Chapter 180: Chapter 179: Sister-in-Law
"I’m exhausted," were the first words from my brother when he saw them.
"Was everything smooth?"
"Overall smooth, nothing went wrong. The vermicelli I took over there sold quite well. But I think quite a few of the fruits I brought back got crushed."
"You brought fruits too?" Lin Wan hadn’t expected that. With transportation not being very developed, and the slow movement of goods, she wondered whether southern fruits would sell well over here.
Lin Yinghui rested at home for a day and then promptly returned to school. Their final exams were approaching, and he needed to focus on his studies. The responsibility of selling goods was left to Lin Wan.
A lot of the pineapples and jackfruits that my brother brought back had gone bad, but since the weather wasn’t hot, fortunately some were still good.
Lin Wan sorted out the crushed fruits, and there were about twenty or thirty of them. It would be a pity to throw them away.
Lin Wan let Li Congnan take a few back, and as for the rest, she gave one to each person in the store. Liang Hongmei took a few back. Li Wan also took a few. She wasn’t sure if Grandma and Uncle Jin or Aunt Jin had tasted them yet. She planned to let them try some when she got back.
When Lin Wan returned home with the fruit, she saw Hu Lijuan standing in the yard. She paused for a moment and quickly went to greet her, "Lijuan, you’re here. Come inside and sit; it’s quite cold outside." Regardless of how close they were, courtesy couldn’t be ignored.
"Saozi, you’re back." Hu Lijuan quickly stepped forward to take the things from Lin Wan’s hands and carried them inside, smiling kindly.
"Have you eaten? Why don’t you stay for a meal before you leave?" Lin Wan extended the invitation courteously.
"No need, I just came to see Grandma, I’ll head back soon. If I’m late, my family might worry," Hu Lijuan waved her hand as she spoke and then said to Grandma, "Grandma, I’m heading back now."
"Okay, be careful on your way," Han Ying nodded, not insisting on keeping her.
"Lijuan, we have some fruits here. Why don’t you take a few home for your mom to try?" Lin Wan said, taking out two pineapples and a jackfruit from the bag.
"No need, Saozi," Hu Lijuan quickly shook her head as she thought about her family’s situation; even if she took them back, they wouldn’t be able to eat them.
"Take them, these are from my hometown. Not sure if you’ve had them before," said Lin Wan, taking out a peeled fruit to show Hu Lijuan how to handle it.
"Since your sister-in-law is offering, take them back for your mom to try," Grandma said. Hu Lijuan, who had never seen such fruits before, was curious to take one back to taste, and seeing Grandma’s suggestion, she accepted with a smile.
All the way home, Hu Lijuan kept thinking about how to hide the fruits so that her family wouldn’t find them; otherwise, she and her mom wouldn’t get even a bite.
After sending Hu Lijuan off, Han Ying sighed.
"Grandma, what’s the matter?"
"Nothing, nothing, I haven’t seen this kind of fruit before," Han Ying said, shifting away her worried expression and asking.
"A few days ago, my brother returned to our hometown and happened to catch a batch of fruits, so he brought some back. This is pineapple, and this is jackfruit." Lin Wan explained, then smiled and went to the kitchen to prepare some mild saltwater, soaking slices of pineapple in it. "Grandma, you can taste this jackfruit first. The pineapple slices need to soak a bit before eating. I’ll take some over to Uncle Jin and Aunt Jin."
"Go ahead, they probably haven’t tried them either," Han Ying said as she broke a piece of jackfruit to taste. It was indeed tastier than frozen pears.
After delivering the fruits to Uncle Jin and Aunt Jin, Lin Wan returned with some snacks. Aunt Jin knew she liked mung bean pastries, so every time Lin Wan visited, Aunt Jin would give her some to take home.