With her excellent vision, An Ning spotted a large tree to the front and right of the warehouse. Two people stood beneath it—people she knew.
Miao Xiaohua and Chen Mingliang.
"Who's that?"
"No idea. A couple of idiots. Didn't Li get struck by lightning just two years ago, sheltering from the rain under a tree?"
"You got that right. Didn't they tell us in that public safety class or whatever it was? You're not supposed to stand under a big tree when it's thundering."
The people in the warehouse started chiming in one after another. They saw the two figures under the tree stand up. Though they couldn't see clearly who it was, they seemed to be all right.
"They look a little familiar."
An Guoqing craned his neck, trying to get a better look.
"Brother, it's Miao Xiaohua and Chen Mingliang."
The moment An Ning spoke, she saw An Guoqing slap his thigh hard.
"Excellent! A perfect strike."
"Brother's right."
An Guoming chimed in as well. Seeing this, An Ning thought, 'I can't be left out.'
"Big Brother and Second Brother are right. There should be another strike."
CRACK—
Another clap of thunder echoed.
An Guoqing glanced from the tree outside to An Ning.
"Sis, how about another one?"
An Ning blinked. That was, in fact, beyond her capabilities.
"I'll give it a shot."
An Ning reluctantly puffed out her cheeks and stared outside. But before she could even mutter a word, she saw Miao Xiaohua and Chen Mingliang running toward the warehouse, one behind the other.
"Missed them."
An Ning sounded somewhat disappointed, but her two older brothers on either side of her were even more so.
When An Guoqing saw the two running over, he wanted to stand in the doorway to block them, but An Guoming, behind him, stepped forward and pulled him back.
'There are plenty of ways to deal with them. No need to do it like this.'
"Brother, the rain's letting up. Why don't you go home and grab a woven plastic sack for Sis?"
"Huh? Alright."
An Guoqing turned and ran, and An Ning immediately took off after him. She glanced back at An Guoming and shouted, "Second Brother, I'm in great shape! I'll go get one for you!"
An Ning broke into a sprint, easily overtaking An Guoqing in the heavy rain. An Guoqing, left behind, put on a burst of speed, but he couldn't catch her no matter how hard he tried.
He not only failed to catch up, but halfway there, he met An Ning already on her way back.
She held a woven plastic sack in her hand and wore another as a makeshift raincoat. As she zipped past An Guoqing, she said, "Take your time, Big Brother. I'm going to get Second Brother."
An Guoqing, who was still running, glanced down at his legs in confusion. 'Am I walking?'
An Ning was back at the warehouse in no time. By now, the rain had started to ease up.
"Second Brother, I've come to get you."
An Ning stood at the warehouse entrance, shouting loudly.
An Guoming emerged from the crowd and smiled at An Ning. "Leave it to my little sister to think of me."
He poked a hole in a corner of the woven plastic sack and pulled it over his head, fashioning it into a temporary raincoat.
Chen Mingliang and Miao Xiaohua were also walking out of the warehouse. Chen Mingliang glanced at An Guoming with a disdainful expression and muttered under his breath:
"Not a real man."
With her sharp hearing, An Ning didn't miss a word. She immediately stepped forward, blocking Chen Mingliang and Miao Xiaohua.
"My second brother is a real man. Apologize."
Chen Mingliang scoffed. "What about it? You check it out for yourself?"
For a moment, An Ning didn't grasp the crude implication of his words, but An Guoming, who was behind her, swung a fist at him. Unfortunately, Chen Mingliang blocked it.
'Even though I don't quite get it, Second Brother is fighting. How can I not jump in?'
In a flash, she shot out a hand, pulled An Guoming behind her, and lunged forward with a punch, meeting Chen Mingliang's scornful gaze.
'Chen Mingliang wasn't the least bit afraid. He'd been wanting to beat up someone from the An family for a long time. Without that big oaf An Guoqing, they were nothing.'
THWACK!
The sound of fist meeting flesh rang out. Chen Mingliang's jaw snapped violently to the right, the flesh on his cheek seeming to ripple after it. His eyes were wide with utter shock.
"Sis, get him!"
Seeing the sheer force of An Ning's punch, An Guoming immediately started cheering her on. He even called someone over, asking them to run home and get backup.
An Ning gave An Guoming a calm nod. She clenched her right hand into a fist and threw an uppercut. Chen Mingliang's head, which had just been knocked aside, snapped back to the center. Again, his face seemed to fly forward while his eyes struggled to keep up.
"An Ning, I'll get you for this!"
From the side, Miao Xiaohua spread her arms and charged forward to tackle An Ning. But An Ning deftly raised a foot and kicked her square in the chest.
Miao Xiaohua flew back several feet and landed with a SPLAT in a mud puddle, sending muddy water flying.
'I even have time to gauge the distance. Not bad control on my part. My master did tell me to keep a low profile.'
After kicking Miao Xiaohua, An Ning turned her attention back to Chen Mingliang.
Chen Mingliang was now completely enraged. He began swinging his arms wildly, without any form, and charged at An Ning with a roar. 'I refuse to believe it! A grown man like me can't even handle a slip of a girl!'
An Ning stood her ground, merely turning slightly to the side. Her left hand shot out and grabbed Chen Mingliang's wrist. She brought her right knee up and slammed it into his stomach with a THUD.
Chen Mingliang instantly doubled over and dropped to his knees, his face a mask of pure agony. 'Is this really the woman I was supposed to marry?'
'If I'd actually married her, would I even have survived?'
All of Chen Mingliang's earlier arrogance vanished in an instant. He even started to feel thankful that he hadn't married An Ning.
Because before this, he'd actually felt a little regret.
"Who dares bully my sis!"
An Guoqing came running, brandishing a large tree branch he'd found somewhere. He planted himself in front of An Ning, his face a furious mask.
Behind him, the corners of An Ning's mouth lifted into a slight smile.
"Big Brother, it was Second Brother they were bullying."
The moment An Ning spoke, An Guoqing lowered his branch and said, "Oh, they were bullying him…? Well, that's not a big deal then."
An Guoming shot him a look that said, "Thanks a lot."
By now, the rain had stopped. It was still too wet to work in the fields, however, so everyone with nothing better to do decided to stick around and watch the show.
Some people from the Chen family arrived, as did An Sancheng and Lin Cuihua. And, of course, the production team leader, Sun Dazhuang, was there too.
Sun Dazhuang looked at the familiar group of people. His gaze fell on An Ning, who was beaming at him, and it made him feel a little uneasy.
An Ning was completely oblivious to Sun Dazhuang's thoughts. 'I'm just trying to make a good, hardworking, and friendly impression on the leader in charge of the farmlands.'
Sun Dazhuang stepped forward to get the story. The onlookers gave an impartial account, repeating what Chen Mingliang had said, especially the crude remark he'd directed at An Ning: "You check it out for yourself?"
When everyone heard those words, they all wore expressions of disgust.
An Sancheng stepped out from the crowd and faced Chen Mingliang's father. "Chen the Second," he said, "after the words your son Chen Mingliang said today, I could break both his legs and you wouldn't have a damn thing to say about it."
"Let me tell you something. From now on, stay far away from the An family."
Having said his piece, An Sancheng stepped forward and kicked Chen Mingliang squarely on the shoulder.
"Let's go. We're going home!"