On the platform of Kyoto Station, Li Aidang waved his arms at the train in front of him. An Moxue, sitting by the window, opened the window a crack and shouted to Li Aidang outside, "Aidang, go back quickly!"
Then the train slowly started moving, getting faster and faster, until they finally disappeared from each other's sight.
Li Aidang also put his hands in his coat pockets and walked back, asking, "Huh? What's that?"
She took out the items, which were five ten-yuan bills and a note that read: "Love the Party, a woman with a little money in her pocket is never worried. This is your escape money. If you suffer after marriage and have nowhere to vent your anger, bring me this money and come to me. I'll help you get revenge. Be sure to be happy! I will always be your safety net."
Li Aidang stared blankly at the five bills. She didn't say anything to anyone. Actually, she was a little scared. She was scared of the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law after marriage, scared of the daily grind, scared of the trivial matters, scared of the mundane things, scared of the husband after marriage being different from the one before marriage.
Mo Xue gave her tremendous support and confidence; she has always been so considerate.
She stuffed the money into her coat pocket and strode forward.
An Moxue's trip was very fruitful. Although she couldn't touch Zhu Zhen for the time being, she believed that one day, when she had accumulated enough strength, she would definitely not let him go.
Knowing about such an important figure gave her a clear direction for the investigation. She believed that the line connecting her parents must also be related to Zhu Zhen, especially after learning from the hospital this morning that Zhu Zhen had fallen seriously ill due to a sudden attack of anger that triggered his old illness. An Moxue had a feeling that something was wrong, but time did not allow it; she had to take the train back to the North.
Traveling through wind and snow, An Moxue was returning home late at night. When she got off the train, it was snowing heavily in the north. It was much colder here than in Kyoto, which made An Moxue even more eager to get home as soon as possible.
After a heavy snowfall, everyone except those going to work stayed home. An Moxue left the county town, and after observing that there were few people around, she took out a sled and ski poles from her spatial storage and skied back home. Amidst the white mountains and rivers, a wisp of a fairy leaped away.
By the time she reached the village entrance, it was already dark. An Moxue put away her sleds and ski poles, walked into the village, carrying a bag on her back and another bag in her hand. She went straight to Village Chief Guo's house, greeted him, left a bag of pastries, and then left without stopping, going directly to Old Ma's house.
An Moxue pushed open the kitchen door and entered, still faintly hearing Aunt Ma say, "Old man, with such heavy snow, why isn't Moxue home yet?"
"It should be soon. If you really can't stand it, go make something to eat. She can eat as soon as she gets home."
An Moxue smiled and called out, "Auntie, I'm back! Is there anything to eat? I'm starving." She then opened the door and went inside.
"Oh, you're back! If I had known, I would have told you earlier, and you would have gotten home sooner!" Aunt Ma said happily.
"Yes, then go get something to eat. Didn't you hear the children are hungry?" Old Ma urged Aunt Ma.
"Go, go, I'll go right away." With that, he picked up the broom from the kang (a heated brick bed) and dusted the snow off An Moxue.
"Auntie, I can do it myself." With that, he took the broom from Aunt Ma's hand and started sweeping himself over and over.
"It's snowing heavily outside. I thought you wouldn't be back until later. After you brush off the snow, sit on the kang (heated brick bed) and have a cup of water to warm up. Dinner will be ready soon. Your aunt made dumplings, they'll be cooked in a bit." Uncle Ma poured her a cup of hot water and placed it on the kang.
"It's okay, I'm not cold. I got off the bus and headed straight back without wasting a moment, so it was a bit faster." An Moxue picked up a bag and started taking things out.
"Can't you take a break? You're rushing to grab something, take your time first," Old Ma said disapprovingly.
"I'll take this so I can go home after dinner and get a good night's sleep. Uncle Ma, did you heat up the kang (heated brick bed) at my house?" An Moxue didn't even look up, still taking things out.
"It's burned, it's still warm! It won't freeze you. Alright, there's already so much stuff, why are you still taking it out? Put it back, put it back." Old Ma took the things and put them into his bag.
"You old man, what's wrong with you? I went through so much trouble to bring these back for you and your aunt from Kyoto. Here, take them, or I'm angry!"
An Moxue took out one last item from her bag and said, "That's all, these are all. Put them away!"
Just then, Aunt Ma brought a bowl of pickled cabbage into the house and said to An Moxue, "Go wash your hands, it's time to eat."
"Okay!" An Moxue happily went to wash her hands.
Old Ma said to Aunt Ma with a helpless expression, "Look, it's all for the two of us."
But only he knew how happy he was. Since his children got married, they had never brought so many things back for the two of them at once. How could he not be happy!
While I was happy, I also felt a little sorry for her. Although I knew she was rich, she should take better care of herself!
Aunt Ma took a look and exclaimed, "Wow, these are all good things! Two beautifully packaged bags of pastries, a tightly packed khaki cloth, a bag of cotton, a can of lunch food, a bag of red dates, and a bag of small dried salted fish."
An Moxue washed her hands and came in, carrying a bowl and chopsticks. She asked, "Auntie, are the dumplings in the pot ready yet?"
"Alright, I'll go get some more. You wait on the kang (heated brick bed)." Aunt Ma didn't mind that An Moxue had brought back too much stuff for them.
Aunt Ma went in and out several times, bringing back a table full of food for An Moxue.
An Moxue ate the dumplings with a satisfied look on her face and said, "Auntie, your cooking is so delicious, I never get tired of it."
"Eat as much as you like, and drink some ginger soup afterward to ward off the cold. It's so cold outside, don't catch a chill," Aunt Ma said worriedly.
"Was the trip to Kyoto smooth?" Old Ma asked.
"It went quite smoothly, except that one of my childhood friends is getting married after the New Year. If I had known, I would have gone after the New Year and missed her wedding."
"Do city kids get married so early?" Aunt Ma asked curiously.
“She’s a year older than me, and she’s of marriageable age after the New Year, but that’s still considered early,” Mo Xue said, eating a dumpling.
"Is everything alright at home?"
"What could possibly happen? It's the same old thing every year. But our village is still an advanced village this year, and the villagers are very happy."
"Really? Then I should give Uncle Guo a bottle of wine to celebrate."
"Mo Xue, do you know? Li Lai Tou's mother, she was fine the night before last, but she just collapsed on the kang and passed out. When they found her the next morning, she was already cold. Nobody expected this."
"This could be a heart attack, which occurs at night and goes unnoticed."
"It should be. She used to always say that her chest hurt, and she would use it to threaten Li Laitou, saying that she would feel heartache if he didn't listen to her. At that time, she was probably just feeling unwell. Everyone thought that she was just making an excuse to threaten Li Laitou. Li Laitou is a bad boy when it comes to farm work, but he is still very filial to his mother."
......
And so, An Moxue ate her meal while listening to Aunt Ma talk about the everyday life of the villagers.
After finishing their meal, they took a bag of snacks made by Aunt Ma back home.
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