Lin Lan understood what she was implying. "Second Sister, I heard from my parents that they want to open a restaurant. They’re going to get started once I’m not so busy here."

Yang Lirong was stunned. She grabbed Lin Lan’s arm, tears streaming down her face, and pleaded, "Lin Lan, Eldest Sister, you all have to help me. I can’t hide it from you anymore. Our family was scammed, and everyone at home is at each other’s throats."

Her family hadn’t even attended Lin Lan and Li Xiangyang’s engagement party. If she weren’t completely out of options, she really wouldn’t have come looking for Lin Lan.

Lin Lan, Yang Liying, and Yang Liqun stared at her in astonishment. "How could you have been scammed?" ’You two are as sly as foxes. It’s more likely you’d be the ones scamming others.’

"It was that time I..." Wiping away her tears, Yang Lirong told Lin Lan and the others the story of how her family had been swindled.

Unless she was absolutely desperate, she truly hadn’t wanted to tell them. She was afraid they would laugh at her, saying she and Yu Hui had been too ruthless in the past and were now getting their just deserts.

Yang Liying looked at her with pity. "Really, Second Sister. I bet your husband’s friend conspired with someone to cheat you."

The sisters might bicker and fight, but seeing Yang Lirong get scammed still made their hearts ache for her.

"Damn that swindler! If they catch him, they should break his arms and legs..." Yang Liqun, being soft-hearted, couldn’t stop crying as she cursed the scammer.

Lin Lan was surprised that people were already using fake property deeds to scam money these days. "How do you expect to find them on your own? You need to report this to the police station immediately."

’For someone as shrewd as Yang Lirong to be fooled,’ she thought, ’the scammer must have exploited her desperation to buy a house and her desire to snag a bargain.’

Yang Lirong wiped her tears. "We did report it, but the police can’t find him either. They took Yu Hui’s friend in for questioning, but he was scammed too. He was sincerely trying to help us."

Seeing her state, Lin Lan thought for a moment and said, "If you want to rent a stall, I can ask Zhigang if any of the ones Xiangyang manages are still available. If you’d rather rent a shop, the one next to my parents’ place belongs to Xiangyang’s buddy, Dongzi. They’re looking to rent it out, too."

Yang Liqun wiped away a tear and added, "That’s right, Xiangyang helped Zhixue and Zhilin get their stalls, too. You two should discuss it and decide what you want to do, then Lin Lan can help you!"

Yang Lirong could only say, "We have no money left. If we can rent a stall, let’s just rent a stall. Preferably in the north of the city. We can also look for the scammer over there."

Lin Lan nodded. "Wait here for a bit. I’ll go ask Zhigang."

"Thank you for the trouble, Lin Lan," Yang Lirong said gratefully.

Lin Lan waved her hand dismissively and turned toward the market.

Yang Lirong thought for a moment, then looked at Yang Liying and Yang Liqun. "Eldest Sister, Liying, we’re running low on soybeans at home. Could you lend me some?"

Yang Liying and Yang Liqun exchanged a look, then nodded. "Second Sister, supplies are tight right now. We don’t have many soybeans stored at home, either. I can lend you a hundred jin at most."

Yang Liqun’s family went through soybeans even faster. She also said, "I can lend you a hundred jin, too."

Though dissatisfied, Yang Lirong still looked at them with gratitude. "Eldest Sister, Liying, thank you for your help. I also wanted to ask, did Lin Lan’s family help you get your soybeans?"

Fearing Yang Liqun would let something slip, Yang Liying quickly shook her head. "At the very beginning, Lin Lan’s grandfather helped us get some, but after that, we started going to the countryside to buy them ourselves."

Yang Liqun nodded along. "We figured it wasn’t right to keep troubling Lin Lan’s family, so we stopped asking them."

Yang Lirong’s heart sank. She had been so busy looking for the scammer recently that she hadn’t gone to buy soybeans. It wasn’t until the market reopened that she remembered they were running low. She had spent two straight days searching and only managed to bring home a few dozen jin.

They had a few hundred jin of soybeans at home, and with the two hundred jin from her sisters, it still wouldn’t last long.

When Lin Lan reached the butcher shop, she saw Zhigang busy cutting meat for customers, so she stepped behind the counter to help with taking money and keeping accounts.

Once he had a moment, Yang Zhigang looked at Lin Lan and smiled. "Sister-in-law, what’s up?"

Lin Lan quietly told him about Yang Lirong’s situation and asked, "Are there any stalls left at your brother’s location?"

Yang Zhigang replied, "There’s one stall left in the north of the city. If she wants it, she can use it for now."

Lin Lan thought for a moment. "I’ll have her come find you later. You can handle the handover with her. Just charge her the standard market rate for the stall fee."

Yang Zhigang nodded. "I’ll take her there this afternoon after we close up shop."

Lin Lan bought some vegetables on her way back to the shop and told Yang Lirong to go find Yang Zhigang after lunch.

Yang Lirong thanked her and left.

Lin Lan saw a few people in Yang Liying’s shop eating tofu pudding with rice and steamed dishes. She said to Yang Liying, "Third Sister, it might be a good idea to fry some youtiao and make some soy milk to sell with them in the morning."

"I was planning to go to Li Wu to buy a few bags of flour and give it a try." Yang Liying said, walking out with a grin to look at her. "Lin Lan, your mom is a great cook. A restaurant would definitely do well."

Seeing how happy she was, Lin Lan smiled. "Looks like our Boss Yang is having a good day. What do you think is more profitable? Selling tofu and tofu pudding, or running a restaurant?"

Yang Liying said readily, "Of course running a restaurant is more profitable! It’s just exhausting."

’Maybe I’m getting older; my body just can’t keep up anymore. This recent miscarriage feels like it took a greater toll on me than giving birth ever did.’

’After the miscarriage, I even observed a "small confinement" at home. I ate better and rested more than before, but my body still hasn’t fully recovered.’

’Before, I could grind twenty or thirty jin of soybeans in one go without getting tired. Now I have to rest two or three times just to finish.’

Lin Lan noticed the dark circles under her eyes and advised, "Third Sister, your health is your most important asset. If you’re feeling too tired, it’s better to hire a couple of people to help. We can’t trade our health for money when we’re young, only to spend that money trying to get our health back when we’re old."

Hearing Lin Lan’s words, Yang Liying thought for a moment and nodded. "Don’t worry, I’ll be careful."

Just then, Zhao Dehai called for Yang Liying from inside, and she hurried in to help.

Seeing Yang Liying leave, Tong Xinglan said to Lin Lan, "Cousin, that Second Sister Yang came to borrow soybeans from Sister Liying and even asked if Uncle helped them buy their soybeans. Sister Liying lied and said they get them from the countryside themselves."

Lin Lan gave her a look. "That’s between them. Don’t be a busybody."

Tong Xinglan nodded. "I know. My oldest cousin came to my house last time and said you were helping your eldest and third sisters-in-law get soybeans."

"You little smarty-pants," Lin Lan said, flicking her forehead gently with a finger. "Go practice kneading dough. Don’t always be thinking about using the mixer." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Tong Xinglan pouted. "Honestly, Cousin. A machine is so much easier, but you insist I have to knead by hand."

Lin Lan shot her a reproachful glare. "You’re learning to make pastries and you can’t even knead dough? What would you do if the power went out?"

Before she had even finished speaking, the lights in the shop went out.

"Whoops, the power really did go out. Good thing I hadn’t turned on the oven." Tong Xinglan turned her head to look at Lin Lan, relieved. "Cousin, are you a fortune-teller or something?"

Lin Lan rolled her eyes at her. "You goof. If only."