Three sedans pulled up, their engines cutting out one after the other. The doors were pushed open from within.

Four people emerged from the first car.

An Ning recognized two of them: Director Li and Director Jin from the city’s machinery factory.

However, An Ning didn’t recognize the other man and woman.

"Mom—Dad!"

The shout came from Li Chengze, and An Ning immediately understood.

In the courtyard, Lin Cuihua took the baby from An Ning’s arms, urging her to hurry out and welcome the guests.

"Congratulations, congratulations."

Director Li led the way, offering his congratulations to An Ning and An Sancheng beside her. The three people following him also offered festive pleasantries.

"Thank you, please come in."

An Ning stepped aside to let them pass, but instead of going inside, she stopped by the gift registry at the entrance.

"An Ning... what about this?"

The accountant managing the gift registry held up a golden lock and looked to An Ning for guidance.

An Sancheng, standing nearby, also glanced at An Ning. Everyone knew who these people had really come to see.

"It’s fine. Just record it."

An Ning wasn’t troubled. She could certainly afford to reciprocate for a golden lock.

"That’s right, that’s right, record it."

Director Jin, who was next, along with Li Chengze’s parents, also registered their gifts, and the amounts were substantial.

An Sancheng led the guests inside to start a new table.

As for An Ning, more people were arriving.

The arrivals from the next two cars were also acquaintances of An Ning’s.

One was Director Hu, whom she had met just a short while ago. From the other car emerged Secretary Song, the secretary to Factory Director Zhang of the provincial machinery factory.

Secretary Song stepped forward first. After registering the gift money on behalf of Factory Director Zhang, he also put down a personal gift. It couldn’t compare to his boss’s, of course, but it was significantly more than the amounts given by the villagers.

Director Hu, who was last in line, offered An Ning his congratulations, then followed up with a single word.

"Success."

"Oh."

An Ning simply said, "Oh," showing no other reaction.

Director Hu suddenly felt a bit ridiculous, as if he were making a mountain out of a molehill.

Yet he clearly remembered the moment the engine and assembly line roared to life—the entire workshop had erupted in celebration.

"Is something wrong?"

An Ning didn’t understand why Director Hu was staring at her.

"It’s nothing. I’m just a little surprised that you’re not surprised at all."

"Surprised? Why should I be?"

An Ning reminded him, "Have you forgotten? I’m the one who drew the blueprints. I never expected there to be any problems."

"Hahaha, well said. My mistake, that was shortsighted of me."

An Ning led Director Hu to the gift registry, and then they went inside.

Suddenly, the west room was filled with several factory directors.

An Ning made the introductions. Everyone shook hands; they weren’t complete strangers to one another and found topics to discuss.

As for An Ning, she simply sat to one side, not participating much in the conversation.

Before long, however, the conversation turned to her.

"Consultant An Ning, Factory Director Zhang asked me to inquire when you might have time to visit our machinery factory."

The moment Secretary Song spoke, the atmosphere grew a little tense.

The other factory directors all looked at An Ning, a hint of nervousness in their eyes.

"I have some time before spring starts."

"By the way, An Ning, we’ve successfully produced the agricultural machinery you designed for us. Seeing as spring is almost here, might it be time to research a seeding machine?"

An Ning looked at Director Li earnestly. "Alright, I’ll look into it."

"Thank you so much! Whenever you want to visit our factory, you are welcome anytime."

"An Ning, our engine and assembly line are nearly complete, but we’ve run into a few minor issues. I was wondering when you might have time to come by and offer some guidance."

Director Hu quickly jumped in, afraid he would lose his chance to the other two factories.

An Ning suddenly felt like there wasn’t enough of her to go around.

"So this is where you all are."

Another factory director walked in from outside, and An Ning stood up to greet him.

"Hello, Director Li."

This was Director Li from the textile factory, the first director to have worked with An Ning, and the one who had allowed An Guoming to register his truck under the factory’s name.

An Ning made room for Director Li to sit and made another round of introductions.

Everyone exchanged greetings again, but the atmosphere wasn’t as harmonious as before. This time, there was a palpable tension in the air.

An Ning’s time was limited, yet every factory wanted her to visit.

"An Ning, you promised me! I’ve been waiting for so long," the newly arrived Director Li pleaded, playing the pity card.

"I’m sorry. I’ll come over as soon as the full moon celebration is finished."

An Ning felt a genuine pang of guilt; she had, in fact, promised Director Li.

Seeing this, the other directors began to employ their own tactics.

An Ning’s head started to buzz. She raised her voice, holding up one hand.

"Everyone, please, stop for a moment."

"I’ll go to the textile factory tomorrow. After that, it will be the city machinery factory, then the provincial machinery factory, and finally the automobile factory. Please, no more arguing."

"I will do my best to meet all of your needs before spring arrives."

Once An Ning laid out the plan, the factory directors all became much more agreeable.

"We’ll listen to An Ning. Comrade An Ning is right."

"Comrade An Ning’s schedule is good. Excellent, in fact."

"Our automobile factory will give you our full cooperation."

"An Ning, that bracket you asked us to make a while ago is finished. When do you need it? I can have it delivered."

This was Director Li from the city machinery factory, and his words immediately caught An Ning’s attention.

"I’ll give you a call, how about that?"

"Yes, yes, no problem at all."

Everyone had more or less accomplished what they had come for today.

All that was left was to eat and drink.

However, given that An Ning didn’t drink and wasn’t exactly the life of the party, the meal concluded rather quickly.

By the time they finished, the main feast outside was also wrapping up.

The guests left the An family home, each holding one or two celebratory buns.

The factory directors didn’t stay long either, bidding farewell to An Ning one by one.

After all the guests had left, only the An family, Uncle An’s family, Yin Xuemei, Jiang Xia, and Yang Jianguo remained.

A full meal had been set aside for them. The plan was to eat first and clean up afterward.

Even though An Ning had already eaten, she joined them at the table and had a little more.

After the meal, An Guoming brought out a crate of tangerines to help cut the richness of the food.

"These tangerines are good. A nice mix of sweet and tart."

Jiang Xia peeled a tangerine and finished it in just a few bites.

Watching from across the table, An Ning’s mouth began to water.

’Why does that look so sour?’

’I prefer sweet, but not too sweet.’

"Tanghulu—Get your tanghulu—"

An old man on a bicycle, a large rack of tanghulu strapped to the back, circled twice in front of the An family’s gate.

The moment An Ning heard the call for tanghulu, her head whipped around.

"Mom—"

"Go on, buy some."

Lin Cuihua pulled some money from her pocket and gave it to An Ning.

There were so many of them that they bought out the vendor’s entire stock.

With their tangerines finished, everyone now held a stick of tanghulu, crunching away happily in the courtyard.

Once the tanghulu was eaten, everyone started cleaning up, gathering the bowls and chopsticks to be returned.

By the time they finished, it was already past three in the afternoon.

Jiang Xia left the An family’s house with Da Huang, who trotted eagerly ahead.

"Hey, what’s the rush? I get the feeling you’ve been up to no good."

Da Huang glanced back at Jiang Xia before continuing on his way.