Chapter 89: Chapter 89: Getting the Schoolbags Back

The first night her sister-in-law was hospitalized, An Ning burned out the family’s large iron wok.

Early the next morning, An Guoqing rode his bicycle home and told the family that their sister-in-law was doing well and could be discharged in another two days.

Everyone in the family was relieved.

"Dad, have you all finished eating? I haven’t eaten yet."

An Guoqing lifted the wok lid to see what was inside, but he was so stunned by the sight that he just stood there holding it.

"This wok—it—"

"It’s burned out."

An Sancheng said calmly, "Everyone listen for calls from the street today. See if a tinker comes by to mend woks. If not, we’ll take it to town to get it patched."

As they were talking, someone walked in from outside. It was their aunt.

"You all haven’t eaten yet, have you? Hurry up and finish so you can head to the fields. Everyone’s coming to my place for lunch."

Their aunt set down a basket and left.

An Sancheng didn’t stand on ceremony. He told everyone to eat, and as soon as they finished, they were to hurry to the fields to work.

Their aunt had brought a pot of cornmeal porridge and three blocks of tofu.

After they finished eating, An Sancheng instructed An Guoming to stay home and keep an eye out, as the tinker might come by.

An Guoming said he understood, and the others left for the fields.

After An Ning had been working in the fields for over two hours, someone came over to tell her she had a phone call.

An Ning dropped her hoe and ran. ’It must be news about the Zhu family.’

Sure enough, after An Ning hung up with Director Li, she felt a sense of relief, as if the dust had finally settled.

Zhu Jianping was locked up.

Never mind the corruption and bribery; he had even dared to embezzle the factory’s property.

This time, he definitely wouldn’t be getting out for several years.

With Zhu Jianping locked up, Zhu JianShe wasn’t faring much better. After all, Zhu Jianping was the one who had schemed to get him his position.

It turned out Zhu Jianping’s wife’s family had connections at the supply and marketing co-op.

But Zhu Jianping was keeping a mistress, and what was even more infuriating, the two of them actually had a three-year-old child together.

Naturally, his wife couldn’t tolerate it and divorced him immediately.

The divorce spelled trouble for Zhu JianShe as well.

The several times he had bribed Zhu Jianping were all exposed, and the Sanhe Town Public Security Bureau kept him in custody.

Not long after An Ning hung up with Director Li, the phone rang again.

This time, it was the Sanhe Town Public Security Bureau. The investigation into the school bag case was over. All the bags could be retrieved, and they would be compensated for any that had already been sold.

Carrying this good news, An Ning first returned to the An family’s home to tell An Guoming.

When she arrived at the An family courtyard, An Guoming was mending the wok with an elderly man.

"Guoming!"

"What is it?"

An Guoming looked at a beaming An Ning, who first glanced around before having him sit down.

"Guoming, Zhu JianShe’s been arrested! We can get our school bags back."

After she spoke, An Ning saw that An Guoming was just staring blankly, his face devoid of expression.

An Ning waved a hand in front of An Guoming’s eyes and called out, "Guoming?"

"Ah, I heard you. I heard you."

An Guoming’s reaction was not at all what An Ning had expected.

He wasn’t excited.

"Guoming, are you okay?"

An Ning watched An Guoming with concern. He just shook his head, his expression a mixture of bitterness and relief. "I’m fine," he said. "I’m happy, really."

"An Ning, thank you."

An Guoming knew his little sister must have done a lot to make this happen.

"Don’t say that. You’re my brother."

"You watch the house, Guoming. I’ll go get our school bags."

"Alright, go on." 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

An Ning left on her bicycle.

An Guoming tilted his head back as a single tear silently rolled down his face, which he quickly wiped away.

’Never again.’

An Ning quickly rode her bicycle into town, completed a series of procedures, and collected their school bags, along with a little over two hundred in cash.

Standing in front of the Public Security Bureau, An Ning began to worry. ’How am I going to get this pile of school bags home?’

"Hey, missy."

An Ning turned at the familiar voice. It was the portly man who had bought the wild boar.

"Yes?"

When dealing with outsiders, An Ning always put on a cold, aloof expression, giving people the feeling that she was difficult to approach.

The portly man had interacted with An Ning a few times. He walked over with a cheerful smile and pointed to the side.

"Let’s talk over there."

An Ning glanced at the boxes of school bags near the entrance. The portly man immediately understood and said, "I’ll find someone to watch them for you. We won’t go far; you’ll be able to keep an eye on them."

"Alright."

An Ning, ever a woman of few words, followed the portly man to the side and remained silent.

"I’ll get straight to the point."

Having dealt with her twice now, the portly man had a pretty good grasp of An Ning’s personality: no small talk.

"Go ahead."

"Well, it’s like this. I’ve taken a liking to these school bags of yours, and I was wondering if we might be able to cooperate?"

An Ning had thought he wanted to talk to her about the ginseng, not the school bags.

"That’s not my department. You should talk to my brother. He’s at home."

An Ning didn’t hide her address. Since they’d chosen to do business, people were bound to find out sooner or later.

"Great! I have a truck. It’ll be perfect for your bags. How about I go back with you?"

"Fine."

The portly man moved quickly. He drove over the same beat-up truck from last time, loaded up An Ning’s school bags, put her bicycle on as well, and headed for Shili Gou.

When they reached the village, the truck had trouble driving any further in.

Just as An Ning was wondering what to do, Jiang Xia appeared.

"Hey!"

Jiang Xia called out enthusiastically as he spotted An Ning on the truck.

He jogged over and looked at An Ning. "Need a favor?"

"Yes."

Jiang Xia laughed at her bluntness. She really didn’t know how to be subtle.

"Alright. As it happens, I have something to discuss with you, too."

An Ning hopped down from the truck and said to Jiang Xia, "Can you watch the goods on the truck? They’re the school bags our family made. I’m taking him to see my brother."

"No problem. You can count on me."

An Ning trusted Jiang Xia. Although his behavior was a bit odd at times, his skills were the most impressive she had ever seen.

With that settled, An Ning felt at ease. She led the portly man to the An family home and let him talk to An Guoming himself.

She waited outside, not getting involved.

You have to get back up where you fell. An Ning felt this was something An Guoming needed.

This was also why she hadn’t immediately accepted the portly man’s offer.

"Hahahaha! Excellent, excellent! It’s a pleasure doing business with you!"

The portly man came out of the house and said to An Ning, "No wonder you insisted I come back and talk to your brother. Your brother is impressive."

The portly man was sincere. The old An Guoming had been smart, but his perspective was too narrow. He was just a smooth talker.

But the An Guoming of today spoke and handled matters differently. The portly man’s feeling was intuitive.

An Guoming also came out of the house. "An Ning," he said, "we sold the school bags to our new partner. He’s already paid. Go and help with the final count. There are four hundred and seventy-eight bags in total."

"Okay, got it, Guoming."

An Ning followed the portly man back out to the large truck.

There, Jiang Xia was leisurely playing cards with a few other men by the truck.