to eat."

"Alright, I’ll make them for lunch."

Lin Cuihua had just agreed when someone called out from outside the courtyard.

"An Ning, there’s a phone call for you!"

An Ning put down her bowl and said to An Sancheng, "Dad, I’m heading out."

"Go on."

An Ning was already running out of the courtyard. She quickly reached the commune headquarters and called back the number that had been left for her.

It was Director Li.

After a single ring, the other end picked up immediately.

"Director Li, this is An Ning."

On the other end of the line, Director Li first told An Ning about Zhu Jianping.

"That man, Zhu, was taken away for investigation. I didn’t pry into the specifics. Do you need me to—"

"No, that’s not necessary. Just knowing the outcome is enough for me."

"Alright then. I’ll let you know when I hear anything."

Director Li didn’t hang up after saying that. Instead, he hesitated, hemming and hawing for a moment.

"Director Li, if there’s something on your mind, please just say it."

"Ah, alright, alright. I’ll just say it then."

Director Li, still on the phone, told An Ning about the situation at the machinery factory.

"The problem now is that there’s nothing wrong with your blueprints. The issue is their equipment—they don’t have anything suitable. I was wondering if you’d be willing to come and take a look?"

An Ning thought for a moment. "I can, but it’ll have to be in a few days. I’m busy right now."

She needed to recover the spiritual power she had used up the previous night.

"No problem. Just give me a call whenever you’re ready to come over."

An Ning agreed, hung up, paid for the call, and left.

For the next few days, An Ning dutifully worked in the fields and went nowhere else.

Five days later, her spiritual power was fully restored. In fact, it even felt like it had grown slightly.

’I’ll try transporting seeds again tonight,’ An Ning thought. ’I might be able to send more this time.’

"Time to eat! Hurry and eat!"

Lin Cuihua called everyone for breakfast, and they all quickly took their seats.

"Mom, the market is open over in Sunvale Village. Today’s the seventh, so it’s a big market day."

After her sister-in-law, Gao Guifen, spoke, An Ning looked up curiously. ’What’s a big market day?’

"Really? Then let’s go take a look in a bit."

Lin Cuihua was very interested.

"Mom, can I go?"

An Ning was also intrigued; she had never been to one before.

"Of course. Your strength will be useful."

Lin Cuihua had no objections. After they finished eating and tidying up, they got ready to leave.

"How are we getting there?"

"We’ll go to the village entrance and take the ox-cart. We’re not taking the bicycles. The market is too crowded; they might get stolen."

Since Lin Cuihua said no, An Ning didn’t press the issue. She followed her mother and sister-in-law toward the village entrance.

When they got to the entrance of the village, they saw that there were quite a lot of people. They had arrived a little late and missed the ox-cart.

In the end, the three of them had to walk. The distance wasn’t too far, and after a little over half an hour, they finally arrived.

An Ning finally understood what a "big market day" was.

It was a large, open space filled with simple stalls.

Some stalls were just wooden planks, while others were nothing more than a piece of cloth spread on the ground.

There were people selling vegetables, clothes, shoes, and socks, and all sorts of woven baskets.

Most of the vendors were local farmers selling their own goods; there weren’t many products from outside the area.

But it was definitely crowded. Most people were just there to soak in the lively atmosphere.

This kind of large market hadn’t been allowed for a long time.

The reopening of the market meant that private trade was truly no longer being restricted.

An Ning looked around curiously as she walked, following behind Lin Cuihua and her sister-in-law.

"Well now, isn’t this Gui Fen?"

A somewhat shrill female voice called out from ahead of them.

An Ning clearly saw her sister-in-law purse her lips in displeasure.

The woman approaching them was overly enthusiastic, grabbing her sister-in-law’s hand so fervently you would have thought they were actual sisters.

"Gui Fen, why haven’t you been home to see your parents? They miss you terribly."

"Oh, by the way, your younger brother is getting married. Did you know?"