Chapter 26 Meeting the Ji Family
Xu Xia'an's side made quite a commotion; as soon as he locked the door, his family gathered around.
"Uncle and Aunt, you're back?" a boy greeted them with a smile, his eyes fixed on the sack in Xu Xia'an's hand.
In this day and age, hunger is the norm. Not only little boys, but other children and adults also have their eyes on the sack in Xu Xia'an's hand, hoping that there is something delicious inside.
Molly didn't find this behavior offensive. She believed that if people had enough to eat and wear, their focus would shift.
"Yes, you're back. Uncle also brought back a guest. You can call her Sister Molly. These are gifts Sister Molly brought for everyone." Xu Xia'an handed the sack to the boy. The boy reached out to take it, but Xu Xia'an reminded him, "Use both hands."
The boy obediently stretched out both hands, and with a thud, the heavy object crashed to the ground.
"What's wrong with you, kid? Your uncle told you to use both hands, but you didn't use any strength at all!" A man walked over, slapped the boy on the head, and then bent down to pick up the sack on the ground. "Ouch, it's quite heavy. What is this?"
"Come inside and talk," the old man under the eaves said.
Xu Xia'an introduced Molly to her family, saying that she was the wife of a comrade-in-arms who had come to visit relatives and was staying at their house for the night because it was getting dark.
The Xu family looked at the incredibly beautiful Molly, then at the large, dark pig's head, and warmly greeted Molly.
Dinner consisted of boiled potatoes, stir-fried greens, a plate of scrambled eggs with chives, and a plate of steamed pig's head.
Molly picked up a piece of chives and egg, then slowly ate boiled potatoes and stir-fried vegetables. She was about 60% full by the end of the meal.
The Xu family children ate without looking up, as happy as if it were a festival.
Molly was covered in dust from the long journey, but she hadn't showered. Around eleven o'clock at night, Xu Xia'an knocked on the door. Molly opened her eyes, and Qiao Ye woke up too. She rubbed her eyes and asked, "Are you sure you don't need me to come with you? Can you carry all that stuff by yourself?"
"No need." Molly finished dressing, went to open the door for Xu Xia'an, took the sack from Xu Xia'an, and filled the sack with the contents of the basket. In the end, she filled two large sacks to the brim, plus Molly's handbag.
Xu Xia'an picked up one of the sacks and carried a handbag in the other, reminding Molly, "Let's be careful."
Soon, Xu Xia'an discovered that Molly walked almost silently without him having to remind her.
Aside from those who have received specialized training, this is the first time Xu Xia'an has discovered that someone is born with the ability to do this.
After leaving the Xu family's residence, Xu Xia'an tried to speed up, wondering if Molly could keep up. He found that no matter how fast he sped up, Molly stayed about a meter behind him.
After walking briskly for half an hour, Xu Xia'an was slightly out of breath, while Molly's expression remained unchanged.
"Sister-in-law, if I may ask, do you hunt all the game in your house?" Xu Xia'an asked, panting.
Molly nodded. "Yes, it's me."
Xu Xia'an: "......."
Did the company commander know that his wife was so capable?
Xu Xia'an: "The farm is just ahead. The farm gate is already closed at this time. There is a guesthouse at the farm gate. You can check in there tomorrow with your letter of introduction."
The darkness didn't impede Molly's vision; she saw the guesthouse, a low stone wall enclosing five single-story houses. It was dark now, and the doors were closed.
Molly: "How do we get into the farm now?"
Xu Xia'an: "Climb over the wall."
The wall was made of earth and was two meters high, covered with some grass.
Having learned from his experience climbing walls, Xu Xia'an led Molly to a corner and climbed up first. Standing on the wall, he asked Molly, "Can I have the bag?"
This was no challenge for Molly; she effortlessly lifted the sack over her head.
Xu Xia'an: "My sister-in-law is quite strong."
Molly smiled but didn't reply.
Xu Xia'an slowly lowered the bag until it hit the ground, then asked Molly to hand her another one.
In the end, only Molly remained outside the wall.
Xu Xia'an: "I'll pull you."
Molly shook her head, "No need, Brother Xu, you can go down first."
Xu Xia'an lightly leaped off the wall, not seeing that Molly didn't need a running start like him; she simply bounced up onto the wall.
"The Ji family was originally divided into two places. On this farm, there were Grandpa Ji, Grandma Ji, Aunt Ji, Uncle Ji and Aunt Ji, as well as Aunt Ji's daughter Ji Herun. The others, such as Uncle Ji and Aunt Ji, went to the Northwest."
“That’s the cowshed. Grandpa Ji and the others lived in two thatched huts next to the cowshed, one for the men and one for the women.”
The entire farm was pitch black, yet Xu Xia'an was able to pinpoint the location of the Ji family's residence, indicating that he had been to this place many times.
The two walked quietly to the outside of the thatched hut. Xu Xia'an reached into the hole in the old wooden door, pulled out the bolt, and opened the door.
"Who?" someone asked softly.
"Uncle Ji, it's me."
Xu Xia'an entered the room and invited Molly in as well.
Two people and three bags filled the thatched hut instantly.
Xu Xia'an closed the door and lit the candle she carried with her, instantly illuminating the small room of about ten square meters. Molly saw a simple wooden plank bed, and not far from it, a wooden bucket with a lid. In the corner were two earthenware jars, next to which was a small clay stove, and further on was a small wooden table with some bowls and chopsticks on it.
The place was simple and had a damp feel to it.
“This is—” Ji Liangyou noticed Molly immediately. He knew that Xu Xiaan was married, but he had never met Xu Xiaan’s wife. He subconsciously mistook Molly for Qiao Ye.
"This is your daughter-in-law, her name is Molly," Xu Xia'an introduced.
Ji Liangyou: "......."
He had always been concerned about his son's marriage, and he learned from Xu Xia'an that his son had gotten married. He had imagined what his daughter-in-law would look like and what her personality would be like. Now that she had suddenly appeared in front of him, all his previous assumptions had shattered like bubbles.
His son married a girl who looked incredibly young and was unbelievably beautiful!
I never expected my son to be dating a much younger woman.
"Dad," Molly said silently several times in her mind before finally managing to call out.
Crisp and tender, it's clearly still a child.
Ji Liangyou sighed, his eyes welling up with tears. "You've suffered, child."
Molly shook her head. "I'm not suffering. He Feng is very good to me."
She sent money and mailed banknotes, ensuring she had enough to eat and wear, while Ji Hefeng's family suffered, which made her feel somewhat guilty.
"Uncle Ji, you two chat. I have to go to work tomorrow, so I'll head back first." Xu Xia'an didn't want to disturb the family reunion.
"Thank you, you've worked hard." Ji Liangyou patted Xu Xia'an on the back.
Xu Xia'an shook her head, "This little bit of hardship is nothing."
Ji Liangyou sighed, silently noting down what Xu Xia'an had done for them. He pointed to the bags and asked, "What are these?"
Xu Xia'an: "Molly brought this all the way for you."
Ji Liangyou was taken aback. "So many."
Xu Xia'an smiled, "Let her tell you slowly."
After Xu Xia'an left, Ji Liangyou moved a chair to the bedside and said to Molly, "Sit here and come see your grandfather. I'll go call your grandmother, your aunt, your mother, and your cousin."
Molly nodded and sat obediently on the edge of the bed.
Grandpa Ji was unconscious. They lit the lamp and talked, but they couldn't wake him up.
Molly placed her hand on Grandpa Ji's forehead; it was a little cool. She then checked Grandpa Ji's pulse, her expression turning grave.
The situation is indeed not good.
In the apocalypse, doctors are scarce, and most illnesses and injuries are endured; once you get through them, you're fine. Molly can't cure diseases, but she can set bones; in fact, most people in the apocalypse can set bones.
She's always fighting, and she's always breaking things here or there. If she didn't have that kind of skill, she would have died a thousand times over.
Molly lifted Grandpa Ji's blanket and saw the leg that was bent in a strange way. She frowned. The injury was so serious, and they only prescribed a little medicine?
They really don't treat people like human beings!
At this moment, the door opened again, and four women walked in, with Ji Liangyou at the back.
Molly stood up from her chair, letting the four women look her over.
"This is your grandmother, your aunt, your cousin, and your mother," Ji Liangyou introduced.
"Grandma, Aunt, Mom, Cousin, hello everyone, this is Molly." Molly gave a shy smile.
"What a handsome child!" Grandma Ji smiled, stepped forward and grabbed Molly's hand, then her right hand, and then her left hand. Then she noticed that Molly's left hand was missing three fingers.
"this--"
The old man was stunned and looked down at Molly's left palm.
The others also looked at Molly's left palm.
"......."
For a moment, no one spoke.
The Ji family members had mixed expressions on their faces: astonishment, disbelief, grief, and pain... but no disgust.
After a long pause, Ji Liangyou spoke first, "It's not a serious problem, it won't affect anything, it won't affect anything."
Who wouldn't want their son to marry a healthy daughter-in-law? But now that things have come to this, there's no point in saying anything more.
Grandma Ji's eyes reddened, and she choked up as she said, "Your father is right."
Aunt Ji did not speak.
Mrs. Ji turned her face away, seemingly unwilling to face it.
My cousin, Ji Herun, bit her lip, and her eyes reddened.
Molly remained calm. The situation was better than she had anticipated. Even though the Ji family was unhappy with her, they didn't make things difficult for her.
"Molly brought this all the way here. It must have been a long and tiring journey for her," Ji Liangyou changed the subject.
Molly shook her head. "It's not hard work. I've done a lot of farm work, so I'm strong."
Grandma Ji: "You're so kind. It's getting late, we can look at the things tomorrow. You can come to our room and squeeze in with us tonight."
Molly refused, "No rush, let me see Grandpa's feet."
Ji Liangyou thought Molly meant to look at it with her naked eye when she said "take a look," so he quickly stopped her when she touched it, saying, "No."
“I learned bone setting from the barefoot doctor, so I’ll try to see if I can straighten Grandpa’s bones,” Molly explained.
Ji Liangyou shook his head, "Don't bother with that. The doctor said your grandfather, your grandfather he—"
Ji Liangyou choked up and couldn't speak.
The others also started crying.
Molly remained calm. "Dad, let me try. It can't get any worse, can it?"
“But Grandpa will be in pain,” Ji Herun said. “There’s no medicine here, and Grandpa will be in pain.”
Molly: "......."
She turned around, opened the bag, took out a roll of fabric, tore off a piece, rolled it up, and stuffed it into Grandpa Ji's mouth, "That way I won't have to worry about him biting his tongue."
Ji Herun: "......."
She clearly said it would hurt.
Before Ji Herun could stop her, Molly's hands were already on Old Master Ji's calves, straightening them and putting them back in place...
In a corner unseen by others, more than a dozen pink tentacles shot out from Molly's left palm, entering Old Master Ji's leg and wrapping around the broken leg bone in circles, as if something terrifying was attached to it, impossible to tear apart no matter how much force was used. The pink tentacles were as thin as blood vessels, as if blood was flowing inside them.
Molly had never tried this method before, but her intuition told her it might work. However, she would have to wait and see in the next day or two to see if it would actually work.
The tentacles, symbolizing the source of pollution, were left inside the old man's body, and his lower leg became straight, appearing to have been successfully reattached.
Is that all?
The Ji family was dumbfounded.
Molly ignored them, took the fabric out of the old man's mouth, and said to Grandma Ji, "Alright, let's go back to sleep."
Grandma Ji didn't move. "Your grandfather?"
Molly: "I don't know, let's see tomorrow."
The other thatched hut had two beds, both very small, less than 1.5 meters wide. Besides the beds, there were several wooden buckets and basins, and a straw rope with clothes and towels hanging on it.
"You'll sleep with me and your mother tonight," Grandma Ji said.
“Mom, let Molly sleep with us. You’re a light sleeper, and we’re heavy sleepers. One more person won’t disturb us,” Auntie said.
"It's alright, let her sleep with us." Grandma Ji pulled Molly to the bedside. "I'll sleep at the end against the wall, and you can sleep in the middle. Sleep peacefully, you won't disturb your grandma."
Molly obediently agreed, "Okay."
"If you get up early tomorrow, don't go out. Just stay inside," Grandma Ji instructed again.
Molly agreed, looking extremely well-behaved.
Seeing this, Grandma Ji felt even more affection for her, but she still felt regret in her heart. Her grandson was so outstanding, and so many girls were eager to marry him, but in the end he married a person with a physical disability.
How could she accept this?
That night, the Ji family barely slept a wink.
Molly, however, was unaffected and slept soundly.
It wasn't until late at night that Grandma Ji and Mom Ji, who were snuggling close to Molly, finally drifted off to sleep. As they felt warmth emanating from their sides, they unconsciously pressed themselves even closer to Molly, draping one leg over her and wrapping their arms around her.
Molly was awakened by the noise, blinked, didn't move, and went back to sleep.
It rained the next morning, so we didn't have to go to work.
Molly woke up first, but the others didn't, so she didn't move and lay in bed for another two hours.
Grandma Ji and her mother didn't wake up until her aunt got up and returned from fetching water. When they opened their eyes and saw their sleeping positions, their faces flushed, and they let go of Molly.
"Is your body numb? Were you crushed by your mother and me?" Grandma Ji asked apologetically.
Molly got out of bed nimbly. "It's alright, you and Mom are very light, you won't get hurt."
Grandma Ji smiled, "We don't usually sleep like this, but you're so warm that it's hard not to lean against you. Your skin is fair and rosy, which means you have good health."
This girl has fair and delicate skin, smoother than the finest white porcelain. Even pampered young ladies don't have such beautiful skin. I don't know if it's because her family raises her so well, or if she's just naturally like this. It's truly enviable.
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