80s Transmigration: The Young Widow's Hustle to Riches

Chapter 388 - 386: Bought It

The story of the tortoise and the hare came to Little Douzi’s mind. He looked at Lin Lan and said, "Mama, you haven’t told me a story in a long time."

Lin Lan realized he was right. She patted his head. "What do you want to hear? Mama will tell you a story tonight."

Little Douzi shook his head. "I don’t know. I’ve heard a lot of them already."

Lin Lan thought for a moment. "Then how about Mama tells you the story of Lord Ye and the Dragon?"

"Okay! I haven’t heard that one," Little Douzi said, happily tugging on Lin Lan’s arm. After saying goodbye to Old Li, the mother and son went upstairs.

After washing up and changing into her pajamas, Lin Lan took Little Douzi to his room. She pulled back the covers and watched him climb into bed and snuggle in, smiling as she asked, "How many times have you slept in your own room?"

"Five times," Little Douzi said, looking at Lin Lan. "Mama, I like sleeping with Grandpa. His stories are great too. Grandpa told me about the ’Three Cobblers,’ ’Borrowing Arrows with Straw Boats,’ and ’No Three Hundred Taels of Silver Buried Here’..."

’I didn’t expect him to know so many stories,’ Lin Lan thought. She smiled, got into bed, and leaned against the headboard. "Grandpa sure knows a lot of stories!"

Little Douzi’s eyes crinkled into a smile. "Mhm! Grandpa also told me stories about Uncle Xiangyang and his youngest uncle when they were little."

The mother and son chatted for a while. As Lin Lan told the part of the story where Lord Ye saw a real dragon and fled, scared out of his wits, Little Douzi asked curiously, "Mama, he finally got to see a dragon. Why was he so scared?"

"Because he only seemed to like them on the surface, but he didn’t truly love them. That’s why he was terrified when he saw a real one..."

"Grown-ups are so weird," Little Douzi said, looking at Lin Lan. "Mama, are dragons real?"

Thinking about how she had been reborn into this body after her death, Lin Lan shook her head. "Mama doesn’t know either, because Mama has never seen one."

"Sigh!" Little Douzi let out a breath. "It would be great if I could see a dragon. I’d ask it to carry me on its back to fly up and see the sky."

"It’s easy to go see the sky. When you grow up and really get into the police academy, Mama will reward you. I’ll buy you a plane ticket so you can fly up and take a look."

"Okay!" Little Douzi agreed, then looked at Lin Lan. "Mama, I want to go sleep in Grandpa’s room!"

"You little rascal," Lin Lan said with a laugh, ruffling his hair before picking him up. "You’ve gotten so tall and heavy, Mama can barely carry you anymore. Come on, stand up straight. Mama will give you a piggyback ride downstairs."

"Okay!" Little Douzi joyfully wrapped his arms around her neck. The two of them went downstairs, where Old Li was still watching TV. "Grandpa, I want to sleep with you."

"You’re a handful," Old Li said, smiling as he stood up and led him back to the room.

Lin Lan went back to her room to sleep as well.

It was almost eleven o’clock when Li Xiangyang finally got home. He told Lin Lan that the price for the plot of land in the Eucalyptus Forest was out. It was a seventy-year lease at 1,500 yuan per mu, and upon sale, the trees on the land would belong to the buyer as well.

The commune didn’t want to sell it off piecemeal; they were looking for a single buyer for the entire plot. Two other parties had heard the news and gone to look, but their offers were a bit low.

Mayor Xu had said that as long as his offer was higher than theirs, the mayor would guarantee he’d get the land and could even help him secure a loan.

Lin Lan was curious about current land prices. "How many mu is that whole plot, and how much does the commune want for it?"

"The whole plot is fifty-three mu. Of the other two parties, one offered a thousand, and the other only offered 880," Li Xiangyang said, looking at Lin Lan. "Do you think we should buy it? What would we even do with it after we buy it?"

He thought the location, behind the vehicle factory, was a bit remote and wouldn’t be very useful. He had only gone to check it out because Lin Lan told him to.

Lin Lan grinned at him. "Why wouldn’t we buy it? We’ll buy all of it, even if we have to pay the full asking price without any discount." ’Over a thousand yuan per mu for suburban land with a seventy-year lease? Of course we should buy it. I’d pay the full price in a heartbeat,’ she thought.

’No matter what business you’re in, nothing is as worry-free and appreciates in value faster than buying land.’

Li Xiangyang looked at her. "Little Lan, what will we do with it after we buy it?"

Lin Lan shook her head. "I haven’t thought about what to do with it either. I figure even if we just let it sit there, its value will multiply several times over in just a few years."

Li Xiangyang wrapped his arm around Lin Lan and gave her a kiss. "Alright, listening to my wife is always the right call. I’ll go tell Mayor Xu tomorrow that we’ll take the land."

"Your breath stinks of alcohol," Lin Lan said, playfully swatting him. "Go wash up."

"Tomorrow, I’ll ask Ding Bang and Dongzi if they’re interested. We can set aside two mu for each of them. We’ll give your parents two mu as well."

As he spoke, Li Xiangyang leaned in close, grinning at her. "Honey, I spent the whole afternoon running your errand. I’ve been smiling so much my face hurts. You have to give me a little reward."

"All I smell is alcohol!" Lin Lan placed her hands on his shoulders, holding him back, and shot him a look. "You want a reward before the job is even done? We’ll talk about it after you’ve secured the deal."

Li Xiangyang reached out and scooped her up into his arms, calling out, "Honey, don’t move an inch! I’ve been drinking, so I don’t have much strength..."

"Not this again..." Lin Lan was so startled she threw her arms around his neck, not daring to move. Once they were in the bathroom, she angrily pinched the soft flesh at his waist. Li Xiangyang grimaced. "Gently, honey, gently..."

The next morning, Li Xiangyang came downstairs looking refreshed and full of energy just as Old Li walked in the door holding a basket of pea shoots. "Little Douzi and I are having saozi noodles. If you two want something else, make it yourselves."

"I’ll eat with you guys," Li Xiangyang said, taking the bamboo basket and carrying it to the kitchen. "Dad, I got the details on the Eucalyptus Forest... Little Lan and I have decided to buy that plot."

"As long as the policies don’t change, buying land is never a mistake. And if they do change, the worst that can happen is things go back to the way they were before. It’s not like Little Lan can’t handle a little hardship." At this, Old Li paused. "But you two just bought a house in Yangcheng City. Do you have enough money?"

Li Xiangyang smiled. "We have enough. If we didn’t, I’d ask you for it."

"Good. Old Xu only has another couple of years in his post. You should set aside a mu for him. With him on our side, getting the permits and everything will be much easier."

"Mhm! I know what to do."

The water in the pot started to boil. Li Xiangyang lifted the lid, and Old Li took out the fresh noodles, shook them loose, and dropped them in. "Go out to the backyard and call for Little Douzi. Tell him to hurry up and bring the scallions."

"You got it!" Li Xiangyang left the kitchen and went to the backyard, where he found Little Douzi bent over with his butt in the air, still picking scallions. "You little rascal, what are you doing picking so many scallion greens?"

Little Douzi looked up. "I want to eat scallion pancakes. I’m picking these for Mama to take to the bakery to make them."

"You silly goose. To make good scallion pancakes, you need the white parts for flavor. It won’t taste good with only the greens." Li Xiangyang picked up the pile of scallion greens from the ground. "Have Mama buy some at the market later."

Little Douzi wasn’t having it. He grabbed Li Xiangyang’s arm and said, "Uncle Xiangyang, we have to pay for them at the market! We can just pull some up from here. It’s okay if there’s not a lot of the white part."

Li Xiangyang burst out laughing and flicked him on the forehead. "You little miser. If everyone was like you and didn’t buy vegetables, then the farmers wouldn’t be able to sell their crops. If they can’t sell them, they won’t have money to buy cookies. And if the cookies don’t sell, then we can’t make any money either..."

Little Douzi frowned, looking at him. That seemed to make a lot of sense. "Okay, then. We’ll have Mama buy scallions to make scallion pancakes."