Chapter 153: Chapter 149: Luck in Love

Lin Lan helped her to a seat on the steps. “Yes! I just got back from there. The handyman is still cleaning up. Once he’s done, you can move into the two-story house. There’s room downstairs, an outhouse, and space to plant some vegetables and raise a few chickens.”

The old lady nodded happily. “Good. Once it’s ready, I’ll bring a few chickens over. It’ll be easier to look after Dandan from there.”

Lin Yuezhen came out of the house with a glass of honey water and gestured to Lin Lan. ’When I was washing the oilcloth by the ditch, two squinty-eyed guys were skulking around the gate.’

“Squinty-eyed?” Lin Lan thought for a moment. ’Could it be that bastard Liu Jinbao?’

“What’s wrong?” the old lady asked, looking at them.

Lin Lan looked at her. “My sister said there were two of them… I think the younger, squinty-eyed one looked a bit like Liu Jinbao.”

The old lady nodded. “About time for that son of a bitch to be out of the hospital. Don’t you worry. If that bastard dares to cause any more trouble, he’ll get what’s coming to him.”

“Right! I’m not afraid of him,” Lin Lan said with a smile.

They chatted for a while longer. Lin Yuezhen got busy making dinner, and soon Little Douzi came home from school with someone Lin Lan never expected in tow.

“Mom, Mr. Wang is here!” Little Douzi grinned, pointing to Wang Yong standing at the gate with a bag. He then hurried to leash Wangcai, who was barking nonstop.

Wang Yong stood at the gate, a wide smile on his face, looking at the surprised Lin Lan. “Hey, old classmate. My family’s sunflowers are ready, so I brought some seeds for you.”

Lin Lan put on a polite smile. “That’s too kind of you. You really shouldn’t have!” ’Something feels off,’ she thought. ’This old classmate is being a little too attentive. Could he still be single?’

The old lady saw Mr. Wang at the gate and reminded Lin Lan with a smile, “Lin Lan, hurry and invite Mr. Wang in to sit down!”

Lin Lan snapped back to reality and said quickly, “Please, come in! Come in!”

Wang Yong smiled and shook his head. “No, I can’t. I have to get back to the school. I’ll just leave the seeds here.” With that, he set down the bag and turned to leave.

Lin Lan quickly called out, “Mr. Wang, at least stay for a quick bite!”

Wang Yong looked back with a smile. “Next time. I still have things to take care of at school.” He waved and strode away.

“Goodbye, Mr. Wang!” Little Douzi shouted, waving.

Lin Lan waved back, staring at the bag by the gate, not knowing what to say.

Little Douzi untied the bag. The old lady saw it was half-full of plump sunflower seeds. “Lin Lan, look. Mr. Wang’s family grows some fine sunflower seeds.”

Lin Lan took a look and agreed they were nice. “They are pretty good.” She lifted the bag; it felt like it weighed over twenty pounds.

Little Douzi looked up at them. “Mom, Mr. Wang said you loved eating sunflower seeds back when you were in school. He also said they planted a lot in their yard and the flowers are beautiful when they bloom.”

The thought of the golden sunflowers made Lin Lan smile. “You’re right. We should plant some in our other yard next year.”

“I’ll take some for Auntie to see!” Little Douzi grabbed a handful and ran toward the kitchen.

The old lady looked at Lin Lan, teasing her with a grin. “This Mr. Wang is quite thoughtful, isn’t he? To even remember you liked eating sunflower seeds in school.”

“Great-aunt!” Lin Lan cried out, embarrassed. “Where would I find the time to eat sunflower seeds now? I’m busy from dawn till dusk.”

The old lady chuckled and nodded. “Lin Lan, has this old classmate of yours gotten married yet?”

Lin Lan thought about it. Most boys in the countryside got married in their early twenties. Wang Yong was in her class, so he had to be twenty-three or twenty-four by now. “At his age, he must be married, especially over in Shiqiao!”

The old lady winked at her. “I bet he isn’t married. Why else would he think to bring you sunflower seeds?” ’Looks like Lin Lan’s love life is finally blooming,’ she thought. ’Xiangyang had better step up his game.’

“Great-aunt…” Lin Lan looked at the playful old woman, at a loss for words.

“Alright, alright, I’ll stop,” the old lady said, bursting into laughter.

Lin Lan took the old lady’s arm with one hand and carried the seeds with the other, leading her inside. “Don’t go back and eat all by yourself. Just have lunch here with us.”

The old lady didn’t stand on ceremony. “Alright! After we eat, go to my place and get the glutinous rice. We can soak it and grind some flour. I’ve fermented a lot of sweet rice, and when it’s ready, we can share it with everyone and make sweet rice soup with egg and dumplings. The weather’s getting cold, everyone needs to build up their strength.”

Lin Lan nodded with a smile. “Okay!”

After they ate, Little Douzi went with the old lady to the Public Security Bureau compound to play with Dandan, while Lin Lan and Lin Yuezhen got busy preparing goods for the evening market.

Liu Jinbao, accompanied by a man in his fifties, once again “happened to pass by” Lin Lan’s gate. The man was tall and thin with a long face, high cheekbones, and a pair of small, squinted eyes whose yellowed pupils glinted with cunning.

Seeing Lin Lan’s gate was still shut tight, Liu Jinbao said to the man, “Master, we’ll wait for her tomorrow morning in the grass hut at the foot of the mountain. She has to go there to cut grass for her ox.”

The Master nodded. “That works. Just looking at the house doesn’t reveal any problems.”

Liu Jinbao stared at Lin Lan’s gate, his face dark. “You have no idea. The way that woman has changed is unbelievable. Anyway, ever since I kicked her door in and she slashed me with a knife, my luck has been terrible.

“I lose money at cards. I got jumped near the cemetery—they threw a sack over my head and beat me. Then I fell off my bike for no reason and almost ended up crippled. It cost me a fortune, and now I can’t even do heavy labor.”

The Master glanced at him. “Well, that’s where you were in the wrong. Her husband had just passed away—and from a violent death, no less. You still dared to go to his home and bully his wife? It’d be stranger if his ghost *wasn’t* haunting you!”

Liu Jinbao shook his head repeatedly. “Impossible. That dead bastard Yang was more timid than a rabbit. He’d be a coward even as a ghost!”

The Master’s lip twitched. “If you say so. We’ll have to see for ourselves tomorrow.”

This made Liu Jinbao feel the Master was even more reliable. “Good. Master, don’t you worry. As long as you can help me deal with her, I’ll make it worth your while.” As he spoke, he made a money-counting gesture.

Seeing this, the Master narrowed his eyes and smiled. “The payment isn’t for me. It is an offering to the Supreme Lord.”

Liu Jinbao nodded. “I know, I know. It’s all the same thing!”

The two parted ways at the end of the bridge. When Liu Jinbao got home, Sun Xiuhua saw him and immediately said, “Jinbao, listen to your mother. Stop picking fights with that little widow. She’s a madwoman! You’ll only be the one to suffer if you mess with her!”

Liu Jinbao glared with his squinty eyes. “Mom, what the hell is wrong with you? You’re the one who found the Master for me, and now that it’s time to act, you’re trying to back out!”

Sun Xiuhua frowned at him, her brows knitted tightly. “I’m regretting it now. I just think there’s something uncanny about that widow. Messing with her will only bring trouble.” ’Our family has been bleeding money for the last six months, gushing out like water,’ she thought, her heart aching as if being carved by a dull knife.

Liu Jinbao remembered that ever since he was caught stealing money, neither his uncle nor his mom would give him any. And he had just promised the Master he would make it worth his while.

’This Master seems to be the real deal, a man of great power. If I don’t have the money to hire him, I’ll be letting that little widow off easy.’

He put on a fawning expression and raised his hand to swear an oath. “Mom, I promise, this is the last time. Just give me the money to hire the Master to find out if that widow is using some trick to curse me. After the New Year’s banquet, I’ll start working hard, earn money to support the family, and you’ll be holding a grandchild by next year!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep