Chapter 10 Sleeping in the Same Bed
There was only one bed and one quilt in the house. In the early autumn nights in the mountains, the frost was heavy and the air was cold.
Ji Hefeng didn't let Molly sleep on the floor; he slept against the wall himself, while Molly slept outside.
“Wake me up if you get up at night, and I’ll light a lamp for you,” Molly said.
Ji Hefeng grunted in response. Because of his leg injury, he didn't drink water at night and usually didn't get up during the night.
The two were covered by the same blanket, with an arm's width between them. They couldn't touch each other, yet they could still feel each other's presence everywhere.
Ji Hefeng's quilt smelled of medicine, unlike Li Xiaoju's quilt, which had a musty and rancid smell that was unpleasant.
Smelling the aroma of medicine, Molly quickly fell asleep.
The sound of even breathing came from beside him, but Ji Hefeng was wide awake. Reflecting on the day, he felt a little absurd. But what was done was done, and he could only accept it and take on the responsibilities of a husband.
His grandparents and parents had always been concerned about his marriage. Now that he's married, he should find some time to write them a letter and let them know.
Thinking of his family, Ji Hefeng's mood became heavy. If the lives of the brigade members were already so difficult, how much more difficult must it be for his grandparents and parents who had been sent down to the countryside?
He took on this mission with the intention of visiting his family, but he was injured repeatedly, and his visit was canceled. He can only wait for another opportunity.
He has asked Zhao Jian'an to send clothes to his family, but he doesn't know if they have received them.
Molly slept soundly until dawn. When she woke up, Ji Hefeng was still asleep.
Yesterday, Aunt Guihua said she wouldn't be coming today, so the task of cooking three meals a day for Ji Hefeng will fall to Molly from now on. Molly isn't much of a cook, but she's been watching Li Xiaoju cook a lot these past few days. Since there aren't many ingredients, the cooking process is very simple, so it shouldn't be too difficult for her.
Ji Hefeng's food was kept in the kitchen cabinet, which was unlocked. Inside were sweet potatoes, potatoes, dried vegetables, some coarse grains, and a handful of noodles weighing about a pound.
Yesterday, Aunt Guihua cooked sweet potato porridge for Ji Hefeng's breakfast, and Molly also planned to cook sweet potato porridge. She first added water to the pot, boiled the water, added coarse grains, then washed the sweet potatoes, chopped them into chunks, and added them to the pot after the water boiled.
When the porridge was ready, Ji Hefeng also got up.
"Is the land in front of our door our property?"
"...Yes, it was the original owner's private land, but now it's ours."
The word 'we' reminded him that they were already married.
"I want to grow some vegetables, but it seems like we don't have a hoe at home."
Not only did they not have a hoe, but they didn't have a single farm tool in the house.
"Let's borrow some from Aunt Guihua first. Farm tools are hard to buy, but we can ask the brigade leader."
"Okay, I'll go ask over there in a bit."
Zhao Jian'an has two older brothers, both of whom are married with children. However, the Zhao family hasn't separated and the whole family lives together. When Aunt Guihua went back yesterday, she mentioned Ji Hefeng's marriage. The Zhao family was stunned. They couldn't understand why Ji Hefeng would marry someone with a physical disability, and they became even more curious about Molly.
Why should a burdened child like her marry the most desirable man in the village?
When Molly walked in, everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at her.
Their first impression of Molly was that she was thin and small, not much different from the other girls in the village, except that her features were more delicate, with big, round, dark eyes that were slightly upturned at the corners, making her so beautiful that she was unforgettable.
The left arm was indeed slightly shorter than the right arm, and the left palm was missing three fingers: the index, middle, and ring fingers.
She was a pretty young girl, what a pity—
The Zhao family sighed.
Molly seemed oblivious to the complex emotions on the Zhao family's faces. She smiled at Aunt Guihua and said, "Auntie, I want to cultivate the land in front of our house to grow vegetables, but we don't have any farm tools. Could I borrow your hoe?"
"Okay, I'll go get it for you."
Aunt Guihua brought over a hoe, but hesitated as she handed it to Molly. "Can your hands turn the soil? Should I help you?"
"No need, Auntie, I can manage on my own."
As Molly tilled the land, Ji Hefeng watched from the side, seeing her raise the hoe high and then bring it down steadily, one stroke at a time, and soon she had finished tilling three-tenths of the land.
This work speed is comparable to that of an adult male.
Ji Hefeng's eyes deepened; it seemed his new wife wasn't as weak as she appeared.
"The land needs to be dried in the sun. I'm going to start breeding now."
Molly walked past Ji Hefeng and went straight into the house. "Besides sweet potatoes and potatoes, I also want to grow some vegetables, but I can't find any seeds."
Ji Hefeng thought for a moment, "You can also ask Aunt Guihua about this. If she doesn't have any, I'll write to a friend and ask them to mail some over."
"Okay. Then I'll ask Aunt Guihua first."
"Actually, you can also grow some wild vegetables."
"Hey, that's a good suggestion. I'll go to the mountains in a bit."
Molly acted immediately. After breeding the seeds, she carried a basket on her back and headed into the mountains.
She first dug up half a basket of yams, intending to eat some and plant the rest in her vegetable garden. Besides yams, she also discovered lamb's quarters, mugwort, bitter chrysanthemum, and wild ginger.
Molly was in a great mood after returning home with a full load of goods.
She saw Ji Hefeng in front of the house at the foot of the mountain. Their eyes met, and she waved to Ji Hefeng.
Ji Hefeng's expression softened. "You seem to be in a good mood. It looks like you've had a good haul."
“Hmm, there’s quite a lot.” Molly took out the items from the basket one by one. “This is yam, this is lamb’s quarters, this is mugwort, this is bitter chrysanthemum, this is wild ginger. Some of them still have roots. I need to hurry up and plant them while they are still out of the soil.”
Molly hurriedly planted the wild vegetables, then watered them. When she saw that the water tank at home was empty, she carried buckets to fetch water, just like a hardworking and busy bee.
By the time Molly filled the water tank, the sun had already set.
“I’ll go return the hoe first, then I’ll come back to cook. Are you hungry?” Molly asked Ji Hefeng.
Ji Hefeng shook his head, "Take some wild vegetables to Aunt Guihua."
"Are there enough wild vegetables? Should we take a couple of yams?" Molly wasn't very familiar with these social interactions.
"Wild vegetables are enough. If Aunt Guihua gives you vegetable seeds, you can also take a few yams."
"Okay, I'll listen to you."
The Zhao family never expected that simply borrowing a hoe would result in receiving a bunch of green vegetables as a return gift.
"We planted our vegetables a few days ago, and now we only have a few cabbage, mustard greens, and chili seeds left. Do you want some?"
"Yes, yes, thank you."
Molly was overjoyed.
"Have the wild vegetables in the mountains already sprouted?" asked Zhao's eldest daughter-in-law.
Molly nodded. "They've grown some." But not many.
"That's great! Let's go to the mountains to dig for wild vegetables tomorrow."
For dinner, Molly cooked yam and wild vegetable soup and made potato and wild vegetable pancakes.
Yam and wild vegetables were cooked together, with two thin slices of cured meat added to give the soup a meaty aroma and a touch of oil. Potatoes were first boiled until cooked, mashed, and mixed with chopped wild vegetables. Then, the mixture was shaped into small balls, placed in a frying pan, and flattened with a spatula.
Without oil, the pancakes are slowly baked over low heat, and soon they emit a fragrant aroma.
"Tonight's dinner is potato and wild vegetable pancakes and yam and wild vegetable soup. Try them and see if you like them," Molly said, picking up a pancake herself and taking a big bite out of it. Her little mouth was bulging out, like a little hamster.
Ji Hefeng looked at the golden-brown potato pancakes, took a bite, and the aroma of potatoes and the sweetness of wild vegetables filled his mouth. The soft, powdery potatoes and the chewy wild vegetables made Ji Hefeng eat one bite after another. When he came to his senses, there were only two pancakes left on the plate.
"One for each of you." Molly took one for herself, then moved the plate to Ji Hefeng's bowl. She served Ji Hefeng a bowl of soup, which was mostly filled with yam and only contained a few wild vegetables.
"The word 'yam' contains the character for 'medicine,' so eating it is good for your health. You should eat more of it."
Almost all the yams in the basin ended up in Ji Hefeng's bowl.
Molly ate until she was about 80% full after dinner. Back at the Zhao family's house, she was lucky to be even 50% full, let alone 80%.
Indeed, marrying Ji Hefeng was a good choice.
Molly was once again pleased with herself for her wise decision.
After cleaning up the dishes, Molly started boiling water for a bath. Now that there was no shortage of water, she took a bath every day.
Ji Hefeng didn't shower yesterday, should he shower tonight?
"Ji Hefeng, are you taking a shower? If so, I'll boil some extra water," Molly called out to the room.
Ji Hefeng paused, his first thought was to smell himself. Had she smelled something bad on him?
"Burn more."
"OK."
After the water was boiled, Molly first carried a bucket to the room, and then brought in two chairs from outside.
"Sit in this chair, put your legs up on it, and gently wipe it with water. Just be careful not to get the plaster wet," Molly instructed.
Ji Hefeng hummed in agreement, his eyes fixed on the bucket, not looking at Molly. Being taken care of by a little girl made him, a grown man, feel somewhat embarrassed.
"Don't wash your hair tonight, I'll wash it for you tomorrow," Molly said again.
Ji Hefeng froze. After he turned four, he refused to let anyone help him bathe.
He looked up and saw the girl's serious expression. For some reason, he couldn't bring himself to refuse.
"Put the dirty clothes on the floor to the side, I'll come and get them to wash in a bit."
"......."
He didn't feel embarrassed when Aunt Guihua washed his clothes, but now that it was Molly, his face couldn't help but burn.
"Okay, I'm going out now. Call me when you're done washing up."
Ji Hefeng scrubbed himself clean from head to toe several times, until his skin was red, and only after confirming that there was no dirt or grime hidden in any place did he call Molly in.
Molly had already taken a shower, and she had washed and dried her own clothes. When Ji and Feng called her, she came in, carried out the bucket, moved the chair out, and finally took out the clothes.
Ji Hefeng sat on the bed watching her busy herself. For some reason, seeing her working made him feel inexplicably calm.
There was no soapberry or bar soap at home, so Molly used wood ash to wash her clothes and used water that had been soaked in wood ash and left to stand for a while to wash her hair.
She plans to wash her own hair after washing Ji Hefeng's hair tomorrow.
When Molly returned to her room after washing the clothes, Ji Hefeng was already lying in bed with his eyes closed.
The moonlight streamed in through the window, casting a soft glow on his handsome face, making him look as beautiful as a god.
Molly stared blankly for a moment before carefully lifting a corner of the blanket and lying down.
After a busy day, Molly fell asleep the moment her head hit the bed. Just as she drifted off, Ji Hefeng opened his eyes.
He had expected another sleepless night, but as he listened to the breathing around him, his consciousness slowly faded—
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