80s Transmigration: The Young Widow's Hustle to Riches-Chapter 142 - 139: Once I’ve Decided, I Won’t Turn Back
By the time she finished cleaning the stove, the congee simmering in the clay pot was ready. Lin Yuezhen took out the salted eggs, then finely chopped some cabbage leaves and stirred them into the congee with a little salt. After taking the pot off the heat, she scooped out some pickled vegetables, chopped them finely, and tossed them with Sichuan peppercorn oil, chili oil, sesame oil, and sugar.
She washed and cut open the salted eggs, placing them on a white earthenware plate. Their brilliant golden yolks resembled blooming rapeseed flowers.
"Mama, how did I end up in Auntie’s bed?" Little Douzi asked as he came out of the room, pattering off to the toilet as he spoke.
The two women watched him, shaking their heads with a smile.
After breakfast, Little Kai and his sister stood at the courtyard gate under a black umbrella, calling for him to go to school.
Lin Yuezhen grabbed an umbrella to walk him, but he refused. He pulled on his little rain boots, shouldered his schoolbag, and took an umbrella, saying to the two women, "Mama, remember to go buy and take your medicine."
"Okay!" Lin Lan packed a few pieces of pea cake and pumpkin pastry into a paper bag, walked with him to the courtyard gate, and handed it to Little Yun. "Don’t walk by the edge of the ditch. The water is too high, and it’ll be trouble if you fall in."
Little Yun nodded. "Mhm! I’ll look after Little Douzi."
Lin Lan watched them go, then turned back inside. Lin Yuezhen had poured some rapeseed oil into a small dish and motioned to her, wanting to give her a scraping treatment.
"Okay!"
Lin Lan agreed, went into her room, and lay facedown on the bed. Lin Yuezhen took a porcelain spoon and dipped it in the rapeseed oil. She first scraped once down the center of her spine, then scraped outward from both sides of the vertebrae, from her neck down her back and along her ribs. Deep red streaks soon appeared on her jade-white skin.
When she was done, Lin Yuezhen dipped her hands in more rapeseed oil and rubbed Lin Lan’s back until it was warm. She then wiped the excess oil off with a towel and told her to bundle up under the covers and get some sleep.
Lin Lan nodded. The soreness and stiffness in her back and neck already felt much better. Tucked beneath the covers, she drifted off to sleep in no time.
Lin Yuezhen tossed the pumpkin peels into the slop bucket, then broke off some thick-leafed greens and cooked a pot of pig feed. After feeding the pigs, she saw that the rain had stopped. She hoisted a wicker basket onto her back, locked the door, and headed for the foot of the mountain.
At the foot of the mountain, five or six children stood barefoot in a flooded winter paddy field. A few were feeling through the mud for swamp eels and loaches. Whenever someone caught one, they would splash over to the earthen ridge, drawing a chorus of cheers from their younger siblings waiting there with fish baskets.
****
Not long after Lin Yuezhen left, Old Li arrived. He stood on Shiqiao, glanced at Lin Lan’s house, and then headed toward Grandma Yang’s home.
The moment Grandma Yang saw him, she knew why he was there. Smiling, she welcomed him in and had him sit down. "You’re here about Xiangyang, aren’t you?"
Old Li nodded and looked at Grandma Yang. "Third Aunt, what’s really going on with Xiangyang and Lin Lan?"
Grandma Yang told him everything she knew, then said, "Lin Lan is a truly good girl. It’s just a shame she married so young."
Old Li sighed. "I know she’s a good person, but she’s Ding Bang’s widow, after all, and she has a child. If people find out, how could I ever show my face in public?"
Grandma Yang understood his concerns. "Young people think in simple terms. The good thing is, both of them are sensible and well past the reckless age of seventeen or eighteen. If you explain the stakes to him clearly, he should be willing to listen."
Old Li said, "I’m going to send him to the countryside to manage the pig farm. As long as Lin Lan doesn’t initiate contact, their feelings will fade with time."
Grandma Yang gave a faint smile. "You can rest assured on that front. Lin Lan always acts with the utmost propriety; she would never do anything that breaks the rules." ’It’s a good thing I told Xiangyang to go talk to Old Li yesterday,’ she thought. ’If we’d waited until Xiangyang had managed to capture Lin Lan’s heart, this would have become much more complicated.’
Old Li’s purpose in visiting Grandma Yang was to ask her to manage her grandniece-in-law. Hearing her response, he said gratefully, "Third Aunt, please don’t get me wrong! You know Xiangyang is my only son, and you understand how a parent feels."
Grandma Yang smiled and waved her hand dismissively. "I’m not offended! Lin Lan is my grandniece-in-law, and I watched Xiangyang grow up. They’re both good kids, and I wish nothing more than for them to have happy, wonderful lives. Besides, if you aren’t satisfied with Lin Lan, her life wouldn’t be happy either if she married into your family and faced constant friction."
"You’re right about that."
Old Li chatted with Grandma Yang for a while longer, then went home. He said to Li Xiangyang, "I went to Grandma Yang’s and asked. That Lin Lan girl is indeed decent, but her husband just died. I think you should wait until the one-year anniversary of his passing before you mention anything about the two of you. Don’t act like some clueless punk and pester her every day. I can’t afford to lose face like that."
Li Xiangyang looked at him, overjoyed. "Old man, you really agree to me being with Lin Lan?"
Old Li grumbled, "You were about to become a live-in son-in-law. How could I possibly disagree!"
Li Xiangyang felt a little dizzy, struck by the unexpected joy. Just as he was about to speak, he heard Old Li add, "Someone from the pig farm came this morning. They said the pens are flooded. Find some time to go check it out." With that, Old Li clasped his hands behind his back and headed for the main hall.
Li Xiangyang noticed his father’s hands behind his back. "Dad, if you weren’t wringing your hands, I’d actually believe you. Let me tell you, you can stop wasting your time with these schemes. You know my personality. Once I’ve made up my mind, I don’t go back."
"You damn brat! I’m done with you! Do whatever you want!" Old Li roared, then went inside and plopped down in his rocking chair.
"Don’t be angry. I’m going to the clothing factory first, and I’ll check on the pig farm as soon as I get back."
Li Xiangyang left for the clothing factory and arranged for Zhigang to bring two men that evening to help unload a shipment of coal.
Then he rode to the Public Security Bureau to return the bike to Yang Dingbang. The two of them then went to the joint defense team headquarters to talk with Xu Dong about finding a few people to clean out a house.
Xu Dong told them not to worry and to leave it all to him. Then he asked, "So, what did Uncle Li say last night?"
Li Xiangyang described Old Li’s reaction, smiling wryly. "After he came back from Grandma Yang’s, he tried to trick me. When I called his bluff, he just yelled that he was washing his hands of me."
Yang Dingbang advised, "Take it slow. It’s only human for him to have a hard time accepting it at first."
Li Xiangyang sighed. "I just don’t understand what goes on in the minds of the older generation. Everything is about face, face, face."
Xu Dong heard this and retorted, "Xiangyang, you’re wrong about that! Everyone cares about face. Imagine if people didn’t care about their reputation at all—that’s a frightening thought."
Li Xiangyang shot him a glare. "Don’t nitpick my words. You know exactly what I mean!" He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "I’ll leave cleaning the house to you. I’m heading to the pig farm now; I need to rush back tonight."
Xu Dong gave him a look of mock tenderness. "My dear Sunflower, go on, don’t you worry. We will be your strong rear guard!"
A shiver of disgust ran down Li Xiangyang’s spine. He rubbed his arms. "Get lost! If I catch a cold from that, I’m sending you the bill!" With that, he stormed out, jumped on his bike, and took off.
’I have to rush to the pig farm, get back to help Lin Lan unload the coal, and, while I’m at it, confess my feelings to her.’
Li Xiangyang’s pig farm closest to East Market was located in the Qiaotou Brigade of Hongqi Commune, which was also where his maternal grandmother’s family lived. After he rode his bike for over an hour to reach the farm, he found that, just as he’d expected, there was absolutely nothing wrong with the pigpens.
