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

Chapter 334 - 331: Tough Woman

In the afternoon, Yao Xiuyun went to the bakery after work and told Lin Lan that Shen Hao and Xu Huan were classmates.

She looked at her and said, "They were mainly trying to give you a scare, and they also wanted to get some money out of you. I think this Xu Huan girl is the one causing trouble. Does she have a problem with you?"

"Xu Huan is..." Lin Lan told Yao Xiuyun about Xu Huan, thinking, ’You really can’t use common sense to figure out how some people’s minds work.’

Yao Xiuyun sighed and said, "Let me tell you, that Li Jing may seem all high and mighty, but she’s actually a hypocritical, cold, and ungrateful person. Don’t you dare go easy on her."

She paused for a moment. "I heard from Dongzi that Uncle and Auntie Li treat Li Jing like a precious treasure—so delicate they’re afraid she’ll melt in their mouths or break in their hands. And what did they get for it? They raised an ungrateful wretch."

Lin Lan nodded, feeling a sense of solidarity. "I’m just a straightforward person. I believe in giving as good as I get. I won’t let her push me around."

Yao Xiuyun laughed and teased, "I know, don’t I know your temper? The tough woman who dared to fight off hooligans with a knife."

Lin Lan sighed. "I had no choice! I had to go all out back then. If I hadn’t scared them off for good, you know what would have happened to a single woman with a child, targeted by a bunch of thugs."

Yao Xiuyun, of course, knew this well. Whether in the countryside or the city, life for a widow was truly difficult.

A young, beautiful widow would not only be harassed and taken advantage of by unscrupulous men, but she would also be bullied by the women in those men’s families.

"You did the right thing!" Yao Xiuyun said, then remembered the matter of buying liquor. "How many cases of Maotai do you need? I’ll have my uncle get them for us."

Lin Lan thought for a moment. "Ten cases, I think. And some Quanxing Daqu, too. My father-in-law and my dad both said it’s good. If you can get some, please do. We’ll need it in a while."

Yao Xiuyun smiled hearing this. "Your family is having a celebration in April, and Ding Bang’s is in March. He’ll definitely need some too. I’ll go ask him so we can get it all at once."

Lin Lan grinned at her. "Why don’t we get some extra, take it home, dig a hole, and bury it? When the kids get married, we can dig it up and drink it. The flavor will definitely be amazing."

Yao Xiuyun clapped her hands with a smile. "Great idea! I’ve heard that in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions, when a daughter is born, they bury three jars of liquor under an osmanthus tree. When she gets married, they dig it up to be part of her dowry."

Lin Lan nodded with a smile. "We’ll bury a few jars for our kids, whether they’re boys or girls. We’ll dig them up for their wedding banquets."

Yao Xiuyun laughed. "Family planning is getting stricter and stricter these days. After you and Xiangyang get married, you’ll only be able to have one child."

"Why have so many?" Lin Lan said with a laugh and a shrug. "My mom says more children mean more debts. Some come to collect debts, others come to repay them. Without a debt, they wouldn’t come at all."

"HAHAHA!" Yao Xiuyun burst out laughing. "My mom always says I’m the debt collector in the family."

Lin Lan put an arm around her and laughed. "Come on, I’ve got to go pick up my own little debt collector."

"Let’s go!" Yao Xiuyun took out her bike keys, and the two of them left together, cycling to Yucai Road.

Little Douzi and Dandan were in the yard building a fence. When they saw Lin Lan arrive, they dropped their bamboo strips and ran to greet her.

Little Hai ran up and grabbed the handlebars of Yao Xiuyun’s bike. "Mom, I want to ride!"

Yao Xiuyun got off the bike and instructed him, "Only ride in the alley. Don’t go out onto the street."

Little Hai nodded and waved to Dandan and Little Douzi. "Come on, guys, let’s go for a ride!"

Little Douzi nodded, then went over to Lin Lan and looked up at her. "Mom, how come Grandpa didn’t come?"

Lin Lan gently pinched his nose. "Grandpa had a little to drink at lunch, so he went home to rest."

Dandan looked at Lin Lan. "Auntie, can Little Douzi stay at my house tonight? The three of us can share a bed."

He, Little Hai, and Little Douzi had already agreed—the three best buddies would sleep in the same room.

Lin Lan glanced back at Little Douzi, who was pushing the bicycle with Little Hai. "Douzi, do you want to stay here and sleep with Dandan?"

Little Douzi nodded. "I’ll stay for one night and go home tomorrow."

The old woman heard their voices and came out. "Lin Lan, don’t go back. Just have dinner here tonight."

Lin Lan smiled and shook her head. "No, I can’t, they’re waiting for me at home! Little Douzi says he’s sleeping with Dandan tonight, did you know?"

The old woman nodded cheerfully. "The three of them told me at noon. They said that once the Lunar New Year is over, school will start and they won’t be able to play together anymore, so I agreed. I’ll watch over them tonight."

Yao Xiuyun also chimed in, telling Lin Lan not to worry.

Lin Lan had no choice but to agree. "I’ll have to trouble you then, Grandaunt. I’m heading back to Lexing now."

"Yay, we get to sleep together tonight!" the children cheered upon hearing this.

Lin Lan and Yao Xiuyun watched the cheering children, shaking their heads with a smile. Hearing the commotion, Xu Dong came out of the house wearing an apron.

He saw Lin Lan and smiled. "I was just about to tell Xiuyun to go find you at your place."

Lin Lan remembered that Li Xiangyang had asked Xu Ming to help get Lin Jun’s kids into school. "Is it all settled about the schooling?"

Xu Dong nodded. "My brother came by this afternoon and told me to let you know it’s all been arranged. He said you should go find him once they arrive."

Lin Lan said gratefully, "Thank Brother Xu so much for me. When Xiangyang gets back, we’ll have to treat him to a drink."

Yao Xiuyun looked at her with feigned dissatisfaction. "Just him? What about us?"

Lin Lan put an arm around her and laughed. "You’re invited. Everyone’s invited."

Yao Xiuyun laughed too, and the old woman watched them with a cheerful smile. "Once Lin Lan and Xiangyang move here, it’ll get much livelier."

Yao Xiuyun nodded with a smile. "And we’ll get to enjoy some delicious food."

****

A few more days passed in a flash. Li Xiangyang and Liu Da arrived at Yangcheng Railway Station, and as they got off the train, they saw Xu Huan disembark from another car, arm in arm with a middle-aged man.

Xu Huan froze for a second when she saw Li Xiangyang, then immediately lifted her chin and sauntered away on her high heels.

Liu Da gave Li Xiangyang a knowing look. "You know her?"

Li Xiangyang nodded, adjusting his shoulder strap. "Li Jing wanted me to marry her."

"Oh!" Liu Da understood. "That woman, you can tell just by looking at her that she’s trouble. You were right not to agree. That man probably isn’t any good, either. She might be in for a rough time."

"Not my problem," Li Xiangyang said. He and Liu Da followed the crowd out of the station and headed toward the guesthouse.

The owner had already saved a room for them. When the receptionist saw them arrive, she gave them the key.

Li Xiangyang and Liu Da quickly washed up, then took the local specialty foods they had brought and went to the station to see Old Zhang.

Old Zhang was waiting for them in the usual spot. When he saw the cured pork, cured chicken, sausages, and spices in the basket, he was so happy he couldn’t stop grinning.

Liu Da pointed to the cured chicken. "This is made from a special breed of chicken raised by Xiangyang’s wife’s family. He saved it just for you, otherwise it would’ve been gone long ago."

"Thank you, thank you so much," Old Zhang said with a smile, giving them a fist-and-palm salute. "The food here is terrible. I was planning to plant some chili peppers this year and was thinking of asking my family to mail me some Sichuan peppercorns, but I didn’t expect you to bring them all."

"Don’t mention it," Li Xiangyang said with a laugh. "As long as you enjoy it, we’ll bring you more next time."