Chapter 19: Chapter 19: Flesh and Blood

She was suddenly reminded of the time she helped her parents at their stall, how happy she had been to earn just a few yuan. She never imagined that after more than thirty years, she would once again have a day where earning just a few yuan made her happy.

Lin Lan put away her money pouch and turned to see someone selling eggs. The thought of Little Douzi’s scrawny body and yellowish hair—a clear sign of malnutrition—came to mind. ’I should buy some eggs to make steamed egg custard for him and improve his nutrition.’

After buying ten eggs, she started heading back. Just then, Big Sister approached with a bamboo basket, a smile on her face. “Hey, I see you made something to sell, too!”

Lin Lan glanced at her and gave a wry smile. “I did. I’m raising my son alone and can’t earn full work points. In a couple of years, when he’s older, I won’t even have the money to send him to school. So I made a little something to see if I can earn a bit of money to save for his education.”

Big Sister chuckled. “From what I saw, your stuff sells pretty well. Earning enough to send your son to school shouldn’t be a problem.”

Lin Lan smiled. “They’re just trying it for the novelty.”

The two walked toward the tractor path. Big Sister glanced at Lin Lan. “What happened to your husband?”

Lin Lan lowered her head. “He got drunk, fell in a ditch, and drowned.”

“Sigh! Such a shame, so young.” Big Sister looked at Lin Lan with sympathy. “It’s good for a woman like you, raising a child alone, to do a little business on the side. No matter what, you’ll earn more than you would from a month of work points. You just have to be careful of the local patrol. When you see them coming, you have to run fast.”

“Thank you for the advice, Big Sister,” Lin Lan said, looking at her gratefully. “I’m Lin Lan. May I ask your name?”

Big Sister laughed. “No need to be so formal. My surname is Zhou. Zhou Xiaohong.”

Lin Lan could see she was a straightforward person and was happy to befriend her. She leaned in and asked quietly, “Sister Zhou, does the patrol come by often?”

Zhou Xiaohong whispered, “They came around more often last year. This year has been the most relaxed. I’ve been selling things here for a few years and have been caught by the patrol a few times myself.”

“Before, if you got caught, you’d be sent away for re-education. Now, as long as you have a good attitude and admit you were wrong, they’ll just lecture you, confiscate your goods, and let you go. Remember to quickly hide your money once you’ve made five or ten yuan. That way, even if you get caught and they take your stuff, you’ll lose less.”

Lin Lan knew this was advice born from Sister Zhou’s own experiences of being caught. She said gratefully, “Thank you, Sister Zhou. I’ll remember that.”

“Don’t mention it. It’s not easy for us women to be out here trying to make a living.” Zhou Xiaohong smiled. “I have to get back. My kids are waiting for me at home.”

Lin Lan smiled and nodded. “Take care, Sister Zhou!”

“Alright, see you tomorrow!” Zhou Xiaohong said, heading toward the ridge of the field to the south with her bamboo basket.

Carrying the eggs, Lin Lan remembered they had run out of toothpaste long ago. She walked out from the alley by the vehicle factory and onto the main street. Across the street was a supply and marketing co-op.

This street was much livelier than Furong Street. Trucks and bicycles passed by.

Lin Lan went into the store and bought toothpaste and a toothbrush. When she saw a small toothbrush, she bought one for Little Douzi as well. She asked about soap, but it surprisingly required ration coupons. Remembering she didn’t have a single coupon at home, she could only leave in disappointment.

On the way back, she ran into Zhang Yazhen and Li Guizhi, who were walking toward her carrying bamboo baskets.

When they saw Lin Lan, they subconsciously hid their baskets behind their backs.

Li Guizhi forced a smile. “Lin Lan, where have you been?”

Lin Lan gave a faint smile. “I went to the grain and oil station to buy some vegetable seeds.”

“Let’s go!” Zhang Yazhen tugged at her, and the two of them hurried away.

Lin Lan could tell from their behavior that they had been selling eggs. She couldn’t even be bothered to glance at their baskets and walked straight on.

Zhang Yazhen took Li Guizhi’s arm. “So what if she was assigned to cut grass? Look at her, acting all high and mighty.”

Li Guizhi thought for a moment and said, “Yazhen, you should provoke Lin Lan less from now on. Didn’t you see how badly she beat up Sun Xiuhua the other day?”

Zhang Yazhen’s face darkened. “That bastard I married, his eyeballs nearly fall out of his head whenever he sees her. I get furious just looking at that vixen!”

Li Guizhi looked at her in surprise. “Your Xiong Jianjun is such an honest man. You must be overthinking things!”

“Honest,” Zhang Yazhen scoffed. “You watch. Even the most honest man in the production team would stare his eyes out at a pretty woman.”

Li Guizhi shook her head. “I haven’t noticed. Yazhen, I really think you’re overthinking it. You’re not bad-looking yourself. Your Jianjun wouldn’t have a wandering eye.”

Pleased, Zhang Yazhen touched her face. “Someone like me can’t be called good-looking. I’m just average.”

Li Guizhi laughed self-deprecatingly. “At least you’re better off than me! Look at my face, it’s covered in freckles.”

Zhang Yazhen glanced at her. “That’s true! If you didn’t have those spots, you’d be prettier than that vixen Lin Lan.”

Li Guizhi smiled shyly. “Let’s walk faster. If we’re late, no one will be there.”

“Okay! If things sell well, we’ll go again next time.” Zhang Yazhen quickened her pace.

* * *

Lin Lan was walking happily toward the courtyard gate when she heard the ear-piercing squeals of piglets from inside. Startled, she rushed in.

She saw two tall, well-built men, each carrying a piglet, walking toward the pigsty.

Little Douzi was leaning over a bamboo basket, his head turned to watch the shrilly squealing piglets with curiosity.

The old madam and another elderly woman were sitting on chairs, talking.

It was the original owner’s mother, Wu Shufen, and the two men from before were the original owner’s two older brothers. For some reason, as Lin Lan looked at her, her nose tingled, and tears nearly streamed down her face.

Little Douzi, who had been leaning over the bamboo basket looking at chicks, turned his head, saw Lin Lan, and came running over. “Mama, Grandma and my uncles are here!”

Lin Lan reached out and took his hand. “Mama sees them.”

The old madam looked at her with a chuckle. “Lin Lan, look. You said you wanted to raise pigs, and now your mother and your two older brothers have brought you some piglets.” Then she turned back to Wu Shufen. “My dear in-law, see? I told you Lin Lan has become sensible!”

Wu Shufen said with a smile, “Thank you, Grandma, for helping to look after this little troublemaker.”

Whenever she thought about her perfectly fine daughter becoming a widow at such a young age, her heart felt as heavy as a lead weight, and she couldn’t sleep all night.

The old madam laughed. “We’re all family, no need for formalities!” ’Sigh,’ she thought to herself, ’that Youngest Yang was such a disappointment!’

When he was alive, the Lin family had only visited twice: once for the wedding, and once when Lin Lan was beaten by him.

Now that he was gone, the Lin family not only brought piglets but had even prepared the grain husks for feed.

The Lin family was smart. They knew Youngest Yang was a bottomless pit that could never be filled.

“Mom!” Lin Lan hadn’t thought she’d be able to say it, but the word just slipped out. After she said it, a deep sense of attachment washed over her. “Mom, you’re here!”

’It must be the bond of flesh and blood,’ Lin Lan thought. ’Otherwise, I wouldn’t feel this way!’

Wu Shufen’s lips trembled, and her eyes reddened. “The sow at home had a litter. Your dad said to give you two to raise on credit. At the end of the year, after you sell the fattened pigs, you can pay us back for the piglets and then pay off your other debts.”

They had already been there for about an hour. Her two sons had already cleaned the pigsty and were starting to put the piglets inside.

Lin Lan’s nose tingled again. “Tell Dad I promise I won’t let them die. At the New Year, when we butcher the big, fat pigs, I’ll invite you all over for a pig-butchering feast.”

She hadn’t called anyone “Mom” in over ten years. After her mom and dad passed away from cancer one after the other when she was twenty-six, no one had spoken to her like this. ’The doctor said my family had bad genes,’ she recalled. ’No wonder I ended up with a terminal illness, too.’

The old madam looked at her and smiled at Wu Shufen. “My dear in-law, you see? No wonder they say it’s good to have a mother, even when you’re a hundred years old. She’s usually so competent, but the moment she sees her mother, she turns into a little girl again.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep