Chapter 17 Retaliation
After leaving the commune, Molly went to the supply and marketing cooperative.
Seeing that she wanted to buy paper and pens, Mo He didn't let her pay for them and paid for them herself. "These paper and pens are for Xiao An, right? I already feel bad that you're supporting Xiao An. I'll pay for Xiao An's school fees in the future."
Molly didn't say she wanted to use it too. The original owner of this body had never been to school and was illiterate. These past few days, she had Mo An teach her to read and write with Mo An so that she could write a letter to Ji Hefeng after the beef jerky was made.
Molly didn't have to pay for paper and pens, so she used the remaining seven cents to buy salt, as she had been marinating meat frequently lately and they were running low on salt.
At this point, she had run out of money.
Molly touched her empty pockets and belatedly realized that mailing things through the post office required money.
"Big sister, if I want to sell the rabbits at home, where can I sell them?" There are currently eight rabbits at home, four small ones and four larger ones, and she plans to sell the larger ones.
"Sell them to the supply and marketing cooperative, but you have to do it secretly, don't let the rest of the brigade find out. Everyone's starving these days, what do you think they'll think and do when they see your fat rabbits?"
"What are they going to do?" Molly genuinely had no idea.
“They will report you for misappropriating collective assets and take all your belongings away.”
"........"
On the way back, Molly picked a few leaves to feed the piglets.
"Are you tired? Let your sister carry you for a while."
"Not tired. It only weighs ten or twenty pounds. Sister, how much do pigs in the brigade usually weigh before they're ready for market?"
"The brigade usually starts raising pigs in late spring and raises them until autumn and winter, when they weigh between 100 and 200 jin. By then, the grain harvest is over, the public grain is delivered, and the assigned pigs are also handed over. The brigade keeps the pigs for itself for a while so that they can be slaughtered for the New Year in winter."
Mo He looked nostalgic. Because of the drought, she hadn't seen the brigade slaughter a pig for two years, and she hadn't eaten a pig-slaughtering feast for more than two years.
"It only weighs a little over 100 pounds after raising it for half a year?" Molly was a little disappointed.
"There wasn't enough food to eat, so we relied on eating pig feed from the mountains all year round. It was considered good if we could grow to a little over 100 jin."
"But cows eat grass, and they still grow to several hundred pounds, don't they?"
“A cow takes several years to grow, so they can’t be the same.”
Molly was speechless. She did some mental calculations: if she raised a pig to 100 pounds and handed over half of the task pig, she would only have 50 pounds left.
That's too little!
Should we get another one?
But where does the money to buy piglets come from?
"stop!"
While pondering the problem, Molly looked up blankly and saw three men jump out from behind the mound of earth.
The three men were all emaciated and pale, with high cheekbones, cloudy eyes, and a fierce glint in them.
One of them pointed at Mo He, his expression vicious, "It's her who caused the second son to be exposed!"
Molly immediately thought of the thief outside the commune gate, so these people were the thief's accomplices?
"They're in cahoots with the thieves!" Mo He guessed who these people were. She stood in front of Molly, trembling, and urged Molly, "Sister, I'll stop them, you run first."
As soon as Mo He finished speaking, the three men rushed up. One of them grabbed Mo He's braid and threw her to the ground.
The basket tipped over, and the chicks chirped crisply.
The other two surrounded Molly from the left and right, reaching out to grab her basket.
"Hey, little piglet, we can have a good meal if we kill him!"
"I haven't eaten meat for over a year, so today is the perfect opportunity to satisfy my craving."
The man's mouth was watering.
Molly narrowed her eyes. Those who coveted her things, damn it!
She ducked, turned quickly, and slapped a man in the stomach with one hand.
Hmm—
The two men staggered backward, clutching their stomachs, their faces contorted in pain, unable to speak.
"Third brother, fourth brother, what's going on with you two?"
"Boss, this girl is a bit strange, she's incredibly strong!"
"Yes, yes, yes, she's about to punch my stomach out of me!"
"How strong can a little girl be? Third and fourth brothers, have you been starving for too long? You're too weak now. Let me deal with her!"
The man known as the boss walked step by step toward Molly.
Molly glanced at Mohe, who was getting up from the ground, and her anger flared up again.
No one saw how she moved; they only saw the man called the boss fly backward, landing on a slope three meters away, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"Boss!"
"Boss!"
"Sister, let's go!"
The two first went back to their home at the foot of Mount Molly.
Molly tidied up the things in the storage room near the vegetable garden, planning to use it as a pig-raising room from now on.
Hearing the noise, Mo An came out of the kitchen. "Big sister, second sister, I made beef and vegetable soup and potato pancakes. They're still warm. Come in and eat."
"You can cook now?" Molly asked, somewhat surprised.
"Seeing how much you two sisters made, I tried making it myself today, and it tasted pretty good. I heard the chicks chirping, so I bought a few. I'm going to go check on them."
“You’re missing a chicken coop. You can make one out of bamboo. I’ll ask my brother-in-law to make one for you.”
"No need, sister, I'll just buy one from Uncle San."
Do you have any money left?
"I'll bring some sweet potatoes and potatoes over in a bit."
Food is precious, and Mohe didn't want her younger siblings to use it to barter for things. "I'll have your brother-in-law cook it at home, and I'll bring it to you when it's done."
Molly was about to say something when Mohe interrupted her, "Alright, it's decided then."
"Big sister, second sister, come and eat something," Mo An called to the two of them.
The beef was in large chunks, stewed until tender by Mo An.
The greens were simply blanched and then taken out of the water; they were a vibrant green and looked very appetizing.
Each person's bowl contained two large pieces of beef and a few green vegetables. There were more than a dozen potato pancakes, all baked to a golden brown and coated with lard, making them very fragrant.
"Isn't this a bit too much meat?" Every time Mo He came to her sister's house for dinner, she didn't eat much of anything else, but she ate her fill of meat. Molly had never even dared to imagine eating so much meat in one meal before.
“Not much, there’s still some at home.” Mo An added, worried that her eldest sister might not be able to eat as much as she wanted, “My second sister usually cooks just this much too.”
Mo He remained silent. Fine, my sister is capable. Let her eat what she wants. Eat more and make up for what her body is lacking.
"Big sister, come eat here tomorrow too. I'll make some stewed bones for you."
"Okay, I'll come over for a free meal tomorrow."
No one suggested that Mohe take the meat back to the Zhao family, nor did anyone suggest that Mohe bring her brother-in-law over to eat together.
Zhao Shangxun was convinced that Molly and Mo An were a burden and was unwilling to associate with them, so naturally they wouldn't take the initiative to approach them either.
After the meal, Molly asked Moan to put the water from washing the dishes and pots into a bucket to cook pig feed. Only then did Moan realize that her sister had bought a piglet.
"Second sister, is this our pig?" Mo An couldn't believe it.
“Yes, ours.” Molly took a sickle and went to the vegetable garden. “I’m going to cut some vegetables to cook for the pigs.”
What do the chicks eat?
"In a little while, I'll cook a sweet potato with the pig feed. I'll give them some sweet potato first."
"Chicks grow fast by eating insects and earthworms, so I go catch insects and dig up earthworms."
Mo An, like a happy little bird, hummed a song as she went out.
Do you like it that much?
Molly knew that Mo An felt uneasy after coming to Xiaonan Village, but she didn't try to persuade him much. She just asked him to help with the housework so that he would feel at ease and settle down once he realized that the family couldn't do without him.
The next afternoon, Mo He brought over a square chicken coop, which looked quite nice.
"The chicks are still small, so keep them at home for now. Be careful tonight and make sure nothing else eats them," Mo He instructed.
Moan: "I'll put them in my room."
Molly disagreed, "It will smell bad."
"I'll leave them for a few days, and I'll move them out when they're a bit bigger." Mo An felt that the chicks' safety was more important than enduring a little stench.
This is the family's property; it can even lay eggs when it grows up!
Four chicks, all hens. Mo An was already imagining the joy of collecting four eggs a day. Back when he lived at the Mo family's house, all the eggs belonged to Mo Liang, and he could only watch Mo Liang eat them.
There were four hens this time, and my second sister isn't stingy, so she'll definitely get her share of the eggs.
Dinner was cooked by Mohe: a large pot of beef bones stewed for two hours, a clay pot of wild boar stewed with potatoes, a stir-fried vegetable dish, and a boiled sweet potato for each person.
The stir-fried greens with lard were just as good as the meat, and Mo He praised them highly, saying, "Your greens are so good, they have a sweet taste, and they're tender and sweet."
“I also think these vegetables are delicious, better than the ones we grew at the Mo family’s house before.” Mo An ate a bite of vegetables and a bite of meat.
Molly ate without looking up, saying, "Big sister, pick a few bunches to take home later. We don't lack vegetables at home."
"Alright then, I won't stand on ceremony with you."
The vegetables in the Zhao family's vegetable garden were only half-grown, and Li Xiaoju couldn't bear to pick them to eat. They were still eating wild vegetables, which were hard to find. If they couldn't find wild vegetables, they could only eat some grass roots and tree leaves.
"You can come and pick them every day, we don't need any."
"You should dry more vegetables, otherwise the pigs won't have anything to eat in winter."
"I know, I'll start sunbathing tomorrow."
The kudzu vines surrounding the vegetable garden grew lush and taller than a person, blocking the view of the garden and Molly's house. No one in the village knew that the vegetables in Molly's garden were growing so well.
Molly caught four rabbits and picked some greens. She tied the rabbits' legs together, placed them at the bottom of her basket, then put a few pieces of wood on top, and finally put the greens on top of that.
"I'm going to the supply and marketing cooperative. You stay home by yourself."
"Are you going by yourself? Should we ask your older sister to come along?" Mo An was a little worried.
"No need, I know where the supply and marketing cooperative is. Just stay home and keep the door closed, don't open it if anyone knocks."
"Okay, I won't open the door. I'll cook lunch at home and wait for you to come back."
"No need to wait, just eat if you're hungry."
It takes more than two hours to walk from the village to the town, and a round trip takes five or six hours. By the time Molly got home, it was past lunchtime.
But Moan is a stubborn boy; he always waits for Molly to come home before eating. Molly has told him off several times, but he won't listen, and Molly can't do anything about it.
But since she's alone today, she can walk faster.
The sweet potatoes and corn that the brigade planted some time ago have sprouted, and the seedlings are already half an arm's length long. The brigade is worried that someone might come and steal the seedlings because they are starving, so they have arranged for team members to patrol every day.
Zhao Xiaoyong happened to be one of the people on patrol today.
"Sister-in-law, where are you going?" Zhao Xiaoyong called out.
"Go to the supply and marketing cooperative and buy two bunches of wild vegetables." Molly showed him the greens in her basket.
"Where did you pick these wild vegetables? They're growing so well!" Zhao Xiaoyong was extremely envious; he hadn't eaten such tender green vegetables in a long time.
“I dug up wild vegetables from the mountains and planted them in my vegetable garden. I watered them every day, and that’s how they grew.”
"So it's wild vegetable that you grow." Zhao Xiaoyong gave Molly a thumbs up. "You're so clever, sister-in-law."
Molly smiled and continued walking forward.
"Is she Ji Hefeng's wife?" Another team member came to Zhao Xiaoyong's side.
"Yes, it's her. I don't think all the rumors are true. She's quite capable." Zhao Xiaoyong had seen Molly carry over 100 kilograms of kudzu root. Putting everything else aside, Molly was very strong and seemed to have good luck as well.
"Such delicious green vegetables, they look so tempting."
"Oh dear, don't even think about taking her vegetable garden. Brother Ji saved me, and I promised him I wouldn't let anyone bully her. Besides, she's in such a state; she's so pitiful."
"What are you thinking? I'm just envious."
Molly was stopped before she reached the supply and marketing cooperative and was pulled into an alley by an older woman.
"Where are you going, little sister?" The older sister smiled, her face crinkling with wrinkles.
“Go to the supply and marketing cooperative to sell vegetables,” Molly said, pointing to the vegetables in her basket.
From the moment the eldest sister saw Molly, her gaze never left the green vegetables. Now, upon hearing Molly's words, her eyes lit up even more, "Selling them to anyone is the same, just sell them to me."
“Selling it to you is speculation and profiteering; if you get caught, you'll go to jail.” That’s what Mo He told her.
"As long as nobody knows about this, that's fine. I can give you a higher price than the supply and marketing cooperative."
"How much higher?"
The older sister gritted her teeth, "Half as high!"
“Okay,” Molly agreed.
“My house is just ahead, let’s go to my house to talk.”
The eldest sister's surname is Qian, and there is only one elderly person living in her family.
"This is my mother-in-law. The child has gone to school, and my husband has gone to work. He won't be back until evening. We haven't seen any green vegetables in the house for many days. Without green vegetables, the child can't poop and cries every day." Sister Qian sighed, "It's so much better in your countryside, where there are green vegetables to eat."
Molly didn't respond. The town had grain supplies, and even during the famine year, few people starved to death, but many died in the countryside.
"How much greens do you have? I'll take them all," Sister Qian said generously.
"There are eight bundles in total, each weighing about one and a half pounds. Each bundle costs six cents. Are you sure you want them all?"
"Wow, that's really not cheap."
"If you don't want it, I'll go to the supply and marketing cooperative right away."
"Yes, yes, I'll go get the money for you right away."
Sister Qian quickly returned and handed the money to Molly, saying, "It's four yuan and eighty cents in total. Count it."
Four one-yuan notes, one fifty-cent note, three one-cent notes. Molly counted them and put them in her inner pocket.
"I have four more rabbits here, do you want them?"
"rabbit?"
"Meat!"
Not only Sister Qian, but also her mother-in-law came over.
Molly took out the rabbits and laid them out on the ground one by one. The four rabbits had shiny fur and each weighed no less than five pounds.
"A rabbit costs ten yuan. If you want it, I'll keep it; if not, I'll take it to the supply and marketing cooperative."
There were no vegetables or meat in the town, and even the black market didn't sell meat.
A rabbit weighs six or seven pounds, and on average, a pound of meat costs a little over one yuan. No coupons are needed, so without any hesitation, Sister Qian immediately went back to her room and got four ten-yuan bills for Molly.
"Next time you have vegetables or meat, just come to my house. I'll definitely give you a good price," Sister Qian said, holding Molly's hand.
Molly nodded. "Okay."
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