Chapter 155: Chapter 155

"Oh, Wan and Ning are back!"

"Old Shuan sure is blessed! Look at these two nieces of ours - so capable at such a young age!"

Both girls greeted him politely.

Captain Zhang Aiguo was around forty years old, with the square-jawed face that was most admired by their generation. Tall and robust, he had earned considerable prestige in the village for leading hunts during the famine years. Looking down at the two girls who barely reached his chest, Zhang Aiguo quickly narrowed his eyes:

"Our Ning even took first place in the county recently! When I went out last time, you really made your uncle the village head proud! Not like your talented brother - sigh, every exam, every time he never makes it to the top."

Suddenly remembering something, the captain slapped his thigh excitedly.

"What perfect timing! You're going to County First High too, same school as Youcai. This is great - when school starts, I'll have your brother Youcai come meet you. It's not safe for two young girls to travel back and forth alone..."

Unlike Zhang Aiguo's cheerful mood, Old Man Yang's forced smile disappeared the moment the captain left. Besides his usual networking, the captain had come mainly to deliver an important notice.

Recently, the higher-ups had passed a resolution...

Effective immediately:

The village would implement a communal canteen system where all members must eat. Simultaneously, every household must surrender all iron cooking utensils.

Watching the captain's hurried departure, both An Ning and Third Sister knew - those three most difficult years were approaching fast...

That night, while Eldest Aunt Yang hugged her beloved old iron pot mournfully, An Ning could clearly hear Third Sister tossing and turning endlessly in the next room.

An Ning had never stopped having the system monitor her sister. Fortunately, after years of subtle "reminders" from her younger sister, Third Sister had become more cautious. Besides working harder on her stories to earn more money legally, she hadn't made any suspicious moves.

There were no attempts to secretly advise Zhang Aiguo like in their past life, no scenes of attracting insects with honey to create "divine warnings," and certainly no secretly burying large amounts of grain in caves.

The only thing she did was bury some easily grown sweet potato cuttings, yam roots, or edible wild vegetables in hidden mountain spots. Though most got dug up by others, over two years - with An Ning's discreet help - some remained.

Seeing this, An Ning finally relaxed.

It wasn't that she wanted to meddle, but as the saying goes, walls have ears. In this era of extreme food scarcity, suddenly appearing with large amounts of grain would raise obvious suspicions.

Inheritance from ancestors?

Leaving aside how long grain could last underground without rotting, these lifelong farmers could tell at a glance whether grain was new or old.

With Third Sister's past life experience as warning, An Ning dared not take chances.

As for secretly warning Captain Zhang? An Ning never even considered it. How much weight would a little girl's words carry to make a commanding man change his mind?

Unless pigs could fly.

Moreover, from what she knew, while Captain Zhang seemed rough and uneducated, having maintained his position for years showed his shrewdness.

Trying to outsmart such an old fox? Even An Ning herself might slip up, let alone Third Sister.

Standing out was always dangerous.

People might feel grateful at first for "narrowly escaping disaster," but afterwards?

If you could foresee things, why not do more?

If you had supplies, why not share more?

An Ning never wanted to gamble with human nature.

The lively communal canteen soon opened to villagers' anticipation, though it hardly affected the sisters beyond changing where they ate.

Seeing the canteen provide increasingly good meals - not just filling but even white flour buns with every meal - villagers' initial reluctance about surrendering pots and grain largely disappeared.

They unanimously praised Captain Zhang instead.

In these times, any policy that filled bellies was heaven-sent.

Even Eldest Aunt Yang stopped mourning her iron pot.

Only Third Sister kept sighing:

"Little sister, partnered or not, grain rations are fixed. If we keep eating ... sigh!"

An Ning just smiled without responding. Did villagers understand this simple logic? Of course. But who wanted to be the one losing out?

As school approached, with writing fees as excuse, the sisters lived even more comfortably. Not only did Li Xiaocao keep them from chores, even Eldest Aunt stopped her veiled criticisms. Even Eldest Sister occasionally helped openly now.

Before school started, An Ning gradually mailed out her remaining manuscripts.

To their delight, besides their current story, another piece "Sui Sui's Adventures" was also selected by a Shanghai newspaper.

On the eve of school, they'd not only prepared a semester's worth of submissions but their earnings had surpassed fifty yuan...

In September, carrying heavy bags, the sisters officially began middle school.

Apart from inconvenient dormitories, junior high seemed no different, especially for An Ning. To Third Sister's quiet envy, despite being half a head shorter than classmates, An Ning firmly maintained her top ranking.

With increased reading over months, her submissions had evolved from simple comics to short stories and eloquent essays.

Smart, studious, and sweet-tongued - such people were always popular.

During break, after finally finishing homework to find her sister, Third Sister unsurprisingly saw crowds several layers deep around An Ning's seat...

"Ning, your taste is amazing! Even my mom says this yellow dress looks best on me!"

"Ning, quick, do these new leather shoes match these pants?"

"Ning, look at my new hair ribbons!"

Third Sister: "......"

When had her sister become a fashion expert?

Was this why she'd insisted on Editor Chen getting those Beijing and Shanghai fashion magazines?

But greater shock awaited. That afternoon, returning home with various fabrics, not only was Li Xiaocao bewildered, even Third Sister was stunned by her sister's unprecedented extravagance.

Trembling while pointing at the fabrics, Third Sister felt physical pain - this was twenty whole yuan!

Other times might be fine, but now?

"Little sister, why did you suddenly buy all this?"