80s Transmigration: The Young Widow's Hustle to Riches-Chapter 154 - 150: She’s Timid, Don’t Scare Her

Sun Xiuhua got up and went inside, coming back out with ten yuan. She gave it to him and said with weary patience, "This is all the money we have left in the house. Just think about how much you’ve already lost gambling. We even had to borrow fifty yuan from your uncle for your hospital stay this time.

We still need money for the New Year’s banquet. Your father said that if he catches you messing around again, he’s going to have your sister take over the job. You’re twenty-one, twenty-two years old now. I can’t watch over you forever. If you really won’t listen, then there’s nothing I can do."

"I get it. I’m going to bed." Liu Jinbao sullenly clutched the ten yuan and shuffled toward his room.

Lin Lan had no idea that Liu Jinbao, that unkillable cockroach, was still bent on dragging her down.

She kept herself so busy she barely had time to breathe, all to avoid thinking about her situation with Li Xiangyang.

In the afternoon, she rode her bike to the Eucalyptus Forest, where everyone was busy setting up their stalls.

Li Xiangyang stood in the vegetable patch and said to Old Li, "Dad, if you want to talk to Lin Lan, why don’t we wait until we’ve packed up? We can go to her place together, or we could ask her to meet us at Ding Bang’s house, okay?"

Seeing how nervous he was, Old Li grew irritated. "It’s not like I’m going to eat her! What are you so worked up about?"

Li Xiangyang put on a placating smile and said in a low voice, "Dad, it’s not right for you to just go talk to her without any warning. I’m the one who shamelessly went after her. If you go, you’ll scare her. She’s timid by nature..."

"Bullshit!" Old Li rolled his eyes at him. "A woman who dares to come out here and run a stall to make money is timid? Yeah, right. Who are you kidding?"

Li Xiangyang pressed his hands together and gave his father an appeasing smile. "Okay, okay. For the sake of all the pastries she makes and sends you every so often, can you please just be a little more polite when you talk to her?"

"I know what I’m doing." Old Li couldn’t bear to look at him anymore. "You’re an embarrassment. When did a butcher like you become such a sissy?"

Li Xiangyang looked to the heavens, speechless. ’...’ ’You have the nerve to laugh at me? If Mom were still around, you’d be even worse than I am!’

Lin Lan had just set down her basket and lifted a corner of the white cloth covering her pastries when she saw someone standing beside her. She turned her head and, forcing down her racing heart, greeted him with her usual smile. "Uncle Li, you’re here!"

Old Li gave a polite nod. "Just out for a stroll. More and more people are coming to the Eucalyptus Forest to shop." He looked at Lin Lan’s composed expression and found he couldn’t bring himself to say the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

Lin Lan paused for a second, then smiled. "Yes! The regulations have loosened up a bit, so there are more commune members selling vegetables." ’She had thought Old Li was here to question her about seducing Li Xiangyang.’

As they were speaking, two customers approached the stall. One pointed at the pumpkin cakes. "I’ll take two yuan worth."

The other pointed at the kidney bean rolls, also asking for two yuan worth.

Lin Lan took out a kraft paper bag, picked up the pumpkin cakes with tongs, and bagged them, smiling warmly. "I just baked these this afternoon. They’re still warm."

The customer smiled and handed the money to Lin Lan. "I love your food. It always looks so clean, and the taste is different from other places."

"Thank you for your business. If you like it, please help spread the word," Lin Lan said with a smile.

The two customers smiled, nodded, and left with their vegetable baskets. Then, another customer arrived.

Lin Lan turned back to Old Li with a smile. "Uncle Li, you had something you wanted to see me about, right? It’s a little busy since the market just opened. How about I come find you after I pack up?"

Old Li hesitated for a moment, then waved his hand. "You’re busy! It’s nothing, really. I’m just taking a walk." ’He thought he was starting to understand what that brat of his liked about her. She wasn’t petty. She didn’t panic and just did what needed to be done.’

"Okay!"

After agreeing, Lin Lan got busy again. When she finished with a wave of customers and looked back, Old Li was already gone. She glanced over toward Li Xiangyang and saw that he had also set up his stall today. He was in the vegetable patch, cutting meat for a customer.

Zhou Xiaohong also finished with a rush of customers and came over with a smile. She pulled Lin Lan close and whispered in her ear, "What did Uncle Li want? Have you and Xiangyang gotten together?"

Lin Lan flatly denied it. "Nothing like that. Doesn’t Uncle Li often come by for a walk?"

"Still trying to hide it from your big sister? I saw it a long time ago. Xiangyang is always sneaking glances at you, and whenever you need anything, he’s the first one to come running." Zhou Xiaohong gave her a playful nudge. "Listen to me, if he’s good enough, just go for it. A young man like Xiangyang is a rare find!"

Lin Lan lowered her gaze. "You know he’s still a young, unmarried man. Have you forgotten that I’m a widow? How could we possibly be a match?"

Zhou Xiaohong gave her a look of fond exasperation. "What do you mean, not a match! Xiangyang is capable, and you’re every bit his equal. Any man who gets to marry a woman like you is the lucky one."

Lin Lan hadn’t expected Zhou Xiaohong to think so highly of her. She said sincerely, "Thank you, Sister Zhou."

Zhou Xiaohong looked at her and spoke from the heart. "You know your big sister doesn’t have many skills, but I have a good eye for people, and I’ve never been wrong. I’ve known Xiangyang for seven or eight years, and I’ve never seen him so devoted to any woman. Good men are hard to find these days. Don’t overthink it and be so indecisive that you let a good match slip away."

Lin Lan nodded seriously. "I’ll think about it carefully."

Zhou Xiaohong grinned and gave her a light pat, whispering, "I’ll be waiting for the wedding candy, then."

"..." Lin Lan looked at her, at a loss for words.

Just as Zhou Xiaohong left, Yang Liying came over to ask what Old Li had wanted with her.

Seeing her worried expression, Lin Lan reassured her, "Uncle Li isn’t an unreasonable person. You don’t need to worry."

Yang Liying breathed a sigh of relief. "I was just afraid he’d say something nasty. We haven’t done anything wrong, and it’s not like you’re not good enough for Xiangyang."

Lin Lan looked at her, her heart warming. "Thank you, Liying. From now on, you’re my real sister."

’She felt so lucky in this life. Her own family was good to her, her husband’s relatives were good to her, and even her sister-in-law was this wonderful. On top of that, she had friends like Zhou Xiaohong and Xiuyun. It was as if heaven was making it up to her.’

Yang Liying’s eyes reddened at her words. "Oh, stop! You’re going to make me cry."

The two sisters-in-law looked at each other and smiled, both a little embarrassed. Just then, a customer arrived, and they each got busy again.

When Li Xiangyang finished up, he brought his vegetable basket over to Lin Lan’s stall and set it down next to her carrier basket. "I brought you some pork stomach, intestines, and pig’s blood, plus a few leg bones. You can cook them up and bring some over for Grandma." He then looked at her anxiously. "My dad has a sharp tongue but a soft heart. Don’t take anything he says to heart, okay?"

Lin Lan shot him a glare, but seeing his anxious expression, her heart warmed. "Uncle Li didn’t say anything. You don’t have to worry."

Seeing the corners of her lips twitch upward, Li Xiangyang decided to press his advantage. "That’s great! Little Lan, see how nice my dad is? In the future, when we move over by the No. 1 City Middle School, we can go out to work while he stays home with Douzi. Wouldn’t that be perfect?" ’It would be even better if they had two more kids,’ he thought.

"Little Lan?" Lin Lan stared at him, speechless for a moment. "I’m not talking to you anymore. Go on, get back to your business!"

"Okay, okay, don’t be mad. It’s my fault!" Li Xiangyang said in a low voice. Seeing that her face had turned red, he grinned and strode back toward his vegetable patch.

Lin Lan muttered, "Such a smooth-talker. Give him an inch and he’ll take a mile. Give him a nest and he’ll want to lay eggs in it."

Watching the two of them from the side, Yang Liying felt both happy and sad. ’Oh, you disappointing youngest brother... If only you had a bit more ambition, if you hadn’t thrown your life away on gambling and booze...’

Sigh! She let out a long sigh, wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, and began to pack up her empty tofu pudding bucket.