Chapter 306 - 308: Little Half-immortal
May. A warm spring day.
People had switched to lighter clothes and simple cloth shoes. With a straw hat on their heads and a hoe over their shoulder, they were ready for the fields.
After sending off Li Chengze and Yu the Elder, An Ning had a new daily task: she would go to the Feng Shui Master’s place to memorize his teachings on behalf of his future apprentice.
At first, no one knew about it.
But one time, some villagers went to see the master for a consultation and happened to spot An Ning there.
Just seeing her would have been one thing, but the Feng Shui Master insisted that An Ning perform a reading for them. As it turned out, she was successful.
From then on, An Ning gained a new nickname: the ’little Half-immortal.’
In mid-May, An Ning pulled on a pair of tall boots and headed toward the newly established rice paddies to check on them.
An Ning had established this paddy at Master Tang’s strong insistence.
In Master Tang’s words, "Your vegetables are so delicious, but the rice you serve isn’t worthy of them."
Ultimately, Master Tang won her over with a vivid, mouth-watering recitation of various dishes, and she arranged to plant both rice and wheat.
Most people in their area grew corn and soybeans. A few families planted rice sporadically, but it wasn’t common.
An Ning had to travel to another city to learn from the locals, and she also bought several books on rice cultivation before returning to figure it out by trial and error.
An Ning, her straw hat on, had only taken a few steps when she ran into Jiang Xia.
Jiang Xia called out cheekily, "Well, if it isn’t the little Half-immortal."
An Ning shot him a sidelong glance, a mischievous smile playing on her lips. "Perpetual Number Two."
Sure enough, the smug smile on Jiang Xia’s face froze.
"Let me tell you, I’m definitely not going to be number two this time! I’ve actually been studying."
Jiang Xia turned his head away with a huff, walking past An Ning.
An Ning’s smug, sing-song voice drifted back to him.
"Ooh, I’m so scared. And I haven’t even cracked a book."
At her deceptively innocent taunt, Jiang Xia snorted. "Yeah, right!"
With their backs to each other, they both broke into a smile at the same time.
Their little competition had started at the end of last month.
At the end of last month, the group of them preparing for the college entrance exams started taking practice tests.
Every single time, An Ning took first place, and Jiang Xia took second.
Gradually, everyone started calling Jiang Xia ’Number Two.’ The nickname ’Perpetual Number Two’ was actually coined by An Guoping.
After that, Jiang Xia started calling An Ning ’Half-immortal,’ and An Ning called him ’Perpetual Number Two.’ The nicknames stuck.
In truth, they both enjoyed the rivalry. Neither of them was ever truly angry; they just found it amusing.
An Ning continued on her way to the rice paddy. Once there, she waded in to pull some weeds.
As she bent over, she felt something slither past her leg.
’That’s not a frog.’
Thanks to Master Tang’s culinary guidance, An Ning had already tried "field chicken"—frog.
She had to admit they were quite tasty. And there were so many of them. By the creek, in the paddies, and in the ditches, the sound of their croaking was incessant every night.
Many villagers would go out at night to catch them. Some sold them for a little extra money, while others just wanted a special treat for themselves.
An Ning spread her spiritual power and quickly spotted a long, slippery, fish-like creature.
At first, An Ning thought it was a water snake and felt a bit unsettled. It wasn’t that she was afraid; she just disliked the way they felt.
But when she took a closer look, she realized it wasn’t a water snake, but some kind of fish.
Curious, An Ning simply caught one with her bare hands and put it in the basket on her back. She’d take it back for Master Tang to have a look—perhaps it was another culinary delicacy.
She spent two hours working in the paddy before finally climbing out.
An Ning sat on the bank of the paddy. A gentle breeze swept by, sending ripples through the green stalks like waves. She leisurely cleaned the mud off her boots.
She hadn’t even put her shoes back on when she heard someone calling her from the edge of the field.
"An Ning! Phone call!"
An Ning immediately stood up, waving and shouting to the messenger at the edge of the field, "Got it! I’m on my way!"
An Ning quickly put her shoes on, picked up her boots, and ran toward the village office.
When she got there, she was given a phone number, which she promptly dialed.
After two rings, a low "Hello?" on the other end made An Ning recognize the voice.
"Zhou Yicheng? Are you hurt?"
Her heart leaped into her throat. ’I haven’t even officially taken on my little apprentice yet.’
"No, I’m fine. Thank you."
Zhou Yicheng, pressed for time, quickly explained the situation.
"Okay, okay, I’ve got it. I’ll go pick them up."
An Ning hung up, memorizing the phone number.
She paid the small fee for the call and had just stepped out of the village office when she was stopped again.
"An Ning, over here!"
It was Sun Dazhuang calling. An Ning walked over to him.
It was about the road construction An Ning had offered to fund. The plans were finalized. Sun Dazhuang had been busy coordinating with everyone involved, and everything was finally settled.
An Ning understood. "Thank you, Village Chief. I’ll go get the money this afternoon."
"Sounds good, An Ning. Have Uncle An come over too. He’s in charge of the funds."
"Okay, I’ll let Uncle An know."
An Ning said goodbye to Sun Dazhuang and headed to Uncle An’s house first.
Uncle An had no objections. He said he would go find Sun Dazhuang himself and told An Ning she didn’t need to worry about a thing.
In the end, all An Ning had to do was provide the money; she wouldn’t have to lift a finger.
After leaving Uncle An’s, An Ning returned to the An family home. She started up her three-wheeled truck, preparing to head out.
Just as her three-wheeled truck pulled out from the An family’s gate, Jiang Xia emerged from the Jiang family home on his bicycle.
"Hey, Half-immortal, off to set up your stall?"
"Hey, Number Two, where are you off to?"
The two of them, after trading their usual barbs, both laughed.
An Ning patted her truck. "I’m going to town. Someone’s delivering the dogs I asked Zhou Yicheng to find for me. I’m going to pick them up."
"I’m going to town too, to pick up a childhood friend of mine."
An Ning eyed the bicycle beneath him. "Are you planning on giving your friend a ride back on that?"
"He got exiled to the countryside by his old man. Says he needs to ’experience the hardships of life.’ A bicycle might be a bit too luxurious for that, but I’m sure not walking."
An Ning gave Jiang Xia a thumbs-up. "I have a suggestion. You and your bike can ride in my truck on the way there, and your friend can ride it back himself."
Jiang Xia’s eyes lit up. He agreed instantly.
"That makes perfect sense."
Jiang Xia loaded the bicycle into the back of the truck, then hopped in himself to keep it steady.
"Hold on tight," An Ning called out. "We’re off."
An Ning started the engine, and the three-wheeled truck puttered steadily toward town.
When they got to town, An Ning went with Jiang Xia to the train station, as Zhou Yicheng had arranged for the person delivering the dogs to meet her there.
An Ning unfolded a piece of cardboard she had brought. On it were written five words: "Picking up dogs for Shili Gou."
’It wasn’t that she meant to be rude,’ she thought, ’but Zhou Yicheng hadn’t told her the person’s name, so this was the only way.’
Jiang Xia, on the other hand, was far more casual. He had no sign and wasn’t even scanning the station entrance. Whether he’d find his friend or not was apparently up to fate.
The two of them, a rather unreliable-looking pair, waited nonchalantly.