Chapter 26: Chapter 26: Visiting Relatives

After returning home for lunch, Lin Lan rested for a while before going out to work.

When she reached the foot of the mountain, she saw piles of cattle fodder stacked neatly.

’Could Old Chen have cut this for me?’

Lin Lan glanced at the nearby grass shed, but she didn’t see Old Chen. After looking around with her sickle and finding nothing, she had no choice but to load the fodder into her back-basket and head back.

When she returned from the sunning ground, she saw Old Chen standing by the fishpond, looking as if he were waiting for her.

Just as Lin Lan reached the fishpond, Old Chen stopped her and said in a low voice, “Little Lin, after you left work at noon, a man came to cut grass. I told him this was the First Brigade’s cattle fodder.”

“He said he knew, and that you were his friend. He saw that you were working all alone and thought it was too hard on you, so he came to help.”

After speaking, Old Chen glanced at Lin Lan, seeming to hesitate.

Lin Lan looked at him. “I don’t have any friends here.”

Only then did Old Chen speak up. “He said you’re his girlfriend. That guy didn’t seem like a good person. You should be careful.”

“Thank you, Uncle Chen.”

Old Chen waved his hand dismissively and walked toward the other side of the fishpond.

Lin Lan gritted her back teeth. “Girlfriend? When I get my hands on you, I’ll rip your mouth to shreds. If I don’t, I’ll write my surname backward.”

It took her several trips to move all the fodder. After cutting some more, the fodder she brought back completely covered the brigade’s sunning ground.

When she got home, she found her third great-aunt there and, after some thought, told her about the incident at the pasture.

“I’ll go with you tomorrow morning to check it out,” Wu Shufen said, her face etched with worry as she looked at her.

’My daughter is beautiful, and a widow at such a young age. There are bound to be men with ill intentions trying all sorts of things to take advantage of her.’

The old lady patted Wu Shufen’s hand. “My dear in-law, don’t you worry. After Lin Lan comes back from selling her beans, have her find Liying. Tell her to go with Lin Lan to Niu Bei Mountain early tomorrow to see just what kind of monster this is.”

Wu Shufen nodded after hearing this. “Right. With her sister-in-law there as a witness, people won’t be able to gossip that Little Lan found a new man right after her husband passed.”

“Okay, I’ll go to Sister Liying’s house after I sell the fried fava beans.”

Lin Lan took the fava beans they had trimmed, washed them, and poured them into a bamboo draining basket. Just then, she saw Little Douzi enter through the back door, holding a cracked clay pot. “Mama, I caught a lot of earthworms to feed the little chicks!”

Lin Lan shut her eyes and shook her head. “Mama can’t look. All those earthworms wiggling together are disgusting.” The mere thought of it gave her goosebumps.

Seeing her scared expression, Little Douzi laughed proudly. “Little Douzi isn’t scared.”

Lin Lan pretended to be angry. “You little rascal, Mama isn’t talking to you anymore.”

Little Douzi looked at her and hesitated for a moment. “If Mama doesn’t like it, Little Douzi will go give them to the chicks to eat.”

Lin Lan pinched his little cheek. “That’s right, go give them to the chicks. Earthworms loosen the soil for us, so the taro and vegetables can grow big.” Seeing him grab the doorframe as he stepped over the threshold, she called out a reminder, “And remember, stay away from the well!”

Little Douzi turned back with a grin. “I know.”

The old lady came in to help Lin Lan tend the fire, and Lin Lan began to fry the fava beans.

Today’s fava beans were fried in two batches. When she was done bagging them, she had nearly eighty bags, almost filling the entire urea sack.

Lin Lan hurried to the Eucalyptus Forest. When Zhou Xiaohong saw her arrive, she gave her a smile and went back to her work.

Lin Lan turned and saw the handsome meat vendor cutting meat near the vegetable plots. She opened her bag of samples and positioned herself under a tree not far from him.

She called out in a low voice to the people coming to buy vegetables, “Fried fava beans! Delicious and affordable fried fava beans!”

A man carrying his purchase of meat, wrapped with ginger and taro, came up. He tasted two beans and nodded. “Hm, these would be good with a drink. I’ll take five bags.”

“Fried fava beans are the best snack for drinking.”

Getting a big customer right away, Lin Lan beamed as she picked out the bags for him.

After that, a few more customers who had tried the fava beans before came, bought some, and left.

Lin Lan received a ten-yuan bill and quietly tucked it away into a small, hidden pocket she had sewn.

Half an hour later, the fava beans were all sold out. Zhou Xiaohong walked over and said in a low voice, “Little Lin, there will be fewer people tomorrow, so you should make a little less.”

Lin Lan put the bag of fava beans she had specially saved for Zhou Xiaohong into her basket. “Sister Zhou, take these back for your kids to try.”

Zhou Xiaohong laughed. “Oh, you’re too kind! I didn’t even get anything for you.”

Lin Lan looked at her gratefully. “Sister Zhou, you’ve already helped me so much.”

Zhou Xiaohong nodded cheerfully. “Alright, I won’t be polite then. We sisters have to look out for each other.”

’She was a young widow, and raising a child alone couldn’t be easy. Besides, the girl was sensible, which was why I was willing to offer her help.’

Lin Lan smiled. “Okay. Sister Zhou, my mother’s here visiting, so I’m going to buy some meat to take back.”

Zhou Xiaohong nodded. “Go on, hurry. He’s going to sell out if you’re any later.”

Lin Lan walked up to the handsome meat vendor. “Boss, I’d like a pound of meat.”

The handsome man nodded, stood up, and went to the edge of the field. He lifted a straw mat, deftly cut off a strip of meat, and weighed it on a steelyard scale. “Two yuan, please.”

Lin Lan nodded, fished two yuan out of her pocket, and handed it to him. The handsome man took the money and passed her the wrapped meat.

Lin Lan accepted it, put the meat in her sack, and then bought three yuan worth of eggs before heading home.

When she got back home, she saw that her third great-aunt had already left. Wu Shufen and Little Douzi greeted her happily. “Mama’s back!”

“Mhm!” Lin Lan took the meat out of her bag and put it on the table. “Ma, I bought a strip of meat. Why don’t you cook an extra dish and invite Great-Aunt over to eat with us? I’m going to make a trip to Liying’s place.”

Little Douzi quickly grabbed her hand. “Mama, I want to go to Third Aunt’s house!”

“Okay, you can come with Mama,” Lin Lan said with a smile.

Wu Shufen picked up the meat from the table and shot her a reproachful glare. “Honestly, child. We just had meat, why did you buy more?”

Lin Lan looked at her with a wide smile and said in a low voice, “I sold eighty bags today. Made over ten yuan!”

Wu Shufen’s face crinkled into a smile. “The moment you get a little money, you start spending lavishly. You don’t know how to save at all.”

Lin Lan just smiled. She picked out twenty eggs, placed them in a vegetable basket, and covered them with a few leaves. Carrying the basket and holding Little Douzi’s hand, she walked east for more than twenty minutes. After crossing Shiqiao, they arrived at the brigade’s cooperative store.

She planned to buy some fruit candies for Yang Liying’s children.

Yang Liying’s husband was Zhao Dehai. In this area, most sons, unless they were the only child, were expected to move out and live independently after marriage.

She had two daughters. The older one was named Zhao Xiaoyun and was nine years old. The younger was Zhao Xiaoli, who was seven.

Zhao Dehai was an honest man and treated her well, but he was a bit of a cheapskate.

At the cooperative store, the fruit candies were two for one fen. Lin Lan bought ten fen’s worth, then grabbed a few and put them in Little Douzi’s pocket.

“Sweetheart, let’s give the rest of the candies to Sister Xiaoyun and Sister Xiaoli, okay?”

“Okay.” Little Douzi’s eyes crinkled with a smile. He took Lin Lan’s hand and skipped ahead.

The mother and son arrived at Yang Liying’s home. It was a five-room house with earthen walls and a thatched straw roof. There was no surrounding wall; the private plot out front was simply enclosed by a bamboo fence. Yang Liying was in her vegetable patch, watering the plants.

Little Douzi ran over. “Third Aunt, I’m here!”

Yang Liying looked up and was momentarily startled to see the mother and son. She then gave a faint smile. “You’re here.”

Lin Lan walked to the edge of the fence. “Third Sister, you’re busy!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep