Chapter 185: Chapter 181: I’ve Seen It All

In the afternoon, just as Lin Lan was preparing to go set up her stall, Grandma Yang arrived at her house carrying a string bag. “Ding Bang’s colleague gave us some malted milk,” she said with a grin. “Neither of us likes to drink it, so I brought it for Little Douzi.”

“Thank you, Grandma Yang!” Lin Lan said with a smile as she accepted the gift. Seeing how happy she looked, she asked, “Have you picked a good day?”

“We have!” Grandma Yang sat down, beaming at her. “And there’s more good news. Around noon, Xiuyun brought a colleague of hers to meet Ding Bang. I know the young woman, and I never expected she’d take a liking to him. I can tell that boy of mine likes her too.”

Lin Lan was happy for her as well. “Now you don’t have to worry about Ding Bang’s marriage prospects anymore. Once you move, you can have the wedding celebration in no time.”

Grandma Yang’s face was a mess of happy wrinkles. “We’re moving in a few days. I had your grand-uncle pick out an auspicious date.”

“We’ll all come over and help then!”

“No need for that. Ding Bang is planning to borrow a truck from his work, and Xiangyang and the boys will be there!” Grandma Yang said before asking, “Where’s your mother? I wanted to have a chat with her!”

Lin Lan pointed toward the pigsty. “She’s in the outhouse. She’ll be out in a minute.”

Once Wu Shufen came out, the two women sat and chatted while Lin Lan headed off to set up her stall.

Before nightfall, Lin Yuezhen and Brother Yong returned home. The moment she saw Lin Lan and her mother, she pulled out the diagnostic report from the provincial capital. She showed it to them, gesturing excitedly, “The specialist in the city said I can have children!”

Lin Lan saw that her aunt was only focused on whether she could conceive, not at all on the fact that she would never speak again. A bittersweet feeling washed over her as she took the report. After a glance, she looked up at her aunt. “When Mom goes back, have her show this report to that family. Let him understand that having a baby isn’t just the woman’s business!”

With red-rimmed eyes, Wu Shufen patted Lin Yuezhen’s shoulder. “It’s all right that you can’t speak. As long as there are no other health problems, that’s what matters!” ’Thank goodness for modern medicine,’ she thought. ’In the past, if a couple couldn’t conceive, it was always the woman’s fault. So many women suffered endlessly because of it.’

Lin Yuezhen nodded, her eyes welling with tears, and handed the report to Wu Shufen.

It was only then that the three women remembered Brother Yong, standing in the courtyard and holding his luggage.

Wu Shufen walked over with a smile. “Thank you so much, young man. Please excuse the scene. Yuezhen has been wronged so much because of this. Now that we have this report from the specialist in the city, let’s see if that family dares to keep spreading lies!”

Brother Yong nodded. “Exactly! Shove the report right in his face and make him open his damn eyes. We’ll see if he dares to wrong anyone ever again.” As he spoke, he glanced at Lin Yuezhen, who was smiling through her tears. He recalled their time in the city. When the specialist told her that her throat couldn’t be treated, she had just shaken her head calmly, as if to say she was used to it. But when she received the fertility diagnosis from the obstetrician, she clutched the paper and sobbed her heart out. The memory left a complicated feeling in his chest.

“That’s right! If he ever tries to wrong her again, we’ll march over to his house and give him a beating!” Lin Lan said, glancing at the two of them with a smile. “Brother Yong, Auntie, go wash up and get some rest. I’ll make you something to eat.”

Brother Yong waved his hands dismissively. “No, no, it’s okay! We ate on the way here. The specialist said that besides not being able to speak, Yuezhen is perfectly healthy. And Mr. Chen said he’d ask around about that machine for you. I should get going now.” He started walking toward the gate as he spoke.

Wu Shufen looked from Brother Yong to Lin Yuezhen, and an idea bloomed in her mind. She quickly said to her, “Yuezhen, hurry and see him off.”

Lin Yuezhen nodded and walked Brother Yong to the gate. She gestured gratefully, “Brother Yong, thank you for all your trouble!”

Brother Yong glanced at her and gave a hearty laugh. “It was nothing! You should go back inside, have a meal, and get some rest.”

Lin Yuezhen nodded. She watched until he was far down the road before turning back into the house. She looked around but didn’t see Little Douzi. Puzzled, she looked at Lin Lan and gestured, “Where’s Little Douzi?”

Lin Lan, holding two eggs, smiled. “He went over to Dandan’s house after dinner. I’ll go get him in a little while.”

Wu Shufen stoked the charcoal fire while Lin Lan fried some eggs and boiled a bowl of noodles for Lin Yuezhen. Seeing her eat so heartily, both mother and daughter felt a sense of joy.

“Yuezhen, was the train ride comfortable? Was it as bumpy as a bus?” Wu Shufen asked with a broad smile.

Lin Yuezhen put down her bowl, wiped her mouth, and began to gesture. “The train was very stuffy. Right after we got off in the city, a pickpocket tried to snatch my bag, but Brother Yong caught him and sent him flying with a kick.”

Wu Shufen glanced at Lin Yuezhen, then turned to Lin Lan with a knowing smile. “Aside from that scary-looking scar on his face, Brother Yong seems like a really good man, don’t you think?”

Lin Yuezhen nodded. “He took great care of me on the trip. He wouldn’t even let me carry my own luggage.”

Lin Lan could see what her mother was getting at—she wanted to match Brother Yong with Lin Yuezhen. She put down the peas she was mashing and nodded with a smile. “Yes! I heard from Xiangyang that he’s a veteran. He got that scar on his face while fighting bandits.”

“When his fiancée saw it, she refused to marry him. A lot of people in his unit gossiped about him too. I think he met Xiangyang sometime after that and started working for him.”

Wu Shufen scoffed. “It’s not like he’s blind or lame. What’s the big deal about a scar on his face? This is the sort of thing that only happens nowadays. Before the Liberation, if you broke off an engagement for a reason like that, the gossip alone would be enough to break your back.”

While Lin Lan and her mother were talking about Brother Yong, Li Xiangyang was asking him about Lin Yuezhen’s health.

Brother Yong explained the situation to Li Xiangyang, then said indignantly, “Lin Yuezhen’s ex-husband is no man. Blaming a woman for being unable to have children without even getting checked himself.”

Seeing his righteous anger, an idea suddenly sparked in Li Xiangyang’s mind. “Brother Yong, you spent a few days with Yuezhen. Did you find it difficult to communicate with her?”

Brother Yong scratched his head. “I wasn’t used to it at first. But she can read and write a bit, so if she couldn’t get something across, she’d just write it down for me.” He looked up at Li Xiangyang. “Honestly, her not being able to talk isn’t a big deal. I’m not much of a talker myself.”

Li Xiangyang grinned at him. “So what do you think of her? It was just the two of you this whole trip. Do you think Yuezhen has taken a liking to you?”

Brother Yong frowned in thought for a moment. “I think she’s a really nice person. Good-natured, and she isn’t afraid of me. As for anything else, I couldn’t say.”

Li Xiangyang sensed an opportunity. “The fact that she’s not afraid of you is a great sign! How about I talk to Little Lan someday and have her ask what Yuezhen thinks?”

Brother Yong glanced at him and gave a slightly embarrassed nod. “Okay.”

’A man in a relationship really is different,’ he thought. ’The old Li Xiangyang never cracked a smile. Trying to get an extra word of explanation out of him was harder than asking him for a loan.’

’And now he’s playing matchmaker for other people. Wonders will never cease!’

「The next morning」

Li Xiangyang went to Yang Dingbang’s house, carrying a pair of pig’s trotters and a leg of mutton. He held up the trotters with a grin. “I picked out the meatiest pair I could find. Have Grandma Yang stew these for you. Good for the legs.”

Yang Dingbang looked at the two plump, pale trotters and put a hand to his forehead. “You and Lin Lan really are two of a kind. She sent over a pair of trotters yesterday, and now you’re bringing another pair today.”

Li Xiangyang laughed smugly. “See? You don’t get it. This is what you call great minds thinking alike!”

Yang Dingbang rolled his eyes at him. “Good, you’re here. Take me to the Public Security Bureau. I need to request a truck to help me move in three days.”

“Sure,” Li Xiangyang agreed, then remembered his friend’s matchmaking meeting. “So, did you meet Xiuyun’s colleague?”

Yang Dingbang glanced at him, feigning a casual tone. “I did. She said she’s willing to see how things go, and I agreed.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep