80s Transmigration: The Young Widow's Hustle to Riches

Chapter 387 - 385: Lost Another One

In the afternoon, seeing that Lin Lan needed to take inventory, Old Li went back early to pick up Little Douzi and cook for him.

Li Xiangyang had gone to the commune, and he still hadn’t returned by the time Lin Lan closed up to take inventory.

Lin Lan figured the rumors about the commune selling the Eucalyptus Forest plot were probably true. Otherwise, Li Xiangyang would have been back long ago. ’Since he still isn’t back, he’s probably out treating someone to dinner and drinks.’

Lin Lan started taking inventory with Little Xue and Little Mei. They first checked the clothes on the shop floor, then the warehouse. In the end, they discovered two items were missing: a beige trench coat and a navy blue men’s suit.

The suit was pure wool and even more expensive than the trench coat. Little Xue had a gentle nature, and her eyes instantly grew red as tears welled up.

She was thinking about her mother’s return from seeing a doctor in the provincial capital. ’The medicine the doctor prescribed is working really well for Mom, but it’s so expensive. It was almost two hundred yuan, enough to buy more than ten boxes of medicine.’

Little Mei stomped her foot in anger. "That bastard! If I get my hands on him, I’ll skin him alive."

Lin Lan patted her shoulder comfortingly. "Don’t worry, we’ll catch them soon. Now that they’ve had a taste of success, they’ll be back to hit our store again in a few days at most. We’ll definitely get them this time."

Little Xue wiped her tears. "When we catch them, we’ll make them pay for the clothes."

Little Mei gritted her teeth. "Of course he’ll pay. He’ll pay double."

The three of them came out, locked up the shop, and went to the department store across the street. To their surprise, there were still customers inside, and Qiaohui and Tong Xinglan were helping out.

Little Xue and Little Mei took a look around and went inside. Lin Lan sat for a moment. He Li sold a wall clock and Tong Xinglan sold a hairdryer. After seeing the customers off, He Li started cleaning up and preparing to close the store.

Qiaohui handed the store’s revenue to Lin Lan. "Cousin, Sister Zhao from the kindergarten was asking if you could make some small cookies."

The kindergarten that had previously ordered after-meal snacks from Lin Lan’s shop thought her baked goods tasted great and were very sanitary, so they had recommended her to the Vehicle Factory’s kindergarten. Now, the shop was supplying custom snacks to two different kindergartens.

Although the profit margin was thin, the large volume provided a stable income.

"Small cookies, huh!" Lin Lan recalled some vegetable cookies she used to make. "I can do that. I’ll buy the ingredients tomorrow, bake a batch, and send it over for her to try."

Qiaohui nodded. "Okay, I’ll take them to her tomorrow."

Tong Xinglan discreetly tugged on Qiaohui’s sleeve and shot her a meaningful glance.

Qiaohui glanced at Tong Xinglan, then said hesitantly, "Cousin, we wanted to go see a movie."

Lin Lan checked her watch. "It’s already eight o’clock. The movie won’t be over until almost ten. That’s too late. Go tomorrow, and go earlier." ’It’s too late,’ she thought. ’It’s not safe for two young women to be out by themselves. If something were to happen, I couldn’t bear the responsibility.’

Qiaohui nudged Tong Xinglan. "You tell her yourself."

"Cousin, I... I..." Tong Xinglan’s face flushed red as she looked at Lin Lan, stammering for a while without managing to say anything.

Lin Lan looked at her. "Did someone invite you to the movies?"

"If you won’t say it, I will," Qiaohui cut in. "This afternoon, ’Mantou’ from across the street came and invited Xinglan to a movie. Xinglan insisted on dragging me along, and he’s still waiting for us at the entrance of the department store."

The two of them had originally come to give Lin Lan the day’s revenue and ask for her permission to go to the movies. But when they arrived, they saw He Li struggling to manage on her own and stayed to help. They hadn’t expected that as soon as one group of customers left, another would arrive, delaying them until now.

"Mantou?" Lin Lan looked at Tong Xinglan, a specific person coming to mind. "You mean the young proprietor from across the street, don’t you?"

"Mhm!" Tong Xinglan looked up at Lin Lan, embarrassed. "It’s a nickname Qiaohui gave him. Don’t you remember?"

Lin Lan nodded. "So, the young proprietor wants to date you?"

Tong Xinglan lowered her head, picking at a loose thread on her hem. "He didn’t say that... he just invited me to the movies. I... I told him to wait, and he’s been waiting there this whole time. When it got dark, I was too scared to go alone, so I wanted Qiaohui to come with me."

"Go tell him it’s too late and that I said you can’t go." Lin Lan looked at them both and said with great seriousness, "A young woman must be modest and have self-respect. That’s the only way you’ll earn the respect of others."

She paused, then patted both their shoulders. "Don’t wait until you do something you can’t take back."

’This era is different from twenty or thirty years in the future,’ she reflected. ’If a young woman makes one small misstep, she won’t just be looked down on herself—her whole family will be the subject of malicious gossip. The original owner of this body is a prime example.’

Looking at Lin Lan, Tong Xinglan suddenly recalled how her own mother used to warn her not to be like her cousin. She would always say that her cousin was disobedient and had no self-respect, that she’d run off to marry a deadbeat, and that he’d ended up beating her so badly she couldn’t even get out of bed.

She nodded. "I understand. I won’t go."

Lin Lan patted her, gratified. "Go on, then."

"Qiaohui and I will go together."

Tong Xinglan pulled Qiaohui toward the entrance of the department store. When the young proprietor saw them approach, he paused for a second before greeting them with a smile. "Little Tong, you made it! Hurry, or we’ll miss the late show."

Tong Xinglan looked at him apologetically. "It’s too late, so I’m not going to go. I’m really sorry for making you wait so long." With that, she grabbed Qiaohui’s hand and walked away.

"Hey—Little Tong..." Before the young proprietor could finish, the two women had already turned and walked away hand in hand. He scratched his head and trudged off, dejected.

When the two returned, Lin Lan smiled. "Let’s all walk He Li to the entrance of the commune alley, and then we can stroll back."

There was a stretch of road by the commune with no streetlights, and Lin Lan didn’t feel safe letting He Li walk it alone.

He Li teased, "I think you just want to go meet up with Xiangyang and are using me as your excuse."

Tong Xinglan nodded vigorously. "Exactly! It’s getting late. The commune office has been closed for a while. Your husband is probably already home."

Lin Lan rolled her eyes at them. "So, are you coming or not?"

"We’re coming!" The three of them had just pushed their bicycles out onto the road when Yang Zhigang came cycling up.

Tong Xinglan laughed. "Zhigang, your timing is perfect! You can escort He Li."

"Great! I’ll go meet him and we’ll head back." He Li said, then cycled off.

Tong Xinglan and Qiaohui opened the side door next to the shop and went upstairs to rest.

By the time Lin Lan got back to Yucai Road, Little Douzi and Old Li had already changed into their pajamas and were watching TV in the living room. "Dad, is Xiangyang still not back?"

Old Li smiled. "I heard from Xiuyun that Xiangyang came back for a bit, then picked up Dongzi. They’ve supposedly gone to Mayor Xu’s house for dinner and drinks."

Lin Lan put down her backpack. "So it looks like they’re really selling the Eucalyptus Forest."

Old Li nodded. "Xiuyun said the decision’s already been made."

Little Douzi tugged on Lin Lan’s arm and pouted. "Mommy, why are you home so late?"

"If you stick that lip out any further, I could hang a teapot on it," Lin Lan said, laughing as she booped his nose. "Mommy didn’t mean to be this late. We were taking inventory, remember?"

Little Douzi wrinkled his nose. "Mommy, we start summer vacation in two weeks, and Teacher said we have to take a promotion exam before we can go to first grade."

Lin Lan smiled down at him. "And are you worried you won’t pass?"

Little Dou Ding shook his head proudly. "Nope. I get a hundred on every test."

Lin Lan tapped his forehead. "Just don’t forget the story of the tortoise and the hare."