Chapter 184: Chapter 184: Everyone’s Plans
It took Lin Cuihua a long time to sort through all the things An Guoming brought back.
Meanwhile, An Sancheng took An Guoqing, An Guoming, An Guoping, and An Ning—five people in total—to Uncle An’s house to deliver gifts, their hands laden with goods.
Whatever the An family had, a portion was always set aside for Uncle An’s family.
This was something An Sancheng had specifically instructed An Guoming on before he left for the south.
An Guoming had no objections whatsoever; Uncle An’s family had always treated them exceptionally well.
The five of them formed a long line. An Sancheng walked at the head with a swagger, telling everyone he met:
"Oh, nothing much. It’s almost the New Year, so I’m just taking some things over to my big brother’s house."
"It’s fine, it’s fine. Nothing much."
"Just taking some things to my big brother’s."
"On our way to deliver a few things to my big brother’s."
All along the way, whether anyone asked or not, An Sancheng managed to exchange a few words with them.
The central theme was always the same: he was delivering gifts to his big brother’s house.
An Sancheng held a deep, filial respect and admiration for Uncle An. At this moment, he was like a successful son, trying to bring honor to his father.
Behind him, An Guoping and An Ning had, at some point, broken the formation An Sancheng had arranged and were now walking side by side.
"Sis, I finally get why Dad insisted on coming out at noon," An Guoping said.
"Why?"
"More people, of course."
Realization dawned on An Ning. "So that’s why," she said. "No wonder he wanted to take this particular road."
The two siblings nodded at each other. Just as An Sancheng turned to look back, An Ning swiftly returned to her place in the line.
Before An Sancheng even reached Uncle An’s home, Uncle An himself had come out to greet them.
He had to. The procession was so grand that anyone who didn’t know better might think there was a wedding!
The moment An Sancheng saw Uncle An, his swaggering demeanor toned down a notch.
"Big Brother—"
Uncle An didn’t say much at the gate. He simply nodded and stepped aside, letting An Sancheng and the others inside.
"Uncle."
"Uncle."
As the children greeted him, Uncle An responded to each with a warm smile, his gaze lingering particularly on An Ning.
"Here, let your uncle take that. I’ll carry it."
An Ning shook her head with a smile. "It’s not heavy, not at all. Let’s go inside, Uncle."
Bringing up the rear, Uncle An closed the main gate, and the family walked into the courtyard.
Uncle An, however, lingered at the doorway for a good while, hesitating to enter the house.
There were too many things inside; they covered the entire floor.
"An Sancheng, the moment you get a little money, you have to show it off. Don’t you know you’re supposed to get rich quietly?"
Uncle An grumbled as he carefully picked his way into the room.
Inside, An Sancheng had already settled onto the heated brick bed. He looked at Uncle An and said, "Big Brother, we can’t hide it now. The house, the truck—they’re all out in the open. How are we supposed to hide it?"
Uncle An thought about An Sancheng’s words and realized he had a point.
"Even so, you shouldn’t be so ostentatious. Attracting jealousy is never a good thing."
"With so many people around, you can’t be on your guard against everyone all the time."
An Sancheng knew Uncle An meant well. He was the patriarch, the one who steered the course for the entire An family.
"You’re right, Big Brother. I won’t do it again."
Uncle An was a man of great wisdom. Having made his point, he didn’t dwell on the matter. Instead, he began to ask the younger generation about their plans.
"So, what are your plans? What’s everyone doing after the New Year?"
An Guoqing was the first to speak, saying cheerfully, "Uncle, after the New Year, I’m going to raise pigs and chickens. When the time comes, I’ll have my second brother sell them."
An Guoming nodded. "No problem there. Before the New Year, I plan to go to the market to sell spring couplets. After the holiday, I’ll make two more trips south. But once spring arrives, I won’t be leaving again."
Hearing this, Uncle An looked at An Guoming and asked, "Second Nephew, are you really willing to give up your business in the south?"
’That’s where the real money was.’
An Guoming grinned. "You’re sharp as ever, Uncle. I’m not giving it up. I’ll manage both. It won’t be an issue."
Uncle An nodded, asking no more questions.
He then turned his gaze to An Ning and An Guoping.
An Guoping spoke up first. "My focus is on the university entrance exams. I’ll do whatever work I can at home."
Uncle An nodded and said with great solemnity, "Study hard."
Finally, only An Ning remained.
"Uncle, once spring comes, I want to hire people from the village to clear the wasteland on the mountain. The land I’ve contracted will also need workers. When the time comes, I’d like you to help me choose the right people."
"Alright. Your uncle will definitely vet them properly for you."
Uncle An accepted the task with a serious expression.
An Sancheng then asked about Uncle An’s two sons, which was exactly what Uncle An had intended for him to do.
As soon as An Sancheng asked, Uncle An took the opportunity to borrow money from him in front of everyone, explaining that he planned to buy shops in town for his two sons.
"I don’t know much about business," Uncle An said, "but seeing you all preparing goods to sell, there must be people in town who want to buy. There can’t just be one supply and marketing cooperative forever, can there?"
At Uncle An’s words, An Guoming, having the most experience, spoke up.
He spoke eloquently about what he’d seen in the south, emphasizing that for a shop to succeed long-term, it first needed quality products. Beyond that, it had to be clean and tidy, and the customer service had to be top-notch.
Uncle An’s two sons listened with rapt attention.
After An Guoming finished speaking, Uncle An’s eldest son, An Guoyang, spoke up.
"Guoming, do you think it would work if I opened a little shop here in the village? I don’t really want to go to town."
"I could just stay home with Guoqing, do some farming, raise some livestock, and run a small shop. That would be nice, too."
Most importantly, his father was here; he couldn’t leave him.
Everyone understood what An Guoyang meant.
"I think that could work," An Guoming said. "There are already plenty of small general stores like that in the south."
In the end, An Guoming decided to stay behind at Uncle An’s house while the others headed back home.
An Ning walked out of Uncle An’s house with An Sancheng. After they had gone some distance, she asked, "Why did Uncle borrow money?"
An Ning knew that if Uncle An’s family sold off some of their assets, they would have more than enough for what they needed.
"An Ning, having more money isn’t always a good thing," An Sancheng explained. "Some people can’t hold onto their wealth, and it changes them for the worse. If our family didn’t have you, I wouldn’t have dared to bring out this much money either."
"Mm."
An Ning didn’t fully understand, but she committed his words to heart.
She was filled with admiration for the wisdom of her uncle and her father.
Once they returned home, everyone busied themselves with their own tasks.
When An Guoming returned later, everyone helped him sort the spring couplets they would be helping him sell the next day.
The next day, the twenty-first of the twelfth lunar month, was the big market day in Sanhe Town.
The market was always held on days of the lunar month that ended with a one, four, or seven.
People from all the surrounding villages would come by various means of transport to buy and sell goods at the market.
Everyone from the An family went, with the exception of Zhou Guifen, the eldest son’s wife, and Lin Cuihua.
They were up and getting ready shortly after five in the morning. And that was with the family truck, which could get them there in just a few minutes.
An Ning today was wearing long johns under woolen trousers, which were under a pair of padded cotton pants, which were then covered by an outer layer of leather trousers.
On her feet, she wore fuzzy socks inside a pair of small, cotton-padded shoes, which were then tucked into another pair of custom-made, thick-soled, oversized winter boots.
And that was just her bottom half. On top, she wore a small padded jacket under a large padded jacket.
As she waddled out of the house in this getup, she happened to run into Jiang Xia, who was out for a morning jog.
"Well now, did a water vat come to life overnight?"
