80s Transmigration: The Young Widow's Hustle to Riches-Chapter 191 - 187: I’ve Caused You Trouble

Yang Meihua smiled and nodded. "I have something to tell you!"

"Of course!" Lin Lan turned, went inside, and came back with a few pumpkin cakes on a plate. "Try one. They’re fresh out of the oven, best when they’re warm."

Yang Meihua smiled and picked one up. "Thank you! Ever since you started selling pastries, we haven’t had to buy them from anywhere else."

Lin Lan laughed with feigned reproach. "It’s just a few snacks, not even worth mentioning. What about Little Kai and Little Yun helping me with Douzi every day? You never bring that up!"

"Oh, it’s nothing for Little Kai and the others to help. Besides, your Douzi is even more sensible and well-behaved than my Little Kai!"

Just then, Wu Shufen came out with a cup of honey water, beaming at Yang Meihua. "We live so far away. Little Lan is lucky to have such good friends like you and Liying looking after her!"

Yang Meihua stood to accept the enamel mug, smiling. "You’re too kind, Auntie. We’re all one big family. It’s only right that we look after each other."

Wu Shufen replied, "That’s because you’re all so kindhearted!"

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Wu Shufen went back to the kitchen to work on the pastry molds with Lin Yuezhen.

Yang Meihua looked at Lin Lan. "You know my sister-in-law, Xiang Hongxia, right?"

Lin Lan nodded. "I do. What about her?" ’Xiang Hongxia had brought over old pumpkins to sell to her a few times. The woman had a harsh, mean-looking face, and Lin Lan had a feeling she’d be difficult to get along with.’

"She’s about to cause trouble for you!" Yang Meihua then told her what had happened after she’d left Lin Lan’s house that morning. "That Xiang Hongxia is as shameless as they come. I bet she’s going to show up here and pester you to teach her how to make pastries."

Lin Lan smiled and shook her head. "Don’t worry. She can come, but I have to be willing to teach for anything to happen!"

Yang Meihua gave a dry laugh. "Lin Lan, I’m telling you, you’ve never met anyone like her. How should I put it? She’s like a toad—it won’t bite you, but it’ll make your stomach turn just by being there."

Lin Lan nodded. "That does sound disgusting. Thanks for the heads-up, Meihua. I know what to expect now. I won’t be giving her a warm welcome when she shows up."

Yang Meihua then remembered how, at the sunning ground today, a few of the elders—not to mention the ever-envious and hateful Xiang Hongxia—were telling anyone who would listen that Lin Lan had bought a small villa.

"A lot of people in the team have heard that your pastry business earned you enough to buy a villa. Some are jealous, and others are making snide remarks."

Lin Lan gave a wry smile. "Sigh... People will talk. I didn’t steal anything, and I didn’t rob anyone. They can say whatever they want."

’She could just imagine it. For some members of the first sub-team, the topic of conversation at lunch today would be how the little widow bought a villa. And not just her—her boyfriend bought one too.’

’That’s just how the world worked. If you did well for yourself, people grew jealous. If you were struggling, no one would help you; they’d just laugh at you and kick you while you were down.’

"Exactly! Try not to let it get to you. Just let them talk!" Yang Meihua said, standing up. "I should get going. I don’t want to keep you from your work."

Lin Lan smiled. "Meihua, if you have time when you visit your parents, could you see if you can find any old pumpkins for me? I’ll pay double the peak season price."

Yang Meihua nodded, delighted. "Okay! I’ll head over to my parents’ place tomorrow and take a look!"

Lin Lan walked her to the courtyard gate and looked at the rapeseed plants in the field across the way. "They’re distributing the land on New Year’s Day. Have they said how they’re going to handle these rapeseed crops?"

Yang Meihua nodded. "They have. After the rapeseed is harvested and the state’s portion is set aside, the rest will be distributed based on work points and headcount. The fields themselves will be divided among the households in each sub-team. They’re bundling plots, like two mu of high-grade land with two-tenths of a mu of low-grade land. Getting a good bundle will come down to luck of the draw. Xiang Hua says it’s about as fair as it can get."

Lin Lan listened and agreed. "If they do it that way, no one should have any major objections."

After seeing Yang Meihua off, Lin Lan returned to the kitchen and began packing up the pastries for her later deliveries.

Wu Shufen had overheard a snippet of their conversation. "Little Lan, who was Meihua saying is going to come looking for you?"

Lin Lan glanced back. "She said her sister-in-law is planning to come by..."

Wu Shufen pursed her lips in distaste. "Let me tell you, some people aren’t just thick-skinned, they’re utterly shameless. When you run into someone like that, you can’t afford to be polite. If you are, she’ll latch onto you and never let go."

"Mm," Lin Lan nodded. "I’m going to pick out some fabric. I have to go set up my stall in a bit, so you and Yuezhen can take it to the sewing co-op and have a couple of outfits made."

"One outfit would be a luxury, and you want two!" Wu Shufen shot her a look. "You need to be more frugal. Don’t spend money like it’s water. Have you seen how your aunt and her family are living?"

Lin Lan searched her memory. ’I have one older aunt and two younger ones. My older aunt married a man from the mountains, while my two younger aunts’ husbands’ families are in the New Prosperity Team, across from the ferry terminal.’

When Lin Lan didn’t respond, Wu Shufen continued, "Your aunt’s situation is nothing like Shilian’s. The land over there is rugged and water is hard to come by. They can only grow things like corn, sweet potatoes, and potatoes.

"Your aunt is a little better off because we help support her, but many families there go the whole year without a single filling meal. When your father and I brought her grain last year, she asked us to keep an eye out for a husband for Qiaohui from outside the mountains."

Lin Lan thought for a moment, realizing she had no memory of Qiaohui whatsoever. "Shilian and my younger aunts are much better off than my older aunt. Marrying someone from outside is much better than staying in the mountains."

Wu Shufen shook her head and sighed. "Qiaohui is already fifteen this year, but she’s so scrawny she looks more like she’s eleven or twelve. Little Lan, Qiaohui is an honest, hardworking girl. I see your business is doing well, and I wanted to ask you something. Could you let Qiaohui come here and work for you? If you give her a few yuan a month, it would make life a little easier for your aunt."

Lin Lan agreed without hesitation. "Of course. Just have her come. Even if it weren’t Qiaohui, I was already planning to ask you to help me find someone."

Wu Shufen said happily, "I’ll have your older brother go into the mountains to bring her back as soon as I get home."

"Okay!" Lin Lan linked arms with her mother and led her toward the bedroom. "Come and help me pick out the fabric."

Standing in front of the trunk, Wu Shufen held the lid open for Lin Lan as she pulled out the fabric. "Little Lan, you should have two outfits made for yourself, too. You should make some time to go see a movie with Xiangyang, or walk around the department store."

Lin Lan laughed at that. ’The only time I’ve been to the movies since I got here was when I took Douzi and Dandan!’

"Mom, do you want to go to the movies? On Sunday, you can ask Grand-aunt to go with you and take Douzi and Dandan."

Wu Shufen smiled and poked her gently on the forehead. "I’m telling you to go with Xiangyang, and you’re trying to send us instead!"

"You’ve seen how it is. Xiangyang and I are busy from dawn till dusk. When would we ever have time to go to the movies?" As she spoke, Lin Lan sat on the bed with a pile of fabric in her arms. She picked out the thicker materials and spread them out. "Take a look. See which colors you like."

"I like this dark blue," Wu Shufen said, picking up a navy blue blended fabric. "Little Lan, let’s save this piece to make a Zhongshan suit for Xiangyang. I think he looks handsome in them."

"You seem to like him more than your own children these days!" Lin Lan teased, picking out a few more pieces and placing them on the bed. "Take these and get them made later. Don’t feel bad about using them. I’ll buy more the next time the clothing factory has a sale on their leftover fabrics."

’Li Xiangyang was tall with a well-proportioned frame. He really did look good in a suit.’