Chapter 616: Visiting Paternal Uncle

An Ning smiled a bit sheepishly. She had forgotten.

As soon as the car stopped, Lin Cuihua jumped out even faster than An Ning.

"Dear—! An Ning’s home! Your daughter’s back!"

Lin Cuihua’s voice carried through the yard and into the house.

BANG! BANG! Two doors flew open. An Sancheng and Hei Dan’er came out at the same time, but Hei Dan’er was faster, rushing over and shouting affectionately, "Auntie!"

"Yes!"

An Ning answered loudly as Hei Dan’er sprinted forward and threw his arms around her.

"My dear nephew Hei Dan’er, you’ve gotten even darker!"

"Heh heh heh, it’s a healthy tan! Auntie."

"An Ning, you’re back! How did you get here? Did you come by yourself? Have you eaten yet?"

An Sancheng fired off a string of questions.

"Dad, I drove back myself. I haven’t eaten yet, and I’m starving."

The moment he heard An Ning was hungry, An Sancheng turned and started bustling about to get a meal ready.

Her sister-in-law and the twins came out too. The two little ones called out "Auntie" affectionately, and An Ning answered each of them in turn.

The whole family, happy and harmonious, went inside and gathered around An Ning to talk.

An Ning, of course, only shared the good news and kept the bad to herself, and her family did the same. In truth, the An family was living quite well.

Half an hour later, Master Tang came over to call them for dinner, and he and An Ning fell into another long chat.

Ever since Jiang Xia had been away, the An family and the neighboring Jiang family often ate together. Even when they didn’t, if Master Tang made something delicious, he would always send a portion over.

The meal, a traditional feast of freshly butchered pork, gave An Ning a true taste of home.

The aromatic pork, the red blood sausage, the crisp pickled cabbage, and the tangy broth that had absorbed all the rich, meaty flavor—mixed with white rice, it was so delicious An Ning thought she might swallow her own tongue.

The hearty meal left the whole family sweating.

After dinner, as the sky began to darken, An Guoqing came over carrying a large watermelon. The group gathered under the willow tree, eating watermelon and chatting idly.

Grandpa Jiang, unfazed by the heat, sipped his tea while the others ate watermelon and cracked melon seeds. They also lit some mugwort to smoke out the mosquitoes.

Those who weren’t chatting joined in for a game of cards, and the time passed without anyone noticing.

A little after eight, the temperature in the village began to drop, free from the sweltering, oppressive heat of the city.

Everyone stopped chatting and the card game ended. It was time to pack it in.

After washing up, An Ning lay down on the kang bed. It was pleasantly warm, neither too hot nor too cool. Feeling the fresh air drift in through the window, she closed her eyes in comfort. ’I’m home.’

「The next morning」

An Ning was scrolling through her phone when she saw that Jiang Xia had messaged her. She had been sleeping so soundly she hadn’t heard a thing. The last message was a pouty emoji from him.

She lay on her stomach, propped up on her pillow, and texted Jiang Xia back.

He replied the instant her message went through.

An Ning asked curiously, "Were you too upset to sleep?"

Jiang Xia: "I want to say yes, but I’m afraid you’ll beat me up. The mosquitoes here are huge!"

He followed up with a picture—apparently a close-up he’d taken of a mosquito.

An Ning took one look and had to sympathize.

The two of them texted back and forth for a long time, right up until An Ning heard Lin Cuihua speaking in what she probably thought was a quiet voice from the kitchen.

"Hei Dan’er, keep your voice down. Your auntie isn’t up yet."

"Grandma, your voice is louder than mine."

"Oh, get out of here!"

The back-and-forth between the grandmother and grandson made An Ning decide to get up.

She said goodbye to Jiang Xia, telling him to message her when he had time. He instantly replied with an "Okay."

An Ning put her phone away, got dressed, pulled back the curtains, and opened the door.

"Auntie’s up, Grandma."

"Why didn’t you sleep in? Was Hei Dan’er being too loud?"

An Ning clearly saw Hei Dan’er pout.

"No, I was just awake."

An Ning went back into her room to fold her bedding. After washing her face and brushing her teeth, she came out and chatted with Hei Dan’er in the yard.

Before long, Lin Cuihua called everyone to breakfast.

There was millet porridge, large steamed buns, stir-fried long beans, cucumber salad, sliced tomatoes sprinkled with sugar, and even a plate of the pig’s head meat prepared the day before.

The steamed buns were filled with long beans and minced pork. According to Lin Cuihua, beans were what they had most of right now—so many different kinds they couldn’t possibly eat them all.

Hei Dan’er sidled up to An Ning and whispered, "Auntie, before you came back, it was beans for one meal and beans for the next. I’ve eaten so many my face is turning green."

"It’s okay. You’re so tan, no one can tell."

Hei Dan’er considered An Ning’s reply, then nodded in agreement. "You’re right. I guess being dark has its perks."

This time, it was An Ning’s turn to be speechless.

’All she could say was that Hei Dan’er was certainly proud of his tan!’

After breakfast, those who had chores to do went off to do them. An Ning didn’t need her family to keep her company now that she was back.

First, however, she had to go visit her Uncle An. It was a matter of courtesy and tradition.

An Ning walked through the village toward her uncle’s house, carrying the gifts she had bought in Beijing.

As her mother always said, why be sneaky about giving gifts?

Carrying her gifts, An Ning chatted with the villagers she met along the way.

"Where you off to?"

"To my Uncle An’s place."

"Just got back from Beijing. I’ll be here for a while."

She answered the same questions over and over again.

Once An Ning had passed, the villagers would inevitably start discussing her—look how well An Ning was doing, and so on.

It couldn’t be helped. News traveled incredibly fast in a small village.

In less than ten minutes, An Ning arrived at Uncle An’s house.

Uncle An had deliberately planned to go to the fields later today, guessing that An Ning would come over.

Her aunt greeted An Ning warmly, accepting the gifts without any fuss before starting to bring out all sorts of treats for her.

"Have some of this. It’s muskmelon from our own garden. It’s delicious."

"Thank you, Aunt."

"What’s there to thank me for?"

One after another, her aunt brought out melon seeds, soft drinks, water, and even two bottles of Wahaha for An Ning.

"An Ning, are you staying for a while this time?"

"Yeah, probably for ten days or half a month."

Uncle An nodded, knocked his pipe against the sole of his shoe, and set it down on the kang bed.

"An Ning, the day after tomorrow is an auspicious day. Come with me up the mountain to burn some paper for our ancestors."

"Alright. What should I prepare?"

"You don’t need to prepare a thing, just come along. And don’t think of it as some old feudal superstition. Just think of it as paying respect to our ancestors."

"Uncle, what are you talking about? I’m the biggest ’feudal superstition’ ringleader there is."

Her words made Uncle An remember that An Ning herself practiced Mysticism.

"Haha, that’s right. I’d forgotten."

An Ning chatted with her uncle for a while and had a few snacks. When she left, her pockets were stuffed full of melon seeds, she was carrying a bag of muskmelons in one hand, and in the other, she held a bottle of Wahaha with a straw stuck in it.

She knew her uncle and aunt would only be happy if she truly ate and took what they offered.

After leaving her uncle’s house, An Ning quickly finished the bottle of Wahaha. Then, as if destroying evidence, she stuffed the empty bottle into her pants pocket and started for home.

After walking two lanes over, she stopped.

Her gossip radar began to tingle. Someone was arguing on this lane.

"It’s the Chen family again."

"That family argues a hundred times a day. It never ends. I don’t even bother watching the drama anymore."

"Tell me about it."

’The Chen family?’

An Ning took a closer look. Wasn’t that the old house belonging to Chen Mingliang and Miao Xiaohua?

’After all this time, they still haven’t divorced?’