Getting the electricity set up took nearly half a month of hard work.

After half a month, every household had been wired for electricity, but some families, worried about the cost, hadn’t bought lightbulbs yet.

Anning’s house, on the other hand, had bought lightbulbs even before the wiring was finished.

On the night the entire village got electricity, every light in Anning’s house was switched on.

The house was brightly lit, free of the unpleasant smell of kerosene and the dark, shadowy corners. For a moment, everyone felt a bit dazed.

Lin Cuihua sat on the kang, looking up at the small lightbulb on the ceiling. "Life is really good now," she said.

Hearing Lin Cuihua’s words, An Ning thought of one thing: their threshold for happiness was low, but their capacity for it was incredibly high.

"Mom, Second Brother said they sell televisions in the south. He wants to buy one and bring it back."

"What in the world is a television?"

Lin Cuihua and An Sancheng both looked at An Ning in confusion.

After An Ning gave a simple explanation, she was met with looks of disbelief from Lin Cuihua and An Sancheng.

"How can that little box fit people inside?"

"How would those people get into our house?"

These two questions stumped An Ning.

She knew the principles behind it and could even build one herself, but how was she supposed to explain it to the old couple?

Finally, An Ning grabbed a rope, a small stool, and pulled An Guoping over to act it out.

"Mom, imagine my little brother and I are the people on TV. We’re in another place, performing a show, and it gets recorded by this."

Lin Cuihua pointed at the bowl in An Ning’s hand. "A bowl can do that?"

"No, a bowl can’t do it. This bowl is a video camera right now, not a bowl."

Lin Cuihua nodded, though it was unclear if she understood.

An Ning continued. "The recorded show is transmitted through these electrical wires and satellite signals to the TV in our house. That’s how we can see people on TV—like seeing the show my brother and I just rehearsed."

After An Ning’s lengthy explanation and performance, An Sancheng and Lin Cuihua seemed to have a partial understanding.

However...

"An Ning, tell your second brother not to buy a TV tomorrow."

"Why?"

Lin Cuihua got off the kang, took the bowl from An Ning’s hand, and said, "If we’re the only family in the entire village with a TV and people come over to watch, are you going to let them in or turn them away?"

"With so many people coming over day after day, I won’t have time for anything else besides cleaning the house."

"Your mother’s right," An Sancheng chimed in. "Let’s wait until everyone else is a little better off, then we can talk about it."

"Besides, the baby’s full moon celebration is in a few days, so we’ll be busy. And spring is coming, so we won’t have time to watch that thing anyway."

An Ning listened and thought it made perfect sense.

She flattered her, saying, "Mom, I think you’re the smartest one in our family."

"Of course I am."

Lin Cuihua’s simple retort made everyone laugh, filling the room with a harmonious atmosphere.

Having gotten off the kang, Lin Cuihua went to the kitchen to cook.

Her eldest daughter-in-law was still in her postpartum confinement, so Lin Cuihua had to make an extra meal for her every night.

In less than three days, it would be time for Hei Dan’er’s full moon celebration.

"An Ning, hurry up and turn off the light in your room! It’s wasting electricity."

"I know!"

That night, many homes in Shili Gou lit up with small electric lights.

Some families bought lower-wattage bulbs, casting a dim, yellowish glow, while others bought brighter ones, filling their rooms with more brilliant yellow light.

In any case, they were all tungsten-filament bulbs, which weren’t expensive, so most families could afford them.

「The next morning, a thick fog had settled.」

But that didn’t stop An Ning from her routine of waking up early, going for a run, and then teaching her classes.

As she was running back from the other side of the village with Da Huang and the big rooster, Da Huang suddenly picked up his pace.

"Da Huang, you’re cheating!"

"Didn’t we agree we weren’t racing?"

An Ning sped up, and when she finally caught up to Da Huang, she saw that Jiang Xia had returned.

’No wonder,’ she thought.

An Ning stopped and looked at the travel-worn Jiang Xia. "What took you so long to get back?"

"Look at your face. Did you go digging for coal or something?"

Jiang Xia’s face was grimy, which made his teeth look exceptionally white.

He grinned, flashing his teeth. "I actually did go digging for coal."

"Huh?"

An Ning hadn’t expected her casual guess to be correct.

Exhaustion radiated from Jiang Xia as he said, "I also bought a coal mine while I was at it."

"You can just ’buy a coal mine while you’re at it’? Impressive. I’m in awe of your financial power."

An Ning gave him a thumbs-up and called for the big rooster beside her to head home.

Jiang Xia also took Da Huang and headed home. He couldn’t even stand the state he was in.

Meanwhile, An Ning hummed a little tune as she entered her courtyard.

"Sis, did you win your race against Da Huang?"

"Nope."

"You didn’t? Then why are you singing?"

An Ning stopped and asked quizzically, "Was I? You must have misheard."

An Guoping stood there, trying to recall. ’Did I really hear wrong?’

"CLUCK CLUCK CLUCK—CLUCK CLUCK CLUCK"

The big rooster strutted past An Guoping with its haughty little steps.

’Fool!’

’In this family, I’m still the smartest one.’

With the disdain of a king, the big rooster returned to its palace.

Inside the palace was a new batch of young "concubines."

As for the old concubines, they had all been stewed.

The king is eternal, but the concubines flow like water.

Up ahead, An Ning couldn’t quite explain why she was so happy, but she was.

After An Ning returned from her run, it was time for the An family to eat.

After breakfast, An Ning held separate lessons for a few people.

Around noon, An Guoming also returned, driving his truck.

The moment he got back, the An family home instantly became much livelier.

This time, An Guoming had gone south with a mission.

One part was to get things for the full moon celebration, and the other was because his uncle’s son, An Guoyang, was preparing to open a small convenience store and had asked An Guoming to procure some goods for him.

After An Guoming got back, An Guoping went to their uncle’s house to call them over.

The two families sat down together and first discussed An Guoyang’s plan to open the small shop.

They discussed everything in meticulous detail, from the location and inventory to the selling prices.

By the time their uncle’s family left, the sky had already started to darken.

After dinner, the An family got to work, because the next day they had to steam mantou and decorate the red buns, which would make for a very busy day.

An Guoming went to his room to sleep early, while Lin Cuihua and An Ning started kneading dough.

In an enormous iron basin sat a super-sized ball of dough. An Ning had her sleeves rolled up and was kneading it with all her might.

Lin Cuihua watched from the side and offered a rare compliment, "I have to say, this kind of work really suits you."

"Mom, I’m done."

In the large basin, she had truly achieved the "three alls."

Smooth dough, clean hands, and a clean basin.

An Ning clapped her hands, ready to take a break. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

"Wait!"

Lin Cuihua stopped An Ning and brought over another large basin.

"What’s the hurry? There are over a hundred households in the village, and each one has seven or eight people. This little bit of dough is nowhere near enough."

"Knead these two basins as well."

"Oh... does everyone get some?"

An Ning genuinely didn’t know, but she obediently started kneading again. For her, it wasn’t very tiring anyway.

"In the past, when we couldn’t afford it, of course not everyone got some. But we can afford it now, can’t we? If you don’t make enough, people will start gossiping behind our backs."

"Besides, this is a big, joyous occasion for our An family. I’m happy to give them out."

An Ning nodded in firm agreement. "You’re right, Mom. We’re happy to do it."

"Come on! Let’s knead!"