Chapter 119: Chapter 119: Gifting the Main Gate

An Ning had hunted a wild boar and brought it down from the mountain. It was a massive beast, said to weigh between three hundred and four hundred pounds, and she gifted it to the village.

News of this spread quickly.

Inspired by this, the village team leader, Sun Dazhuang, decided on the spot to slaughter one of the pigs the village was raising.

Pigs were always butchered before the autumn harvest and the New Year.

The pre-harvest butchering was to ensure everyone ate well and had the strength to work.

Butchering a pig for the New Year, on the other hand, was a tradition meant to add more dishes to everyone’s holiday table.

Today, long before the New Year, the village was already buzzing with excitement.

The An family was raising the beam for their new house, so they had butchered a pig and invited everyone to a feast.

The village had also butchered two pigs, so every household could go and claim a share of the meat.

Children, let out from school at noon, were cheering and jumping for joy, chasing each other in games of tag as they ran all over the village.

They were having meat today!

At noon, the An family set off a string of firecrackers, and the beam-raising ceremony began.

A group of the An family men climbed to the highest point of the frame, grabbed the ropes, and hoisted the main beam into place, settling it into the pre-cut notches.

CRACKLE-POP-POP! As the firecrackers went off again, An Sancheng tossed out a handful of coins—fifty cents in total—for good luck.

The children scrambled forward to pick up the coins. Even a single penny could buy a piece of candy.

While the beam-raising was underway, Lin Cuihua was busy managing several large woks to cook for the feast.

Today, it wasn’t just relatives who came to help; many neighbors had also come over to lend a hand.

Yin Xuemei was among them; she had been coming over every day.

An Ning had only been assigned the task of tending the fire, as Lin Cuihua had absolutely no faith in her cooking skills.

Burning a hole through a wok while trying to cook was a rare "talent," indeed.

Sitting on a small stool, An Ning’s head swiveled back and forth. She couldn’t get enough of the view.

’It’s so lively.’ This bustling, earthy atmosphere was something she had never experienced in the interstellar era.

The interstellar age had fireworks and all sorts of spectacular light shows, but it lacked this kind of human warmth.

In the modest courtyard, everyone was busy with their own tasks.

Some were washing pig offal, others were stuffing blood sausages, chopping cabbage, or peeling potatoes.

Smoke swirled and steam billowed. People bustled about, their chatter and laughter filling the air.

Some laughs were so loud they seemed to reach the sky, while others were just lighthearted banter.

’I wish I had a way to record this,’ An Ning thought, ’to capture every moment and keep it as a memento.’

A little after two in the afternoon, the feast was about to begin.

Borrowed tables and mismatched stools were arranged in the courtyard to form five tables.

People began to take their seats as the food was served.

There was a huge basin of cabbage stewed with pork, a large bowl of steamed pork belly with alternating layers of fat and lean meat, shredded pork with potato slivers, green beans with pork ribs, a dish of cucumber and peanuts, and the star of the show: guobaorou.

An Ning’s eyes were glued to the guobaorou as it came out of the wok. The one cooking it was none other than Yin Xuemei.

Yin Xuemei even had An Ning taste-test it. For An Ning, who was trying guobaorou for the first time, her fondness for Yin Xuemei instantly leveled up.

’Amazing!’

The An Ning of today had absolute admiration for anyone with good cooking skills.

An Ning, Lin Cuihua, and a few other women still ate inside the house.

Two tables were set up inside, reserved for those who had been helping.

As soon as she started eating, An Ning was called outside. They wanted her to sit at the men’s table.

An Ning understood this was a sign of respect for her status, but she had no desire to go.

"The food is the same, and I don’t drink, so I’m perfectly happy eating in here," she said.

An Ning declined, and An Sancheng didn’t press the issue.

It wasn’t that they favored men over women here, but when it was time to eat, the men liked to drink and would sit together, shooting the breeze about everything under the sun.

An Ning wouldn’t have fit in anyway. It was quieter inside, so she could eat better—and eat more.

An Ning went back inside, sat in the honored spot at the head of the kang, and began to eat.

Of all the tables, only An Sancheng’s table outside ate at a leisurely pace.

An Ning glanced outside. ’Good thing I didn’t go out there,’ she thought.

Once the roof was mostly finished, the rest of the construction wasn’t as urgent.

After the meal, An Ning helped Lin Cuihua tidy up the courtyard. All the kitchenware, tables, and stools had been borrowed and needed to be washed and returned.

Normally, if there were any leftovers, it was customary to send a bowl to the people you’d borrowed from.

Unfortunately, with a feast like this in these times, there really wasn’t anything left over.

However, Lin Cuihua had made plenty of blood sausage. She gave half a link or a whole one to each of the helpers, which made everyone happy.

"Is this Anning’s house?"

The voice from the main gate made all the busy people look up.

An Ning, who was carrying a round tabletop, set it down and glanced over.

"Director Jin?"

She leaned the tabletop against a wall and walked toward the gate. An Sancheng and Uncle An stood up as well.

"Second Brother, you’re back."

Standing at the gate was not just Director Jin, but also An Guoming, whom they hadn’t seen in a long time.

An Guoming had just climbed down from a truck. He first introduced Director Jin to An Sancheng and the others.

"This is Director Jin. He came specially to see you."

An Ning stepped forward to speak with Director Jin.

"Director Jin, what brings you here?"

Director Jin put on no airs at all. He pointed to the back of the truck and said, "Building a new house is a huge event! How could I not come?"

"This is the large iron gate Master Zhang welded for you. It’s as solid as they come."

An Ning walked over with Director Jin. A massive black iron gate, roughly thirteen feet wide and ten feet high, stood in the truck bed like a giant beast.

"Thank you, but this gift is—"

"You have to take it. It’s not like I have anywhere else to deliver it. Besides, between us, what’s a small gift like this?"

An Ning had always known Director Jin to be enthusiastic, but today he seemed especially so.

"Alright. Thank you."

An Ning thanked him again, then introduced An Sancheng and Uncle An to Director Jin.

Director Jin adopted a very humble attitude, shaking their hands as if he were their junior and praising An Ning effusively.

"Your daughter is just wonderful! Incredibly smart."

"She’s truly remarkable."

An Sancheng just smiled and nodded along, his hand still trapped in Director Jin’s firm grip.

It was at this moment that An Sancheng’s understanding of just how capable his daughter was reached a whole new level.

The enthusiastic Director Jin finally released An Sancheng’s hand.

An Sancheng immediately arranged to have a meal prepared. Director Jin, who clearly had a favor to ask, followed the principle that business is best discussed over a meal and readily accepted.

First, however, he called An Ning over to help unload the truck.

After the huge iron gate was lifted down by a dozen or so people, there were still more things in the truck.

Director Jin climbed onto the truck himself, holding up a large bundle. "This is all from Director Li. He asked me to bring it for you to make curtains and such."

"And this is from Master Zhang, to add another dish to your meal."

It was a huge basket full of ingredients. An Ning could see pork ribs, pork belly, and some sausages. An Ning took the heavy basket as he handed it down.

She looked up at Director Jin without moving.

"What’s wrong? Is it too heavy? I’ll get it, I’ll get it!"

Director Jin looked like he was about to jump down and help, but An Ning stopped him.

"I can carry it," she said. "I just want to know, what is it you’ve really come here for?"

Put on the spot, Director Jin just chuckled and didn’t answer.

An Ning set the basket down and gestured for Director Jin to come down so they could talk.

Director Jin hopped down from the truck and called out to An Guoming, "Guoming, you take care of this."

As An Guoming climbed onto the truck, An Ning and Director Jin walked a few steps to the side.

"You’d better just tell me," she said. "Otherwise, I won’t be able to accept these gifts with a clear conscience."