Chapter 7 Warm New Home

Before Mo He married into the family, Li Xiaoju did all the work of fetching water and washing clothes. After Mo He arrived, these two tasks were handed over to Mo He.

After finishing work, Mohe took her dirty clothes to the riverbank, and Molly followed her.

The river water was rainwater that had accumulated a few days ago. Now it has settled and is crystal clear, and you can't see a single fish.

"Are you Shangxun's wife?" an aunt greeted Mo He.

The people washing clothes nearby all perked up their ears. They had also heard that Widow Li's son had finally gotten married, but they didn't know who the wife was.

Mo He smiled shyly at the other person, "My name is Mo He, Auntie can just call me Mo He."

"Mohe is a nice name. Is this your sister?" The auntie asked with a gossipy look. This was the first time she had ever seen someone bring their sister to their wedding these days.

"Yes, my sister. My stepbrother is getting married, and there aren't enough rooms in the house, so when I came to Xiaonan Village, my family simply let my sister come with me."

"Why would a stepbrother kick his sister out of the house just because he doesn't have a room to get married?" the aunt asked, puzzled.

Mo He lowered her head and whispered, "That's what the family decided, and my sister and I can't do anything about it."

"If you have a stepbrother, then you must have a stepmother or stepfather. Did your mother die, and your father remarry for you, or did your mother remarry with you and your sister?"

“My father married my stepmother.” Mo He’s voice was even lower.

"No wonder, your stepmother can't tolerate you." The aunt had an "I knew it" look on her face.

“That doesn’t make sense either,” another aunt said, offering a different opinion. “Your sister isn’t young anymore. In a couple of years, she’ll get married and we can earn a dowry. How could your stepmother bear to let her come to Xiaonan Village?”

Mo He remained silent.

Just then, Molly rolled up her sleeves to wash clothes, and everyone noticed her unusual left arm, followed by knowing looks on their faces.

"Is this how you were born?"

“Yes, it’s innate,” Mo He said.

"Oh, then your sister is probably unwanted. If you take her in, you'll just be carrying a burden."

The speaker was a young girl, and her voice was clear and loud.

"Peach Blossom, shut up!"

An older woman stopped the girl and then said to Mohe and Molly, "I'm sorry, my daughter is young and doesn't know how to speak."

Zhao Taohua pouted, unconvinced, "I didn't say anything wrong."

Auntie, also known as Peach Blossom Mother, was even angrier. "You don't need to wash clothes here anymore. Go fetch water."

Overnight, almost everyone in Xiaonan Village knew that Widow Li's son had married a woman with a child in tow—not her children, but her sister.

This became a topic of conversation among the members of the Xiaonan Village brigade after meals.

“Now everyone calls her a burden, some kids even call her that to her face.” Zhao Jian’an sighed. “If she were able-bodied, I would suggest you marry her. Your family has gone through such a thing. Although your family has published a notice in the newspaper severing ties with you, you have still been affected. If you marry her, she has been a poor peasant for three generations and has a good class background, which would be beneficial to you.”

The Ji family had been in business for generations, but by the time it reached the generation of the old master Ji, the family had declined considerably. In recent years, the old master Ji had donated his family property one after another, leaving almost nothing. As a result, he still could not escape being demoted.

Grandpa Ji and Grandma Ji had seven children, but only two sons and one daughter survived. Ji Hefeng's father was the youngest and married the last. Ji Hefeng had one older cousin, one older cousin, and one older cousin. His uncle and aunt had studied abroad, and his older cousin, older cousin, and older cousin were sent to the countryside with their parents. Only Ji Hefeng, who was in the army, escaped the disaster.

Before the Ji family's downfall, there were at least several dozen, if not hundreds, of people who acted as matchmakers for Ji Hefeng. After the Ji family's incident, all of them vanished without a trace.

Ji Hefeng didn't want to burden others, so she said, "I have no plans to get married for the time being."

“I know you don’t want to be a burden to others, but Molly is different. With her health condition, it’s difficult for her to marry a good man. She can either marry someone with the same health problems or an old widow. Marrying you is her best way out. And if you marry her, those people will be less likely to keep harping on your family background because of your miserable situation.” Zhao Jian’an thought it was more and more feasible.

Ji Hefeng disagreed, saying, "Precisely because of her situation, what will she do if something happens to me?"

Zhao Jian'an was speechless.

To Ji Hefeng's surprise, no sooner had he rejected Zhao Jian'an than Zhao Jian'an's mother showed up with a matchmaker.

"Auntie, I have no plans to get married." Ji Hefeng's attitude was firm.

“You’re not young anymore. Other people your age already have several children. Now that you’ve broken your leg, if you get married, you’ll have someone who cares about you and takes care of you.”

"You don't need to say more, I don't plan to get married in the next few years."

"That girl is very pretty. She manages everything at home and outside, and can earn nine work points."

"Auntie, I really have no plans to get married."

No matter what the matchmaker said, Ji Hefeng remained unmoved, and the two could only leave disappointed in the end.

"How long have you been hiding there?" Ji Hefeng looked towards the kitchen.

"I arrived before them, I didn't eavesdrop on purpose." Molly brought over the firewood and was about to leave when Aunt Guihua came in with her people. Not wanting anyone to know that she had brought firewood to Ji Hefeng, she didn't leave.

Ji Hefeng: "I'm not blaming you."

Molly said "Oh," and then added, "I'll be going now."

"Wait a minute." Ji Hefeng called out to her, and when he met her dark eyes, his heart softened for some reason. "Remember to come over for dinner tomorrow when we celebrate the housewarming party."

Molly: "Okay."

"Also," Ji Hefeng paused, "don't care about what others think, living your own life well is the most important thing."

When Molly went to do laundry in the evening, she told Mo He about Ji Hefeng's invitation for her to help warm up the new house.

“We can’t go empty-handed.” Mo He thought for a moment. “Tomorrow is your birthday. I’ll ask my mother-in-law for two sweet potatoes and two potatoes. You can take them with you.”

At this time, everyone does this: only close relatives give money, usually two eggs or a few bunches of vegetables.

With food shortages and everyone going hungry, two sweet potatoes and two potatoes are considered a rather generous gift. Mo He didn't want others to look down on her younger sister, so she was willing to prepare more for her.

But Li Xiaoju was not happy.

“Nobody celebrates birthdays these days,” Li Xiaoju said sternly. “Besides, some of the sweet potatoes and potatoes have already been saved as seeds for our private plot. They’re crucial for our food supply for the second half of the year, so we can’t waste them.”

Mo He knew her mother-in-law was right, but she felt even more sorry for her younger sister. "I can eat a little less and give my share to my sister."

Li Xiaoju: "That won't do. How can you have the strength to work if you don't eat your fill? Where will you get work points if you don't work? If you don't earn work points, what will your sister eat?"

"Sister, let it go." Molly tugged at Mo He's sleeve, not wanting to put her sister in a difficult position.

Li Xiaoju: "How about this, tomorrow is Molly's birthday, she can rest at home for a day."

Before going to bed that night, Mohe called Moli to the yard and hugged her younger sister with heartache, saying, "I'm sorry, it's because I'm useless."

Molly shook her head. "My sister is already the best sister in the world."

Seeing how well-behaved and sensible she was, Mo He felt even more distressed. "Tomorrow you don't need to gather firewood. Go to the mountains and dig up some wild vegetables. Bringing them over is a gift. It rained a few days ago, so the wild vegetables in the mountains should be sprouting. It's fine if they're a little tender; it won't affect their eating."

"Hmm, I'll go look for it in the mountains tomorrow."

"Don't go too deep into the area."

"Don't worry, sister, I'm quite familiar with the mountains now."

"The farm work will be busy for a while. Once it's done, your sister will take you to the mountains to find wild vegetables and mushrooms, and we'll celebrate your birthday properly."

The next morning, after breakfast, Molly went into the mountains as usual.

Because of the recent rains, the plants in the mountains have turned a bit greener, with tender green shoots emerging from the ground, but it's still difficult to find wild vegetables.

Everyone dug so thoroughly this year, leaving not even the roots behind, that the wild vegetables in the mountains have become scarce.

Molly walked deeper and deeper into the mountains, reaching places she had never been before.

The mountains in Xiaonan Village are numerous and continuous, stretching as far as the eye can see. The further you go in, the denser the vegetation becomes, and the more difficult the roads become.

"Give it a try."

Molly suddenly murmured something.

The next second, she stretched out her left palm, and under her command, more than a dozen thin pink tentacles emerged from where her fingers should have grown. The tentacles grew longer and longer, splitting into two branches in front of Molly, sweeping the plants in front of Molly aside and creating a path.

This is the direction Molly's mutation took—tentacles.

These tentacles can change shape, ranging from as large as a millstone to as thin as a hair.

Today was Molly's first time using them, and they felt like her own hands, smooth and flexible to use.

It works great!

Molly walked for about half an hour and found a patch of mushrooms in a dark, damp place.

Molly had never eaten fungi before and couldn't distinguish between poisonous and non-poisonous mushrooms. She picked the mushrooms one by one and put them into the basket on her back, intending to have Zhao Jian'an and the others pick out the poisonous ones when she got back.

There were so many mushrooms that Molly's basket was full in no time, and there was still a small patch of unpicked mushrooms on the ground. She secretly remembered this place, planning to come back tomorrow.

The woods were dark, making it hard to tell the time. Having delivered the gift, Molly decided to turn back.

Suddenly, a rustling sound came from the bushes not far away.

Almost instinctively, Molly's tentacles moved, swift as lightning, piercing and entangling, and in the blink of an eye, the thing that had caused the commotion was in front of Molly.

It's a rabbit.

The rabbit's fur was dull, and it weighed about three or four pounds; it wasn't very big.

"Did you notify Xiao Moli today?" Zhao Jian'an looked outside. "She should have brought firewood by this time usually, but she's nowhere to be seen today."

“I did,” Ji Hefeng said.

"Did you tell her not to bring anything and to come empty-handed?"

"......."

silence.

"Tsk, she probably didn't have anything to give as a gift, so she didn't dare to come. You wait at home, I'll go to Aunt Li's house to see if she's home."

"No need to go, she's here."

Ji Hefeng pointed towards the foot of the mountain, where a little girl was walking towards them carrying a basket bigger than herself. The little girl's clothes were patched and dusty, making her look rather drab, except for her bright, sparkling eyes, which shone even brighter than the morning star in the dark.