Chapter 24 Ji Hefeng's Comrades Come to Visit
Molly struggled to drag the four wild boars—two large and two small—back to the foot of the mountain, and then carried them home one by one. Despite the cold winter winds, she was drenched in sweat.
"I'm going to take a shower first." Molly went to her room to get her clothes.
"I'll get you some hot water." Mo An hurriedly walked towards the kitchen.
There wasn't a large wooden tub at home, so Molly and Moan used buckets to bathe, usually two buckets were enough. Moan first carried two buckets of water for Molly, then thought for a moment and decided to add another one.
My second sister also had blood on her head; she should wash her hair.
"Thank you, Xiao An. Xiao An is such a good girl." Molly smiled at Mo An. She brought Mo An to live with her because she was fulfilling the responsibilities that the original owner of the body should bear. After living with her for a few months, she did not regret her decision at all. On the contrary, she was more and more glad that she brought Mo An with her.
She adored her thoughtful and capable younger brother.
Molly was taking a bath, and Mo An was squatting on the ground looking at the pigs. He still felt like he was dreaming; it was the first time he had ever seen so much pork. The thought that all this pork belonged to his family made him tremble uncontrollably.
How did his second sister manage to do that?
While taking a shower, Molly grabbed a pair of scissors and snipped twice, shortening her hair, which had originally reached her chest, to just shoulder length.
The original owner's hair was poorly grown—dry, yellow, and split-ended—its only advantage being its quantity. In the past few months, with improved nutrition, the new hair that grew back had turned black and was more abundant, but the ends remained yellow, like straw in a winter field. Molly cut off this dry, yellow section.
She came out while drying her hair and saw Mo An squatting there. She explained, "We were lucky today and ran into a family of four wild boars. We'll keep three, one big one and two small ones, and sell the big one."
"Second sister, tell me quickly how you caught them." Mo An was really curious. Now he knew that his second sister could hunt, but he didn't know how his thin second sister caught these fierce prey.
As for the well-digging incident, my older sister said that other families in the village saw her digging a well and tried to do the same, but so far none of them have succeeded. They either hit rocks or the soil was too hard, and without the right tools, they couldn't dig it up at all.
But when they and the eldest sister's family dug, it was obviously very easy. The soil was soft, and they could easily dig up the stones they encountered, with almost no effort.
Mo An couldn't figure out why, but it was probably because their family and eldest sister had chosen a good location.
Molly thought for a few seconds and replied in a deliberately profound tone, "Faced with absolute power and speed, these prey have nowhere to hide and nowhere to escape."
It was four or five in the morning again when Molly knocked on Sister Qian's door once more.
Upon seeing Molly, Sister Qian's husband became much more enthusiastic this time. Zhou Zheng's face was full of wrinkles from smiling. As soon as Molly entered the door, he invited her to sit down and went inside to pour her a bowl of water with added sugar.
Molly didn't stand on ceremony and finished it in two or three gulps.
Sister Qian came out at this time, praising the wild boar on the ground, "It's so big, it looks like it weighs two hundred pounds."
Molly: "It weighs no less than 200 pounds. You can weigh it if you don't believe me."
"I trust you, I trust you, of course I trust you, little sister." Sister Qian's husband said. Last time, he personally went to borrow a scale to weigh that sheep, and it weighed over 120 jin. So much mutton, besides sharing some with close friends, he also gave some to his boss. His boss hinted that he should give him more meat, and that he should save some for him if there were any empty spots on the top.
It's almost the end of the year, a time when connections are crucial, and this wild boar's arrival is perfectly timed.
"Little sister, how much are you planning to sell this wild boar for?" Sister Qian was already thinking about how much to keep for herself and how much to give to relatives and friends.
"One yuan per jin, no coupon needed; with coupon, it's six mao per jin." Molly only gave this price because she was a regular customer.
"The price isn't expensive, but we don't have that much cash at home," Sister Qian said truthfully.
"You can buy only a portion." She'll take the rest back to make smoked meat and jerky.
"No, we'll take them all. We may not have much money, but we have other things. Wait here, I'll go back and get them for you to see." Sister Qian hurriedly went back to her room and then hurriedly came out again, carrying a large burlap sack in her arms.
"These are suede shoes from Shanghai. They're slightly defective, brought back by my brother-in-law from his business trip. Don't be fooled by their defects; they're not a big problem. They only have some minor scratches, which don't affect their wearability. Last time I brought them some lamb, they gave me these shoes, saying they'd exchange them for some more when they had meat."
Meat is in short supply not only in the countryside but also in the city; even with ration coupons, it's difficult to buy it.
Sister Qian opened the bag, and there were eight pairs of shoes inside. The colors were dark black, navy blue, and brown, and the sizes varied, ranging from size 36 to size 44.
Molly remembered that Ji Hefeng wore size 44 shoes.
Sister Qian: "City people think these colors are ugly, but they're just right for us country folk. They don't get dirty easily. Girl, take a look and see if you like them."
Molly loved them. The shoes had leather soles and fur lining, which would be very warm in winter. They weren't sold in their area, and she planned to buy them all.
Molly asked calmly, "How much are these shoes?"
Sister Qian: "Ten yuan a pair."
Molly frowned. "Too expensive."
Sister Qian: "This is a rare find in Shanghai. Not only in our town, but it's not even sold in the county, and it's hard to find in the city."
Molly still frowned. "Then I'll just wear cloth shoes."
Sister Qian's lips twitched. "Eight yuan a pair, no less. Putting everything else aside, it was a huge effort to bring so many shoes back from Shanghai."
Molly: "Six yuan a pair, eight pairs for fifty yuan. Wild boar meat weighs over two hundred jin, I'll charge you two hundred jin."
Sister Qian gasped, "The internal organs inside a pig's stomach can't even sell for one yuan per pound."
Molly: "This wild boar weighs between 250 and 260 pounds, no more."
Sister Qian glanced at the wild boar again; it was indeed very large, glossy and smooth, and looked very fat. She gritted her teeth and said, "Fine, you can have all eight pairs of shoes, and I'll give you another one hundred and fifty yuan."
She wasn't giving the meat away to her relatives for nothing; she wasn't losing out either way.
Molly: "Give me the tote bag for the shoes too."
The bag was made of coarse linen, large, and thick, and she liked it at first sight.
Sister Qian was generous, "Okay, it's yours. Don't forget to bring me something nice next time, I won't treat you badly."
Molly nodded. "Okay."
Molly has grown quite a bit taller in the past few months, and her feet have gotten bigger too, so she needs to wear size 37 shoes. Mo He wears size 36 shoes, and so does Mo An.
Of the three siblings, Molly is the tallest, nearly 1.7 meters; Mo He is a little over 1.6 meters; and Mo An is the shortest, around 1.4 meters.
Of the eight pairs of shoes, only two were size 36, both brown. Moan planned to give one pair to Moan and one pair to Molly.
There are two pairs of size 37, one pair of size 38, one pair of size 43, and two pairs of size 44.
Molly kept one size 37 pair for herself and put the rest away.
It was already dawn, but Molly didn't go back to sleep. Instead, she went to the kitchen to boil water and use it to scald and remove the hair from the three wild boars in the house.
The water had just boiled when Mo An got up.
"Second sister, do you need any help?"
"Go and start a fire. We probably don't have enough water, so we need to boil some more."
The siblings got busy with their own tasks, and Mo An would occasionally come out to help Molly when he had free time, such as adding water for her or handing her a basin.
Molly's movements were swift and efficient, and Mo An couldn't help but be mesmerized as he watched her. He stared at her fair and rosy face, which was so beautiful that it felt somewhat unfamiliar to him.
"It's getting light. Let's heat up the pig feed, or those pigs will start squealing," Molly reminded Moan.
Mo An snapped out of his reverie and realized that the woman he had been thinking about, the second sister, was indeed his second sister.
The pigs and chickens eat almost the same things, but the chickens get an extra one or two cooked sweet potatoes or radishes. The radishes in the garden are now as big as Mo An's calf, and the two of them can't eat them all, so most of them are used to feed the pigs.
Mohe said that Molly's pigs ate better than some people in the brigade, and that wasn't an exaggeration.
Mo An fed the pigs, chickens, and rabbits before starting to cook breakfast for the two of them. He made corn porridge, which was a bit thin, and there wasn't much corn left. He also made potato and vegetable pancakes. He steamed the potatoes first, then mashed them, added chopped vegetables, stirred, and formed them into balls.
Breakfast was ready, and it was already broad daylight. Mo An's stomach was growling with hunger. Meanwhile, Molly had already started cutting pork, with a large basin of offal placed aside, not yet cleaned.
"With so much offal, can we even eat it all?" Mo An thought for a moment. "Could we smoke pig's stomach, liver, lungs, and the like?"
"It should be possible. We can eat some, smoke some, and try smoking some of the large and small intestines as well." Winter is so long, so besides making jerky, the rest of the meat can be smoked and eaten slowly.
The brigade has been digging sweet potatoes and potatoes these past few days, so the village is quiet and not many people are going up the mountain.
Molly spent the whole day chopping meat, and Moan spent the whole day washing offal. They finally finished their work after sunset. Molly chopped a pot of pork bones and instructed Moan, "Take this to make soup. Add some radishes. The potato pancakes this morning were delicious. Make some more later."
“Okay, no problem,” Mo An agreed, then asked, “Should we invite my older sister over for dinner?”
"Okay, we'll call them later." At this time, the team had not yet finished work.
Pork needs to be marinated for several days before it can be smoked, while dried meat doesn't need to be cured for as long.
When Mohe arrived, Molly had already sliced the meat and was grinding various spices and dried chili peppers into powder. She planned to make the jerky in three flavors: original, five-spice, and spicy.
"You've gone into the mountains again?" Mo He stared in shock at the basin after basin of meat, and her eyes fell on the large and two small pig heads in the winnowing basket. She was completely stunned.
How did her sister manage to kill three wild boars?
Mohe asked, and Molly answered, but it made no difference whether she said anything or not.
"Big sister, second sister, dinner's ready."
At the Zhao family home, Li Xiaoju and Zhao Shangxun drank corn porridge and ate stir-fried cabbage in silence.
"What delicious food did Molly make this time?" Li Xiaoju asked.
Zhao Shangxun shook his head. "I don't know."
Li Xiaoju complained, "Why does she only call me Mo He and not you?"
“Mother, Molly’s family only has two children who are not yet grown up. They don’t get any grain from the brigade. They are already struggling to feed themselves. If you ask me to come along, would you be willing to let me bring my own food?” Zhao Shangxun asked helplessly.
"That won't do." Li Xiaoju refused without even thinking.
On the other side, Mohe was gnawing on a bone, her mouth greasy from eating.
All three of them had big appetites; they finished the whole pot of bones and didn't leave any potato pancakes behind.
Molly went back to her room and brought out two pairs of suede shoes, one pair for Mo He and one pair for Mo An, "Try them on."
Mo He: "Where did you come from?"
Molly: "Use wild boar meat and other people's meat."
Mo He examined the shoes from all angles, admiring them. "I've never seen such fine shoes before. The village head of Mojia Village has a pair of leather shoes that he wears until the soles are worn out, but he can't bear to throw them away. However, his pair isn't as good as the ones I have here."
Seeing how much she liked it, Molly smiled and said, "Try them on."
"No, my feet are dirty. I'll try them after I wash them."
Mo An: "Me too, I'll try again after I shower."
That evening, Mo He took a shower and returned to her room. She first tried on her shoes, then took out the new clothes she had made a few days ago and put them on. The shoes and clothes were all new from head to toe; this was the first time in her life that she had ever worn them.
Even without a mirror at home, Mohe could imagine how dashing she looked right now.
"Molly gave you all these new clothes and shoes?" Zhao Shangxun's eyes darkened.
"Yes, it was a gift from my sister. My brother-in-law mailed the tickets back." Mo He had already come up with an excuse for Molly.
“Molly is very good to you,” Zhao Shangxun sighed.
“Of course, my brother and I have relied on each other since we were little.” After trying on the clothes and shoes, Molly took them off, folded them, and put them in the closet.
"It's my fault for being incompetent. I should have made you a new outfit when we got married," Zhao Shangxun said remorsefully.
"In those years, just surviving was a blessing; clothes and such were out of the question." The Zhao family had emptied their savings to marry her and still owed Li Xiaoju's family more than twenty yuan. She knew the Zhao family's difficulties, so she didn't blame Zhao Shangxun.
In this day and age, there are many mothers-in-law who mistreat their daughters-in-law. Although Li Xiaoju is stingy, miserly, and has a bad temper, she does not mistreat her. She does not regret marrying Zhao Shangxun.
"I plan to plant some hemp in my private plot this spring, and then I'll make clothes for you," Zhao Shangxun said, revealing his plans.
"Sure, as long as your mother agrees." Zhao Shangxun wanted to treat her well, so she had no reason to refuse.
While Molly was baking jerky at home, it started to rain—a light drizzle, chilling to the bone.
During the day, the siblings stayed home smoking meat and making jerky, without going out. When they got hungry, they roasted sweet potatoes, potatoes, and wild boar meat. In the evening, they stewed bones and radishes, and invited Mohe to come over for dinner.
The rain lasted for a week before stopping. Molly's jerky was ready, and the meat was almost smoked.
That evening, Molly was turning over the vegetable garden when three people came to the door. One of them was Zhao Xiaoyong, and the other two were a man and a woman, both unfamiliar faces.
"Sister-in-law, someone's looking for you," Zhao Xiaoyong called from outside the fence gate.
Molly looked at the man and woman with a puzzled expression. "Who are you?"
"My name is Xu Xia'an, and I am Ji Hefeng's comrade-in-arms. This is my wife, Qiao Ye," Xu Xia'an introduced himself and his wife.
Upon hearing that he was Ji Hefeng's comrade-in-arms, Molly opened the door and said, "Please come in."
"Sister-in-law, I have something to do, so I won't go in. If you need anything, come to my house." Zhao Xiaoyong had read Xu Xia'an's letter of introduction and had no doubts about her identity. He dropped her off and left.
Molly welcomed the two inside, asked Mo An to pour them two bowls of hot water, and then brought out a plate of dried sweet potatoes for them to eat.
Xu Xia'an drank the water but didn't touch the dried sweet potato. He sat up straight, his expression serious. "Zhao Jian'an gave me your address."
Molly nodded knowingly; she had guessed the same.
Xu Xia'an continued, "We had no choice but to come here today. The company commander's grandfather might not make it, and we couldn't contact the company commander, so we had to come to you."
When Ji Hefeng was the company commander, Xu Xia'an was killed in action. To this day, Xu Xia'an still calls Ji Hefeng Company Commander.
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