Chapter 170: Chapter 170: Come Work for Me

After An Ning and Jiang Xia finished their meal, Jiang Xia left first, leaving An Ning to take care of Auntie An Qi on her own.

Meanwhile, the man Fatty had sent to Shili Gou found An Laoqi and told him everything An Ning had done, along with her instructions.

Fatty had instructed him to add a few things; if you’ve done something difficult, you can’t let others think it was easy.

This was Fatty’s way of doing things.

An Laoqi took all the money he had, along with some he’d borrowed from others, and prepared to head to the city.

The man who came was also a skier, so he decided to teach An Laoqi.

But not everyone was An Ning.

Even An Ning had weaknesses; she just had very few of them.

An Laoqi learning to ski looked like someone recovering from a stroke trying to do the same. Forget moving forward—he couldn’t even stand up straight.

Others glided as smoothly as flowing water, but he could barely move an inch.

In the end, the villagers had to help out, shoveling a path through the snow as they went.

Once they reached Sanhe Town, Fatty met An Laoqi and put him on a train to the city.

Back in the city, An Ning had been taking care of Auntie An Qi for a day and a half when An Laoqi arrived.

When An Laoqi got to the hospital and finally found An Ning, he looked like he was about to drop to his knees in front of her.

"No, no, Uncle An Qi, please don’t! I couldn’t bear it."

An Ning helped Uncle An Qi up and let the couple have a moment to talk.

After a few minutes, Uncle An Qi came out of the hospital room and found An Ning leaning against the wall.

"An Ning, this is the money I brought from home. Take it for now. I’ll work hard when I get back, and I’ll definitely pay you back."

An Ning looked at the money in Uncle An Qi’s hand. It was mostly small-denomination bills, but every single one was neat, clean, and arranged in order of value. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

She gently pushed his hand back. "Uncle An Qi, you hold on to it for now. You’ll need money for all sorts of things here in the city."

"Auntie An Qi will be here for at least a week. You’ll need money for food and other expenses. I’ve already paid the hospital fees, so we can talk about paying me back after she’s back in the village."

Saying this, An Ning felt the pressure might be too much for Uncle An Qi.

"Uncle An Qi, you know I’ve leased a mountain. I’ll need workers come spring. If you wouldn’t mind—"

"I’ll do it! I’ll do it!"

Uncle An Qi wasn’t a fool; he knew An Ning was looking out for them.

"Alright then. Don’t worry. There’s a solution for everything."

An Ning didn’t stay at the hospital. After telling Uncle An Qi everything he needed to know, she left.

After leaving the hospital, An Ning decided that since she was in the city anyway, she might as well visit the machinery factory.

Her arrival was met with a warm welcome from Director Li.

"An Ning, what brings you here today?"

"I came to ask for your help with something, Director."

"Oh? Of course, of course. Tell me what it is. I’ll definitely help."

Director Li still needed some time to get used to An Ning’s straightforward personality.

An Ning sat down across from Director Li.

"I need some steel to be made into this shape."

An Ning had just raised her hand when Director Li, who was sitting opposite her, passed her a pen and paper.

"Here you go."

"Thank you."

An Ning took the pen and swiftly sketched on the blank paper.

"Racks like this. I need a hundred of them."

Director Li was a little worried it would be difficult to make, and he took the paper apprehensively.

"That’s it?"

"That’s it."

"Just this?"

"Can’t you make it?"

An Ning was beginning to question the factory’s capabilities.

"No, no, we can make it. I just thought... Never mind. We can do it."

"Good. I’m going to take a look around the workshop, and then I’ll be leaving this afternoon."

Director Li was overjoyed. Having her tour the workshop was an excellent idea.

He led the way, chatting with An Ning as they walked.

Once in the workshop, An Ning helped repair several machines and even offered Director Li suggestions for improvements.

After eating a meal at the machinery factory, An Ning went out for a bit.

At the city’s general store, she bought several pairs of leather shoes, cotton gloves, hats, scarves, and three women’s padded cotton jackets.

As for men’s jackets, when Director Li heard what she was buying, he simply gave her several army greatcoats.

After she finished her shopping, An Ning returned to the machinery factory to give some more guidance before catching the last train out of the city.

By the time An Ning got off the train, the sky was already starting to brighten.

Carrying an enormous bundle on her back, she looked like a small, moving hill as she walked along the path the villagers had cleared of snow.

Just as she reached home, the main gate to the An family’s house opened.

"Sis—"

"Mom, Sis is back!"

An Guoping shouted at the top of his lungs and rushed forward to take the bundle.

An Ning let him take the bundle; she was truly exhausted.

"Take it inside. I need to lie down for a bit."

An Ning’s legs felt a bit weak. After calling out to her mom, Lin Cuihua shooed her off to rest.

Tucked into her own warm bed, An Ning slept for nearly a full day.

When she woke up that evening, she was completely disoriented.

’Is it the next day, or still the same day?’

Still groggy, An Ning rubbed her head and walked out of her room.

Hearing the door open, Lin Cuihua quickly got out of bed and rushed out of her room.

"Are you hungry? Do you feel alright?"

"Hungry! And I have a bit of a headache."

"Then what are you doing up? Go lie back down. You can just eat in bed. I’ll bring you some food."

Lin Cuihua’s heart ached for her daughter. The thought of how far she had walked in such heavy snow made her want to cry.

"Mom... I need to use the bathroom."

An Ning had been woken up by a full bladder.

"Oh, you need the toilet? Just wait in your room, I’ll bring you a chamber pot. Don’t go outside."

"I’ll be right back."

An Ning still wasn’t used to the idea of a chamber pot, so she bolted outside.

"Hey, put on a coat!"

Lin Cuihua anxiously went back inside to grab an army greatcoat and hurried to bring it out to An Ning.

"Hurry and put this on. What if you catch a cold?"

An Ning threw the coat over her shoulders, went to the outhouse, and finally felt relieved.

That evening, Lin Cuihua made An Ning rice porridge, steamed egg custard, and stir-fried cured pork with shredded radish.

An Ning ate about half but had no appetite. She used being tired as an excuse and said she was going to sleep for a while.

Lin Cuihua, still worried, collected the bowl and chopsticks. After washing them, she went back into An Ning’s room.

By this time, An Ning was already asleep.

Lin Cuihua rubbed her hands together to warm them before touching An Ning’s forehead. It didn’t feel too warm.

She quietly closed the door and left.

In the middle of the night, An Ning had a dream.

For someone with spiritual power like her, dreaming was an incredibly strange occurrence.

In the dream, An Ning was standing before a glass mirror. The next second, the ground beneath her feet turned to yellow sand, and the mirror shattered into countless smaller pieces, all flipping over and over endlessly.

The sand at her feet behaved like quicksand, yet also like a kaleidoscopic light show, stretching out into infinity.

An Ning felt a desperate urge to wake up, but she was trapped and couldn’t find a way out.

Lying in her bed, An Ning began to whimper unconsciously.

Lin Cuihua hadn’t been sleeping soundly that night. She got up in the middle of the night, threw on some clothes, and pushed open An Ning’s door.

A hand with a rough, calloused palm rested on An Ning’s forehead.

"An Sancheng, our daughter has a fever!"