Chapter 64: The Villagers' Filter

"Of course you can." An Yinan smiled amusedly; it seemed her neighbors were all very kind people.

She hadn't had much contact with Zhao Qiuhua before; the one she understood best was Li Xiue, followed by Sun Xiaoqin...

After seeing the few of them off, she went into her space. After washing up, she began translating the documents. This translation work took five or six hours; if her neck hadn't grown sore and her wrists hadn't started to ache, she wouldn't have looked up to check the time. By the time she finished this busy work, it was already twelve o'clock.

She hurried out of the space to sleep.

The next day, just as the sky began to brighten, the sounds of work starting behind the house could be heard.

An Yinan quickly tidied up and prepared a meal for four. She made a very simple two-grain porridge and stir-fried a plate of pickles, setting them on the dining table. She ladled out a bowl of millet porridge for herself first, leaving the rest in the pot so it wouldn't get cold.

After thinking it over, she moved a pot out from her space. Her new home would have two stoves, which meant she needed two pots; this way, she could cook rice in one and stir-fry dishes in the other, which would be much more convenient.

Moreover, the firewood she had gathered was all dry wood, which burned well and was convenient and clean.

She brought along the pheasant she had deliberately left outside yesterday, placed it in a wicker basket, and then went to the Captain's house.

"Fairy Sister!" Huzi, who had been sent out by Auntie Li to wash his face, immediately shouted loudly the moment he saw An Yinan walk into the courtyard.

Auntie Li walked out from the house. "Nan Nan, you're over here so early?"

"The sky had just started to brighten when I heard the sounds of work starting in the backyard. That's when I remembered that when I was returning to the village yesterday, I ran into a pheasant on the road. So, I brought it over. Could you please arrange for Auntie Xie Er and the eldest daughter-in-law to help stew it? It'll give the people working a boost at noon." With one sentence, An Yinan clearly explained the origin of the pheasant and what she wanted to do with it.

Upon hearing this, Auntie Li clapped her hands. "This pheasant is a good thing; you should keep it to stew for yourself and Beibei to build up your strength."

Nowadays, even a little bit of oil was considered a waste. Everyone usually poured a little water into the pot, then seasoned the pot with green onions before stir-frying the vegetables directly; there wasn't a single drop of oil.

They were building houses for the Educated Youth, and although it was still communal cooking, it contained oil, and that food tasted extremely fragrant.

Were they actually going to stew chicken now?

"Let me tell you a secret: my father taught me how to hunt. No one goes to the Back Mountain, so if I set a few traps one of these days, I reckon I can still catch some wild rabbits and pheasants. This one is just to give everyone a boost, and it might give everyone more motivation to work." An Yinan didn't stand on ceremony, appropriately revealing a bit of hunting skill. Since it was just setting traps, that meant she couldn't catch too many, just one or two every now and then.

"That'll do. On behalf of everyone, Auntie Li thanks you." Auntie Li also understood that this was An Yinan subsidizing them and thanking the villagers.

But Auntie Li didn't know yet that at noon, An Yinan would bring twenty-four meat buns and go straight to the place behind the house where they were building.

Everyone ate the pheasant stewed with potatoes. Although each person could only get a share of two pieces of chicken, even the potatoes flavored with the pheasant were delicious, and everyone ate until their lips were glistening with oil.

"Educated Youth An is here?" Brother Li looked at An Yinan as she walked over, quickly put down his rice bowl, and looked toward her.

Everyone had seen the food from the past two days; Educated Youth An was a generous person and wasn't stingy at all toward the people working.

"Thank you all for your hard work these past few days. These houses are the foundation for us to settle down and make a living in Quanshui Village. I ask that you all please put your hearts into it." An Yinan smiled cheerfully. Without the frightening air from that night, she looked just like a soft, gentle young girl.

Now, all twenty people building the house felt that it was that Educated Youth Sun and Educated Youth Wang who had bullied others too much; even a rabbit would bite when pushed into a corner.

It had to be said that a filter is a very magical thing. Everyone seemed to have selectively forgotten that this was a ruthless person who could earn over eighty Work Points in a single day.

"This is what we should do."

"Don't worry, Educated Youth An, everyone will definitely do their best."

A few active people offered their assurances one after another, while some of the older ones didn't speak, though they all had their own thoughts.

"I went to the State-run Restaurant in the City yesterday and bought some meat buns. Today, everyone can take one; you can eat them now or take them home." An Yinan had long since wrapped the buns in clean newspaper to make it convenient for everyone to store them. Otherwise, there was nowhere to put them, and if they got covered in dirt while working, it would be quite unpleasant.

Upon hearing "meat buns from the State-run Restaurant," everyone's eyes lit up. Even if they went to the City, they couldn't bear to buy them!

"We just ate pheasant meat, how could we take your buns? Educated Youth An, take them back; you and Beibei should eat them," Uncle Ershu stood up and said.

Although everyone wanted to eat them, they were embarrassed to take advantage of the two children.

"That's right, Educated Youth An, take them back for Beibei to eat. It's cold now, so they'll keep and won't go bad." Brother Li echoed.

An Yinan, however, smiled. "You are all being too formal with me. Perhaps I won't buy them in the future, but you must accept these today. My brother heard I was building a house and specifically arranged this for me. Since he's in the Military District and can't come to help, he can only use these buns to bribe you uncles."

She said it with a smile, and by mentioning her brother was in the Military District, it became even harder for everyone to refuse.

"Alright, since Educated Youth An has decided, everyone come and take a bun when we finish work later." Uncle Ershu had more contact with An Yinan and naturally knew that this girl was the type who meant what she said. Don't let her soft and easy-going appearance fool you; when she did something, she was stubborn!

"The people cooking get them too," An Yinan quickly added.

She had originally brought twenty-four; besides the twenty people working, there were two people cooking.

"Take the remaining one back for yourself, and let Brother Li take the other one back for Auntie Li," An Yinan whispered to Uncle Ershu.

What else could Uncle Ershu say? This little girl had calculated everything, so he could only agree.

Besides watching the progress of the construction, An Yinan also had to seize the time to do her translations. She translated continuously for half a day at a time, and her speed was simply flying. Just on the first day, she translated three books, and the writing had already used up over sixty sheets of white paper.

Fortunately, she didn't need to draw diagrams while translating, just translate the text; if she had to draw, it would waste a lot of time.

"Sister, can I go to the Cowshed now?" It was almost dark, and An Xiangbei asked.

He hadn't been to the Cowshed for over a week, and he was a bit worried about Yun Shen.

An Yinan patted her forehead; she had forgotten about this.

"I'll go with you today." An Yinan first returned to the room to get a cloth bag, filling it with half a bag of coarse grains, and also packed some steamed buns and meat buns.

Only then did she pick up the small padded jacket she had made for Mo Yunshen, wrapped the cotton-padded clothes in newspaper, and took An Xiangbei to the Cowshed.