Chapter 63: Chapter 61: Better to Marry a Man In

The two of them returned to the courtyard. Lin Lan carried the grass to the pigsty, then came out and washed her hands. She smiled at Yang Liying and said, “Your husband helped me all day and didn’t even stay for a meal.”

Yang Liying smiled and teased, “Then why didn’t you prepare a proper feast to treat him? We could have enjoyed some of it too.”

“We’ll have to wait for Little Douzi’s wedding banquet for a feast like that!” Lin Lan said, looking at her. “Third Sister, do you know how to make soft tofu pudding or dried tofu?”

Yang Liying nodded. “I can make soft tofu pudding and regular tofu. Sister Yang makes the best dried tofu and shredded tofu. Why do you ask?”

Lin Lan looked at her and asked in a low voice, “Would you dare to set up a stall and sell things?”

Yang Liying’s eyes widened when she heard this. “A few days ago, I heard people say you went to the Eucalyptus Forest. Weren’t you just going there to buy food?”

Lin Lan shook her head. “I’ve been setting up a stall there for over half a month now. You know, not counting what I owe you all, I’m still deep in debt. With my meager work points, I can’t even support myself, let alone Little Douzi. I can’t just be a leech on the family for the rest of my life!”

“That’s true. You only get seven work points a day for cutting grass. That’s not even enough for toilet paper each month, let alone expenses like electricity, oil, and salt.” Yang Liying paused. “My next-door neighbors are also secretly doing business. Are you asking me about tofu because you want me to make some to sell?”

Lin Lan nodded. “That’s what I was thinking. No one is selling tofu or soft tofu pudding at the Eucalyptus Forest. I think you could make some and give it a try!”

Yang Liying looked at Lin Lan, tempted. “I’m not good at making dried tofu, but I make excellent soft tofu pudding! Do you think people will buy it? And are the ones with the red armbands still as strict as before?”

“It’s not as strict as it used to be…” Lin Lan then told Yang Liying about the time she was caught.

Yang Liying felt much more relieved after hearing the story, thinking she wouldn’t be afraid. “Lin Lan, I want to give it a try.”

Lin Lan nodded. “You can take some soybeans, make the food, and carry it over. It’s best if people buy it, but if they don’t, you can just make fermented tofu out of it so nothing goes to waste.”

She didn’t dare make any guarantees, either. She could only offer the idea; Yang Liying would have to make the final decision herself.

Yang Liying smiled and nodded. “Right. No matter what, I won’t lose money making soft tofu pudding. Lend me the family’s tofu mold. I’ll make a bucket of soft tofu pudding and press one block of tofu to test the waters.”

Lin Lan looked at her in surprise. “We have a tofu mold? How come I’ve never seen it!”

“We do!” Yang Liying started laughing. “It’s up in the rafters of the pigsty. I saw Father hide it up there myself. He said it was the tool of his trade and had to be hidden well, to be passed down to the youngest Yang son one day.”

At this, Yang Liying grew melancholic. Her mom and dad were gone, and their only brother, the one they had doted on so much, was gone too. Thankfully, there was still a nephew; otherwise, the Yang family line would have ended.

Lin Lan had truly never looked up at the pigsty’s rafters. She nodded readily. “Go ahead and get it. It’s yours to use.”

“Let’s go!” Yang Liying stood up, then suddenly remembered why she had come over. “Lin Lan, I have to tell you something. Please don’t get angry when you hear it. Also, whatever my second sister says to you, don’t you believe a word of it.”

Seeing her serious expression, Lin Lan nodded. “Go on, I’m listening.”

Yang Liying sat back down. “Our family has a distant grand-aunt who married into town. She lives on Construction Street. She had seven or eight daughters before finally having her youngest son in her thirties. They treat him like he’s made of glass, doting on him way more than Mom and Dad ever doted on our youngest brother.

We used to visit each other, but later, when our family couldn’t sell tofu anymore and times got tougher, they started keeping their distance. Her son, Tian Jianshe, is… effeminate.

Let me tell you, he even holds a handkerchief and sticks his pinky out like an opera singer. Ugh! I can’t even talk about it, it gives me the creeps!”

This distant grand-aunt from town didn’t exist in Lin Lan’s memories. She looked at Yang Liying. “You’re not going to tell me your grand-aunt wants me to marry her son, are you?”

Yang Liying nodded. “Exactly. She went to my second sister’s place the day before yesterday… You know how Second Sister is. She’s not a bad person at heart, but she cares a lot about money and loves to suck up to people who are better off than she is.

She thinks it’s a great opportunity for you to marry into town and still be able to bring Little Douzi with you. But Sister Yang and I don’t think the grand-aunt’s family is a good match. The woman herself is sharp-tongued and mean, not easy to get along with at all. And as for Tian Jianshe, it’s debatable if he’s even a man.

Sister Yang thinks you’d be better off finding a man to marry into our family than marrying Tian Jianshe. That way, with us and Ding Bang to look after you, you and Little Douzi wouldn’t be bullied. But seeing you now, you’ve really changed. We don’t need to worry about you anymore.”

Lin Lan was touched. When she had married Liu Jianguo, she had suffered quite a bit at the hands of his sisters. After she came to this world and inherited the original ’Lin Lan’s’ memories, she had always thought her three sisters-in-law were decent people.

Yang Liying’s words today made her see the three sisters in a new light. Yang Liying and Sister Yang were truly reasonable and kind sisters-in-law.

“Third Sister, I’m not a naive little girl anymore. I won’t be fooled again. Right now, all I want to do is make good money, raise Little Douzi to be a man, and make a better life for our family. Please go tell Second Sister to turn down the grand-aunt for me. Tell her not to bring this up, to save everyone the embarrassment.”

Yang Liying’s face flushed. Back then, it was they who had taught their youngest brother to put on an act to trick Lin Lan into marrying him. She had always felt guilty about it.

“Okay, I’ll go find her as soon as I get back. You live your life however you want to. Don’t worry, Sister Yang and I won’t side with Second Sister on this.”

“Thank you!” Lin Lan stood up. “Let’s go to the pigsty and get that tofu mold down.”

“Okay!” Yang Liying followed her toward the pigsty. “It hasn’t been used in so many years. I’m afraid the joints have probably all split.”

Lin Lan flicked on the light. Yang Liying climbed onto a brick pillar in the pigsty, reached up to the rafters, and pushed aside the moldy straw. Spotting a scale beam, she called out joyfully, “Lin Lan, there’s a steelyard scale up here too!”

“That’s great!” Lin Lan said happily, holding out her hands. “Hand it down, I’ll get it.”

“Alright!” Yang Liying first handed the scale weight down to Lin Lan, then the beam and pan, before finally pulling out the tofu mold.

Lin Lan placed the dusty scale beam and weight on the ground and took the tofu mold from her. It was also covered in dust.

Yang Liying jumped down from the brick pillar and picked up the scale from the ground. “This was my parents’ treasure. Back in the day, they hid it in the house rafters so it wouldn’t be confiscated.”

The two of them walked out into the courtyard. Yang Liying wiped it with her hand. “Look, once you wipe it clean, it’s good as new.”

Lin Lan took the scale beam. From long years of use, it had developed a fine patina, the dark wood showing a reddish undertone. The golden marking dots were still perfectly clear. “Mmm. You can tell it’s a good scale.”

Yang Liying picked up the tofu mold and inspected it, finding cracks in the mortise and tenon joints at all four corners. “It’s about to fall apart. It needs a good soak in water.”

Lin Lan looked at it and could tell the tofu mold was ancient but well-made. “Let’s soak it in the basin in the backyard overnight. After we hammer the tenons back in, it should be usable.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep