novelraw Chapter 341 - 338: What’s a Little Hardship?
Chapter 341 - 338: What’s a Little Hardship?
It was almost ten at night when the coal truck finally arrived at Lin Lan’s door.
Lin Guodong and Yang Zhigang shoveled the coal into baskets. Lin Guozhu and Lin Guoliang carried them into the house on shoulder poles, while Lin Lan, Zhang Xiuqing, and the others carried the baskets to the woodshed.
Many hands make light work. It didn’t take long for them to unload more than half the truck’s coal.
Lin Lan glanced at the remaining coal in the truck bed, then went inside and got a pack of Da Chongjiu cigarettes. She handed them to Yang Zhigang. "Go talk to the driver," she said. "Ask him if he’d be willing to take the rest of this coal to the East Market for us. See what he says."
Yang Zhigang nodded, climbed up to the driver’s window, and handed the Da Chongjiu over with a smile. "Hey man, mind doing us a favor? Could you take the rest of this coal over to the entrance of the East Market’s vegetable market for us?"
The driver took the cigarettes and nodded readily. "Sure. Hop in, let’s go!"
"Thanks, man. We also have a storage bin to load. We’ll go get it." After speaking, Yang Zhigang ran into the courtyard. "Hey, guys, hurry and get the bin onto the truck! The rest is getting dropped off in the East Market!"
"Got it!" Lin Guodong and Lin Guoliang lifted a rectangular, nearly person-high bamboo storage bin onto the truck.
Zhang Xiuqing said to Wu Shufen, "Mom, we’ll go over too. You guys can come tomorrow morning." After a thought, she added a reminder, "Don’t come too early."
Wu Shufen nodded. "Go on. I know what to do."
Zhang Xiuqing and Zhao Xiaohui climbed onto the truck, and they all headed to the East Market together.
Zhao Xiaohui and Zhang Xiuqing carried the storage bin into the backyard and placed it under the eaves behind the local goods shop. "It’s a perfect fit. Doesn’t take up any space at all."
Zhang Xiuqing smiled. "Dad measured the space. Keeping the coal in here will stop it from rolling all over the place."
The two women positioned the bin, then grabbed some dustpans and went to the front of the shop to help Lin Guoliang and the other men unload the coal and fill the bin.
After seeing the driver off, Zhang Xiuqing noticed everyone’s faces were covered in coal dust. She quickly poured some hot water for them to wash up.
Lin Guoliang said to Yang Zhigang, "The clothing store is out of stock, so why don’t you just crash here with us tonight?"
Yang Zhigang laughed and waved his hand. "Nah, I’m worried I’d kick you and Guodong off the bed."
Lin Guodong chuckled. "Kicking us is no big deal. But if you kicked your wife off the bed, you’d better watch out for your ears!"
Yang Zhigang grimaced. "My wife is still being raised by her mother!"
Lin Guoliang laughed and patted his shoulder. "Take your time. Pick one who knows how to run a household."
After seeing Yang Zhigang off, the two brothers closed the door and went back to the yard.
Lin Guoliang looked at the stove built into the hearth and smiled. "Having a stove makes getting hot water so much more convenient. No wonder city folks all like using coal stoves."
Zhang Xiuqing nodded. "Little Lan said we need to put two new coal briquettes in the stove tonight. The lid needs to be turned to the smallest air vent, otherwise it’ll burn out by morning."
Zhao Xiaohui came out with a bowl of soybeans. "Sister-in-law, how many beans should I soak?"
Zhang Xiuqing thought for a moment about the amount Yang Liying had mentioned. "A little more than half a bowl should be enough. We also need to soak a bowl of large white beans for the stewed pig trotters tomorrow morning."
"Alright!" Zhao Xiaohui went back inside, poured some of the soybeans back into their basket, then went out and soaked the rest in hot water. They would be ground tomorrow morning to make soft tofu pudding.
Zhang Xiuqing seasoned the sliced pork intestines and steamed ribs, covered them with a lid, and set them aside to be steamed in the morning.
Early the next morning, Wu Shufen and Lin Changyou were already up.
Lin Lan heard the door to the main hall open. She turned on the light and checked the time. It was exactly five o’clock.
She got dressed, tucked Little Douzi in, and opened her door to go to the kitchen.
Wu Shufen looked at her. "Why are you up so early?"
Lin Lan smiled. "Just half an hour earlier than usual. Let’s have Dad stay home and wait for the kids to wake up. I’ll take you over on my bike."
Lin Jun and the other kids weren’t familiar with this area yet. To get from Lexing to the city’s Number One Elementary School, they had to cross most of the East Market. Although there weren’t many vehicles on the streets, the biggest fear was kidnappers.
"Alright." Wu Shufen looked at Lin Changyou. "Why don’t you go back to sleep for a bit?"
Lin Changyou waved his hand. "No, I’ll make breakfast. The kids will be up soon anyway."
Wu Shufen lifted the lid of the rice steamer to take a look. "Old man, there’s enough leftover rice in the steamer for you all. Just pick some pea shoots for an egg drop soup and stir-fry some salted vegetables. That’ll be plenty."
Lin Changyou nodded and looked at the sky. "Okay. I’ll get you a flashlight."
After washing up, Lin Lan went to the main hall and saw Lin Changyou tying the flashlight to the bicycle’s handlebars with a hemp rope. When he saw her approach, he smiled and said, "When it gets light out, just stop and turn it off."
"Mm," Lin Lan nodded, her heart warm.
Lin Lan tied her scarf, put on her gloves, and pushed the bike out of the main hall. Wangcai wagged its tail at her nonstop.
Wu Shufen pointed at the clever dog. "Be good and watch the house. We’ll bring you back a bone this afternoon."
WOOF WOOF! Wangcai’s tail wagged even faster.
Lin Lan waited for Wu Shufen to get on the back of the bike, then started pedaling forward.
On the winter morning, the fog was thick, painting everything in a vast expanse of white. The flashlight could only illuminate about ten meters ahead.
The road was silent, without a single person in sight. There was only the mother and daughter, riding onward.
They passed through the Eucalyptus Forest, rode through an alleyway, and reached the main street. Along the way, only a few restaurants had their lights on.
’People in the food business all wake up early. As long as you can make money, what’s a little hardship?’
The mother and daughter arrived at the entrance of the East City Restaurant and saw that the door was ajar.
Lin Lan squeezed the brakes and planted her foot on the ground. Wu Shufen got off and went into the restaurant.
Yang Zhigang came out carrying a greasy slab of pork. Seeing the two of them, he smiled. "Aunt Wu, Sister-in-law, you’re here so early!"
"You’re the one who’s early! Already started your meat deliveries." Wu Shufen took out her apron, tied it on, and got ready to work.
Yang Zhigang hung the pork on the back rack of his bike. "Sister-in-law, I’m heading out."
Lin Lan nodded. "Are you going back to the slaughterhouse, or are you heading to the south side to set up your stall?"
"Back to the slaughterhouse to get more meat," Yang Zhigang said, then rode off on his bike.
Lin Lan went to the backyard. She saw steam already rising from the steamer on the stove, and the distinctive aroma of pork intestines wafted from a clay pot. Beside it, the lid of a teapot was rattling, GURGLE GURGLE GURGLE, pushed by the steam.
Zhang Xiuqing brought out an enamel mug and poured a bowl of warm soy milk. "You must be cold. Drink this to warm up."
"I’m not cold, I actually worked up a sweat from riding." Lin Lan took off her gloves, finished the soy milk, checked the time, said goodbye to everyone, and rode her bike to the south side of the city.
By the time she reached the south side, it was already a quarter past six. Qiaohui and Tong Xinglan were packing goods for the Wang Zhixue brothers. Uncharacteristically, Yang Lirong was there with her son, and Yu Jianjun was waiting off to the side.
Yang Lirong was beaming at Qiaohui, while Yu Jianjun’s eyes kept darting toward Tong Xinglan. Wang Zhilin was watching him with a look of utter disgust.
Looking at Yang Lirong, Lin Lan suddenly understood. She smiled and walked over. "Second Sister, bring me your basket. I’ll pack your goods for you."
"Auntie, you’re here!" the Wang Zhixue brothers said with a smile when they saw Lin Lan arrive.
Lin Lan smiled and nodded. "How’s business been the last few days?"
Wang Zhilin grinned. "It wasn’t great before the Lunar New Year, but it’s gotten a bit better since it ended."
Yang Lirong nudged Yu Jianjun. "Jianjun, why aren’t you greeting her?"
"Auntie," Yu Jianjun mumbled perfunctorily, then lowered his head, lost in thought.