Transmigration: Flirted with My Childhood Sweetheart
Chapter 189 - 188 Killing the Oil Seller

Chapter 189: Chapter 188 Killing the Oil Seller

Of course, the house could not be lent out.

This house holds their secrets, and every night Tailor Wen is working on the sewing machine, so it’s utterly impossible to let outsiders move in.

It was quite apparent what Wen Qingqing had in mind; she was hoping that Lin Nianhe, an acquaintance, would put in a good word for her.

She could tell that Lin Nianhe had a good relationship with those two and that it would probably be easier if Lin Nianhe spoke for her.

Leveraging connections to get things done, that’s common sense everyone understands.

Yet Lin Nianhe, this acquaintance, refused outright to engage in conversation.

The smile on Wen Qingqing’s lips grew difficult to maintain, her eyes still red from crying, looking somewhat pitiful, like a little rabbit.

A beauty in tears, who can stand that?

Lin Nianhe sighed softly.

Hearing this, Wen Qingqing felt a glimmer of hope, and her eyes held more expectation when looking at Lin Nianhe.

Then she saw Lin Nianhe pat her pants and stand up, saying to Wang Shumei: "Sister Shumei, I’m going to fetch some vinegar."

After speaking, she went straight to her room, closed the door behind her.

Wen Qingqing: "..."

If you didn’t plan to help, what was with that helpless sigh just now?

Watching Lin Nianhe’s retreating figure, Wang Shumei bit her lip and smiled.

After clearing her throat to catch the Wen family’s sisters’ attention, she said: "I’m sorry, but it’s really inconvenient for us here, and it’s no use asking Nianhe for help—she feeds and drinks on my tab, how could she then tell me what to do?"

Wang Shumei suddenly recalled what Lin Nianhe had carelessly mentioned on the wall that night.

Using that line at this moment had an effect that was far more significant than simply not lending the room.

With a smile lingering on her lips, Wang Shumei nodded to them and then turned back to the kitchen, joining Wen Lan in wrapping dumplings and mixing the filling.

Lin Nianhe waited until Wen Qingqing and Wen Ruannuan had left before sneaking out, tiptoeing to their kitchen with vinegar and chili oil, like a thief in action.

After setting down the items, Lin Nianhe asked: "How did it go? Didn’t they pester you?"

"No," Wang Shumei replied, "I said what I did—you eat and drink at my expense, how could you possibly boss me around?"

Lin Nianhe, of course, had heard this.

But she still gave a look of surprise, playfully tapping Wang Shumei’s chin: "Sister Shumei is formidable indeed, now there’s no way they can freeload off me."

Lin Nianhe lacked nothing, she had money.

But she couldn’t be a soft touch, especially with mere acquaintances who weren’t all that close.

If she spoiled them now, she would be the one dealing with trouble later.

Lin Nianhe conscientiously went to wash her hands, then joined them in wrapping dumplings.

She was only on her sixth dumpling when Wen Lan sent her to light the fire and boil the water, her fair hands quickly got blackened.

Cooking dumplings in a big iron pot was convenient; one potful was enough for them three to eat.

Wen Lan loved sour broth dumplings, and while seasoning, she casually opened the jar of chili oil Lin Nianhe brought. She hadn’t even scooped yet and immediately scolded for being reckless: "Little ancestor, why did you put so many sesame seeds in this chili oil? Good heavens, the amount of oil you’ve used, are you trying to bankrupt oil sellers?"

Lin Nianhe let out an "ah" and felt quite innocent.

Her chili oil was casually taken from her space, only the label was removed.

Half chili, half oil, with a thick layer of white sesame floating on top.

While lamenting about the act of "sin", Wen Lan carefully scooped the chili from the bottom of the jar, waiting for the oil to drip back into the glass jar before finally placing the spoon into the soup bowl.

Even so, a layer of oil appeared on the surface of the soup.

That meal, Wen Lan ate all the dumplings and drank all the soup.

In the end, looking at the oil layer clinging to the bowl, she took out the leftover steamed buns from the morning, broke them into small pieces, and wiped the bowl clean as if it had been licked.

Lin Nianhe, watching this, patted her shoulder: "Sister Lan, there will come a day when we can afford to complain about too much oil."

Wen Lan glared with wide eyes: "What? Still complaining that it’s too oily? There’s really no place for you in this world."

Lin Nianhe: "Ah yes, yes, yes, my dream is to stand shoulder to shoulder with the sun."

"How capable you are."

Wen Lan was stuffed and got up to clean up the bowls and chopsticks, whispering: "I’ve finished making two clothes, Hezi, come and have a look later."

"Okay..."

"Wuu wuu wuu..."

Lin Nianhe’s reply was interrupted by crying from the front yard.

Her eyes suddenly lit up, then dimmed: "Sister Shumei, quick, go and check, then come back and tell me!"

Right now, the only people who could be crying were two, and this melon is not for her to eat.

Wang Shumei stood up, and on her way out, dragged Lin Nianhe up as well: "It’s your neighbor after all, how can you avoid the issue? If this gets back to your parents, it would be awkward for them... Let’s go, I’m with you."

When it comes to social niceties, Wang Shumei always took care of everything, especially in matters of family and neighborhood; she always thought more deeply than Lin Nianhe.

Wen Lan had already put down her bowls and when Wang Shumei and Lin Nianhe came out, she had already dashed to the front yard.

They thought there might be an argument in the front yard, but when they arrived, there was no quarrel. They only saw Wen Ruannuan sitting beside the dining table, sobbing quietly, Wen Qingqing comforting her, and a crowd of confused onlookers.

Wen Lan asked: "What’s going on? What’s happened?"

Her excitement was obviously treating this as post-dinner entertainment.

Yu Xiangqin, with a dark expression, slammed her chopsticks down on the table, her finger almost poking Wen Ruannuan’s forehead: "What’s wrong? The food is served right in front of you and you’re still not happy? Displeased? That’s some bourgeois young lady attitude!"

Wen Ruannuan was overwhelmed by setbacks today, already feeling hopeless, and now she was frightened by this big accusation and could only cry even louder.

Yu Xiangqin’s words were too harsh, and everyone changed their expression upon hearing them.

Wen Qingqing quickly said: "No, no, my sister doesn’t dislike the food, she’s just too tired, way too tired."

While speaking, Wen Qingqing pulled Wen Ruannuan: "Ruannuan, go rest first, leave the luggage for me to take care of, go take a nap."

Wen Ruannuan cried with hiccuping sobs, looked at the cornmeal mush and steamed buns in front of her, and in a fit of frustration, threw down her chopsticks: "I don’t want to eat this stuff! I don’t want to live here! I want to go home! I can’t do those tasks you all do! I, I... I want to go home... I miss my mom..."

Her repeated calls to go home made Wen Qingqing’s eyes well up with tears too.

She and Wen Ruannuan were twins; she was only a few minutes older than her.

She longed for home too.

The two sisters hugged and cried, and seeing this Yu Xiangqin frowned, muttered "melodramatic" under her breath, and began to bury her head in her meal.

Who doesn’t miss home? They all longed to return too.

Wang Shumei nudged Lin Nianhe and asked in a low voice: "Hey, how come you didn’t cry when you first arrived?"

Lin Nianhe was also a girl from Beijing, but on the day she arrived...

Compared to her, it was like she was excessively strong.

Lin Nianhe spread her hands: "What’s the use of crying? Even if I cried, would the commune leaders grant me a ticket to go back to the city?"

Wen Ruannuan’s crying grew louder.

Wen Lan turned to Lin Nianhe: "Hezi, your words only make people want to cry more."

Lin Nianhe felt helpless.

She had only spoken a straightforward truth.

After thinking it over, she squeezed out a bowl of chicken soup for them: "As long as you are strong, you will surely blossom. Instead of crying and wasting time here, better to think about how to face the situation positively."

After finishing the sentence, Lin Nianhe herself was sickened by the syrupy metaphor to the point of shivering and then a prompt for a composition floated up in her mind—

"Reborn and Transmigrated, I’ve Finally Become the Very Thing I Despised"

She was self-loathing when suddenly she noticed that everyone else was looking at her with an intense gaze she couldn’t understand, with two pairs of eyes red like peaches.

Lin Nianhe hugged her shoulders and stepped back: "What do you all want to do!"