Chapter 368: Chapter 365: Melodrama
Hearing the ring of a bicycle bell, Little Douzi and the other kids turned to look.
Lin Lan saw their dirty faces and noticed a dark bruise on Dandan’s. "What happened? Did you all get into a brawl?"
Little Douzi ran over and tugged on Lin Lan’s arm. "Mom, Dandan got into a fight with a classmate, and we helped." He thought for a moment, then added, "We won, we didn’t lose!"
Lin Lan and Yao Xiuyun looked at the boys in surprise. "You really got into a brawl?"
Old Li nodded. "The teacher already made the other kid apologize. Their parents paid for the broken item. As for the kids who fought, the school told them to go find their mothers."
Little Hai tugged on Lin Lan’s clothes. "Auntie, he broke Dandan’s pencil case, too."
The pencil case was a plastic one Li Xiangyang had bought in Yangcheng City. It had a magnetic clasp and a picture of the master and his disciples from *Journey to the West* printed on it. All the kids loved it.
Li Xiangyang had given one to each of the school-aged kids.
Lin Lan ruffled Dandan’s hair. "Don’t be upset. We have more at the shop. I’ll have your grandpa bring one home for you tomorrow."
"Thank you, Auntie," Dandan said sullenly.
Seeing he was still down, Lin Lan thought, ’His face must hurt.’ She said, "When we get back, we’ll put some liniment on it. It’ll be fine in a couple of days."
When they got to Yang Dingbang’s house, Dandan’s grandmother saw the bruise on his face and her eyes welled up with tears. She gently touched the dark spot. "Does it hurt? Who did you fight with?"
"It doesn’t hurt. I got in a fight with a classmate," Dandan mumbled.
Lin Lan said to the old woman, "Ma’am, you should put some liniment on it. Tonight, you can also boil an egg and roll it over the bruise. That will help disperse the blood and make it heal faster."
The old woman nodded. "Alright. I’ll go get some warm water to clean his face."
Lin Lan and Yao Xiuyun waited until the old woman had washed Dandan’s face and applied the medicine. Seeing that he seemed okay, Lin Lan said, "Ma’am, tomorrow is Children’s Day, on June 1st. We’re planning to take the kids for a picnic by the river."
The old woman glanced at Dandan. "Do you want to go?"
Dandan listlessly shook his head. "I don’t want to go. I just want to sleep."
Seeing this, both Lin Lan and Yao Xiuyun felt something was wrong with the boy’s mood. ’We should ask Little Hai and Little Douzi what’s going on when we get back,’ they thought. With that, they said their goodbyes and left.
The two of them went to Yao Xiuyun’s house and called Little Hai over. Only after questioning him did they learn the truth. The boy who had fought with Dandan was the son of Xie Tian’s new boyfriend. The boy apparently disliked Xie Tian but was too afraid to tell his own father, so he took his anger out on Dandan.
Lin Lan and Yao Xiuyun thought the whole situation was absurdly melodramatic. It was like Xie Tian was a ghost that refused to leave them alone.
Yao Xiuyun sighed. "When Little Man gets back, I’ll tell her what happened. It would be best if Dandan could switch classes. And I’ll tell her to take him on the picnic tomorrow to help clear his head."
Lin Lan agreed that changing classes was the best solution. "Okay. We have celtuce and chives in the backyard. I’ll go to my mom’s to get a packet of barbecue seasoning."
"I’ll make some buns and dumplings. I’ll leave the meat and vegetables to you, how about that?" Yao Xiuyun said.
"We have lamb at home," Lin Lan said. "Come over after you’ve had dinner. We’ll skewer it and put it in the fridge. Then in the morning, we can just pack it in the basket and be ready to go." With a wave, she headed across to her own house.
Old Li was watching TV in the living room. When Lin Lan came back, he said, "The woman who paid for the pencil case today was Ding Bang’s ex-wife. Sigh... what a mess. I saw poor Dandan with tears welling in his eyes."
The older generation couldn’t understand it. Back in their day, some couples only met for the first time after their engagement, and some didn’t even see each other before the wedding day. Yet, they would still have children and spend the rest of their lives together.
Nowadays, young people value the freedom to marry whomever they choose. They find their own partners and fall madly in love, but their relationships often don’t even last a few weeks.
Lin Lan’s heart ached to hear this. "We’re planning to have a picnic by the river tomorrow. We’ll take him with us to help him take his mind off things."
"That’s a good idea." Old Li thought for a moment, then added with a sense of relief, "It’s a good thing his grandmother didn’t go today. Who knows what kind of scene there would have been otherwise?"
Little Douzi came out of the bathroom and overheard Lin Lan talking about the picnic. He looked at her excitedly. "Mom, let’s bring Dandan with us!"
Lin Lan nodded. "Okay. Why don’t you go keep Dandan company? I need to get things ready."
"Okay!" Little Douzi scampered off.
Old Li said to Lin Lan, "Go take the lamb out to defrost. I’ll bring back some small intestines, pork belly, and ribs first thing tomorrow morning."
Yang Zhigang still had the stitches in his arm, so Old Li had been the one going to the slaughterhouse recently.
"Okay," Lin Lan said with a smile. "Dad, you should come with us tomorrow."
Old Li smiled and shook his head. "You young folks go have your fun. I won’t get in the way."
Lin Lan coaxed him, "I’ll ask my father-in-law to come, too. You can bring your fishing rod. We can catch our own fish and cook them right there."
Seeing that she genuinely wanted him to come, Old Li smiled and nodded. "Alright. I’ll bring my Chinese chess set and play a couple of games with my son-in-law’s father."
Lin Lan went to the kitchen. The rice cooker was already on. She took a piece of pork from the fridge, pulled a couple of garlic shoots from the backyard, and prepared dinner: salt-fried pork, stir-fried celtuce leaves, and egg drop soup.
With his hands clasped behind his back, Old Li went over to Yang Dingbang’s house to call Little Douzi for dinner. He saw the two boys sitting at the coffee table playing Army Chess and smiled. "Douzi, time to eat."
"Coming!" Little Douzi called back. He then said to Dandan, "Don’t touch the board, okay? We’ll keep playing after I eat dinner. And remember, it’s a deal—you’re coming to the picnic with us tomorrow."
Dandan waved. "A gentleman’s word is his bond."
Old Li chuckled when he heard that. "’A gentleman,’ he says. You’re still just a little sprout."
The old woman laughed too. "That’s how kids talk these days. They pick up sayings from all over."
Old Li smiled and nodded. "Ma’am, would you like to join us for the picnic tomorrow?"
The old woman waved her hands in refusal. "My old legs aren’t what they used to be. I won’t join the crowd. You all have a wonderful time."
Old Li didn’t press her and headed home with Little Douzi.
Little Douzi washed his hands and scampered to the table. "Mom, my battle with Dandan isn’t over yet! I’m going back to finish the fight after dinner."
Lin Lan was confused. "’Finish the fight?’ What on earth are you two doing?"
Little Douzi gave Lin Lan a look. "You’re so silly, Mom! We’re playing Army Chess! I’m about to launch my final assault. After I eat, I’m going to wipe Dandan off the board!"
Lin Lan laughed and handed him his bowl. "Alright, alright, I’m silly. Now hurry and eat up so you can go wipe him off the board."
After dinner, Little Douzi was gone in a flash. Old Li also went for a stroll down the alley with his hands behind his back to help his food digest.
Back at home, Lin Lan cleaned the stove, took the bamboo skewers from the cupboard, and scalded them with boiling salt water. She then started cutting and seasoning the lamb. Finally, she carried it all to the dining room and began making the skewers.
The sound of giggling and laughter drew closer, and then several children burst in. They said a quick hello to Lin Lan before running upstairs.
Yao Xiuyun and Yang Xiaoman walked in behind them. "Chef Lin, need any help?"
Lin Lan smiled. "Yes, come help me with these lamb skewers."
The two washed their hands and came to the dining table. Yang Xiaoman told Lin Lan that as soon as Yang Dingbang returned from his business trip, they would arrange to have Dandan moved to a different class.
She let out a self-deprecating laugh. "For Dandan’s sake... if you can’t beat them, you can at least avoid them, right?"
Lin Lan nodded. "There’s no point in stooping to the level of people like that."
Yao Xiuyun scoffed. "Exactly. Someone like her should never have gotten married or had children in the first place."
