Crossing Over to Yamada Love

Seeing his dazed expression, Mo Lan couldn't help but chuckle. Her laughter snapped Liu Hu out of his reverie, and his face flushed crimson.

"Then, then I'll go call my mother back." Liu Hu felt incredibly embarrassed. How could he have stared at a little girl like that? If word got out, how could the girl ever face anyone again!

"No need, let's just sit here and wait for your mother. Anyway, we don't have anything to do, so let's not trouble Tiger." Madam Wang smiled faintly. To be honest, she had a good impression of this young man.

Liu Hu nodded in response, poured a kettle of hot water, and then sat down next to Wang Shi to chat about everyday things.

Looking at Liu Hu's restrained demeanor, Mo Lan sighed inwardly, "The people here are so innocent. A boy this big blushes even when he looks at a girl a few times. You're only nine years old, a little girl, what's there to be shy about?"

Time passed in this chatter, and before they knew it, almost an hour had gone by—or so Mo Lan had calculated in her mind, of course. She didn't quite understand those ancient times.

"Isn't this Aunt Mo? What brings you here?" A cheerful female voice rang out from the courtyard gate, and Mo Lan turned to look.

A middle-aged woman walked in from the gate. She was in her forties, slightly plump, with a round face, dark skin, sparse eyebrows, and drooping eyes. The marks of time were already visible on her face. She wore a dark blue jacket, blue trousers, leggings around her ankles, and blue cloth shoes.

She's not particularly good-looking, so how could she have given birth to such a sunny and handsome son like Liu Hu? The man of the house must be quite good-looking, Mo Lan thought to herself.

"Da Cheng's family is back. Auntie has come to your door today to ask you for a favor." Wang Shi stood up with a smile and greeted her.

"You silly child, why didn't you call me when someone came to visit? Have you gone stupid from studying too much?" Da Cheng's wife didn't immediately respond to Wang Shi's words, but instead scolded Liu Hu first. But looking at her smiling face and the smugness in her eyes, she was clearly showing off that her child was a scholar. There wasn't a trace of reproach in her eyes.

"Tiger is a good boy, and I like him very much. I was the one who stopped him from going, so please don't scold him anymore," Wang said with a smile.

"Auntie, you think too highly of him. Please sit down. What brings you here today? Don't mention it's too much trouble. If there's anything I can do to help, I definitely will." Liu Hu's mother, Da Cheng's wife, said politely, but only she knew how sincere her words were.

"Well, I need some goose eggs at home. Your family seems to have the most goose eggs in the whole village, so I came to see if you have any extra," Wang explained with a smile.

"Oh, is that so? Auntie, you've come at an inopportune time. We don't have many goose eggs left at home. Look at this..." Liu Hu's mother looked at Wang Shi with a troubled expression, but her eyes were full of disdain.

Mo Lan inwardly curled her lip. The excuse about not having many left at home was clearly just an excuse. She hadn't even let them into the house after returning, and although her words were polite, she clearly looked down on them and despised their poverty.

"Oh, is that so? Could you perhaps give us a little something first? We can exchange it for grain or eggs, anything." Wang's smile remained unchanged, though she felt uneasy. But since she needed their help, she could only force a smile. Only two families in the village raised geese. The other family is best left unmentioned.

"This, this really is..." Liu Hu's mother still looked troubled and didn't budge. It seemed that she was unwilling, or perhaps she wanted to exchange something else.

“Mom, don’t we still have quite a few goose eggs at home? Didn’t Dad say last night that he’d take them to town to sell in the next couple of days? Why don’t you give some to Grandma Wang?” Liu Hu frowned as he spoke to his mother. He didn’t understand why his mother wouldn’t agree when they clearly had goose eggs at home.

"You silly child." Liu Hu's mother's face instantly turned embarrassed upon hearing Liu Hu's words, clearly not expecting her son to expose her. She then gave a dry laugh and said to Wang Shi, "His father has already arranged for those goose eggs to be delivered in a couple of days. The child doesn't know. Auntie, please don't overthink it."

"Of course not." Wang smiled nonchalantly, but the smile didn't reach her eyes.

Mo Lan found the scene before her eyes rather jarring. How could she bear to watch her grandmother have to put on such a fawning face for a few goose eggs? If her family wouldn't sell them, so be it; she could just buy from someone else.

"Grandma, since Auntie's family doesn't have any, that's fine. We don't necessarily need it today anyway. We can just take Grandpa Liu's car into town tomorrow to buy some. Don't make things difficult for them." Mo Lan walked to Wang Shi's side, tugged at her sleeve, and gestured for her to leave.

"Alright then, I won't trouble Dacheng's family. Grandma will go to town with you to buy some tomorrow. You're such a restless girl, and you're so kind-hearted, you don't want to make things difficult for others. You'll suffer for this kind of temperament in the future." Wang Shi got up as Mo Lan said, but said a few words to her.

Hearing their conversation, Liu Hu's mother was startled. Were they going to buy things? Wasn't their family always struggling financially? Oh right, last time Erdan's wife said that her eldest daughter-in-law had bought quite a lot of things when she went to town. It seemed that their family wasn't as poor as people said.

She thought for a moment, then quickly put on a smile and said, "Auntie, what are you busy with? If you need something, how can I, as your niece-in-law, just stand by and do nothing? Even if no one else will give it to you, you have to give it to me. Just tell me how much you need, and I'll definitely give you a discount."

Seeing her fake demeanor, Mo Lan felt contempt. Who said that rural people were all simple and honest? This woman in front of her was very realistic. As soon as she heard that they were buying with money, her attitude immediately changed.

“Grandma, let’s go. If Auntie sells the goose eggs to us, Uncle Dacheng will blame her when he comes back. We can’t do that. Buying them in town is just as good.” Mo Lan tugged at Wang Shi’s sleeve, her face serious.

"You silly girl," Wang scolded Mo Lan, then smiled and said to Liu Hu's mother, "This girl has always been kind-hearted, afraid of causing trouble for others. Please don't mind her."

"Of course not, Lanlan is a good girl. You're so lucky. By the way, Auntie, how many do you need? I'll get them for you. Money is no object." Liu Hu's mother praised Mo Lan through gritted teeth, then brought the topic back to how many goose eggs were needed.

"Grandma, since Auntie is so sincere, let's buy from her." Mo Lan, seemingly unable to bear seeing Liu Hu's mother's appearance, persuaded Wang Shi. "Alright, if Lan Lan says buy, then we'll buy." Wang Shi chuckled and patted her granddaughter's hair.

"Auntie, how much are your goose eggs?" Mo Lan asked Liu Hu's mother, tilting her little face up.

“These goose eggs are big. They sell for 3 coins each in town. We’re all neighbors, so for your sake, I’ll give you 3 for 8 coins,” Liu Hu’s mother said, stating the price. Her pained expression made it seem as if she had suffered a great loss.

Mo Lan cursed inwardly. A large meat bun in town only cost two coins, and this guy was asking three coins for a goose egg. Even though goose eggs are big, they weren't that expensive. Trying to take advantage of us and then pretend to be nice, what a shrewd calculation!

Wang's smile faded slightly. Although she had never bought goose eggs before, she knew the price was high. However, as an elder, arguing with a junior seemed a bit... but as a last resort, she had no choice but to speak up; she couldn't just suffer a loss for nothing, could she? Her family wasn't exactly rolling in money.

Mo Lan saw through Wang Shi's thoughts and spoke first: "Auntie, your goose eggs are more expensive than meat! We really can't afford them. Grandma, let's go. Let's go to town tomorrow and see if there are any cheaper ones."

"Hmm." Madam Wang pondered for a moment, secretly chuckling to herself, thinking how well this girl understood her.

"No, Lanlan thinks it's too expensive. Think about it, don't you have to pay for the bus fare to town? Buying from other people might be cheaper, but who knows how many days theirs have been sitting there? They might even be rotten. Unlike ours, which are so fresh. It'll save you the trip. Buying from my place is more cost-effective." As soon as Liu Hu's mother heard they were leaving, she hurriedly told Mo Lan all the advantages of buying her goose eggs.

"It's too expensive, let's go buy something cheaper." Mo Lan hesitated before speaking, but the expression on her face suggested that she was somewhat persuaded.

"Then I'll give you a discount. 3 for 7 coins?" Liu Hu's mother saw that Mo Lan didn't seem to agree, so she added, "This is already the lowest I can offer. Any lower and I'll lose a lot of money."

"Mother, just give them to Lanlan for one coin each. We're all neighbors, don't haggle so much. One coin is easier to calculate." Liu Hu couldn't bear to see his mother trying to lower the price bit by bit. He felt his face burning. Why bother over such a small amount of money?

“Brother Tiger is right, one coin is easy to calculate. Let’s do as Brother Tiger says. Grandma, let’s buy 50 first.” Mo Lan chimed in, giving Liu Hu a sweet smile.

Liu Hu received Mo Lan's smile, and his face unconsciously flushed again. He was somewhat afraid to look up at her sparkling eyes...

"That won't do. I can't afford to sell it for even one coin. If I sell it to you, I won't even be able to eat." Fang glared at her son, then complained to Mo Lan about being poor. She really couldn't afford to sell it for one coin.

"Then Auntie, why don't you bring Tiger to my house for dinner tonight? Lanlan dug up some dandelions today, and they taste pretty good. I promise you'll have a good meal tonight." Mo Lan pretended not to understand the meaning behind Fang Shi's words and warmly invited her to her house for dinner.

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