After a look around, Li Xiangyang pushed his bicycle out of the pig farm. He had just reached the tractor path outside the courtyard when he saw his maternal uncle, Zhou Rongchun, approaching with his hands clasped behind his back.
Zhou Rongchun bead at him. "Xiangyang, co over to my place for a al before you go."
Li Xiangyang smiled politely and shook his head. "Uncle, I can’t. I have things to do back ho."
Zhou Rongchun smiled, stepped forward, and grabbed his bicycle’s handlebars. "I heard from your aunt that you’re still holding a grudge against her over what happened before, and that you even scoffed at the match she tried to arrange for you."
Li Xiangyang held his uncle in high regard, so he scratched his head in a bind and said, "That’s not it at all! To be honest with you, Uncle, the main reason is that I already have soone I like."
Zhou Rongchun looked at him doubtfully. "You’re not just saying that to put my mind at ease, are you?"
Li Xiangyang’s expression turned serious. "You’re my uncle. I wouldn’t lie to you of all people!"
Seeing his earnest expression, Zhou Rongchun believed him. "Alright, then! When are you going to bring her by for to et?"
Li Xiangyang smiled and nodded. "Okay! As soon as I’ve won her over, I’ll bring her to et you."
Zhou Rongchun let go of the handlebars and stepped aside. "You’d better hurry up. Guys your age already have kids old enough to run errands."
****
Lin Lan woke up from a wonderful sleep, feeling much more refreshed. She checked the ti; if she left for the station now, she could still catch the bus.
She took the property deed from her trunk, intending to use the break from work caused by the weather to go ho, get her money, and pay back Li Xiangyang.
Pushing her bicycle out, she saw the courtyard gate was closed. She went to the woodshed and found the sickle and grass-cutting basket were gone. She opened the back gate and rode toward the foot of the mountain.
When she reached the foot of the mountain, she gave the back door key to Lin Yuezhen, saying, "Sis, I’m heading ho for a bit. I’ll be back this afternoon."
Lin Yuezhen nodded, took the key, and watched her ride away. Looking up at the sky, she saw the dark clouds had scattered. She packed the cut grass into her back-basket, delivered it to the drying ground, and then went ho to prepare the afternoon’s pastries.
She had just put the white beans and red beans in the stear and was starting to boil the peas when Wangcai, who was lying in the courtyard, started barking. At the sa ti, soone called out from beyond the gate.
Lin Yuezhen hurried over to open the courtyard gate. A woman who looked a little like Yang Liqun was standing at the entrance, her face pulled into a scowl.
Yang Lirong started when she saw Lin Yuezhen, then asked irritably, "Who are you? Is Lin Lan here?"
Seeing the woman’s sour face and hearing her rude tone, Lin Yuezhen didn’t bother inviting her in. She simply waved her hands, gesturing that her sister had gone back to her family’s ho.
Yang Lirong couldn’t understand the gestures. Seeing Lin Yuezhen just standing in the doorway with no intention of inviting her in, while Wangcai barked and watched her like a hawk, made her extrely indignant. "I’m her second sister-in-law," she snapped. "Go tell her to co out!"
Upon hearing she was Lin Lan’s second sister-in-law, Lin Yuezhen smiled politely and gestured again with her hands.
Yang Lirong curled her lip in disgust. "So, you’re a mute! What a waste of ti." With that, she turned and stalked off toward Yang Liying’s house.
Yang Liying sat before the stove, her mind on what she had seen at Lin Lan’s house yesterday. ’Considering how much Li Xiangyang helps Lin Lan,’ she thought, ’he must be interested in her.’
’Li Xiangyang is a great guy, but there’s no way he’d be a live-in son-in-law.’
’If Lin Lan marries him, what about Little Douzi? He’s the only male heir of the Yang family; he can’t just go with her to the Li family.’
’But if they were really to find a man to marry into the family, the only options would be widowers or old bachelors who couldn’t find a wife. Neither is a good prospect.’
The more she thought about it, the more her head ached. She said to Zhao Dehai, who was nding a hoe handle by the door, "Dehai, I’m going over to Eldest Sister’s house. I want to talk to her about Lin Lan."
Zhao Dehai looked up at her. "You’re really sothing else. You were worrying about this yesterday, and you’re still at it today. Have you even stopped to think if Master Li would ever agree to let Xiangyang marry Lin Lan?"
"You’re right. The Li family isn’t so poor they can’t find him a wife. They’d never agree." Yang Liying turned and saw Yang Lirong walking toward their house, umbrella in hand. She stepped into the courtyard and greeted her with a polite smile, "Second Sister, you’re here!"
Yang Lirong gave her a sarcastic, passive-aggressive look. "Well, well! If it isn’t Boss Yang. I’m surprised you still recognize as your second sister."
Yang Liying frowned. "Second Sister, how have I offended you? What’s with the sarcastic tone?"
", sarcastic?!" Yang Lirong slapped her chest. "You all followed Lin Lan to the Eucalyptus Forest and the cave entrance to set up stalls and make money. Did a single one of you think about , your second sister?"
Yang Liying’s temper flared. "And why should we have thought of you? Search your conscience and tell , have you ever once thought about us?"
"I rember what you said when our youngest brother passed away, Second Sister. ’Every household for itself, every chimney with its own smoke.’ You said that since we all have our own families now, we should just worry about ourselves. Well, I’m throwing those words right back at you."
Her mind went back to when their youngest brother died tragically, leaving Lin Lan penniless. Ding Bang had offered to pay for the funeral, but Eldest Sister’s husband and Dehai felt it would be shaful if people saw them letting him foot the bill.
Eldest Sister’s husband had proposed they all chip in for the funeral. But when he and Dehai went to ask Second Sister and her husband, the couple just kept crying poor, refusing to give a single cent and saying a lot of hurtful things in the process.
In the end, it was Eldest Sister who ca up with a solution: after the funeral, they would use the condolence money from relatives to pay back Second Sister’s family first. She even offered to let Second Sister’s husband help collect the money. Only then did the couple finally agree to contribute.
Seeing the sisters about to have a full-blown argunt, Zhao Dehai quickly interjected with a placating smile. "Second Sister, we’re all family here. You know Liying’s temper. Don’t take it to heart. Co inside and sit down for a bit."
"Oh, I’m not angry. We’re sisters. I don’t hold grudges."
Yang Lirong walked up to the steps of the house and looked at Yang Liying. "Fine, I admit I was wrong about that whole thing! But since you’re all so chummy, let ask you this: you’re over at the family ho all the ti, so did you know that the mont Lin Lan sends Little Douzi off to school, she’s welcoming a man into the house?"
Yang Liying’s eyes widened, and she growled, "What did you just say? What rotten scumbag told you that? Why didn’t you tear their mouth out for saying it?"
"It doesn’t matter who said it. They saw it with their own two eyes." Yang Lirong sneered. "I know perfectly well why you’re all covering for her. It’s because she’s helping you make money selling tofu at the Eucalyptus Forest! So money is more important than family, is that it? Your own sister-in-law is having an affair right under your noses, and you’re helping her hide it."
"Let’s go!" Furious, Yang Liying grabbed her arm. "You tell who that foul-mouthed liar is, and we’ll get Lin Lan and confront them face-to-face!"
Yang Lirong shook her off, roaring, "Forget about who said it! Just tell , is it true or not?"
Yang Liying stared her down and stated unequivocally, "No. That’s impossible!"
Even Zhao Dehai couldn’t stand it any longer. "Exactly! Second Sister, how can you help an outsider slander your own family? Lin Lan may have been a bit lazy and gluttonous in the past, but her character is sound. If soone dared to spread such rumors to you, you should have spit in their face and dragged them here to confront Lin Lan directly!"
Yang Lirong scoffed. "You’ve all been bought and paid for. Let be blunt! The person who told even knows the man is the one who sells pork in the Eucalyptus Forest. I knew it! How else would she suddenly know how to run a business? She must have hooked up with the pork seller. Who knows how long that’s been going on?"
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