80s Transmigration: The Young Widow's Hustle to Riches-Chapter 21: Evil Intentions Die Hard

Lin Guoliang nodded. "If the police station handled it, then let’s leave it at that. But if he dares to bully you again, we, the Lin family, won’t let it slide so easily."

Lin Guodong’s eyes widened. "Bro, why should we let it go? Let’s go to the Liu family’s place and confront them." His little sister, the one their whole family doted on, had been bullied by that good-for-nothing late husband of hers. Since she protected him, their hands had been tied. But why should they let anyone else push her around?

Wu Shufen snapped, "You hothead, what do you think you’re doing? The police already handled it. Do you think you’re more capable than they are?" 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Lin Guoliang patted him. "Second Brother, Little Lan still has to make a life for herself here in the Lexing Team. Blowing things up will only make it harder on her. If it happens again, we’ll go home and round up the entire Lin family."

The old woman also said, "Don’t you worry. Liu Guozhi promised he’d keep an eye on Liu Jinbao, and he even arranged for Lin Lan to have the grass-cutting job. If they try to cause trouble again, the Yang family won’t stand for it, either."

She was worried the Lin brothers would rashly barge into the Liu family’s home and come out worse for it.

What happened that day was the Liu family’s fault, which was why their own clan members hadn’t stepped up to help. Now that Liu Guozhi had publicly backed down, the rest of the Liu family would not be pushovers if the brothers went looking for more trouble.

Lin Guodong thanked her gratefully. "Grandma, thank you so much for always looking after Little Lan."

The old woman laughed. "We’re family, no need to be so polite! I couldn’t stand Lin Lan before when she didn’t have any backbone, but now she knows how to strive for better. As long as this old woman is around, I won’t let anyone bully her and the boy!"

Little Douzi patted his small chest. "Great-grandma, Uncles, when I grow up I’m going to be a policeman to protect Mommy!"

Wu Shufen happily leaned over and gave him a kiss. "Oh! Grandma’s good boy! Come on, Grandma will give you some yummy meat!" She waved at her two sons. "Go on, get to digging. I’m about to start cooking."

Lin Guoliang chuckled, pointing at her. "Look at Mom. She can change her tune faster than a performer in a face-changing opera."

Lin Lan thought he sounded like he was reciting a tongue-twister and laughed as well. "Second Brother, I’ll go get the ramie seeds to sow."

Lin Guoliang waved. "Go on! We’ll get this plot dug for you first."

Wu Shufen went into the kitchen, picked up the meat with chopsticks, and placed it on the cutting board. She cut off a rib and handed it to Little Douzi, who was leaning against the old woman.

She smiled and reminded him, "Good boy, don’t get Great-grandma’s clothes dirty."

"I know." Little Douzi offered the bone to the old woman. "Great-grandma, you eat!"

The old woman watched him with a wide smile. "You eat it. Great-grandma can’t chew on bones anymore!"

"I can chew it!" Little Douzi started gnawing on it with a grin.

Wu Shufen said gratefully to the old woman, "Ma’am, it’s all thanks to you for helping teach Little Douzi. If this kid was just with Little Lan, who knows how he would have turned out?"

The old woman laughed. "Lin Lan might have been immature before, but she was always good to Little Douzi. Besides, no matter how good an outsider is, they can’t compare to a child’s own mother."

Wu Shufen nodded. "You’re right!"

As the two chatted and laughed, Wu Shufen finished cooking: twice-cooked pork, radish soup, stir-fried rapeseed, and peas with minced pork.

There was also a bowl of steamed egg custard. Everyone squeezed around the small table and began to eat cheerfully.

*****

After being thwarted by Lin Lan twice, Liu Jinbao was also warned by Liu Guozhi, who ordered him to stop provoking her.

But he simply couldn’t swallow his anger. After stewing at home for two days, he started plotting how to deal with Lin Lan.

He secretly swore to ruin Lin Lan’s reputation and make it impossible for her to stay in the Lexing Team.

One day, when Liu Guozhi took some men out on business, Liu Jinbao slipped out of his house, rounded up Zhang Hua and Ye Gang, and went to the neighboring Construction Team to visit a hooligan nicknamed Old Gui.

The three of them knocked. Old Gui threw an arm around Liu Jinbao’s shoulders and said with a lecherous wink, "Liu San, I heard you went to kick down that Yang widow’s door, but she ended up slashing you with a knife. Not only did you fail to get the money, you had to pay up instead. Useless piece of trash. Can’t even handle a single woman."

Liu Jinbao glanced at him with a wry smile. "Old Gui, she may be a widow, but she’s damn good-looking. Her skin is so soft and supple... stripped naked..."

"If you’ve got the balls to tame that fiery mare, I’ll give you my Yongjiu bicycle as a wedding gift!"

Old Gui’s real name was Zou Zhonggui. He was about thirty-six or thirty-seven, with thick eyebrows and large eyes, and actually looked quite energetic.

He’d been sentenced to a few years for petty theft. After his release, his brothers had already split the family property. Luckily, his parents had left him a two-room old house before they died, giving him a place to stay.

Because of his bad reputation and poverty, he was still a bachelor and spent his days hanging out with hooligans like Liu Jinbao and his gang.

Zhang Hua laughed and teased, "Old Gui, that’s not a bad gift! That Yang widow is good-looking, and she even has a son."

"If you can get your hands on her, you’ll have a son and a wife all at once. Her family even has a big courtyard, so you won’t even have to build a house in the future."

Zou Zhonggui laughed and slapped Zhang Hua on the shoulder. "If it’s so great, why don’t you go for it, kid?"

Ye Gang laughed. "Old Gui, that woman likes good-looking men. Look at Zhang Hua, he’s as scrawny as a skeleton. She wouldn’t be interested in him."

Zhang Hua nodded with a smile. "Old Gui, if you go, she’d probably be interested."

The men walked into the house, joking and laughing. Zou Zhonggui picked up the kerosene lamp, rubbed his buzz cut, and looked up at the three of them. "So, how do I stack up against her late husband?"

Liu Jinbao held up his index finger, showing only the tip. "You’re just *this* much worse than he was!"

Zou Zhonggui put the kerosene lamp on the table. "If she looks down on me, well, I’m not interested in marrying into her family anyway. Enough talk. Let’s play Steal Ten-and-a-Half."

"Bring it on! You think I’m scared?" Liu Jinbao plopped himself down.

Zou Zhonggui took out a deck of playing cards and threw it on the table. Liu Jinbao shuffled and started dealing.

"Old Gui, let me tell you, that woman goes to Niu Bei Mountain to cut grass every day. She doesn’t know you. Go take a look; I guarantee you’ll be satisfied."

Zou Zhonggui glanced at him. "Liu San, you must be up to something, asking me to go."

Liu Jinbao held out his injured hand. "Look at my hand. It still hasn’t healed. That bitch even hit my mom... and my uncle won’t let me go after her. I can’t let this go until I ruin her!"

Zou Zhonggui nodded. "She does sound like a handful. How do you want me to help you?"

Liu Jinbao held up five fingers. "I’ll give you fifty yuan, plus my 28-inch Yongjiu bicycle. You help me ruin that woman’s reputation."

Zou Zhonggui shook his head like a pellet drum. "No, no, no! If I get caught again, it’ll be my second time in the slammer. The sentence is worse for a second offense, and with a hooliganism charge on top of that, I’ll rot in jail!"

"Here’s what you do..." Liu Jinbao leaned in close to his ear and whispered a plan.

Zhang Hua watched with an envious look. "Fifty yuan plus a Yongjiu. Old Gui, if it were me, I’d do it. After it’s done, you’ll have a wife and a kid."

Zou Zhonggui thought for a moment but still couldn’t decide. He looked at Liu Jinbao and held up one finger. "One hundred yuan plus the Yongjiu. Let me think about it and I’ll get back to you!"

Liu Jinbao thought for a second and nodded. "Alright. When you’ve decided, come find me at the team’s storage room."

Zou Zhonggui nodded. "Come on, deal, deal." The four of them started playing.

***

After Lin Lan and her family finished their happy dinner and chatted for a while longer, the old woman was eager to go home.

Lin Lan and Lin Guodong walked her to her back door. Only after they saw her open it and go inside did the siblings head back.

Back in the courtyard, after closing the gate, Lin Guodong pulled ten yuan from his pocket and pressed it into Lin Lan’s hand.

"Little Lan, take this money and buy something for Little Douzi to eat. Look at him, the boy’s almost four but he’s no taller than a three-year-old."

"I don’t want it!" Lin Lan quickly pushed the money back into his hand, looking at him with a wide smile. "Big Brother, I made fried fava beans today and earned over two yuan in just a short while."