Chapter 103: Chapter 99: Are You Sure You Want to Pursue Her?

Yao Xiuyun looked at Xu Dong with a grin. “Old Winter Melon is too skinny. He needs to eat some good food to fatten up.”

Dandan looked at Liu Xiuyun and asked curiously, “Auntie, who’s Old Winter Melon?”

Yao Xiuyun pointed at Xu Dong. “Old Winter Melon is your Uncle Dong’s nickname!”

Hearing this, Dandan’s eyes crinkled with laughter. He pointed at Li Xiangyang and Yang Dingbang and said, “Auntie, what are Uncle Xiangyang’s and my dad’s nicknames?”

Yang Dingbang and Li Xiangyang shot daggers at Yao Xiuyun. “Don’t you dare say it!”

“I’m going to say it anyway!” Yao Xiuyun said, looking smug. “Your Uncle Xiangyang is called Sunflower, and your dad is called Yang Manzi.”

“Hahaha!” Dandan laughed so hard he flopped onto the table. “Old Winter Melon, Sunflower, and Yang Manzi, you guys are hilarious. Later, I’m gonna go find Douzi and Brother Kai. We need to come up with nicknames too.”

The old lady smiled and gave him a light pat. “They’re your elders. Don’t be disrespectful!”

Dandan wilted. “Oh. Great-Grandma!”

Xu Dong smiled and waved his hand. “It’s fine, Grandma. Everyone was a kid once.”

Hearing this, the old lady chuckled too. “Back in our village, we loved giving people nicknames when we were kids. There were so many siblings back then, we all gave each other nicknames.”

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Yao Xiuyun helped clear the dishes. She glanced at Ye Qingya, who was sitting coolly and aloofly on a chair under the eaves outside. ’Yang Dingbang’s luck is both good and bad,’ she thought. ’Both women he’s been with are like otherworldly fairies.’

Dandan’s mother was like that, and the Ye Qingya of today has that same air about her.

In Xu Dong’s words, a woman like that could only marry into a wealthy and powerful family, not one a common family could wed.

Lin Lan checked the time. It was six-thirty, and the street vendors would have already packed up and returned. Thinking that her family hadn’t eaten yet, she quickly cleaned up the stove and said to the old lady, “Great-Aunt, I’m heading back now.”

The old lady nodded with a smile. “Go on! Douzi and the others haven’t eaten yet!”

Lin Lan nodded, went to the main hall to say goodbye to the others who were talking, “Xiuyun, I’m heading back. Come over to my place when you’re free.”

Yao Xiuyun nodded with a smile. “Okay, I’ll come find you to teach me how to cook when I have time!”

Lin Lan smiled, said goodbye to Ye Qingya, and headed for the back door.

Just as she stepped out the back door, Yao Xiuyun chased after her. “Sister-in-law, wait! I have something to tell you.”

“Ah!” Lin Lan turned back, looking at her with a beaming smile.

Yao Xiuyun said in a low voice, “The bureau is getting rid of a batch of bicycles. They’re all Qingdao ’Golden Deer’ 28-inch roadsters. They have some minor issues, but if you want one, I can help you buy it.”

Lin Lan had heard of Golden Deer before. Country folks loved them for being sturdy and durable—they could carry two hundred jin of goods without a problem. She nodded happily. “Yes! Thank you, Xiuyun. I was just worrying about not being able to find a bicycle coupon to buy one!”

Yao Xiuyun thought about how it was indeed difficult for someone with a rural household registration to get industrial coupons. She smiled. “I can get two. I’ll give them both to you. I’ll bring them over the day after tomorrow.”

Lin Lan smiled so wide her eyes narrowed to slits. “Two would be perfect! Xiuyun, you’ve helped me out so much. How can I ever thank you?”

Yao Xiuyun laughed heartily. “Just reward me by making some more of your delicious food.”

Lin Lan smiled and nodded. “That, I can do!”

“Bye-bye!” Yao Xiuyun smiled and waved at her. Returning to the house, she ran into Li Xiangyang coming over with Xu Dong by the eaves. She grinned. “Sunflower, I’m a good friend, right? I gave both spots to her.”

Li Xiangyang smiled and thanked her. “Thank you, Second Sister-in-law.”

“Xiangyang!” Xu Dong looked at him seriously. “Have you really thought this through? You want to pursue her?”

Li Xiangyang nodded. “I’m sure I have!”

Xu Dong mulled it over for a moment. “Lin Lan seems like a good person, but she’s been married, has a son, and she’s Ding Bang’s widowed sister-in-law.” He paused. “It’s hard being a stepmother, but it’s just as hard to be a stepfather. And there’s the biggest problem: will your sister and the old man agree to you marrying a widow with a child?”

Li Xiangyang said in a low voice, “Who I marry is none of her business. As for my old man, I’m confident I can convince him.”

Xu Dong persuaded him in a low voice, “Xiangyang, she was in the wrong back then. She shouldn’t have cut ties with you two just for a man. But you can’t deny that you’ve been able to live so peacefully all these years, running a few black markets without anyone daring to touch you. Li Jing must have been helping you behind the scenes.”

“Dongzi, don’t mention her. After how she treated me and the old man back then… if it weren’t for you and Ding Bang, who knows how much we would have suffered.” Li Xiangyang’s spirits sank a little as he thought of Lin Lan’s attitude toward him. “It’s not even certain if it will work out. Lin Lan treats me just like she treats you guys—politely and courteously.”

Xu Dong looked at him and said, “That just proves she’s a good woman who respects herself. If she started flirting with other men just a few months after her husband passed, that kind of woman would be restless and absolutely not someone you’d want.”

Li Xiangyang nodded. “I want to wait, then find a chance to tell her. If she agrees, I’ll ask Grandma Yang to propose marriage on my behalf.”

Yao Xiuyun praised him, “Xiangyang, your intentions are so thoughtful. If Lin Lan knew how you feel about her, she would definitely be touched.”

“I was wondering where you all went. So you were standing here all along.” Yang Dingbang came out of the main hall and walked up, putting his arms around Xu Dong and Li Xiangyang.

Xu Dong turned to look at him, teasing with a smile, “We made ourselves scarce to give you some time with your girlfriend!”

“You brat!” Yang Dingbang tightened his grip on his shoulder, then patted Li Xiangyang before looking at Yao Xiuyun. “So, what did you all think?”

Li Xiangyang shrugged. “I think Ye Qingya is like a swan that’s fallen into a flock of ducks. What really matters is you and Dandan. It doesn’t matter to us.”

Xu Dong said bluntly, “Grandma Yang is getting old, and your job is demanding. You’re not just looking for a wife for yourself, you’re looking for a mother for Dandan. You need to see how she gets along with Dandan, and you also need to see if she’s willing to take on the responsibility of raising him.”

Yao Xiuyun nodded. “I think so too.”

“I’ve met with her a few times, and she seemed well-read and reasonable, so I thought I’d bring her back for everyone to meet.” Yang Dingbang glanced at Ye Qingya, who was sitting alone, and pondered for a moment. “After spending time together today, I feel like I still don’t know her well enough. I’ll talk to her and make the situation clear when I get back.”

The three of them looked at him, all feeling his headache.

Xu Dong said, “You should go talk with her and Grandma Yang. We’re going to head back first.”

Yang Dingbang nodded. “Alright, I’ll see you out.”

The group went into the kitchen, said goodbye to the old lady who was cooking pig feed, and then left, heading toward the Eucalyptus Forest.

Yang Dingbang sat down next to the old lady and repeated what his friends had just said.

The old lady spoke slowly. “Even though you work at the Public Security Bureau now, our roots are still in the mud. There’s a difference between our ways and those of city folk.”

“From what I see, Little Ye has a temperament similar to Xie Tian. You can’t afford to wait on a woman like that. You’d be better off asking Xu Dong’s wife to look for someone for you at the police station!”

Yang Dingbang nodded. “Okay. Qingya said she has a night shift, so I’ll take her back first. I’ll come back here to stay tonight.”

“Go on. Talk to her properly.” The old lady sighed as she watched his retreating figure.

The three of them reached the outside of the vehicle factory. Xu Dong and Yao Xiuyun headed home, which was next to the Xingmian Town government building.

Li Xiangyang rode his bike to the black market near the clothing factory. A one-armed man in his thirties or forties with a square face, dressed in an old military uniform, came up to greet him. “Xiangyang, you’re here!”

Li Xiangyang nodded. “Brother Shuiqing, do you know a Liu Jinbao from the Lexing Team?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep