80s Transmigration: The Young Widow's Hustle to Riches

Lin Gang pouted. "It’s not like you were drying the grain, either. We saw Auntie come back to help a long time ago. Such a tattletale, all you know how to do is snitch."

Lin Lan came out of the kitchen and said to the children, "Go call Grandpa and the others back for lunch."

Lin Gang went to grab Little Douzi. "Come on, Douzi, let’s go get them."

"I’m not going." Little Douzi twisted away and ran toward the covered walkway. "Mama, we’re already here!"

Lin Lan wiped the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief. "Go wash your hands in the backyard, then come back for lunch."

The grain was drying in the front yard, so the washbasins had all been moved to the backyard to prevent the children from accidentally spilling water and soaking the grain.

"Okay!" Little Douzi answered and headed for the kitchen.

Lin Hong pointed at the grain in the courtyard. "Auntie, I’ve already turned it over once."

"Good. Now go help Grandma bring out the dishes." Lin Lan picked up the water buckets and woven baskets Lin Jun and Lin Gang had left by the gate, went to the backyard, and began bringing the food to the table.

Stuffed winter melon, crispy sweet-skinned duck, braised fish with chili bean paste, cold eggplant salad, green beans with minced pork, Sichuan peppercorn chicken, dry-fried green beans, stir-fried pork with wood ear mushrooms and green peppers, and several other vegetable dishes completely filled the large round table.

Wu Shufen filled the wok with water, so it would be ready for the field hands to wash up when they returned.

Lin Lan said to her mother, "Mom, call Little Yu and the others over to eat with us, too."

Wu Shufen nodded. "Okay, I’ll go get them. Add some more firewood to the stove for me."

After adding the firewood, Lin Lan returned to the main hall. She took the sodas she had brought from her bag, set them on the table, and stepped outside just in time to see Lin Guoliang enter the courtyard carrying a tea bucket. A dejected Lin Jun trailed behind him; it looked like he had really gotten in trouble.

"Big Brother, there’s hot water in the wok. The washbasin and face towels are in the backyard."

"Okay. We also need to brew a bucket of tea and let it cool. After lunch, we’ll rest a bit and then head back out."

"Okay! I’ll get right on it." Lin Lan headed toward the kitchen.

Seeing that the adults had left, Lin Qing and Lin Gang came out and tugged on Lin Jun’s arm. "Brother Jun, how many times did you get hit?"

Lin Jun rubbed his forehead and whispered, "Just two noogies! You two better be careful. Second Uncle said he’s putting your punishments on a tab for now. When they’re not so busy, he’s going to combine three sessions into one and give us a real whooping."

The two brothers felt their backsides clench in fear.

Lin Qing pinched his eyelid. "No wonder my eye’s been twitching the last couple of days. We’re probably going to get it soon!"

Little Douzi looked at him, confused. "Cousin Qing, does a twitching eye mean you’re going to get a spanking?"

Lin Qing nodded. "Every time my eye twitches, I get a spanking a couple of days later. It’s a dead giveaway!"

"Heads up, your dad’s back." Lin Jun gave the two of them a shove and ran off to wash his hands.

Lin Qing and his brother turned to look sheepishly at Lin Guodong. "Dad, it’s time for lunch."

"I know!" Lin Guodong jabbed a finger in their direction. "This afternoon, you’re going to your uncle’s house to help dry grain. If you don’t do a good job, I’ll tan your hides!"

"We get it." The two of them quickly grabbed Little Douzi and headed for the main hall.

After washing their faces, everyone took their seats at the table one by one. When Lin Guodong saw the stuffed winter melon in the middle of the round table, he chuckled. "Well, well, trying something new today, are we?"

Old Li smiled. "It’s called stuffed winter melon. Steaming it like this gives it a pretty nice flavor."

Li Xiangyang brought out the liquor and filled everyone’s glasses. "Thanks for all the hard work. I’m sorry for keeping you from your business."

Zhou Shisong laughed. "Don’t say that. The barbecue stall doesn’t do much business in this heat anyway."

Lin Guodong nodded. "That’s right. Now that it’s hot, the stall gets a little business at night, but during the day it sells worse than Auntie’s ice jelly."

Wu Shufang smiled. "Guodong, yesterday I had Shi Song take a basin of ice jelly to the stall to test the waters, and it sold quite well. You should try selling it alongside your food. A bowl of ice jelly is the perfect thing to have after eating some skewers."

Lin Guodong smiled and nodded. "Good idea. And it just so happens my mom made some fermented rice."

Wu Shufen smiled at the group. "Help yourselves to the food. Let’s not talk business at the table."

Old Li beamed at the strapping young men. "Right. Let’s drink."

"You too, Uncle Li."

A good harvest was cause for celebration. Everyone was starving after a long morning of work, and with a table laden with delicious food, their chopsticks never paused for a moment.

Lin Lan noticed that the Zhou family children were only eating from the dishes directly in front of them, so she put a few pieces of crispy sweet-skinned duck in their bowls. "Don’t stand on ceremony at your auntie’s house!"

"Okay, Auntie!" Little Yu and the others thought to themselves that they didn’t even eat this well during the New Year celebration. With a whole table full of food, they didn’t know what to try first.

Lin Lan placed a piece of meat from the fish’s belly into the bowl of Little Douzi, who was sitting beside her. She checked it for bones first before saying, "It’s Grandma’s braised fish with chili bean paste, your favorite. Be careful of the bones, okay?"

"Mhm!" Little Douzi’s eyes crinkled with his smile. "Grandma’s fish is so yummy."

"Is that so?" Lin Lan picked up a piece for herself. ’Ugh, I feel sick.’ The fishy taste suddenly seemed overwhelming, and she had the urge to vomit. But with so many people at the table, she forced herself to swallow it down.

Her stomach was churning violently. She quickly took a sip of water, suppressed her discomfort, and stood up to head toward the kitchen.

When Li Xiangyang saw her leave, he put down his chopsticks and followed. He found her squatting in the backyard, having thrown up all over the ground and now just dry heaving. He quickly turned, ladled some water into a cup, and handed it to her, asking with a worried expression, "What’s wrong? Do you have heatstroke?"

Lin Lan took the water and rinsed her mouth. Feeling a little better, she looked back at him. "I’m fine. I just had a piece of fish and suddenly felt sick. It’s probably because of the heat."

Li Xiangyang saw that she had vomited so hard it brought tears to her eyes. "I’m pretty sure it’s heatstroke. I’ll go buy you some of that herbal heatstroke remedy."

"Don’t go!" Lin Lan grabbed his arm. "I feel much better now that I’ve gotten it out of my system. You’ve been busy all morning, go finish your lunch. I’ll just sit here and cool off for a minute before I come back."

Wu Shufen walked over as well. "Little Lan, are you pregnant? Have you gotten your period?"

Lin Lan touched her stomach, trying to recall when she’d gotten her period last month. "I’m about ten days late this month." ’My cycle is usually very regular, and now I’m ten days late... could I really be pregnant?’

Wu Shufen’s eyes lit up when she heard that. She rubbed her hands together gleefully. "I bet you really are! Xiangyang, take her to the hospital for a check-up."

"Oh!" Li Xiangyang’s eyes sparkled as he looked at her. "Let’s go. I’ll take you to get checked."

Lin Lan was dazed by the news. "Is that really necessary?" she said hesitantly. "It’s normal to be a few days late. Besides, you haven’t finished eating yet!"

"We can eat when we get back!" Li Xiangyang said excitedly, tugging on her arm. "The hospital isn’t far from here."

Wu Shufen chimed in, "Go on, Little Lan. It’ll put our minds at ease to get it checked."

Lin Lan thought for a moment. "Let’s wait until everyone has finished eating. What if it turns out to be nothing? That would be so embarrassing."

Wu Shufen considered this. "That makes sense. Alright, go finish your meal, and then you can go."

The three of them returned to the table, where everyone looked at Lin Lan with concern. "What happened? Did you get a fish bone stuck in your throat?"

Lin Lan smiled and nodded. "Yes, I got one stuck right in my throat, but I managed to get it out."

Little Douzi looked at her. "Mama, you’re so careless! And you were just telling me to be careful of the bones!"

"See? Even Mama got one stuck, so you have to be extra careful, too."