It was the first time that An Ning had eaten rice since he came here in such a long time. He ate a little too much, so after dinner he went for a walk in the yard to digest the food.
After Gao had cleaned up the dishes, he followed her back to the main hall. The three of them sat in the main hall and talked about family matters for a while. An Ning suggested, "Dad, Mom, why don't we go to the county to sell this Ganoderma lucidum? The price in the county should be higher than in the town."
An Dashan thought about it and felt that what An Ning said made sense, so he said, "Okay, the county town is a bit far from our village, so I'll go to Uncle Liu next door to borrow a bullock cart, and we'll go there tomorrow." After that, he turned to look at Gao and said, "You can go with me tomorrow. It's not easy to go to the county town. When you sell the Ganoderma lucidum and get some money, you can buy some cotton and cloth. Winter is coming soon, and it's time to make cotton clothes for you and Daya."
Gao nodded after hearing what An Dashan said. She said, "Okay, I'll go with you. Not only Daya's clothes, but yours are all torn, so I'll make you one too."
An Dashan chuckled and said, "I'm a grown man and I'm not afraid of the cold. I'll just do it for you two."
An Ning, who was listening nearby, interrupted and said, "Dad, Mom, stop arguing. Tomorrow we'll use the money from the sales to make new clothes. Not only new clothes, but also new shoes. Oh, and buy some fabric for grandma's family. I saw that grandma's clothes were also covered with patches the other day."
Gao looked at her thoughtful daughter, gritted her teeth, hardened her heart, and said, "Okay, I'll listen to Daya and buy them all."
An Dashan also nodded and said, "Okay, I'll listen to Daya. You two can talk first, I'll go next door to borrow a bullock cart."
Gao instructed: "Don't go empty-handed, take a rabbit with you."
An Dashan smiled and said, "I see." Then he took the smaller rabbit and went to the neighbor's house. It wasn't that An Dashan was stingy and didn't want to give the bigger one, but because he had to pass by the city gate when he went to the county tomorrow. He had a good relationship with a brother in the army before. His family had some money. After he retired from the battlefield, his family made some money and he became a small city guard in the county. There was nothing valuable at home, so it wasn't impolite to take a rabbit he had shot himself.
An Dashan carried the rabbit and went to the next door. When he arrived, he found that the door was not closed. An Dashan walked in and shouted, "Uncle Liu, are you home?"
Chun Ya's father heard Liu Dashan's voice, came out and said, "It's Brother An, come in quickly, my father is in the room, do you have something to talk to him about?"
An Dashan walked into the house with a smile, handed the hare in his hand to Chun Ya's father, and said, "I plan to go to the county town tomorrow, and I would like to borrow your ox cart."
When Chun Ya's grandfather saw An Dashan stuffing a hare into his son's hands, he said, "You kid, we are all neighbors. Why are you taking things when you come to borrow the ox cart? Take it back quickly and just cut two bundles of fodder for the oxen."
An Dashan smiled and said, "Uncle Liu, this is a little gift from me. I hunted it myself in the mountains. It's not worth much. Just accept it!"
After hearing what An Dashan said, Old Man Liu did not refuse and said, "Okay, you can come and drive the ox cart tomorrow."
An Dashan also smiled and said, "Thank you very much, Uncle Liu."
Old man Liu waved his hand and said, "We are all neighbors, there is no need to be so polite."
An Dashan did not delay for long, and went home after saying a few words. Uncle Liu sighed as she watched An Dashan leave. She had originally wanted to marry her granddaughter Chun Ya to An Yong, but who could have thought that another war would break out, and An Yong would join the army for his father, and it was unknown whether he could come back alive. It seemed that this marriage would not work out, and her granddaughter was not young anymore, so it was time for her to find a husband for her.
Chun Ya's father had just gone to put the hare in the kitchen. When he came back, he saw his father staring at the door in a daze. He walked up to him and said, "Dad, what's wrong?"
Uncle Liu looked at his son and didn't say what was in his mind. He just said, "Today, I heard Chun Ya say that Daya from the An family wanted to raise rabbits. I wonder if it will work."
Chun Ya's father didn't quite believe that a little girl could raise rabbits, and said with some disapproval: "This mountain is too ruthless to let a little girl do whatever she wants."
Uncle Liu turned around and glared at his son, then said, "What do you know? Dashan is really courageous. It's just a rabbit, and it doesn't cost much money. Even if it doesn't work, it doesn't matter. But what if it does, wouldn't that be pure money?"
Chun Ya's father was still a little unconvinced and said, "Even the Zhang family didn't raise her, how can a little girl like her be raised?"
Uncle Liu looked at his son. This eldest son of his was good in every way except that he was somewhat patriarchal. He did not explain and went straight back to his room to rest.
At the An family, Gao saw An Dashan coming back and asked hurriedly, "How is it? Did you borrow the ox cart? What did Uncle Liu say?"
An Dashan smiled and said, "I borrowed it. Uncle Liu didn't want the rabbit, and I had to persuade him to keep it."
Gao smiled and said, "Uncle Liu is a great man. Now that you have borrowed the money, go take a shower and go to bed. I'll get you some hot water." Then she turned and went to the kitchen, and soon she brought out a basin of hot water. An Dashan was hardworking, and the village was close to the mountain, so there was never a shortage of firewood at home. Gao was afraid of the cold, so she would soak her feet in hot water regardless of winter or summer. After An Dashan and Gao washed their feet, they went to bed and had a dreamless night.
The next day, Gao and An Dashan got up early. An Dashan went to cut a bundle of grass for emergency use, while Gao was busy in the kitchen preparing breakfast. Gao used eggs and flour to make more than ten egg pancakes and boiled a pot of thick corn porridge.
Gao was thinking of making a few more pancakes so that she could take the leftovers from breakfast with her when she was hungry on the road. After cooking, Gao went to call An Ning to get up. An Ning was at an age when she was prone to sleepiness, so Gao would always let An Ning sleep a little longer and wake her up after cooking was ready.
An Ning rubbed her still sleepy eyes and washed her face with the water prepared by Gao. After washing her face, she finally felt a little more energetic.
In the main room, the family of three drank thick corn porridge, ate pickled vegetables, and ate fragrant egg pancakes. After breakfast, An Dashan went to the next door to harness the ox cart. When he had harnessed the ox cart, Gao and An Ning were also ready.
Gao locked the door and sat on the oxcart with An Ning. An Dashan saw that the mother and daughter were seated, whipped the oxcart and started moving slowly. It took about an hour before the oxcart finally arrived at the gate of the county town.
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