Ma Dongdong couldn’t help twitching the corner of his mouth.
That name was certainly… ambitious and practical.
It wasn’t until the back of “Mole Youth” disappeared from sight that Ma Xixi finally relaxed his tense expression.
“That person was obviously in disguise.”
He had a round, babyish face. If he didn’t keep a stern expression, people would think he was still a child. Especially when he smiled, his little tiger teeth would show.
In reality, he was already eighteen, the same age as Ma Dongdong, though he was one month younger.
Just because he was younger by one month, his cousin got to be “Dong” while he had to be “Xi.”
In short, they were the Ma family’s “East and West.”
Ma Dongdong didn’t care.
“Let her disguise herself. So what? With such a huge mole on her left cheek, she’ll be easy enough to recognize no matter how much she changes her appearance.”
Ma Xixi strongly agreed and changed the subject.
“There are still too few books. Only three sets.”
Ma Dongdong was helpless.
“These books are obviously all hand-drawn. They must take quite a lot of time to make.”
“I really wonder who the genius is behind them. Whoever can draw such illustrations must be incredibly talented. If only we could find the source. The price would probably be cheaper too.”
Since there was already a Brick Monster in the market, and now there was a “Mole Youth” as well, it was obvious that the two of them were getting their goods from the same source.
Ma Xixi grinned, revealing his little tiger teeth.
“Brother, three sets isn’t much, so we should sell them for more. If we can get twelve yuan per set, we’ll make quite a bit.”
Selling three sets of books could earn them half a month’s wages for an ordinary worker. That really wasn’t a small amount.
Even if they only sold them for ten yuan each, they could still make six yuan.
If business was good, they could sell all three sets in a single morning.
Luo Xi first wandered around the black market for a while. When she didn’t find anything she needed, she finally headed to the supply and marketing cooperative.
First, she used industrial coupons to buy a kettle and a coal stove. Then she bought some fabric, two sets of clothes, white drawing paper, and hemp thread.
After leaving the supply and marketing cooperative, she went to the general store to buy some meat, vegetables, rice, and grain.
Finally, she went to the coal shop and bought some honeycomb briquettes.
She had discovered that going up the mountain to gather firewood was exhausting manual labor, and she simply didn’t have that much time.
Besides, it was the middle of summer, so she didn’t need a heated brick bed or heated walls anyway. She might as well use an iron stove that burned coal. It would be much more convenient.
By the time she returned home, it was already five in the afternoon.
She took the fabric and went to the brigade leader’s house. His wife, Zhou Xuehua, happened to be home, and she looked a little surprised to see Luo Xi.
“Educated Youth Luo, what brings you here? Come in and sit down.”
Luo Xi smiled.
“I bought a few pieces of fabric in the county town today, and I wanted to trouble Auntie with making two curtains for me.”
Her house had courtyard walls more than two meters high on all sides, but she still felt that having curtains on the windows would give her more privacy.
And the brigade leader’s family was one of the few households in the village that owned a sewing machine.
Zhou Xuehua waved it off.
“Oh, what’s the big deal? It’s a small thing. Tell me what size you want.”
Luo Xi gave her the measurements.
Zhou Xuehua readily agreed.
“No problem. I’ll have them finished tomorrow.”
Luo Xi was grateful.
“How much?”
Zhou Xuehua waved her hand.
“It’s nothing important. You don’t have to pay.”
Luo Xi shook her head.
“No, you still have to provide the thread and your labor. You have to charge me something, otherwise I’ll feel bad.”
Zhou Xuehua was straightforward too.
“Then just give me thirty cents. I only need to run the curtains through the sewing machine. It’s simple work.”
Luo Xi readily paid her.
The two chatted for a while before Luo Xi finally left.
When she returned home, it was still early, so she drew water from the well to water her vegetables.
She had only planted the seeds about a week ago, so they were still a long way from being ready to eat.
Then, following the instructions she had gotten from the coal shop, she started the stove.
However, theory and practice were two different things.
It wasn’t until nightfall that she finally managed to get the honeycomb briquettes burning properly.
After a whole day, Luo Xi felt even more exhausted than after a day of farm work.
She collapsed onto the brick bed and began going over her finances.
After counting and recounting, she discovered that what she had earned that day still wasn’t enough to cover what she had spent.
Her savings had dropped from a little over eighty yuan to just over sixty.
Luo Xi: “…”
With a sudden movement, she sprang upright and took out her drawing paper, immediately beginning to draw.
The revolution had yet to succeed. She still had to keep working hard.
The next day after finishing work, Luo Xi hurried up the mountain.
She planned to make a crossbow for self-defense.
A brick was still somewhat inadequate. As for a gun, there was no way she could get one. And even if she somehow did, she wouldn’t be able to explain where it came from.
As for what material to use for the crossbow, she had already decided.
Mulberry wood.
There were no mulberry trees on the nearby mountains, but there were some in the Wulian Mountain Range several kilometers away.
Wushan Village had actually gotten its name from Wulian Mountain.
There were quite a few people gathering firewood at the foot of Wulian Mountain.
However, the deeper she went into the mountains, the fewer people she encountered. Before long, there was hardly anyone around.
After walking for another ten minutes or so, she finally spotted a mulberry tree of a suitable size.
Her eyes lit up.
She walked around the tree once.
“It’s you.”
She stroked her chin and nodded in satisfaction.
Taking the axe out of her basket, she immediately began chopping.
Bang, bang, bang!
A few minutes later, Luo Xi was already panting heavily and collapsed onto the ground.
Fortunately, she had almost finished chopping down the mulberry tree.
Well…
She had chopped through about one-tenth of it.
So, technically, she had chopped quite a bit of it, while there was still a lot left to chop.
Just as she was about to take a drink of water, a flock of wild pheasants came running out from the distance, clucking loudly.
Luo Xi’s eyes lit up.
Wild pheasants!
She grabbed the axe beside her and hurled it.
Bang!
The pheasants were startled and scattered in all directions, disappearing from her sight in an instant.
Meanwhile, her axe had landed several meters away from them.
Luo Xi: “…”
It wasn’t that her aim was bad.
She had simply underestimated how heavy the axe was and failed to control the amount of force she used.
Just as she was thinking about it, she heard rustling coming from the dense forest in the distance.
Luo Xi’s heart tightened.
Slowly, her hand reached toward the brick hidden inside her basket.