Chapter 18 The Season and the Wind Bring Your Package
After selling out of rabbits and vegetables, Molly went to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy some spices and chili peppers, and then headed straight for the commune.
I don't know if those piglets from last time were sold. If they were, she'll come back in a couple of days, and another batch of poultry and livestock will come in a couple of days.
As soon as Molly entered the commune, she smelled a familiar scent; it was the same scent she smelled every time she went to feed the pigs.
"Hey, young lady, what are you doing here?" the gatekeeper called out to Molly.
“I’d like to ask if there are any piglets left to sell.” Molly’s gaze swept toward the northwest corner of the commune’s courtyard, where a fence stood and two piglets were grunting and squealing.
"Yes," the old man replied, then called out towards the office, "Officer Zhang, someone's here to buy piglets."
A moment later, a man strode out.
“It’s you.” Officer Zhang still remembered Molly.
Molly nodded. "It's me."
"What about the one you bought?" Zhang asked with a scrutinizing gaze and a warning tone. "You're not going to eat these piglets, are you? Let me tell you, even if they die, you'll have to bring their carcasses to the commune."
"He's not dead, he's alive and well, and very energetic." He also eats a lot at every meal, his belly is round.
"Really?" Officer Zhang was still skeptical.
“Really. I promise.” Molly said sincerely.
"You'd better not lie. We'll be tracking your pigs from now on, and the consequences of lying will be severe," Officer Zhang threatened.
Molly nodded. "I'm not lying. I'll definitely hand in the mission pig next year."
"That would be best." Officer Zhang's expression softened considerably. "Every household is short of food right now. You've raised one, isn't that enough? Can you raise another one?"
“I go to the mountains to cut pig feed, and I can still afford to raise pigs for now.”
As they talked, they walked to the pigpen. The two piglets were thinner than they had been a few days ago and didn't look very well.
Molly frowned. "These are the leftovers from other people's shopping. Can you give me a discount?"
"I can't make decisions about the prices set by the commune," said Officer Zhang in a serious tone.
"Did you not feed them? They've gotten so thin and have no energy at all. Are they sick?"
"Just buy it, why all the nonsense?"
The pigs were indeed thin from hunger and not in good spirits. Zhang, the cadre, had been so troubled by the two piglets that he hadn't slept well for two days.
"If you lower the price, I'll buy both."
"Want both?"
"Yes, I'll take them all."
"If the animals die, the commune will take half of them, and you'll get half."
"I won't die. Thirty-two yuan, I'll take both."
"No, it's too cheap, thirty-eight."
Thirty-four.
Thirty-seven.
"Thirty-five. If it's okay, I'll buy it; if not, then forget it and I'll wait for the next batch."
"Thirty-five it is, deal."
Mo An was drying beef jerky when, through the fence gate of the vegetable garden, a slender figure approached from afar.
"Second Sister!"
Mo An put down what he was holding and strode to open the door.
Its joyful appearance was just like that of a puppy that had finally waited for its owner to return.
"Second sister, have the vegetables and rabbits been sold yet?"
"Sold."
Mo An tried to take Molly's basket from her back, but Molly dodged him, saying, "It's heavy, you can't carry it."
"What did Second Sister buy?" Mo An jumped up and looked into the basket, then exclaimed in surprise, "It's a piglet!"
"Hmm, two little pigs. Now there are three pigs in the house. Xiao An, you're going to be busy from now on."
"...I'm not afraid of being tired, but second sister, what are we going to feed these three pigs?"
Mo An was horrified just thinking about how much food three pigs would eat.
“I plan to plant kudzu behind the house and some on the hill behind the house as well. Tomorrow I will go to the mountains to find some pig feed and dig it up to plant on the hill behind the house. It will be easier to cut pig feed next spring.”
"When the vegetables in the garden wither, we replace them with a new batch and keep planting them." Mo An didn't know how much pig feed could be cut from the mountain, but he trusted the vegetables in the garden more.
“Okay, keep planting.” It snows in the mountains in winter, but it usually snows at night and melts the next day. My older sister, Mohe, said that the longest she’s ever seen snow last was only four or five days, so the weather isn’t cold enough to prevent growing vegetables.
"We'll start digging a well in a little while."
After lunch, Moan went to cook pig feed for the two newly arrived piglets, while Molly went to survey the location for digging the well.
"Second sister, are we really going to dig a well?" Mo An still felt that it was unlikely that the two of them could dig a well on their own.
"Why not give it a try? If we had a well at home, we wouldn't have to fetch water from the river or wash clothes there. My older sister said the well water is warm in winter; wouldn't you like to wash your clothes with warm water?"
"think."
"So we can give it a try."
Molly didn't make her statement completely.
She took a shovel and spade and walked towards the corner of the vegetable garden, a spot she had previously chosen. It was about 20 meters away from the pigsty, which was to the west, while this corner was to the east.
While pulling up the vegetables, Molly silently used her tentacles to probe the ground to see if there were any large rocks that might hinder her from digging a well.
The tentacles burrowed downwards, and after less than ten meters, they encountered a rock, but it was just a small pumice. Continuing downwards, they encountered several more pumices. The tentacles wrapped around the pumices and swayed, causing the ground to tremble slightly.
Huh?
Molly's eyes lit up; she could use this method to loosen the soil first.
By the time Moan finished feeding the pigs and came over with his tools to help, Molly had already dug a hole a meter deep.
Mo An: "......."
So fast?
"Second sister, are you tired? You come up first, I'll take over digging."
"Sure."
Molly gave the shovel to Moan, climbed ashore, found a basket, filled it with the soil she had dug up, carried it to the edge of the vegetable garden, and dumped it there.
Molly planned to pile up soil around the vegetable garden to expand it.
"Second sister, this soil is quite loose, easy to dig. But I'm too short, it's hard for me to throw the soil up."
"Then put the soil in the basket, and I'll use a rope to pull the basket up in a bit."
"OK."
"Rest when you're tired. Don't push yourself. You can't get sick from overexertion."
Mo An, who had originally planned to do more, immediately shook his head upon hearing this, saying, "I will definitely not push myself. I will rest when I am tired."
The two worked until sunset before they finished.
Molly went to the river to fetch water, while Moan went to collect dried meat and cook.
Over the next few days, Molly spent her time digging a well at home. The progress was rapid; she had already dug more than ten meters deep and found water.
"I'll go to the town post office to mail the dried beef in a bit. I'll come back at noon and we'll continue digging." The beef jerky was ready, and Molly was going to mail it to Ji Hefeng.
I'd also like to ask Ji Hefeng if he could buy some grain from there and mail it back to them.
She and Mo An ate sweet potatoes and potatoes every day until their stomachs were bloated.
To make Ji Hefeng pay more attention to her, Molly was very generous and mailed him forty pounds of beef jerky. Worried that she didn't have enough money for postage, she also picked some green vegetables to sell.
When she arrived in town, she went to Sister Qian's house first.
"Oh, sister, you're finally here again." Sister Qian seemed to see a relative and pulled Molly towards her home.
The wooden door creaked shut, and she cut to the chase, asking, "Is there any meat left this time?"
"No. The rabbits we caught last time were caught in the mountains; you only get lucky if you run into one."
Sister Qian was visibly disappointed, but she didn't forget to remind him, "Next time you have meat, be sure to think of me first. I won't let you suffer any losses."
Last time, there were four rabbits: one for her parents' family, one for her sister-in-law's family, and two for themselves. That night, her son was so happy when they ate the meat that he cried.
This year really made the kids go hungry and craving food.
Molly nodded. "Okay, I'll bring you some meat next time I have it. Would you like these greens?"
"Yes, I'll take them all. Your vegetables are good too; the bunches we had last time weren't enough to go around." She kept two bunches for herself, but regretted it when she ate them that night. If she had known the vegetables were so delicious, she wouldn't have shared them.
"I brought eight this time as well, and the price is the same as last time."
"Okay, no problem, I'll go back and get the money for you right away."
With 4.8 yuan in hand, Molly turned to leave, but Sister Qian grabbed her basket and asked, "What else is in your basket?"
“Some clothes, mailed to my husband, he’s in the military.”
"It's not for eating?" Sister Qian persisted.
Molly's lips twitched, but she said firmly, "No."
A few days later, the well was dug to a depth of more than 20 meters, and the water in the well increased, enough for Mo An to water the vegetables every day.
“This depth is enough. I’ll go up the mountain and get some stones to build another ring of stones up here. Then our well will be finished.”
There are quite a few stones needed; it might take two or three days just to collect them.
"Second sister, I'll go with you to collect stones."
"Okay. You can pick them up near our house, I'll go to a place a bit further away."
Finding stones of the right size is difficult, and sometimes you might have to use unusual methods. With Mo An standing by, it's hard for her to do it.
Four days later, a sturdy stone wall was built around the well. Molly pressed it down several times to ensure that the stone wall was stable and would not collapse.
The well had just been completed when it started to rain.
Molly and Moan finally had some free time.
"What do you want to eat this morning?" Molly was getting a little tired of the same few dishes at home.
Mo An thought about it carefully before saying, "Kudzu root paste with chili peppers?"
When it rains in the mountains, the temperature drops sharply. Adding a few slices of marinated wild boar meat to kudzu root paste and sprinkling some chili peppers makes it appetizing and delicious, and it warms you up nicely.
Molly: "Add some more greens. Do you want romaine lettuce or mustard greens?"
Mo An: "Mustard greens, our mustard greens are sweet, and they're perfect for adding to the porridge when chopped up."
Molly: "Okay, you boil the water, I'll go pick some vegetables from the garden. It's raining outside, so don't wander off."
Molly went to pick vegetables wearing a straw hat, and also picked the vegetables that the pig wanted to eat.
"Second sister, your clothes are wet, go change quickly."
"I'll go right now. The vegetables are wet, don't touch them, I'll chop them when I get out. You go boil some water first."
We don't have a large iron pot at home, so we have to cook the pig feed in two earthenware pots. The pigs are still small now and don't eat much, but when they get bigger, two earthenware pots probably won't be enough.
We still need to find a way to get some industrial vouchers and buy a big pot. An aluminum pot will do, and it doesn't necessarily have to be an iron pot.
Military canteen.
"Didn't you say there would be meat dishes today?" Zhao Jian'an glanced at the dishes but couldn't find a single piece of meat.
"Would you like some eggplant stew with minced meat?" The uncle serving the food pointed to the large bowl of eggplant.
"Is this all?" Zhao Jian'an was visibly disappointed. He had rushed so fast just now in order to grab a few more pieces of meat, but all he got was some invisible bits of meat.
"Hmm, this is it. Do you want it? If not, the people behind us are waiting."
"Yes! Two servings, please!"
"One item per person!"
"Then I'll just buy one."
"Ji Hefeng, come here."
One serving of minced meat and eggplant, one serving of braised potatoes, one serving of stir-fried bok choy, plus three large steamed buns made from a mixture of wheat, pork, and vegetables.
The two men ate without even looking up.
Zhao Jian'an kicked Ji Hefeng's foot under the table. "I really want to eat meat. How about we go into the mountains and get some wild game?"
Ji Hefeng declined, saying, "I'm busy with training lately and don't have time."
"This amount of training is no problem for you. We'll go tonight."
"I'm not going."
"Why?"
There's no reason why.
"Battalion Commander Ji, there's a package for you in the mailroom."
"Your package? Who sent it to you?"
"have no idea."
"Eat quickly, I'll go with you to take a look."
After Ji Hefeng's family was sent to the countryside, no one mailed him anything. He was quite surprised to hear that he had a package. On his way from the canteen to the mailroom, he guessed who might be mailing him something, but when he saw the crooked handwriting, he couldn't help but chuckle.
He thought of several people, but she was the one he didn't think of.
"What a huge package! It weighs a full forty-two pounds!" the soldier on duty laughed.
"What's so heavy?" Zhao Jian'an picked it up, glanced at the address on it, and was stunned. "It was mailed from our brigade!"
Ji Hefeng nodded, took the package from Zhao Jian'an, and turned to walk towards the dormitory area.
"This must have been sent to you by Jasmine, right? What's inside? Our production brigade is so poor, we don't even have wild vegetables to eat. What could she possibly send you?"
Zhao Jian'an chased after Ji Hefeng, "Hey, slow down, wait for me."
Ji Hefeng seemed not to hear, and continued his speed without slowing down.
"I've never seen you walk that fast before. Just because you have long legs doesn't mean you're anything special."
Ji Hefeng lives in a double dormitory room, and her roommate is Zhao Jian'an.
He had just entered the dormitory and closed the door when Zhao Jian'an opened it.
"Open the package quickly!" Zhao Jian'an urged him, taking out a pair of scissors.
Ji Hefeng took the scissors and carefully cut along the edges, more cautiously than ever before when unpacking a package.
Inside the bag was another bag, followed by several layers of oil paper. After removing the oil paper, there was another bag. The opening of the bag was tied with a piece of cloth. Untying the cloth revealed the beef jerky inside.
"It smells so good!"
Zhao Jian'an reached out to grab it, but Ji Hefeng slapped his hand away.
"With so much jerky, do you have to be so stingy?" Zhao Jian'an was furious.
Ji Hefeng didn't speak, but grabbed a piece and put it in his mouth first, then grabbed a handful and gave them to Zhao Jian'an. Zhao Jian'an glared at him, took them, and stuffed them into his mouth, mumbling, "So much jerky, where did Little Jasmine get it?"
"I don't know." Ji Hefeng guessed that it must have been Molly who went hunting in the mountains and caught it. He admired the little girl's hunting skills.
Ji Hefeng took out the dried meat and found a letter at the bottom of the bag.
The letter contained only a few words, asking Ji Hefeng to exchange some food for her.
"Tell your men that I have some dried meat here. If they want some, they can exchange their tickets for it."
"Is this for Little Jasmine?"
"Yes, the brigade has no food. She lacks clothes, furniture, everything."
“Okay, I’ll mention it to them. But don’t forget to send some to the regimental commander and political commissar, and also to the division commander. He’s been very kind to you, so send him some too.”
"Okay, I'll deliver it to them tonight."
"Hey, where do you think Little Jasmine got the beef?"
"She didn't say."
"This beef jerky is really flavorful, fragrant and chewy."
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