Chapter 44 Positive Reviews

The next day, Molly went up the mountain carrying a basket and four burlap sacks.

Perhaps because wild boars appeared yesterday, far fewer people went into the mountains today. Molly didn't need to avoid people and sped along, even faster than yesterday.

After a whole day, she had to visit seven or eight mountains to fill her basket and sack.

Unfortunately, no wood ear mushrooms were found, but it's not wood ear mushroom season yet, so those that Mo Ande brought back were probably lucky.

She didn't get home until dark. Mo An had already cooked the meal in advance. When he saw the four burlap sacks stuffed with mushrooms, he was completely stunned.

He washed mushrooms all day, and now his back aches and he's afraid of mushrooms.

Molly: "I'll go to the supply and marketing cooperative tomorrow and buy a few jars. I'll also buy you some school supplies while I'm at it. You need coupons to buy a schoolbag, and I don't think I have enough."

"It's okay, no need to buy them." Mo An didn't care at all. "Brother Xiaoyong and the others said they use burlap sacks. Just cut the burlap sacks up and sew them into the shape of schoolbags."

“That works too. Go to the brigade and borrow one from someone else so I can see what it looks like. I’ll make one for you based on that.” Molly didn’t think using a burlap sack was a bad idea. As long as it worked, it was fine. Given the limited resources, there was no need to fuss.

The next morning, Molly went to the town's supply and marketing cooperative and bought four lidded earthenware jars. When she got home, Mo An had just fed the pigs and was preparing to cook pig feed.

"Second sister, you're so fast?" The round trip took less than two hours, right?

"Since everyone knows I'm fast, I might as well walk a little faster."

Molly began to clean the earthenware pot, then scalded it twice with boiling water before placing it in the sun to dry.

After washing the earthenware pot, she began to draw well water to wash the mushrooms.

Luckily, we have enough winnowing baskets at home, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to hold so many mushrooms.

Molly and Moan spent from morning until afternoon washing the mushrooms before they finally finished.

Molly immediately started chopping meat again. After chopping the meat, she chopped the mushrooms that Moan had washed and dried the day before, and also chopped some dried chilies. She planned to make the mushroom meat sauce spicy, with not many chilies, just enough for flavor.

In addition to chili peppers, it also contains Sichuan peppercorns, fennel seeds, ginger, and other seasonings.

There were too many mushrooms, so Molly used a large iron pot. She first stir-fried the meat until it was dry and fragrant, then added the seasonings, and then the mushrooms.

Molly was generous with the oil, and the aroma of various spices, meat, and mushrooms mingled together, filling one's senses with a tantalizing fragrance. Mo An, who was in charge of tending the fire, was drooling with envy.

"I'll have mushroom meat sauce for dinner. There's a lot of salt in the mushroom meat sauce, so I'll probably have to cook an extra bowl of rice tonight."

"Okay, I'll go cook right away."

Molly bought round-bellied earthenware pots, each of which could hold twenty catties of water, which was not small. As a result, after Molly finished cooking all the mushrooms, all four earthenware pots were full.

It wasn't that there were so many mushrooms that they could fill four jars; it was that Molly was generous with the meat. Not only did she chop up all twenty pounds of raw wild boar meat she brought back, but she also added nearly twenty pounds of smoked wild boar meat.

Looking at it this way, the quantity is quite large. After filling four earthenware jars, there was still an enamel basin left in the pot.

Molly called Moan and asked him to take the enamel basin of mushroom meat sauce to her older sister.

It just so happened that Mo He went into the mountains today. When Mo An arrived at the Zhao family's house, only Li Xiaoju was home. Upon seeing Mo An, Li Xiaoju beamed, "Your eldest sister and brother-in-law went into the mountains. Did Xiao An come here for something?"

She asked that question, but her eyes were fixed on the enamel basin in Mo An's hand. Her intense, almost predatory gaze sent chills down Mo An's spine.

He handed the enamel basin to Li Xiaoju, saying, "My second sister made some mushroom meat sauce and asked me to bring some over for you to try."

"Oh, Molly, you're too kind." Li Xiaoju said this, but her actions were not slow at all. She took the enamel basin, lifted the lid, and a strong aroma rushed into her nose, almost making her drool.

Li Xiaoju hurriedly went into the house, poured out the mushroom meat sauce, and then hurriedly came out again, returning the enamel basin to Mo An, saying, "Tell your second sister to come over and sit down when she has time."

Mo An didn't think her second sister would like coming to Li Xiaoju's house, but she still obediently replied, "Okay, I will tell my second sister."

The day after the mushroom meat sauce was made, Molly took two jars to town. She also brought four strips of smoked bacon, two of which were quite large, each weighing three or four pounds, and two smaller ones, each weighing only one or two pounds. She also brought a cured pig's head, tightly wrapped in a burlap sack and tied with rope, with Xu Xia'an's name written on it. The four strips of smoked bacon were also in a bag, but Molly didn't seal it.

Molly waited outside the commune for more than ten minutes. When the bus arrived, the ticket seller greeted Molly warmly.

Molly handed the jar and cured meat to the sales clerk, whispering something in her ear. The sales clerk's eyes lit up, she smiled, patted Molly's hand, and said, "No problem, I'll definitely deliver the goods to you."

A few months ago, Molly dealt with the robbers, and the ticket seller and driver both recognized her and were willing to befriend her. Since the ceramic jar couldn't be mailed, she thought of having the ticket seller deliver it to her; the four pieces of smoked wild boar meat were a thank-you gift. Two large pieces were for the ticket seller and driver respectively, and the other two smaller pieces were a thank-you gift for the ticket seller and driver of the other bus after she transferred.

The driver and ticket seller could get a piece of cured meat without putting in much effort, and they wished Molly would come every day so they could help deliver things.

Xu Xia'an stayed behind to work overtime for a while after work because he had some materials to deal with. As soon as he went out, he saw a car stop in front of the commune. The ticket seller shouted to the commune's gatekeeper, "Uncle gatekeeper, please call out to Comrade Xu Xia'an for me."

"That's Xu Xia'an," the gatekeeper said, pointing to Xu Xia'an.

Xu Xia'an was taken aback, not expecting that it was someone looking for her.

The ticket seller's eyes lit up, and she waved to Xu Xia'an, "Comrade, I have some of your things on my bus, come and get them quickly."

The items were two earthenware jars tightly wrapped with straw rope, and a burlap sack containing the words "Xu Xia'an" written on it.

Seeing the familiar handwriting, Xu Xia'an knew that it was something Molly had sent.

Xu Xia'an went back to the commune, borrowed a basket, and carried the things back.

When he returned home, the Xu family was waiting for him to have dinner.

"Uncle, why are you carrying a basket on your back? What's inside?" his nephew asked.

Xu Xia'an first carried the basket back to her room, then came out carrying a burlap sack containing the contents. "Those are things your Aunt Molly mailed to relatives, and I picked them up on the way. This bag is a gift from your Aunt Molly to our family."

Xu Xia'an handed the items to her nephew, saying, "You guys go and open them; I don't know what they are either."

Several nephews and nieces cheered and gathered together to open the package.

A moment later, they exclaimed in surprise, "It's meat!"

"It's just like the pig's head we've eaten before!"

"Grandma, let's add another dish tonight, I want to eat meat."

"I want to eat meat too."

"Aunt Molly is so wonderful! I declare that from now on, Aunt Molly is my favorite person."

"I like Aunt Molly too."

After dinner, Qiao Ye and her husband returned to their room. Seeing the two jars in the basket, she paused, wondering, "What's in here?"

Xu Xia'an shook her head, "There was a layer of cloth on the lid of the jar, so it was well sealed and tied tightly. No smell escaped at all, so I have no idea what's inside."

Qiao Ye leaned closer to smell it, and sure enough, she couldn't smell anything. "Molly's sister-in-law is really generous. Last time it was five catties of meat, and this time it's more than ten catties of pig's head. She's given us more meat than we buy ourselves these days."

Xu Xia'an wasn't surprised. "She doesn't seem like the type to be petty. She probably considers us one of her own, which is why she's so generous."

Qiao Ye nodded, "She's generous. Please keep an eye on the farm as well."

Xu Xia'an: "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

After everyone had gone to sleep, Xu Xia'an quietly went out and walked towards the farm in the dark.

After the New Year, the farm resumed logging. Ji Liangyou and others worked from dawn till dusk every day, so tired that they would fall asleep as soon as they ate, and they didn't even have the energy to speak.

When Xu Xia'an opened the door and came in, Ji Liangyou was still asleep, but Old Master Ji was awake.

“You can continue sleeping. I’ll leave after delivering the things. The things came with the car. There’s no letter this time. If you want to write to Molly, write it first, and I’ll take it to mail for you next time I come,” Xu Xia’an said softly.

Grandpa Ji nodded, "Thank you for making this trip."

Xu Xia'an chuckled, "It's no trouble at all. This is a good thing. Molly gave me another cured pig's head. I wish I could have good things like this every day."

Grandpa Ji also laughed, "Then she must be so busy, I can't bear to see her so tired."

Xu Xia'an: "That's true. Okay, without further ado, I'll be going now. It's getting dark, so you can stay in bed and look at the things tomorrow, no rush."

After saying that, Xu Xia'an went out and closed the door through the doorway.

Auntie and Mrs. Ji woke up first in the morning. They went to Grandpa's place to boil water and cook. When they saw the two large jars on the table, they were both stunned and asked in unison, "What are these?"

Ji Liangyou woke up now. He had gone to fetch water in the morning, and when he looked at the earthenware jar, he was also confused. "This jar wasn't here when I went to bed last night."

“It was delivered by Xiao Xu,” the old man said. “You were sleeping soundly last night, so I didn’t wake you. Molly put the things in the car, and they came with the car. Xiao Xu said that Molly didn’t write to us this time, probably because she was afraid that the letters would fall on the road and be unsafe.”

Mrs. Ji's eyes welled up with tears. "Why is this child sending us things again? We haven't even finished the meat that was mailed to us before the New Year."

Aunt patted Ji's mother on the shoulder, "She cares about us, you should be happy. Quickly open it and see what's inside."

Mother Ji used a knife to cut the straw rope on the outside, lifted the lid of the earthenware jar, and a strong aroma wafted out, making her swallow hard.

"What smells so good?" Auntie also came over.

Ji Liangyou brought over a spoon and a bowl, saying, "Take some out and let's see."

Aunt Ji scooped out a small half bowl, and Aunt Ji and Ji Liangyou couldn't resist the aroma. They each took chopsticks, picked up a piece, and put it in their mouths.

"Mmm, delicious, fresh and fragrant, and a little spicy, but a bit salty," Ji Liangyou commented, then picked up another bite and fed it to his wife, "You should try some too."

"There's meat, mushrooms, and some spices in it. This must be mushroom meat sauce. I've heard of it before, but this is the first time I've tried it. No matter what kind of sauce it is, you always need to add a lot of salt to prevent it from spoiling. This sauce is so delicious. Molly's cooking is excellent." Auntie took a few bites before stopping.

Mrs. Ji nodded, "It really is delicious. It would be great with noodles. How about we have noodles for breakfast this morning?"

“I think it’s a good idea. There aren’t many noodles left, so let’s add more dried vegetables.” Auntie was impatient and couldn’t wait to eat the noodles with mushroom meat sauce. “When I come home from work and am too tired to cook, this is a good way to mix it with rice.”

Mrs. Ji's eyes crinkled into a smile. "I think it's a good idea."

Auntie smiled too, "Oh my, your daughter-in-law is so thoughtful, she's given us something that really touches our hearts."

"If it's really that good, let me try some too." The old man, who had been ignored all along, was somewhat dissatisfied.

"What would you like to try?" Grandma Ji asked as she walked in, followed by Ji Herun.

"Molly made this mushroom meat sauce." Mrs. Ji scooped out another half bowl and handed it to Grandma Ji. "You two should try some too. I'll light the fire to boil water, and once it boils, I'll cook the noodles. We'll use this sauce to mix with the noodles in a little while."

Grandma Ji, Grandpa Ji, and Ji Herun finished half a bowl of mushroom and meat sauce, their faces showing expressions of wanting more.

"This girl has excellent cooking skills; this mushroom meat sauce is delicious," Grandpa Ji praised.

Grandma Ji agreed, "It smells very good, it's very fresh, and there's plenty of seasoning and oil. She really doesn't care about the cost at all."

Ji Herun smiled, "Your sister-in-law must love your grandparents to be so generous with the ingredients. Are both jars filled with mushroom meat sauce?"

Mrs. Ji nodded, "Yes, both earthenware jars are full. I wonder how long this girl spent picking mushrooms and washing them to make so many. She must have put in a lot of thought and effort."

The others nodded in agreement. "That's right! Dozens of kilograms of meat sauce, how many mushrooms would that be enough?"

This girl is so thoughtful.

The Ji family was eating noodles, and Molly and Mo An were also eating noodles—hand-pulled noodles that Molly had made herself. They ate bowl after bowl of noodles mixed with their own homemade mushroom and meat sauce, even drinking up the last bit of broth.

"Delicious!" Mo An exclaimed with satisfaction.

Molly nodded. "It's delicious. We'll cook noodles again tomorrow."

Today is elementary school registration, and Molly asked Mohe to take Moan to register. The chicks at home have only hatched a few days ago, and there's no one home, so she's worried about leaving them alone.

There were two hens that incubated the eggs, each incubating twenty-five eggs. One hen hatched nineteen chicks, and the other hen hatched eighteen. This survival rate was exceptionally high for winter, and it was unique in the village.

But Molly and Moan kept it low-key and didn't tell anyone.

Because the chicks are still too young, the four chicks promised to Zhao Xiaoyong haven't been given to him yet. Molly plans to have Mo An deliver them to him in a few days.

With so many chicks, what should we feed them?

In the first few days after the chicks hatched, Molly cooked rice for them and chopped up some vegetables, mixing them with the rice before feeding them. After a few days of feeding them rice, Molly felt bad, since she herself couldn't bear to eat rice every day.

She simply replaced the rice with sweet potatoes, kudzu root, and yams. She cooked the sweet potatoes, kudzu root, and yams, mashed them, mixed them with chopped vegetables, and fed them to the chicks for several days. The chicks adapted well, showing improvement every day and growing very healthily.