Chapter 19 My Eldest Sister's House Also Needs to Dig a Well

Of the forty-two jin of beef jerky, Ji Hefeng kept two jin for himself, gave two jin each to Zhao Jian'an, the division commander, the political commissar, and the regimental commander, and one jin each to a few of his closer comrades.

He had about 37 kilograms left, which he planned to use to exchange for various tickets and coupons for Molly.

Ji Hefeng went to the division commander's house first, and it was Monika who opened the door.

"Nini, who is it?" the division commander's wife asked.

"It's Battalion Commander Ji." Monika stepped aside to let him in.

"Oh, it's Xiao Ji! You've come at the perfect time. We were just about to have dinner," the division commander's wife greeted warmly.

The division commander also came out of his study. "You've arrived. Have a seat."

"Commander, I've already eaten in the canteen." Ji Hefeng didn't move.

"You can eat a little more after you've eaten. Nini, go get another set of chopsticks and a bowl."

"Okay, Aunt Fang."

Ji Hefeng had no choice but to sit down.

"What is that in your hand?" The division commander's gaze fell on the small cloth bag in Ji Hefeng's hand.

Ji Hefeng placed the small cloth bag on the table. "My wife mailed some beef jerky from our hometown. I brought some over for you and Aunt Fang to try."

The three people at the table were stunned. Among them, Monika's pretty face darkened. "Ji Hefeng, you're lying. You never submitted a marriage application."

“She’s not 18 yet,” Ji Hefeng explained.

"You're really married?" The division commander was somewhat surprised. "Who is the other person? Why haven't you mentioned them before?"

“She’s from Zhao Jian’an’s hometown. She took care of me while I was injured. She’s kind, capable, hardworking, and we share the same ideals, so I asked the brigade leader to officiate our wedding. Once she’s of legal age, I’ll submit a marriage application to the higher authorities.” Ji Hefeng spoke solemnly and earnestly, not like he was lying.

Snap!

Monika slammed down her chopsticks, her eyes red, "You'd rather marry a country girl—"

“Her name is Molly, from three generations of poor farmers, and she’s incredibly famous.” Ji Hefeng’s expression was cold.

Monica was speechless. She stood up and bowed to the teacher and his wife. "I'm sorry, I lost my composure. I have to go back now. I'll come back to apologize to you and Aunt Fang next time."

After saying that, she left without looking back.

“Nini is a good child,” Aunt Fang sighed.

Ji Hefeng did not respond.

The instructor poured Ji Hefeng a glass of wine, saying, "It depends on fate between people. I think Molly, who took the initiative to send beef jerky to Xiao Ji, is quite nice. Take out the beef jerky, let's have some together."

Ji Hefeng opened the cloth bag and offered food to the teacher and Aunt Fang.

"Oh my, this jerky smells so good, and the color is so nice too." Aunt Fang took a piece and put it in her mouth, chewing it and finding it sweeter and sweeter.

"When she turns eighteen, have you considered having her come to live with you in the army?" Ji Hefeng, who was so arrogant, had so many girls who liked him before, and many people tried to set him up, but he didn't like any of them. Now he was marrying a village girl, and he was really curious about who this village girl was.

"I haven't thought about it yet." He married Molly to give her a place to live, but he never intended to keep her by his side.

"Now think about it, next time we allocate houses, we can reserve one in advance."

"You really need to think about it. You two young people can't stay separated for long periods of time. You're not getting any younger, it's time to consider having children."

Achoo—

"Second sister, have you caught a cold? Go and warm yourself by the fire."

"It's not cold, how could I be cold while I'm working?"

Molly's knife moved so fast it was almost a blur, and in no time she had chopped a basketful of greens. She put the greens into a clay pot with boiling water, added a few pieces of kudzu root and some sweet potato and potato peels, stirred it all up, and the pig feed was ready.

As the weather got colder, Molly worried that cold food would give the piglets diarrhea, so the three piglets ate hot pig feed for every meal.

The four chicks were fed pig feed, with an extra cooked sweet potato.

In Mohe's words, Molly's family ate better pigs and chickens than some other families in the brigade.

One day, Molly caught some cabbage worms in the vegetable garden and fed them to the four chicks. From that day on, the chicks who ate the worms liked to follow Molly around, chirping incessantly.

Now, wherever Molly goes, she carries a bamboo tube around her waist. She catches any insects she sees and puts them into the tube. When she gets home, she pours the insects out of the tube to feed the chickens.

Seeing her doing this, Mo An also asked her to get him a bamboo tube. Every day after finishing his housework, Mo An would go out to catch insects.

A child this age shouldn't stay cooped up at home all day; he should go out and make friends. Molly didn't restrict him.

When was your well dug?

The crops in the brigade needed loosening of the soil and fertilization. Mo He was busy with these tasks for a few days. When she returned to her sister's house, she was shocked to find that her sister's house had an extra well.

Digging a well is a major undertaking, second only to building a new house, and her sister managed to accomplish it all without a sound?

"My second sister and I dug it, and it took us eight or nine days." Mo An felt a little proud when she mentioned this.

"Eight or nine days!"

"Just the two of you?"

Mo He thought her younger brother was talking in his sleep.

“Yes, it was just the two of us, and we finished on the morning of the ninth day. Big sister, you can try fetching water, it’s very convenient.” Mo An handed a bucket and rope to Mo He.

It had rained a few days ago, and the water level in the well had risen a bit. Water could be drawn from several meters below the ground. Mo He brought up a bucket of the well water, which was clear and slightly warm.

"It really is warm water!" Mo He exclaimed with delight. She could wash clothes and dishes without boiling water.

"Big sister, do you want to dig one up in your house? My second sister and I will go and dig one up for you."

Molly: "......."

Have you asked her?

When Mohe looked at Molly with expectant eyes, Molly couldn't bring herself to refuse.

"Let's start digging this morning, otherwise it'll get cold and we'll easily get sick if we dig with wet clothes."

How about tomorrow?

"OK."

The next morning, after having breakfast, Molly took her tools and headed to the Zhao family's house.

"Second sister, I'll come find you after I've watered the vegetables and fed the pigs and chickens." Mo An had never been to her eldest sister's house, but she had passed by it many times and knew where it was.

"No rush, take your time. There are several adults here, you don't need to help as a child." Molly couldn't bear to let Mo An go to the Zhao family to do their work, since the Zhao family had Zhao Shangxun and Li Xiaoju.

Mo An didn't take Molly's words to heart. It was his first time visiting his brother-in-law's house, and he wanted to make a good impression so as not to embarrass his sister.

When Molly arrived at the Zhao family's house, Mo He and Zhao Shangxun had already changed into work clothes, and Li Xiaoju was sprinkling manure on the ground. The entire Zhao family's house reeked of an indescribable stench.

Upon seeing Molly, Li Xiaoju changed her cold demeanor from when she had chased Molly away, and smiled kindly, "Molly, it's been a while since I've seen you. You've grown even more beautiful, like a young lady."

Molly gave a meaningful laugh and remained silent.

"Molly, have you had breakfast? I saved two roasted sweet potatoes for you." Mohe took the farm tools from Molly's hands and stuffed the two warm sweet potatoes into Molly's hands. "Eat them before we get back to work."

"Thank you, big sister." Molly didn't stand on ceremony and immediately started peeling sweet potatoes. "Where do you plan to dig the well, big sister?"

"The northwest corner of the yard, that spot, see if it's okay."

"I'll go take a look first; if it doesn't work, I'll have to find another place."

"Okay, go see for yourself, I believe you."

Molly ate a sweet potato with her right hand and fiddled with pebbles on the ground with her left. Her hair-thin tentacles silently burrowed into the ground, quickly and rapidly reaching a depth of ten or twenty meters in just a few seconds.

When Mo He and Zhao Shangxun arrived with their tools, Molly had already retracted her tentacles.

"So, is this spot safe to dig?"

"The place you chose is good, it's fine."

It had rained a few days ago, so the soil hadn't clumped together and was easy to dig.

Molly, Mohe, and Zhao Shangxun took turns digging and carrying the dug soil outside.

When Mo An arrived, the three of them had already dug more than a meter deep.

"The soil is so soft and easy to dig today." Mo He found it somewhat unbelievable. Even in the loess layer, a shovel and a spade could dig it up effortlessly.

"At this rate, we might be able to dig a well in less than ten days." Zhao Shangxun was very excited. In the production brigade, the work of fetching water was mostly done by men. Because of his leg disability, he couldn't maintain his balance and had never fetched water since childhood. His mother used to do the work, and now his wife. Seeing how hard they worked, he felt incredibly guilty. If they had a well, they would never have to fetch water from outside again.

Zhao Shangxun looked at his sister-in-law, his feelings mixed. If his sister-in-law's family hadn't dug a well first, he wouldn't have had the courage to decide to dig one himself.