Chapter 201: Chapter 197: Perfunctory

Lin Lan nodded readily. “Alright! I’ll let you know if I hear anything!”

Yang Lirong, not expecting such a quick agreement, shot Lin Lan a surprised glance. “Alright, please keep it in mind. I have some things to take care of at home, so I’ll be going now!” ’She’s probably just brushing me off,’ she thought.

“I roasted some pumpkin seeds yesterday. Take some home and try them!” Lin Lan said, then went inside to grab a handful. She came back out and handed them over with a smile.

“Thank you!” Yang Lirong accepted them with a forced smile, then said her goodbyes and left.

Just as Lin Lan saw Yang Lirong off and turned around, she saw Yang Liying emerging from the kitchen, holding a tofu-wrapping cloth. “Well now, Third Sister,” Lin Lan teased. “You knew exactly what Second Sister came for, and you just left me all alone to deal with her!”

Yang Liying grinned at her. “If I’d stayed, we might have ended up arguing. Was she really here about the house?”

Lin Lan nodded and repeated what Yang Lirong had said. “She didn’t look too happy about it, but she was perfectly polite. She’s much better than she used to be.”

Yang Liying shot Lin Lan a knowing smile. “Well, of course she has to be polite to the person you are today!”

Lin Lan laughed. “What’s so different about me now?” With that, she went inside to help.

When Wu Shufen saw her enter, she said, “Little Lan, go out to the vegetable patch and cut some chives. Wash some spinach and bring it here, too!”

She was planning to make egg pancakes with the chives and a blanched spinach salad.

Lin Lan went to the vegetable patch. The garlic scapes had already grown over a foot tall, and the celtuce she had planted was now half a foot high.

The winter greens and cauliflower were also coming up. In one patch, the pea shoots were sporting tender green leaves. The nearby bok choy and baby mustard green seedlings had already been transplanted to the family’s private plot, with the remainder still planted here in the patch.

Lin Lan gazed at it all with delight. ’An elder in the family is a treasure,’ she thought. With her mom around, she didn’t have to worry about any of this.

She selected the most lush-looking spinach, cut a bunch and laid it on the ground, then started on the chives.

Yao Xiuyun entered the courtyard, leading her two children, and saw Lin Lan cutting chives in the patch. “Sister Lin, you have so many different vegetables in your garden!”

Lin Lan turned to see it was Yao Xiuyun and her children. She smiled. “Not that many, just a few things!”

“Auntie Lin!” Little Hai and Little Ling called out dutifully.

“You two are so good!” Lin Lan nodded with a smile. “Go on inside and have a seat. I’ll be done in just a minute.”

Yao Xiuyun shook her head with a smile. “We just got off the bicycle. Dongzi went to Dingbang’s place to get him. Xiangyang and Old Li had something to do, but they’ll be here soon.”

“Little Douzi finished his homework and went off to play with Dandan,” Lin Lan said, putting the spinach into her basket and the chives into a sieve before leaving the vegetable patch.

Little Hai tugged on Yao Xiuyun’s sleeve. “Mom, can we go play at Dandan’s house, too?”

Yao Xiuyun nodded. “Little Ling, take your brother over to Dandan’s.”

“Okay!” Little Ling took her brother’s hand, and they went off.

“They’re such a good brother and sister,” Lin Lan remarked as she and Yao Xiuyun sat down on the stone steps to clean the chives and spinach.

Yao Xiuyun made a face. “You don’t see them when they’re fighting. They bicker so much I want to stuff them right back where they came from.”

Seeing her exasperated expression, Lin Lan laughed. “What kid doesn’t squabble and make a fuss? If they just sat there quietly, you’d start worrying they were sick!”

“That’s true!” Yao Xiuyun chuckled, thinking about it. “One time my mom took them to her place for a few days, and Dongzi and I felt the house was so empty and quiet. We couldn’t get used to it at all.”

Lin Lan sighed. “I know what you mean. The last time Little Douzi stayed at my mom’s for a week, the house felt so empty, like something was missing.”

After they finished cleaning the vegetables, they took them to the kitchen. Wu Shufen said the meal was almost ready, so Yao Xiuyun offered to go to Yang Dingbang’s house and tell them to come over and eat.

Lin Lan washed the vegetables and brought them to the kitchen. Then she and Yang Liying set up the large round table they had brought back from Limin Road in the main hall. They carried the square ’Eight Immortals’ table into the east wing to set up a separate table for the children.

Xiaoyun and Xiaoli ran into the courtyard, carrying a few stalks of celtuce. “Mom! Auntie! We’re here!”

Yang Liying glanced back at them. “Where’s your father?”

Xiaoyun answered in a small voice, “Dad’s carrying the bean pulp, so he’s walking slowly.”

Lin Lan looked at the sisters, thinking that in the half-month since she’d last seen them, the girls had changed again. She smiled and said, “Third Sister, Xiaoyun and Xiaoli have gotten taller! Their faces are so rosy and bright. They look so lovely.”

Yang Liying nodded with a smile. “They’ve grown so much these past six months. None of their old clothes fit anymore.”

Ever since their family started making and selling tofu, they had a steady income. Like Lin Lan, they often bought pork bones and trotters to make stews for the children. In the last six months, both girls had shot up in height and their complexions had improved.

Little Douzi, Dandan, and Little Hai ran into the courtyard, followed by Zhao Dehai, who was carrying a sack of bean pulp on his back.

When Dandan saw the two sisters, he held up the picture book in his hands and called out, “Sister Xiaoyun, Sister Xiaoli, look at this cool picture book I got!”

Xiaoli ran up to him. “Let me see! What’s it called?”

“Ashima!” Dandan said, beaming at her. “I bought them a few days ago at a used book stall. I got more than twenty of them for just one yuan!”

Xiaoli’s eyes widened with envy. “Wow! That’s so many! I’ve saved up one and a half yuan.” She tugged on Dandan’s arm. “You have to take me! I want to buy some too!” She had earned the money by helping her parents sort beans, and her mother had told her she could use it to buy picture books and storybooks.

Before Dandan could answer, Xiaoyun gave Xiaoli a disapproving look. “Little sister, just buy fifty cents’ worth. That’s enough.”

Xiaoli turned to Dandan. “How many can I get for fifty cents?”

Dandan thought for a moment. “You can get ten. But if you spend a full yuan, the owner throws in two for free!”

Xiaoli considered this, then ran into the main hall where Yang Liying was wiping a table. “Mom, I want to buy one yuan’s worth of picture books! It’s a better deal!”

“If you think the one-yuan deal is better, then go for it!” Yang Liying said with a laugh.

Having gotten her mom’s approval, Xiaoli grinned and ran back outside. “Dandan, my mom said I can spend one yuan! When can you take me to the stall?”

Dandan thought for a moment. “Tomorrow is Saturday. I’ll be at Little Douzi’s house, so you can come find me then.”

“Okay!” Xiaoli agreed happily and scurried over to Little Douzi and Little Hai to look at the picture books.

Old Li and Li Xiangyang walked into the courtyard. Wangcai, the dog tied up behind the pigpen, let out a few friendly barks.

Little Douzi looked up and saw them, calling out, “Grandpa Li! Uncle Xiangyang! You’re here!”

“Attaboy,” Old Li replied, his feelings complicated as he looked at the bright, handsome little boy.

Li Xiangyang smiled and nodded. “Oh, looking at picture books, are you?”

“Grandpa Li! Uncle Xiangyang!” Dandan and Little Hai chimed in with their own smiling greetings.

Hearing voices, Lin Lan and Wu Shufen came out of the kitchen to greet them. After a few polite pleasantries, they ushered Old Li into the main hall to take a seat. He and Wu Shufen exchanged some courtesies while tea was poured, and then Wu Shufen returned to the kitchen to prepare the final two vegetable dishes.

The spinach was blanched for a cold salad, while the chives were mixed with egg and flour for pancakes. Before long, the golden chive and egg pancakes and the vibrant green spinach salad were ready.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep