Chapter 250: You Are Worthy!

"The sky is brightening; that step won't be too far off now." Hua Wensheng seemed to be muttering to himself, yet also seemed to be hinting at something.

An Yinan understood perfectly; this old gentleman was using his own way to remind her that the sky was brightening, and university would not be too far away.

As the head of the Ministry of Education, he was being recalled to Beijing, and meetings would be held time and time again.

The time was indeed not far off.

"By the way, there is a flour bag behind the house; take it with you."

"And there is a stack of newspapers by the door. I drew some things on them when I was bored; take them back and look at them carefully."

"Go on! I'll be leaving in these next two days; don't come around here anymore in the future." Hua Wensheng kept a straight face, looking at An Yinan with an impatient air.

An Yinan wrinkled her nose, "Alright, alright, I'll listen to you, old man."

"But here is a half-year supply of Health Pills. You know how to take them; don't let anyone else keep them, and don't tell anyone where they came from."

"When you go back, take good care of your health. Rest when you should; don't do every single job yourself, and give those young people some opportunities."

"You are not allowed to skip meals; you must watch out for your stomach trouble."

"And..."

Hua Wensheng was caught between laughter and tears, "How old are you, nagging away like a little old lady!"

An Yinan rolled her eyes ungracefully, "And! You are not allowed to cut off contact. You know my address; you must report that you're safe when you arrive."

"If there is anything you can't resolve, write a letter to let me know. I might not be able to help, but can't I at least annoy you?"

After saying this, she stuck out her tongue, shouldered the flour bag, hugged the newspapers, and left.

Only the half-year supply of Health Pills remained on the wooden table.

Hua Wensheng watched the swaying wooden door, smiling as he lay back on the reclining chair, which rocked up and down.

A friendship across generations—it should be just like this!

That clever little girl, she will surely be able to understand the hints I drew on the newspapers, right?

An Yinan walked to a deserted spot, first tossing these things into her space, then taking out half a bag of white flour, half a bag of rice, as well as the knee pads and wool vest she had specially made, and arrived at the alley, where she knocked gently on the door.

She had been in such a rush when going to the Waste Recycling Station earlier that she forgot about bringing the rice, flour, and knee pads. Later, when the old gentleman said he was leaving, she decided not to make another trip.

She would mail the knee pads and wool vest to the old gentleman later, which would also save him from hesitating over whether to pack them when he left.

"Coming, coming!" The person who came out had just opened the door when they saw a pretty face.

The old lady widened her eyes, then couldn't help but blink, "Old man, come out quickly, look who's here."

The old gentleman walked out from the room. Over these years, they had cut off contact with all their relatives; the only person who could make his wife this happy was her.

"Nan Nan is here?" The old gentleman said with a chuckle.

After entering the courtyard, An Yinan said with a smile, "Auntie, won't you let me come in for a drink of water?"

Only then did the aunt react, clapping her hands together, "Look at my head, come into the house quickly."

The three of them walked into the house. The aunt and uncle's home was still the same; the furniture had not been moved, and a sense of familiarity rushed to meet them.

"You two keep eating this rice and flour; you must take good care of your health," An Yinan instructed.

Over the past few years, she would irregularly mail grain to the elderly couple, though never much at a time, fearing it would attract the attention of bad people and bring trouble to the uncle and aunt.

But it was enough to keep the elderly couple fed.

"Take it back; we can eat our fill now," the old gentleman said. He didn't know what the political climate was now, but the neighborhood office had started showing him a pleasant face, and his wages were no longer being docked.

An Yinan rubbed her temples, "I brought this all the way from the Northeast Camp; are you really going to make me carry it all the way back? It's so heavy, I can't carry it anymore!"

By the end, she looked pitiful and completely unable to accept a refusal.

"This..." The uncle and aunt looked at each other and smiled helplessly.

This little girl always had a reason to persuade others.

"Alright, we'll keep it, but we have something to give you," the uncle also said.

"We originally wanted to give it to you when you got married, but we didn't want others to know, so we kept putting it off. Today you happened to come by; otherwise, we would have given it to you eventually anyway," the aunt said, holding An Yinan's hand.

This was a child they had watched grow up, and now they were finally taking out the dowry they had prepared for her.

The old gentleman went to the back room and then brought out a rosewood box. Without opening it, he handed it directly to An Yinan.

"This is the dowry your aunt and I prepared for you," the uncle said happily. They hadn't gone hungry in the last two years, so their complexions were much better, not to mention their health.

All of this was because of the person before them, An Yinan.

An Yinan waved her hands repeatedly, "I can't take this; these things are too valuable. You already gave me quite a lot before, and I've been saving them."

Last time, the uncle and aunt had given her quite a bit, which she had stored in her space; how could she take more of their things now?

"It's a dowry for you; how can you refuse? A gift from an elder must not be declined!" The aunt took the rosewood box and, ignoring An Yinan's protests, placed it directly into her arms.

"Besides, you said you would take care of us in our old age and see us to our final rest, remember?" The aunt's eyes were full of love.

An Yinan nodded repeatedly. She had long since planned for this, but she didn't have a fixed place this year, always wandering between different cities. Moreover, the Northeast Military Region was truly not suitable for elderly people to retire in; that harsh environment was not fit for survival.

Furthermore, they were getting on in years; if they suddenly went to such a frigid place, their bodies wouldn't be able to handle it.

"As long as you remember. Since you are going to take care of us, isn't it only right that I give you a dowry?" The aunt patted An Yinan's hand, which was holding the box.

"Anyway, I was going to give it to you sooner or later; why don't you take a look first?"

An Yinan looked at the uncle and aunt; she really hadn't done anything.

Such great love, such a great gift—was she worthy of it?

The uncle had done business when he was young; how could he not see what was on An Yinan's mind? "You are worthy!"

The uncle said it very firmly, "When we were young, we traveled all over the country, and at that time, we had countless friends and swarms of relatives."

"Sigh! But once we fell from grace, people turned cold!"

"Our relatives avoided us like the plague; the only reason they didn't hit us with rotten vegetable leaves was because they were short on food themselves."

"Hah!" The uncle gave a cold laugh, "Not to mention friends; they couldn't wait to step on us a few times."

"When a wall is about to collapse, everyone gives it a push."

The aunt wiped the corners of her eyes with her hand, then patted the uncle's arm, "It's all in the past."

"Yes, it's all in the past; when we couldn't go on, we met you!" The uncle looked at the girl before him.

Her eyes were always bright, carrying light, able to illuminate those around her.

"So, Nan Nan, you deserve it!" the uncle finally said, his expression gentle, carrying the look of an elder watching a younger generation.

An Yinan clenched her fists, "Then I will accept it, but since you have agreed to let me provide for your old age, you are not allowed to go back on your word."

An Yinan made up her mind; if the timing of the College Entrance Examination in this space-time had not changed, then she would take the College Entrance Examination next year, and the year after that, she would bring the elders to Beijing.