Chapter 172: Chapter 168: Fatty or Lean?

Lin Lan covered her pastries and looked up to see a pretty young woman approach her stall. She smiled politely. “What can I get for you, Miss?”

Xu Huan glanced at Lin Lan, thinking she was a bit prettier than expected. But in her eyes, Lin Lan was still just a good-looking village woman, and nothing more.

She eyed Lin Lan with disdain and pointed at the kidney bean rolls. “Get me one yuan’s worth of those rolls in the basket.”

Lin Lan sensed the hostility in the young woman’s gaze and found it baffling. She used her bamboo tongs to pack five kidney bean rolls into a bag and handed it over. “One yuan’s worth of kidney bean rolls.”

Xu Huan hadn’t expected a single roll to cost twenty cents. She stared blankly for a moment. “This expensive? Are you trying to rip me off just because I’m a new customer?”

Lin Lan glanced at her and gave a faint smile. “Miss, I’ve been selling these kidney bean rolls for over half a year, and the price has always been the same. If you don’t believe me, you can stand by and watch me sell to others. Or would you prefer a refund?”

The thought that one yuan could buy ten eggs made Xu Huan’s heart ache, but she refused to lose face to a village woman. Acting nonchalant, she handed over the yuan. “That won’t be necessary!”

Lin Lan smiled, took the money, and offered her the bag again.

Xu Huan pinched the bag between two fingers, pushed her bicycle a few steps, and then saw Li Xiangyang standing by a vegetable patch, cutting meat for a customer.

She walked over, parked her bike at the edge of the patch, and smiled at him. “Xiangyang, busy as ever!”

Li Xiangyang turned to glance at her. She looked vaguely familiar, but he couldn’t remember from where. Assuming she was a customer, he lifted the oilcloth covering his meat. “You want fatty or lean?”

Xu Huan flushed with embarrassment and annoyance at his attitude. Remembering what Li Jing had told her, she grit her teeth and said, “Xiangyang, have you forgotten me? I’m Xu Huan. We met the other day in the courtyard behind the clothing factory.”

Li Xiangyang glanced at her again and finally remembered: she was the woman Li Jing had brought over. He turned, pulled the oilcloth back over the meat, took payment from his other customer, and walked off toward a nearby tree without giving her a second look.

Xu Huan was stunned by his attitude. No man had ever treated her so coldly. ’What’s so great about him?’ she fumed silently. ’If it weren’t for Mr. Li, I wouldn’t waste my time on you!’

Humiliated and furious, she pushed her bike away. The more she thought about it, the more she felt Li Jing was an idiot. ’She knew her brother was upset with her, yet she still brought me to meet him. I can’t be blamed for how this turned out.’

As she passed Lin Lan’s stall again, she saw the woman was busy serving customers. Her gaze fell on the bag of kidney bean rolls hanging from her handlebars, and an idea sparked in her mind. Her eyes shifted. ’Li Jing hates this woman so much. If she finds out I ruined her business, she surely won’t blame me for failing to land Li Xiangyang.’

After packing pumpkin cakes for her last customer, Lin Lan remembered she was nearly out of flour at home. She crossed over to ask Li Wu to deliver a bag to her house, then started walking back to her stall.

Just as she returned to her stall, she saw Chen Jinyue—the woman who had offered her a job at the state-run canteen—approaching with a shrewd-looking middle-aged man.

The moment she saw Lin Lan, Chen Jinyue spoke up. “Miss, this is our canteen’s pastry chef, Master Mo. We’ve come to discuss something with you.”

Lin Lan gave them a cool glance. “I’m just a simple country woman who doesn’t know a thing. Discuss something with me? You must have the wrong person.”

Chen Jinyue hadn’t realized Lin Lan had overheard her insults from that day. She stood there awkwardly, at a loss for words.

Master Mo glanced at the pastries in the basket and crate, nodding to himself in approval. He smiled. “I apologize for her. She can be tactless, so please don’t hold it against her. We genuinely have business with you. Could we talk over there for a moment?”

Lin Lan pointed to the spot beside her stall. “If you have something to say, say it here.”

“Alright!” Master Mo walked over to the stall and smiled. “Chen Jinyue already spoke to you the other day, so I’ll get straight to the point. We’re from the government guesthouse, and we’re looking to hire two skilled pastry chefs. If you’re interested, you’d start with a several-month trial period, after which you could become a permanent employee if you meet our standards. If not, then I’d like to make an offer to buy your recipes.”

Lin Lan smiled and shook her head. “Thank you for the kind offer, but I’m not interested in working at the guesthouse, and I’m not selling my recipes.”

Seeing her refuse without a moment’s thought, Master Mo pressed, “I am serious about buying your recipes. Why don’t you at least hear my offer and then consider it?”

Lin Lan looked at him. “Master Mo, since we’re in the same business, you should understand that no one sells their bread and butter.”

Master Mo held up two fingers. “Two hundred yuan. Think about it for two days. If you agree, come find me at the government guesthouse.”

Chen Jinyue stared at Master Mo in astonishment. ’Two hundred yuan! That’s almost half my yearly salary! Why didn’t he discuss it with me first?’ But then she reconsidered. ’If this helps him land the head chef position, then two hundred yuan is a worthy investment!’

Lin Lan refused unequivocally. “There’s nothing to consider. I’m not selling.”

Chen Jinyue couldn’t believe Lin Lan would refuse so readily. She pointed a finger at her, aghast. “You’re turning down two hundred yuan? How much can you possibly make in one day from this stall? We’re the only ones who would make you such an offer. I’m telling you, you should just take it!”

“Thank you for the advice, but as I said, no one sells their livelihood.” With that, Lin Lan turned away and ignored them.

“Jinyue, let’s go.” Master Mo pulled on Chen Jinyue’s arm, and they walked away, looking vexed.

When the couple reached the tractor path, Master Mo glanced back at Lin Lan’s stall. He just couldn’t wrap his head around it. ’Why would a village woman turn down a steady job at the guesthouse? And just dismiss two hundred yuan like it was nothing? Could she really be making that much money from a market stall?’

This thought prompted him to ask, “Jinyue, how much do you think these vendors make in a day?”

Chen Jinyue glanced back at the other vendors in the grove and sneered. “Between our salaries at the guesthouse and our side income, we make one to two hundred yuan a month. It’s an easy life, and it’s respectable.” Her gaze shifted back to Lin Lan’s stall. “That woman is a fool. Trading an iron rice bowl for a begging bowl.”

Old Mo rolled his eyes at her. “You’re the fool. Use that thick skull of yours for a second. If she wasn’t making good money, do you think she would have turned down two hundred yuan without even blinking?”

“You’re right!” Chen Jinyue conceded. “But Old Mo, you don’t know how to make pastries. It’s not like we can set up our own stall selling stir-fry dishes!”

Old Mo nodded. “You have a point. We’ll have to wait until the government allows private restaurants. When that day comes, we’ll open our own place.”

Chen Jinyue was perfectly happy with their life as it was and had no desire to open a restaurant. “Why waste time thinking about things that might never happen? Let’s go home for now.”

When Lin Lan packed up her stall, Li Xiangyang appeared again to escort her home. Little Douzi, who was sitting on the front steps doing his homework, saw Li Xiangyang but lacked his usual enthusiasm. He simply stared at the two of them, saying nothing.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep