After several hours' drive, An Moxue finally returned to Anping County.
The moment her feet touched the ground, An Moxue felt a huge weight lifted off her shoulders; it had truly been a difficult journey.
She thought that, if possible, she would not choose to travel far in winter, especially in the north, for a long time to come.
It was already completely dark when An Moxue left the station and headed straight for Er Gouzi's courtyard.
Light snowflakes were falling from the sky, and there were very few pedestrians on the road. An Moxue found a deserted corner, entered her space, made a bowl of hot beef noodles, ate it to her heart's content, put on a big sister makeup, and left the space.
An Moxue carried a kerosene lamp and strolled slowly down the street. Amidst the falling snowflakes and the faint light, she seemed to walk out into the vastness of the world, free and unrestrained. Of course, one should ignore her attire.
When they arrived at Er Gouzi's house, they stopped and knocked on the door.
A moment later, Er Gouzi came out to open the door, wrapped in a fur coat. As soon as he saw An Moxue, his enthusiasm immediately increased.
"Hey lady, it's been a while! You must have struck it rich! Come on in."
"I just got back from a long trip. That's why I'm here."
"Thank you for remembering me, elder sister. I am deeply honored!"
As they were talking, the two entered the house. Er Gouzi made An Moxue a cup of hot tea, and they each took a seat.
"Are you short of meat lately?"
"What's this, big sister? You've got more stock again? We're definitely short! The more the merrier."
“Okay, um…” An Moxue looked down at her watch and said, “It’s a little past eight now. How about ten o’clock? Let’s meet at our usual place.”
"Sure, what kind of goods do you have?"
"Six wild boars, three wolves, and two roe deer, that's all. Any news about the rare ancient books I asked you to collect the other day?"
"Yes, a whole box! Dozens of books. Sister, wait a moment, I'll bring them to you so you can take a look."
An Moxue drank a few sips of hot tea, and Er Gouzi came in carrying a box and placed it on the chair.
An Moxue was quite excited when she saw the large box. She put down her tea, opened the box, and looked through the books one by one. She was very satisfied.
After reading them, he packed them back into the box one by one, and said to Er Gouzi, "Not bad, just collect them like this for me, take as many as you can. How much is this box?"
"Sister, most of these are contraband, they're hard to collect!"
"Alright, I know that. But I don't care about books, old maps, parchment scrolls or anything like that. As long as you bring them and I think they're valuable, I'll take them."
"Sister, you're always so efficient. One hundred and twenty yuan for this box is fine, is that alright?"
"Okay, let me ask you something. Do you have any paper money or anything for worshipping our ancestors? I need a lot."
"How much do you need, sister? I have paper money, gold ingots, and banknotes."
Do you have any samples now?
"Yes, wait a moment, big sister."
A short while later, Er Gouzi returned with a stack of paper money and said, "Big sister, here you go, take a look, this is it. There are pre-made and unmade paper money, which one do you want?"
"It's printed. Hmm, bring a whole truckload, do you have any? If not, it's okay, I'm not in a hurry. I just need to make it in time for the ancestral graves before the New Year, before the 20th of the twelfth lunar month."
"Excuse me, ma'am, is this for your own use or...?"
"For ancestral worship, and for personal use."
"Wow! You're so generous, sister! Buying so much. Since you're not in a hurry, how about coming back next month to pick it up?"
"Okay, I'll take this box of books first, and we'll settle the accounts together with the prey later. Let me see, there might be a big prey deal before the New Year, and I'll come back to you after that."
"Okay! I'll wait for news from my older sister."
An Moxue carried a kerosene lamp in one hand and a box of books in the other as she went out the door. After Er Gouzi closed the door, An Moxue looked around and put the box of books into her spatial storage.
Anmo Xueti extinguished the kerosene lamp in the darkness.
......
At 10 p.m., Er Gouzi and a horse-drawn carriage appeared on time at the edge of the grove outside the county town. They were all old acquaintances, and the group of people checked the goods, weighed them, and paid for them in a quick and efficient manner.
An Moxue took the money and was the first to leave.
After traveling some distance, An Moxue took out a military overcoat from her spatial storage, put it on, and then led out a white dragon horse from her spatial storage. She then rode the horse, cracked her whip, and hurried towards Anle Village.
As they approached the village entrance, An Moxue dismounted, put away her white dragon horse, and walked into the village.
By then, the snow was falling heavily, and the village was quiet.
When An Moxue returned home, she noticed something amiss as soon as she opened the door. After checking the house thoroughly, she found signs that someone had been there. Nothing was missing, but the house had been ransacked. However, the details were well-maintained and would not have been noticed unless one looked closely. The windows and doors were intact, indicating that someone had entered by unlocking the door. The hidden marks on the door were gone.
It was already past midnight. After checking everything, An Moxue locked the door, went into her spatial dimension, took a shower, and went to sleep. She could finally get a good night's rest today.
An Moxue slept until noon the next day, feeling full of energy, and lazed around on the bed for half an hour.
Get up, wash your face, eat, and leave the space.
They checked the house inside and out again, but found no new clues. They fetched some water, added water to the pot, and put firewood under the stove to start a fire. The house was as cold as an icebox, and the pickled cabbage and salted vegetables in the jar were frozen solid.
The water was hot, and An Moxue wiped the room with a rag. She was glad that she had packed everything up before leaving, and there was nothing left unused.
The fire in the stove was still burning, and the temperature in the room was slowly rising. She released two small, half-grown wolf cubs. The sudden change of location and the large temperature difference made the two cubs shiver and circle around An Moxue.
An Moxue said, "No, stay home. We've been gone for a few days and the house has been broken into. You two have to be careful from now on, okay?"
The two little ones probably understood An Moxue's words, and stopped circling around her. They ran around the house and outside several times before finally stopping at the kitchen doorway, barking "Awoo, Awoo" all the while.
An Moxue walked to the door, unlatched it, and opened the door. All she could see was white; the snow had stopped. The two little ones rushed out of the yard and darted around. Even An Moxue could feel their joy and unconsciously smiled.
An Moxue closed the door, letting the two little ones play in the yard, and added a few more pieces of firewood to the stove.
She put on her clothes, hat, and gloves, and first found a long wooden stick to poke the snow off the roof.
When the two little ones saw her come out, they circled around her. Inadvertently, snow fell from the roof and landed on the faces and bodies of the two wolves. The two little ones shook off the snow and jumped around even more happily. An Moxue poked at the snow while playing wildly with the two little wolves. Occasionally, when the two little ones were not paying attention, she would poke them with a stick of snow and run away, making the two little ones covered in snow. They kept shaking and protesting, howling "Awoo, Awoo".
An Moxue was extremely satisfied with the two little ones' behavior and let out a gloating laugh, which made the two little ones even more dissatisfied and they protested even more loudly.
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