Lin Lan gave the pastries to Wang Zhixue and his brother, exchanged a few words with Zhang Yuru, and then saw them off.

Wu Shufen and Lin Changyou returned carrying a dozen or so napa cabbages and a bundle of leafy greens. Qiaohui began to set out the meal.

Everyone ate the cold leftovers from the day before. After Lin Lan rode her bike to take Little Douzi to school and returned, Wu Shuqin came to say she was heading home.

"Little Lan, Xinglan and I are going back to pack her a change of clothes and to let your uncle know. We’ll be back tomorrow."

"Okay," Lin Lan said, glancing at Tong Xinglan. "Xinglan, have you decided what you want to do?"

Before Tong Xinglan could speak, Wu Shuqin jumped in. "She’s decided. She’s going to learn how to make pastries from you."

Seeing Tong Xinglan lower her head in silence, Lin Lan said to Wu Shuqin, "Auntie, we’re all family. Why don’t you and Xinglan go home and talk it over again? You can make a decision after that."

Tong Xinglan looked up at Lin Lan. "Cousin, I’ll go home and think it over carefully. I’ll come back once I’ve made up my mind."

Lin Lan looked at her, thinking, ’This girl does have her good points.’ She nodded and said, "All right. Once you make a choice, you have to be responsible for it. That’s the only way you’ll be able to move forward."

Tong Xinglan nodded. "I’ll remember that."

Wu Shufen brought over the pastries, wine, and meat that Lin Lan had prepared and gave them to Wu Shuqin. "These are from Little Lan. Take them back for her uncle to try."

Wu Shuqin didn’t stand on ceremony and accepted them readily. "Alright, I won’t be a stranger, then."

Wu Shufen gave her a mock-reproachful glance. "What’s there to be polite about? We’re family."

Just as Wu Shufen and Lin Changyou saw off Wu Shuqin and her daughter, Li Xiangyang arrived.

Lin Changyou told him about someone trying to drug Wangcai the previous night and asked him to move the television and sewing machine to their place in town for safekeeping.

After hearing this, Li Xiangyang gave Lin Lan a worried look and said to her parents, "Dad, Mom, can you stay here for another ten days or so? By the time I get back, Little Douzi will be on break from school, and then we can all move into town."

Lin Changyou nodded. "Alright. Third Brother said he’ll be back early in the second month. We’ll wait for him here, and then we can all go back to Shilian together."

Li Xiangyang felt relieved. He said to Lin Lan, "Let’s take Mom and Dad to see the shop in town."

"Okay. Can you unpack and assemble the women’s bicycle? When I have time, I’ll teach Mom and Dad how to ride."

Wu Shufen quickly waved her hands in refusal. "No, I’m not learning! At my age, taking a fall would be a disaster."

"The women’s bike has 26-inch wheels. It’s smaller than the 28-inch roadster, so it’s very easy to learn on," Li Xiangyang said, heading into the main hall to carry out the box.

Lin Changyou enthusiastically helped him open the box, then attach the handlebars, seat, luggage rack, and other parts, and tighten all the screws.

Li Xiangyang mounted the wheels, and Lin Lan handed him a pump. In no time, the tires were fully inflated.

Li Xiangyang grabbed the frame, flipped the bike upright, and set it next to the 28-inch roadster. The roadster looked like a tall, burly man, while the 26-inch women’s bike was like a petite lady.

Wu Shufen said with a beaming smile, "The women’s bike is much prettier."

Lin Lan laughed. "So, Mom, Dad, are you less scared now?"

Li Xiangyang added, "It’s a long way from Shilian to the ferry. If you learn to ride a bike, getting around will be much more convenient."

Lin Changyou nodded. "Alright. We’ll give it a try when you have time."

"Little Lan, you ride the new bike," Li Xiangyang said, pushing a 28-inch roadster into the main hall. Then the four of them rode bikes to the shop.

Lin Changyou looked at Lin Lan and Li Xiangyang’s general store, his heart swelling with excitement. He’d never dreamed that the very items others had to pull strings to buy would be available in such abundance in his own daughter’s shop.

He sighed happily. "We’re getting old. It’s the young people who have the courage and the ideas these days!"

Seeing her husband’s happy expression, Wu Shufen pulled on his arm and pointed to the clothing store across the street. "Look! That’s Little Lan’s clothing store over there. The clothes inside are prettier than anything at the department store."

"Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful!" Lin Changyou exclaimed.

Lin Lan and Li Xiangyang then led them into the clothing store across the street.

Little Xue said, "Auntie Lin, some of the styles are completely sold out. We even have people asking to place backorders. Should we accept them?"

Lin Lan thought for a moment. "Tell them we’ll have new styles soon, so we’re not taking orders for the old ones."

"Okay," Little Xue replied.

After the four of them toured the shops, they returned to Lexing. Li Xiangyang strapped the television and sewing machine to the back of a bicycle and hauled them upstairs at the general store for safekeeping, so Lin Changyou and his wife wouldn’t have to worry at night.

In the afternoon, Lin Lan sent Qiaohui to run the stall while she stayed home and packed all the day’s earnings into a money belt, preparing to take it to Li Xiangyang at the Li family home.

In just a few days, not even counting the value of their current inventory, Lin Lan and Li Xiangyang had not only earned back their entire initial investment, but had doubled it.

As Lin Lan rode toward Li Xiangyang’s house, she thought about Lin Guoliang and his family. ’They work themselves to the bone raising and selling pigs all year, and they still don’t make as much as we do in a few days.’

As she rode past the fried potato stall run by Yang Meihua and her husband, she saw customers eating at the small square tables and others crowded around the stove waiting to buy. An idea suddenly struck her, and she decided to discuss it with Li Xiangyang when she got to the Li family’s house.

Lin Lan rode her bicycle into the courtyard. Old Li, who was sitting in front of the main hall preparing vegetables, greeted her happily. "Lin Lan, you’re here!"

"Dad," Lin Lan called with a smile, taking a basket of vegetables off the back of her bike and carrying it toward the kitchen. "I brought some pea shoots, cauliflower, and winter mallow."

"Xiangyang, Lin Lan’s here!" Old Li yelled toward the bathroom at the top of his lungs. He turned back to her with a grin. "You don’t have to bring vegetables. We have a garden out back with radishes, celery, stem mustard, and lettuce." 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Lin Lan nodded. "I know. Xiangyang mentioned you didn’t have these varieties here."

Li Xiangyang came out of the bathroom, grinning at her. "You’re here."

"Mhm. I came to bring you the bag," Lin Lan said, gesturing to the backpack she was wearing under her coat.

Li Xiangyang took the pack from her, and they went into the main hall. He opened it to find it stuffed full of cash.

Old Li glanced cautiously toward the courtyard gate. "It’s not good for others to see that. Take the bag back to your room to deal with it."

"Right," Li Xiangyang agreed. He carried the backpack into their room with Lin Lan, pulling her down to sit beside him on the sofa near the bed.

Lin Lan grinned at him. "Guess how much we’ve earned these past few days."

Looking at her greedy expression, Li Xiangyang playfully flicked her on the nose. "You little miser. I’m at the shop every day, you know!"

Lin Lan rubbed her nose. "What if you make it flat?"

Li Xiangyang beamed at her. "What’s there to be afraid of? I wouldn’t mind if you had a flat nose."

Lin Lan gave him a playful glare. "On my way here, I passed by Sister Meihua’s potato stall. There were a lot of people eating there." She sat up straight, her expression turning serious. "Even though my mom and the others do better than most in the village by raising pigs, they still don’t make as much in a whole year as I do selling pastries."

"I think my mom and my sister-in-law are pretty good at making home-style dishes. We still have those two empty storefronts at the East Market. What do you think about letting them open a small restaurant there?"