Chapter 92: Chapter 89: Win-Win

Lin Lan diced some pork, then divided the remaining glutinous rice into two portions. She mixed one with soaked red beans for savory pork and red bean zongzi, and used the other for savory pork and chestnut zongzi.

The chestnut zongzi were tied with thin hemp rope, while the savory pork and red bean ones were tied with palm strips, making them easy for customers to tell apart.

She filled a pot more than halfway with water and brought it to a boil. Then, she placed the zongzi directly into the pot, covered it, and left them to simmer.

After boiling them on high for about an hour and a half, she moved the charcoal briquettes to the large pot outside to steam the bean paste and large white beans.

The two of them sat on the steps and began snipping fava beans. Little Douzi came out, rubbing his eyes. “Mom, I want to go to Great-granny’s to find He Xiaoming.”

“Okay! Mom will take you.” Lin Lan wiped her hands and led him over to the old woman’s home. She saw her sitting by the back door doing needlework. “Grand-aunt, why not come sit at our house for a while?”

The old woman took off the reading glasses perched on her nose and said with a smile, “The chicks are out in the yard. I have to keep an eye on them.”

Little Douzi ran up to her. “Great-granny, have you seen He Xiaoming?”

The old woman chuckled. “He just came by looking for you. Go look for him at his house.”

Little Douzi looked at Lin Lan. “Mom, you can go home. I’m going to Little Ming’s house.”

Lin Lan nodded. “Go on, then!”

Watching him head toward the front yard, Lin Lan said to the old woman, “Grand-aunt, I made some zongzi. I’ll bring some over for you to try later.”

The old woman smiled and nodded. “Alright! I’ll watch Little Douzi. You go on back to your work.”

“Okay!” Lin Lan went home and started making pea cakes, while Yuezhen snipped fava beans beside her.

By the time the pea cakes were done and the fava beans were snipped, the zongzi simmering in the pot were also ready.

She took out one of each of the three flavors, let them cool a bit, and handed them to Yuezhen. “Try one. How do they taste?”

Yuezhen nodded, unwrapped one, and took a bite. She nodded repeatedly, signaling how delicious it was.

Lin Lan tried a chestnut zongzi. She found it fragrant and chewy, with a faint, fruity aroma. She ate two in one go.

“What smells so good?” Yang Liying called out from the courtyard.

Lin Lan walked to the doorway and saw the couple enter the courtyard with a handsome, clever-looking young man.

The young man glanced shyly at Lin Lan and called out, “Auntie!”

Lin Lan paused for a moment before realizing he was Yang Liqun’s eldest son, Wang Zhixue. She smiled and said, “It’s Zhixue! Your auntie almost didn’t recognize you. Come, sit down.”

“It’s okay, I’ll stand for a bit!” Wang Zhixue said with a smile, his face flushing.

Inside, Lin Yuezhen, who was mashing beans, heard the guests arrive and brought out a bench for them to sit on.

Yang Liying thanked her, pulled Zhixue down to sit beside her, and said to Lin Lan, “After lunch, Zhixue came to my house. He asked me if there were other ways to make money besides making tofu.”

Lin Lan glanced at Wang Zhixue. “What is he thinking of doing?”

Yang Liying hesitated. “Lin Lan, I heard that you can set up a stall over by the clothing factory. Could you wholesale some orchid beans, pea cakes, and bean rolls for Zhixue to sell?”

Wang Zhixue listened with his head lowered, looking nervous and reserved.

Lin Lan didn’t answer Yang Liying. Instead, she turned to look at Wang Zhixue. “Zhixue, your dad won’t let your mom sell tofu, so what made you think of going into business?”

Wang Zhixue looked up at Lin Lan, his face reddening. “Auntie, every day at home I go out to catch eels with a light. I’ve been secretly taking them to Dongzikou to sell.

I saw someone from our production team also selling things there. His family used to be poorer than mine, but in just over half a year, they’ve already rebuilt their house.”

“I wanted to find something to sell at Dongzikou back then, but I had no capital and no connections. The other day, Auntie came to my house and talked to my mom about making tofu. Mom and I both wanted to agree, but who knew my dad would… Auntie, Auntie, I’m so sorry!” Wang Zhixue stood up, his face full of apology.

Yang Liying waved her hand with a smile. “That was your stubborn old mule of a father talking. Why are you apologizing for him?”

Wang Zhixue’s face turned red. “Auntie, please don’t misunderstand. My dad isn’t a bad person, he’s just got a bad temper. After Auntie left, he even grumbled to my mom that he was worried your lives would get even harder if you got arrested.”

After hearing this, Lin Lan looked at him with satisfaction. “Does your mom know you came here?”

’She figured Wang Zemin wasn’t a bad person, just stubborn to a fault. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have spent every penny his family had to help bury the youngest Yang brother, especially when they were so poor.’

Wang Zhixue glanced at her. “She knows. Mom told me to come find Auntie.” ’She said my other auntie is a total lazybones and not very reliable.’

Lin Lan thought for a moment and asked, “So, is this business just for you, or are you doing it to help your family?”

“I forgot to ask you that,” Yang Liying said, also looking at him curiously.

Wang Zhixue looked at them both. “I wanted to do this myself. When I earn money, I’ll give it to my mom to help with household expenses. My third brother is doing great in school, and he’s very obedient. I want to support his education. I don’t want him to end up like me and our parents.”

’Poverty inspires change. At such a young age, he already recognized his family’s plight and was willing to step up to ease his parents’ burden. He was a good kid with a fine character.’

Once Lin Lan had a clear picture, she nodded readily. “I can wholesale them to you, no problem. You’ll have to pay a stall fee over at the clothing factory, though. It’s seven jiao a day, or it’s cheaper by the month at fifteen yuan. For both a morning and evening market, it’s not actually that expensive.”

Wang Zhixue thanked Lin Lan gratefully. “Thank you, Auntie. I know you have to pay to set up a stall. Last time I sold eels at Dongzikou, I had to pay five jiao, too.”

’Lin Lan looked at him, thinking that he really was quite sharp. If he could just do business honestly and diligently, he could really achieve something once the economy fully opened up. Her only fear was that he might be too clever for his own good and outsmart himself.’

She looked at him and said, “When I was in school, I heard one of the educated youth from our team say something: ’Three parts of a person’s life are decided by fate, but seven parts depend on hard work.’ Heaven only helps those who are steadfast and diligent.”

“When we do business, first, you have to be able to endure hardship. Second, you must be honest. Harmony breeds wealth. The absolute worst thing you can do is cut corners and cheat customers. If you cheat just one customer, you’ll lose ten, even a hundred more.”

Wang Zhixue listened attentively and said, “I’ll remember that.”

Lin Lan nodded with satisfaction. “I’ll give you the first batch on credit. After you sell it, you can pay me back for the cost. Once you’ve built up some capital, we’ll do cash on delivery. Right now, I have three types of snacks. Retail is two jiao, wholesale is one and a half jiao.”

“Since this is your first time selling, I’ll make fifty of each for you to start. I have to soak the beans now, so the goods won’t be ready until tomorrow afternoon. Today, you can go with your aunt to watch and learn.”

“Thank you, Auntie!” Wang Zhixue looked happily at Yang Liying. “Auntie, I’m going to head home first and tell my mom the good news.”

Yang Liying nodded. “Go on! Come back as soon as you’ve told her.”

“Okay!” Wang Zhixue ran a few steps, then turned back to thank them both again. “Thank you, Auntie! Thank you, Auntie!” With that, he dashed off.

Watching his cheerful figure, the others couldn’t help but smile.

Only then did Yang Liying look at Lin Lan. “You seem to know all the details. Were you thinking of setting up another stall over there yourself?”

Lin Lan smiled and nodded. “Mhm! If Zhixue wants to do it, I’ll wholesale to him. That way, I can just work from home.” ’Wholesaling to Wang Zhixue meant she wouldn’t have to work so hard, and he could earn money to help his family. A win-win!’

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep