80s Transmigration: The Young Widow's Hustle to Riches-Chapter 47 - 45: Mama, I’ll Listen

"Grandma taught me. I learned it after just two tries." Little Douzi looked at Lin Lan, his face practically begging for praise.

Seeing Lin Lan turn her head away, he thought he’d done something wrong. He anxiously walked over and tugged on her hand. "Mommy, I’ll be good. I’ll listen to you."

"Mommy knows Little Douzi is such a good, obedient boy!"

Lin Lan spoke gently as she bent down to kiss him, then scooped him up in her arms. "Sweetheart, Mommy loves you. Mommy will never, ever leave you."

Little Douzi threw his arms around her neck, buried his face in her shoulder, and let out a "WAAAH," bursting into sorrowful tears.

Lin Lan gently patted his back. "Shh, shh. Don’t cry. Mommy loves Little Douzi more than anyone. My Little Douzi is the best boy in the world."

Little Douzi looked up at her, sobbing. "Mommy, they said you don’t want me anymore. They said you’re going to be someone else’s mommy. Little Douzi won’t have a mommy anymore... Little Douzi will be a little beggar... WAAAH..."

’Lin Lan was utterly furious. If she ever found out who had been spouting such nonsense in front of Little Douzi, she would tear their mouth right off.’

She gently patted his back, comforting him in a soft voice. "They’re lying to you. Mommy isn’t going to be a mommy for anyone else. No other child is as wonderful as my Little Douzi!"

"No more crying now. You told Mommy you wanted to be a smart and brave boy, just like Haiwa, remember? Next time anyone dares to say such nonsense, you tell Mommy, and Mommy will tear them to shreds."

"Okay!" Little Douzi nuzzled against Lin Lan. "Mommy, Mommy..."

Lin Lan held him and spun in circles around the courtyard, whispering words of comfort. Little Douzi’s sobs eventually quieted, and he fell asleep in her arms, the corners of his eyes still glistening with tears.

Lin Lan carried him inside, laid him on the bed, and covered him with a blanket. She went to the kitchen, took the money pouch out of her carrying basket, and emptied it onto the bed. After counting, she saw she’d made over twenty yuan, not including the loose change.

She did a quick calculation and realized she had over two yuan more than she’d expected. It seemed Li Xiangyang had sold the snacks for twenty cents apiece.

’If they can sell for twenty cents each, the profit margin is actually pretty good.’

With that in mind, Lin Lan went to scoop a large ladleful of fava beans and half a ladleful of red beans into a basin, pouring hot water from the kettle over them to soak.

She washed the last few pieces of pickled radish, cut them into strips, and laid them in a bamboo draining basket to dry. After washing the bag she used for the "orchid beans," she finally began to wash up for the night.

Lin Lan entered the room and gazed at the soundly sleeping Little Douzi. She planted a kiss on his flushed little cheek, then gently lifted him to pull off his pants.

The little boy woke up. Rubbing his eyes, he leaned against Lin Lan. "Mommy, I have to pee."

"Okay!" Lin Lan put his pants back on. "Mommy will hold you. We can wash your face and brush your teeth at the same time."

"Okay!" Lin Lan carried him to the kitchen. She had him stand on her feet so he could pee into the night pot.

"I’m done, Mommy!"

"Alrighty!" Lin Lan set him down on a chair, poured some warm water from a thermos to wash his face, and watched him with a wide smile. "Tomorrow, Mommy will buy you a picture book."

Little Douzi’s eyes lit up. "But Mommy, picture books are really expensive!"

Lin Lan gave the bottom of his foot a little tickle and beamed at him. "Just tell Mommy, do you want one or not?"

"I do!" Little Douzi shouted. "I want one about Sun Wukong!"

"Okay, Mommy will buy it for you," Lin Lan said, laughing.

After they were all clean, mother and son lay down in bed. Lin Lan gently patted him, telling him stories from *Journey to the West*. Soon, listening to the sound of Little Douzi’s even breathing, she too drifted off into dreamland.

The next morning, she woke up early to a gloomy, overcast sky. Lin Lan stuffed the radish strips from the draining basket into a pickling jar, then began to heat up last night’s leftovers.

The two of them had just finished their meal and fed the pigs and chickens when, before they could even head out, a fine drizzle began to fall.

Lin Lan figured the drizzle wasn’t going to stop anytime soon. ’There’s still fodder in the cowshed,’ she thought, ’so it won’t be too late to cut more after the rain stops.’ She turned to Little Douzi and said, "Mommy’s taking you to town to buy that picture book."

Little Douzi jumped for joy and broke into a wide grin. "Mommy, I’ll go get the umbrella!"

"Be careful you don’t fall."

"Okay!" Little Douzi chirped, running excitedly toward the room.

Lin Lan went to the backyard and opened the small gate. Seeing the chickens huddled under the bamboo, she called them back before going to change into her rubber boots.

When Lin Lan came out with the carrying basket, Little Douzi was waiting for her, the umbrella propped on his shoulder.

"Mommy, I want to walk by myself."

"It’s raining, so your shoes will get soaked. Once Mommy buys you your own little pair of rubber boots, you can walk by yourself."

"Oh," Little Douzi agreed.

Lin Lan lifted him into the carrying basket, hoisted it onto her back, and laughed. "Here we go! Off to town!"

Little Douzi waved to Dahuang. "Dahuang, be a good boy and watch the house! We’re going to town!"

Dahuang wagged his tail, following them to the courtyard gate.

Little Douzi pointed at the dog. "Dahuang, you watch the house, okay? Mommy and I are going to town to buy a picture book."

Dahuang watched them go, then lay down by the gate.

The mother and son closed the gate and walked off under the umbrella, disappearing into the silken, misty rain.

The light rain pattered against the umbrella with a soft HISS.

Lin Lan spotted someone on the ridge between the rice paddies. The person wore a conical bamboo hat and carried a fish creel shaped like a small pot. They were using bamboo tongs to catch eels.

Pesticides were rarely used back then, so the paddy ridges were full of eel holes. The eels would poke their heads out whenever it rained.

Lin Lan used to go eel catching with her cousin.

Her cousin would grab the captured eels by the tail and slam them on the ground until they were stunned, then impale them on an iron nail.

He’d pull the eel taut, pinning its tail, and use a small, sharp knife honed from a saw blade to slit it open. After deboning and cutting it into segments, he would braise it with pickled chilis, garlic, and broad bean paste. It was absolutely delicious.

Little Douzi was draped over her shoulder, murmuring secrets in her ear. Lin Lan nodded every so often as they turned under the umbrella and entered an alley.

When they reached the main street, Lin Lan noticed it was still quiet, with very few pedestrians. The street near the hospital was always much busier.

She glanced at the area across from the hospital. ’If I opened a congee shop here in the future,’ she thought, ’business would probably be pretty good.’

After walking a dozen more meters, she saw a repair shop. A balding mechanic sat leisurely in a chair, legs crossed, cradling a large tea mug. A radio perched on a high stool beside him was playing the Sichuan opera *The Legend of the Red Lantern*.

With Little Douzi on her back, Lin Lan turned right and continued straight, passing two intersections. The streets became a bit more crowded here. The people coming and going were all dressed in drab shades of white, blue, gray, and black. There wasn’t a speck of red, purple, yellow, or green to be seen.

After another block, she saw the Xinhua Bookstore. Reaching the entrance, she lowered Little Douzi from the carrying basket, gave the umbrella a shake to get the water off, and took his hand as they walked inside.

The bookstore was quite large, spanning four storefronts. It was completely empty, probably due to the rain.

Two saleswomen sat behind a counter, casting a brief glance at the mother and son before ignoring them completely, not even bothering to ask if they needed help.

Little Douzi stared curiously at the pictures hanging on the walls.

Lin Lan remembered that picture books from this era were kept behind the counter for sale. Sure enough, in a display case in the corner, she saw the two volumes of *The Feather Message*.

They even had a book about Sun Wukong! It was a two-volume set called *Somersault Cloud*, and it was in color. There were also copies of *Tunnel Warfare*, *Landmine Warfare*...

Lin Lan recalled from her own childhood that any kid in the village who owned picture books was an object of envy, someone all the other children would try to butter up.

After she started school, she had bought her own copies of *Journey to the West*, *Generals of the Yang Family*, and *Grandpa Long-Brows and the Ginseng Doll*... She and her classmates would trade their many picture books back and forth to read them all.