CHAPTER 162: 161: VISITING (FIFTH UPDATE) REQUESTING MONTHLY TICKETS

Ye Ling took Zhang Linong to Zhang Shilong’s house and had already explained the situation to him briefly. She wanted Zhang Linong to be prepared, after all, it’s human nature; it’s easy to put things in, but getting them to take things out again—even if it’s not theirs—causes pain.

Zhang Linong had a rough idea of what was going on, and when they entered the Zhang Family’s house with Ye Ling, he had a sense of what to expect. The Zhang Family members saw Ye Ling arrive and immediately knew what was going on. The woman and man of the Zhang Family exchanged a glance and smiled, inviting Ye Ling to sit down.

After a couple of polite exchanges, they got to the topic of that small plot of land. "There wasn’t much to harvest, not enough fertilizer, so the yield was low. The corn was sold, and here is fifteen yuan. Your uncle and I have been keeping it without touching it, thinking that your family would eventually need to come back and offer it to your grandmother, so we didn’t send it to you."

Ye Ling put the money away, leaving one yuan behind, placing it on the kang (heated bed). "Auntie, thank you so much. Originally, this land should have gone back to the collective, but because my family planted it, they didn’t make us return it this year. This is the collective’s way of showing care for us. I’ll be heading back to the city after the new year, and I’m not sure if anyone in the village is selling cabbage. I have one yuan here, and I’d like to trouble uncle and auntie once more to help me buy some cabbage."

Salt and oil, for these things, I can only wait to buy them in the town tomorrow, but I can’t eat plain rice. Ye Ling was willing to spend this one yuan, and besides, making wild vegetable balls also required it.

In the village, everyone reserved their own winter vegetables in autumn, so cabbage wasn’t expensive, and everyone kept it for themselves to eat. That’s why she was confident that she could buy cabbage at a good price.

"You, kid, how much can you eat? Auntie’s house has cabbage. I’ll have your uncle bring a basket for you later." Mrs. Zhang saw that Ye Ling didn’t find the money amount small and even offered to buy cabbage, which eased her heart, making her more willing to spare a few heads of cabbage.

However, Ye Ling didn’t agree. "I understand your good intention, Auntie, but in this cold winter, cabbage isn’t cheap. How about I add another yuan, and you give me however many heads this money can buy. As a newly met relative, things should be clear. If you don’t take it, I can’t accept the cabbage, as I plan to make wild vegetable dumplings to sell. I can’t just take your cabbage to make money and feel uneasy about it."

The fifteen yuan from their little plot made Ye Ling feel content. After all, the Zhang Family hadn’t been too harsh. Ye Ling had been thinking that getting ten yuan back would be enough when coming over, not expecting an extra five yuan, so there was no reason to be fussy.

Mrs. Zhang saw how sensible Ye Ling was and stopped with the polite refusals. "Since you’ve said so, Auntie won’t be polite with you either. The cabbages in the town are fifteen cents each, and I’ll sell them to you at ten cents each, which means you get twenty cabbages. Since you call me Auntie, I’ll give you five more. If you can make money, it’s a good thing, and Auntie will be happy for you. If you don’t, keep them for yourselves to eat, as it’s Auntie’s goodwill."

"Then I won’t be polite with Auntie and thank you very much." Ye Ling sincerely thanked her.

Cabbage was cheap, and they received five extra, which was no small favor in the winter.

"Since you want to make wild vegetable balls, do you have salt and oil at home?" Mrs. Zhang asked proactively.

Ye Ling was pleased. "To be frank, Auntie, I’m thinking of buying some tomorrow. If you have extra, it would be great. I don’t need much since I’ll be going back after the new year."

"We don’t have vegetable oil, but we have some lard, if that works for you."

"Why not, lard tastes better in dishes." Ye Ling readily took out two yuan. "Just give me what you think is right, and lend me some salt. I’ll return it when I go to town for New Year supplies."

"You’re too formal, kid." Mrs. Zhang said a few courteous words and accepted the money. She went to her kitchen, got a small basin, filled it halfway with lard, and poured a bowl of salt. Handing the items to Ye Ling, she said, "Your uncle will bring the cabbage to you later as it’s heavy and hard to carry in one trip."

Ye Ling thanked her and then left the Zhang Family’s house with Zhang Linong, carrying the goods.

Zhang Linong had never experienced anything like this before; it felt like a married couple managing a household together. As they held the lard with Ye Ling and went back home, Zhao Guodong was carrying a bucket of water into the house, while Wang Ping was stoking the fire on the kang. With the house heated up, they could finally take off their heavy coats.

With flour, vegetables, and oil, Ye Ling didn’t stay idle. She found all the bowls and chopsticks in the house, washed them with water from the pot, and began to cook dinner. Knowing it was the first time these three people had visited and helped so much, she made dough and rolled noodles, with half a cabbage cooked in soup for hot soup noodles.

Half a pot of noodles was cooked, and the aroma filled the room.

Zhao Guodong, though he had watched Ye Ling gradually prepare the meal, couldn’t help but show surprise when he saw how well the noodles turned out. He felt a growing admiration in his heart, feeling that being with Ye Ling always brought unexpected joy.

"Why are you just standing there? Time to eat." Ye Ling said as the basin was too small to fit all the noodles, so she filled a basin first.

She asked Zhao Guodong to bring it inside, Wang Ping to set the kang table, while Zhang Linong grabbed the bowls, and she took out some dandelions pickled with her grandmother in spring, chopped them a bit, and placed them on a plate as salted vegetables.

The three in the room had already removed their shoes and sat on the kang. Once Ye Ling placed the dandelions down, they started to eat with chopsticks. Ye Ling was genuinely hungry, and the hot noodles warmed her up. After finishing a bowl, her forehead was sweating.

As the four were eating, they heard someone come in. Ye Ling shook her head at the three, got off the kang, and saw it was Zhang Zhenlian, carrying a plate with dried potato and chicken, then understood.

"My mom said you just got back home and there isn’t much at home. Since we cooked chicken, I’ve brought some for you." Zhang Zhenlian said with a red face and smiled at Zhao Guodong and the others at the table, eyeing the basin of noodles briefly but without pause.

Ye Ling took the plate. "Thank your auntie for me. I’ll return the plate to you now."

Zhang Zhenlian nodded and politely invited Zhao Guodong and the others, "Come over to my house sometime if you have the chance."

Only Zhang Linong responded to her; Zhao Guodong and Wang Ping continued to eat their noodles without acknowledging her.

In the kitchen, Ye Ling emptied the plate and saw out Zhang Zhenlian, then returned, smiling, "There’s meat, hurry and eat. When New Year comes, we’ll buy a piece of meat too. So we’ll have to earn more money for now and work hard for the New Year."

Her words made everyone laugh. (To be continued. If you liked this story, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote with recommendations and monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)