Chapter 361: Chapter 358: The World’s Money is for Everyone to Earn
As they left Xu Dong’s house, Li Xiangyang couldn’t help but sigh. "Xu Dong is actually a decent guy. Going to prison for two years over this... it’s really not worth it."
Lin Lan had heard plenty of stories about business rivals playing dirty and backstabbing each other to get ahead. She sighed, "Now that both of them are locked up, it should serve as a wake-up call for the other vendors."
"Yeah. But to be fair, the new vendor was the one who started it all. Xu Dong’s wife got several other stall owners to report the incident as well."
When they got back to their house across the street, Old Li was in the yard watering the flowering trees. Seeing them return, he asked, "What’s the word on Xu Dong?"
Li Xiangyang relayed what Xu Dong had told him. Old Li sighed and said to the couple, "You two remember this: business is for everyone, and there’s enough money in the world for everyone to earn.
"The worst thing you can do in business is try to bully the market or act on impulse. In this world, unless you’re the government, no one can monopolize an entire industry and run it alone."
They both felt the old man was absolutely right.
After their relatives left, there were still a lot of leftovers. Lin Lan went to heat up the food, Old Li went to the first house on the row to get some ham, and Li Xiangyang took the watering can to continue watering the flowers.
Little Douzi and Dandan came running over from diagonally across the street. "Uncle Xiangyang, the sunflowers we planted have sprouted! They’re taller than my thumb."
Li Xiangyang didn’t remember them having planted any sunflower seeds at home. Puzzled, he looked at the two kids. "Where did you plant the sunflowers?"
Little Douzi pointed to the house next door. "Great-grandma taught me and Dandan to sow the sunflower seeds in our backyard. She said we can transplant them in another week."
Li Xiangyang smiled. "Well, aren’t you two capable! I’ll be waiting to eat the seeds from the sunflowers you’ve planted this year."
"Mhm!" Dandan spread his arms wide. "We planted them in a patch this big! Great-grandma said they’ll grow lots and lots of sunflower seeds."
Li Xiangyang ruffled both of their heads. "Come on, let’s go see how many of the fruit trees in the yard have survived."
"I know! Grandpa said one of the pear trees has a few little flowers," Little Douzi said, grabbing Dandan and running toward the blossoming tree.
Li Xiangyang watched the two run toward the neighboring yard, smiling and shaking his head. He strolled around his own yard and found that most of the fruit trees had taken root. The leaves of the Sichuan peppercorn and green Sichuan peppercorn bushes along the wall had regained their color and even put out tender new shoots.
Lin Lan finished heating the food and placed it on the table, but no one had come back yet. She walked out into the yard and saw Li Xiangyang standing under a cherry tree. She smiled, "What are you staring at it for? Has it blossomed?"
Li Xiangyang turned and smiled back. "Not that fast. There’s an old saying: ’Cherries are tasty, but the trees are tricky.’ After planting, you have to wait at least three years before they’ll flower and bear fruit."
’In the future, fruit farmers will just graft the cherry trees, and they’ll bear fruit in the second year,’ Lin Lan thought. She walked over and took a look. "Looks like most of them survived!"
Li Xiangyang pointed to the dead trees. "We lost one cherry and one persimmon. Ding Bang, Brother Xu, and Dongzi’s families lost a few as well. Big Brother said he’ll get some more for us when he goes back."
Lin Lan nodded. "Go call Dad to come back and eat." She glanced around. "I heard Little Douzi and Dandan. Where did they go?"
Li Xiangyang pointed toward the house next door. "They said a pear tree had blossomed, so they ran over to have a look."
Lin Lan thought of the Chinese roses blooming in their backyard, so she went back inside for a pair of scissors and headed next door. She found the two children squatting in front of a patch of seedlings. "Did you two plant these?"
Little Douzi poked one of the tender sprouts. "Mama, these are the sunflower seeds Great-grandma helped us plant."
Only then did Lin Lan remember the sunflower seeds Wang Yong had given them. She had set some aside to plant herself but had completely forgotten about them.
She smiled. "What made you two decide to plant sunflowers?"
Dandan said proudly, "Auntie Lin, our Language Arts teacher said sunflowers are really pretty, just like the sun. So Little Douzi and I found the seeds and asked Great-grandma to plant them."
Lin Lan smiled and nodded. "Alright, you two are in charge of these sunflowers from now on. We’ll be waiting to eat the seeds."
The two children gave Lin Lan a look of mock disgust. "No wonder you and Uncle Xiangyang are a couple. You both say the exact same thing."
Lin Lan burst out laughing. "You little rascals, where do you learn this stuff?"
Dandan pointed toward his own home. "Great-grandma said so. She said my dad and Mom Yang are a couple and that they even have the same tone of voice."
Lin Lan smiled and ruffled their hair. "Auntie just re-braised the steamed pork knuckle. It smells amazing and tastes delicious!"
Dandan patted his little belly. "I already ate. My tummy’s full."
"Dandan, just have a little more! If we eat some hawthorn cake after, we won’t get an upset stomach," Little Douzi said, pulling Dandan and running toward the house next door.
Lin Lan watched them scamper off, their feet barely seeming to touch the ground. Smiling, she walked over to the rose bushes, snipped a few pink and deep red blossoms, and carried them home.
Li Xiangyang and Old Li had also returned. Dandan and Little Douzi were gnawing on a bone, their mouths slick with grease.
Old Li chuckled. "We went ahead and started eating."
Lin Lan smiled and nodded. "Go ahead. I’m just going to put these flowers in a vase."
Yao Xiuyun had given them a tall, cylindrical porcelain vase in a vibrant red, which was a perfect fit for the roses.
Still holding their bones, Dandan and Little Douzi gathered around Lin Lan, nodding again and again. "It’s so pretty! I’m going to have Mom Yang cut some flowers for a vase when I get home."
Old Li nodded with a smile. "Nice. A vase of flowers really brightens up the room."
After dinner, Old Li took Dandan and Little Douzi outside to cut some flowers.
Lin Lan remembered that Li Xiangyang was leaving for Yangcheng City the day after tomorrow. "The general store is running low on some spices. Dad wants you to bring a new batch back with you."
Li Xiangyang nodded. "Okay. Pack up two jars of the fermented bean curd and pickled mustard greens that Mom makes. I’ll bring them to Brother Zhang."
The fermented bean curd made by Wu Shufen had always sold well. After Lin Lan moved out, they had tidied up the woodshed and built special racks to ferment the tofu.
"Okay." Lin Lan put the clean dishes away in the cabinet, then suddenly remembered the mugwort they had stored last year. "Xiangyang, the mugwort from the woodshed, where did you put it when we moved it over?"
"On the shelf in the storage room," Li Xiangyang said, turning his head with a smile. "Why did you save all that mugwort?"
Lin Lan laughed. "You silly goose. Aged mugwort, aged mugwort! Of course aged mugwort is better!"
"Sounds like you’re reciting a tongue twister," Li Xiangyang said, grinning as he put his arm around her and led her outside. "You know, I’m starting to regret promising Uncle Da I’d leave the day after tomorrow. Honey, why don’t you come to Yangcheng City with me?"
Lin Lan gave him an amused look. "And what would I do there? The Dragon Boat Festival is just around the corner, and the shop needs to stock up on zongzi leaves and start curing the salted duck eggs. There’s a mountain of things to do at home. If something were to happen, who would take care of it? We can’t pile everything on Dad."
"Mm," Li Xiangyang had to agree. He led her to the living room sofa and sat down. "That time Uncle Da mentioned partnering up on that less-than-truckload shipping business you talked about... what do you think?"
"From a business standpoint, LTL shipping is only going to become more and more profitable in the future. I haven’t spent much time with Uncle Da, so it really comes down to whether you and Dad want to partner with him."
Li Xiangyang smiled. "Dad said we could work with Uncle Da, it just depends on if we want to take it on. I talked it over with Uncle Da the other day and I’m pretty tempted, but I still want to hear your opinion."
