Chapter 118: Li Lan’s Doubts
Yaogou. The Zhang Family!
Li Lan had just finished serving dinner to her husband and children and was about to clear the table when she suddenly heard the jingling of a mule’s bells outside the courtyard.
She looked up and saw a horse-drawn cart had pulled up right outside her door!
“Husband, it seems someone’s here. Go see who it is!”
Zhang Xuefeng immediately climbed out of bed, peered through the window, and said with some surprise, “It looks to me like that big black horse from your work team!”
Li Lan took a closer look and said, “It really does look like it. Could it be someone from my parents’ place?”
With that, she set down her bowl and chopsticks, wiped her hands on her apron, and hurried out the front gate!
As soon as she reached the doorway, she recognized her younger brother, Li Yi, driving the cart.
What surprised her even more was that there was a pretty, delicate young woman in the carriage.
Looking closer, wasn’t this the female educated youth who had come to the village a couple of years ago? She remembered her surname was Tang!
Why were these two here together? Something about this just didn’t feel right.
“Yi, what brings you here? What’s going on?”
Li Yi smiled and said, “Sis, this is my wife, Tang Xue. I’ll tell you the details later!”
Li Yi then unloaded the items from the cart. He carried the heavy things himself, handed the lighter ones to his second sister to carry, while Tang Xue held only a few bags of formula for her little nephew!
As soon as they walked in, Li Yi saw his second sister’s husband, Zhang Xuefeng, coming out with their one-year-old nephew in his arms.
“You’ve gotten taller again, and you’ve gotten darker!” his second sister’s husband said with a smile as soon as they met.
Li Yi smiled and said, “I stopped growing a while ago—I’ve just gotten a bit more muscular!”
When he saw the bags and packages Li Yi was carrying, his brother-in-law frowned and said, “You came to visit, fine, but why bring so much stuff?”
“Hehe, I just brought you two bottles of wine. The rest is all for my sister and my eldest nephew. Don’t read too much into it!”
My second sister’s husband had a good-natured personality and doted on his wife, so Li Yi always enjoyed teasing him.
“Hey, it’s Moutai! That stuff isn’t cheap!” her second brother-in-law said, somewhat surprised.
“Eight yuan a bottle—it really isn’t cheap!”
When Li Lan heard that the wine she was holding cost eight yuan a bottle, she immediately frowned and said, “We’re just villagers—a little bulk wine is enough. Drinking this is a waste. Take it back and return it later!”
Her second brother-in-law, who loved his drink, hurriedly protested, “Don’t do that! This is still a token of Little Yi’s goodwill. You’re making him feel…”
“Give it a rest. I know exactly what you’re up to. This liquor is too expensive—we can’t afford it. I’ll get you two pounds of shao dao later!”
“Can ‘shao dao’ really compare to Moutai?”
“Why not? It all burns your throat the same way!”
Seeing her husband still trying to argue with her, Li Lan glared at him and shouted, “Zhang Xuefeng, don’t you know who’s in charge of this household?”
Her second brother-in-law gave a wry smile. “You’re the boss. Fine, you’re the boss!”
Li Yi and Tang Xue exchanged a glance, then smiled and said, “Second Brother-in-Law, don’t listen to my second sister. I bought this liquor for you—she has no say in the matter!”
“Hey, Li Yi, are you looking for a beating? How dare you talk to your older sister like that!”
As she spoke, Li Lan moved to grab Li Yi by the ear—back home, whenever Li Yi got too rowdy, this was the move Li Lan used to rein him in!
Li Yi quickly dodged, pointing at Tang Xue beside him and saying, “Sis, my wife’s right here. Give me some face!”
Li Lan shot him a withering look, but her hand stopped in mid-air.
After ushering the two into the house, Li Lan immediately asked, “Xiao Yi, sister-in-law, you two haven’t eaten yet, have you? Let me cook you a bowl of noodles!”
Li Yi didn’t hesitate, smiling as he said, “Sure! I’ll help you out!”
“Give it a rest. You’re the last person who should be helping me—you’d be lucky not to get in the way!” Li Lan said with a look of disgust.
“Don’t underestimate me. Your little brother here is pretty good now, especially at cooking!”
Tang Xue, standing nearby, nodded and added, “Sister Lan, he’s a really good cook now!”
Li Lan gave Li Yi a puzzled look, then glanced at Tang Xue and asked, “Really?”
“Yeah, he’s basically the one doing all the cooking at home now,” Tang Xue said.
“Alright then, I’ll give you a chance to prove yourself!”
With that, Li Lan scooped a bowl of flour into a basin, kneaded the dough herself, and then had Li Yi prepare the broth!
Li Lan had intended to make two bowls of pot-cooked noodles for her brother and sister-in-law, but Li Yi ended up making oil-drizzled noodles instead.
When two large bowls of fragrant, glossy oil-splashed noodles came fresh off the stove, Li Lan was completely stunned.
After a simple meal, Li Yi got straight to the point.
Upon learning that her younger brother was about to get married and that she was needed back home to help with the preparations, Li Lan was both surprised and delighted, and immediately agreed.
Her younger brother’s wedding was a once-in-a-lifetime event, and a major occasion for the Li family—how could she, as his older sister, not go back to lend a hand!
“Honey, what about Xiao Ning while you’re back at your parents’ house?” her second brother-in-law suddenly asked.
“He’ll have to figure it out on his own. If that doesn’t work, let his grandmother watch him for a few days!” her second sister replied.
Her second brother-in-law immediately gave a wry smile. “My mother’s so upset with us right now—do you really think she’d watch the kid? Why don’t I go stay with you at Nianzi Mountain for a few days?”
“Stop joking around. You know exactly what the situation is at my parents’ place. There’s no way they could accommodate so many people if we went there.”
Li Yi smiled and said, “Second Sister’s husband, we don’t have to worry about a place to stay. I’m asking if you can actually get away.”
“I can. The work team isn’t too busy anyway, and they’ll approve a few days’ leave!”
“Alright then, you and my second sister-in-law pack up. We’ll head back together in a bit!” Li Yi said.
Second Sister asked in confusion, “There are only a few rooms in the house. If our whole family goes, where are you going to put everyone?”
“Sis, don’t worry about that. I’ll make sure you and the kids are well taken care of!” Li Yi said.
As he spoke, Li Yi was thinking to himself that his sister and nephew certainly couldn’t be made to suffer.
But as for my second sister’s husband? He’ll just have to make do!
He’d already decided: when the time came, he’d drag his brother-in-law over to the new apartment to sleep.
It might be a bit uncomfortable—or maybe not—but at least it’s a place to keep out the wind and rain, isn’t it?
Seeing that Li Yi was being evasive and unwilling to explain, his second sister didn’t press the matter. She immediately began packing their things, ready to set off.
While organizing the items Li Yi had brought them, Li Lan was surprised to find that her younger brother had actually brought her two bags of sugar.
One was white sugar, the other brown sugar, and each weighed a full four or five pounds—that’s over ten pounds for both!
At current sugar prices, these two bags alone were worth no less than 8 yuan!
More importantly, sugar is a scarce commodity these days—even if you have the money, you can’t buy any without a ration ticket.
Ten pounds of sugar—just the ration tickets for that alone would take their family three or four years to save up!
On top of that, her younger brother brought her quite a bit of malted milk powder and sponge cakes, as well as half a bolt of floral fabric and a full bolt of cotton.
If you did the math, these items were worth at least fifty or sixty yuan.
Li Lan thought she had a pretty good grasp of the family’s financial situation, and with her younger brother about to get married, where on earth would he have gotten the money to buy her all these things?
Instantly, Li Lan’s heart was filled with suspicion!