Chapter 76: Too Many Soldiers Around Me?

She was a bit confused, so she stopped thinking about it, pedaled the bike until it flew, and rode quickly toward Liu Meijie's house.

"Little sister, why are you so fast?" Liu Mei was a bit surprised, thinking it would at least be completely dark by the time she arrived; now, although the sky had just turned pitch black, one could still see people clearly.

"I was afraid the message would be delivered late and that little girl would cry," An Yinan said with a helpless smile.

Upon hearing this, Liu Mei burst into loud laughter, "Don't say that, she probably really would."

The two looked at each other and smiled.

"How is the situation?" Liu Mei was actually a bit anxious; after all, without the supply of vegetables, the State-run Restaurant would face problems, and this problem didn't just concern the Cashier alone, but everyone.

"I have fulfilled the mission." An Yinan took out the paper with the village's statistics, which contained the specific types and weights.

Liu Mei quickly glanced over the statistics; it could be said they were very detailed.

"That's great, you really solved a big problem for us!" Liu Mei was a bit excited and stepped forward to hug An Yinan.

An Yinan controlled her hands, which were itching to move, and did not let herself immediately use self-defense, though her body remained tense.

In two lifetimes, no one had ever been able to be so close to her.

No...

It seemed the only ones who could get this close to her were Beibei and Chen Xun!

Perhaps it was the bond of blood, but she never resisted Beibei's closeness.

But Chen Xun was an exception; he saved her, appearing when she was at her most powerless. Perhaps when a person is fragile, not only is their spirit fragile, but their body is too? More prone to accepting others?

No one explained this to An Yinan, and she was just surprised, not seeking an explanation.

"Should I go notify her quickly? I'll wait here?" After Liu Mei let her go, her body slowly relaxed.

Liu Mei took the list and wanted to walk away quickly, but then remembered something and took a step back.

"I gave the textile method you wrote to my mother-in-law. She was very pleasantly surprised; this method is very magical. However, she cannot make the final decision on the two job positions alone; she needs to go back to the factory for a meeting, so it might be a little later before she can give you an answer," Liu Mei whispered to An Yinan.

An Yinan hadn't expected an answer so quickly anyway; after all, two job positions were not a small matter. People nowadays all believe that positions can be "hereditary"—when parents retire, they can pass them to their children, and if the children don't need them, they can be sold, which is another sum of money.

Although these would be abolished in the future in favor of merit-based employment, people now don't know the future trend.

"Okay, no rush." An Yinan was indeed not in a rush; she was confident in her method, but for the Textile Factory, without this textile method, the factory's prospects were hard to say.

An Yinan handed the bicycle to Liu Mei, and Liu Mei carefully put the list into her pocket before riding the bicycle to Xiaomei's house.

She was very careful while riding, afraid of scratching or bumping the little sister's new bike; such a good-looking bicycle, how heart-wrenching it would be if it got scratched or bumped.

This trip took more than twenty minutes. An Yinan didn't leave either; instead, she found a stone at the entrance of the alley where the older women usually sat and let her whole mind go blank.

She didn't think about anything in her mind; it was a genuine state of emptiness.

It wasn't until Liu Mei rode back that An Yinan suddenly came to her senses; the sudden emptiness just now actually made her mind feel much clearer.

"Tomorrow morning at four o'clock, the vegetables must be delivered to the entrance of the State-run Restaurant. Xiaomei has provided the list of vegetables; just deliver according to that, and payment will be made directly after on-site inspection," Liu Mei relayed the message.

Hearing this news, An Yinan felt relieved. Although it didn't matter much to her, she was very happy that the place she was sent to was Quanshui Village. Being able to meet so many lovely people in Quanshui Village, she was willing to do her part when she had the opportunity and ability to let everyone live better.

This had nothing to do with being a saint; it was Auntie Liu's enthusiasm, Uncle Xie Er's honesty, the Captain's cuteness when he wanted to get angry but couldn't, Brother Li's open-mindedness, and the playfulness of Huzi and Xiaoshitou.

Each of them was a scene in a painting!

In just a few months, a small mountain village had been etched into her heart.

After saying goodbye to Liu Meijie, An Yinan rode to the Shi Zhu Zi, where she saw the Captain wearing a coat and huddled on a stone. She said with a beaming smile, "Tomorrow morning at four, according to the list, the vegetables must be delivered to the entrance of the State-run Restaurant."

"Good." The Captain shouted loudly, causing the people passing by in the night to look over.

"Back to the village." The Captain took the lead and got on his bicycle first.

An Yinan smiled and followed closely behind.

"Want to race?" An Yinan caught up to the Captain and asked with a chuckle, looking like a mischievous child with cunning in her eyes.

"Come on, let me show you little girl the style of an old general." The Captain stood up, and the wheels of his big '28' bicycle spun rapidly.

An Yinan didn't give an inch; her calves were tense, her body leaned forward, and she pedaled quickly as well.

One old and one young, on this road back to the village, left behind rows of tire tracks.

Fifteen minutes later, An Yinan wiped the sweat from her forehead; having pedaled up a big slope, she felt her legs going weak. "I surrender! Let's walk, let's walk."

The Captain was also drenched in sweat at this moment, but he laughed heartily, "Trying to compete with me, little girl!"

He felt a relaxation he didn't even have with his own juniors; in front of this girl, he had let go of his airs.

"Captain, were you a soldier?" An Yinan asked casually.

The Captain stopped pushing his bike forward and looked at An Yinan with some surprise, "Did Auntie Liu tell you? No, ever since I was injured and retired, Auntie Liu has never mentioned my time as a soldier."

His wife at home was afraid of hurting his feelings and never mentioned his military service; it had been over ten years.

"I guessed." An Yinan narrowed her eyes.

It seemed there were many soldiers around her: Chen Xun, the Chen Family, Zhang Qian, the people in the Cowshed, and now the Captain.

There was her retired godfather and her late biological father.

She shook her head; forget it, forget it, don't think about it. These people were all very good to her; she had never felt malice, so why care?

The Captain saw the little girl shaking her head and didn't ask how she guessed it.

"Let's race again; you're young, but your stamina is poor!" the Captain shouted.

An Yinan rolled her eyes, "Please, if I hadn't been modest, do you think I would have earned a quarter of the Work Points in Quanshui Village? My stamina is poor?"

The Captain was choked by her words; this little girl really didn't let anyone get the last word, but wasn't that what he admired most about her?

"I can't win an argument with you, you little girl who only knows how to use your tongue," the Captain huffed proudly.

An Yinan stopped teasing him. Looking at the bicycle in her hand, she suddenly realized that her previous thinking had been biased. Since it only took ten minutes to ride a bike to the County, why had she been swaying along on an ox cart for an hour before?