Chapter 48: Chapter 46: When It Rains, It Pours

Lin Lan pointed at the picture books and notebooks inside the counter and called out, “Excuse me, miss. Could you get those for me, please?”

A tall, thin saleswoman came over, took the two picture book sets and the notebooks she had pointed to from the counter, and—THWACK! THWACK!—tossed them onto the countertop, giving her an impatient sidelong glance.

“You can only flip through them if you’re buying. If you’re not, don’t touch.”

Lin Lan gave her a cool glance. “I’ll take them all.” As she spoke, she placed a five-yuan bill on the counter.

The saleswoman shot her a surprised look, picked up the money, and turned to make change. She set the coins on the counter, then went back to her seat with a sway of her hips.

’Salesclerks from this era are so arrogant.’

The ones at Xinhua Bookstore were a bit better. The staff at the department store, though, were the real snobs, always looking down their noses at people.

Lin Lan put away her change and handed the picture books to Little Douzi. “Mama bought you *Urgent Message with a Feather* and *The Monkey King*.”

Little Douzi took them happily. Looking at the colorful cover with the Somersault Cloud, he looked up in pleasant surprise. “Mama, the picture books are so pretty!”

Lin Lan nodded and ruffled his hair. “These are your books. You have to take good care of them, okay?”

Little Douzi’s eyes crinkled as he smiled at her. “I will!”

Lin Lan settled him into the back carrier, hoisted him up, and stood. “Sweetie, let’s go check out the clothing factory.”

“Okay!”

Little Douzi rested on Lin Lan’s shoulder as the mother and son headed toward Victory Road on the west side of the city.

Zhou Xiaohong had said the four big black markets were each in a different corner of the city: one in the Eucalyptus Forest, one at Dongzikou, one by the clothing factory, and one in an old building.

The black market by the clothing factory was relatively closer to the Lexing Team, but even for a fast walker, it was still a one-and-a-half-hour trip.

A light rain pitter-pattered down, and the pedestrians on the road hurried along. Little Douzi, perched on Lin Lan’s shoulder, let out a cry of surprise every time he saw a car.

They walked past two main streets and arrived at Victory Road. After turning down two smaller streets, they reached the clothing factory. They went down an alley next to the factory, passed through a long, gloomy passageway, and arrived in front of an abandoned courtyard.

The outside of the courtyard was desolate and dilapidated. Inside was a row of old-fashioned houses with peeling paint on their carved, diamond-patterned windows. Beyond them was a wide-open yard. In the misty rain, the yard exuded a sort of oppressive liveliness.

Lin Lan figured it might be because they were in the city proper; the vendors here were more cautious than those in the Eucalyptus Forest, but also more orderly.

The small stalls, propped up by urea sacks, back baskets, or other containers, were arranged in neat rows. The vendors, holding umbrellas, would greet passersby warmly in low voices.

Customers walked between the rows of stalls. When they saw something they liked, they would squat in front of the stall and speak in hushed tones.

Lin Lan looked around and felt that the purchasing power here was even better than at the Eucalyptus Forest. The better-quality food, in particular, was selling quite well.

After looking around, she thought, ’If those two dogs, Sun Xiuhua and Zhang Yazhen, still refuse to leave me alone, I’ll just set up a stall here.’

Even though she had her connection to the old lady, she was a widow, and Li Xiangyang was just a young man. If she kept asking him for help, people would definitely gossip.

Having made up her mind, Lin Lan started walking back with Little Douzi on her back. Halfway there, she noticed the rain was getting heavier. “Honey, hold on tight to Mama. The rain’s getting heavier; we need to walk faster.”

“Okay!” Little Douzi quickly and carefully tucked the picture books away inside the carrier, then wrapped his arms around Lin Lan’s neck. “Mama, it’s raining so hard!”

Lin Lan smiled and nodded. “Yes, it is! It’s raining so hard!” She remembered how she used to love rainy days as a child. Rain meant she didn’t have to go out and cut grass; she could stay home and play jacks with her sister.

’But I grew to dislike the rain. Rain meant I couldn’t set up my stall, and if I couldn’t set up my stall, I couldn’t earn money. Here I am, reliving those days all over again.’

Lin Lan suddenly remembered that the roof of her house seemed to leak. According to the original owner’s memories, when it poured outside, it drizzled inside.

’Debts to pay, money needed to fix the roof… A day of rain means a loss of over ten yuan!’

’Money, money, money… my life depends on it.’

Her mind raced with anxious thoughts, but her feet never stopped for a moment. She quickly arrived home to find Little Douzi asleep, his arms still wrapped around her neck.

’Little rascal. No wonder you’ve been so quiet.’

WOOF WOOF WOOF! Dahuang started barking in the yard.

Little Douzi opened his eyes. “Mama, Dahuang’s barking!”

“We’re home now.” Lin Lan turned to glance toward the bamboo grove. ’I wonder if the old lady is back yet?’

She pushed open the courtyard gate. Dahuang, braving the rain, had already run to the entrance, happily wagging his tail.

She stepped under the eaves, put down the back carrier, and lifted Little Douzi out. “Mama, my picture books are in the carrier.”

“Go get them yourself. Mama has to go check if the room is leaking.”

Lin Lan hurried to open the kitchen door and went into the bedroom. Sure enough, water was already dripping down in front of the bed. She rushed to grab a basin to catch the water, only to find the roof above the bed was leaking too.

Thankfully, the canopy bed was covered with a layer of oilcloth; otherwise, the quilt on the bed would have been completely soaked.

The main room also had a puddle from a leak, and the other main bedroom was leaking as well.

Lin Lan went into the courtyard to look at the roof. It was covered in moss and other plants. It looked like the tiles hadn’t been mended or replaced in years.

Remembering that the basins at home were being used to soak beans, Lin Lan had no choice but to go to the woodshed and grab the dung buckets to catch the rainwater. She then went out to the east wing and saw that its thatched roof, surprisingly, wasn’t leaking yet.

She quickly cleared off the bed in the east wing, carried the quilt and mattress pad over, and began to get things in order.

After making the bed, she turned to Little Douzi, who was sitting on a bamboo chair reading his picture books, and said, “Little Douzi, you stay here. Mama is going to Great-Grandma’s house to see if she’s back yet.”

Little Douzi didn’t even look up. “Okay! Come back quickly.”

Lin Lan went to the old lady’s house with an umbrella. She saw Blackie lying under the eaves by the back door, eyeing her like a predator, and couldn’t help but feel frustrated.

Warily, she watched the dog and shouted for the old lady a few times, but there was no answer. The good thing was that the four-eyed Blackie didn’t lunge at her this time.

Holding her umbrella, she returned home and closed the courtyard gate.

Little Douzi looked up. “Mama, is Great-Grandma back?”

“Not yet.” Lin Lan put down her umbrella and sat down. “Can you understand what’s written in there?”

Little Douzi brought a picture book over and snuggled into her arms. “Mama, read it to me.”

Lin Lan took the book and glanced at it. “Just a minute. Mama will read to you while the red beans are cooking.”

“Mhm!”

Little Douzi followed Lin Lan into the kitchen. He watched her wash the red beans, pour them into the pot, put on the lid, and then sit down by the stove.

Lin Lan took the *Somersault Cloud* book and began to read aloud, “In his quest for a master and the Dao, the Monkey King left Flower-Fruit Mountain, boarded a wooden raft…”

Little Douzi pointed at the picture book. “Mama, what’s a raft?”

Lin Lan pointed to the raft in the picture. “Look, this is a raft. See how it’s made of a lot of logs tied together?”

Little Douzi nodded. “I see it.”

One read while the other listened, and time flew by. Lin Lan finished making the red bean paste and then started cooking their meal. She steamed an egg custard and stir-fried some shredded radish, and they had a simple lunch.

After Little Douzi played for a while, Lin Lan had him go to the east wing room for his afternoon nap. He clutched his picture books and said, “Mama, can you find something for me to put my picture books and my iron hoop in?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep