novelraw Chapter 320 - 317: Sesame Blossoms, Rising Higher and Higher
Chapter 320 - 317: Sesame Blossoms, Rising Higher and Higher
Li Xiangyang and his two friends took the kids into town. They bought New Year’s couplets and returned to Yucai Road, carrying two string bags of firecrackers and fireworks tubes.
Yang Dingbang took the fireworks tubes out of the string bag and handed one to each child. He looked at them and said, "A word of warning. Don’t shoot these at people. An eye injury is no laughing matter."
The children replied in unison, "We’ll remember."
Li Xiangyang ruffled each of their heads and said with a wave, "Go on, go have fun in the courtyard."
Dandan looked at Yang Dingbang. "Dad, we want to set off the fireworks on the roof."
Yang Dingbang smiled and nodded. "Go ahead, but don’t climb over the railing."
"Yay, time for fireworks!" Dandan, Little Douzi, Little Hai, and Qiaoling each shouldered a firework tube and scampered up to the roof.
Lin Lan glanced at Qiaohui, who was preparing vegetables. "Qiaohui, how come you’re not going to set off fireworks?"
Qiaohui smiled and shook her head. "That’s for the little ones. I’m a grown-up, so I’ll pass."
A moment later, the sound of fireworks erupted from the roof. WHOOSH, WHOOSH, WHOOSH... One after another, the rockets soared into the sky like shooting stars, bursting in dazzling, radiant blooms.
The children cheered and jumped for joy on the roof.
The old woman stood in the courtyard, gazing up at the fireworks and murmuring to herself, "Life is getting better and better."
Lin Lan walked over to her side. "Grand-aunt, look how beautiful the fireworks are!"
"They are," the old woman said, taking Lin Lan’s hand with a beaming smile. "And so is life."
Yao Xiuyun and Qiaohui brought the dishes to the table: fish in spicy bean sauce, cured chicken, cured pork, sausages, and crispy fried pork with pea shoots. Soon, the large round table was filled to the brim.
Xu Dong filled everyone’s glasses with liquor and happily raised his. "A toast! May our lives get better with each passing year, and may our fortunes, like a flowering sesame stalk, rise ever higher!"
Everyone raised their glasses and chorused, "To getting better with each passing year, and may our fortunes rise ever higher!"
"To fortunes rising ever higher..." Little Douzi and the other children also raised their glasses of malted milk.
In the end, Li Xiangyang and his two friends got roaring drunk, ending up crammed together on the attic floor like a bunch of kids, fast asleep.
Qiaohui played with the children in the courtyard while Lin Lan and Yao Xiuyun curled up on the sofa to chat.
Listening to the cheers from outside, Yao Xiuyun said, "Our lives have certainly gotten better. But during my last census visit to the countryside, I found places where people have no money for medicine when they get sick. They eat nothing but potatoes and sweet potatoes for every meal, and in winter, they don’t even have proper clothes. The whole family just huddles at home, never even stepping out the door."
"After our last visit, we organized a collection and pooled some money to buy them some fabric and cotton."
Lin Lan thought of Shishanling. "Do they have road access? You could have them plant more things like pumpkins, beans, and broad beans. I can go out to the countryside and buy their produce."
Yao Xiuyun looked at Lin Lan, her face lighting up. "The conditions there are a lot like Shishanling. It’s so remote that even if they manage to haul their mountain produce to the city, they have no way to sell it. I’ll take you for a look after the New Year."
Lin Lan asked, "Where are you talking about? I’ll be back from visiting my family on the second day of the New Year. Once Liying and the others are back from their own New Year visits, we can go."
Yao Xiuyun nodded and gestured vaguely to the east. "It’s the Jin family’s settlement, up above Ping Mountain Reservoir. The water quality there is excellent; it’s where East Market gets its tap water."
Lin Lan did a quick calculation. "Let’s go on the fourth day of the New Year. How does that sound?"
Yao Xiuyun readily agreed. "Sounds good. On the fourth, we’ll get Dongzi and the others to come along and bring the kids."
Having made their decision, the two women went into the courtyard to watch the children jump rope and kick shuttlecocks.
In the afternoon, Li Xiangyang and his two friends sobered up. The four of them returned to Lexing with return gifts for Xu Dong’s and Yang Dingbang’s families, then went to Li Xiangyang’s parents’ place to have dinner with Old Li.
Shortly after they arrived, Brother Yong, Shuiqing, and He Li with her father showed up with gifts to pay a New Year’s visit.
Lin Lan and Lin Yuezhen cooked a meal. Everyone ate happily before heading back to their own homes.
Zhigang took Little Douzi and Qiaohui to check on the pastry shop in the southern part of the city, while Lin Lan and Li Xiangyang went home to cook slop for the pigs.
Lin Lan sat on the back of Li Xiangyang’s bicycle as they pedaled leisurely back home.
Li Xiangyang thought about the shoes that had sold out. "Little Lan, the markets in Yangcheng City don’t open until the eighth day of the New Year. How should we renovate the shoe store? Are we still going to use counters?"
Lin Lan recalled some shoe stores she had seen. "No counters. We’ll put tall display cabinets along the walls and low ones in the center. Something like the display cases you see in a general store. And the paint needs to be smooth and glossy."
After hearing her description, Li Xiangyang decided it was best to leave it to her. "You can discuss it with the carpenter then. I’ll head to Yangcheng City on the ninth."
"Is Uncle Da going too?" Lin Lan asked.
Li Xiangyang nodded. "We already arranged it when he got back. We leave for Yangcheng City on the ninth."
Lin Lan remembered how exhausted he was the last time he returned. "Xiangyang, if the journey is too tiring, you should just have the goods shipped!"
Li Xiangyang shook his head. "Don’t worry, there’ll be a few of us taking turns driving. It won’t be tiring at all. If Uncle Da weren’t going, we’d have no choice but to ship everything. But if we do that, the watches and small appliances could easily get stolen."
Lin Lan recalled Zhou Xiaohong asking her about shipping goods, which made her think of the LTL (less-than-truckload) carriers of the past. "I think Uncle Da could start a shipping company. He could specialize in consolidating small, scattered shipments in Yangcheng City and charge a set rate for each item."
Li Xiangyang mulled it over for a moment. "I’ll mention it to Uncle Da. He can run the numbers and see if it’s a viable plan."
Chatting as they went, they quickly arrived home. Just as they opened the courtyard gate, Li Guizhi appeared with a basket. "Little Lin, you’re back!"
"We just got back. Have you had dinner yet?" Lin Lan asked with a smile, ushering her inside.
"I waited till I saw you were back!" Li Guizhi said, taking a cured chicken, a piece of cured pork, and two bundles of dried noodles from her basket. "Little Lin, I wanted to wish you an early Happy New Year. May your business prosper and all your wishes come true next year."
Lin Lan looked at the gifts on the table and quickly said, "Sister Li, we’re just next-door neighbors. This is too much, you shouldn’t have."
Li Guizhi looked at Lin Lan with gratitude. "Little Lin, you’re a mentor to my husband and me. If you hadn’t taught us how to fry potatoes, we wouldn’t be living this well today. Little Lin, please don’t look down on my humble gift. Just accept it."
Lin Lan had no choice but to nod. "Alright, I’ll accept it." Then she immediately got some of her own cured pork and sausages to give as a gift in return.
Li Guizhi looked at her and sighed. "Oh, you... I’m leaving with more than I brought."
Lin Lan gave her a look of mock reproach. "If you really see me as a friend, then don’t say things like that, okay?"
Li Guizhi laughed. "You’re willing to be my friend? I couldn’t be happier!"
After seeing Li Guizhi off, Li Xiangyang returned from the ditch with a basket of washed vegetable leaves. He chopped them finely, added them to the swill pot, and began to cook the pig slop.
The coal briquettes in the stove glowed red-hot. Li Xiangyang pulled Lin Lan down to sit beside him, and they snuggled for a moment before Little Douzi and Qiaohui returned.
Little Douzi was hugging a bundle of fireworks tubes, and he told Lin Lan that his older cousin had bought them for him.
Qiaohui relayed a message from Wang Zhixue and his brother: they had to mind the shop over the New Year, so Lin Lan and the others should just enjoy their holiday and not worry about a thing.