Chapter 21 She's Not Easy to Bully

As the weather gets colder, the crops in the fields are almost ready to be harvested. Nowadays, there are team members patrolling the fields day and night, taking turns to visit each household to ensure that there are people in the fields all day long.

But none of this concerned Molly. The brigade leader had spoken: although Molly's household registration had been transferred to Xiaonan Village Brigade, she hadn't participated in the planting, so naturally, she wouldn't get a share of the harvest.

The brigade leader told Molly that she could work with the brigade members next spring, and then she would be given work points.

As for Mo An, his household registration is still in Mo Family Brigade, so he should go back there to work.

Molly didn't ask Mo An if he wanted to move here; she implicitly agreed that Mo An would return to Mo Family Village to settle down after he grew up.

A wind picked up at night, making the trees outside the window rustle.

The room's windows had no glass, and after autumn arrived, the entire window frame was sealed with burlap sacks to prevent the wind from blowing in.

The pigs, rabbits, and chicks in the house were all quiet.

In the middle of the night, there were sudden hurried footsteps outside the vegetable garden. Molly opened her eyes abruptly, and without even putting on her clothes, she hurried out in her slippers. As she passed the vegetable garden, she casually pulled up a wooden stake and held it in her hand.

"Chase after them! They ran that way!"

"Catch the thief—"

"Everyone, come quick, catch the thief!"

Then came the clanging and banging of pots and pans.

In the darkness, several shadowy figures rushed towards Molly's house in a panic, but when they got close enough to see a house there, they stopped abruptly and turned to run up the mountain.

Bang!

Bang bang bang!

When Zhao Xiaoyong and his group caught up with torches, they saw the slender Molly carrying a wooden stake, striking the men repeatedly. The men were powerless to fight back and could only roll around on the ground.

Molly stopped when she saw Zhao Xiaoyong and his group. The people on the ground tried to run away, but Zhao Xiaoyong and his group pounced on them, grabbed them, and pinned them to the ground.

Molly didn't say anything, and turned to leave.

Only after she had walked away did the rest of the group come over upon hearing the noise.

"You caught them?"

"We caught them. All four of them, not one is missing."

"Well done, you young people are pretty good."

"It wasn't us, it was Sister Ji who stopped them."

"Is she Ji Hefeng's wife?"

"Yes, that's her. When we arrived, she was beating these four people up with a wooden stake."

"He looks small, but he's more ruthless than any of us men when he beats someone up!"

"Like a demon, extremely ruthless and terrifying!"

"Really?"

I'd be a dog if I lied!

Molly went home, washed her hands, and went to bed, sleeping soundly until dawn.

Breakfast consisted of corn porridge, stir-fried cured pork with greens, and hot and sour shredded potatoes.

"Second sister, your cooking skills are getting better and better." Mo An especially loved the hot and sour shredded potatoes, which he could drink three bowls of with his porridge. The stir-fried wild boar with greens was also good; the cured meat was fragrant and chewy, and the greens were crisp and sweet.

Molly nodded. "I also think my cooking skills have improved."

She can now precisely control the heat, and the dishes cooked over high heat with lard are especially fragrant.

"Molly—"

Mo He rushed in, her face showing a hint of anxiety and panic.

"Have you eaten, sister? Sit down and have some more." Before Mo He could refuse, Mo An got up to get her a bowl and chopsticks and served her a bowl of thick corn porridge.

Glug!

Looking at the beautiful corn kernels, Mo He couldn't help but swallow hard; she hadn't tasted corn for a year.

Mo He didn't stand on ceremony with her younger siblings. After sitting down, she first tasted a mouthful of corn porridge. The fragrance of the grains and the soft, sticky texture made her want to cry.

"It's so delicious!"

"In a few days, the corn in the field will be harvested, and I will eat corn porridge every day."

The corn in the brigade has been planted for over a hundred days. Now that it's late autumn, the corn isn't as plump as it was in summer, but everyone has taken good care of it, fertilizing and watering it, so it's not growing badly. Her family should be able to get several dozen or even a hundred kilograms.

She'll send some over to her younger sister and brother then.

"Big sister, try the dishes your second sister cooks. Aren't they getting tastier and tastier?" Mo An put some food on Mo He's plate.

Looking at the oily greens and shredded potatoes, Mo He thought, with so much oil, how could it not taste good? She had never seen anyone use more oil than her sister when cooking.

"Wild boar meat is delicious too, eldest sister, you should try some." Mo An put a few more pieces of wild boar meat on Mo He's plate, and after putting some on Mo He's plate, he didn't forget to put some on Mo Li's plate as well, "Second sister, you should eat more too."

He handled the situation quite fairly.

Mo He then remembered the purpose of his visit: "The brigade said you beat up a thief last night?"

They beat them very badly; the thieves were covered in bruises and howled all night.

"What thief? Did a thief break into our house last night?" Mo An was stunned.

"A few people from the neighboring village came to steal grain from our brigade's fields. They were discovered and fled to the foot of the mountain, but your second sister stopped them and gave them a good beating. Now the whole brigade knows about it." She had only heard about it this morning and rushed over. "Are you alright?"

“No, I used a wooden stake, not my hands,” Molly said calmly.

Mo He rolled her eyes at her, "You're such a skinny girl, how come you're so fierce!"

Molly disagreed, "I need to let the whole group know that I'm not someone to be trifled with."

Mo He couldn't refute, "You raised a pig, a dozen rabbits, and four chickens that are already half-grown. They're even bigger than the ones my mother-in-law Li Xiaoju raised. With so much meat, people will definitely be envious. And since there's no man at home, to avoid others having ulterior motives, being assertive and domineering will indeed save you a lot of trouble."

"Big sister, I'm a man," Mo An whispered.

Mo He paused for a few seconds, not wanting to discourage her younger brother, "You're a boy."

Mo An couldn't wait to grow up and become a man so he could support his two older sisters. He decided to eat an extra bowl of rice from now on.

Molly found it amusing to see her brother's dissatisfaction, but she remained calm and changed the subject, "It wasn't one pig, it was three."

Mo He: "......."

The usually composed older sister dropped her chopsticks and ran towards the pigsty.

Molly had finished eating and slowly followed.

"Sis, these pigs don't look like they've been raised for three months. What did you feed them? How come they're so fat?" Mo He swallowed hard as she looked at the three little fat pigs. The pigs' butts wiggled and swayed, which looked really tempting.

"They eat the vegetables from the garden, the pig feed from the mountain, and occasionally some sweet potatoes and kudzu roots." The sweet potatoes in the garden have grown bigger than her fist, and the ground is covered with dense fruits. She picks out the big ones and cooks them for the three pigs every two or three days.

"You even have sweet potatoes to feed the pigs!" Mo He was stunned.

Molly didn't say anything, but went to the vegetable garden and dug up two sweet potatoes for Mohe, saying, "Sister, look at the sweet potatoes I planted."

The two sweet potatoes were bigger than an adult man's fist, with smooth skin and a color darker than red bricks; they were very beautiful.

Mo He looked at the sweet potatoes, then at her younger sister. "How come I never realized you were so good at growing things? My mother-in-law planted her sweet potatoes earlier than you, watered them every day, and even poured manure on them, but they're only about the size of three fingers now. You, on the other hand, have such clean soil, yet your sweet potatoes are two or three times bigger than hers."

Molly tilted her head. "It's probably because the land itself is good."

"Perhaps. You've finally seen the light at the end of the tunnel," Mo He sighed. "I'm happy for you, sister. However,"

She stopped, scrutinizing Molly with her eyes. "When did you buy two more pigs?"

“Three months ago, I saw that there were two pigs left in the commune, so I just bought them both.” Her expression was innocent, as if she didn’t think she had done anything wrong.

Mo He pointed at her, his mouth opening and closing, but he couldn't say a word for a long time.

This is a year of disaster! Who would dare to raise so many pigs!

If it dies, wouldn't all that money have been wasted?

Why doesn't her younger sister know what's important?

But my sister raises the pigs so well. Those three pigs don't look like they're three or four months old, but rather seven or eight months old, and each one looks like it weighs seventy or eighty pounds.

The task involves taking one and a half pigs, which are sold to the commune, where the commune provides subsidies in the form of money and tickets. The younger sister can decide what to do with the remaining one and a half pigs—either sell them or keep them for herself.

With so much pork, my sister will get a hundred or two hundred yuan. In the whole village, a family that can earn a hundred yuan a year is considered quite successful.

Here, Mohe did not include food.

"Have you dried enough vegetables?" Mo He began to ask about the pigs' food for the winter.

"We've dried over a dozen burlap sacks." The burlap sacks were woven by Uncle San himself, which Molly obtained by trading grain with him. The burlap sacks weren't very airtight, but fortunately, winter was approaching and the weather was dry. With the dozen or so sacks on the wooden rack, there was no need to worry about the vegetables getting damp or soggy.

Mo He had mixed feelings. She patted her sister's shoulder and said, "You and Xiao An are very capable. But I'll be at ease if you can handle everything with a clear understanding of what you're doing."

"As long as my older sister doesn't blame me for keeping it from you."

"Tell me in advance next time, and I can help you cut some pig feed."

"Xiao An and I will be cutting pig feed. Big sister, could you please keep an eye out for pumpkin and winter melon seeds? I'd like to plant some."

"It's not the season to plant them yet."

"I know, I'll look for some first, and I'll plant them next year."

"Okay. I'll find some for you. If you can't find any, you can buy them at the supply and marketing cooperative. I have some radish seeds; would you like to plant some?"

"Yes, I will."

“I see that you already have radishes in your field.”

"I don't mind having too much. If I can't finish it all, I can feed it to the pigs."

"Don't you have no room left in your field?"

"The potatoes have grown too big; we can pull some out now."

"Have your potatoes grown well too?"

"Hmm, they're about the size of sweet potatoes. The leaves on the ground are already turning yellow. I'm planning to cook them and feed them to the pigs."

"......."

Whose potatoes grow so big?

Moreover, in order to allow the potatoes to grow bigger, everyone waits until they are more than four months old before digging them up. Her sister's potatoes are only three months old at most, right?

Molly dug up a whole basket of potatoes and sweet potatoes for Mohe to take home and eat.

"No, you keep it for yourselves, we have plenty to eat." Mo He refused, her attitude firm.

"Big sister, just take it. Eating half full is different from eating a full meal. You'll be busy with farm work soon, so how can your bodies handle it if you don't eat enough?" Molly put the basket on Mo He's back. "It's nothing valuable. If you don't take it, I'll get angry."

Mohe was intimidated by her stern-faced younger sister and obediently picked up her basket, secretly deciding that she would send more grain to her sister and brother when the brigade distributed it.

Li Xiaoju doesn't allow her son to go to Molly's house, but she doesn't care about Mohe either, because she has noticed that Mohe doesn't bring anything there. Instead, he often eats there before coming back, and sometimes Mohe can even save a meal at home, so their family doesn't lose out.

Mo He went out without eating breakfast that day, so she simply stopped cooking breakfast for Mo He as well.

Mo He hadn't returned by noon. Li Xiaoju tidied the vegetable garden while looking towards the foot of the mountain. "She's a married woman, yet she's always running around outside, neglecting her family. She's so immature. When she comes back, you should discipline her."

Zhao Shangxun was repairing farm tools when he heard Li Xiaoju's words. He looked up at the foot of the mountain and said, "Xiaohe's younger siblings are still small, so it's only right that she takes care of them more. They'll be working in the fields tomorrow, so let her relax today."

Li Xiaoju pouted, "You seem to feel sorry for her."

Zhao Shangxun paused, his expression helpless. "Mother, she's my wife. If I don't care about her, who will?"

"snort!"

Li Xiaoju felt uneasy, as if her kind and sensible son had been taken away from her.

“Mother, you know it wasn’t easy for me to marry such a wife. Xiaohe doesn’t look down on me, and she’s a hard worker. Except in front of her younger siblings, she’s always respectful and filial to you. Don’t you like a daughter-in-law like that?”

"...I didn't say I didn't like her, I just felt she was a bit too strong-willed."

"Isn't it good to be strong? After all, look at me—"

"Alright, alright, she's good in every way. Okay, I won't say anything more about her."

"Mother, Xiaohe is back."

Zhao Shangxun stood up and walked towards Mo He with a smile, "Didn't you go empty-handed? Why did you come back with a basket on your back?"

He took the basket from Mo He's back, and when he saw what was inside, he was stunned. "Where did this come from?"

Mo He smiled, a smile filled with pride, "My sister and brother planted them."

"Really? The potatoes and sweet potatoes have grown this big already?"

What's big?

Li Xiaoju ran up and, seeing the contents of the basket, exclaimed in surprise, "These sweet potatoes and potatoes are growing so well!"

"It's good, isn't it? My sister and brother planted it. When they found out we were going to work in the fields, they asked me to bring it back, saying that we need to eat well to have the strength to work. Mom, please cook more these next few days."

"This must weigh fifty or sixty pounds, right? Your sister just gave it to you like that?" Li Xiaoju couldn't believe it.

“That’s my own sister. What’s wrong with her giving me some food?” Mo He said dismissively.

"......."

Whose sister is so generous?

Li Xiaoju thought that if this were her daughter, she would definitely give her a beating, what a spendthrift!

However, since this gift was given to her family, she could only be happy.

They were just about to run out of sweet potatoes and potatoes at home, and with these, they could make ends meet for a while longer.