Chapter 504 - 518: The Farthest North

The note Lin Xiaoxiao unfolded in her palm had neat, blocky handwriting, bearing no resemblance to An Ning’s personality.

"Don’t hesitate if you need anything." Below that was An Ning’s phone number in Beijing.

Lin Xiaoxiao and Lin Cuifeng watched the truck drive away, then supported each other as they went inside.

"Xiaoxiao, don’t bother them unless it’s something important."

"I know, Dad."

Lin Xiaoxiao helped Lin Cuifeng inside. ’It feels so good to have someone watching your back,’ she thought.

After leaving, An Ning had a bumpy ride that lasted several more hours before she finally got home.

Once home, they were all too exhausted to cook. They simply reheated some sticky buns and ate them with leftovers from the past two days, making do with a simple meal.

In the days that followed, although Lin Cuihua was still thinking about shoveling the snow after it melted, her whole demeanor was a bit different.

The knot that had been in her heart for years had probably unraveled, and she seemed to have let go of many things. She was so gentle that she was almost unrecognizable.

In the end, it was Hei Dan’er who put a stop to Lin Cuihua’s gentleness. During dinner, he stared at her for a long time before blurting out a complete sentence.

"Grandma, no ’little treasure.’ Only Hei Dan."

Hei Dan’er, who Lin Cuihua had been affectionately calling "my little treasure," scanned the room with innocent eyes to inform his grandmother that there was no "little treasure," only Hei Dan.

An Guoqing fanned the flames, saying, "Mom, stop being so scary. Look, you’ve scared Hei Dan so much he’s started speaking in full sentences."

Lin Cuihua, who had been gently feeding the boy with a spoon, shot An Guoqing a fierce glare. She slammed the spoon down with a CLANG.

"It’s like feeding fine bran to a foolish pig... Be nice to you lot, and you can’t even tell good from bad."

"Grandma’s back!"

Hei Dan clapped his little hands happily. ’My old grandma is back!’ he thought gleefully.

But An Guoqing disagreed. "Who says? Pigs eat anything. Mom... when it comes to feeding pigs, I’m the expert. You wouldn’t know since you don’t do it."

An Guoqing and Hei Dan’er’s interruption made several people at the table stifle their laughter. An Ning quickly finished the food in her bowl, set it down, and ran for it.

"I’m done!"

"Me too!"

"Wait for me!"

An Guoping and An Guoming chased after them one by one. Hei Dan’er tried to keep a straight face, his little eyes searching for something.

"Grandma, bamboo switch, spank!"

Hei Dan’er’s words made Lin Cuihua laugh. She patted his little head and said, "Just eat your food. Eat by yourself."

Hei Dan’er blinked, picked up his little spoon, and started shoveling food into his mouth. He was no trouble at all.

After the New Year, An Ning gave herself a few days off. She lazed around for several days, not thinking about anything.

Every day after eating, she would take a stroll through the greenhouses, and after her stroll, she’d come home to eat again.

This went on, back and forth, over and over, for a week.

A week later, perhaps because even the heavens couldn’t stand to see her waste any more time, a phone call came to the An family’s home.

After taking the call, An Ning’s idle New Year holiday officially came to an end. She immediately packed her bags and prepared to leave.

As soon as An Ning started moving, the rest of the family sprang into action.

An Guoming also officially came out of his ’seclusion’ and started working. The two companies, the logistics firm and Green Land, both needed his management.

An Guoping, on the other hand, began burning the midnight oil, opening the first page of the books he had brought back from Beijing.

He hadn’t read a single page in all the days since the holiday started.

With her things packed, An Ning prepared to set out alone. Lin Cuihua seemed to have gotten used to this. As always, she nagged her with many instructions, but she had also grown accustomed to the worry in her heart.

"Be careful on the road."

"I will, Mom."

Lin Cuihua nodded and had An Guoqing take An Ning to the train station on the small three-wheeled vehicle.

An Ning handed her bag to An Guoqing, then squatted down to hug little Hei Dan’er. She pinched his cheek and said, "You have to miss your auntie, you hear?"

"Miss Auntie!"

Hei Dan’er was very cooperative. He planted a big, wet kiss on An Ning’s face, leaving a bit of drool behind.

She hugged Hei Dan’er tightly, teasing him, "Our Hei Dan might be dark, but his skin feels so nice. It’s so smooth."

An Ning let go of the giggling Hei Dan and stood up to say goodbye to her sister-in-law.

Her sister-in-law, now past the three-month mark of her pregnancy, had finally gotten over her morning sickness, and An Guoqing could finally sleep in his own room again.

After saying her goodbyes, An Ning got onto An Guoqing’s three-wheeler and headed for the train station.

As they passed the Jiang family’s house, only Master Tang was in the yard, hanging clothes out to dry.

Sitting in the back of the vehicle, An Ning’s thoughts drifted. ’Jiang Xia should be in Hong Kong by now.’

Five days before An Ning left, Jiang Xia and Uncle Jiang had departed, first for Beijing, and then for Hong Kong.

The first reason was for Uncle Jiang’s medical check-up, and the second was that Uncle Jiang still had a business in Hong Kong.

The bumpy road brought An Ning’s thoughts back to the present. She gripped the rails of the three-wheeler’s cargo bed. The distinctive CHUG-CHUG-CHUG of the gas-powered engine made An Ning ponder where she should go this time.

The call had been from Director Zhao. The matter concerned was the all-important electric stone.

The issue of the electric stone affected the entire nation’s developmental direction.

And what An Ning needed to do was find a deserted, uninhabited place and discreetly locate the "electric stone."

A map appeared in her mind. The motherland was so vast, stretching from the southern seas to the northern plains. Which desolate corner should she go to?

"Little Sis—Little Sis—"

"Hm?"

"We’re here. We’re at the train station. Where are you going? I’ll buy your ticket."

An Guoqing parked the vehicle and waited for An Ning’s answer.

"I’m going north. To the far north."

An Ning hopped out of the vehicle herself and said to An Guoqing, "Big Bro, I can buy it myself. You should head back."

"Really?"

"Really. I’ll call home."

An Guoqing nodded. Seeing no problem with that, he drove off and headed back by himself.

An Ning shouldered her bag, walked into the train station, and bought a ticket to the farthest destination possible. She would figure it out as she went.

The snowy northern lands—she was coming.

Before boarding the train, An Ning first called Director Zhao to let him know her destination. She also asked him to arrange for a contact person; after all, she couldn’t be expected to carry the electric stone back herself.

Director Zhao repeatedly asked if she needed backup, but An Ning refused every time. This was something she had to do alone.

Director Zhao had no choice but to drop it. He promised An Ning that everyone would cooperate with her and told her to proceed with confidence.

The two hung up, and An Ning boarded the train to the northernmost region alone.

The train was slow, but the temperature dropped quickly.

Halfway through the train journey, An Ning bought herself a thick sheepskin coat and a sheepskin hat. She tucked her hands into her sleeves and didn’t want to take them out.

When she got off the train, she switched to three different buses, hitched a ride on a donkey cart, and then a snow sleigh, before finally buying a snow sleigh of her own.

At this very moment, in the vast, white expanse of snow, a small black dot was moving slowly.

Wading through snow that was chest-deep with every step, An Ning cursed to herself.

’My brain must have short-circuited! Why did I have to come north?!’

’I could have gone anywhere else! I’m such an idiot—’ "What the hell is that?"