Chapter 38 The Secret She Holds

Molly scooped Ji Hefeng up in her arms and instructed Mo An, "Close the door."

Unseen by Mo An, pink tentacles burrowed into Ji Hefeng's body through his wound.

bullet?

It was less than a centimeter away from the heart!

The monsoon is in danger!

Molly's heart sank. Ji Hefeng was practically dead, and she wasn't confident she could save him.

Aside from the dangerous location of the bullet, Ji Hefeng also suffered from excessive blood loss and needed a blood transfusion.

Now we have no choice but to try anything, even if it seems hopeless.

Molly carried Ji Hefeng back to her bed and asked Mo An to boil water. She carefully used her pink tentacles to remove the bullet from Ji Hefeng's body. At the same time, hundreds of tentacles entered Ji Hefeng's body, disappearing into various corners of his body, before severing from Molly's left palm and remaining inside Ji Hefeng's body.

call--

Molly leaned against the bed, exhausted. That was all she could do. As for whether Ji Hefeng lived or died, that was up to fate.

When Moanti brought the hot water, Molly had already stripped Ji Hefeng down to just his shorts.

"Sister, your towel is in the basin," Mo An reminded her.

"It's alright." Molly wrung out the water from the towel and began to wipe Ji Hefeng's body.

"Shall I go and light a brazier?" Mo An asked.

Molly refused, saying, "The brazier is smoking, and your brother-in-law can't cough right now."

Upon hearing this, Mo An stood still. In the darkness, he could only hear rustling sounds and the sound of his second sister wringing out a towel.

After a while, when Molly stopped, Mo An asked, "Where is brother-in-law injured?"

"Chest," Molly replied, carrying the basin of water towards the kitchen.

She calmly ate half a sweet potato, soaked her feet in hot water, changed into clean shoes, and walked to her room. "I won't keep watch tonight. You can keep watch for my sister's share too."

Mo An nodded, "I will pray that my sister and brother-in-law are safe and healthy."

"Then I thank Xiao An in advance. Don't stay up too late, go to sleep if you're sleepy."

"good."

Molly's blanket weighed about six or seven pounds, which wasn't exactly warm, especially now that it had snowed. Most people would probably be shivering under a blanket that thick. She lifted the blanket and went in, accidentally touching Ji Hefeng's hand. It felt like touching a block of ice, chillingly cold.

Molly gritted her teeth, slipped one hand under Ji Hefeng's neck, and wrapped the other around his waist, pulling him into her arms. Ji Hefeng's wounds had already been stitched up by Molly's tentacles, and the fact that there was no bleeding despite her movements relieved her.

Holding an "ice cube" in her arms, Molly remained remarkably calm, devoid of any romantic thoughts. Her warmth flowed steadily towards Ji Hefeng, and after about half an hour, Ji Hefeng's body warmed up. However, he was still colder than Molly, so Molly continued to hold him tightly, without letting go.

Having just harvested so many vegetables and hoeed the ground, and lost many tentacles, Molly held on until Ji Hefeng's body warmed up, then collapsed from exhaustion and lost consciousness the next second.

The snow fell heavily, starting at night and not stopping until the next morning.

A mischievous child cut down a bamboo stalk, leaving the nodes at both ends. He placed the stalk on the ground and then jumped onto it with all his might. With a loud crack, the bamboo split open. Those who didn't know what had happened thought someone had set off firecrackers.

Molly's house was quiet; even the wild boars, which were usually noisy, were silent. Four hens in their coop had their eyes half-closed; it was hard to tell if they were asleep or frozen.

The doors to both bedrooms were closed, and the people inside were still asleep.

Ji Hefeng was the first to open his eyes. Looking at the roof of the thatched house, he felt it was becoming more and more familiar. In a daze, he remembered that he had fled all the way last night, and it seemed that he had fled back to his "home" in Xiaonan Village.

So he didn't die and was rescued?

But his injuries were so severe that he might not have survived even if he went to the town's health center, yet he was at home, which puzzled him.

Ji Hefeng frowned and looked down at his chest, but caught a glimpse of a face so close to his. Only then did he realize that he was lying in someone's arms, his head resting on someone's arm, and a slender wrist wrapped around his waist.

And this "other person" was the wife he married in Xiaonan Village.

What happened last night?

"You're awake?" Molly opened her eyes as well. She turned over, got out of bed, and calmly picked up the clothes from the bedside and put them on.

As soon as Molly left, Ji Hefeng couldn't help but shiver, as if he had suddenly lost a large furnace and the temperature had dropped abruptly.

"Who treated my injuries?" Ji Hefeng asked bluntly.

Molly picked up the bloodstained bullet from the bedside table and said, half-jokingly, "I dug it out. It snowed yesterday, and your injuries were too severe. It was also New Year's Eve. After considering all factors, I didn't take you to the town clinic. I did it myself. You were lucky to survive. Are you hungry? I'll go cook you something to eat."

As Molly spoke, she placed the bullet on the bedside table and left without waiting for Ji Hefeng's reply.

As Ji Hefeng watched Molly's figure disappear, his gaze deepened. He knew Molly was definitely hiding something, but considering she had saved him, he wouldn't press her for answers.

Ji Hefeng threw back the covers and looked at his chest. The gunshot wound was so difficult to treat that he couldn't see inside, but the external wound was showing signs of healing.

In just one night, even Hua Tuo reborn could not have achieved this.

Ji Hefeng felt like he was dreaming, it was all unreal.

Molly planned to cook some dumplings for Ji Hefeng. Since Ji Hefeng couldn't eat spicy food, she only used fillings of chives and eggs, and cabbage and smoked meat. She cooked sixty dumplings, thirty for herself and thirty for Ji Hefeng. Mo An was expected to sleep until noon, so Molly didn't include his portion in the calculation.

Molly put the dumplings into the water and then kneaded the dough. After kneading the dough well, she covered it with a cloth and placed the bowl on the stove to let it ferment.

She promised Mo An last night that she would make meat buns today, and she couldn't break her promise.

The dumplings were cooked quickly. Molly took a plate of them to Ji Hefeng's room and poured him a bowl of hot water as well.

Ji Hefeng lay on the bed in a daze. When he saw Molly, his gaze lingered on her. It had been a while since he'd seen her, and the thin, dark-skinned girl had grown taller, about 1.7 meters. Her skin had become fair and rosy, smooth and delicate, with barely visible pores. If it weren't for the remnants of her former features, Ji Hefeng probably wouldn't have recognized her.

"Can you sit up?" Molly asked him.

Such a serious injury shouldn't be possible, but since Molly asked, Ji Hefeng felt he could manage. He supported himself on the bed with both hands and slowly sat up straight. The injured area was very painful, but still within a tolerable range.

Molly came over and wrapped him in the blanket. "Eat by yourself. I'll take your clothes out and wash them for you in a bit."

"Thank you," Ji Hefeng said.

"You're welcome. But you only have one set of clothes, which probably isn't enough to change into. Did you bring any luggage?" I brought all the fabric from home to the farm, otherwise I could have made a set of clothes for Ji Hefeng.

Ji Hefeng shook his head. "No."

Molly sighed, "Then you can just lie in bed for now."

Ji Hefeng hadn't eaten for two days. The dumplings on the plate smelled delicious, and almost as soon as Molly left the room, he couldn't resist picking up the plate and wolfing them down.

After eating the piping hot and incredibly delicious dumplings, Ji Hefeng felt completely revitalized. He finished all thirty dumplings in the plate and still felt a little unsatisfied.

He put down the plate, held the hot water, and slowly drank it all.

He had just put down his bowl when Molly came in again, carrying a bucket.

“You can pee in this bucket,” she said.

Ji Hefeng's handsome face froze, and his ears turned pink.

“This bucket is only used for watering vegetables, so it’s clean,” Molly added.

Ji Hefeng: "...Thank you."

"You're welcome. I'm going out to get busy. Just call me if you need anything." Molly turned and left.

Ji Hefeng did need to relieve himself; he hadn't been to the toilet since yesterday. Now, having eaten and drunk water, he was feeling extremely uncomfortable.

The bucket was placed at the foot of the bed, within easy reach of him when he stood up.

He felt awkward at the same time, but he couldn't help but admire Molly's thoughtfulness.

Did she wipe the blood off his body last night?

Just thinking about that scene made Ji Hefeng blush again.

Molly had no idea what Ji Hefeng was thinking. She washed his clothes and hung them under the eaves. It had stopped snowing by then, and the wind was strong outside. The clothes should be dry in a day or two.

The sounds of grunting and snoring came from the pigsty; the four pigs must have woken up. Molly started heating up the pig feed and, while she was at it, took two sweet potatoes from the large iron pot used for cooking the pig feed and put them in the chicken coop for the four hens.

After feeding the pigs, Molly began preparing the filling for the steamed buns. She planned to make two kinds: one with cabbage and smoked pork, and the other with shredded radish and smoked pork. While Molly was chopping the cabbage, Mo An woke up.

"Sister, where's brother-in-law?" Mo An asked, yawning.

"He's in the room. Go check on him, and on your way out, take the bucket out of the room and to the vegetable garden. Then replace it with a clean bucket and bring it back to his room."

Okay, I understand.

"We had dumplings for breakfast, but your brother-in-law and I have already eaten. I'll make you some dumplings now. Can you finish thirty?"

"No, I can only eat twenty-five at most."

The filling was chopped, but the dough hadn't risen yet. Molly glanced at the sky and began preparing lunch. Mo An had just eaten dumplings, so his portion didn't need to be prepared; only Ji Hefeng's and hers needed to be prepared.

Molly planned to cook a pot of vegetable and lean meat porridge to eat with yesterday's leftovers. She ate spicy rabbit meat, while Ji Hefeng ate porridge with braised meat and yesterday's leftover bone broth.

Ji Hefeng took another nap and woke up to the aroma of food.

This time, it was Mo An who served him the food: a large bowl of vegetable and lean meat porridge. The white rice was cooked until soft and tender, the vegetables were a vibrant green, and the lean meat was minced, emitting a wonderful aroma. The braised meat had been reheated, leaving about a bowlful. There wasn't much bone broth left either, just a full bowl with a few pieces of pork ribs in it.

"These dishes are leftovers from yesterday. Brother-in-law, please eat whichever you like. Don't force yourself." Mo An scratched his head sheepishly.

Ji Hefeng laughed, "It's all meat and vegetables, I don't mind the leftovers. Besides, yesterday was New Year's Eve, and according to custom, we should eat yesterday's leftovers today."

Judging from these dishes, Molly and her brother are living a good life. They have rice, flour, and meat, and their food is no worse than that of city dwellers.

"Even though it's leftovers, it's still delicious. My sister made steamed buns this afternoon, and we'll eat them tonight." Mo An couldn't help but share this good news with Ji Hefeng.

Dumplings and steamed buns again, this is a good meal.

Ji Hefeng raised an eyebrow, a hint of anticipation creeping in. "Sure, I like steamed buns too. Thank you for your hard work, sister."

“My sister has worked very hard and it hasn’t been easy for her.” Mo An seemed to have suddenly found someone to confide in, and told her about what her sister had done in the past few months, from raising pigs to digging wells, to the commune forcibly buying up the family’s pigs, and even the fact that Molly went to visit Grandpa Ji Hefeng.

For an hour, Mo An kept talking, but he didn't notice that Ji Hefeng's eyes were getting darker and darker.