80s Transmigration: The Young Widow's Hustle to Riches-Chapter 167 - 163: It’s Best If Everyone in Lexing Knows
"I brought you some pork fat," Li Xiangyang said, pointing to the basket on the steps. "Let’s go! I’ll help you dig up your potatoes."
Lin Lan quickly said, "No, don’t. We’re almost done digging. I’ll go get the money for you."
’The last time he came to ask me about a house, it caused such a scene. If he helps me dig potatoes now, who knows what those gossips will say.’
Li Xiangyang said softly, "How much can a little pork fat be worth? Why do you have to be so serious?"
"I have to be," Lin Lan said with a smile. ’This is for my pastries, and I go through a lot in a month. Even if we were officially a couple, business accounts should be kept separate.’
Seeing her go inside to get the money, Li Xiangyang took off his jacket, turned, and headed out to the private plot. He saw Lin Yuezhen on the ridge between the fields, gathering potatoes. Two large baskets were already filled to the brim.
"Yuezhen, the potato harvest is looking good!"
Lin Yuezhen looked up, saw it was him, and nodded repeatedly with a smile.
Li Xiangyang picked up the carrying pole lying nearby, adjusted the ropes on the baskets, and shot a cool glance at the two gossiping women who had walked up to the courtyard wall. Then he shouldered the pole and walked toward Lin Lan’s house.
He Cuicui and Zhang Yazhen stood by the courtyard wall, watching Li Xiangyang. He Cuicui curled her lip. "Isn’t that the guy who sells pork from the Eucalyptus Forest?"
Zhang Yazhen glared at Lin Lan’s house, her eyes full of jealousy and hatred. "That’s him. Last time, my mom saw him go to that little widow’s house. I told that idiot Yang Lirong, and she brought her friends over to my place to accuse me of spreading rumors. The little widow even said I was slandering her. I’m going to go find that bitch Yang Lirong right now and have her see for herself if I was lying!"
He Cuicui nudged her, her eyes glinting with malice. "Are you stupid? Why bother with all this? You think that guy would actually marry a widow? I bet he’s just toying with her!"
Her words struck a chord with Zhang Yazhen, who nodded vigorously. "That vixen. She was obviously hooking up with the butcher long ago, but she still pretended to be all proper and brought her friends to my house to cause trouble. She even made my husband and I fight."
’I’ll go out later and spread this around. We’ll let everyone see if I was lying.’
She felt that ever since Yang died, the vixen had not only grown more bewitching, but her once lifeless, deadpan face had also become more supple and dewy.
Other women get spots on their faces after having a baby, but hers was as smooth as a freshly peeled egg.
She was curvy in all the right places and slender where she should be. Then Zhang Yazhen looked at herself, withered and shriveled like an old loofah.
In just over half a year, she’d bought a Golden Deer bicycle, and even her little tagalong wore better clothes than the adults. On what grounds did a widow deserve a better life than them?
Thinking about all this, Zhang Yazhen nearly shattered her yellow teeth from grinding them so hard.
Lin Yuezhen turned her head and saw the two women standing by the wall, muttering to each other with eyes full of jealousy. She knew they were bad-mouthing Lin Lan again.
’She just didn’t understand. Why were people so jealous of her Little Lan? They just couldn’t stand to see her doing well!’
’Little Lan was succeeding on her own merits; she hadn’t stolen or robbed anyone. Who made the rule that widows had to live a hard life, to be poor and hungry!’
Lin Lan came out with the money to find the bicycle in the courtyard, but Li Xiangyang was gone. She hurried to the gate just in time to see him walking in easily, carrying two full baskets of potatoes on a pole.
"The woman who reported you last time, she lives right next door?" Li Xiangyang asked.
"Mhm," Lin Lan nodded, shooting him a glare. "By tomorrow, the news will be all over the brigade: ’The young man who sells pork from the Eucalyptus Forest came to help the little widow carry her potatoes.’"
Li Xiangyang set down the baskets, turned, and walked over to Lin Lan. He looked at her and chuckled. "You’re single, I’m unmarried. Let them talk! It’d be best if everyone in Lexing heard about it. That way, Mr. Wang won’t bother bringing you sunflower seeds anymore."
’A great man once said, "To date without the intention of marrying is to be a hooligan!" He, Li Xiangyang, had his sights set on Lin Lan, and he was aiming for marriage. Why should he be afraid of a little gossip?’
’He also said that to not be envied is to be mediocre. Their jealousy of Little Lan just proved how capable she was!’
’If he weren’t afraid of upsetting Lin Lan, he’d want to come and help her with her work every day!’
Lin Lan looked at him, speechless. "..." ’How did this guy know that Wang Yong brought me sunflower seeds?’
Li Xiangyang reached out and took her hand, saying earnestly, "Little Lan, don’t be afraid of their rumors. My feelings for you are genuine! As long as you agree, we can go get our marriage certificate right away!"
Lin Lan’s heart skipped a beat. She glanced at the long, strong fingers wrapped around her own, then forcefully pulled her hand away. She gave a faint, concealing smile. "Who acts like you? You make a lifelong commitment sound as casual as playing house."
’Although she had already told her parents she was willing to date Li Xiangyang, it was on the condition that his father agreed to their relationship.’
’There were things Li Xiangyang hadn’t experienced, but she had. Having lived two lives, she understood that marriage wasn’t just about two people, but the union of two families.’
Li Xiangyang could see her hesitation. He gazed at her intently. "Little Lan, I’m serious. Give me a chance, and give yourself a chance."
Lin Lan looked up at him. "I know you’re serious, but it’s too early to talk about this. Besides, marriage isn’t as simple as you think. The blessing of our elders is also very important."
"I know. Grandma already told me. My dad told me yesterday that he’d think about it for a few days and then tell me his decision. I know my dad. He’ll definitely agree to us being together in the end."
Li Xiangyang took Lin Lan’s hand again, looking at her with sincerity. "Little Lan, believe me. I want to marry you, take you home, be good to you, and be good to Little Bean."
Lin Lan nodded. "I believe you." ’She could see that in this moment, Li Xiangyang was speaking from the heart. But how long that sincerity would last... only time would tell.’
’Li Xiangyang could sense that Lin Lan didn’t completely trust him, but he would prove his sincerity with his actions in the days to come.’
Lin Lan opened the door to the main room, and the two of them emptied the potatoes inside before going back out to continue digging.
Li Xiangyang held up a hoe and said to the two of them, "I’ll do the digging. You two can gather them from behind me."
"Okay," Lin Lan agreed.
The two sisters gathered the potatoes that had been dug up and placed on the ridge. They put the large ones in a big basket and the small ones in a smaller basket. ’The big ones can be shredded and braised, and the small ones can be washed, boiled, peeled, and flattened to make fried potato cakes.’
As she gathered the potatoes, Lin Lan watched Li Xiangyang. She had originally thought he wouldn’t know how to do farm work, but he was surprisingly proficient at digging up the potatoes and picking them off the vines.
Li Xiangyang noticed Lin Lan sneaking glances at him and said proudly, "I was dragged to the countryside to do a lot of work back in the day. Transplanting rice seedlings, planting rapeseed, general farming—I know how to do it all."
Lin Lan smiled and nodded. "Mhm, I can tell."
With his help, they worked much faster. By noon, there were only two rows of potatoes left to dig.
Seeing it was almost noon, Lin Yuezhen gestured to Lin Lan, signaling that they should keep digging while she went back to cook.
Lin Lan thought for a moment. "Sis, catch a chicken and bring it back. We’ll have Xiangyang kill it later. We can braise half of it with potatoes and boil the other half to make a cold chicken salad."
Lin Yuezhen nodded, picked up her hoe, and went back to catch a chicken.
Li Xiangyang glanced over at Lin Lan. She was focused on her work, her face beaded with sweat, which only made her fair skin glow with a rosy tint. He looked at her and felt that everything about her was perfect.
"Little Lan, you rest for a bit. I’ve only got half a row left to finish."
