Old Ma talked on and on about the Nalan family, as if he were having a long talk, his eyes shining. It was Aunt Ma who stopped him, saying, "Old man, what time is it? Aren't you sleepy? Mo Xue needs to rest! We can talk about it later during the day. Let her go back to sleep!"
Old Ma glanced at his watch and said, "That's all for now, we'll talk about it another time. Next time I'll tell you how Second Master led the villagers to escape into the mountains while fighting the Japanese. Come on, go home! I'm locking the door."
An Moxue was still eager to hear more, but since Aunt Ma had already spoken, she had no choice but to go out with Old Ma.
Upon reaching the gate, Old Ma said to An Moxue, "The two people in the cellar were rescued the day before yesterday afternoon via a mountain path. Be careful when you get back. If anything happens, come find me immediately, understand? I heard from Skinny Monkey that the Tang family is quite prominent in Zhongchuan, with over a thousand members practicing martial arts. We can't be careless. What kind of medicine did you give them?"
"It will cause tendons and bones to break if you take it. There is no other medicine that can be harmful, and there is no cure."
Old Ma was a little shocked and said, "This is a fight to the death! Why did you use this drug?"
"This is exactly the effect I want, so that we can find out who's behind it all through them," An Moxue said with a determined look.
"But wouldn't that put you in even greater danger! Why didn't you discuss this with me, child! You're a delicate porcelain doll; it's not worth risking your life for those broken tiles. Foolish!" Old Ma said, somewhat angrily.
"Uncle Ma, I have something to tell you. Aunt Ma, don't tell her either, so she won't worry. I might leave for a while after the New Year to go for secret training. If I pass the test, I'll be allowed to stay. Then my file will be top secret, and if they want to deal with me again, it won't be about me anymore."
"Isn't that very dangerous? Why did you think of that?"
"The head of Kyoto secured this spot for me. But whether I go or not is up to me; I want to go."
"Then you need to train even harder. It's tiring, tough, and dangerous. My child, promise me you'll survive to the end, okay?"
"Uncle Ma, it's alright. I'm not telling you this to make you worry. I'm telling you that I've already thought of a way out, so I'm not afraid. I'm just afraid they won't come."
"Can he come back?"
“Yes, I will go back. My official identity will still be that of an educated youth. I might leave under the guise of a temporary transfer, and I will come back when I'm not training. This way, I will also have the opportunity to investigate more about my parents.”
"If you have a plan, then go back!"
"Goodbye, Uncle Ma."
Old Ma stood at the gate, watching An Moxue's departing figure disappear into the night, his emotions unable to calm down for a long time.
"Old man, what are you doing? Come back here!"
"immediately!"
Old Ma returned to the house, and Aunt Ma asked, "Why did you only come in now? Isn't it cold outside?"
"I told Mo Xue a couple of things, in case she has food and can't keep it a secret, and it would be troublesome if others found out."
"Hmm, wouldn't it be wonderful if she were from a wealthy family?"
"You old woman, all you do is overthink things. Why do you have so many 'what ifs'? There are plenty of similar people in this world."
"Alas! I wonder how Miss has been all these years? Is she still alive?" As she spoke, tears welled up in her eyes.
Old Ma remained silent for a long time before finally saying to Aunt Ma, "Old woman, you said the ancestors of the Nalan family would bless our young lady, right?"
Uncle Ma was referring to An Moxue, but Aunt Ma thought she was referring to Moxue's mother.
"Probably! She's the only heir of the Nalan family. It took several twists and turns to send her to the home of a close family friend. To protect her, all contact was severed. I wonder how she's been all these years? When she left, she said that she must come back someday to pay respects to her ancestors."
"Yes, we are still too weak. I have struggled for half my life but I cannot give her support. I have failed the Second Master's entrustment back then."
"There's nothing we can do, that's all the ability we have. Sigh!"
......
The next morning, An Moxue got up early to start practicing martial arts.
After finishing my meal, I went to the brigade headquarters to pick up the mail and then started wandering around the village.
On such a cold day, apart from children, there are hardly any people outside, and even children don't stay outside for long.
At this time, people would gather at whichever house was warm and cozy, chatting and doing chores.
Actually, hibernation doesn't mean being completely idle. For example, Uncle Ma weaves baskets and hampers, which are used by the production team in the spring. Many men in the family can weave them in winter. Another example is twisting straw ropes, which can be done by both men and women.
An Moxue wandered around the village but didn't find anything suspicious. However, she didn't give up. She figured she might as well go for a walk since she was bored. If there was anything, she would find it sooner or later.
She took the letter home. The two little ones had fallen in love with hunting in the mountains. They woke up with An Moxue in the morning, and after breakfast, An Moxue released them into the mountains. She estimated that they wouldn't be back until dark.
Sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed), he first opened Chu Dongmei's letter. In it, she wrote, "Several members of Accountant Huang's family have been sentenced to death. They not only stole the educated youth's belongings, but also money and grain from the village. The educated youth's belongings have been returned, and what wasn't there was converted into cash and given to them. Huang Lao Er's family is very honest and hasn't bothered her anymore."
Seeing this, An Moxue felt relieved.
Picking up another letter, this one from Ai Guo, it described how he had to go out to sea in the dead of winter, how difficult it was. It was clearly a heartbreaking story, with his hands and feet frostbitten, but An Moxue couldn't help but laugh as she read it, and ended up laughing until her stomach hurt.
After a while, I read the next letter. Several people said they had frostbite of varying degrees due to the unfavorable environment.
An Moxue put away the letter, went into the space medicine room, and began making frostbite ointment.
Ointments require not only precise formulation but also steaming, boiling, filtering, and extraction, making them more complicated and time-consuming than pills.
An Moxue was busy until the two little ones returned. It was already dark. One of them had a pheasant in its beak. They put the pheasant down and started circling around An Moxue.
An Moxue said happily, "My darlings, you're amazing! You hunted two pheasants. Keep it up tomorrow!" The two little ones wagged their tails, as if expressing their pride.
The frostbite cream was ready, and An Moxue sat in her study writing replies to everyone, explaining how to use the cream.
The next morning, An Moxue rode her ice sled to town to mail some items and letters.
Unexpectedly, all I heard when I arrived in town was about winter fishing.
Back in the village, the village loudspeaker was broadcasting news about the winter fishing season tomorrow.
The villagers, young and old, became noticeably more active. An Moxue sensed their joy but couldn't truly empathize with them.
But I also got infected and am looking forward to tomorrow's winter fishing.
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