Chapter 253 - 250: Visitors Arrive
The two of them had just reached the Eucalyptus Forest when Li Xiangyang handed the stall over to Yang Zhigang and left.
Lin Lan saw Zhao Dehai carrying Yang Liying’s shoulder pole of tofu, with Yang Liying herself carrying the tofu pudding, as they arrived at the Eucalyptus Forest.
Zhao Dehai said, "Lin Lan, the bricks, cement, and clay have all been delivered to the shop in the south of the city."
Lin Lan said gratefully, "Thank you, Brother-in-law. How much is the total? I’ll give the money to Sister Liying later."
Zhao Dehai told her the total. After Lin Lan noted it down, she watched him help Yang Liying set up her stall before he left.
Lin Lan walked over to Yang Liying’s stall. "Liying, have you two decided?"
Yang Liying’s voice was subdued. "Your brother-in-law says it’s too inconvenient in the mountains. He’s worried something might go wrong, so he won’t let me go."
Lin Lan said, "The medical care in the mountains can’t compare to Lexing’s. Babies are delivered by midwives. The hospital is in Dashiqiao Commune, and after the ferry stops running, the only way to cross the river is by a small sampan."
Yang Liying took a deep breath. "I’ll go home and think it over." She was scared, too. ’If something went wrong, Little Li and Xiaoyun would have to suffer.’
****
Lin Guoliang and Zhou Shitou arrived at Lin Lan’s front door by car.
Zhou Shitou looked at the lush green rapeseed in the fields and said with envy, "It’s not just that the roads here are flat—even the crops grow well."
Lin Guoliang nodded. "That’s right. Lexing is the production brigade closest to East Market."
Qiaohui and Lin Yuezhen came out of the house. Seeing Zhou Shitou and Lin Guoliang, they called out happily, "Brother! Cousin! You’re here!"
"Hey!" Zhou Shitou replied. He looked at Qiaohui, who was dressed in new clothes and had a much healthier complexion. ’Life outside the mountains really does a person good,’ he thought.
Old Chen got out of the car and helped unload the winter squashes and other dried goods from the roof rack.
After seeing Old Chen off, Lin Guoliang went back to Zhou Shitou. "Let’s go take a look at the Eucalyptus Forest where Little Lan has her stall."
Zhou Shitou nodded and said to Qiaohui, "Work hard now, don’t slack off."
Qiaohui replied with a charming pout, "I know, Brother."
Lin Guoliang led Zhou Shitou to the Eucalyptus Forest. Noticing that more and more people were setting up stalls in the woods, he smiled and pointed out Lin Lan’s stall for Zhou Shitou to see.
Zhou Shitou stared in fascination at the various vendors in the woods. ’The world out here and the one back in the mountains are two different places,’ he thought.
Lin Guoliang pulled him over to Lin Lan’s stall. Seeing that she was busy serving pastries to a customer, he smiled and stood behind her cart, waiting until she was done before calling out, "Little Lan, still busy, I see!"
Lin Lan looked up, pleasantly surprised to see them, and smiled. "Brother! Cousin! When did you two get here?"
Lin Guoliang laughed. "We’ve been standing behind you watching for a bit. Is Xiangyang not at the stall today?"
"Xiangyang went to buy supplies." Lin Lan turned to Zhou Shitou. "Cousin, did you manage to bring all the squashes?"
"We brought them all," Zhou Shitou said, pulling out a notebook and handing it to Lin Lan. "We also gathered some dried mushrooms and wood ear fungus. Cousin, this is a list of things the people from our brigade asked us to buy. Could you please take a look for us?"
Lin Lan took the notebook and glanced at the list. It included homespun cloth, machetes, sickles, kitchen knives, and iron woks. Salt was the most requested item, with needles and thread being the least. There were also requests for rheumatism pain relief balm, bone-setting liniment, and medicine for fevers and colds.
"We don’t have coupons for the ironware, so I’ll have to ask Xiangyang to find someone to buy it from, but it’ll be a bit more expensive. You can get salt, needles, and thread right here in the woods. The medicine, I’ll have to get from the city hospital."
"A little more expensive is fine, as long as you can get it," Zhou Shitou said. He pulled a stack of fabric coupons from his pocket and handed them to Lin Lan. "We do have fabric coupons, though. Little Lan, can you help everyone buy the homespun cloth?"
Lin Lan glanced at Zhou Xiaohong’s stall across the way, then turned back to Zhou Shitou. "For the salt and sewing supplies, should I get the exact amounts on the list, or should I stock up on a little extra?"
Zhou Shitou thought for a moment. "Get extra salt and thread. A few more needles would be good, too."
Lin Lan nodded, took the list, and went across the way. She asked Li Wu to get the salt ready, then found Sister Fan, who sold sewing supplies, and asked her to prepare the needles and thread and bring them over to her stall.
Finally, she went over to Zhou Xiaohong’s stall and asked in a low voice, "Sister Zhou, does Sister Li have any of that clearance fabric for sale?"
Zhou Xiaohong glanced at Lin Guoliang and Zhou Shitou, who were standing behind Lin Lan’s stall, and whispered, "I’m not sure if there’s any left. What kind of fabric are you looking for? I can go with you to check when we close up."
"Thank you, Sister Zhou," Lin Lan said, looking at her gratefully. "They have fabric coupons and want to buy homespun cloth."
Zhou Xiaohong’s eyes lit up. "Silly, you can just give the fabric coupons to Li Wu and have him find the homespun cloth for you! It’ll end up being just as cheap!"
Lin Lan tapped her forehead. ’I had no idea Li Wu could get his hands on homespun cloth.’ She then went over to Li Wu’s stall. "Brother Li, can I talk to you for a second?"
Li Wu smiled. "Go ahead."
Lin Lan pointed to Zhou Shitou and pulled the fabric coupons from her pocket, handing them to Li Wu. "He’s my cousin, and these are the fabric coupons they brought. Could you help me exchange them for some homespun cloth?"
Li Wu agreed readily. "Sure. Just give them to me, and I’ll have the cloth for you tomorrow."
"Thanks, Brother Li." Lin Lan got the list from Zhou Shitou and gave Li Wu the part detailing the colors and quantities for the homespun cloth. "It’s a bit of a piecemeal order. Sorry to trouble you."
Li Wu glanced at the list. Seeing the colors were all blue, dark blue, and an earthy white, he smiled. "These colors are the easiest to find. I’ll deliver the cloth and the salt to your house together tomorrow morning."
"Thank you, thank you," Lin Lan said again.
Li Wu grinned. "Little Lin, we’re all friends here. No need to be so formal."
A little while later, Sister Fan delivered the needles and thread, smiling as she told Lin Lan she was giving her the wholesale price.
After Lin Lan thanked her, Zhou Shitou took out the money and paid Sister Fan. He compared the prices and realized things were indeed cheaper in East Market than in Dashiqiao.
Seeing that Lin Lan had already arranged for all the goods, Lin Guoliang smiled at Zhou Shitou and said, "Shi Tou, let me take you for a tour of the city."
"Great!" Zhou Shitou nodded eagerly.
Lin Lan pointed to her bicycle. "Brother, you two can take the bike."
"Alright!" Lin Guoliang took the bicycle and went with Zhou Shitou to explore the city.
After the two left, Lin Lan went to the pork stall, found Yang Zhigang, and bought some pork belly and pig’s trotters.
Yang Liying brought over two more blocks of tofu. "That place you went to last time, Shishanling, is that where your cousin is from?"
Lin Lan nodded. "Their village is remote, and the living conditions are very poor."
Yang Liying sighed. "The deeper you go into the mountains, the worse the conditions get."
’If Dehai agrees,’ she thought, ’I’ll go to Shilian with Lin Lan’s brother. And if that’s not possible, I’ll go to Shishanling.’
Lin Lan understood Yang Liying’s conflict. ’I can give her advice on other things,’ she thought, ’but this is a decision she and her husband have to make on their own.’
About an hour later, Lin Guoliang and Zhou Shitou came back from their tour of the city. Lin Lan gave them the meat and vegetables to take home.
At five o’clock, everyone began to pack up their stalls. Lin Lan saw that Zhao Dehai had arrived, so she didn’t go over to help Yang Liying.
Lin Lan packed up her stall and went home. When she saw that Lin Yuezhen had already made braised pig’s trotters with kelp, red-braised pork, and twice-cooked pork with garlic sprouts, she got on her bike and rode to the second brigade to buy a braised duck and some braised pig’s head meat.
When she returned home, Li Xiangyang was back as well. He promised to go to the blacksmith’s shop the next morning to buy the machetes and sickles for Zhou Shitou.