"What do you mean, she was right?"
Zhou Qiangguo pointed to the answer in the workbook. "This problem. Her answer was right. It really is negative four."
"Huh? No way. A blind cat stumbling on a dead mouse?"
The educated youth traveling with him curiously took the workbook and flipped through it. It really was correct.
He handed the workbook back to Zhou Qiangguo and said, "Isn't her younger brother also a senior in high school? She probably saw him do the same problem and just memorized the answer."
"Maybe."
Zhou Qiangguo closed the workbook and followed his companion toward the Educated Youth Point.
But he had a strange feeling he couldn't quite describe. He had bought this workbook specially from Yang City; they didn't sell them here at all.
But he was unwilling to believe a village girl could be smarter than him, so he tried to find a reason in his mind. 'It was probably just a coincidence.'
As the sky gradually darkened, the people chatting at the village entrance and those from the literacy class all went home.
In the countryside at this time, there wasn't even electricity, let alone any kind of nightlife.
After dark, the more particular families would wash up, while the less fastidious ones would just get into their *kang* and go to sleep.
After An Ning returned to the An family's home, she scooped some hot water out of the large iron wok to wash her face and feet. Then, grabbing a frayed toothbrush, she dipped it in some tooth powder and began to brush her teeth.
Once she was all cleaned up, she said goodnight to her family and went to her room to sleep.
An Ning loved her warm little quilt. Her sleep quality was excellent; she was usually out in seconds.
The night was silent, save for the occasional bark or meow. When dawn broke the next day, the village's roosters began to crow their lungs out.
With the first crow, every household began to stir. People gathered firewood and started their fires, beginning a new day.
In the early morning light, grayish-white smoke curled up from the many chimneys of the countryside, drifting with the wind.
It was as if a scroll painting were unrolling, shifting from scenery to people, from stillness to motion.
The An family was, of course, among them. Lin Cuihua had woken everyone up at the crack of dawn.
"Change into some old shoes and go pick mushrooms on the mountain. If you go late, there won't be any left."
'Pick mushrooms? She wasn't sure if the word meant to gather them or to step on them. The original owner of this body had never been up the mountain.'
She had already made a fool of herself several times in the past two days due to language mix-ups, so she decided she'd go up the mountain and just watch what other people did first.
An Guoqing, his wife Zhou Guifen, An Guoming, An Guoping, and a befuddled An Ning got ready and were shooed out the door by Lin Cuihua.
Once outside, her sister-in-law, Zhou Guifen, walked beside An Ning and said, "Little Sister, you stick with me. We'll go together."
"Okay."
An Ning agreed very quickly. It was perfect, since she didn't know what to do.
Up ahead, An Guoming was also instructing An Guoping, "You just follow Eldest Brother, you hear?"
An Guoping nodded and promised, "Don't worry, Second Brother. I only lost because they had more people. I'm not stupid. If I can't win, I'll run."
"Does that black eye of yours mean you're stupid, or just that your legs are short?"
Leaving him with that parting shot, An Guoming took a shortcut down a small path by himself.
An Guoping touched his eye. 'The results of that battle weren't half bad,' he thought. 'There were three of them, after all.'
Seeing An Guoming about to leave, An Ning, who was behind them, called out anxiously. An Guoming stopped in his tracks.
"Second Brother, are we still going to fight?"
She was still thinking about helping her younger brother get revenge. 'Didn't he say it would be today, when we went up the mountain?'
"You don't need to worry about it. Just follow Sister-in-law and pick mushrooms."
With that, An Guoming turned and left, disappearing from sight in moments.
An Ning was a little unhappy. 'How can he say I don't need to worry about it?'
But she didn't know the way, so she had no choice but to follow her sister-in-law up the mountain.
At the same time, many other young girls, young wives, aunts, and grannies were also heading up the mountain to pick mushrooms.
Mushrooms sprouted most easily after a rain. Picking some could supplement a meal, but most importantly, the town market would buy them, so they could be sold for money.
"Little Sister, let's hurry. This way."
"Okay."
An Ning took the lead, pulling her arm free from her sister-in-law's grasp and instead starting to pull her sister-in-law along.
"Hey—"
Zhou Guifen was practically being dragged forward by An Ning, but the two of them were indeed moving much faster.
"Go left. Yes, that's right."
Zhou Guifen gave An Ning directions, and An Ning effortlessly pulled Zhou Guifen up the small hill and headed to the left.
After about a hundred meters, they reached a pine forest. When her sister-in-law saw that the woods were empty, she was instantly energized.
"Little Sister, quick, pick the mushrooms!"
An Ning didn't dare to move, still unsure if she was meant to gather them or step on them.
But she soon had her answer. Zhou Guifen squatted down and found a cluster of mushrooms at the base of a pine tree.
"Little Sister, these ones are edible. We don't recognize the others, so we don't pick them, got it?"
"Got it."
This time, An Ning truly understood. So, it was "pick." These things were called mushrooms, and some were edible while others were not.
With a bamboo basket on her back, An Ning sprang into action.
She was fast. Using her spiritual power to cheat, she didn't even have to search. As soon as she finished picking one patch, she went straight to the next, saving a huge amount of time.
"Little Sister, you're amazing!" As An Ning squatted down to pick more mushrooms, Zhou Guifen happened to glance at her basket and was shocked to see it was already so full.
She took a few more looks. None of them were the wrong kind.
They had been picking for about ten minutes when someone else approached from behind. An Ning simply stood up and pulled Zhou Guifen away.
"What are you doing, Little Sister? There are still more here."
"There are some, but not many. Let's go somewhere else."
This time, An Ning led the way. She now knew exactly what to do. With her spiritual power fully activated, she quickly led Zhou Guifen to another patch of mushrooms.
"Little Sister, how did you find this spot?"
Squatting on the ground, An Ning certainly couldn't tell the truth.
"Just lucky."
"This is more than just lucky."
Zhou Guifen didn't say any more. Picking mushrooms was the main priority.
After they picked for a while, An Ning led them to yet another patch—and it was a huge one.
However, someone quickly came over to this large patch of mushrooms.
"There are so many over here! Hurry!"
A girl turned and shouted before immediately squatting down and starting to pick mushrooms.
In less than a minute, a few familiar faces appeared. It was the group of educated youths from last night.
They had lived in the village for several years and were very familiar with the area. They often came up the mountain to pick mushrooms after it rained to improve their meals.
Yang Jianguo was at the front and spotted An Ning, the girl who had been talking big last night, at a glance. A self-satisfied look of understanding appeared in his eyes. 'As I thought, she's here for me.'
'She really went to great lengths, even arranging an "accidental" meeting while picking mushrooms.'
While Yang Jianguo was lost in his own fantasy, the other educated youths had already squatted down to pick mushrooms. Zhou Guoqiang, however, gave An Ning an extra glance, still bothered by the fact that she had gotten the answer right.
"Jianguo, go pick over there. There are quite a few on that side, too."
One of the educated youths pointed right toward where An Ning was. Yang Jianguo agreed and sauntered over with a particularly showy gait, even clearing his throat with a little cough.
Unfortunately, An Ning was completely absorbed in picking mushrooms and didn't react at all. Her sister-in-law, Zhou Guifen, didn't even hear him. In her eyes, mushrooms were money!
Even if he coughed up a lung, it wouldn't be as fragrant as the smell of money!