Chapter 50 They got their marriage certificate
Ji Hefeng seemed to be starving, and he ate half of his dinner.
"I'm in a rush, and I haven't eaten anything today," Ji Hefeng said sheepishly, his ears turning red.
"Is that enough? If not, I'll make you a pancake?" Molly asked him.
"That's enough. Are you all full?" He was worried that he had eaten too much and that Molly and Moan would go hungry.
“That’s enough for us.” Molly was truly full; she and Mo An usually ate about the same amount.
"I'll wash the dishes," Ji Hefeng said, clearing away the dishes.
Molly didn't argue with him. After sitting for a while, she went to take a shower, washed her clothes afterward, and then went back to her room.
This time, Ji Hefeng brought back luggage, a military green handbag.
Molly had just sat down on the bed when Ji Hefeng entered the room. In front of Molly, he opened his bag, took out a women's watch wrapped in velvet, and handed it to her. "It's a Plum Blossom brand watch. It's not expensive. I'll get you a better one later."
Molly was a little surprised; she hadn't expected him to give her a gift. She remembered that Ji Hefeng's allowance was divided into three parts: one for her, one for the farm, and one for his uncle and cousin. Ji Hefeng himself didn't have much left.
Where did he get the money to buy the watch?
Seemingly noticing the question in Molly's eyes, Ji Hefeng explained, "I hunted two wild boars in the mountains and traded them at the black market."
Molly then looked enlightened, took the watch and put it on her wrist, saying, "Thank you."
"You're welcome." Ji Hefeng stared at the slender, snow-white wrist, his eyes darkening.
"Don't you have one yourself?" Molly asked, as Ji Hefeng clearly needed the watch more than she did.
Ji Hefeng simply said, "I'll buy it for myself next time."
He continued taking things out of the bag; it was a piece of clothing, and judging by the size, it should be for Mo An.
“This is a sailor shirt, a gift I gave to Mo An,” Ji Hefeng said.
Molly's expression softened. "Thank you for your kindness."
He took out a few more towels, placing one pink and one gray towel aside. "These two are for my older sister and brother-in-law. The rest are for you and Mo An at home."
Molly was surprised that even her older sister and brother-in-law received gifts. "I'll say thank you on their behalf."
Ji Hefeng pursed his lips. "You're welcome. I don't have any sugar coupons on me, so I couldn't buy any sugar."
"It's fine. We're not hosting a party anyway. Everyone will think we're already married last year, so we don't need to give out wedding candy." Molly didn't seem to care much about it.
It was hot, but the nights in the mountains were cool, so you wouldn't sweat, but you didn't need a blanket to sleep. Molly was wearing shorts and a short-sleeved shirt, lying against the wall.
The room had been pre-burned with mugwort, so there were few mosquitoes and no need to use a mosquito net.
When Ji Hefeng came in after taking a shower, Molly was already asleep, breathing evenly and sleeping peacefully. Her exposed arms and calves were as white as snow and had beautiful lines.
Ji Hefeng's breathing became erratic instantly. He felt somewhat helpless. Had she forgotten that he was already eighteen years old? Had she forgotten that he was a young and vigorous man?
The moonlight shone in through the window, its shimmering glow as pure and clear as the person beside him, as if coated with a layer of radiance.
Ji Hefeng took a few deep breaths to suppress his restlessness. Perhaps it was the comforting fragrance emanating from him that made him feel sleepy, and he soon fell asleep.
Molly had to go to the pigsty early in the morning to cook pig feed. After cooking and feeding the pigs, she would go home for breakfast. After breakfast, she would clean the pigsty and water the sweet potatoes and various melons.
As soon as she got up, Ji Hefeng also got up.
Ji Hefeng said he wanted to go see the pigs in the brigade, and Molly didn't refuse.
The sky was still overcast, and the sounds of insects and frogs echoed in the fields. There were few people on the road, and only wisps of smoke rose from the houses, indicating that everyone had already gotten up.
“It’s the double harvest season now, the busiest time of the year. Everyone gets up at four or five in the morning,” Molly said.
Ji Hefeng looked at Molly, wanting to ask her if she was tired from getting up so early to work, but the words that came out were, "I heard that the double harvest is very tiring, with everyone rushing to harvest and rushing to plant."
Molly: "It's very tiring. The farm doesn't have much land, but fortunately the climate is good, so we can plant two crops a year, otherwise we wouldn't be able to support so many people."
"And what about you?" Ji Hefeng looked at Molly's calm little face. "Are you tired?"
Molly paused, somewhat amused. It seemed the Ji family always liked to ask her if she was tired.
"To be honest, it's not tiring. There's a lot to do, but my body isn't overloaded, and I feel fulfilled. Besides, I raise pigs, so I don't have to work in the fields or be exposed to the wind and sun, which makes it easier for me than for many people in the brigade."
The two arrived at the pigsty. Molly emptied the sweet potatoes and pumpkins she had dug up the day before from the sack, and then brought over a large pile of sweet potato vines. She took out a knife to cut them, but Ji Hefeng snatched it away, saying, "I'll do it."
“Okay. I’ll go fetch water.” Molly took a bucket and went to the stream next to her to fetch water; a large aluminum pot needed to hold two buckets of water.
After filling the pot with water, she started a fire.
The flames ignited, and the surrounding light became much brighter.
Ji Hefeng was quick; he finished cutting the sweet potatoes and pumpkins in no time, and then started cutting the sweet potato vines. Once all the sweet potato vines were cut, the team's gong sounded, and the team members had to assemble and go to work in the fields.
Molly cooked the pig feed, while Ji Hefeng watered the sweet potatoes and melons. After the pig feed was cooked, Molly fed the pigs, and Ji Hefeng continued watering them until Molly finished feeding the pigs, at which point he came over with an empty bucket.
"What else do we need to do?" he asked.
"Go home first, have breakfast, and then come back to clean the pigsty. Someone else will be in charge this afternoon, so I won't have anything to do," Molly said.
Upon hearing this, Ji Hefeng breathed a sigh of relief. There was a lot of work to do, but at least he wasn't busy all day.
“Your pigs are quite good-looking,” Ji Hefeng said. “They’re better-looking than the pigs in our army.”
Molly accepted Ji Hefeng's praise, "Of course, I wouldn't have gotten this job if I didn't have some skills."
Ji Hefeng curled her lips into a smile; her smug little expression was truly amusing.
For breakfast, I had cornmeal, egg, and chive pancakes, along with chili sauce made by Molly and cucumbers freshly picked from the garden.
Ji Hefeng once again demonstrated his large appetite, eating seven pancakes and three cucumbers before stopping.
"I'll go clean the pigsty, you stay home," Ji Hefeng said.
Molly raised an eyebrow. "You can?"
"I saw the tools this morning. First, use a shovel to shovel the pig manure into a bucket, and then dump it into the manure pile not far away, right?" Ji Hefeng asked.
"That's right. After shoveling, you also need to wash the pigsty with water."
"Okay, I'll remember."
Ji Hefeng met many people on this trip. He hadn't shown his face for almost a year, and many people in the group didn't remember him. They looked at him with unfamiliar and wary eyes.
At this moment, Ji Hefeng could only force a smile and explain, "My name is Ji Hefeng, Molly's husband."
Upon hearing that he was Molly's husband, everyone smiled kindly. "Oh, he's Molly's husband. He's really handsome and a perfect match for Molly."
"Molly might do it. She can earn twelve work points in the fields, making her the person with the highest work points in the entire brigade. You've hit the jackpot by marrying her."
"You're lucky, kid. You acted quickly, otherwise it's hard to say who would have gotten it, hehe."
"Comrade Ji is so handsome, Molly would never be interested in you."
“That’s true. I’ve greeted Molly a few times, but the next time we met, she still didn’t know who I was.”
"......"
Ji Hefeng hadn't expected Molly to have such a good reputation in the brigade, but he wasn't surprised at all. Someone as unassuming, capable, and generous as her would be popular anywhere.
Ji Hefeng thought the pigs in the brigade were already growing well enough, but when he got home and looked at the pigs in his own pigsty, good heavens, the two sows already weighed over 200 jin (100 kg), and the five slightly smaller ones weighed over 100 jin (50 kg). One of them looked different from the other four; its hair was longer, looked rougher, and it appeared more ferocious.
“This one wasn’t castrated; it’s kept for breeding,” Molly said.
Ji Hefeng was surprised, "You plan to get the sow pregnant and have piglets? But do you know how?"
“No, it’s not,” Molly said matter-of-factly. “But is it that difficult? My rabbits have had babies, and my chickens have hatched chicks. It’s the animals that are giving birth, not me. Isn’t it enough that I’m providing them with food?”
Ji Hefeng was speechless, unsure how to refute.
At noon, Molly steamed cornbread buns, steamed pumpkin, made a cold salad, and cooked a mushroom soup. It was hot, and she didn't want to eat meat, nor did she care whether Ji and Feng wanted any; she didn't cook any.
This meal looked simple, but Ji Hefeng still ate with great relish. The cornmeal that Molly grew was very fragrant, and the steamed buns she made had no sugar added. Every bite was filled with the aroma of corn, and the more you chewed, the sweeter they became.
The pumpkin was enormous, weighing twenty or thirty pounds. Molly only cut off a portion, peeled it, sliced it, and steamed it in a steamer. The aroma wafted continuously from the steamer. Just from the smell, Ji Hefeng was already captivated. And even though Molly hadn't added any sugar, the golden steamed pumpkin was surprisingly sweet, refreshing, and melted in the mouth, leaving a lingering, delightful aftertaste.
The cold dishes were very crisp and refreshing, with a sweet and sour taste. Ji Hefeng felt he could finish a whole bowl of them.
And the mushroom soup was incredibly delicious and sweet.
Ji Hefeng ate too much again.
After dinner, Molly and Ji Hefeng went to the brigade leader's house to get the certificate for their marriage. Molly brought over a few loofahs.
The weather was hot, and there was a two-hour break at noon. Everyone in the brigade had just finished lunch, and they either lay on their beds or, too lazy to change their dirty clothes, lay down under the eaves, sleeping soundly.
Ji Hefeng stopped Molly at the door, saying, "You wait here, I'll go in."
Molly raised an eyebrow. The clothes were still on perfectly fine; what was wrong with looking at them?
Molly waited obediently at the door for about ten minutes before Ji Hefeng came out from inside, holding the certificate given to him by the brigade.
The two walked to town together, went straight to that inconspicuous office, and received their marriage certificate in less than half an hour. The marriage certificate was a piece of paper, somewhat resembling the award certificate the police station had given her.
Molly took the paper, looked it over from left to right, and handed it to Ji Hefeng after reading it. "Keep it."
This nonchalant demeanor made Ji Hefeng's face darken. He said, "You've achieved your goal."
Molly turned around. "You're not willing anymore? You've changed your mind?"
"No." This was what he truly felt. He didn't want to hold Molly back, but he was also unwilling to accept that Molly was using him as a tool, that she didn't care about him, didn't value him... and didn't even love him. This was exactly what he had wanted back then, but now he had changed, become greedy, become... shameless.
His job could cost him his life at any moment; he shouldn't fall in love. Even if he did, he should keep it a secret and not let Molly find out. He couldn't touch her, he couldn't be a burden to her, and he should treat her like a stranger. That way, when he died, she wouldn't be sad and could continue living her life well.
But now, even though he knows he can't give Molly anything, and even though he could die at any moment, he still tries to occupy a place in Molly's heart.
Ji Hefeng was angry, angry at himself.
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