Chapter 20: Chapter 20: Visitors from the Maiden Home

“Grand-aunt, it’s our fault for spoiling her. We’ve ruined her,” Wu Shufen said, full of regret. She regretted not being stricter back then. If she had disciplined her daughter the way she did her sons, Little Lan would never have been fooled by that scoundrel Yang Lao’yao.

The old woman comforted her, saying, “Oh, children! Some grow up sooner, and some later. Look at her now—she’s doing just fine!”

Wu Shufen nodded. “You’re right.”

Lin Lan smiled at Wu Shufen. Realizing they only had vegetable dishes at home, she said, “Mom, Grand-aunt, please have a seat. I’m going to run to the Eucalyptus Forest. Grand-aunt, you should have dinner with us tonight, it’ll be nice and lively.”

Wu Shufen quickly said, “I brought groceries, you don’t need to go to the Eucalyptus Forest.” They had bought some meat on the black market before coming.

“I can’t eat here, I have to get back and feed my chickens,” the old woman said, already heading for the door.

Lin Lan quickly grabbed her arm. “Grand-aunt, the chickens go back to the coop by themselves once it’s dark. Please, have dinner with us. We’ll walk you home after.”

Wu Shufen came forward as well. “Yes, Grand-aunt! Please stay for dinner.”

“Great-grandma, eat with us,” Little Douzi added, also taking her hand.

Seeing she couldn’t refuse their warm invitation, the old woman finally nodded. “Well, in that case, I won’t stand on ceremony. I have bok choy, cabbage, and radishes in my garden. Little Lan, why don’t you go pick some?”

Wu Shufen smiled. “No need to go back for vegetables, Grand-aunt. I brought some in my basket.”

She went over to the basket and pulled out a large piece of pork. Inside, there were also radishes, peas, bok choy, celtuce, and garlic sprouts. The basket was stuffed to the brim.

The old woman sighed. “Oh, Shufen, you’re far too thoughtful.”

“It’s all just from our own garden. Nothing valuable,” Wu Shufen said with a smile.

Lin Lan looked from the basket of pig bran to the fresh vegetables, and an unbearable, bittersweet feeling welled up inside her. ’In this illusory world, I’m once again experiencing the profound, selfless love parents have for their children.’

Lin Guoliang and Lin Guodong came out of the pigpen. Seeing Lin Lan, they felt she had changed somehow.

The brothers beamed at her. “Little Lan, you’re back!”

Seeing them both covered in sweat but grinning from ear to ear, Lin Lan swallowed the lump in her throat, took a deep breath, and broke into a wide smile. “Big Brother, Second Brother, thank you for all your hard work.”

’She’d only ever had a younger sister before; she’d never known the feeling of being the younger sibling, of being doted upon.’

Lin Guodong burst out laughing. “Mom, look at our ’Fourth Siren’! She’s actually using polite words with us now.”

Wu Shufen shot him a mock glare. “I can’t be bothered with you boys. I’m taking this basket to the kitchen.”

“It’s always so lively with lots of children!” the old woman said with a chuckle, heading into the kitchen to help.

’Fourth Siren!’ Lin Lan recalled that this was the original owner’s childhood nickname. “Second Brother, Little Douzi is growing up. You can’t call me that anymore.”

The body’s original owner had been vain since she was a child. She would sometimes change her hairstyle several times a day, from a ponytail one moment to braids the next. She’d even heat the fire tongs to curl her hair. That’s how her second and third brothers came up with the nickname “Fourth Siren.”

She had given them nicknames in return, calling him “Second Lunkhead” and their third brother “Third Monkey.”

Seeing Lin Lan blush, Lin Guoliang laughed and gave Lin Guodong a light smack. “Don’t call her that anymore. Last time I was here, I saw a couple of paper mulberry trees near the bamboo forest out back. We can gather some leaves to mix into the bran for the pigs. Do those trees belong to you?”

Lin Lan nodded. “They’re on our property. Go ahead and pick them, Big Brother. I’ll go start dinner.”

Lin Guoliang quickly interjected, “Little Lan, don’t you cook! Let Mom do it.” ’Can anyone even eat her cooking? What a waste of good fatty pork that would be.’

Recalling the original owner’s disastrous cooking history, Lin Lan’s lips twitched. She nodded. “Okay, I won’t cook. I’ll just go help.”

“That’s more like it.” Lin Guoliang then added comfortingly, “Once you learn how, I’ll be the first to try your food.”

“Okay. I’ll learn properly, and I’ll make you all something delicious next time you visit.”

The two Lin brothers went to the woodshed to get some straw. They spread it in a corner of the pigpen to make a bed for the piglets, then put some bran in the coop for the half-grown chicks.

Then, carrying a bamboo basket, they headed to the bamboo forest west of the house. At this time of year, the paper mulberry leaves were perfect for pig feed.

The two of them picked a full basket of leaves and carried it back to the yard. From the other two bamboo baskets, they pulled out four burlap sacks of bran.

They got a machete from Lin Lan, placed a wooden board down, and chopped the paper mulberry leaves into fine pieces. They mixed the leaves into the bran, kneaded it a few times, then carried it in and poured it into the pig trough.

Having just arrived in a new environment, the piglets weren’t eating as eagerly as they did back home. They would be fine after a night.

After feeding the pigs, the two brothers repaired the hoes and manure buckets in the woodshed. Then they took the hoes to the backyard and started tilling the soil.

While Lin Lan was in the kitchen helping prepare the vegetables, the old woman looked at her and asked, “Did you sell everything?”

Lin Lan beamed and nodded. “Every last one.”

The old woman nodded. “You can soak more for tomorrow, then.”

Wu Shufen glanced at Lin Lan. “When did you learn how to make Orchid Beans?”

She felt her daughter had changed, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on how.

’Could it be that now that short-lived scoundrel Yang Lao’yao is gone, Little Lan realized she has no one else to rely on and finally decided to grow up?’

Lin Lan smiled. “Grandma used to make them when I was little. Have you forgotten?”

Wu Shufen thought for a moment, then gave her a playful glare. “That was ages ago. Of course, a little foodie like you would remember.”

“Mom, don’t worry. I’m going to live properly from now on,” Lin Lan said, looking her in the eye. “I’ve been thinking a lot lately. I have Little Douzi to think about, so I have to find a way to earn money. If I don’t, I won’t even be able to afford his school fees when the time comes.”

Wu Shufen’s eyes grew red. She lovingly tucked a stray wisp of hair behind Lin Lan’s ear. “Now Mom can finally stop worrying. You’re thinking about the future. It seems you’ve really matured.”

Seeing the mother and daughter, the old woman’s eyes reddened as well. “Sigh… The old saying is true: ’You raise a child for a hundred years, but you worry for ninety-nine.’ I suppose a parent’s heart is never at ease, not until the day they’re laid to rest.”

Wu Shufen nodded again and again. “You’re absolutely right. My sons are all so well-behaved, but this little troublemaker… she was fine when she was little, but once she grew up, she never gave her father and me a single day of peace.”

Lin Lan wiped the tears from her cheeks and took Wu Shufen’s arm. “Mom, I promise I’ll make things easy for you and Dad from now on. I’ll show you what it means for a prodigal child to return!”

Wu Shufen’s face broke into a wide smile as she patted her daughter’s hand. Seeing her so mature, she felt like she was in a dream. “If you keep this up,” she said, a smile lingering on her lips, “your father and I will be smiling even in our sleep.”

“From now on, I’ll let my actions speak for me,” Lin Lan promised.

The old woman laughed. “Then I’ll help you keep an eye on her.”

Wu Shufen thanked her profusely.

Seeing the women talking so animatedly, Little Douzi wandered over to the back door.

He saw his two uncles tilling the soil, went over and looked at Lin Guodong. “Uncles, can you stay at our house and never leave?”

Lin Guoliang laughed and teased him, “If your uncles stay, we’ll eat you out of house and home.”

“Douzi will eat a little less, so Uncles can eat,” Little Douzi said, pouting at them. “Uncles, some people bullied Mommy. They kicked our gate and broke it.”

The brothers threw down their hoes and strode over to Little Douzi. Lin Guodong scooped him up into his arms. “Who did it?”

Little Douzi looked at them. “Great-grandma called him that ’good-for-nothing hooligan’.”

Carrying Little Douzi, Lin Guodong marched to the back door. “Little Lan, what hooligan came and kicked in your door? Why didn’t you come home and tell us?”

’With Yang Lao’yao, their hands had been tied because his family protected him. But to let their own sister get bullied by some hooligan… if they stood for that, could the three of them even call themselves men?’

Seeing the furious looks on their faces, Lin Lan began, “Big Brother, Second Brother, here’s what happened…”

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