Chapter 210: Chapter 206: Let’s Get Engaged, Too

Lin Changyou smiled. “Zhixue was sincere in his invitation, so let’s all go over. It’ll be a nice get-together.”

Since Lin Changyou had spoken, Lin Lan had no choice but to agree. She went inside to grab two bags of white sugar and some eggs. The group then set out and met up with Yang Liying’s family, who were waiting for them along the way. All told, about ten people headed for Wang Zhixue’s home.

Upon arriving at Yang Liqun’s home, everyone exchanged another round of polite greetings and pleasantries.

The Eight Immortals table in the Wang family’s main hall was laden with food and drinks. Lin Lan spotted freshly braised sweet-skin duck and an assortment of other braised dishes.

The sweet-skin duck had a lovely brownish-red glaze. Its skin was crispy and slightly sweet, while the meat was tender, melting in the mouth without being greasy.

Authentic sweet-skin duck was made by braising free-range, speckled local ducks.

Lin Lan was reminded of her old neighbors. Their braised sweet-skin duck had been exceptional. Whenever her mother brought one home, she and her sister could devour the entire thing by themselves.

Her parents didn’t earn much back then, so it was a rare treat. They would never eat any themselves, saving it all for their two daughters, who never felt like they could get enough.

Later, as her family’s finances improved, the braised ducks—perhaps because the birds were raised on commercial feed—never tasted the way she remembered from her childhood. ’Now I’m tasting that familiar flavor again.’

Yang Liqun smiled. “They’re not so strict with us business folk anymore. The Zhao family from the second production team has started making braised dishes too. Their sweet-skin duck and pig’s head are the best. They take their goods to Dongzikou and sell out in less than two hours. This one was just made this afternoon.”

Yu Xiufang said, “It’s better this way, without the regulations. Back when everything was controlled, we couldn’t get the right ration tickets to buy braised goods like this, even for the New Year. I’m not afraid to say it, but we haven’t eaten braised duck in years.”

Lin Changyou nodded. “As long as you have a skill, you can always put it to use.”

Wang Zemin agreed, adding that Yang Liqun earned more in a single month from her stall than they made in an entire year at the production brigade.

Ever since he started running the stall with Yang Liqun and interacting with more businesspeople, his mindset had started to change. He regretted treating his wife like an outsider and lending their hard-earned money to a few ungrateful wretches.

After the women finished eating, the men sat in the main hall, shooting the breeze about everything from the new household responsibility system to the opening of the large market.

When the conversation turned to the storefronts in the southern part of the city, Wang Zemin and Zhao Dehai thanked Li Xiangyang and Lin Lan profusely once again.

If the two of them hadn’t persuaded them to buy property, their foresight would have been limited to using any money they earned to either repair their current homes or just hide it away, taking it out every now and then to count it. They would never have dreamed of buying property in the city.

The meal lasted for two hours before Lin Lan and her family finally said their goodbyes. They had to get home to prepare the pastries for the next morning.

Li Xiangyang stayed and chatted with Lin Changyou for a while longer before riding his bicycle home.

After Zhang Guangming and his wife visited the Wang family, and with both sets of parents and the young couple themselves thoroughly pleased, they agreed to choose an auspicious day in the twelfth lunar month for Zhang Yuru and Wang Zhixue’s engagement.

The three members of the Zhang family left, satisfied. Li Xiangyang and Lin Lan, however, asked Lin Changyou to stay behind.

「The next morning.」

Lin Lan and Li Xiangyang took Lin Changyou to see their storefront in the southern part of the city. The renovations were complete. The electrical wiring had been redone, and the freshly painted walls made the room feel much brighter.

The front storefront and the rear courtyard had been partitioned. The sweet osmanthus tree was on Lin Lan’s side, while the water well was in Yang Liqun’s section of the yard.

Most city houses had running water, so she wasn’t worried about not having any.

Li Xiangyang smiled. “Let’s go to the vegetable market and see how their preparations are coming along.”

“Alright!”

The three of them left the building, closed the door, and turned right onto Vegetable Market Street. Both sides of the street were lined with low platforms made of brick and cement, topped with concrete slabs about 1.2 meters wide.

In the middle of the street, there were two rows of racks welded from iron pipes.

Li Xiangyang pointed at the racks. “These two rows are for hanging meat. I heard that once the market opens, meat will be sold at two different prices: a fixed price and a market price. The fixed-price meat will require ration tickets, while the market-price meat is what vendors like me will sell.”

Lin Lan counted about ten stalls in the two rows. “Have you asked around? Are the stall fees expensive?”

“Vendors with fixed stalls will be charged a sanitation and stall fee for each concrete slab. Farmers who come to sell their own produce won’t have to pay a stall fee.”

“That’s right! That’s how it should be. The long-term vendors should pay fees, but the farmers who just come to sell a few vegetables to support their families should be exempt.”

Lin Changyou recalled coming to the East Market fair during the New Year when he was young. Remembering the streets packed shoulder to shoulder with bustling crowds, he smiled. “On opening day, it’ll probably be too crowded to even squeeze through.”

Lin Lan also remembered her parents taking her to the market as a child. She recalled how her heels would get stepped on several times just walking down one street. “That hustle and bustle is what makes it feel like the New Year.”

’In another thirty years, with all the rules and regulations, you won’t even be able to hear a firecracker pop during the New Year. What kind of holiday spirit is that!’

The trio left Vegetable Market Street and headed over to Yucai Road.

Li Xiangyang pointed ahead to two adjacent Western-style houses on the right. “Uncle Lin, those two houses are mine and Little Lan’s. The two across the street belong to Dongzi and Ding Bang.”

Lin Changyou stood before the main gate, clapping his hands with a smile. “Wonderful! These houses are truly impressive!” He sighed inwardly. ’No wonder my second son said he wanted to build a house like this. If all my children prove this capable and build their own Western-style homes, I can say I’ve lived a full life.’

An old woman carrying a small hoe spotted them standing in the yard across the street. Opening her gate, she walked over, chuckling. “Well, what a rare sight! It’s our future in-law! When did you get here?”

“I arrived yesterday.” Lin Changyou gave the old woman a thumbs-up. “You’re a truly fortunate woman!”

The old woman smiled and nodded. “That I am! I’m basking in my grandson’s good fortune, getting to live in a Western-style house myself! You should go take a look across the street in a bit. That one’s all tidied up.”

Li Xiangyang pointed to the open front door of their house. “Our side isn’t finished yet. They’re still painting and applying tung oil upstairs. We wouldn’t want anyone to have an allergic reaction.”

Lin Changyou added, “An allergy to that lacquer is unbelievably itchy. We can go in for a look after it’s all finished.”

The cheerful old woman led them across the street, explaining that Yang Dingbang had gone to the hospital to get his dressing changed and wasn’t back yet.

The first-floor living room was furnished with a coffee table, a wooden sofa, and cabinets, all purchased from Xu Ming.

Lin Lan found that the antique-style furniture had a rich, classical charm and a sense of solid, dignified history.

The three of them sat in Ding Bang’s house for a short while before riding their bicycles back to Lin Lan’s home.

****

「That afternoon.」

Old Li prepared a meal and invited Dongzi’s family, as well as the old woman and her grandson, over to the Li family home along with Lin Changyou and Lin Lan’s family. The two patriarchs finally met.

Lin Changyou sincerely and openly thanked Old Li and his son for taking care of his daughter and grandson.

Old Li, in turn, explained his initial reasons for opposing the couple. Lin Changyou put himself in the other man’s shoes, admitting that if his own sons, Guozhu or Guoqiang, were to tell him they wanted to marry a woman who already had a child, he wouldn’t agree immediately either.

The two elders found they saw eye to eye on many things and came to admire each other’s attitude and way of handling matters.

When Lin Lan, Yao Xiuyun, and Lin Yuezhen came out after cleaning up the kitchen, they were happy to see the two elders getting along so well.

On the way out, as he was walking Lin Lan home, Li Xiangyang took her hand. “Little Lan,” he said, “how about we get engaged during the twelfth lunar month?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep