Chapter 58 Even the finest jade has its flaws
Two women, one fat and one thin, walked towards them and stopped in front of Zhao Jian'an and his group. They asked how many people were in their group, but their eyes were both fixed on Molly.
Beautiful things always attract attention. There is no shortage of good-looking people in the military camp. Some of the military wives from the city are young, beautiful, fashionable and know how to dress. There are also the female soldiers in the cultural troupe, who are all very beautiful.
But how to put it? This person in front of me was not just ordinary good-looking, but extraordinary. When she stood there, everything around her paled in comparison.
Where did this fairy come from?
They dared not utter the word 'fairy,' yet they all agreed that if fairies existed, they must look like this. Look at that exquisite and beautiful face, that fair and snow-white skin; even up close, you couldn't find a single flaw.
How can it be so beautiful!
Could such a beautiful woman be Deputy Battalion Commander Zhao's girlfriend?
"Her name is Molly, she's Battalion Commander Ji Hefeng's wife, and she came from her hometown to take care of him. This is Battalion Commander Ji's brother-in-law. This is Lu Lu, you two sisters-in-law wouldn't not recognize him, would you?"
"Oh, so you're Battalion Commander Ji's wife. She's really beautiful."
"This is Lu Lu. How could he have turned into this in just a few months? If Commander Lu and his wife were still alive, seeing their son—"
The sound abruptly stopped. For some reason, Lu Lu suddenly went berserk and charged towards his two sisters-in-law like a cannonball. The two sisters-in-law screamed and retreated.
"Lawyer Lu!"
In a split second, Molly grabbed Lu Lu, preventing him from bumping into his two sisters-in-law.
The two sisters-in-law looked on with lingering fear, and seeing Lu Lu's ferocious little face and fierce eyes, they couldn't help but take two steps back.
"Are you two sisters-in-law alright?" Zhao Jian'an glanced at Lu Lu, and seeing that Lu Lu did not struggle after being grabbed by Molly, he did not interfere and apologized to his two sisters-in-law.
The two women nodded, patting their chests. "We were definitely frightened. We're too young to be easily scared. Alright, you two go ahead with your work, we're going home too."
If they didn't leave soon, they were worried that the madman would go crazy again.
“The plumper woman’s surname is Gu, you can call her Sister-in-law Gu. Her husband, Fang Youan, is the commander of the 2nd Regiment. The other one’s surname is Lin, and her husband is Lu Weifang, the political commissar of the 2nd Regiment,” Zhao Jian’an introduced.
Molly nodded. "Which group does Ji Hefeng belong to?"
"The 1st Regiment. The current regimental commander is Cheng Yubin, who was promoted from the former deputy regimental commander. The political commissar is Bao Haoming." Zhao Jian'an didn't mention that Ji Hefeng's military achievements and seniority were no less than Cheng Yubin's, who was nearly forty years old. Logically, the position of regimental commander should have belonged to Ji Hefeng, but Ji Hefeng was held back by his family background. Now paralyzed in bed, let alone promotion, he would probably have to return to his hometown soon.
Molly silently made a note of it, unaware that she was holding Lu Lu's hand all the way to the cafeteria without letting go.
It was peak lunch hour in the cafeteria, and there were many people queuing up. Zhao Jian'an joined a queue randomly. Behind him was Molly, who was holding Lu Lu's hand, and finally Mo An was holding a lunchbox.
The group of four attracted the attention of countless people.
"Deputy Battalion Commander Zhao, aren't you going to introduce him?" The soldiers' gazes were either ambiguous or fiery.
"Keep your eyes to yourselves," Zhao Jian'an said sternly.
"Oh ho, Deputy Battalion Commander Zhao is jealous!"
"Deputy Battalion Commander Zhao, are you being stingy?"
"Is something good coming up for Deputy Battalion Commander Zhao?"
"Sister-in-law, you're so beautiful! Do you have any sisters?"
"Quiet!" Zhao Jian'an said helplessly. "She is your sister-in-law, but she and I are siblings. She is the wife of your Battalion Commander Ji Hefeng."
Upon hearing this, the scene suddenly fell silent, and everyone's expressions became complicated.
If we're talking about Ji Hefeng before he became paralyzed, he and the girl in front of him would be a perfect match. One is handsome and capable beyond compare, while the other is beautiful and graceful.
But now, Battalion Commander Ji has been diagnosed with lifelong paralysis, with less than a 5% chance of recovery. How can someone like Battalion Commander Ji keep such a beautiful wife?
Molly kept her eyes straight ahead, letting those scrutinizing gazes fall on her. When it was their turn to get their food, she finally spoke, "Four lunch boxes, two ounces of rice per box, two meat dishes and two vegetable dishes."
Today's cafeteria menu consisted of two meat dishes and two vegetable dishes. Molly's words meant that she wanted all four dishes, and in fact, four lunchboxes, four meals in total. That would cost her more than four yuan for one meal.
This lady must be some rich young lady from somewhere, she really has the nerve to eat so much!
Everyone became even more certain that Ji Hefeng would get a divorce.
Such a pampered young lady is too much for the paralyzed Ji Hefeng to afford.
However, what happened next changed their minds. They saw Molly holding a lunchbox and her left hand, which was missing three fingers.
this--
Even the finest jade has its flaws.
There was still a sick person at home. Molly and the other three carried the food they had prepared back home. Molly asked Zhao Jian'an where she could buy things like wooden buckets and basins. Zhao Jian'an told her to go to the supply and marketing cooperative, as there was one in the camp.
Molly decided to go to the supply and marketing cooperative after lunch.
Zhao Jian'an originally planned to go back with Molly and the other two, and visit Ji Hefeng along the way, but he was pulled away halfway.
Back home, Molly had Mo An take Lu Lu to the dining table for dinner, while she took two lunchboxes and went into her room.
"Could you pour me a glass of water?" Ji Hefeng's lips were chapped and cracked, with bright red blood seeping through.
Molly pursed her lips. "Sorry, I forgot to pour you some water."
There was only one aluminum pot in the kitchen, and it was the only pot they could use to boil water. Molly had boiled water today, but it was cold now. There was an enamelware blank on the table, which must have belonged to Ji Hefeng. She filled that cup with water and brought it to Ji Hefeng.
Ji Hefeng lay there, while Molly remained still. Ji Hefeng looked at her innocently, saying, "The soldiers who took care of me before fed me with straws."
Molly remained unmoved, eating her lunchbox to the side. "Then you can ask them to come back and continue taking care of you."
"Never mind, they have their own training tasks." After saying that, Ji Hefeng supported himself on the bed board and slowly sat up straight.
Molly raised an eyebrow. "The recovery is quite good."
"I can feel my strength slowly returning." Ji Hefeng smiled, a sense of relief in his eyes. "Molly, from now on, I'll give you my life, okay?"
“Alright, then you can come back to Xiaonanshan with me to farm,” Molly said seriously.
Ji Hefeng's face stiffened, and he gave an awkward laugh, "Not at the moment."
Molly rolled her eyes. "Don't make promises you can't keep."
Ji Hefeng's expression turned serious, and he said earnestly, "Okay."
Ji Hefeng drank some water, and then, under Molly's calm gaze, slowly got out of bed. After regaining his balance, he leaned against the wall and walked step by step outside.
"I'm going to use the restroom," he said.
"Don't fall in the toilet," Molly warned.
Ji Hefeng: "......."
When Ji Hefeng returned from his trip, Molly had already finished eating. She walked out of the room with her lunchbox and saw Mo An's stunned expression. She couldn't help but laugh, "What's wrong?"
"They said, that my brother-in-law is paralyzed...for life." Although the voices in the cafeteria were soft, Mo An still heard them.
Molly calmly went to wash the lunchbox. "Who knows? Maybe a miracle will happen. Have you two finished eating? I need to go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy some supplies. Do you want to come?"
Mo An immediately stood up. "Go."
Molly then looked at Lu Lu, who also stood up.
The three of them washed their lunchboxes and went out together.
Ji Hefeng, who was eating in the room, paused in his chewing. Why didn't anyone come to ask him?
The supply and marketing cooperative was located not far from the entrance to the military camp, about a ten-minute walk away.
As they walked, Molly and Mo An curiously looked around, while Lu Lu kept his head down and followed Molly's steps. They encountered many people along the way, who would show amazement when they saw Molly's face, but whose expressions would become complicated when they saw Lu Lu.
The supply and marketing cooperative was small, but it offered a wide variety of goods.
Molly first took out her cloth coupons and bought Lu Lu a pair of shoes and two pairs of socks. She also bought him toothpaste, a toothbrush, and an enamelware blank. She also bought Mo An an enamel mug.
Next, she bought salt, soy sauce, and other seasonings, as well as some soap and laundry detergent. Molly saw some wooden clothes hangers; they were free, costing one cent each, so she bought fifty, which was five dollars.
I bought quite a few odds and ends before finally buying the wooden bucket and the wooden basin.
Wooden buckets and basins were also free of charge. Molly bought four wooden buckets and four basins of different sizes. Before leaving, she saw that there were clay pots for sale, so she bought one as well.
The four returned from the supply and marketing cooperative laden with goods.
Molly didn't rest. She tidied up the soil she had turned over in the morning and planted corn. The yard wasn't small, about two-tenths of an acre. If they planted corn all of it, they would harvest several hundred pounds of corn in three months.
As for where to grow vegetables, she plans to do so on the cleared wasteland.
While Molly and Mo An were planting corn, Lu Lu watched curiously from the side.
It's only February now, and it gets dark early. By the time the corn is planted, it will be time for the cafeteria to open.
“We’ve run out of meat coupons. Go to the cafeteria and get some rice and vegetables. I’ll cook some smoked bacon at home,” Molly said to Mo An.
Mo An agreed, thinking it was just getting food and shouldn't be too difficult for him. Holding the money and tickets Molly gave him, Mo An strode out the door. Lu Lu looked at Mo An, then at Molly, and finally decided to stay home and stay with Molly.
Molly took out a piece of cured pork weighing about two pounds, singed it over a fire, scrubbed the surface clean with dry grass, and then put the whole piece into a clay pot to boil. When the water boiled, she poured out the water, added clean water, and boiled it again. Only when the water boiled again did she take the meat out and put it on a plate.
Ji Hefeng didn't have a kitchen knife, and hers was still on its way, so she could only tear the cured meat into pieces by hand. The fat and lean meat were easy to tear apart, but the pigskin was incredibly tough.
Molly glanced at Lu Lu, who was swallowing hard and whose eyes were shining, and handed him the whole pigskin. "Eat it."
Lu Lu took it and put it in his mouth. He chewed it, but it didn't break. But it smelled so good and tasted so good that he didn't mind. He kept biting even though he couldn't bite it off.
When Mo An returned with four lunchboxes, Lu Lu was still struggling with the pigskin.
The four lunchboxes were filled with rice and vegetables, including bok choy and winter melon, with a few specks of oil visible on them.
"Ji Hefeng, would you like to eat inside or outside?" Molly called from the living room.
"I'm coming out to eat." Ji Hefeng came out of the house. This time he didn't lean against the wall, but his movements were still slow.
Four boxed lunches and a plate of hand-shredded boiled cured pork. Four pairs of chopsticks reached for the boiled cured pork together, no one giving way to anyone else. Ji Hefeng, however, put a few bites of meat into Molly's lunchbox first, and then it was his turn.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
