'What should I do?'
Dead people are the least trouble.
But murder was against the law, so that wasn't a good option here. Most importantly, she couldn't let anything interfere with the transportation of the seeds.
As for Miao Xiaohua—with her strange spiritual power, low intelligence, and poor character—An Ning made a mental note of her, deciding not to let her guard down.
Having made her decision, An Ning quickly pushed Miao Xiaohua to the back of her mind. She sat perfectly still on the donkey cart, enjoying the scenery filled with farmland.
Once she got back from the hospital, she could start working in the fields.
Working meant harvesting seeds. At the thought, her spiritual power practically did a happy little roll, completely ignoring the cart's bumpy ride on the pebbly path.
After a swaying and jolting donkey cart ride of over forty minutes, they finally arrived in town.
The moment she got off the cart, An Ning's legs gave out and she almost fell to her knees, but Lin Cuihua, who was beside her, quickly reached out and steadied her.
"You'll be the death of me. Why didn't you move your legs around a bit?"
"Are you all right?"
An Ning stretched her legs, secretly rubbing her completely numb backside. "I've never ridden in one before, so I forgot."
Lin Cuihua looked at her for a moment, confirmed she was fine, then let go. The three of them started walking towards the town hospital.
An Ning circulated her spiritual power around her backside a few times until the feeling slowly returned. She looked around curiously, taking in everything about this Ancient Earth.
Most of the people coming and going were walking. Their clothes were mostly gray, black, blue, or green. Occasionally, a girl in a brightly colored dress or a young man in a white shirt would walk past fashionably, full of vigor.
There were also people on bicycles with crossbars, ringing bells they didn't need to ring. TING-A-LING-LING, they rode straight down the middle of the road, heads held high and chests puffed out, making An Ning suspect they weren't even watching where they were going.
But seeing the envious looks from the onlookers, she figured it was the same principle as owning the latest model of a flying vehicle back in the interstellar age.
She looked at the low-slung residential houses on either side. Here and there, a two or three-story building stood out, with many people bustling in and out of its entrance. 'Those must be important places,' she thought.
An Ning looked at a two-story building on her left, painted gray and green. A sign brushed with red paint hung right in the middle, and she subconsciously tried to read it.
"Three..."
"An Ning, this way."
An Guoming called to An Ning, but An Ning didn't move. He walked over, followed her line of sight, and understood immediately.
"What do you want to buy, Little Sis?"
'Is this a place that sells things?' An Ning had no idea. Other than the word "Three," she didn't recognize any of the others.
In the interstellar age, communication was mostly done via spiritual power. She knew the sign used Chinese characters, but written materials rarely survived through history. Her learning had come from audiovisual records passed down orally, so she could speak the language, but she couldn't write it, much less read it.
She pointed at the sign and asked, "Guoming, what does that say?"
"Huh?"
An Guoming remembered that his little sister had never learned to read. He pointed to the sign and said, "Sanhe Town Supply and Marketing Cooperative."
'Sanhe Town Supply and Marketing Cooperative.' An Ning silently committed it to memory. After farming, learning to read was the next task on her list, though it would have to wait.
"Let's go, Mom's calling us."
An Ning nodded obediently, pulled her gaze away, and followed An Guoming to catch up with Lin Cuihua up ahead.
The town wasn't big, and the three of them reached the town hospital in about ten minutes. It was a three-story building with a red cross in the middle and a sign hanging vertically on the wall.
This time, An Ning knew it must say "Sanhe Town" something or other.
They walked inside. The air was cool and a bit dim. An Guoming went off by himself to register and find a doctor.
He was handsome and a smooth-talker, and he seemed to know his way around. He even kept running into people he knew.
"Mom, An Ning, the doctor's in that room."
After walking through a rather dark and chilly corridor, the three of them entered a room. Lin Cuihua explained An Ning's situation, and the old traditional Chinese doctor opposite them nodded and began to take An Ning's pulse.
It didn't take long. The old doctor pulled his hand back and said flatly, "There's nothing wrong with her. You can go home. She's in excellent health."
In fact, she was a little *too* healthy. He had even taken her pulse twice, just to be sure.
"Really! That's wonderful!"
Lin Cuihua had great faith in this old doctor. He was very well-known in their town, and rumor had it he'd been transferred back from a post in a big city.
After the examination, Lin Cuihua finally breathed a sigh of relief. 'As long as she's okay, that's all that matters. As long as she's okay.'
"Guoming, watch your sister for a minute. I'm going to the restroom."
"Yeah, yeah, go ahead!"
Once Lin Cuihua had disappeared around the corner, An Guoming immediately pulled An Ning into an alcove in the hallway. He grinned a little sheepishly and asked, "An Ning, did you bring any money?"
An Ning honestly nodded and said, "I did."
Bringing money when going out was the first lesson her teacher had taught her.
An Guoming whispered conspiratorially, "Could you lend me a little? I swear I'll pay you back. Double."
"No."
An Ning refused.
"Why not? You wanted to give me some yesterday!"
An Ning put on a very solemn expression and patted An Guoming's shoulder.
"That was yesterday. Today is today."
An Guoming was at a loss for words. He put on a pathetic look. "An Ning, I won't waste it. I want to start a small business. I'm sure it'll be profitable."
"I don't want to make money."
An Ning's refusal was so blunt it left An Guoming not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
"An Ning... I don't even know what to say. You don't want to make money? Don't you know you can't do anything without it?"
'Can't do anything without money?' An Ning's eyes flickered with nervousness as she asked, "Not even farming?"
"Oh... well, you can farm, I guess."
Hearing this, An Ning instantly relaxed. "I just want to farm. Dad said I can't give it to you, and I have to listen to him."
From their interactions the day before, An Ning had clearly realized that what An Sancheng said, went. Everyone had to listen to him.
An Guoming was about to try again, just starting to arrange his face into a pitiful, wronged expression, when Lin Cuihua came back.
"What are you doing, Guoming?"
Lin Cuihua eyed An Guoming suspiciously, her tone dangerous. "Are you trying to swindle your sister? I'm telling you, boy, if you dare touch An Ning's dowry, your father will break your back. You hear me?"
Caught in the act, An Guoming stood up straight, his voice steady. He was clearly an old hand at this.
"I didn't do anything. I would never do something like that."
Lin Cuihua huffed, her eyes shifting to An Ning. "What did your brother want from you?"
An Guoming frantically shot glances at An Ning. An Ning thought about the cornmeal porridge her brother had given her the night before.
"Where is the spine?"
'I need to determine if breaking a spine is a severe punishment.'
"I knew it! You good-for-nothing! You've already messed things up twice, why don't you ever learn!"
Lin Cuihua slapped An Guoming on the back. An Guoming immediately jumped away, yelling, "That was an accident! I've figured it all out now, Mom—"
Seeing An Guoming get hit, An Ning immediately stepped in front of him, spreading her arms to shield him as she said with great earnestness,
"My brother didn't ask for money."
'He was borrowing it.'