Chapter 145: Chapter 142: He Regretted

Wu Shufen was pleased to see her daughter so busy with her business. “That’s good. Let me tell you something! The last time your father came back, he mentioned you were playing matchmaker for Zhixue. Your eldest sister-in-law asked about it, and they said they’ll meet first. If they hit it off, they’ll see where things go. You should go tell Zhixue.”

Lin Lan smiled. “Alright, I’ll tell Zhixue as soon as I get back. I’ll have him find some time to bring the young lady over to Shilian for a visit.”

“Okay! Be careful on your bike. Go slowly when you’re pushing it across the plank, and don’t fall into the river.”

“I know!”

Just as Lin Lan was about to get on her bike, she heard Zhao Xiaohui calling from behind her. “Little Lan, wait! I need to talk to you.”

Lin Lan and Wu Shufen turned to see Zhao Xiaohui approaching with a basket. “Why are you leaving already? You just got here.”

“I have things to do at home,” Lin Lan said with a smile. “What did you want to tell me, Second Sister-in-law?”

Zhao Xiaohui glanced at Wu Shufen and hesitated for a moment. “Little Lan, I want to introduce you to someone. He’s my cousin from my mother’s side. How about I bring him over to meet you sometime?”

’He’s my eldest uncle’s son, twenty-seven this year. He’s tall, good-looking, and even knows how to hunt. The only reason he hasn’t found a wife is that he lives deep in the mountains and has too many brothers.’

’A young bachelor like him with a widow like Lin Lan… if you think about it, my cousin is the one getting the short end of the stick!’

Lin Lan just smiled and shook her head. “I’m too busy right now, I haven’t even thought about remarrying. Thank you for the offer, but I’ll have to decline.”

Zhao Xiaohui said urgently, “But my cousin is good-looking and a good family man! Just meet him, please!”

“Second Sister-in-law, I’m really not looking to date right now. I have to get across the river to catch my ride, so I’ve got to go!” With that, Lin Lan hopped on her bike and pedaled away.

Zhao Xiaohui watched her disappear down the slope in the blink of an eye, then turned back to Wu Shufen. “Ma, you should convince Little Lan to at least meet him!”

Wu Shufen shot her a look. “What’s the use in asking me? Lin Lan has to be the one who’s interested. You know what she’s like. Don’t you go making promises to his family on your own.”

Zhao Xiaohui nodded, a wide grin on her face. “I know! When Guodong delivers the piglets to Little Lan, I’ll take Zhong Hui to Lexing so he can get a look at her.”

“Absolutely not,” Wu Shufen refused flatly. “If they’re going to meet, we’ll wait for Guoliang and the others to go to Lexing and clear it with Little Lan first. Then she can make time to come home and see him. Have you even thought about this? It hasn’t even been a year since her late husband—that good-for-nothing who died young—passed away. What would it look like for her own family to be parading men over to Lexing for a matchmaking viewing? What would people say?”

Zhao Xiaohui didn’t seem upset at all. Instead, she giggled and said, “You’re right, you always think of everything.”

Wu Shufen’s comment made her suspicious. ’Since when is my second daughter-in-law so generous?’ she thought. ’I’d better find someone to go into the mountains and ask about the Zhong family. What’s their real situation?’

When she and Zhao Xiaohui reached the house, Lin Changyou was already back. His heart ached a little when Wu Shufen told him how Lin Lan had come and gone in such a rush.

He sat on the edge of the stone steps with a frown, noisily puffing on his pipe filled with leaf tobacco.

Wu Shufen sighed. “The business is good, but it’s so exhausting. She sells so many pastries a day, and she has to make every single one by hand.”

Lin Changyou retorted, “How can you make money without working hard? Sure, life is easy if you get a good education and land a government office job, but you need the skills for that. You should love your children in your heart, but don’t spoil them. She’s already suffered one major setback; has she not learned her lesson?”

“Oh, listen to you,” Wu Shufen rolled her eyes. She went over, gave his arm a little tug, and looked at him with a grin, lowering her voice. “Old man, Little Lan brought the property deed.”

Lin Changyou lowered his voice. “Where did she get the money to buy a house?”

“Xiangyang fronted the money. She came to pick up the repayment…” Wu Shufen said, heading into their room.

The old couple went into the room. Wu Shufen took the property deed out from under the pillow and handed it to Lin Changyou.

Lin Changyou’s eyes grew red as he looked at the deed, stamped with a large, official red seal. “We’ve really made something of our lives. We own property in the city now.”

Wu Shufen was emotional too, tears welling in her eyes. “Old man, this is for three storefronts. Next year, after we’ve saved more money, we can buy two more. Then there will be one for each of the kids.”

Lin Changyou gave her a strange look. “Weren’t you against buying property in the East Market?”

With tears still clinging to her eyelashes, Wu Shufen broke into a smile. “Little Lan says that in three or four years at most, the annual rent will be enough to buy another whole storefront.”

Lin Changyou held up the deed. “You think you’re the only clever one? There are plenty of smart, well-informed people out there. The price won’t be this low next year.”

Wu Shufen nodded. “You have a point. It’ll take us a year of work just to pay for these three. If the prices go up again, how could we possibly afford more?”

“Let’s leave it at that for now.” Lin Changyou handed the deed back to her. “Have our eldest and second son come over later. Tell them to bring their share of the profits.”

“Alright. And about what Little Hui said… her cousin. Find someone you know to go to Jianshanzi and ask around. What is her uncle’s family really like? And why hasn’t that Zhong Hui fellow gotten married yet?”

“I’ll have someone look into it.” Lin Changyou said, walking back outside with his pipe.

When Lin Guoliang and his brother returned from the mountains, Lin Changyou showed them the property deed. The two brothers went home happily to get their money.

When Zhang Xiuqing heard the property had been bought, she was a little worried, but she still gave Lin Guoliang their share of the profits.

Zhao Xiaohui, however, was not pleased. “We could build several new brick houses with that money! Spending so much on some old building just to let it sit there and breed rats? I’m telling you, I’m not paying for it!”

Lin Guodong repeated what Lin Lan had said, then stared at her coldly. “You short-sighted woman. Are you getting the money or not?”

Zhao Xiaohui stuck her chin out. “Fine, I’ll get the money! But what if we can’t open shops there? Are you going to make Little Lan pay me back?”

“You’re just being unreasonable!” Lin Guodong stamped his foot in anger. “Fine, don’t contribute! But in the future, when Big Brother and Third Sister get their share of the profits, don’t you dare get jealous.”

Zhao Xiaohui curled her lip in disdain. “That’s three or four years away. Who knows what will happen? Maybe they’ll be the ones jealous of us by then!”

Lin Guodong stared at her, his teeth clenched. “You threw a huge fit when we started the pig farm. In the end, Mom and Dad had to front the money for our share, and you didn’t say a damn word when it was time to collect the profits. Now we’re buying storefronts, and you’re kicking up a fuss again! I’m telling you, you can keep that money. I won’t give you another cent from now on, and you can stay out of all family business!”

He paused, his face a mask of disappointment. “Of all the mistakes I’ve made, the biggest was not listening to my parents and marrying a shallow, petty thing like you.”

“Lin Laoer!” Zhao Xiaohui shrieked. “So your parents didn’t approve of our marriage! No wonder they’ve always favored Zhang Xiuqing…”

Seeing that she was not only unrepentant but was now dragging his parents and sister-in-law into it, Lin Guodong looked at her with disgust. “Go on, scream. Keep screaming!”

The look in his eyes made her panic. “Fine! You want the money? I’ll get it for you.” She lifted a small stool by the bed and pulled out a bundle of cash from underneath. When she turned back around, Lin Guodong was gone.

Now Zhao Xiaohui was truly panicked. She grabbed a cloth bag with a ruffled edge from the wall, stuffed the money inside, and hurried next door to her in-laws’ house. She looked around but didn’t see Lin Guodong. Just as she was about to leave, Wu Shufen came out of her room.

“Ma, isn’t Guodong here?” Zhao Xiaohui asked.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep