Chapter 91 Preparing to Leave

Before Molly even went to Kyoto, she already had two houses there, each larger than the last, more than enough to house her entire family. She was practically a family in Kyoto, so she wouldn't have to worry about finding a place to stay when she arrived.

Perhaps that's what the old man meant: to give her the house first, to put her mind at ease, and to let her take the children to Kyoto.

“He Feng also has a cousin named Ji He Guang, who is 34 years old this year. His wife is Zhou Min, who is 32 years old. They have a son named Ji Shuo, who is already 8 years old,” Ji’s mother introduced.

Molly blinked. Why was she suddenly introducing this cousin and his family?

“The Ji family has donated all its publicly known assets, leaving only these two properties in your possession. When we were exonerated and returned to Beijing, we got the houses back, but your grandfather said they were ruined and needed to be rebuilt, so we weren’t in a hurry to move in. Therefore, we either lived in housing provided by our work unit or rented a place. Later, we bought another property, a two-courtyard siheyuan (traditional courtyard house), which is where our family lives now. Now that those two houses are given to you, your grandfather definitely won’t move in with his family unless you agree,” said Mrs. Ji. She paused, then, fearing Molly might not understand, added more bluntly, “Giving the houses to you should have been your grandfather’s decision alone.”

Without the consent of his two sons and two grandsons, it's easy to imagine that things will likely get turbulent later on.

Molly remained silent for a long while before finally asking, "So, what does Mom mean?"

Mrs. Ji shook her head. "I didn't mean anything by it, I just wanted to prepare you mentally. Your grandfather agreed, so it doesn't matter if others disagree. Besides, your grandmother also agreed, so even if your uncle and cousin have objections, they won't go against your grandfather and grandmother."

Molly understood, which is why her aunt, cousin's wife, and cousin Ji Herun were likely to stand up and oppose it.

"Mom and Dad also have something to give you, but it will be a while later. It's not the right time yet," said Mrs. Ji.

Molly asked curiously, "What is it?"

Seeing her bright eyes, Mrs. Ji gently rubbed her cheek. "My maiden name is Song, and we used to be jewelers. Your maternal grandparents are no longer here, but when we got married, they converted a large portion of their family fortune into jewelry as your dowry. The Ji family donated their assets back then, but that didn't include your jewelry."

Molly: "Grandpa and Grandma must love Mom very much. Mom, what's your name?"

“Mingjun, Song Mingjun.” Song Mingjun smiled and said, “Mom has an older brother. I’ll introduce you to him another time.”

With insufficient space at home, the three nannies are temporarily staying at the camp's guesthouse. They come to help Molly during the day and return to the guesthouse to sleep at night. With the addition of the three nannies, the burden on Mrs. Ji and Grandma Ji has been greatly reduced.

The most exhausted person in the family became Mo An, who had to prepare food for Molly and cook three meals a day for so many people in the family. Fortunately, Mrs. Ji and Lu Lu would help out, otherwise he would have had a hard time by himself.

Time flies, and Molly finally finished her postpartum confinement. The first thing she did after finishing her confinement was to take a bath.

Mo An heated boiling water for her and filled a large bathtub for her.

"Do you want Mom to rub your back?" Ji's mother asked her.

Molly shook her head. "No need, I can manage on my own."

Molly took off her clothes and looked at her smooth, flat, fair, and delicate belly, which was exactly the same as before she was pregnant. She couldn't explain it. After all, it had only been a month; even if it had recovered, it couldn't have recovered to this state.

Molly washed her hair, took a shower, changed into clean clothes, and then moved a chair to sit in the yard.

"It's so sunny, you mustn't get heatstroke." Mrs. Ji said helplessly, wondering when her child had developed a love for sunbathing.

"No, Mom, I'll just air out the musty smell." Molly closed her eyes; the sun was warm and cozy, making her want to sleep.

“There’s a musty smell. You wipe your body every two days and change your clothes every day. You’re very clean.” Other women don’t touch any water during their postpartum period, but she begged her to let her wipe her body with hot water every day. She was soft-hearted and let her wipe her body every two days.

Molly didn't explain; she simply wanted to show it off.

A month passed, and the children gained a few pounds, their skin became fairer, and they became even cuter. When Molly lay in bed, she often held two children in her arms and had four more on her body. Mrs. Ji was worried that she would get tired and advised her to put the children down, but she wouldn't listen and insisted that she wasn't tired.

Seeing that her skin was fair with a pinkish tinge and she looked full of vitality, Ji's mother was finally relieved.

"Have you decided on a name for the child?" asked Mrs. Ji.

“You can name it. Mom, you know I’ve never been to school.” Molly wasn’t particularly concerned about the right to name her.

Mrs. Ji: "Your cousin's son is named Ji Shuo, which was given to him by your cousin. When it comes to us, it should only be one character. If you have a character you like, you can suggest it."

Molly shook her head. "I'll just use a nickname."

Mrs. Ji couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Your nicknames refer to Ji Yi, Ji Er, Ji San, Ji Si, Ji Wu, and Ji Liu?"

"Is there a problem with this?" Molly thought it was great; it was easy to remember and convenient for recognizing people.

Mrs. Ji: "...Never mind, let your grandfather and father get it."

No one mentioned Ji Hefeng this month; it seems everyone has forgotten about him.

"Xiao An, I want to eat braised goose in an iron pot today," Molly said to Mo An, who was washing his nephew's diapers.

Mo An looked up at her. "No problem."

Molly then said to Lu Lu, "Lu Lu, go catch a goose and take it to your brother Zhu Lezhi."

Lu Lu, who was also washing diapers, shook his head, "Mom, the goose will peck my bottom."

"Then go and call your brother Zhu Lezhi over, and let him catch them himself." These geese have already grown to over ten kilograms, and their appetites are increasing. This year, the family has been too busy; we haven't planted any crops or vegetables, so we have nothing to feed them. It's time to kill them.

Upon hearing this, Lu Lu immediately smiled and said, "Mom, I'll go right now."

Lu Lu returned quickly, followed by Zhu Lezhi and several others who came to join in the fun.

"Sister, you've raised these geese so well!" Zhu Lezhi's eyes lit up. "I can catch any one of them, right?"

"Of course." In her opinion, they all look pretty much the same.

Zhu Lezhi immediately rolled up his sleeves and said to his friends behind him, "Guard the gate well and don't let the geese escape. Those who came with me to catch geese today will all come to my house for goose meat tonight."

The group of friends were overjoyed when they heard this. "Don't worry, Brother Zhu, with us here, we guarantee that not a single goose will get out."

Zhu Lezhi nodded, "I'll catch whichever one you tell me to catch."

"Brother Zhu, the one in the far corner is the biggest."

"Yes, that one with its head held high looks so spirited, its meat must be the best."

"Go for it, Brother Zhu! Show us your skills!"

"Go, Brother Zhu! Take it down!"

Zhu Lezhi was flattered and strode confidently toward the goose shed, unaware of the seriousness of the situation.

Mo An and Lu Lu, who were washing diapers, stopped what they were doing and went to the goose shed to watch the fun. When they saw Zhu Lezhi being chased and pecked by a flock of geese, the uncle and nephew couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Be careful, Brother Zhu!"

"Brother Zhu, you're a man of steel, don't be a coward!"

"Brother Zhu, whether we can have stewed goose in an iron pot tonight depends on you!"

Zhu Lezhi was hoisted high up, ignoring the pain, she rushed forward, grabbed one of the animals, and escaped, shouting, "Quick, quick, close the door!"

Zhu Lezhi was in a terrible state, not only with several red marks from being pecked, but also covered in goose feathers and droppings. But he was in high spirits and didn't care, waving to Molly, "Sister, I'm taking the goose with me."

"Let's go. Remember not to start the fire yourself, wait for the adults to come back," Molly instructed. A group of boys, none of them knew what they were capable of.

"Don't worry, sister, my mom's home. I'll ask her to kill a goose when I get back. Sister, come to my house for goose meat tonight," Zhu Lezhi said, not forgetting to invite Molly.

Molly refused, "We're having goose for dinner tonight too."

A goose weighed sixteen or seventeen pounds, and with the side dishes, it filled a whole pot. Mo An lined the edge of the pot with cornbread and made a little pig-shaped blanket. Molly was quite surprised, "I never thought it could be done like this."

“Uncle Wang taught me. He said the ingredients were limited, otherwise he could make eighty-one dishes,” Mo An said.

"So many!" If you asked her to make ten of them, she would rack her brains.

Mo An also thought it was a bit of an exaggeration, but Uncle Wang was really amazing. He could not only cook all kinds of dishes, but also had a lot of knowledge.

"Sister, are we going to move to Kyoto?" Mo An suddenly changed the subject.

"Probably. Don't you want to go?" Neither Grandma Ji nor Mama Ji mentioned it, but she knew that Grandma Ji had already arranged for the rooms in Kyoto to be prepared.

“I do want to. My home is too small. I can have better conditions in Kyoto.” Mo An smiled at Mo Li. “Anyway, my sister said she will take me with her wherever she goes. I can go anywhere with my sister.”

Molly patted his shoulder. "Of course, I'll take you with me wherever I go. But if you're transferring schools, you'll have to study really hard lately, or you won't be able to keep up."

Grandma Ji had promised to hold a full-month celebration at the canteen. When the children were 42 days old, Wang Hechuan sent five large fat pigs, a yellow cow, and ten sheep to the canteen.

Grandma Ji said she wouldn't accept any gifts today; she just wanted to treat everyone to meat, share her joy, and let everyone share in the happiness.

Molly didn't go to the cafeteria, and neither did the six children. The cafeteria seemed no different from usual, except for the pots and bowls full of meat.

This is more lavish than anything we've had for Chinese New Year.

Ignoring everyone else, the children were very happy, eating with their mouths full of oil.

"What does it feel like to eat all the meat you want for the first time?"

“I also ate a lot of meat during the Chinese New Year, but the meat cooked at home was not as good as the food served in the cafeteria.”

Have you seen those six children? What do they look like?

"I haven't seen them, but they must be stunning. Think about it, whether it's Deputy Commander Ji or our sister, aren't they both exceptionally beautiful? My mom told me to work hard so I can marry our sister's daughter when I grow up."

"Don't even think about it, my sister's daughter is mine."

"Shut up, all of you! She's only been married a few days, and you've been together for years. Old people eating young grass, aren't you ashamed!"

......

Molly was unaware that someone had designs on her daughter. At that moment, she was looking at her daughter, who was crying loudly, with a doting expression, trying to reason with her, "You just had breast milk this morning, now it's your little brother's turn."

Ji Yi wouldn't listen and just kept crying.

The two younger brothers ate their rations in large mouthfuls, afraid that their older sister would take them away.

Just then, Ji's mother came in and put a baby bottle into Ji Yi's mouth. "Soon, they'll be able to hold the bottle and drink milk by themselves, and then we'll be able to relax."

“I think they’re quite strong now.” Molly felt that the children could start holding their own bottles right now.

"It's too small, no rush."

When Molly let the children lie on their stomachs, Mrs. Ji was often worried that their faces would be buried in the bed and they would suffocate. However, the children actually liked lying on their stomachs and didn't cry when they were like that. Molly was also careful and would pick them up after letting them lie on their stomachs for two to five minutes.

Mrs. Ji gently advised Molly not to let them practice lying on their stomachs too early, but Molly said, "They have gas in their stomachs, and lying on their stomachs helps them release gas."

Ji's mother didn't understand this reasoning, but the three nannies affirmed Molly's actions.

Mrs. Ji was surprised, "You know this?"

Molly shook her head. "I don't know, it's just a feeling."

The children changed every day. By three months old, they were already babbling and making noises towards Molly. The six children would fight over breast milk. Several times, Molly saw Ji Yi kick her younger brother over, and with a kick of his short legs, his chubby body would roll over and come to her side.

"As expected of my older sister," Molly exclaimed. "But drinking milk isn't something that can be decided by fighting."

Ji Yi's eyes darted around, and he grinned foolishly at Molly, revealing his toothless gums.

"Trying to be cute won't work." Molly picked her up, kissed her little cheek, then put her down and put the bottle in her mouth. "You'll drink formula for this meal."

Mrs. Ji found it all quite strange. "This child always snatches things, and if you don't give them to her, she doesn't cry. It's really odd."

Actually, Ji Yi cried at first, but after crying a few times and realizing it was useless, she stopped. However, she still snatched the milk every time, and seemed to enjoy it. Every single day, her five younger brothers were kicked by her little legs. And those little legs were incredibly strong; even adults felt pain from one kick, let alone the children. While the brothers wailed, she would giggle on the side, a complete little rascal.

At the end of July, Grandma Ji said to Molly, "Let's move to Beijing. The children are older now and can travel by car. Besides, it's school break now, so it'll be easier to transfer Mo An and the others to a new school when school starts again."

Molly nodded. "That's fine. But I'd like to dig up the fruit trees in the yard and take them to our house in Kyoto to plant."

"No problem, there are many yards over there, you can plant as many as you want."