Interstellar to 80s: A Scientist's Farming Mission

Blockhead An Guoping still didn’t quite get it, even after being smacked. And the people who did understand weren’t about to explain it to him.

Lin Cuihua’s eyes were filled with joy. If Yin Xuemei could really become her daughter-in-law, she would be absolutely thrilled.

However, nothing was set in stone yet, so she couldn’t go around gossiping and risk ruining the girl’s reputation.

The group followed An Guoping back to An Ning’s small courtyard near Beijing University. The courtyard had several rooms, and the kitchen was already renovated.

Master Tang put down his things and prepared to cook, while the others unpacked their belongings and settled in.

Da Huang and Xiao Lang, one big and one small, chased each other playfully around the yard.

An Guoping squatted on the steps with a foxtail grass stalk dangling from his mouth, watching Xiao Lang curiously.

’Why isn’t this little guy growing?’

’Is he some kind of dwarf dog?’

Xiao Lang, running over from the other direction, casually lifted his hind leg and left his "fragrant" mark at the bottom of the steps.

"Hey, hey, hey! I seriously think you’re getting back at me!"

An Guoping scrambled backward in alarm, but Xiao Lang merely gave him a cool glance over his shoulder before trotting off to continue teasing the big dumb dog.

The big dumb dog, Da Huang, stared at Xiao Lang as if he were some alien creature and resumed the chase.

The arrival of the An family brought a lot more life to An Ning’s recovery period.

During the hospital’s designated visiting hours, one of either Lin Cuihua or An Sancheng would always be there.

As for An Guoping and the others, they were shooed away by their elders and told to go back to their classes.

Jiang Xia received the same treatment as An Ning. Grandpa Jiang and Uncle Jiang visited him every day, which made Jiang Xia eagerly look forward to the end of his recuperation.

Meanwhile, the investigation into the car accident had hit a dead end. The two drivers would naturally bear the necessary responsibility, but the search for the mastermind behind them unexpectedly led straight to Jiang Dongcheng.

When Jiang Dongcheng was taken away by the police, he was already half-crazed, constantly screaming that he’d been framed, but no one paid him any mind.

The case seemed to be closed. Xiao Yan seized the opportunity to file for divorce, but the deranged Jiang Dongcheng refused. However, Xiao Yan hired a formidable lawyer and laid their marriage’s dirty laundry out in the open.

In the divorce proceedings, Xiao Yan accused Jiang Dongcheng of impotence, insanity, domestic abuse, and other offenses.

This fatal blow drove Jiang Dongcheng completely over the edge. At the police station, with both of their lawyers present, he nearly strangled Xiao Yan to death.

"Xiao—Yan—"

Every word was laced with venom. Jiang Dongcheng was so enraged that he actually coughed up blood. In his fit of fury, he was sent to the hospital—the very same one where Jiang Xia was recovering.

The only difference was that police officers were standing guard outside Jiang Dongcheng’s room.

Jiang Xia on his crutches and An Ning in her wheelchair came to see Jiang Dongcheng, followed by Grandpa Jiang and Uncle Jiang.

With the police officers’ permission, Jiang Xia went inside and asked a few questions.

Lying in the hospital bed, Jiang Dongcheng wore a ventilator. His hair had turned gray, and his eyes were lifeless. He looked as if he had aged more than ten years overnight.

The disdain and repulsive air of superiority were finally gone from his eyes. There seemed to be a flicker of regret, but it was hard to be sure.

"Ah—ah—ah—"

Jiang Dongcheng raised a single finger and made guttural sounds. Unfortunately, he couldn’t even form a single coherent sentence. He had suffered a stroke.

A very severe one, the kind that left him completely unable to care for himself.

"Jiang Dongcheng, I’ve always wanted to know... do you have any regrets?"

At Jiang Xia’s question, Jiang Dongcheng closed his eyes, and a single, murky tear rolled down his cheek.

Jiang Xia let out a cold laugh.

"Of course. Now that you have nothing, you naturally feel regret."

"If you were still that high-and-mighty Jiang Dongcheng, you would never have felt a moment of remorse."

"Or maybe, for a fleeting moment, what you regret is that we’re still alive. Am I right?"

At Jiang Xia’s words, Jiang Dongcheng’s eyes shot open. For an instant, there was a flash of clarity, but it vanished just as quickly, leaving his gaze as vacant as a fool’s.

"Jiang Dongcheng, even now, all you can think about is how to get out of this. Playing crazy is probably the best plan you could come up with, isn’t it?"

"Tell me, what have you gained in this life?"

"The woman you truly loved never loved you back, from start to finish. The son you poured your heart into isn’t even your own flesh and blood."

"None of those you loved ever loved you. How pathetic."

The man in the bed remained motionless, but the constant rise and fall of his chest betrayed a hint of his turmoil.

Jiang Xia nodded, turned around nonchalantly, and said one last thing at the door.

"As for us, it ends here."

He wouldn’t seek any more revenge against Jiang Dongcheng.

After Jiang Xia left the room, Grandpa Jiang and Uncle Jiang, who had been waiting outside, finally went in.

Grandpa Jiang looked at Jiang Dongcheng, who now appeared as withered as he himself was, and felt a complicated mix of emotions.

"Just try to live on."

Grandpa Jiang said only that, then turned and walked out, his back a lonely figure.

Uncle Jiang, sitting in his wheelchair, pushed the wheels forward a little and took Jiang Dongcheng’s hand in his own.

"I sometimes look back and wonder if I did something wrong to make you turn out like this."

"But I can’t remember. I really can’t."

"Little brother, this is the last time I’ll call you that. You’re on your own now."

Uncle Jiang turned his wheelchair and left. On the bed, tears streamed from the corners of Jiang Dongcheng’s eyes, and he began to sob uncontrollably.

"BEEEEEP—"

The monitor blared. Doctors and nurses rushed in and began to resuscitate Jiang Dongcheng.

A few minutes later, Jiang Dongcheng was breathing again. It seemed even heaven didn’t want him to die so easily.

The debts he owed still had to be paid.

The group left the hospital room. Jiang Xia had arranged for someone to take Grandpa Jiang and Uncle Jiang home.

After Jiang Xia and An Ning saw them off, the man who had been sent to investigate Xiao Xian came over.

The three of them gathered in a room. An Ning casually arranged a few Copper Coins, then nodded at the other two. "It’s safe. You can speak freely."

Jiang Xia said admiringly, "I’m so envious I wish I could learn that skill."

An Ning looked him up and down a few times. "You don’t have the talent for it, so don’t even think about it."

They stopped their banter and asked the man across from them about his investigation.

The plain-looking man was the same one An Ning had previously helped find someone using Feng Shui. After finding the person he was looking for, he didn’t disturb them; he simply confirmed that they were doing well, which brought him a sense of closure.

Having settled his personal affairs, the man returned to find An Ning, who officially recruited him into her camp to work for her.

"I’ve been tailing Xiao Xian for several days," the man reported. "He’s extremely cautious. He even uses his own chopsticks when he eats out and his own cup for water. It’s very difficult to get close to him, so I haven’t been able to get any hair or saliva samples."

"However..."

The man looked a bit awkward. At An Ning’s urging, he took out a small bottle and said, "But, well... nature calls. He has to use the restroom eventually."

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