Crossing Over to Yamada Love

“My dad’s here too, he’s loading the goods, it’ll be ready soon, you don’t need to buy any more, come on, let’s go to your house. I have something to tell you.” Mo Lan was also very happy. Chen Xuan was a grateful person. After helping her family make blood sausage, he still often went fishing and shrimping, and would often give it to her family, refusing money. He was a rare find.

"Hey, I've already weighed it, do you still want it or not? You're delaying my business, really, I'm never selling to you again." The stall owner grumbled at Chen Xuan, who was running after Mo Lan.

"Grandpa Liu, Uncle Changhe, hello." Chen Xuan greeted Old Liu and Mo Changhe as he approached.

"It's Chen Xuan! What a coincidence! How did we run into you? Come on, let's go to your house later." Mo Changhe was also very happy. They were planning to deliver some frozen goods to Chen Xuan's house later. They felt embarrassed to keep receiving fish and shrimp from others.

“Okay, let’s go home. My mom will cook for you. She’s a great cook.” Chen Xuan said warmly.

"What's wrong? Is your mother better? Can she prepare meals now?" Mo Lan asked with concern.

"She's much better after two months of rest. She can work in the fields without any problems these past two months. We don't let her do too much, afraid of straining her. She eats eggs and lean meat every day, and she hasn't stopped eating fish and shrimp. My mother's complexion is so different from before. I have to thank you for this. If it weren't for making blood sausage for your family, where would I get the money to buy food for my mother?" Chen Xuan was truly grateful to Mo Lan. Although he only earned enough to feed his mother and didn't have much money left over, life was much better than before he met Mo Lan. His mother's health had improved, and that was the best thing ever.

"That's good, being healthy is the most important thing. Don't let your aunt overwork herself, she still can't do heavy work," Mo Lan instructed Chen Xuan.

“Yes, I’ll do all the heavy work.” Chen Xuan nodded heavily to Mo Lan.

When they arrived at Chen Xuan's house, Mo Lan looked around and saw that nothing had changed. It was still as simple as ever.

"Mother, Mother, look who's here!" Chen Xuan shouted excitedly as soon as he entered the courtyard.

"Who is this child who makes you so happy? Come on in!" Chen Xuan's mother said as she came out.

"This is... Is this Lanlan? Quick, come here!" Chen Xuan's mother didn't recognize her at first glance because Molan was wrapped up too tightly. After looking closely, she recognized Molan and hurriedly and happily ushered her inside.

Once inside, the group, being straightforward people, didn't stand on any segregation between men and women; otherwise, standing outside in this weather would have frozen them to death.

Mo Changhe took a bag off the car and said, "Sister-in-law, Chen Xuan, I brought you some frozen pears and crabapples. See if you can put them in the right spot?"

"What are you doing? Put it back quickly, we can't accept it." Chen Xuan's mother hurriedly stepped forward to stop them. Really, how could they accept other people's things?

"Uncle Changhe, please don't, please put it back quickly." Chen Xuan also hurriedly stopped Mo Changhe.

"You silly kid, if you stop me again, I won't come inside. And if you send me fish or shrimp again, my family won't accept them anymore," Mo Changhe said sternly to Chen Xuan, his face hardening.

"This? Then Xuan'er, please accept it. You take your uncle to find a place to put it. I'll take Lanlan and Uncle Liu inside first." Chen Xuan's mother pondered for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

Mo Lan followed her into the house and felt a chill hit her. The house was rather cold and damp, unlike the warm house she lived in.

"Hehe, please sit down. The kang is warm. I didn't heat the room that much. Come and have a cup of water to warm up." Chen Xuan's mother poured a bowl of hot water for the two of them and invited them to sit on the kang.

Mo Lan sighed. Apart from the kang (heated brick bed) which was a little warm, the rest of the room was freezing cold. Chen Xuan's mother was in poor health; how could she possibly endure it?

"Auntie, do you have any relatives?" Mo Lan asked Chen Xuan's mother after a moment's thought.

"Sigh, after Xuan'er's father passed away, the family accumulated a lot of debt. Everything that could be sold was sold off, and the relatives are all distant, so we don't keep in touch anymore." She didn't know what Mo Lan meant by asking her, but she still told the truth.

“Why don’t you come to our house for the New Year? There are a lot of pigs being slaughtered recently, and Chen Xuan is going to make blood sausage. If you think it’s good, you can stay here. In the spring, we can plant some vegetables, raise some chickens, and go up the mountain to pick some wild vegetables. We can also pick mushrooms, gather walnuts and taro, and sell all of these. That should be enough for you and Chen Xuan to eat.” Mo Lan said what was on her mind.

"How can we do that? It's not right for us to stay at your house." Chen Xuan's mother hurriedly declined. They were not related by blood or marriage, so it would be inappropriate for them to stay at someone else's house!

“Why not? We have many empty rooms. When we were building the houses, we thought that no matter how many relatives came, they could stay, so we built more. They’re just empty anyway. If you feel like you’re staying for nothing, you can ask Chen Xuan to help us with some work when the time comes.” Mo Lan persuaded. Their shop would indeed need people in the future. Chen Xuan and his mother were good people and not the kind of people who would take advantage of others. They could be their helpers in the future.

“No, that won’t do. There’s nothing we can do in the dead of winter. If we go there, we’ll just be freeloaders. That’s not fair,” Chen Xuan’s mother still refused.

“Auntie, that’s not right. How can you expect Brother Chen Xuan to eat for free when he’s making blood sausage? Besides, even in December, we have guests coming over for meals. Chen Xuan said Auntie’s cooking is quite good, so he’ll help us out and make things easier for Grandma. You don’t know how old she is, and she still has to help out. We younger generations feel so bad seeing her like this.” As Mo Lan spoke, her little face scrunched up, looking as if she felt so sorry for her grandmother.

"This..." Chen Xuan's mother hesitated.

"Sister, just agree! The Changhe family is truly wonderful; every single one of them is kind. I live in the same village as them. If we weren't, I'd want to live at their house every day," Old Liu chimed in, trying to persuade them.

“Yes, sister-in-law, we’ve been dealing with your family for months now, why are you being so polite? Don’t underestimate us just because we’re in the mountains. Our place is just as good as the town. We can gather firewood up the mountain for free, and our houses are warm enough. We grow our own vegetables, and that’s enough for our needs. We also raise chickens, and that’s enough for our eggs. There are good things to eat all year round on the mountain, and we can sell everything for money. It’s much better than this.” Mo Changhe also came into the house and echoed Old Liu’s words, sincerely advising him.

Mo Lan laughed. These titles are really something. Grandpa Liu calls her "Big Sister," and Dad calls her "Big Sister-in-law." They're definitely not from the same generation.

"Xuan'er, what do you think?" Chen Xuan's mother was somewhat tempted by what she heard. However, she still didn't know what her son thought.

“Mom, why don’t we go? The mountains are really nice. I’ve been there a few times and really liked it. I’m thinking that when we make some money, we can buy a few acres of land in the mountains, build a courtyard, and settle down.” Chen Xuan said, his eyes filled with longing.

"Alright, let's pack up and go to Lanlan's house for a free meal tomorrow. But let me make this clear first, you have to ask us to do anything. Don't treat us like outsiders and expect us to do nothing." Chen Xuan's mother gritted her teeth and decided to throw away her pride.

"Of course you won't be polite. Just do what you're supposed to do. It's settled then. Grandpa Liu will pick you up tomorrow." Mo Lan chuckled, finally managing to persuade them.

"No need to trouble Uncle Liu, we'll walk there," Chen Xuan's mother quickly said politely.

"No trouble at all! It's only right to pick you up in this cold weather," Old Liu said honestly.

"Alright, we'll wait for Uncle tomorrow. You all wait here, I'll go start the fire and cook." Chen Xuan's mother got up from the stool to go cook.

"No need, sister-in-law. We still need to go shopping, and the family has already prepared our meal. Don't bother. It gets dark early, so we'll head back after we finish shopping," Mo Changhe hurriedly called out to her.

"How can we leave? You've come all this way and you won't even eat? That's not right. You can't leave no matter what." Chen Xuan's mother felt bad and sincerely wanted him to stay.

"Auntie, once you get here, you won't have time to cook for us anymore, right? We'll be able to enjoy your cooking every day from now on. There's no rush today, we really have to go." Mo Lan tugged at Chen Xuan's mother's sleeve and said with a giggle.

"Alright then, we won't keep you any longer. There will be plenty of time in the future." Chen Xuan's mother didn't stand on ceremony and, together with Chen Xuan, saw the three of them out.

Mo Lan looked at the seven or eight large fish loaded in the car with a look of surprise. Where did they get these fish in this weather?

“The other day, some people in our town went to break through the ice to catch fish, and I went to help. This is what I got.” Chen Xuan answered Mo Lan’s questioning look automatically.

"Don't go there again. If someone falls into an ice hole, they're doomed. We'll keep this and cook it later," Mo Lan told Chen Xuan before getting into the car and leaving.

They bought a large piece of beef, various seasonings, cotton, cloth, and other items, filling the car to the brim, and the three of them drove back.

After arriving at the destination and unloading the truck, they left half a bag of frozen goods for Old Liu. Old Liu didn't stand on ceremony, knowing that the Mo family was genuinely giving it to him. He happily drove back home.

"You must be freezing! You silly girl, you always love to run around in the wild, even in this cold weather you have to come along. Warm up quickly." Wang said to her granddaughter, but she pulled her to her side and put Mo Lan's hands in her arms to warm them up.

Qiu also gave Mo Changhe hot water to drink and let him sit on the stove to cool off.

After warming up for half a day, Mo Lan recounted what had happened in town. She also mentioned that she had taken the initiative to bring Chen Xuan and his mother over.

"Is Chen Xuan alright? Is his mother easy to get along with?" Qiu was a little worried. She didn't know anyone. What if she didn't get along with the guests when they moved in?

"Mother, don't worry, his mother is a good person. If she weren't, how could I have asked for help? You don't know how cold it is at his house. There's no warmth at all except on the kang (heated brick bed). His mother isn't in good health either. How can she live in such a cold place? We can't talk to people we don't know, but we should help those we do know. Anyway, we have plenty of empty rooms in our house." Mo Lan knew her mother's worries and comforted her.

"If you say so, then so be it. I'll go and prepare a room for them in a bit. I'll heat it up nicely tomorrow so they can stay there." Mrs. Qiu stroked her daughter's hair and agreed.