Chapter 38: Chapter 36: Money Lost, Person Safe

Lin Lan grinned at the two of them. “I had some bad luck today. Ran into the joint defense team, and they confiscated my bag. The good news is, they only fined me a few bucks and didn’t take the money I’d earned.”

The old lady nodded. “As long as you’re safe, the money doesn’t matter. A fine is a small thing. I’ll go home and find a urea bag for you in a bit.”

“Okay!” Lin Lan nodded, beaming. “Great-aunt, do you have any baking soda at home?”

“I do. I’ll bring it to you in a bit,” the old lady said with a smile.

After the three of them ate, the old lady took Little Douzi by the hand and went home to get the urea bag and baking soda.

Lin Lan scooped some leftover rice, poured in a little broth from the leftover dishes, and dumped it all into Dahuang’s dog bowl. Only then did she scoop some finely chopped ramie leaves, mix them into the rice bran, and pour it into the chicken feeder.

She went to the backyard and opened the small gate. Facing the chicks in the bamboo grove, she called out, “CLUCK, CLUCK, CLUCK.” Hearing her call, the chicks scurried back into the yard on their little legs.

Lin Lan watched the chicks crowd around the feeder, squabbling over the food. She counted them—fifteen, not one missing. Only then did she go back to close the small backyard gate and start feeding the pigs.

The swill was already heated. She scooped in some rice bran and crumbled paper mulberry leaves, then carried it into the pigpen. The two little pigs squealed and pushed their way to the trough.

“No pushing!” Lin Lan scolded, using a bamboo slat to shoo them apart before pouring the pig feed into the trough. The two little pigs crowded the trough, gobbling and snorting as they ate.

These white-haired pigs were the offspring of a new Large White breed that Lin Guoliang had bought from the livestock station. They grew fast and were ready for market quickly, but their meat wasn’t as tender as that of the local black pigs.

The two little pigs were visibly putting on weight, their bellies growing round and plump.

Lin Lan waited until the two piglets had finished eating, grunting and snorting, then poured two more buckets of swill for them before leaving the pigpen.

Once they were full, the chicks didn’t need to be herded. They had already gone back to their coop in the corner of the pigpen to roost. Chickens, ducks, and pigs are actually quite smart. After just two days in a coop or a pen, the piglets learned to relieve themselves by the dung channel, and the chicks would return to their coop on their own.

Lin Lan closed the coop door to keep any sharp-nosed strays from getting at them during the night.

The old lady brought over the urea bag and a small packet of baking soda. She said to her, “Ding Bang is bringing Dandan home tomorrow. The last time he left, he said he’d take the two of them to the movies when he got back, so you don’t need to come pick up Little Douzi at lunchtime.”

Lin Lan smiled and nodded. “Okay. That’s very kind of his youngest uncle.”

Seeing the mother and son were about to walk her home, the old lady waved her hand. “Go on back! You’ve had a long day. Tidy up and get to bed early.”

“Alright!” Lin Lan nodded.

Little Douzi waved his small hand. “Walk slowly, Great-granny.”

The old lady nodded. “I will.”

After watching the old lady cross the Shiqiao bridge, the mother and son went back into their yard, where they found Dahuang making little whining noises as he ate from his bowl.

Lin Lan looked at her son. “Little Douzi, you stay home. Mama is going to the stream to wash the bag.”

Little Douzi nodded. “Okay, Mama. I’ll go sweep the yard.”

“Go ahead!” Lin Lan washed the urea bag until it was clean and hung it on a bamboo pole to dry. Then she grabbed the large broom and swept the yard clean in a few quick strokes.

After closing the courtyard gate, they were about to go inside to wash up and go to sleep when Dahuang, wagging his tail, started running back and forth around them.

Little Douzi carried him to his doghouse in the corner under the eaves and petted Dahuang’s head. “Dahuang, you be a good boy and sleep in your house now. Remember to guard our home.”

“WOOF! WOOF!” Dahuang watched him, his tail wagging nonstop.

Little Douzi mimicked an adult’s tone and scolded, “You remember now, you only get to eat if you’re obedient. If you’re not, we’ll kick you out to be a beggar.”

Lin Lan walked to the door with a washcloth and said with an amused smile, “Sweetie, come back inside. Time to brush your teeth and wash your face and feet.”

Little Douzi followed her inside, his little brow furrowed. “Mama, you never made me brush my teeth before!”

’He didn’t like brushing his teeth. The foam was sweet, but Mama wouldn’t let him swallow it. She said if he swallowed the bubbles, he wouldn’t grow tall. What a waste to spit it out!’

Lin Lan gave him a quick kiss, smiling. “Look, Mama has to brush her teeth too. If you don’t, the little bugs will eat them all up.”

“Mama, can you check if I have any bugs in my teeth?” Little Douzi opened his mouth wide and looked at Lin Lan.

Lin Lan chuckled, took a look, and gave him another kiss. “Oh my! Sweetie, you’ve got a set of little steel teeth.”

Little Douzi touched his teeth, grinning proudly. “Great-granny says I have pearly little teeth and that they’ll be handsome when I grow up!”

“Such pearly little teeth! Let’s go brush them.”

The mother and son each held a bowl, squatting by the water basin in the backyard as they brushed. After they finished washing up, Lin Lan set some fava beans, white beans, and adzuki beans to soak, then led Little Douzi inside and closed the door to the inner room.

As soon as they lay down on the bed, Little Douzi pestered her to tell him a story.

Lin Lan thought for a moment. “Mama will tell you the story of the little monkey who picked corn.”

“Okay!” Little Douzi hugged Lin Lan’s arm, snuggling up against her.

“Once upon a time, there was a little monkey. One day, he came down from the mountain and walked to a cornfield. He saw that the corn in the field was big and plentiful, which made him very happy. So, he broke one off, hoisted it onto his shoulder, and started walking…”

“Mama, the little monkey is so silly! He should have gone home to get a back-basket, brought all the corn home first, and then gone to pick the peaches and watermelons!”

’What a little smarty. He even thought of that!’

Lin Lan said softly, “The reason Mama told you this story is to show you that children can’t be like the little monkey, dropping one thing the moment you see something new, only to end up with nothing. You have to be steady and see each task through to the end.”

“Mmm-hmm! Mama used to be a little monkey,” Little Douzi concluded.

Lin Lan felt like she had just shot herself in the foot. “But Mama realized she was wrong and changed! If you change, you’re a good kid and a good mama.” The only answer she received was the sound of soft, even breathing.

「The next day.」

Lin Lan was up at the crack of dawn. She tucked the covers back around Little Douzi, found a length of white cloth in a trunk, and put it in the basin of dirty laundry. She carried the basin to the stream, washed everything clean, then came home to hang it all up to dry before starting breakfast and cooking the pig feed.

She fed the pigs, cleaned the pigpen, let the chickens out and fed them, then herded them into the outer bamboo grove. After closing the backyard gate, she returned to the kitchen to stir-fry some dishes. She was so busy the entire morning her feet barely touched the ground.

When the high-pitched loudspeaker started blaring, Lin Lan woke Little Douzi up. Thinking about how he was going to the movies, she changed him into a new set of clothes.

Little Douzi was now wearing a red corduroy outfit with black polka dots. “Mama,” he said, “Dandan has one just like this.”

Lin Lan looked at the little boy with his rosy lips and pearly teeth and gave him a kiss. “You look handsome, don’t you!”

Little Douzi nodded happily. “I do! I should save it for the New Year.”

Lin Lan felt a pang in her heart as she stroked his smiling face. “You should wear something nice when you go to the movies.”

“Okay!” Little Douzi nodded and went to the kitchen.

After they finished their meal, Lin Lan cleaned the pots and the stove. She poured the swollen, soaked adzuki beans into a colander, gave them a rinse, and then transferred them to a pot to make red bean paste.

She ladled a few scoops of water into the pot, put on the lid, and placed a few pieces of firewood into the stove’s firebox. She lit the fire, letting the adzuki beans simmer slowly in the pot. By the time she came back from work, the beans would be cooked soft.

Before leaving, she swept the area in front of the firebox clean, not leaving a single piece of straw behind, to prevent any stray embers from causing a fire.

Once everything was in order, she shouldered her back-basket and led Little Douzi by the hand toward the old lady’s house. As they crossed the bridge, they saw the old lady standing at her back door, waiting for them.

“Great-granny, I’m here!” Little Douzi waved his hand and ran over.

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