Chapter 15: Chapter 15: Loony

“Okay, you wait here.” Lin Lan went out, looked around, then hoisted the basket onto her back and hurried toward the clinic.

When she reached the team headquarters, she saw a row of a dozen or so brick-and-tile buildings. The walls were painted with uplifting slogans in red lacquer.

Lin Lan spotted a cross symbol above the door of the fifth room from the right. Walking over, she saw Liu Guozhi’s second daughter, Liu Fang, sitting in a chair reading a book.

“Doctor Liu, I have a headache, a fever, and my whole body aches. Could you please get me some medicine?”

Liu Fang didn’t move from her seat, just shot her a sidelong glance. “Did you already finish the medicine you got yesterday?”

Lin Lan fibbed without missing a beat, “I had it in my pocket, but it fell into the well when I was drawing water.”

Liu Fang slowly got to her feet, started gathering the medicine, and after a moment, turned and tossed it on the desk. “Two days’ worth. One packet per dose. That’ll be fifteen cents in total.”

“Thank you!” Lin Lan counted out twenty cents for her, took the five cents in change, and left quickly.

Watching her back, Liu Fang curled her lip. “What a lunatic.”

Lin Lan hurried back to the thatched hut, got a bowl, poured some water, and woke Old Chen up to take his medicine.

“Thank you!” Old Chen glanced at Lin Lan, then fell back asleep.

Lin Lan didn’t dare to stay long. She pulled the stiff quilt from the corner of the bed over him, quickly left the hut, and headed for the hillside fields. She remembered that the easiest jobs at the Lexing Team were cutting cattle fodder, feeding pigs, and beekeeping.

Liu Guozhi had taken a huge loss today; he was probably fuming right now. The thought of Liu Guozhi gritting his back teeth filled Lin Lan with a burst of glee.

When she reached the hillside, she saw that it was covered from top to bottom with lush green oat grass of varying lengths, as well as a good amount of mugwort.

’Mugwort is good stuff,’ Lin Lan thought. ’If I take it home and let it age for two or three years, the aged mugwort could sell for a nice sum.’ She grabbed her sickle and got to work with deft movements.

After clearing a patch, she finally stood up to pound her aching lower back. She sorted the mugwort from the cattle fodder and set it aside.

She stuffed the fodder into the bamboo basket, packing it down tightly, then squatted, hoisted the basket onto her back, and used her hands to push herself up from the ground. As she passed the cowshed, she no longer heard Old Chen’s groans. She was about to go in and check on him when she saw someone approaching and hurried away.

Lin Lan carried the fodder to the drying ground, dumped it out, and spread it to dry just as the horn signaling the end of the workday sounded.

She returned to the foot of the mountain, carried a full basket of mugwort home, tied it up with rice straw, and hung it from a bamboo pole in the woodshed.

She went to the kitchen to wash the pots and bowls, then took two sweet potatoes, peeled them, and started making sweet potato congee. Once the water in the pot began to boil, she propped the lid open a crack before heading out to pick up Little Douzi.

Just as she reached the old madam’s back door, she saw Little Douzi sitting on a small stool, staring eagerly in her direction.

Lin Lan looked at him with a gentle smile. “Little Douzi, Mommy’s here.”

“Great-granny, my mommy’s back!” Little Douzi steadied himself on the doorframe as he stepped over the threshold. “Mommy, did you get in a fight with someone?”

Lin Lan shook her head with a smile. “Not a fight. I was just reasoning with them.”

The old madam came to the back door, the corners of her mouth twitching in a slight smile as she looked at her. “Xu Chunyan used to be the one cutting the fodder. Liu Guozhi really got one-upped today. You just focus on doing a good job, and don’t give anyone an excuse to have you replaced.”

“Mhm!” Lin Lan nodded emphatically and said with a grin, “I made sweet potato congee. Why don’t you come over and have some with us?”

The old madam pursed her lips. “Who’d want your sweet potato congee? Now, if you were having something nice, then you could call me.”

Lin Lan smiled and said, “When I make some money, I’ll treat you to something nice. I’ll take good care of you.”

“By the time you’re making money, my bones will be feeding the weeds.” The old madam shot her a playful glare. “I’ll cut some sweet potato vines this afternoon. If you till the plot around noon, you can plant them later today.”

“Got it.” Lin Lan nodded, then picked up Little Douzi and started for home.

Back home, Lin Lan sorted through some potatoes, picking out the ones that had sprouted. She stir-fried some pickled vegetables and shredded potatoes, and the mother and son prepared to eat.

The rich and fragrant sweet potato congee, served with pickled vegetables and shredded potatoes, was a meal Little Douzi savored with great delight.

“Mommy, the shredded potatoes are yummy. I want more next time.”

Lin Lan wiped a smear of congee from the corner of his mouth. “Okay, Mommy will plant more potatoes, and Little Douzi can eat them however he likes.”

“Okay,” Little Douzi said with a happy smile, snuggling up against her.

Lin Lan gave him a kiss. “Go play in the yard for a bit, sweetheart. Mommy’s going to wash the dishes.”

“I’ll go sweep,” Little Douzi said, dragging the broom away.

Lin Lan ladled the leftover congee into a bowl and suddenly thought of Old Chen in the cowshed.

After a moment’s thought, she took an enamel mug from the cupboard, filled it with the congee, and added two pickled peppers and some pickled vegetables. She placed the mug in the stove’s hearth to keep it warm.

She quickly washed the pot and bowls, then went through the basket of potatoes, cutting the eyes off the sprouted ones. She put them in a dustpan, mixed them with plant ash, and carried it all to the edge of the vegetable patch.

Little Douzi came over, “riding” the broom. “Mommy, are you going to plant potatoes?”

“That’s right! My Little Douzi loves them, so Mommy is planting some more.”

Little Douzi nodded with a grin. “Mommy eats them too.”

“Okay, you go play over there so the hoe doesn’t hit you.”

Lin Lan raised her hoe and began walking backward, digging up the earth on both sides to form ridges. Each ridge was about two feet wide. Remembering she also needed to plant sweet potatoes, she went ahead and prepared the remaining rows as well.

She dug holes in the ridges, placed a handful of composted soil in each, and gently pressed the potato sprouts into the dirt, eyes facing up.

She staggered the plantings on both sides of each ridge, about one pace apart, and then covered them with a shallow layer of soil. A full dustpan of seed potatoes was enough to plant more than three ridges.

’Once the rest of the potatoes in the basket sprout,’ Lin Lan thought, ’I can plant another two ridges.’

“Third Aunt!” Little Douzi shouted happily, running toward the gate.

Yang Liying squatted down, opening her arms to hug him. “Has Douzi been a good boy? Did you miss your Third Aunt?”

“I was good! I even helped Mommy sweep.” Little Douzi wrapped his arms around her neck. “Third Aunt, smell my hair! Does it smell nice?”

Yang Liying took a sniff. “It does!”

Little Douzi’s eyes crinkled with a smile. “Mommy gave me a bath and washed my hair last night.”

“No wonder my Little Douzi is being extra good today.” Yang Liying grinned and pulled a large piece of hard candy wrapped in white paper from her pocket. “Third Aunt bought you your favorite peppermint candy.”

Little Douzi took the candy, then asked Yang Liying to put him down. He carried the peppermint candy over to Lin Lan. “Mommy, this is for you!”

Lin Lan pretended to take a bite. “Mmm! It’s so sweet! Did you thank your Third Aunt?”

“Thank you, Auntie!” Little Douzi said, rewrapping the candy and putting it in his pocket. “Peppermint candy is Mommy’s favorite.”

A bittersweet feeling washed over Lin Lan. She kissed his cheek. “Thank you, sweetheart.”

Yang Liying looked at the clothes and quilt drying on the bamboo pole, the spotlessly swept yard, and the newly planted seedlings in the vegetable patch.

She turned to look at Lin Lan and felt that she had changed. She had changed for the better—she was more vibrant, more diligent.

Lin Lan gathered her hoe and basket, set them aside, and looked at Yang Liying with a grin. “Yang Liying, come sit for a bit.”

Yang Liying smiled a little awkwardly. “I still have some potatoes. I’ll bring some over for you tomorrow.”

“Third Aunt, Mommy’s stir-fried shredded potatoes are delicious. Little Douzi loves them.”

Yang Liying smiled and pinched his nose. “You little glutton.”

Lin Lan went inside and brought out two chairs. After they sat down, Little Douzi snuggled up to Lin Lan.

Yang Liying looked at Lin Lan, a hint of disbelief in her eyes. “Is the debt to Liu Jinbao really gone?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep