Lin Lan went to the co-op to buy kraft paper. She saw a basket piled high with kelp and, after learning it didn’t require ration coupons, bought a bundle and headed ho.
Wu Shufen said to her, "Xiangyang just ca by in a huge hurry and left just as quickly. Why don’t you go see if sothing’s happened?"
Lin Lan thought for a mont, guessing it was about the house in the southern part of the city. She put down her basket and said, "Oh! I’ll go take a look."
"Okay! Be back in ti for dinner."
Lin Lan and Wu Shufen unloaded the basket, and then Lin Lan rode off on her bike.
She hadn’t even reached the alley by the vehicle factory when she saw Li Xiangyang turning in on his bike. She stopped, waited for him to approach, and asked, "What did the seller say?"
Li Xiangyang looked at her, completely baffled. "What about the house?"
"..." Lin Lan told him about Old Miao going to see Zhao Dehai.
Only then did Li Xiangyang understand. "Don’t worry about him. He must have heard the news about the markets reopening and now he regrets it. He thinks he sold it too cheap and wants to take it back? If soone else had overpaid, would he give them their money back?"
"Exactly! He has no integrity at all!" Lin Lan glanced at him. "My mom said you were in a fluster. What happened?"
"It’s nothing major!" Li Xiangyang pushed his bike over to her side. "Let’s talk as we walk!"
Lin Lan nodded, and the two of them walked forward, pushing their bikes side by side.
Li Xiangyang said slowly, "Li Jing. You rember that na, right?"
Lin Lan thought for a mont. "I rember. You ntioned her last ti, when Xu Huan ca to stir up trouble."
"Li Jing is my older sister. My parents only had the two of us. They didn’t have her until three or four years after they got married, so they always doted on her.
"She was very pretty, and she grew up to be a graceful beauty. Everyone who saw her adored her, and they all liked to spoil her. But who knew that would foster such a selfish and self-serving personality in her? Back during the ’cut the tail of capitalism’ campaign, my family owned several pig farms and had our own stalls in a few markets selling fresh and cured ats, as well as ham. We even employed a dozen or so people.
"When the Movent began, my family beca a target for ’cleanup.’ Having been pampered her whole life, Li Jing couldn’t stand the grievances or endure the hardship. Later, she got together with her classmate, Chen Jingsheng, and the Chen family used her for their own social climbing.
"To escape that kind of life, Li Jing willingly let herself be used. She did everything she could to coax my parents into ’donating’ the pig farms and the market stalls, saying that we’d be fine as long as we gave those things up. But those people still didn’t let us go.
"Later, in order to marry Chen Jingsheng, she published a notice in the newspaper severing all ties with us. My mother was devastated. During her ’reform through labor,’ she fell into a ditch and drowned. After that, we cut off all contact with her completely. Later, when things weren’t so strict anymore, she tried to nd the relationship, but my father threw her out.
"After she found out about you and , she first brought that Xu Huan to see . When you scared Xu Huan away that day, she still wouldn’t give up. Today, she went to your house to find you. It just so happened you weren’t there, and it just so happened I saw her. She was afraid I’d embarrass her in public, so she went to Dongzi’s house..."
Lin Lan finally understood why he had a town residency permit and no fields at ho, yet was so good at farm work. "It sounds like you’ve suffered a lot in the past."
"Enduring hardship is nothing. It’s the betrayal and scorn from your own family that can truly make a person lose their will to go on. If it weren’t for Ding Bang and Dongzi, I definitely wouldn’t have made it through that ti." Li Xiangyang looked at her, his voice full of deep emotion. "Little Lan, I’m the one who loves you, and I’m the one you’re going to marry. It doesn’t matter who it is—if anyone is rude to you, you don’t have to be polite to them. No matter what happens, I’ve got your back."
Lin Lan looked at Li Xiangyang and was suddenly reminded of what Liu Jianguo used to tell her. ’You’re my wife, so you should think of things from my perspective. They’re my family, so you need to be the bigger person and give in to them. Don’t be so petty. Don’t make lose face at ho.’
’He’d told her to endure this and endure that until she’d nearly turned into a master of forbearance, all for it to end in betrayal. Now it seed she just hadn’t found the man who was willing to protect her in every way, in every little thing.’
As these thoughts crossed her mind, Lin Lan looked at Li Xiangyang and her eyes suddenly welled up. She lowered her head to wipe away the tears from the corners of her eyes, then looked up at him, smiled, and nodded. "Okay!"
Seeing her smile, and noticing no one was around, Li Xiangyang’s eyes filled with warmth as he took her hand, brought it to his lips, and kissed it. "Let’s go! Let’s go back and have that mutton stew."
"Mhm!" Lin Lan squeezed his hand in return, and they looked at each other and smiled.
Halfway back, Lin Lan suddenly rembered sothing. "Since you went back, why didn’t you ask Uncle Li to join us for dinner?"
Li Xiangyang smiled. "Dongzi said he left for the pig farm right after I did. He must have gone to deliver so mutton to my uncle." At this, he looked at Lin Lan. "Brother Yong seems to have taken a liking to Yuezhen. Do you think Yuezhen is interested in him at all?"
"I don’t think Yuezhen has even considered it. My mom and I think Brother Yong is a good man, though. I’ll ask her when I get back."
"Okay. After dinner, I’ll make a trip to Vegetable Market Street in the southern district to see what’s really going on."
The two returned ho, talking and laughing. Little Douzi was also back from school, and as soon as he saw Li Xiangyang, he started pestering him to teach him how to ride a bike.
Lin Lan looked at him and laughed. "Son, you’re still too small. You’re not even tall enough for a bike with a crossbar."
Little Douzi pointed to the triangular fra under the top tube. "Brother Kai sticks one leg through here and rides it super fast! I want to learn, too."
Lin Lan rembered riding like that when she was a child. She pointed at his legs and chuckled, "With your short little legs, you’ll only be able to make it halfway through a pedal. Your legs will be sore after just two rotations."
"Mama~" Little Douzi pouted. "I want to try even if they get sore."
Lin Lan smiled and nodded. "Alright, alright! Go on and try!"
Little Douzi ran up to Li Xiangyang. "Uncle Xiangyang, teach ."
Li Xiangyang smiled and nodded. "Okay! I’ll hold on and help you. We’ll just go around the courtyard a few tis. You can’t ride out by yourself, got it?"
"Mhm!" Little Douzi agreed, his eyes shining.
Li Xiangyang sat on the bike’s rear rack to steady it. Little Douzi grabbed a handlebar with one hand and the crossbar with the other, placed his right foot on a pedal, slipped his left leg through the fra, and turned to look back at Li Xiangyang. "Uncle Xiangyang, I’m starting to pedal!"
"Okay!" Li Xiangyang reached out to help steady the other handlebar. With their combined effort, the bicycle started rolling forward, wobbling as it went.
Little Douzi grinned. "Hehe! The bike is moving."
Li Xiangyang watched Little Douzi, his little butt sticking out to one side and his short legs pumping the pedals up and down, and laughed. "You can try turning now."
Little Douzi started to panic. "Uncle Xiangyang, it’s gonna fall!"
"Don’t be afraid, I’m holding it steady. Straighten your back and the bike won’t fall."
Hearing Little Douzi’s shouts, Wu Shufen and Lin Yuezhen ca out of the kitchen. The three won stood there smiling, watching for a while as Little Douzi, with Li Xiangyang’s help, wobbled around the courtyard on the bike. Then, they all went back into the kitchen.
"Mom, is dinner ready?"
Wu Shufen pointed to a clay pot. "The mutton is done. Go grab so bean sprouts. We can eat as soon as they’re stir-fried."
Lin Lan nodded. "I’ll go get them now."
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