Chapter 13 Bringing my younger brother over to live with us
It takes more than an hour to walk from Mojia Village to the town. Others would have borrowed a large oxcart from the brigade to take them to town, but no one told Molly this. Filled with anger, she grabbed Mo An and ran as fast as she could, rushing into the clinic of the health center.
"Doctor, please save my brother."
What happened?
"High fever, it's been going on for several days."
"Oh dear, it's so hot! Did you take any medicine to cool it down?"
"No."
"Why did it take so long to arrive? You guys are so careless."
"......"
Molly endured the nurse's scolding without offering any explanation.
"I need to give him an IV drip, you go and pay first."
"How many?"
"Pay two yuan first. We'll refund any extra or make up the difference."
Unfortunately, Molly only had two yuan on her. She had always kept the money she earned from Ji Hefeng with her, taking it with her wherever she went. Now it came in handy, but she didn't know if it would be enough.
"Brother Ji, your wife has returned to Mojia Village." Zhao Xiaoyong carried in two full buckets of water.
Ji Hefeng was taken aback, a hidden sense of loss welling up inside him.
"I heard her younger brother is very ill," Zhao Xiaoyong added.
It felt like a lump in my throat, then suddenly dissipated.
Ji Hefeng: "Xiaoyong, I would like to ask you to go to the team that is digging the irrigation canal and tell Molly's sister, Mohe, and their brother, Moan, that he is seriously ill."
"Shall we go now?" Zhao Xiaoyong glanced at the sky.
“Okay, let’s go now.” Ji Hefeng was worried that Molly was too young and might panic when faced with her brother’s serious illness.
"Okay, I'll set off now."
Mo An remained unconscious, and the IV drip bottles were replaced one after another.
It got dark quickly, and Molly's stomach was growling with hunger. She didn't dare leave and stayed in the ward.
In the middle of the night, Mo An woke up, and Molly called the nurse on duty.
"His temperature has gone down a bit. We'll give him two more bottles of glucose infusion. He should be almost fully recovered when he wakes up tomorrow."
That night, Molly took Mo An to the bathroom twice. Although Mo An woke up, she was still not fully conscious.
Molly drifted off to sleep in the middle of the night and wasn't woken up until dawn when other patients came to the clinic.
"Second sister?"
Mo Angan's voice was hoarse, and his round almond-shaped eyes were red.
"Yes, I'm here." Molly tucked the blanket around him.
The next second, Mo An burst into tears, "Waaah... I thought I'd never see you again, Second Sister, I felt like I was going to die, I was so scared..."
Molly remained silent, her resentment towards Mo Gaofeng growing even stronger.
It's clearly treatable, it's not a serious illness, and it only costs a few dollars—
How could he bear to watch his own son die like this!
Mo Gaofeng is unworthy of being a father!
"You need to pay another six yuan," the nurse said expressionlessly.
"......"
That was a mistake. I should have gone home and borrowed money from Ji Hefeng first.
"How about I leave my brother here as collateral and go back to get the money?" Molly said with a forced smile.
The nurse glanced at Molly's attire, not quite trusting her. "Your family can afford it?"
"My husband is rich—"
"Molly!"
When Ji Hefeng came in, he saw Molly smiling sweetly at the nurse.
"Ji Hefeng!" Molly exclaimed with delight, running towards Ji Hefeng.
"Ji Hefeng, what brings you here?"
Molly wasn't so narcissistic as to think that Ji Hefeng had come to find her.
"Come check on my leg." Ji Hefeng leaned on his crutches. "Where is your brother? Is he seriously ill?"
"It's not serious, I'm almost healed. Ji Hefeng, do you have enough money? Can you lend me six yuan?"
Ji Hefeng didn't say anything, but handed over a ten-yuan note.
Ji Hefeng didn't want the four yuan change, saying, "Keep it as pocket money."
"Really for me?" Molly grinned foolishly.
"Okay, here you go."
It's just a few dollars, why is she so happy like a fool?
"Don't rush back yet, wait for me, we'll go back together then."
"Second sister, do you have the money to pay for your medical bills?" Mo An asked with worry and self-blame, feeling that he had been a burden on his sisters.
“I don’t have enough money on me, but your second brother-in-law does, and he paid our medical bills.”
"Second brother-in-law? When did you get married?"
"Not long ago, just a few days ago. It's a long story, let's take it slowly."
Molly told her brother about what had happened to her these past few days.
After listening, Mo An had mixed feelings. "Everyone says that after a girl gets married, her life isn't as carefree and happy. What do you think, Second Sister?"
"Of course not, I'm very free and happy right now. I told Mo Gaofeng that I'll take care of you from now on, so come with me to Xiaonan Village today."
"I...I'm not going."
"Why?"
"It will be a burden to you."
"No, it's okay. It's just me and Ji Hefeng at home. No one will think you're a burden."
"My second brother-in-law doesn't know how either?"
"He won't."
This was Molly's intuition.
Mo An fell silent. He was raised by his two older sisters, and naturally he wanted to stay by their side. He didn't want to go back to the Mo family. This incident had made him completely disillusioned with the Mo family and its members.
When Ji Hefeng came out of the clinic, he saw Molly and Mo An sitting on the steps outside the door, leaning on each other. Both of them were small and dressed in tattered clothes, not much different from beggars on the street.
How pitiful!
"Cough cough!"
The season and the wind attracted their attention.
"Ji Hefeng, you're out here." Molly said with a fawning smile.
"Okay. Let's go back."
Ji Hefeng took the lead.
“Ji Hefeng, I want to take my younger brother back to live with us.” Molly said, while secretly observing Ji Hefeng’s expression.
Ji Hefeng remained calm and, without any hesitation, replied, "Okay."
"You agreed! Thank you, Ji Hefeng, you're such a good person." Molly hugged her blanket and skipped along beside Ji Hefeng, as happy as a little bird.
This was the first time Ji Hefeng had seen her so happy.
"Second Uncle is still outside, let's go back first."
Molly spread the blankets on the oxcart, first helping Ji and Feng to sit down, then helping Moan onto the cart, and she was the last to get on.
"Hold on tight, we'll set off soon," said the second uncle. When he saw Mo An, he didn't ask any questions, just glanced at him and looked away.
"Sister, this is my first time riding in an oxcart," Mo An said excitedly.
Molly gave him a perfunctory reply, nodding her little head, and then leaned on Ji Hefeng's shoulder and fell asleep.
Ji Hefeng turned to look at her, but didn't speak or move. Mo An, on the other hand, looked somewhat nervous, even her breathing became soft.
No one spoke for the rest of the journey. The oxcart stopped at the house at the foot of Jihefeng Mountain. As soon as the oxcart stopped, Molly opened her eyes.
"arrive?"
She glanced around, then got up and jumped out of the car first.
Mo An also got out of the car, his eyes looking around curiously.
"Second Uncle, here's the fare. Thank you for your trouble." Ji Hefeng took out five cents and gave it to his second uncle.
The second uncle pushed it back, saying, "We don't need that much; two cents is enough to charter a car."
"Yes, one is for you, and one is for the cow."
After saying that, Ji Hefeng got out of the car with Molly's help.
"There's an unused bed in the storage room. If we fix it, it should still be usable," Ji Hefeng reminded Molly.
"Hmm, I'll check in a bit. I'll go cook something to eat now. Xiao An, come help me start the fire."
"Okay, sure."
Molly cooked yam porridge, keeping the heat high the whole time, until it was soft and melt-in-your-mouth tender. She served a bowl each to Ji Hefeng and Mo An, and then served herself.
Bowl after bowl, Molly drank three bowls before stopping, but Mo An only drank one bowl and refused to drink any more.
Molly served him another bowl. "One more bowl, don't worry, there's plenty of food."
Mo An glanced cautiously at Ji Hefeng, and seeing that he didn't show any displeasure, he picked up the bowl and began to drink with peace of mind.
"Xiao An, you do the dishes in a bit, and I'll go fix your bed."
The bed frame was left by the previous owner; two pieces of wood were broken, but it wasn't a big problem—it could be repaired. Molly wasn't good at woodworking, so what she made wasn't particularly aesthetically pleasing, but it was sturdy.
"I'm going to my third uncle's to buy a mat." Molly took two pounds of kudzu root and went out.
Mo An wanted to go too, but he was too slow. By the time he caught up, Molly was already gone.
Mo An didn't dare to be idle either, so he picked up a broom and started sweeping the floor. Ji Hefeng watched him work from the side, knowing that Mo An wouldn't feel at ease if he wasn't allowed to do something.
Molly returned quickly, bringing back three pairs of straw sandals in three different sizes, along with a mat. One pair for Ji Hefeng, one pair for herself, and one pair for Mo An.
“Aunt Guihua’s straw sandals are very sturdy; you should all try them on.”
Molly put on the straw sandals and walked a few steps on the ground. Apart from being a little rough, there was nothing wrong with them. She decided not to take them off and just wore them.
Molly's cloth shoes were so dirty that their original color was unrecognizable, the soles were mostly worn down, and the uppers had several holes. She decided to wash them and then mend them. She figured she might as well wash Ji Hefeng's shoes too.
Molly had just taken the shoes to the riverbank when Mohe arrived, carrying a bundle containing Mo An's clothes and shoes.
"Big sister!"
"Xiao An!"
The siblings hugged each other and cried loudly.
Ji Hefeng silently got up and went back to her room, leaving the two siblings alone.
When Molly returned after washing the shoes, Mohe and Moan had stopped crying, though their eyes were still a little red.
Upon seeing Molly, Mo He hugged her and burst into tears again, apologizing and cursing Li Xiaoju at the same time.
“Sister, I’m fine here. Let bygones be bygones,” Molly comforted her.
Mo He remained silent, only gritting her teeth, "This matter cannot be let go!"
"This will put my brother-in-law in a difficult position," Molly said with a hint of helplessness.
Mo He: "If we can't make it work, we'll get a divorce."
Molly: "......."
Mo He: "Wait for me here. I'll go back and get your relief grain. If Li Xiaoju doesn't give it to me, I'll smash up the Zhao family's place."
Mo He left in a flurry.
"Second sister, aren't you going to stop eldest sister?"
“It’s good to let her vent her anger. Besides, if a person doesn’t have a temper, they’ll be bullied.”
Half an hour later, Mohe brought over ten pounds of sweet potatoes and ten pounds of potatoes.
Thump!
Mo He knelt down in front of Ji Hefeng.
"sister!"
"Big sister!"
Molly and Mo An were both stunned and quickly reached out to help Mo He. Mo He dodged their hands, saying, "Don't worry about me, let me finish what I have to say."
Ji Hefeng sighed, "Sister, there's no need for that."
Upon hearing the word "sister," Mo He burst into tears. Ji Hefeng had acknowledged her as his sister.
"I'm entrusting my sister and brother to you." Mo He's tone was more serious than ever before.
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