Chapter 39: Smart Beibei

An Yinan frowned and thought for a moment, "I think I know. You can rest assured about the Cowshed. My Beibei and Yun Shen are very close. A child is less likely to attract attention, and everyone in the village already knows that Beibei often goes to the Cowshed, so it won't seem like a sudden change in routine."

"Beibei and I will look after the Cowshed; the matters here need to be handled as soon as possible."

"By the way, there is someone in Quanshui Village who is very close with the Japanese. I don't know if they were planted here by the Japanese in advance."

"The village doctor of Quanshui Village—I don't know if you've met them—I heard them talking when I was gathering firewood in the Back Mountain, which is how I followed them."

An Yinan hurriedly spoke the information she knew. She hadn't said anything before because she wasn't sure of his identity, but ever since she knew he was Chen Xun, she had become certain.

In this current era, every step taken is like walking on the tip of a knife. She had always kept a low profile before because she didn't want to get involved in these chaotic affairs.

But there are too many times when one is not the master of one's own fate. These things cannot be avoided just because one wants to. Just like how she had to save Mo Yunshen, and just like how she couldn't ignore the Cowshed now. Her foster mother and foster father had been kind to her, so it was only right that she help Chen Xun look after the Cowshed. Besides, a biologist—the existence of Ms. Peng could be of huge help to the country's Development Economics. Just for this point alone, she could not stand by and watch.

Chen Xun carried Mo Yunshen away. When the two parted, he said to An Yinan, "Put your own safety above all else."

He came in a hurry, and he left in a hurry.

An Yinan acted as if nothing had happened. After quickly returning to the Educated Youth Station, she saw that the door was not locked. She pushed the door open and saw An Xiangbei sitting at the kitchen table studying.

There was no electricity in the village yet, so reading required lighting a kerosene lamp. However, the light was too dim. An Yinan suddenly remembered that she could take out some candles to use; the brightness of a candle was much higher.

"Sister, you're back. Have you eaten?" An Xiangbei asked with concern.

An Yinan sat beside the table, looking at the problems her younger brother had done; there were no wrong answers on the page.

"Didn't you go to the Cowshed to study?"

Beibei poured a glass of water for An Yinan, "I went, but Mo Shu said Yun Shen went into the mountains, so I came back."

An Yinan set her mind at ease. It seemed Beibei hadn't run into the Japanese catching people, so she could be a bit more at ease regarding Beibei's safety.

She planned to honestly translate for the next few days and not go into the mountains for the time being.

Besides, it was almost time to deliver the Square Scarf to Liu Meijie, so she would just keep a low profile for these two days and wait for news from Chen Xun's side.

An Yinan drank the water and thought of the rabbits she had caught in the space; it seemed these rabbits couldn't be taken out recently either.

Returning to the space, she put the rabbits in a corner, then took a shower and dried her hair. Only then did she take out the last magazine. Under the bright light, the tip of her fountain pen quickly glided across the white paper, and lines of Chinese characters appeared on the page. She sat for two hours before checking the clock on the wall; it was already six o'clock in the evening. She hurriedly tidied up the translation materials, organizing each magazine and its corresponding translation work.

Only then did An Yinan exit the space. She pushed the door open and saw An Xiangbei tending the fire.

"Sister, I heated up some buns and cooked some porridge. You've been too tired these past few days. I'll send some to Yuanyuan later. Also, Brother Zhang Qian sent over two rabbits." An Xiangbei, a small person, squatted in front of the stove, throwing a piece of wood into the fire, a smile on his small face.

"Thank you, Beibei." An Yinan was truly moved. It turned out someone knew she was tired, and it turned out she wasn't the only one giving; little Beibei had been growing up and taking care of her in places she couldn't see.

An Xiangbei nudged An Yinan, "Go get some sleep."

An Yinan smiled and agreed. She returned to her room, then entered the space to look at the sixteen boxes of Small Yellow Croaker and eight boxes of Big Yellow Croaker in the space. These were all little bits of money.

And there were several large barrels of rice and flour nearby. She had originally planned to go to the Black Market in the next few days, but it seemed there was no need to go anymore; these rice and flour were enough to last a long time anyway.

Recently, their staple food had basically been meat buns and Steamed Bun from the State-run Restaurant, so their stock of rice and flour hadn't gone down much.

Go to the County tomorrow? That didn't seem possible. She didn't know how things were on Yun Shen's side, and whether Beibei would be in danger if he went to the Cowshed—these were all things she needed to pay attention to.

Besides, Yun Shen had an incident today; would there be a security alert at the Cowshed in the near future?

Half an hour later, An Xiangbei came to knock on the door. Nan Nan walked out and saw the millet porridge and meat buns on the table, as well as a small dish of pickled vegetable strips.

"Eh? Where did the pickled vegetables come from?" An Yinan asked.

"I went to the Cowshed today, and Peng Yi asked me to bring them back. Later, I gave Peng Yi some candies," An Xiangbei answered with a smile.

An Yinan thought for a moment and still gave a word of caution, "You must pay attention to safety these next few days. Don't go to the Back Mountain. If you play with Huzi and the others, try to find places where there are many people."

An Xiangbei was silent for a long time before he looked up, "Sister, what happened today?"

He was very smart—no, he should be called exceptionally smart—and he was very sensitive inside.

When his sister returned home, he could clearly feel that she only relaxed her whole body when she saw him.

Moreover, his sister's face was pale; even when she was smiling, the smile didn't reach her eyes.

It wasn't like this in the morning, so something must have happened today, and it was a big event that involved the Cowshed and involved their own safety. Could it be related to Yun Shen?

Very quickly, An Xiangbei connected all the clues.

"Beibei, Sister cannot say," An Yinan replied.

This also indirectly confirmed that some things had happened today.

An Yinan didn't want to talk about it, "These are all adult matters. Just do what you are told."

She also didn't want to say, "You're just a child, don't ask so much, just be obedient."

She didn't want to hide it, but she didn't know where to start regarding Chen Xun's identity and the matters at the Cowshed, so she said she couldn't say.

"Sister, I won't go out these next two days. I'll just study at home. Don't worry," An Xiangbei smiled and answered obediently.

"It won't be long," An Yinan murmured in response.

……

The next day, An Yinan boarded the ox cart to the County.

With An Xiangbei's words, An Yinan also set her mind at ease. Her habit of either going up the mountain or leaving the village every day meant that suddenly not appearing might attract attention, so she continued according to her normal schedule.

After An Yinan arrived at the County, she checked the time; it was just past seven o'clock. It was a busy time for Liu Meijie, so she had better not go and disturb her.

She went to the Xinhua Bookstore first. The Xinhua Bookstore hadn't opened yet at this time. An Yinan sat at the entrance, leaning her back against the door. Just as her little head was nodding and she was about to fall asleep, Chen Shao arrived.

"Nan Nan, why are you here? So early." Chen Shao hurriedly opened the door. After pushing the door open, he turned on the electric light, and the entire bookstore was swept clean of its previous dimness and lit up.