The System Wanted Me to Be a Landlady (GL) - Chapter 19: Childhood Sweethearts

Chapter 19: Childhood Sweethearts

“You—” Tang Zhi stole several glances at her before asking, “Do you still remember those bad friends of yours?”

Song Yuyan laughed and said, “Why wouldn’t I remember? But Miss Tang, let’s make a deal. Can you not use the term ‘bad friends’ next time? I think they might not be happy being called that.”

Tang Zhi hadn’t expected to be lectured by Song Yuyan about how to behave. The feeling was a bit embarrassing, but she knew she had said the wrong thing. For a moment, she couldn’t think of an excuse, so she just blushed and mumbled, “Got it!”

After that, she didn’t want to walk with Song Yuyan anymore. She sped off quickly, her heels kicking up mud that splattered her skirt.

Song Yuyan shook her head. After all, the other was just a teenage girl. Even though she was already running a small vegetable garden and taking on the responsibility of supporting her family at such a young age, it didn’t mean she thought like an adult.

As she walked, Song Yuyan noticed the girl suddenly slowed her pace. Tang Zhi looked around, pretending to admire the scenery on both sides of the road, but occasionally glanced at Song Yuyan with the corner of her eye to see if the weight of the bamboo would overwhelm her.

Song Yuyan was indeed tired, but thinking she was almost home, she gritted her teeth and kept going. Seeing Tang Zhi’s behavior, she felt a bit lighter but didn’t say anything.

_____

When the two reached the alley entrance, the neighbors saw them walking together again and gave curious, gossip-filled looks.

Though they came back together, Tang Zhi deliberately kept her distance from Song Yuyan, with enough space between them for a cow to fit.

Of course, the neighbors weren’t thinking about romantic relationships. They were purely curious about why Song Yuyan was carrying so much bamboo and whether Tang Zhi had truly forgiven Song Yuyan’s past actions, believing she had turned over a new leaf.

Song Yuyan didn’t care about the neighbors’ questioning looks. Instead, she gave them a friendly smile, which scared them into shutting their doors and windows.

Neighbors: Something strange must be up. Song Dalang is about to cause trouble!

Song Yuyan: “…”

Tang Zhi returned to her own yard, glanced back once, and was momentarily dazed by Song Yuyan’s smile. She quickly went inside and shut the door with a loud “bang.”

Song Yuyan couldn’t help but wonder. Was her smile poisonous or something? Why did everyone react like that? What happened to the harmonious and friendly neighborly relationships?

When she got home, she quickly put down the bamboo and went to the kitchen to drink a big bowl of water. After drinking, she stretched her aching bones. The two little kids heard the noise and came out. They weren’t very interested in the ordinary bamboo, but they were curious about what Song Yuyan would do with it.

“Big Brother, you’re back!” Song Yuzhuan called out obediently to Song Yuyan.

After taking off her hat and raincoat, Song Yuyan patted her head and asked, “Are you hungry?”

“Not hungry. Sister Tang gave us some greens, and Second Brother cooked them with porridge. We saved some for Big Brother too.”

Song Yuyan was slightly surprised. She looked at Song Yuban, who stayed silent. She suddenly remembered he had been acting a bit strange these past few days. She hadn’t heard of boys that young going through menopause. But since he didn’t bring it up, she didn’t ask, to avoid being brushed off by him.

She ate the porridge and praised Song Yuban, “Well done!”

Hearing this, Song Yuban immediately straightened up, looking proud. “Of course!”

“In that case, how about you take charge of cooking from now on?” Song Yuyan added.

Song Yuban was about to agree but then realized Song Yuyan had set a trap for him. He wanted to say something, but his gaze fell on the straw mats, and his expression wilted. “Oh!”

Song Yuzhuan didn’t understand their thoughts. She tugged at Song Yuyan’s pants and asked, “Big Brother, with so much bamboo, can you make a bamboo horse?”

“Bamboo horse?”

Song Yuyan thought about it and realized Song Yuzhuan meant the bamboo poles kids used as toy horses, or sometimes ones woven from bamboo strips. Often, a few kids would gather, and if there were more, they’d split into teams to “ride horses and fight battles.” That’s what the “bamboo horse” in “childhood sweethearts” referred to.

“You want one?” Song Yuyan crouched down to ask Song Yuzhuan.

She knew Song Yuzhuan, because of her limp, wasn’t liked by other kids for playing bamboo horse. They said even if she rode one, she’d still be a cripple. So she could only watch other kids play from behind her door.

Song Yuzhuan wanted to say she did, but then remembered that even with a bamboo horse, no one would play with her. Her bright eyes dimmed, and she shook her head. “I don’t want one anymore. Big Brother needs to weave baskets to sell for money.”

Song Yuyan patted her head but didn’t say anything.

While the rain stopped, she prepared tools for bamboo weaving. These tools were mainly for splitting bamboo into usable strips, like a bamboo knife, a sword-gate knife to ensure the strips were uniform, and a scraper to make them smooth.

Some tools had to be bought from a blacksmith, while others could be found at home. The Song family had a bamboo knife, scraper, and caliper, but the sword-gate knife and curling plane needed to be bought.

Mingzhou produced iron and copper ore, so industries for processing them were well-developed. Bamboo weaving was also a specialty of Mingzhou, so these tools weren’t hard to find. Any stall would have them.

As she passed Aunt Fierce’s shop, she was called over. Aunt Fierce didn’t beat around the bush and asked, “I heard you know how to weave bamboo baskets. Are you planning to do this?”

Song Yuyan figured Lin Yongming must have told her. She didn’t hesitate. “Yes, I’m going to buy some tools.”

“Perfect. My scissors broke, and I need to get them fixed. I’ll go with you!” Aunt Fierce was quick and decisive. She pulled Song Bing, who was slacking inside, to watch the shop, then led Song Yuyan to the nearest blacksmith.

At the blacksmith’s entrance, there were two small stalls. A vendor had set up a straw canopy on the open ground, with iron tools displayed underneath, from small knives and scissors to larger farming tools.

“This stall is run by Blacksmith Wang’s youngest son. That one is someone else’s,” Aunt Fierce said to Song Yuyan in a much quieter voice.

“What’s the difference?” Song Yuyan couldn’t find any details in her original memories and had to ask.

“Blacksmith Wang’s stall doesn’t let you haggle much, but if their tools break, they’ll fix them!” Aunt Fierce said.

Song Yuyan understood. One was a proper shop with a brand, a manufacturer, and after-sales service, even marked with Blacksmith Wang’s name. The other was like a street vendor, selling unbranded goods.

Here, the benefit of shopping with Aunt Fierce became clear. She took out her scissors and demanded loudly, “Wang Sanlang, get your father out here!”

The boy, who looked about fifteen or sixteen, saw her and flinched. Before Song Yuyan could see how he got up, he was already at the door, shouting, “Father, Aunt Fierce is here!”

The clanging of iron inside stopped. A bare-chested man came out, putting on his clothes. He glanced at Aunt Fierce, then at the scissors in her hand.

“Did you use those scissors to slaughter pigs? Why do they break every few days?”

Song Yuyan couldn’t hold back and let out a soft laugh. Aunt Fierce glared at her, and she awkwardly suppressed her smile, feeling guilty.

“Didn’t you swear, pounding your chest, that these scissors could cut iron bars and the bars would break first?” Aunt Fierce said.

“Cough, cough!” Blacksmith Wang’s face reddened, and he grumbled, “Alright, stop yelling. I’ll fix them!”

Song Yuyan suspected these two were flirting, but she had no proof.

“One more thing. My nephew wants to buy a couple of sword-gate knives. Bring out the good and cheap ones for him to pick from.”

Blacksmith Wang only then noticed Song Yuyan behind Aunt Fierce. He glanced at her hands but couldn’t tell much. Still, judging by how unassuming she seemed, her personality was probably worlds apart from Aunt Fierce’s… oh, he forgot, how many people in this area had a personality like Aunt Fierce’s?

He wanted to curse at Aunt Fierce. Only she could boldly demand something “good and cheap.”

If Aunt Fierce weren’t there, he’d definitely try to upsell this young man a bit. He wouldn’t sell fakes, but he also wouldn’t mention that his shop could repair their tools.

Blacksmith Wang had Wang Sanlang take Song Yuyan to pick the tools she wanted. When she was done, Aunt Fierce started haggling. Seeing Aunt Fierce get the tools for a price even lower than the market rate, Song Yuyan began to wonder what Aunt Fierce considered “good haggling.”

As they were leaving, Song Yuyan’s glance fell on a pile of haphazardly placed tools on the stall. Her feet felt rooted to the spot, unwilling to move.