Chapter 81. Got it for free, what a steal!

Yu Jin'an's house was empty. His wife didn't leave Yu San San, also known as Mo Chuyang, a single set of clothes. She didn't even leave the set of clothes that Molly made for Mo Chuyang. All that was left was the vest and shorts that Mo Chuyang was wearing.

"Xiao Lu, find a set of your clothes for your sister to wear," Molly instructed.

Mo Chuyang was a few months older than Lu Lu, but he was not as tall as Lu Lu.

“Okay, Mom.” Lu Lu took Mo Chuyang’s hand. “Sister, come with me to choose. Wear whichever one you want.”

This wasn't the first time Mo Chuyang had entered Lu Lu and Mo An's room. By the south-facing window were two camphor wood chests, each containing Lu Lu and Mo An's clothes and some of their small belongings. She had always envied Lu Lu and Mo An for having their own chests, unlike the three sisters who squeezed onto a 1.2-meter bed, their clothes folded and placed at the foot of the bed.

"Mom will go and order desks for you two in a little while. From now on, Xiao An and Xiao Lu will do their homework in their own rooms. We'll also get a new bed and a new desk made in Chu Yang's room. The current desk and bookshelf will be moved to Mom's room," Molly said.

Mo Chuyang looked at Molly in shock, "Mom~"

Does Mom mean that she actually has her own room?

"Oh right, I also need to make a box for Chuyang to store his clothes." Molly wrote down the things she needed to buy later on a piece of paper. "Toothpaste, toothbrush, and water cup are also essential, as well as shoes and other things."

"Mom, you don't need to buy so much." Mo Chuyang felt very uneasy.

“But these are all necessities. The cloth ration coupons at home are only enough to buy you two sets of clothes for now, and we’ll add more later.” Molly patted her head. “Your hair is a bit yellow, go get it cut short in a bit. Mom’s hair is getting long too, it needs to be cut short as well.”

Molly gestured to indicate the length, "It should end at the ear."

"Mom, I need mine cut too," Lu Lu said.

"Xiao An and Xiao Lu, just get a buzz cut. Your hair grows too fast." Molly turned to go inside to get money and tickets. "Pack your things, we're ready to go."

Molly took her three children out, and before they had gone far, they ran into Ji Hefeng, who looked travel-worn.

The moment Mo Chuyang saw Ji Hefeng, she instinctively hid behind Mo Li. Normally she could sweetly call him Uncle Ji, but at this moment she couldn't help but feel afraid, afraid that she wouldn't be accepted.

"Oh my, is this my newborn daughter? Come here and let Daddy see her." Ji Hefeng smiled innocently and stretched out his hand to Mo Chuyang.

When Mo Chuyang saw Ji Hefeng's smiling face, tears welled up in her eyes. She walked step by step to Ji Hefeng and choked out, "Dad."

"Sigh~" Ji Hefeng picked up Mo Chuyang and tossed her into the air, then caught her steadily and put her on the ground. He ruffled Mo Chuyang's messy hair, "This is the first time I've heard you call me 'Dad'."

As Ji Hefeng said this, he cast a resentful glance at Lu Lu. Lu Lu opened his mouth and whispered, "Dad."

Ji Hefeng pulled him over and vigorously rubbed his little face, "You finally dared to shout, it's really not easy."

Lu Lu's little face was distorted from being rubbed, and he mumbled, "Daddy, I want to be tossed up in the air too."

"I'll grant your wish." Ji Hefeng picked him up, tossed him high into the air, and caught him steadily. Lu Lu was so excited that he cried out loud. Seeing that he liked it, Ji Hefeng tossed him five or six more times.

Molly watched this scene and shook her head helplessly. Her gaze inadvertently swept over Mo An, only to see envy in his eyes. Molly was about to ask him if he wanted to try it too, but Ji Hefeng acted even faster. He put Lu Lu down and, without asking, picked up Mo An and tossed him into the air, reaching a height no less than when he had tossed Lu Lu.

Mo An was initially startled, then he also shouted loudly.

The commotion attracted a lot of people, including many children. The children stared wide-eyed, "Mo An, your brother-in-law is so strong!"

"Brother-in-law, brother-in-law, I also want to be thrown into the sky!" Zhu Lezhi shouted.

Ji Hefeng put Mo An down and shook his head in refusal, "No, I only abandon my own children."

"Brother-in-law, why are you treating me differently? My sister wouldn't do that," Zhu Lezhi complained.

"Well, there's nothing I can do about it. I only favor my own children. Why don't you go back and tell your parents to come live with me and be my son?" Ji Hefeng said, half-jokingly.

Zhu Lezhi shook her head violently, "That won't do. My dad would beat me to death."

"Then there's nothing we can do." Ji Hefeng said, giving Mo An a tight hug. "You've worked so hard, Xiao An. With another niece, the burden on your shoulders is getting heavier and heavier."

Entrusted with this important task, Mo An didn't see anything wrong with his brother-in-law's words. He clenched his fist and said, "Don't worry, brother-in-law, I will take good care of Xiao Lu and Chu Yang."

"Deputy Commander Ji, you are truly blessed to have three such sensible children at such a young age," someone nearby said with a smile.

Ji Hefeng nodded seriously, "That's right. My wife and I have gotten three children of such a big age for free. We've hit the jackpot, we've made a fortune."

Ji Hefeng did not go home; instead, he went shopping with Molly and the other three to order items, including custom-made beds and tables and chairs.

"Let's give that bed in our room to Chuyang; it's newly made too," Ji Hefeng said.

"Wouldn't a 1.5-meter bed be a bit cramped in Chuyang's room?" Molly had originally planned to make a 1.2-meter bed.

“The passageway will be a bit narrow, but it won’t affect walking.” Ji Hefeng paused. “If we have a daughter in the future, and Chuyang wants to sleep with her younger sister, a width of 1.2 meters won’t be enough.”

Molly: "..." You're thinking way ahead.

“A person who does not plan for the future will have trouble in the present. We can’t just change the bed again, right, Chuyang?” Ji Hefeng asked Mo Chuyang for his opinion.

Mo Chuyang nodded repeatedly, "Dad is right."

"Dad, what if it's a younger brother?" Lu Lu wanted a younger brother.

Ji Hefeng: "Then we'll just have to add another bed to your room."

"Sure, our room is spacious enough to fit another bed." Lu Lu asked with a hint of anticipation, "Mom, when are you having a little brother?"

"puff!"

Ji Hefeng suppressed a laugh; he really was his good son.

Mo Chuyang and Mo An also looked at Mo Li.

"No rush," Molly said calmly, though she was getting anxious.

“Your mother is right, there’s no rush,” Ji Hefeng replied with a smile.

Molly looked at him in surprise. Ji Hefeng was already 25 years old, and other people his age were already fathers of several children. Why wasn't he in a hurry?

Doesn't he want children?

Molly originally wanted to have a 1.8-meter bed made, but there was a 2-meter bed on site. She was still hesitating whether to buy it, but Ji Hefeng made the decision to take it.

"Isn't it too big?" She only sleeps in that small space every day, so a bed that's too big would be a waste.

"I think it's great." Ji Hefeng was more and more satisfied with the bed as he looked at it. It was big enough, sturdy enough, and definitely durable.

He said that, and Molly didn't object. She took out more than two hundred yuan and bought everything she wanted in one go.

“These beds, tables, and chests were ordered by someone before the flood. When the flood came, they suspected that these things had been soaked and refused to take them. In fact, the water hadn’t even reached our warehouse yet. We used ropes to hoist these furniture and pieces of wood to the attic overnight. This is all money, and we couldn’t bear to let them get soaked. Since you bought so many, I’ll give you a few stools as a gift. They’re low stools that I made from scraps. Don’t worry, even scraps are good materials. They won’t break down for ten or eight years.”

"Thank you, brother. I'll go make a call and have someone drive over to help us move our things back."

Ji and Feng went to make a phone call, while Molly and the children waited at the door. When the vehicle arrived, they loaded the things onto the truck together and stood on the truck bed to return to the camp.

After getting home, I still had to clean the house and arrange the furniture. By the time I finished all that work, the sun had already set.

Mo An went to boil water, and Molly asked him to boil some in the small iron pot as well, "Boil the water, we're going to kill a chicken tonight."

"Aren't you going to keep them to lay eggs?" Mo An was a little reluctant. There were eight chickens at home, one rooster and seven hens. Now they could collect seven eggs in one morning.

Of all the hens in the entire camp, his family's hens laid the most eggs.

Many people knew that his family raised more chickens than allowed. But everyone had eaten the wolves his sister hunted, the fish she caught, and how she had saved many students from disaster; the children loved his sister... So even though they knew their chickens exceeded the limit, everyone just turned a blind eye.

Mo An prefers collecting eggs every day to eating a meal.

“I plan to let the hens hatch the chicks,” Molly said. She will select fertilized eggs tomorrow and let two hens hatch them.

“Then we can wait until the chicks hatch before killing the mother hen,” Mo An refused to compromise.

Molly sighed, realizing she'd never seen the child so stubborn before.

Seeing Molly's helpless look, Ji Hefeng couldn't help but laugh. "Just listen to the child. There's fish at home, right? We can have some fish and fry some eggs, that should be enough."

Molly glared at him, not even considering who she killed the chicken for. If he hadn't been so thin and his cheeks were sunken, would she have thought of nourishing him?

“Let’s kill a rabbit. Rabbits grow fast, and we have quite a few at home. I’ll make cold-served rabbit for everyone, so my brother-in-law can taste it and see if my cooking skills have improved,” Mo An said.

There were eight adult rabbits and sixteen half-grown rabbits, which was quite a large number. Moan's suggestion was unanimously approved.

For dinner, Mo An was in charge of cooking, with Lu Lu and Mo Chuyang assisting. They made a large pot of cold rabbit, a pot of boiled fish, a plate of stir-fried hot and sour shredded potatoes, and a plate of bean sprouts.

Zhao Jian'an arrived just as the food was served.

"You've come at just the right time, saving the children a trip." Ji Hefeng invited him to sit down.

Zhao Jian'an was also extremely thin, skin and bones, with dark circles under his eyes. He seemed to have just woken up and was still a little dazed.

"I took a shower and went to sleep after I got back, so I missed dinner. I came to see if you had anything to eat here, and I didn't expect to arrive at the perfect time." Zhao Jian'an's voice was soft and gentle.

"Brother Zhao, are you sick?" Mo An asked with a worried expression.

"I wasn't sick, I was just hungry and exhausted. I'm so grateful for the candy your sister gave your brother-in-law, otherwise I would have collapsed long ago." Zhao Jian'an sighed, recalling the past month, which felt like a living hell. "But your brother-in-law is stingy. If you ask him three times, he'll give you something once if he's lucky."

"Molly gave it to me, so it's already generous of me to share a little with you." Ji Hefeng wasn't ashamed at all.

Zhao Jian'an wasn't angry. He picked up a piece of rabbit meat and put it in his mouth. "Your house is so lively now. Poor me, all alone. Sister, can you introduce me to someone?"

“I would like to, but I don’t have the resources. Among my peers here, I only know one person, Monika,” Molly said.

"What kind of person are you looking for?" Ji Hefeng asked.

"It's best if you've had an education, preferably a junior high school diploma," Zhao Jian'an said. "Whether you have a job or not isn't a requirement, but of course, having a job is even better."

Ji Hefeng: "What about appearance?"

"Are there any girls as pretty as my sister?" Zhao Jian'an said, then laughed at himself.

Ji Hefeng rolled her eyes at him, "You'd better find another woman as beautiful as my wife."

“I was just saying.” Zhao Jian’an turned to look at Molly and shook his head. “My sister has transcended the realm of humans; she is a fairy.”

"Be serious, can you say something like that?" Ji Hefeng said sternly.

Zhao Jian'an obediently admitted his mistake, "Slip of the tongue. Find me someone who's five points prettier than my sister. She doesn't have to be as tall as her, but she can't be too short either, otherwise I'm worried that the child won't grow tall."

Ji Hefeng: "You don't care about character or family background?"

"Good character is a given. I won't be picky about family background. After all, with my family background, it's already good enough if people don't even pick me up." Zhao Jian'an was still self-aware.

Ji Hefeng nodded, "Okay, I understand."

"What do you mean by that? Do you have someone in mind?" Zhao Jian'an was extremely surprised. Ji Hefeng was always on missions, so how could he possibly know anyone?

Molly also looked at Ji Hefeng, her eyebrows furrowing slightly. Did Ji Hefeng know other women?

Ji Hefeng: "I don't have any candidates, but I'll ask Uncle Wang's wife to keep an eye out for you. Aunt Wang knows quite a few girls in town."

Zhao Jian'an's eyes lit up. "Should I go and find Uncle Wang with the gift first?"

"No rush, let's talk about it after things are settled."

The room had a new large bed, and a bookcase, table, and chairs were added, making the room feel much more cramped.

Molly was tidying up the table when Ji Hefeng walked in, drying his hair. Molly looked up and saw a glistening drop of water sliding down his thin cheek, landing on his neck, and finally disappearing into his round-neck short-sleeved shirt.

Their eyes met, and neither of them spoke; the air felt strangely hot.

Ji Hefeng gently closed the door and walked towards Molly step by step. His dark eyes were fixed on Molly, like a wild beast locking onto its prey, as if he would tear her apart and devour her at any moment.

Molly felt the air thinning, a sense of danger creeping up her spine and making her want to run away. But before she could move, a large hand grabbed her and pulled her forcefully into a hard chest.

Ji Hefeng hugged her tightly and let out a comfortable sigh, "I've wanted to hold you like this for a long time."

Molly raised an eyebrow. "How long is 'a long time'?"

"When I was shot, or maybe even earlier, I can't even pinpoint exactly when it started." From the moment he first saw her and felt she was unusual, to later when she was kicked out of the Zhao family and he felt sorry for her, she was different to him from that point on. But at that time, he carried too much on his shoulders, dared not think about it, dared not ask for it, and kept suppressing it until he could no longer suppress it.

Fortunately, he got what he wanted.

"Well, you hid it well." Molly was surprised; Ji Hefeng had spoken earlier than she had expected.

"Yes, she hid it very well, and it must have been very difficult for her." Ji Hefeng placed his hands on Molly's shoulders, looked into her clear eyes, and slowly lowered his head.

The moment their soft lips touched, Molly instinctively leaned back, but Ji Hefeng held the back of her head and pressed her down.