An Moxue hadn't been to the county town in a long time. After saying goodbye to Zhang Jing, she bought a bunch of things at the county supply and marketing cooperative.
The village distributed grain, and the people had been looking forward to this time all year. Those who owed money paid it back, young men and women of marriageable age began to look at each other, and those who wanted to get married quickly set a date. This was the busiest time for matchmakers, and the village was bustling with activity.
As soon as An Moxue arrived home, she heard shouts outside the door: "An Zhiqing! An Zhiqing!"
An Moxue walked to the door and said, "Aunt Da Gui, come in quickly."
She waved her hand and said, "An Zhiqing, I won't go inside. I just wanted to talk to you about something. I don't know if that's alright?" Usually a very straightforward person, she was hesitant and shy today, her whole body radiating embarrassment.
"What's wrong?"
"An Zhiqing, my daughter is getting married and I'd like to borrow a dress from you. Is that alright?" She looked at An Moxue cautiously as she spoke.
An Moxue chuckled. "Auntie, look at you. You just asked to borrow a piece of clothing. There's no need to go to such lengths."
"I'm just embarrassed! I rarely borrow things from others, so I'm really too embarrassed to ask, but I have no choice but to do this for the girl."
"No, it's not that bad. A date has been set, that's fast."
"It's settled. You have to go! There's still a week left."
"Go, which clothes do you want to borrow? I'll go get them for you."
"No need now, I'll come back to get it the day before the wedding. I'd like to borrow your green military uniform. Don't worry, I'll wear it carefully and return it to you after the wedding."
"Okay, come and pick it up then!"
Aunt Gui borrowed the clothes she had been longing for and left satisfied, her steps light and quick.
An Moxue went back inside. She had only heard her grandmother talk about borrowing clothes and shoes for weddings in this era before, but she never expected to actually encounter it herself. Was this history coming true?
After finishing dinner, it was already dark. An Moxue took a jar of wine to Village Chief Guo's house.
Reaching the front gate, she saw lights on inside the house. She went into the yard and called out softly, "Uncle Guo, Auntie, are you home?"
Aunt Guo's voice came from inside the house: "Mo Xue, I'm here. Come in."
She listened intently, but heard no one else's voice. As she walked, she asked, "Auntie, are you home alone?"
"No, your uncle is here too." An Moxue carried the wine jar into the house.
Seeing that the quilts on the kang were already laid out, An Moxue said apologetically, "Uncle Guo, Auntie, am I late? Are you going to rest?"
"Sleep? It's cold in winter. Put on the covers early to keep warm. It's still early for bed."
An Moxue placed the wine jar on the ground against the wall and said, "Auntie, this is the wine I made. It's my first time making it, so I don't know if it's good or bad. I figured it's about time to drink, so I brought a jar. You and my uncle can make do with it and see if it's alright."
Guo Xiwang stood to the side, puffing on his old-fashioned cigarette, saying nothing, but cursing inwardly, "That little rascal! He promised me the wine, but when it arrived, he tried to trick my wife with it. What a liar!"
"This jar must weigh several pounds. Do you have any left? You worked so hard to pick these grapes and make this wine. You can't just give it all away. Do you have any for yourself?" Aunt Guo asked with concern.
"Auntie, don't worry! I kept it."
"Have you been a little stressed these past few days? The villagers don't have any bad intentions, they're just a bit naive. They'll get better with time, don't take it to heart," Village Chief Guo said earnestly.
"It's alright, Uncle Guo, I didn't take it to heart. Besides, you all know me, I'm busy all day! Fewer people are better. If it's like before and after the awards ceremony, I'm really not used to it."
Village Chief Guo couldn't help but chuckle as he recalled her hiding in the mountains: "Others are practically eager to become famous, with people asking about them every day. But you, you've managed to hide away."
"There are too many people, which wastes time. I spend all day dealing with them and can't get anything else done."
"There aren't many people like you, so young, yet you keep yourself so busy all the time. You should at least play with other girls your age occasionally," Aunt Guo said, trying to persuade her.
"Auntie, I think it's fine. I just want to learn more while I'm young and energetic, otherwise it's no fun being idle." An Moxue smiled.
"Don't worry about Mo Xue, it's always good for young people to learn more."
“You old man, it’s not that I don’t want her to learn, I just want her to relax occasionally. People can’t always be too tense, that will be very tiring.”
Seeing that the old couple was about to start arguing because of her, An Moxue quickly spoke up, "Uncle Guo, you said that the laboratory in Majia'ao is not far from here, so why didn't any rumors spread back then?"
"Back then, there was always war. Every few years, a new government would take over our area, and the taxes were extremely heavy. They were always conscripting laborers and forcing them into labor service. Disappearances and deaths were common occurrences. Moreover, there were rumors about Majia'ao. Some people who went there, to put it bluntly, even if they did go and found something unusual, they might have been shot by the enemy or taken to a laboratory. There were no rumors left."
"Too."
"Don't think about it so much, it's all in the past."
"Okay, Uncle, Aunt, I'm going back now. I won't disturb your rest any longer."
"Come visit your auntie's house whenever you have time, don't always stay cooped up at home alone."
"Okay, Auntie, I'm going back now."
After An Moxue finished speaking, she left Village Chief Guo's house.
An Moxue walked home with a flashlight in hand, the snow crunching under her feet.
Suddenly, a person darted out from the path diagonally opposite and almost bumped into An Moxue. She dodged to the side. It was too dark and the incident was too sudden, so she didn't pay much attention and continued walking home.
The next day, Tiger's mother brought Tiger to An Moxue's house.
"Mo Xue, do you know what this means?" An Mo Xue knew immediately that this meant she had something to say.
"What's wrong, sister-in-law?"
"Something happened in our village?" Tiger's mother asked mysteriously.
"Did something happen at Zhan Kui's house last night?"
"What's wrong?"
"It looks like someone sneaked into the house."
When did this happen?
"After dark."
"How was it discovered?"
“The family went back to the wife’s parents’ house yesterday and didn’t return until after dark. When they went inside, they found the house ransacked. Nothing was stolen, though. I suspect they just happened to be back and chased the thief away, so they didn’t have time to find the money or valuables. I reckon it might be someone they know! Otherwise, how would the thief know that our village just distributed money and grain? And how did they know the family wasn’t home?”
An Moxue recalled the person who bumped into her last night. He was clearly flustered and in a hurry. Unfortunately, she didn't see who it was. She wondered if it was the person who broke into Zhan Kui's house.
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