Li Xiangyang thought it was a good idea; he’d had the same plan before. "You saw how booming the business was at that restaurant where we ordered food the other day." He paused. "I also mentioned Little Jun and the others’ schooling to Dad, but it seems like the old man doesn’t want to leave Shilian."

He felt that the transportation in Shilian was too inconvenient, and the schools were much worse compared to Lexing’s, let alone the city’s Number One Elementary. From a long-term perspective, he believed the city was developing faster, and if they had the means, they should send the children to a better place to study.

Lin Lan looked at him gently. "Xiangyang, you’re always thinking so far ahead. I hadn’t even considered the issue of Little Jun and the others’ schooling. You should find some time to have a good talk with him and let him go back to discuss it with my eldest brother and the others."

Li Xiangyang squeezed in beside her. "Little Lan, I don’t think the clothing store makes money as fast as small appliances. I brought back five boxes of tape recorders, and today there’s only one left. And that’s only because Ding Bang asked me to hold it for his colleague."

"Once the tape recorders are sold, everything else in the department store is pure profit. If we opened a few more shops, we’d probably make money even faster than Uncle Da does selling smuggled goods."

Lin Lan nodded. "It’s also a problem that the clothing store can’t keep up with stock. A few styles sold out the very next day. Let’s stock up more this time so we don’t have to go to Yangcheng City before the New Year."

"Also, dealing in smuggled goods is too risky. I don’t approve of you getting them. Later, I’ll pack some wood ear mushrooms and other fungi for you. This trip, you should build a good relationship with Zhang Zeming. Sourcing from them is much safer than getting smuggled goods."

Li Xiangyang recalled encountering several roadside checkpoints on this trip and nodded. "Don’t worry, I won’t do anything illegal. Uncle Da said he’s not planning on getting any more smuggled goods either. Since the ’opening up,’ customs inspections have gotten much stricter. If you get caught, you could end up ’doing woodwork’ or ’pedaling a sewing machine.’"

It took Lin Lan a moment to understand what ’doing woodwork’ and ’pedaling a sewing machine’ meant. "Exactly. We should only earn the money we’re supposed to. Even if it means smaller profit margins, it’s fine. Safety is what matters most."

"Mhm!" Li Xiangyang took Lin Lan’s hand, pulled her onto his lap, and held her, murmuring, "Honey, I won’t see you for another ten days or so. You have to comfort me a little."

Lin Lan looked at him acting like a child asking for candy and gave him a smiling kiss. "Dad is still waiting. Let’s go out first."

"The old man won’t be waiting for us. He’s probably wishing he could hold a grandchild sooner!" Li Xiangyang said as he cupped her face and gave her a deep kiss. "Honey, wait for me to come home."

Lin Lan nodded, catching her breath. Face flushed, she looked up into his eyes and nodded again. The two looked at each other and smiled, their expressions filled with infinite hope for the future...

That night, Lin Lan told Wu Shufen what she and Li Xiangyang had discussed, asking her to go back and talk it over with Lin Guoliang and the others. They could come to the city to open a restaurant and bring the children with them for school.

Wu Shufen thought for a moment before saying, "A humble home is worth a fortune to its owner. Your dad would never be willing to just abandon everything we have at home. As for Little Jun and the others’ schooling, we still have to go back and ask your brothers what they think."

Lin Lan nodded. "You all should discuss it thoroughly. I think we should take advantage of the next couple of years to make some good money. It won’t be too late to go back to farming after that."

She had been thinking a lot in the days since the shop opened. ’My previous line of thinking was wrong,’ she thought. ’Even if I want to get into ecological farming and cultivation, I should avoid the first few years of the ’opening up’ when everyone is focused on agriculture. I should come to the city, open a shop, and accumulate capital first.’

Then, when all the people who were single-mindedly farming start thinking about leaving to work or open shops, that’s the time to go back to agriculture.

Wu Shufen took Lin Lan’s hand and looked at her with relief. "I know you’re thinking of the family’s best interests, but your brothers and sisters-in-law are still at home. Your eldest brother and his wife are fine, but your second brother is a brute, and your second sister-in-law is petty and loves to compare herself to others. Your dad has to think this through carefully before making a decision."

Lin Lan nodded. "We can take our time. There’s no rush."

The next morning, Lin Lan saw Li Xiangyang off at the train station. She handed a portion of the local goods she had prepared to Liu Da. "Uncle Da, I prepared some local specialty products. Please take them to the guesthouse owner and Uncle Zhang."

Liu Da took the basket, opened it for a look, and had a flash of inspiration. "Little Lin, people in Yangcheng City love making soup. My truck is always empty on the way there. What do you think about hauling some local specialty products over?"

Lin Lan thought for a moment and said, "Uncle Da, last time Xiangyang and I were in the provincial capital to buy bulk spices, Boss Ge mentioned that Yun Province has the most dried fungi. If you’re serious about this business, you should first ask around after you get to Yangcheng City. Then, on your way back, stop by the provincial capital and ask Boss Ge about it."

Liu Da smiled and nodded. "You’re right. We should run the numbers properly first before deciding."

Li Xiangyang, holding the local goods, said to Lin Lan, "Ride your bike carefully on the way back."

Liu Da laughed and teased them, "Aiya, it’s nice to be a young couple! Look at me, when I leave home, I even have to pack my own luggage. Your auntie is still off visiting the Duke of Zhou!"

After seeing Li Xiangyang off, Lin Lan rode her bike back. She went to the shop first, saw Old Li helping out at the department store, greeted him, and then went to the clothing store across the way.

Little Xue was cleaning, and Little Mei was ironing clothes.

"Auntie Lin, when are you going to restock?" Little Mei asked, pointing to the empty clothing racks. "I’ve already brought out all the clothes from the storeroom."

Seeing her anxious expression, Lin Lan smiled. "Your Uncle Xiangyang has already gone to get more stock. He’ll be back in about ten days."

"Sigh!" Little Mei let out a breath. "Ten days... The supplier must be really far away!"

Lin Lan patted her shoulder. "It’s alright. Just hang up everything we have in the warehouse and sell it slowly for the next few days. The shipment that’s coming will be enough to last us until the New Year."

Little Xue took out the points ledger and handed it to Lin Lan. "Auntie Lin, a customer redeemed her points for a scarf yesterday. We only have about ten scarves left."

This customer’s family members had bought clothes and credited all the points to her account.

Lin Lan saw that several other customers had also accumulated over five hundred points. "Don’t put the remaining scarves out for sale. We need to save them for customers who come to redeem their points."

"Got it," Little Xue replied.

Lin Lan looked around the shop before heading home. Seeing that Lin Yuezhen had already arrived, she laughed. "Newlywed, why aren’t you taking a few more days off?"

Lin Yuezhen shot her a playful glare and explained with smiling gestures, ’Brother Yong went to the market. I was just idle at home, so I figured I might as well come back to work.’

Lin Lan smiled and said, "It’s good that you’re back. We’re moving from the Eucalyptus Forest to the market at the end of the month. I want to create a new product to sell on opening day."

Lin Yuezhen nodded in agreement. The two of them went to the kitchen together.

Several wooden poles were tied to the ceiling beams, hung full of sausages and cured meat. A large ceramic vat was filled with soy-braised pork and ribs. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Lin Lan remembered that the New Year was just over twenty days away. It was time to slaughter their capons to make cured chicken. By the time it was smoked and dried, the New Year would be just around the corner.