Chapter 122: Chapter 119: Buying Property

Sun Xiuhua hushed her voice. “He said you’ve been tainted by something unclean. He told me to wait until you’re out of the hospital, then bring you to him for a look. I bet it’s Yang Lao Yao’s ghost clinging to you. It’s what you get for causing trouble for his wife.”

“Yang Lao Yao! I wasn’t afraid of him when he was alive, so why would I be afraid of him now that he’s dead?” Liu Jinbao sneered.

Sun Xiuhua looked at him. “Jinbao, when you get back, you should come with me to see the master. You’re getting married on New Year’s Day. What if something bad happens?”

Liu Jinbao nodded. “Fine! I’ll listen to you.”

Sun Xiuhua gave him a surprised look, not expecting him to agree so readily this time.

***

In the afternoon, Lin Lan and Lin Yuezhen picked the cowpeas from the vegetable patch. They removed any that were worm-eaten, washed the rest clean, and ladled a few scoops of water into a pot to boil. They blanched the cowpeas, then took them out, drained them in a wicker basket, and hung them to dry on a line strung under the eaves.

After the cowpeas had dried for a day, they took a portion, cut them into short sections, and mixed them with salt, white liquor, red chili oil, Sichuan peppercorn powder, white sugar, and sesame seeds. Then, they packed the mixture into sealed glass jars.

The rest they left to dry completely, to be used in the winter when fresh vegetables were scarce. They would be delicious braised with pork belly or ribs, or cooked in a stew.

Lin Yuezhen also collected a variety of melon and vegetable seeds, including the watermelon seeds from Li Xiangyang. She planned to plant them in their private plot next year.

After a day’s rest to recover her energy, Lin Lan was back at work. Since the Mid-Autumn Festival had just passed, she reduced her production slightly.

A little while after Wang Zhixue and his brother picked up their goods and left, Zhou Xiaohong arrived.

“Little Lin, you must be exhausted! I never dreamed your mooncakes would taste so good!”

“Sister Zhou, don’t tease me,” Lin Lan said with a laugh as she packed up the goods for her. “Sister Zhou, you mentioned you were going to look at houses the other day. How did that go?”

“I looked at a few places, but they were either too small or too big. The ones in good locations were too expensive, and I don’t have that kind of money,” Zhou Xiaohong said with a laugh.

Lin Lan nodded. “My third brother said the winds are changing. In the city where he’s stationed, small stalls and vendors are already popping up. He said they won’t be cracking down on us businesspeople anymore. Hearing that made me tempted, too. I’m thinking of buying a street-front property to have for a future business.”

Zhou Xiaohong looked at Lin Lan happily. “That’s great! I saw a place a couple of days ago. The owner is a classmate and good friend of my husband. His house is on Limin Street, just to the left of the department store, right next to the state-run Limin Restaurant.

It has a row of six storefronts on the street level, with six more rooms on the second floor. Out back, there’s a small courtyard with another six tile-roofed rooms. It was confiscated during the height of the crackdown on ’capitalist tails’ and he only got it back two months ago.”

“I went to his place yesterday to give him a festival gift, and he said he’s selling the house to move to the provincial capital. I asked about the price, and my family can’t afford the whole thing, but if we split it, three storefronts each, it would be perfect for us.”

Lin Lan thought for a moment. “Sister Zhou, a location near the Limin Restaurant must be quite expensive. If it’s too much, I won’t be able to afford it.”

“You can definitely afford it!” Zhou Xiaohong said, looking at her with a grin. “He said he’d sell it to anyone else for twelve thousand yuan, but he’ll give it to me for eleven thousand eight hundred. The catch is, it has to be paid in one lump sum. I only have enough for half, so I was thinking of asking you yesterday.”

’Eleven thousand eight hundred… half of that is five thousand nine hundred,’ Lin Lan thought. ’Coming up with the money isn’t a problem, but considering the current purchasing power, that price is a little steep.’

Seeing Lin Lan’s hesitation, Zhou Xiaohong tried to persuade her. “Little Lin, the house is a bit expensive, I know, but the location is prime and the building isn’t that old. He’ll even throw in some of the old furniture. If they really let us open proper businesses, we could have a shop in the front and live in the back. Life would be so much easier.”

Lin Lan nodded. “Alright, let’s go take a look when we have time.”

“Let’s go this afternoon after we close up our stalls,” Zhou Xiaohong said.

“Okay!” Lin Lan agreed with a nod.

Zhou Xiaohong gave her a thumbs-up. “Little Lin, no wonder they say a skilled artisan never goes hungry. With your talent, if you get a storefront and sell your goods from a glass counter like a food depot, your business will be absolutely incredible!”

Lin Lan smiled and shook her head. “Sister Zhou, my skills are nothing special. When things really open up and all the old masters come out of retirement, I won’t be able to compete.”

Zhou Xiaohong sighed. “That’s true. The family of the man whose house we’re seeing this afternoon, they ran restaurants for generations. My Old Chen says their family used to be very prominent. But they were scared off by the purges and don’t dare to stay here any longer.”

Lin Lan nodded. The two chatted for a while longer before Zhou Xiaohong hurried off to set up her stall.

“Sis, I’m heading out to work!” Lin Lan called to Lin Yuezhen, who was inside cooking pig feed. She put on her straw hat, shouldered her back basket, and walked out the door.

Just as she stepped outside, she saw an old woman walking toward her, holding her lower back. Lin Lan hurried over to her. “Auntie, were you taking Dandan to school? What’s wrong with your back?”

The old woman gave Lin Lan a scrutinizing look before offering a faint smile. “My back is just a little stiff and uncomfortable. I was taking Dandan to school, but he said none of his classmates get walked to school, so he didn’t want me to go. I just followed him secretly to make sure he got there safely, and then I came back.”

“Oh! You should get that checked out soon if it’s bothering you.”

Seeing the old woman’s expression, Lin Lan’s heart skipped a beat. ’That little rascal Dandan,’ she thought, ’he must have told his grandmother that he wants me to be his mom.’

But then she thought, ’I’ve never had any such ideas, so what’s there to be nervous about?’ She smiled calmly and said, “Little Douzi is the same, he won’t let me walk him to school either. He goes with Little Kai every day.”

The old woman looked at Lin Lan. “When kids get older, they come up with unrealistic ideas. We adults have to guide them when necessary. Dandan is just a child and doesn’t know any better, so don’t take anything he said to heart.”

Lin Lan smiled and nodded. “Auntie, please don’t worry. I understand. I’m heading off to work now.”

“Go on, then.”

The old woman watched Lin Lan’s retreating figure, her heart filled with mixed emotions. ’The girl is so hardworking and diligent now,’ she thought. ’She’s kind and treats people so genuinely. I really do like her. At first, I thought she was the one who had those ideas and taught the child to say such things.’

’But now it seems it was Dandan’s own idea. He thinks his aunt is good to him, he loves being with his cousin Little Douzi, and he wants them to live together. That’s why he said what he did.’

’As good as Lin Lan is, she’s still Yang Lao Yao’s widow. If Ding Bang were to marry her, the village would be filled with gossip about a younger brother marrying his elder brother’s wife. That would certainly hurt Ding Bang’s prospects.’

’It’s best to forget it. I’ll have to keep our distance from now on to prevent an embarrassing situation from developing over time.’

Lin Lan saw the distance in the old woman’s eyes. She knew the woman’s temperament; she wouldn’t take her anger out on Lin Lan, but she would definitely keep her at arm’s length from now on.

She resolved to do the same and limit their interactions to avoid making things awkward for the old woman.

That afternoon, after closing up her stall, Lin Lan asked Yang Liying to help take her things home while she and Zhou Xiaohong went to Limin Street to look at the house.

When they arrived at Limin Street, Lin Lan saw that both sides were lined with five-story buildings, making it look much cleaner than other streets. As expected of the heart of the East Market, the foot traffic here was far denser.

The department store at the crossroads was packed with people. The salesclerks all had sour looks on their faces, impatiently tossing items onto the counters in front of customers.

The Limin Restaurant was directly across from the department store. As they crossed the street, Lin Lan saw two men, one tall and one short, standing by a small door in front of a row of shuttered storefronts. The shorter man was Zhou Xiaohong’s husband, Chen Dongming.

Chen Dongming was a simple, honest man. Despite his poor health, he always did his best to help Zhou Xiaohong and share her burdens.

The taller man was thin, his weary face etched with worried wrinkles. He must be the owner, Lin Lan guessed.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep