Chapter 544 - 559: Five Years Later

After An Ning returned to Beijing, she first handled Tao Quan’s affairs. Once his soul had dissipated, An Ning couldn’t quite say whether she felt relieved or at peace.

She took her son, Baby, with her to choose a burial plot for Tao Quan. The Feng Shui was good, and the site was clean and tidy. This was probably what Tao Quan would have wanted.

After seeing Tao Quan off, An Ning settled into a routine.

Every morning, she would take Baby to gather pure energy and teach him Mysticism.

Once their morning Mysticism lesson was over, she would take Baby to school, not wanting him to miss out on a proper childhood. After dropping him off, she would then head to the research institute for work.

Every three days, An Ning would find time to visit the university—not to attend classes, but to lecture a group of professors.

Between An Ning’s endless requests for leave and Yu the Elder’s constant bragging about her, the university president finally granted special approval for An Ning to graduate early and pursue graduate studies at Beijing University.

It was probably the easiest graduate entrance exam in the history of Beijing University.

There was no helping it; they were dealing with An Ning, the person who had publicly solved two major mathematical problems.

Once those two papers were published, they drew a great deal of attention to Huaxia. However, after that, Huaxia made no further moves, remaining as quiet as if it had fallen asleep.

Outdated facilities, impoverished land—these were the impressions foreign countries had of Huaxia.

At the time, Huaxia wasn’t making any hasty changes. Or rather, the changes happening within Huaxia were invisible to outsiders.

After becoming a graduate student at Beijing University, An Ning also enrolled in the doctoral program, completed her dissertation within a month, and successfully graduated.

Afterward, she continued her routine.

She taught Baby, Yu the Elder, the professors at Beijing University, Zhou Xiaoshan at his distant military training camp, and even Li Chengze, who was abroad, over the phone.

This all happened in her spare time. She spent the majority of her days in the research lab.

Unbeknownst to many, the production speed of Huaxia’s factories doubled. Products made in Huaxia began to catch up to their foreign counterparts, and some were even showing signs of surpassing them.

And these were only some of the changes. Huaxia’s infrastructure was also developing at a rapid pace, making life and travel much, much more convenient for its people.

A steady supply of electricity meant people no longer had to deal with the power suddenly cutting out while watching TV, only to be gone for days.

At the same time, the widening and paving of roads greatly accelerated the flow of goods and people between cities.

And behind every one of these advancements was An Ning’s handiwork.

Around the time she graduated from Beijing University, Huaxia’s patent law was successfully enacted. An Ning’s tens of thousands of designs were all patented at once, and the enormous patent royalties were divided up as per her prior instructions.

Compensation for scientific researchers was raised, social safety nets in rural areas were strengthened, and everything was moving in a positive direction.

Time flowed on, and with it came quiet change.

Change wasn’t limited to the big cities. It was happening in Shili Gou as well.

After a full-term pregnancy, her sister-in-law gave birth to twin boys. In the blink of an eye, the An family now had three boys in its third generation.

Every day, life at home was a lively affair, all under the watchful eye—and occasional small bamboo stick—of Lin Cuihua.

An Guoming’s logistics company gradually expanded, established a firm foothold, and carved out a significant position for itself nationwide.

The An family’s joint enterprise, Green Land, opened branches all over most of the northern cities, as well as in some coastal ones.

But the most significant event was that An Guoming and Yin Xuemei became a couple. When it happened, An Ning’s jaw nearly dropped to the floor.

Everyone knew Yin Xuemei’s character, though, and they all said An Guoming must have had some incredible luck. An Guoming didn’t deny it in the slightest. He truly had hit the jackpot.

After they became a couple, they dated for two years and were finally getting married this year.

An Ning, who had been holed up in her lab for nearly six months, finally emerged from some unknown cave to see the light of day again, all to attend their wedding.

It couldn’t be helped. Many of the projects she worked on were classified.

Five years had passed, and An Ning was now twenty-four.

At twenty-four, she had even grown a little taller—not by much, just a tiny little bit.

The last traces of youthfulness had faded from her face, leaving a mature and beautiful woman.

Except right now, this beautiful woman, covered in grass and leaves, was squatting beside a wheel, staring at the flat tire and contemplating the meaning of life.

The wilds. A lonely, winding mountain road.

Tree shadows swayed under the hazy moonlight. Shrouded in white mist, a towering, horned figure emerged, walking out of the fog.

"B-Bro—a ghost!"

"Bullshit! Where’s the ghost?! I told you to be the lookout, you hear me?"

"But Bro—there really is a ghost!"

The masked man, who had been focused on digging a pit, spun around impatiently. He shook off the other man’s arm and snapped, "Ghost my ass! Where would there be a—a ghost!"

The two grown men scrambled away on all fours, watching as the colossal figure drew closer, step by step.

"Excuse me, do you know how to get to Number 19 Winding Mountain Road?"

The crisp, feminine voice made the two men squint, their hearts in their throats as they stared at the "giant" emerging from the mist.

Holy crap!

It was a person carrying an electric scooter on their shoulder.

’Not a ghost.’

Just as the two of them breathed a sigh of relief, they quickly glanced back to check if the person had feet. Or a shadow.

After all, you couldn’t just casually hoist an electric scooter onto your shoulder.

"What the hell are you doing, trying to scare people in the middle of the night!"

The one they called "Big Bro" raised his voice, as if to bolster his own courage. His underling behind him nodded repeatedly, his own bravery growing a fraction.

An Ning set down the electric scooter. Her eyes swept over the ground, but before she could say anything, the "Big Bro" spoke up.

"Get lost! Don’t get in our way!"

"Get lost! Or I won’t be so nice. Out here in the middle of nowhere, you’ll regret it if something... happens!"

The two large men were threatening An Ning.

Completely unafraid, An Ning pointed to the shovel on the ground. "Are you two robbing a grave?"

"Your tools are a little primitive, don’t you think? You should at least have a Luoyang shovel, some black donkey hooves, that sort of thing. With nothing but this, of course you’re going to be afraid of ghosts."

An Ning had pegged them exactly, which made the men grow anxious and start threatening her again.

"Don’t spout nonsense! This is our own family’s tomb!"

"Yeah, yeah! Our family’s!"

’They’re not very brave,’ An Ning thought, looking at the two men. ’And they haven’t shown any ill intent toward a young, beautiful woman. They’re not completely rotten.’

"Alright, your family’s tomb. So, you’re digging it up late at night because you have something urgent to tell your ancestors? Does it have to be in person? You won’t leave until you see a real ghost?"

An Ning’s words sent a chill down the two men’s spines.

"Let me give you two a piece of advice: you’d better head back now."

It’s hard to say whether it was An Ning’s warning that did the trick or if the pair simply lacked courage in the first place, but either way, they obediently prepared to leave.

And as it turned out, they could even show An Ning the way.

On the way back, An Ning overheard the two men talking. They said they hadn’t really wanted to dig up a tomb; they’d just heard rumors that there were many large ones on this mountain. Some people had supposedly struck it rich overnight by finding something here.

The two brothers were both short on cash, which was why they decided to try their luck here.

"You said someone told you there were large tombs here? Do you remember who it was?"