Little Douzi, who was playing with Little Jun and the others in the main room, saw Lin Lan return and ran out happily. "Mom, what took you so long?"
He was worried Teacher Zheng had returned, which ant he had skipped class.
Lin Lan smiled and ruffled his hair. "Mom was buying so mountain goods, so I was delayed a day."
Wu Shufen ca out of the kitchen. Seeing Lin Lan’s face, red from the cold, she asked, "You must be hungry. Was it cold in the mountains? Have Xiangyang and the others arrived?"
Lin Lan looked back at Li Xiangyang, who had just reached the door. "They’re here. My older cousin and a few of the older guys from his team helped deliver the goods. We’re all starving. Could you make so sour soup with dough pieces for us?"
Wu Shufen nodded happily, greeted Li Xiangyang and the others as they led the mule into the courtyard, and then went with Lin Lan to get busy in the kitchen.
Lin Changyou and Lin Guodong, who had rushed over after hearing the news, busily helped unload the mountain goods from the pack saddles.
Lin Guodong laughed. "Big Brother, you guys are really fast! You bought so many mountain goods in just one day."
Lin Guoliang said cheerfully, "Uncle asked the brigade leader to call a mobilization eting for the commune mbers, and everyone showed up."
In the kitchen, Lin Lan told Wu Shufen all about what had happened at Shishanling.
After listening, Wu Shufen said that the mountains hadn’t changed in over ten years. If there was a chance in the future, she would have to help her big sister’s daughter find a family to marry into outside the mountains.
The mother and daughter worked together, one kneading dough while the other shredded pork and stir-fried pickled vegetables. They cranked the fire up to its fiercest, and soon a pot of sour soup with dough pieces was ready.
Lin Lan ladled the soup into a large earthenware basin and carried it to the main room, with Wu Shufen following behind, holding a stack of large bowls.
As Lin Lan walked out of the kitchen, she saw Little Douzi, Lin Jun, and the other kids crowded around Li Xiangyang, who was squatting down to wash his face, asking him all sorts of questions. "The food is ready. Go on and eat."
Li Xiangyang nodded and followed Lin Lan into the main room to sit down.
Lin Changyou invited Zhou Shitou and the three other n to the table. Seeing the white flour dough in the large bowls, they all couldn’t help but swallow hard.
Wu Shufen placed the large bowls, filled with the sour soup and dough pieces, on the table and welcod them with a big smile. "Shi Tou, tell your folks to eat! Don’t be polite, everyone just grab a bowl and dig in!"
"Got it, Auntie," Zhou Shitou replied with a smile, then told the other three n to grab their bowls, and they all started eating.
After the al and after arranging for the three n to stay the night, Lin Lan talked with Lin Changyou and the others for a while, planning to head back to East Market the next morning.
Early the next day, Zhou Shitou and the three n from his village set off back to Shishanling. Lin Lan, Li Xiangyang, and the brothers Lin Guoliang and Lin Guodong left, pulling a handcart to the ferry.
When they got to the bus station, Li Xiangyang and the Lin brothers loaded the mountain goods and the bicycles onto the luggage rack on the roof of the bus.
Lin Lan got Little Douzi settled in his seat on the bus, then gave so wood ear mushrooms and Sichuan peppercorns to Li Hongi and Master Chen. She asked them to help bring so mature pumpkins to East Market in a few days, and they both readily agreed.
After the Lin brothers finished loading the goods, they got off the bus and said to Lin Lan, "We’re going to help Shi Tou buy the salt and sewing supplies the villagers asked him to get. You two have a safe trip."
Lin Lan nodded. "Big Brother, if my older cousin needs to buy anything, please have Sister Li bring a ssage."
"Okay," Lin Guoliang agreed. He waved to Li Xiangyang and Little Douzi. "Xiangyang, we’re off."
Little Douzi waved back. "Goodbye, Eldest Uncle, Second Uncle!"
Li Xiangyang said to the two brothers, "Rember to co to East Market on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month."
"You got it!" The two brothers left, one pushing a bicycle and the other pulling the handcart.
As usual, Master Chen helped Lin Lan get her goods to her doorstep. Little Douzi jumped off the bus and ran into the courtyard. "Auntie, Little Auntie, we’re back!"
Lin Yuezhen and Qiaohui ca out of the kitchen to greet them. Li Xiangyang lowered the burlap sacks from the roof of the bus, and with a flurry of hands, they caught them and carried them to the courtyard gate to set them down.
After seeing off Master Chen and Li Hongi, they carried the sacks inside and put them away.
Li Xiangyang washed his face and said to Lin Lan, "Little Lan, I’m going to head back for a bit to check on the pig farm."
"Okay!" Lin Lan gave him the mountain goods from Wu Shufang to take to Old Li.
Li Xiangyang nodded and rode away on his bike.
Only then did Lin Lan ask Lin Yuezhen and Qiaohui, "You two must have been exhausted these past couple of days, huh?"
They both smiled and shook their heads. Lin Yuezhen handed the past few days’ earnings to Lin Lan and gestured, "Little Lan, this morning a very pretty woman went to Great-Aunt’s house looking for Ding Bang. ihua said she’s Dandan’s mom."
Lin Lan looked at her in surprise. "Really? What did she co for?"
Qiaohui added from the side, "I don’t know. Sister ihua and the others chased her away. It looked like they really hate Dandan’s mom."
"Did anyone go tell Great-Aunt?" Lin Lan finally understood why Yang Dingbang had been in such a rush to move. It was probably to avoid Dandan’s mother.
Qiaohui nodded. "Yes. After Dandan’s mom left, Sister ihua rode her bike over to Dandan’s place."
****
Yang Dingbang stood on the stairs, leaning on his crutch, and looked down at Xie Tian, who was sitting by the door. "Let’s talk inside," he said coldly.
After Yang ihua had gone to his ho to tell him Xie Tian had arrived, he had rushed back to his place near the Public Security Bureau. And sure enough, there was Xie Tian, sitting at his doorstep, refusing to leave.
Xie Tian stood up, her face a mask of grievance. "Ding Bang, your cousin yelled at . She said such horrible things! They even tried to chase away, saying if I didn’t leave they’d set the dogs on ..."
Yang Dingbang raised a hand, cutting her off. He took out his keys, stepped forward, and unlocked the door. He gave her a detached glance. "If you have sothing to say, say it inside."
"Okay!" Xie Tian looked at Yang Dingbang, her eyes full of adoration. "Ding Bang, I had my registration transferred to East Market. I’ve missed you and Dandan."
"Stop right there!" Yang Dingbang sat down in the chair by the table. "I told you the last ti you ca: I will never remarry you. Dandan doesn’t want to be with you, either. Even if you move to East Market, he won’t live with you."
Xie Tian frowned at Yang Dingbang. "I know. It was your grandmother who was saying bad things about to you and Dandan..."
BAM! Yang Dingbang slamd his palm on the table, his voice sharp and severe. "You shut your mouth! You failed in your duties as a wife and a mother, and now you dare to spout barefaced lies and slander my grandmother."
Xie Tian stared blankly at Yang Dingbang. "You... I moved my household registration all the way to East Market for you, and you dare to yell at ? You dare to talk to like that?" ’She couldn’t believe Yang Dingbang would treat her this way. This reunion was not going as she had imagined.’
"Don’t say that. It’s been over between us for a long ti. Where you move your registration has nothing to do with ."
Yang Dingbang stood up and looked at Xie Tian coldly. "My grandmother may just be an uneducated old woman, but her character is not for you to slander. Let ask you, when Dandan needed a mother, what were you doing?"
Yang Dingbang let out a breath, his eyes filled with scorn as he looked at her. "You were off traveling and having fun with your first love, taking ’artistic’ photos everywhere!"
Xie Tian pointed a trembling finger at Yang Dingbang. "You... Yang Dingbang, I was wrong about you! I never thought you were such a petty man with a filthy mind! That was art, do you understand? Art!"
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