Chapter 31: Chapter 31

It had been a week since Lu Huaimin was discharged from the hospital, yet he was still being carried back by familiar neighbors from the building one after another. There was no other way—the tube-style apartment was cramped, and the stairway was even narrower.

Forget about a wheelchair; even a stretcher was hard to bring up.

Because of the commotion, of course, it attracted a crowd of onlookers, both old and young. Some newlywed young wives only glanced once and quickly turned away with flushed faces.

But the older folks didn’t care about such things:

“Hey, Old Lu is back!”

“Oh my, Old Lu, I really wonder why you had to go through all this trouble for such a small matter. What are you going to do in the future?”

“By the way, what exactly did Director Lu do that day? How did he end up ?” These voices belonged to those who loved watching the drama unfold.

Everyone chimed in one after another, pushing the usually prideful Lu Huaimin into utter shame and anger. His face flushed red, but now, due to his paralysis, he couldn’t utter a single word.

Beside him, Jiang Yuhua wished she could just bury herself underground.

Sitting calmly in the chair, An Ning leisurely studied the man before her.

In less than half a month, Lu Huaimin had lost a noticeable amount of weight. The hospital gown he finally wore hung loosely and empty on his frail body. His once refined face was now gloomy and somber.

When he occasionally glanced at his cheap stepmother, An Ning even felt a chill run down her spine.

Lu Xu had been somewhat attentive at first, but soon, seeing that this man was completely disabled and couldn’t even express himself, and realizing he could gain nothing from An Ning’s side, he stopped caring altogether.

He let Jiang Yuhua almost roughly place a cold towel directly over his face.

Lu Qing, who had been busy with something unknown for several days, no longer cared about this useless cripple. Without even glancing his way, she grabbed her blue cloth bag and swiftly headed out the door.

As for An Ning herself, on such a beautiful weekend, she had already made plans early on.

Regarding her worthless father’s safety, it was not something she needed to worry about. She figured as long as Jiang Yuhua didn’t go crazy trying to make her situation worse, nothing would happen to him in the short term.

In any case, the three children, whether biological or not, tacitly didn’t stay for long. Who knew what mood Lu Huaimin was in at this moment?

Perhaps he was somewhat relieved? After all, useless people weren’t worth much effort, a lesson he had taught by example.

Skillfully braiding her jet-black hair into a fishtail braid, An Ning changed into newly bought bell-bottom pants. She happily admired the beauty in the mirror.

As expected, youth was a blessing; a little tidying up made her look especially fresh and radiant.

Outside the small courtyard, Ye Jingshu had obviously been waiting for a long time. When she saw An Ning arrive, she quickly pulled her inside with visible joy on her face. An Ning immediately realized that something good must be happening.

And it was about her.

Sure enough, as soon as they entered the room, Teacher Ye didn’t even brew tea. She hurriedly pulled An Ning to sit on the bed:

“An Ning, do you remember the data set you helped calculate at my place last time? Let me tell you, even the engineers at the neighboring Anhua Factory couldn’t solve it, so they passed it to my dad. I didn’t expect you to be so amazing.”

Teacher Ye beamed with pride:

“I’ll tell you, Comrade Old Ye reported your situation a few days ago. The higher-ups have already agreed—once you pass the assessment smoothly, you can directly join the technical department.”

“Wait, Anhua Factory… I remember, that’s not…”

An Ning instinctively covered her mouth, swallowing the words “military factory,” and whispered softly:

“Is it okay for this kind of thing to be leaked to outsiders?”

“No worries. It’s not real data.”

Since she wasn’t an on-duty employee, even Old Ye wasn’t allowed to access real data. Most of the data taken outside had already been modified. These people mainly used it to provide calculation methods or problem-solving ideas.

The actual core data was absolutely never allowed out.

Indeed, An Ning finally relaxed a bit.

As for whether to accept the offer?

That was definitely a yes!

An Ning hesitated almost not at all. It wasn’t that she had any illusions about the military; in fact, she had no illusions about any profession. But now, it was already 1968, and the movement’s atmosphere would only grow crazier over time.

At its worst, even the slightest misstep could be magnified infinitely.

In such chaotic times, being weak, beautiful, and without backing was the biggest mistake of all.

But for An Ning, having to watch herself with a dull face every day, unable to enjoy life properly, was more unbearable than death.

No matter what, having this kind of identity made things safer. Moreover, Anhua Factory was the largest military factory in Yun Province, with troops stationed nearby almost daily. No matter how chaotic outside was, no one would dare to mess with armed forces lightly.

Safety was significantly increased.

It might even be possible to take advantage of this opportunity to complete her university studies in the future.

At this moment, An Ning nodded firmly at Teacher Ye’s proposal.

Ye Jingshu was not surprised at all by An Ning’s choice.

Anhua Factory researcher or the unnoticed logistics at a textile factory—between salary, treatment, and social status, which was more valuable? Was there even a need to say?

An Ning was so hardworking and talented; it was a waste to stay in such a small place.

Seeing the once silent and introverted girl become so outstanding and bright under her guidance, Ye Jingshu couldn’t help but feel that being a mother without pain couldn’t be better than this.

Three days later, An Ning followed Professor Ye. Passing through layers of security, it wasn’t until half an hour later that they arrived at an office. The assessor was a middle-aged man with a slightly balding head, wearing a neatly tailored Zhongshan suit.

An Ning heard people around call him Minister Hao.

“Hello, Minister Hao!”

“So this is Comrade Lu An Ning!” The man’s expression was serious, but his tone was unexpectedly friendly: “I reviewed your previous calculation process. Quite impressive.”

It was hard to imagine such work came from a high school student.

But geniuses were never lacking, especially in math—an area reserved for prodigies. After thoroughly investigating the girl’s background, Minister Hao quickly accepted the fact.

Seeing she only hesitated briefly before solving a problem that had been troubling the technical department for some time, Minister Hao’s face remained unchanged, but inside, he wanted to shout that he’d found a treasure.

Indeed, as Old Ye said, it was truly a wise eye for talent.

As expected, An Ning passed smoothly. Before leaving, Minister Hao even specially pulled her aside to ask:

“By the way, young Comrade Lu An Ning, I want to confirm when you can start working here. If possible, the sooner, the better.”

It was clear they were genuinely desperate for talent now.

Seeing his eagerness to have her start immediately, An Ning felt a little regretful.

Had she just overperformed a bit too much?

Looks like from now on, if she was going to slack off, she might as well slack off more thoroughly.