80s Transmigration: The Young Widow's Hustle to Riches

Chapter 250 - 247: Growing Old Together

Li Xiangyang nodded. "I’ll go find Master Lu in a bit. I’ll have him take the measurements and buy the sheet metal while he’s at it."

Lin Lan smiled at him. "Be honest, where did you find the baking sheets last time?"

Li Xiangyang smiled and gave her a kiss. "I got them from one of the old man’s friends. His family is also planning to make a comeback. This time, we’ll have a blacksmith make them."

Lin Lan squeezed his hand, her eyes full of tenderness as she looked at him. "Thank you, Xiangyang."

’I’m so lucky in this life,’ she thought. ’I have a clever, well-behaved son and a man who adores me.’

’As long as he remains true to me in this life, I will grow old with him.’

Li Xiangyang lowered his head and gently tapped his forehead against hers. "Silly girl. You’re my wife. If I don’t help you, who will?"

Lin Lan took Li Xiangyang’s hand, and they walked hand-in-hand from the storefront to the backyard. They opened the door and looked around.

They had already gone through the house when they first bought it, so there wasn’t much to tidy up. Li Xiangyang figured they could move in after replacing the ceiling dust covers.

When the two arrived in the south of the city, they saw Woodworker Li and his two brothers sitting on a pile of lumber, shooting the breeze.

Seeing Lin Lan and Li Xiangyang arrive, Woodworker Li stood up with a smile. "Little Lin, Little Li, you’re here!"

Li Xiangyang nodded with a smile. "Master Li, sorry to keep you waiting."

After a few pleasantries, Woodworker Li pointed to the lumber and said, "The price of wood has gone up a bit recently. If you’re going to need a lot, I suggest you buy extra to store. The price might change again next month."

"Alright! I’ll go with you to buy the materials in a bit. Let’s move this stuff inside first." As Li Xiangyang spoke, he took off his jacket and handed it to Lin Lan. "Little Lan, go open the door."

"Mhm!" Lin Lan went to open the door, and the men began to move the lumber.

"Little Lan, you can head home. I’m going with Master Li to buy the materials."

"Xiangyang," Lin Lan called out, stopping him. She pulled the blueprints for the clothing store from her pocket. "These are the plans for the clothing store. Find the craftsmen who are renovating our house and have them work on this. The small appliance shop can be left to Woodworker Li and his brothers. Let’s get the counters for the appliance store and the clothing store finished first. The bakery just needs to be done before the end of the month."

Li Xiangyang took the blueprints and glanced at them. Seeing they were all annotated, he nodded. "You head back first. I’ll go find them after I’m done with the shopping."

Lin Lan checked the time, thought for a moment, and said, "I’ll go find Master Lu. If you and the others get hungry later, take them to a restaurant for a bite."

"Okay!" Li Xiangyang nodded with a grin, then turned and walked toward Woodworker Li and his brothers, pulling a handcart.

Lin Lan rode her bike to Master Lu’s house. She found him squatting by the door, plastering an oven that looked like the kind used to make the large flatbreads sold up north. "Master Lu, what kind of flatbread are you planning to sell?"

Master Lu turned his head and saw it was Lin Lan. He said cheerfully, "Oh, it’s Little Lin! I’m planning to build an oven to bake and sell sweet flatbreads and meat pies."

Lin Lan glanced at the foot traffic on the street. "Not bad. This location gets a lot of people passing by. Selling flatbreads here will definitely be a booming business."

"I hope you’re right!" Master Lu laughed, handed the trowel to his son, and stood up to face Lin Lan. "Little Lin, a busy person like you wouldn’t come looking for me for no reason. You’re here to have me build an oven, aren’t you!"

Lin Lan smiled and nodded. "I have a shop in the south of the city, and I’d like to hire you to build two ovens for me there."

Master Lu readily agreed with a nod. "Wait for me to wash my hands. I’ll go with you to take measurements and figure out the materials."

"Okay, I’ll wait for you," Lin Lan said.

Master Lu washed his hands, put on a lined jacket, and came out. He glanced at Lin Lan’s bicycle and said to his son, Lu Wei, "Go get your bike. We’ll go over together and take a look."

"Right!"

Lu Wei acknowledged and ran inside, taking the trowel and a plastering knife with him. A moment later, he came out pushing a bicycle. He had Master Lu get on the back, and they followed Lin Lan to the shop in the south of the city.

Master Lu looked around and praised, "Little Lin, you have a good eye. This shop is one of the best on this street. The teahouse and steamed bun shop that were here before also had a booming business." Then he pointed to the two adjacent units and asked, "You didn’t buy these two as well, did you?"

"My two sisters-in-law bought them."

Lin Lan smiled, opened the door, and led Master Lu and his son to the backyard. She pointed to a partition wall in the middle and asked, "Master Lu, what do you think about building the ovens here?"

Master Lu scanned the backyard and nodded. "This will work. Once they’re built, you can just put up a shed over them."

"Great. In that case, I’ll trouble you to calculate the bricks and sheet metal needed. I’ll come get you once I have everything ready."

Master Lu took out a steel measuring tape and took the measurements. Then he pulled a pen and paper from his pocket, did some calculations, and listed the required materials. He handed the list to Lin Lan. "Just buy what’s on here."

Lin Lan took the list and looked it over. "Okay, we can start work tomorrow afternoon. I’ll come call for you then."

Master Lu nodded. "Then we’ll head back first."

"Take care!" Lin Lan saw the father and son off, closed the door, and rode her bike back to Lexing. She went straight to Yang Liying’s house and found the couple sitting in the main room with complicated expressions.

Yang Liying’s nose was red, as if she had just been crying.

Lin Lan looked at them with concern. "What happened?"

"Something’s come up," Yang Liying said, rubbing her face. She pointed to the high stool across from her. "Sit. What brings you here today?"

Lin Lan sat down on the high stool across from Yang Liying and smiled. "I wouldn’t have come if it wasn’t important. I’m here to ask Third Brother-in-law to help me find a couple of guys to haul bricks, cement, and clay from the brickyard to the south of the city. They’re for building the ovens and stoves."

"Sure, I’ll go find some people right now," Zhao Dehai readily agreed.

Seeing that Lin Lan was starting to prepare for the ovens, Yang Liying said to Zhao Dehai, "Buy some extra bricks while you’re at it. We should get our stove built too."

Zhao Dehai said, "In that case, I’ll stop by Eldest Sister’s place and ask if she wants a stove built as well."

Yang Liying shot him a look. "You blockhead. How are you supposed to simmer soy milk to make tofu without a stove!"

Zhao Dehai left with a sheepish grin.

Lin Lan saw that the two of them didn’t seem like they had been fighting. In fact, it looked more like there was happy news. "Third Sister, are you expecting?"

"Sigh..." Yang Liying sighed, her face blushing as she looked at Lin Lan. "My... you know... it didn’t come last month. I went to the city hospital for a checkup this morning, and they said I’m pregnant."

As she spoke, Yang Liying glanced at the closed courtyard gate, swallowed hard, and gripped Lin Lan’s hand. "Lin Lan, I need to ask you for a favor!"

Lin Lan nodded. "Go on."