novelraw Chapter 350 - 347: Moving
Chapter 350 - 347: Moving
In the afternoon, Li Xiangyang went to the city government building, where he learned Chen Jingsheng was away for training in the provincial capital. After some thought, he called Li Jing and arranged to meet her at the restaurant in the state-run guest house.
Li Jing hung up the phone. ’In all these years, Xiangyang has never been the one to contact me,’ she thought. ’Has that country bumpkin finally shown her true colors? Did they have a falling out?’
But then she reconsidered. ’That seems impossible. Just a couple of days ago, I passed by Limin Street and saw Old Li talking with that country woman. And just the other day, I saw him taking her kid to school.’
The more she thought about it, the more she was convinced. ’Li Xiangyang must have run into business trouble. That’s the only reason he’d think to call me!’
Li Jing rode her bike to the guest house. Seeing Li Xiangyang already seated inside the restaurant, she took a deep breath, put on a poised front, and walked in. "Xiangyang, you were looking for me?"
"Sit," Li Xiangyang said, pointing to the chair opposite him.
Suppressing a flutter of excitement, Li Jing sat down and glanced at Li Xiangyang with deliberate indifference. "Have you ordered yet? I remember you always liked the lion’s head meatballs..."
"I’m not here to reminisce." Li Xiangyang raised a hand to cut her off. "I was actually looking for Chen Jingsheng at the city government building," he said, looking straight at her. "Since he wasn’t there, I called you."
Li Jing paused, taken aback. "What do you want with him?"
Li Xiangyang stared at her coldly. "To tell him to get his wife under control. She shouldn’t stick her nose where it doesn’t belong, or she might just get it chopped off."
Li Jing shot a look around them and demanded in a low voice, "What’s that supposed to mean?"
"Xu Huan," Li Xiangyang said, his voice grim. "You remember her, don’t you?"
Li Jing nodded. "I remember. She works right here at the guest house. Why? Did she do something to you?"
From her reaction, Li Xiangyang could tell she genuinely didn’t seem to know about the incident with the joint defense team. "Xu Huan got Shen Hao from the joint defense team and two other guys to harass Lin Lan. I thought you put her up to it, but it looks like you really don’t know anything."
"But I’ll give you a warning anyway: don’t do anything spiteful that only hurts others without helping yourself. Otherwise, I’ll go straight to Chen Jingsheng and tell him everything you’ve done."
Humiliated and enraged, Li Jing looked at Li Xiangyang with disdain. "You came to me just to talk about that country woman? An uncultured, uncivilized hick? I don’t have the time to waste causing trouble for her."
"Hmph!" Li Xiangyang scoffed. "You’re so cultured and civilized? Then let me ask you: who was it that called the commerce bureau to report me?"
Li Jing stared at Li Xiangyang, choked into silence.
Li Xiangyang stood up and leaned over her. "I told you last time: you go your way, and I’ll go mine. We stay out of each other’s business. If you dare to do anything to harm Lin Lan again, I won’t hesitate to let Chen Jingsheng see your true colors."
Staring into Li Xiangyang’s icy eyes, Li Jing’s hands, resting on her lap, clenched into tight fists. She ground out through her teeth, "Don’t you worry. From now on, I couldn’t care less if you live or die."
"Thanks. I hope you remember what you just said." With that, Li Xiangyang went to pay the bill and walked straight out.
Li Jing sat there in a daze, Li Xiangyang’s words ringing in her ears. She let out a bitter laugh. ’Fine. No good deed goes unpunished. As if I actually want to be involved in your life.’
She left the restaurant and went to the main guest house building, only to learn that Xu Huan had quit before the New Year. Disappointed, she returned to her own office.
****
「Three days later」
It was Li Xiangyang and Lin Lan’s moving day.
Lin Lan and Little Douzi didn’t have much to move: Little Douzi’s picture books and comics, a box of small toys, and their clothes. The new house was already furnished with everything they needed; it was completely move-in ready.
As for Li Xiangyang’s things, he only brought his bedding, moving the TV, the Eight Immortals table, and some other old furniture from his old place. Everything from Old Li’s room was moved over as well.
Yao Xiuyun looked over at Li Xiangyang’s house next door and laughed. "You two are really something! Once you tear down the wall between the properties, no one will have a yard as big as yours."
The old lady chuckled. "Xiangyang must have had that planned from the start!"
Yao Xiuyun took the old lady’s arm. "Grandma, let me tell you, this house was originally supposed to be mine. He arranged a swap with me behind the scenes. He already had his sights set on Lin Lan way back then."
The old lady smiled and nodded. "Oh, I’m well aware. He’s had his eye on Lin Lan for a long, long time."
Lin Lan’s face flushed bright red listening to them. "Grandma~"
The old lady pointed at her, laughing heartily. "Haha, look at you getting all shy! In another two months, you two will be having your wedding banquet."
"First we’ll celebrate at Little Man and Ding Bang’s wedding, and then the month after, it’ll be Lin Lan and Xiangyang’s," Yao Xiuyun said, clapping her hands with a smile. "This is perfect. Two of our resident bachelors, off the market in the same year."
The old lady sighed. "That’s right. Once Ding Bang and Little Man are married, I can finally rest easy."
Wu Shufen, busy making one of the beds, chimed in, "You’ll still be plenty busy after they’re married, Grandma."
Yao Xiuyun nodded with a grin. "That’s right! Busy helping with the babies."
Outside, Li Xiangyang and Xu Dong, who were dusting furniture, exchanged a glance and shook their heads. "Their minds jump ahead so fast," Li Xiangyang muttered. "One minute it’s weddings, the next it’s babies."
Xu Dong laughed. "See? It’s like they say, three women are enough to put on a play."
Li Xiangyang couldn’t help but laugh.
Lin Lan and Yao Xiuyun finished setting up Little Douzi’s room. Little Dou Ding pouted, "Mama, I want to sleep in your room."
Yao Xiuyun smiled and booped him on the nose. "Yang Xiaoguo, you’re a big boy now. Even Little Hai sleeps in his own room."
Lin Lan watched him with a gentle smile and pulled out one of his picture books. "That’s right. Look, even your book says that when a little eagle grows up, its mother lets it fly on its own. You’re a big boy, so you should have your own room now."
Little Douzi hesitated for a moment, then looked up at them. "Can I come find you if I get scared at night?"
Lin Lan ruffled his hair. "Mama’s room is right next door. Of course you can!"
Only then did Little Douzi nod. "Okay! I’ll sleep by myself."
"Good boy," Lin Lan said. "Mama and Auntie Yao finished making your bed. You can put away your own picture books and toys now."
Little Douzi looked at the box of picture books. "I want to move my books and toys to the study upstairs. That way, when Dandan and the others come over, we can all play together."
Lin Lan smiled and nodded. "It’s your decision."
Little Douzi happily gathered his picture books and ran upstairs.
Yao Xiuyun said to Lin Lan, "It’s a good thing we listened to Xiangyang back then and took the plunge to buy this house and the shop. If we’d waited until now, we wouldn’t have been able to afford even the house."
Lin Lan patted her on the shoulder. "Xiuyun, let me give you another piece of advice. That house you have back at the old commune—you should take advantage of the loose regulations now, tear it down, and rebuild it as a multi-story building you can rent out."
Yao Xiuyun looked at Lin Lan, embarrassed. "We haven’t even paid Xiangyang back the money for the shop yet."
Lin Lan gave her a chiding look. "We’re friends, aren’t we? Besides, it’s not like Xiangyang needs the money right now. Just build the house first and pay him back slowly over time."