novelraw Chapter 309 - 306: I’ll Open the Back Door for You
Chapter 309 - 306: I’ll Open the Back Door for You
The round-faced youth looked at him. "Bought some! I tossed it into the yard to feed the dog."
"It was perfectly fine when I went back!" Xu Xiaobo cursed. "That damn dog’s practically a demon, it wouldn’t even eat the braised pork. With it around, there’s no way we can get in."
Good thing Li Xiangyang didn’t live at Lin Lan’s house, or he really wouldn’t dare try to steal their things.
The triangle-eyed man looked at him, thought for a moment, and said, "I saw there’s another courtyard behind their bamboo grove. Find a chance to open the back gate. We’ll sneak in and make off with the goods."
The round-faced youth nodded eagerly. "Yeah, that’s the best plan. Even if they catch us, three young guys are more than enough to handle a few women."
Xu Xiaobo squatted and thought for a moment, deciding this was the only way. "All right. I hear they make pastries until midnight. Around 1 a.m., you guys can hide in the bamboo grove out back. I’ll find a chance to open the back gate for you."
"They have a 28-inch roadster and a brand-new 26-inch bicycle. Once you have the goods, you can ride them to make your getaway."
The triangle-eyed man and the round-faced youth rubbed their hands together in excitement. "How come your relatives are so rich?" they asked Xu Xiaobo.
Xu Xiaobo rolled his eyes at them. "This is nothing. They have two shops! But no matter how rich they get, they won’t give my family a dime, so what damn business is it of mine?"
Such is human nature. When everyone is poor, perhaps your life was even harder than theirs. Then suddenly, you get rich, possessing a fortune they can’t even dream of. One can only imagine the jealousy that brews in their heart.
Someone else might just curse them behind their back or make a few snide remarks. But a scumbag like Xu Xiaobo would scheme and plot to line his own pockets with other people’s property so he could squander it.
The triangle-eyed man nodded. "Right. The richer people are, the stingier they get. You go back and put on a good act. Once they trust you, maybe we can even get some cash from their shops."
The round-faced youth thought for a moment and asked, "Littlebo, has your mom gone home?"
Xu Xiaobo shook his head. "My mom is going home tomorrow with my aunt. It’s good that she’s there. If anything goes wrong, we’ll have someone to plead our case."
The round-faced youth nodded eagerly. "Right. Even if they catch us, with your mom there begging for us, they’ll be too embarrassed to hand us over to the police."
"PTUI! PTUI! PTUI!" The triangle-eyed man spat a few times and glared at the round-faced youth. "Do you two know how to talk? Can’t you say anything without jinxing us?!"
Xu Xiaobo kicked the round-faced youth in annoyance. "You moron. I was just talking, and you had to bring up the police."
"PTUI, PTUI," the round-faced youth spat twice. "Bad luck away, good luck to stay. Here’s to our resounding success."
The triangle-eyed man smiled and nodded. "Right, that’s how you should talk. Littlebo, you head back. We’re going to find an inn and get some sleep."
Xu Xiaobo nodded. He watched the two walk off into the distance, then found a small sundry shop, bought a toothbrush, and sauntered back.
Back at Lexing, Wu Shuhui stopped him. "Littlebo, what took you so long? Hurry up and go learn from your cousin."
She had tasted Lin Lan’s pastries at the shop today and thought they were even more delicious than the snacks from the supply and marketing co-op. No wonder that huge platter of pastries was always gone shortly after it was brought out.
"I’m going now." Xu Xiaobo placed the toothbrush on the table and turned to leave. Wangcai, who was lying under the eaves of the veranda, immediately bared his teeth and growled at the sight of him.
In the afternoon, as the streets grew quieter, Lin Lan bagged the shop’s earnings, deposited them at the bank, and then rode her bicycle to Limin Road.
She saw Li Xiangyang helping out in the shop and was about to head to the clothing store across the street when Zhou Xiaohong came out and stopped her.
"I’ve been looking out for you! I was starting to think you weren’t coming today."
Lin Lan smiled at her. "Miss me?"
"I did," Zhou Xiaohong said, pulling her into the shop. "I saw that big truck parked in front of your store yesterday. I wanted to ask, whose truck was it? Is the shipping fee expensive?"
Lin Lan smiled. "It belongs to one of Xiangyang’s elders. Xiangyang was helping them escort the truck back from Yangcheng City, so he had them bring our shipment back too. We didn’t have to pay for shipping."
"Oh, so that’s how it was! I thought you’d hired them for shipping." Zhou Xiaohong understood now that she couldn’t rely on Li Xiangyang to help bring back her own merchandise.
Lin Lan nodded. "Both times, Xiangyang was just helping escort the truck. Are you still planning to go to Yangcheng City before the New Year?"
Zhou Xiaohong shook her head. "I don’t think I’ll go before the New Year. I’ve realized the clothes I brought back this time aren’t selling as well as the last batch. I took a peek at your clothing store today and saw that your new stock is worlds better than mine."
Lin Lan glanced at the clothes hanging in the shop and noticed the colors were all rather dark and somber. "Sister Zhou, you should try to pick brighter colors for your stock next time. People nowadays don’t like drab, greyish clothes."
She didn’t consider Zhou Xiaohong a competitor. In her view, with East Market’s large population, there were only a handful of clothing stores so far, and none were on the same scale as hers or Zhou Xiaohong’s. There was hardly any competition to speak of.
A genuine smile spread across Zhou Xiaohong’s face. "Mhm! I’ve noticed that too. Once I sell off this batch, I’ll spend an extra couple of days in Yangcheng City after the New Year to pick out my stock more carefully."
Lin Lan nodded. "I haven’t been over to my store yet. I’ll go take a look."
Zhou Xiaohong smiled and walked her to the door. Watching the customers in the department store next door, she felt that Lin Lan and Li Xiangyang were the ones who had real business acumen.
Lin Lan went in to say hello to Li Xiangyang and the others, then crossed the street to her other shop.
Little Xue and Little Mei were busy helping customers with clothes.
Zhou Yongmei was also there helping out. Seeing Lin Lan, she said with a smile, "Little Lin, several customers have bought the same outfits that Little Xue and Little Mei are wearing."
"This whole outfit is so stylish, and it’s very flattering to their figures."
As she spoke, Lin Lan went to check the leather shoes in the display window, taking out new stock to fill in the missing sizes.
After finishing up with a wave of customers, Li Xiangyang went over to the clothing store. "Little Lan, come to the storeroom with me for a minute."
Lin Lan followed him to the storeroom. Li Xiangyang told her about someone trying to poison Wangcai and that he suspected Xu Xiaobo was up to no good.
Lin Lan nodded. "I also felt he was here for the wrong reasons. I kept him busy kneading dough all morning, and he only went back to Lexing with my mom after lunch. Don’t tell me he brought accomplices with him to Lexing?"
"It’s entirely possible. I bet Xu Xiaobo is planning to work with them from the inside." Li Xiangyang frowned in thought, then looked at Lin Lan. "When you go home after work, tell Xu Xiaobo there’s no room and that he should come stay at my place instead."
"If he agrees, it means we’ve misjudged him. If he doesn’t, then it proves he’s definitely a problem."
Lin Lan thought it was an excellent idea and smiled at him. "All right, we’ll do it your way. I bought a mature duck, and Mom went home to make a duck and mushroom stew to reward you properly."
Li Xiangyang gazed at her smiling face, lowered his head to give her a quick kiss, and pulled her into his arms. "Thanks, honey."
"Little Xue and the others are coming in," Lin Lan said, giving him a playful glare as she pushed him away and stood up. "Little Xue said they sold more than a dozen pairs of boots today. I think we can order more leather shoes next time."