Lin Lan had just finished eating when Yang Liqun arrived. She invited Lin Lan to take the early bus to Shilian tomorrow for a matchmaking eting.
After agreeing and seeing Yang Liqun off, Lin Lan thought about how the trip to Shilian tomorrow would take up most of the day. She wouldn’t be back in ti to prepare for the evening market, so she had to get things ready in advance.
The two sisters had just finished mashing the bean paste when Li Xiangyang showed up.
"What are you doing here?" Lin Lan asked, surprised.
"I have so good news for you!" Li Xiangyang said with a smile, pulling a wooden top from his pocket. "This is for Little Douzi."
"Thank you!" Lin Lan accepted it with a smile. "What’s the good news? You look so happy!"
Li Xiangyang looked at her, his eyes full of laughter. "Dongzi ca to my house at noon with so news. He said the city is holding etings to discuss when to open up the vegetable markets in the east, west, south, and north."
Xu Dong had also advised him to drop by Lin Lan’s place whenever he was free. He told him to visit more, find reasons to talk to her, and eventually, things would naturally fall into place.
Lin Lan was happy to hear that too. "If they’re having etings about it, that ans it won’t be long before they open up. We won’t have to set up our stall in the Eucalyptus Forest anymore!"
"Mhm! The shop in the East Market will finally be useful. I had soone ask around to see if there are any properties for sale on Vegetable Market Street here in the South District."
"It’s best to act while the news isn’t public yet. Once the announcent is made, there will be a lot more people looking to buy storefronts. If you have the capital, you should look for a bigger property."
She recalled a place. "In the alleyway coming out from the clothing factory, those two dilapidated houses... I think you could buy them and rebuild. You could rent them out or open a small hotel later on."
"Last ti, Brother Shuiqing heard about an old building for sale on Vegetable Market Street in the South District. We should go take a look."
"I’ll pass. Sister Liying said last ti that she wanted to buy if a suitable place ca up. I’ll ask her. You two should buy it together!"
Li Xiangyang thought for a mont. "It has about four rooms. It used to be a teahouse, and the roof is about to collapse. The price shouldn’t be too high. If you buy it, you could pay back by the end of the year at the latest. I’ll have Brother Shuiqing go check it out again. How about you buy it once he confirms it’s a good deal?"
"No, thank you," Lin Lan said, giving him a grateful look. "I know you an well, but taking on a new debt before the old one is cleared goes against my principles. It just isn’t right. When I have the money, you can let know if sothing suitable cos up."
Li Xiangyang’s eyes sparkled as he looked at her, thinking he had excellent taste. "Do we really need to draw such a clear line between us?"
Lin Lan gave him a speechless glare. "While the situation is still uncertain, you should use your money to buy more."
"I’ll go take a look. If the price is low, I’ll front the money to buy it for you. You can pay back slowly."
"Really, there’s no need. It’ll be the sa if I buy when I have spare cash," Lin Lan said with a smile. "Thank you for the news. I won’t keep you any longer."
Li Xiangyang gave her a reproachful look. "I just got here, and you’re already trying to kick out."
"..." Lin Lan thought, ’How did I never realize before? This man is unbelievably thick-skinned.’
Little Douzi ca out of the room rubbing his eyes. He leaned against Lin Lan and looked at Li Xiangyang. "Uncle Xiangyang, you’re here!"
Li Xiangyang bent down, slipped his hands under the boy’s armpits, and lifted him up. He looked at him with a wide smile. "Uncle’s going to take you out to play. Want to co?"
Little Douzi turned his head to look at Lin Lan. "Mom, can I go?"
Lin Lan nodded readily. "Go ahead!"
Li Xiangyang sat him on the bicycle’s crossbar, and the two of them waved to Lin Lan and Lin Yuezhen before pedaling off toward the vehicle factory.
"Did you get perfect scores at school, Little Douzi?"
Little Douzi looked up at him smugly. "Uncle Xiangyang, I got all perfect scores, and I’m the class monitor for the kindergarten class. Mom said if I get perfect scores in first grade too, she’ll give a reward!"
Li Xiangyang laughed. "Great! When you get perfect scores in first grade, Uncle Xiangyang will give you a reward too."
Little Douzi grinned, showing a mouth full of tiny teeth. "Teacher Zheng said that if I weren’t too young, I could start first grade next year." He sighed like a little adult. "SIGH! I wish I were turning seven next year!"
Li Xiangyang burst out laughing. "Let tell you sothing. You can go to first grade even if you’re not seven. As long as your grades are good, the teachers will accept you."
Little Douzi waved his arms excitedly. "Really?! I can definitely keep up! I can do all the howork in Brother Dandan’s textbooks."
Li Xiangyang stopped the bike and looked at him. "n don’t go around bragging!"
"Hmph!" Little Douzi turned his head and looked at him, displeased. "Uncle Xiangyang, you don’t believe . I’m not friends with you anymore."
Seeing him get worked up, Li Xiangyang laughed and said, "It’s not that Uncle doesn’t believe you. It’s because when Uncle was your age, all I knew how to do was play in the mud! I had no idea there were kids as capable as our Little Douzi."
Little Douzi thought for a mont, then nodded magnanimously. "Okay! I forgive you. Uncle Xiangyang, Mom says kids can’t lie. The Big Bad Wolf will carry away kids who lie."
"That’s right. The wolf ca, and the child was carried away just like that."
The big one and the little one chattered nonstop as they rode toward the clothing factory.
Lin Lan and Lin Yuezhen finished preparing the goods for the evening market, then started on the prep for the next day, so they wouldn’t be rushed if Lin Lan got back late from Shilian.
Before it was ti to set up the stall, Li Xiangyang brought Little Douzi back, said a quick hello, and left in a hurry.
Little Douzi chattered away, telling Lin Lan and the others how Uncle Xiangyang had taken him and an uncle with only one arm to look at two rundown houses, and then took him to play with Little Hai and Dandan.
Lin Lan ruffled his fluffy hair. "Mhm! Did you have fun today?"
Little Douzi nodded. "Mom, Uncle Xiangyang let ride on his shoulders! It was so high up! I could see so far!"
"If you eat all your food, you’ll grow up tall too."
"Okay! Uncle Xiangyang said he’ll take to see his pig farm next week."
"Good. Go see how they raise pigs. Your uncle is going to send us four little pigs."
"Okay, I’m going to the backyard to collect the eggs."
Lin Lan watched him swing his arms and skip toward the backyard. When he reached the kitchen, he started chattering to Yang Liying about his day out.
Listening to his happy voice, Lin Lan decided she would no longer bury her head in the sand like an ostrich. As for what the future might bring, who could guarantee they would stay the sa their whole life anyway?
When Lin Lan and Yang Liying arrived at the Eucalyptus Forest, they saw that Yang Zhijun had also co to set up his stall. Rembering how Li Xiangyang had rushed off after dropping off Little Douzi, she worried sothing had happened to him.
They had just finished setting up their stall when Yang Zhijun ca over. He told her that Li Xiangyang had gone to take so pigs to the commune’s slaughterhouse. He also said that Li Xiangyang wanted him to tell Lin Lan that he was going to find the two hoowners first thing in the morning to negotiate prices, and that she should ask Yang Liying and the others if they were planning to buy a house.
"Okay, thank you for the trouble, Zhijun." After agreeing, Lin Lan thought to herself, ’This guy is planning on winning over both the Yang sisters!’
Yang Zhijun thought about how Brother Yong and the others, who knew Li Xiangyang was pursuing Lin Lan, were all curious why he liked a woman with a child.
He thought Lin Lan was a great person—capable, just like Brother Li, and kind to others.
Thinking about her trip to Shilian tomorrow, Lin Lan had a few cuts of at sliced, bought two pig’s trotters, and then went to Zhou Xiaohong and Li Wu to buy so candy and other things.
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