Chapter 254 - 251: Mom Is Relieved
After the meal, Lin Lan settled the accounts with Zhou Shitou and gave him the payment for the goods. "Cousin, why don’t you stay and relax for a few days? I’ll have Xiangyang take you and my brother around the city."
Zhou Shitou smiled. "I can’t. I have to catch the bus back tomorrow afternoon. If I wait any longer, the heavy snow will block the mountain roads."
’That’s true,’ Lin Lan thought. She nodded with a smile. "Alright. Come visit again in the spring."
Zhou Shitou said cheerfully, "We will! When you and Xiangyang have your wedding banquet, we’ll all come to Lexing to celebrate."
"My cousin and her husband already got their marriage certificate! And he even gave us White Rabbit candies. They were so milky and delicious," Qiaohui chimed in with a grin.
Lin Guoliang looked at Lin Lan and Li Xiangyang in surprise. "When did this happen? How come you two didn’t say anything?"
Lin Lan glanced at him, embarrassed. "It just happened a couple of days ago."
"Uncle," Little Douzi said, tugging on Lin Guoliang’s sleeve and pouting, "Mommy and Uncle Xiangyang even took pictures, but they didn’t take me with them."
Li Xiangyang smiled and picked Little Douzi up. "When Uncle Xiangyang and Mommy get back from Yangcheng City, we’ll take you to get your picture taken. We’ll take lots of them."
Little Douzi looked at him and held out his pinky finger. "Uncle Xiangyang, let’s pinky swear!"
"Okay," Li Xiangyang said, extending his own pinky. Little Douzi linked his and chanted in a clear voice, "Pinky swear, for a hundred years, no take-backs! And if you do, you’re a big fat pig!"
Seeing how close Little Douzi and Li Xiangyang were, Lin Guoliang felt a warmth in his heart. He patted Li Xiangyang’s shoulder. "Thank you, Xiangyang."
Li Xiangyang smiled. "Brother, it’s what I should do." ’From the day he decided to pursue Lin Lan, he had resolved that Little Douzi would be his child too, and he would treat him as his own flesh and blood.’
Li Xiangyang chatted with Lin Guoliang and Zhou Shitou in the main hall for a while before saying his goodbyes and heading home.
The next morning, Lin Lan took Lin Guoliang and Zhou Shitou to the city hospital to get some medicine. Then, she went to the shop on Limin Road to check on the whole spices they had bought from the provincial capital, before heading to the shop in the East Market.
On the way back, they passed the Xinhua Bookstore, and Lin Lan went in to buy a calligraphy copybook for Little Douzi to practice his handwriting.
After seeing everything, Zhou Shitou looked at Lin Lan with admiration. "Cousin, you’re so capable. To think you’ve bought so many properties."
Seeing the look in Zhou Shitou’s eyes, Lin Lan blushed. "Cousin, it was just good luck. I’m not nearly as capable as you say." ’The truly capable ones are people like Xiangyang, Xu Mingxuan, and Zhou Xiaohong,’ she thought.
Lin Guoliang smiled. "Shi Tou, if you guys plant more of the things Little Lan mentioned, it won’t be long before you can build a new house too."
Zhou Shitou sighed. "I haven’t dared to dream of building a new house. I’m just thinking of earning a little money to renovate our current home, bring my folks to the city hospital to get their rheumatism checked, and I’ll be satisfied if my three kids can go to school for a few years."
"Don’t you worry," Lin Guoliang said, patting Zhou Shitou’s shoulder. "Life will only get better from here."
Zhou Shitou nodded. "You’re right. With your help, this year is already better than the last."
The three of them finished their tour and returned to Lexing. Li Wu had delivered the salt and homespun cloth to Lin Lan’s house, and after taking his payment, he left in a hurry.
A little while later, Li Xiangyang arrived, bringing things like machetes and sickles. Lin Guoliang and Zhou Shitou packed the items into their back-baskets, preparing to return to Shilian.
Lin Lan remembered that she and Li Xiangyang were going to Yangcheng City on Sunday. The train journey there and back alone would take at least five or six days. Plus, they needed time to source goods in Yangcheng City. If everything went smoothly, they’d be gone for eight or nine days.
Yuezhen and Qiaohui had to look after Little Douzi, manage the stall, and bake pastries for wholesale. They also had several pigs to feed at home. The two of them would definitely be overwhelmed.
"Brother, Xiangyang and I need to make a trip to Yangcheng City. When you get home, could you ask Mom to come here and help me out for a few days?"
Lin Guoliang had heard about this from Li Xiangyang last night, so he nodded. "Don’t worry, I’ll tell Mom to come as soon as I get back."
Lin Lan thought for a moment and added a few warnings. "Brother, Cousin, Master Chen said there are a lot of pickpockets and scammers at the bus station. Don’t jostle with the crowd when you get on the bus, and be careful with the money in your pockets."
Lin Guoliang patted his pocket. "We know. The money is tucked away in an inner pocket."
Zhou Shitou looked at Qiaohui. "You behave and learn your craft well here with your cousin. No slacking off, you hear? If you misbehave, I’ll give you a spanking."
"Brother," Qiaohui cried out reproachfully. "I know! I’m a teenager now, not a little kid."
Zhou Shitou chuckled and ruffled her hair. He shouldered his back-basket and said to Lin Lan and Li Xiangyang, "Cousin, Xiangyang, thank you for all your trouble."
Li Xiangyang shook his head with a smile. "It’s no trouble at all. If you need anything, you can send a message with someone."
"Alright, we’re off then." Lin Guoliang and Zhou Shitou waved and walked away with big strides.
Lin Lan and the others watched as Lin Guoliang and Zhou Shitou, their back-baskets on their shoulders, strode into the distance. Only then did they turn and go back into the courtyard.
The very next day, Wu Shufen came to Lexing to help. The moment she saw Lin Lan, she pulled her aside and asked, "Your brother said you and Xiangyang got your marriage certificate?"
"Yes! Xiangyang even had it framed and brought it over for me to keep. I’ll get it so you can see." Lin Lan led Wu Shufen into her room, took the award-like marriage certificate out of a trunk, and handed it to her. "Here, take a look."
Wu Shufen took it, gently tracing the names of Lin Lan and Li Xiangyang on the certificate. "Good, good. Now Mom can rest easy."
Lin Lan pulled her down to sit on the edge of the bed and looked at her with a wide grin. "You can rest easy! I’m going to earn lots of money in the future to take good care of you and Dad."
Wu Shufen looked at her, gratified. "As long as you children are safe and sound, that’s all the filial piety I need." She then added, "Your Third Brother is coming back before the New Year. His letter says he’s leaving the service and coming home for good next year. It’s good that he’s coming back. It’s time for him to find a partner and start a family. People his age already have kids old enough to run errands."
Lin Lan nodded. "What about Guoqiang? Have you received any letters from him?"
"That rascal. He’s been gone for so long and has only sent one letter, though his monthly allowance is always wired back on time."
"I heard that new recruits in the army have very heavy training schedules. They’re so tired at the end of the day they could fall asleep while walking. And on their rare days off, they still have to do laundry and things like that."
"Mm! It was the same when your Third Brother first joined. For the first few months, he sent a letter home every month. After half a year, he probably got used to it, and we’d only get a letter from him every six months or so."
"When Third Brother is coming back, tell him to send a telegram so we can go pick him up at the station."
Wu Shufen waved her hands dismissively. "Telegrams are very expensive! He’s a grown man; he doesn’t need you to pick him up to get home."
’People from the older generation are all like this,’ Lin Lan thought, looking at her mother. ’They’re frugal their entire lives, reluctant to spend anything on themselves, all to lighten the burden on their children.’
Lin Lan suddenly remembered Yang Liying’s situation. "Mom, Liying is pregnant. She wants to go hide out in Shilian for a few months to have the baby."
Wu Shufen said, "Hiding out at our home for a few months is no big deal. The worry is that the birth might not go smoothly. If something were to happen, it would be a heavy weight on everyone’s conscience."
Lin Lan nodded. "Her husband is also worried something might happen during childbirth. I’m just telling you so you can be mentally prepared."