An Moxue left the restaurant and, seeing that it was still early and the supply and marketing cooperative was still open, went there.
After wandering around for a while, I ended up back at the pastry counter. I bought a pound of vanilla cookies, a bag of orange cookies, two pounds of White Rabbit milk candy, and a pound of sorghum-filled candy. After wandering around again, there was really nothing else to buy. As soon as I left the supply and marketing cooperative, I felt that I had so many coupons in my pocket, and I would feel uncomfortable if I didn't spend them, but there was nothing I liked to buy.
I've almost finished exploring these streets, but there's nothing interesting to do. It's so boring to kill time. It's still a bit early to go to Er Gouzi's place. After thinking about it, I found a secluded spot, went into my space, put on an older woman's makeup, and took out my bicycle to ride around the area around the movie projectionist's house.
Finally, she found a spot where she could see his house coming and going but wasn't too conspicuous, and squatted down, taking out a small biscuit to kill time. She squatted there for half the afternoon, but didn't find any information, yet An Moxue just felt that he was not simple.
She didn't leave until after 8 p.m., still unwilling to give up.
When Er Gouzi opened the door to his room and saw An Moxue, he immediately smiled and invited her inside.
"Big sister, the saddle and everything else are ready, but we don't have a horse or a mule yet. What do you think?" Er Gouzi scratched his head sheepishly.
An Moxue replied, "It's alright, you can continue searching for me. These large animals don't look like cattle or sheep, but we've agreed that I won't take anything stolen. Give me the saddle and stuff, I'll take it."
"Okay, you're a straightforward person, sister. If we have any here, most of them are either young ones that died of illness, or ones we secretly raised. They're too old or too young to be found easily. The very few are wild ones caught in the mountains."
An Moxue became interested and asked him, "Are there still wild horses on our mountain?"
"Yes, in the past, hunters used to go up the mountain and hunt quite a few. But in recent years, people aren't allowed to go up the mountain to hunt anymore, so I've heard of it less often."
"Have you heard of any mountains where they exist?"
"I do know that. There are wild horses in the area of Hular and Harry, and further inland. That's deep in the mountains, in the primeval forests. It's dangerous there. Without a hunting team, no one would dare to go in if there weren't enough people. Besides, wild horses are fierce, and it's hard to catch them alive. You have to know how to lasso and train them."
"Thanks, brother. Let me see the saddle. Okay, I'll take it."
"Sister, you're sure to like it. It's made by an experienced craftsman, and it's a rare find. It was just finished and brought over the day before yesterday. I'll go get it right away."
When An Moxue saw this saddle, she was absolutely delighted. It was made of cowhide wrapped around wood, and the reins were also made of pure cowhide, which was of the highest quality. The workmanship was exquisite, and there were even beautiful auspicious patterns on the cowhide. You could tell at a glance that it was made by an old craftsman. In a word, it was excellent.
Er Gouzi breathed a sigh of relief when he saw An Moxue's expression. He was afraid she wouldn't like it and would complain about the price. If she liked it, it would be easier to talk to her. He had been too quick to say that she knew her stuff and didn't care about the money.
"Big sister, how is it?" Er Gouzi didn't even realize how cautious he was, afraid that he would lose the opportunity and be stuck with it.
An Moxue asked casually, "This saddle must have been expensive." Although it was a question, the certainty in her words was undeniable.
"It is a bit pricey, but I was thinking that you only want the best, so I didn't get you the regular stuff. This craftsman only makes the best quality products. He used to make things for rich people and wouldn't take jobs for ordinary people. It's just a bit expensive," Er Gouzi replied with a smile.
"How much?"
"One hundred." Er Gouzi weakly held up one finger.
"It is a bit expensive. How much money do we earn in a year? A saddle costs this much, and it's not even inlaid with gold, silver, or gemstones."
"Sister, you're an expert! Is this price acceptable?"
"Okay, it's a bit expensive, but thank you for your trouble. The price is a token of my gratitude."
"Big sister, I really didn't make any money off you with this stuff. That old man was a rip-off," Er Gouzi replied bitterly. It would have been fine if he had made any money, but the problem was that he didn't.
An Moxue stopped teasing him, took out a hundred yuan from her pocket and handed it to him readily, saying, "Alright, you didn't make any money. Next time I'll bring you something else as a thank you gift. You won't be shortchanged."
Er Gouzi's bitter face instantly transformed into a Maitreya Buddha-like face, his smile so wide you could see his teeth but not his eyes.
An Moxue took her things and left, while Er Gouzi breathed a sigh of relief. Even if she really didn't want them, he wouldn't dare do anything to her. He'd witnessed it before; this older sister disappeared in a few leaps near the edge of the woods—she was truly skilled. He dared not offend her.
An Moxue was very happy to be out, thinking that she must get a good saddle with gemstones when she had the chance. She also had a horse in mind. If not, she would go into the mountains to catch a horse herself.
After finishing her business in the county, An Moxue rode her bicycle home. It was the No. 2 bus, which was tiring for both her legs and feet.
When she got home, An Moxue was filled with resentment. Why hadn't she stockpiled any means of transportation in her spatial storage? What a waste of resources! She deserved to have to suffer through all that trouble.
I got home late at night, checked the front and back of the house, inside and outside, and found nothing unusual. I went inside, locked the door, and entered my spatial dimension in one smooth motion.
When I woke up, I had a disorienting feeling that I didn't know what day it was. I sat on the bed in a daze, as if I was thinking about a lot of things, but also as if I wasn't thinking about anything at all.
Looking at the bruises on my hands from hunting wild dogs, I realized there was no going back.
After calming myself down, I took a stroll around the space, harvested the ripe crops, and planted new ones.
Looking at everything in the space, there were so many things, but I could only eat them myself. I didn't dare to take them out because the quality was too good and the difference between them and the outside world was too great. Would I be foolish to take them out?
Let's just stay put! My life is more important. If I'm gone, even the ancestor can't save me. That's it.
Ancestors: You unfilial descendants, all you do is think about is getting us to bail you out. Do you think we'll bail you out for nothing? If you weren't our only son, we wouldn't care about you.
After tidying up inside the space, I left to heat the kang (a heated brick bed), tidied up the house again, and then strolled over to Uncle Ma's house with a small basket of grapes.
The door was open, and An Moxue went straight in. Before she even got inside, she called out, "Uncle Ma, Auntie, look what I brought you!"
"Mo Xue, come in quickly. I'm home alone; your uncle isn't here."
"Oh, Auntie." As she spoke, An Moxue went into the house.
She handed the basket to Aunt Ma, saying, "Auntie, try it and see if it's good. I don't know if you'll like it, but it's both sweet and sour."
Aunt Ma picked up a bunch of grapes and started eating, saying, "Delicious, really flavorful. Have you been to the mountains these past few days?"
"Hmm, Auntie, has anything been going on these past few days?"
"It's nothing. The women aren't working; they're all busy sewing and mending at home. It's too cold to make new ones now, or they'll freeze. Your uncle said there seem to be letters for you, and more than one. Go check at the brigade headquarters when you have time."
"Yes, I'll go when I have time. There's no rush. If I were in a hurry, I would have sent a telegram."
"Is it cold in the mountains? How is it?"
"It's a bit cooler than at home, but there's so much good stuff here. But, Auntie, I ran into a stray dog. Look," she said, extending her hand, "I punched the stray dog in the face and smashed it open."
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