Chapter 136: Chapter 126: The Year’s End

No one saw the small pebble that shot out like a bullet, not even Mo Guoqiang himself. But his lower leg was suddenly immobile, the pain so excruciating he thought he would die. A few kind villagers carried him to the brigade clinic, but the medic there couldn’t help him. Liu Fengying rushed over and had no choice but to get a tractor to take him to the commune health center. However, the barefoot doctor there said their facilities were limited and they couldn’t treat his condition, telling them to go to Wancheng Hospital for an X-ray. Mo Guoqiang was jostled about on the tractor and moved around so much that he fainted from the pain. When they finally reached Wancheng and got the X-ray, it turned out to be a comminuted fracture!

Liu Fengying even got an earful from the doctor, who said they had aggravated the injury by jostling the patient around so much.

Facing another huge medical bill, Liu Fengying hated Mo Xiaoman to the bone. She had her brother from her maiden family go to the hospital to look after Mo Guoqiang while she herself went to the Youth Corps Courtyard every other day to raise a ruckus and demand compensation. Grandpa, Grandma, and Xiao Man simply shut the door and ignored her. The entire village knew Mo Guoqiang had brought his fall on himself; it had absolutely nothing to do with Xiao Man!

Mo Chengfu, who had just begun to learn to identify herbs and was gradually becoming interested in herbal medicine, came to the Youth Corps Courtyard every day. He couldn’t stand the foul-mouthed, noisy Liu Fengying. One day, when he could bear it no longer, he walked out with an expressionless face, gripping a firewood hatchet. There were rumors in the village that Mo Chengfu was a bit unstable, and Liu Fengying knew that a mentally ill person wouldn’t be held responsible for murder. After being scared off twice, and with other matters to attend to, she stopped coming around.

At the end of the year, the production team distributed grain and money. Regardless of how much they received, every household was filled with joy. At the very least, they could enjoy a few meals of fragrant, pure white rice during the New Year, make some zongzi and glutinous rice cakes for the children, and even eat meat on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day! Most importantly, they could buy a string of firecrackers for the kids to set off. That joyful, festive atmosphere was what the entire family looked forward to all year!

Once winter break started, Xiao Man found herself quite busy. Besides being invited by her friends to go up the mountain to chop firewood and cut grass, she also ventured into the mountain forests with Grandpa and Mo Chengfu to find medicinal herbs, helped Grandma with housework, went to the market to buy supplies for the New Year, and, on top of all that, had to manage her Treasure Pearl Space.

She harvested the several acres of "antique-grade" grain and vegetables inside the space, which had been growing for hundreds of years, and then sowed new seeds. She also picked all the peaches and pears, letting the trees flower and bear fruit once more. The harvested grain and fruit needed a place for storage. The two small buildings on the peak were for her collections and for rest, but both of them refused to allow any produce inside. With no other option, she cut down some bamboo and built three bamboo huts on the stone platform behind the peak to store and process her harvest.

While out gathering pig feed, Xiao Man was washing the plants by the river when she noticed small fish and shrimp swimming in the crevices between the rocks. She caught a few and raised them in her space’s small pond. In just one month, the fish grew to three or four pounds each, and the shrimp became larger than her thumb. It seemed they had reached their maximum size and weren’t growing any further. She had found the dried fish made by Uncle Man Cang to be delicious, so she learned a few tricks from him and hung a long string of her own dried fish in the space—another addition to her New Year goods.

Zheng Shaolian visited once before the New Year, accompanied by Xiao Zhao as always. The two of them unloaded a large pile of things from their jeep: candy, clothes, money, grain, and even school supplies. Everything had been sent by Gu Shaojun from the provincial city. Zheng Shaolian handed Xiao Man a stack of comic books. "I’m done with these. They’re all yours!"

Xiao Man was speechless. ’You call this a gift? You’re clearly just using me as a recycling bin!’

Still, it wasn’t so bad. The comic books were in good condition. She’d check if any were worth collecting and put those in her space. The rest she could give to Qiu Xiaohu and the other kids. They’d be thrilled to have them.

Grandpa and Grandma had already heard from Secretary Mo and Second Granny Qiu that a PLA soldier wanted to adopt Xiao Man as his sworn sister, so they weren’t too surprised by all the gifts Zheng Shaolian brought. Since he had come from so far away, it wouldn’t be right to refuse the gifts and make him haul them all back. Grandpa and Grandma quickly sent Mo Chengfu to fetch Secretary Mo and Eighth Uncle to help prepare a meal for their guests, which involved catching fish and slaughtering chickens. Secretary Mo brought Fifth Auntie and his daughter-in-law along to help. They were more experienced this time, thanks to the incident during Zheng Shaolian’s last visit. His fastidiousness had caused quite a stir; not only did they have to cook the meal twice, but even boiling his bowl and chopsticks in front of him hadn’t been enough. In the end, Fifth Auntie had boiled a serving saucer for him to use, and Secretary Mo had to cut fresh bamboo to fashion a new pair of chopsticks. This time, they knew how to handle this pampered soldier!

As they bustled about preparing the food, they also had to discuss what to give in return. The elders were in a complete flurry. Xiao Man decided Zheng Shaolian was a magnet for trouble and sincerely wished he hadn’t come.

Zheng Shaolian, on the other hand, was completely at ease. He followed Xiao Man around, helping pick and sort the vegetables—they were his favorite greens, after all. He rolled up his sleeves to wash them himself. Once the vegetables were clean, he grabbed the shears used for the chickens and started snipping away at the rose bushes on the wall... Xiao Man wanted to cry but had no tears left. ’What did my poor flowers do to deserve this? Teacher Yu just "carefully pruned" them not long ago, and now Zheng Shaolian is here to butcher them! Thank goodness Xiao Zhao doesn’t share this hobby—wait, where is Xiao Zhao?’

Qiu Xiaohu, who was plucking chicken feathers with Mo Chengfu, piped up, "Grandpa just told me to go to the village store for salt and soy sauce, but my hands were full, so Uncle Xiao Zhao went!"

Xiao Man breathed a sigh of relief. ’Good,’ she thought. ’At least one of them is normal.’

When Zheng Shaolian and Xiao Zhao were about to head back to the city, Grandpa and the others stuffed their car full of things: a cage of live chickens, a basket of eggs, four wild rabbits, two large jars of wild grape wine, and a cloth sack each of glutinous rice cakes, New Year cakes, and zongzi...

They tried to refuse, but how could two men fend off five or six villagers, young and old? Amid the cheerful chaos, everything was loaded into the car.

Seeing the exasperated looks on Zheng Shaolian and Xiao Zhao’s faces, Xiao Man finally felt a sense of satisfaction. She kindly handed Zheng Shaolian an additional net bag. Inside were four repurposed malted milk jars, filled with sesame paste, tomato sauce, chili sauce, and bean paste. In her past life, he had suffered from chronic stomach problems because he was such a picky eater. She hoped the condiments would help his appetite.

There were also two kraft paper packages, one with two pounds of steamed fish jerky and another with two pounds of dried fruit. These were from her space, meant to give him an extra boost of nutrition and energy. ’If his stamina can keep up with the intensity of his training,’ she mused, ’he probably won’t be so keen on deserting anymore.’

Zheng Shaolian clutched the net bag, peeking into the paper packages, and a smile finally broke across his face. Xiao Man said, "The chickens and eggs are just a small token of appreciation from the villagers to our soldiers. If your superiors ask, you can just say they’re care packages from family. Take them to the mess hall and share them with everyone. As for the sauces, my teacher taught us how to make them. It’s my first try, so they’re basically experimental, but they taste pretty good and should whet your appetite. Brother Shaolian, you have to share with Brother Xiao Zhao, you hear?"

Xiao Zhao laughed. "He wouldn’t dare. I’m his squad leader now!"

"Really? In that case, Squad Leader, you have to keep a close eye on him. Don’t let him slack off!"

Zheng Shaolian aimed a light knock at her head. "Hey, get it straight! Who’s your *real* brother here?"

Xiao Man, of course, didn’t let him. She ducked back out of reach. With a laugh, Xiao Zhao waved goodbye to Grandpa and the others on the other side of the jeep, started the engine, and drove off.

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