“With a girl like yours, she’s sure to find a good match.” The matchmaker gave Qin Yan a thorough once-over from head to toe and praised her to Aunt Qin.
Aunt Qin said, “Oh, don’t praise her like that. She’s just a young girl.”
The matchmaker, with an expression that said “you’re being too modest,” then turned to look at Bai Lan. “And whose daughter is this? She’s truly a beauty.”
Bai Lan: … Is this matchmaker about to try and set me up? Heh…
Before Bai Lan could respond, Qin Yan rolled her eyes.
Aunt Qin caught sight of this and glared at her daughter, then smiled at the matchmaker. “Oh, Sister Wu, this one isn’t a young girl—she’s already a married woman…”
“Exactly, exactly. Bai Lan is already married. She might even be pregnant…” Widow Hu, who had been watching the spectacle from the sidelines, suddenly interjected, winking and grinning in a way that made Bai Lan want to just laugh scornfully.
And indeed, Bai Lan really didn’t want to stay in the yard any longer. She noticed that ever since the matchmaker had appeared, quite a few aunts and older women from the compound had already started gathering around. Clearly, they all wanted to ask the matchmaker to find spouses for their own children.
She reached out and took Qin Yan’s hand. “Want to go for a walk?”
Qin Yan nodded eagerly. She had been on the verge of losing her temper just now. The way the matchmaker had sized her up was like appraising a piece of pork to see if it was fatty enough. She had no idea where her mother had found such a person.
The two walked out of the compound hand in hand, and Qin Yan asked, “Lanlan, where should we go?”
Bai Lan shrugged. She didn’t really have anywhere specific in mind. But Qin Yan had just mentioned the recycling station. After a moment’s thought, she said, “How about we go to the recycling station? I need some old books to use as kindling for the coal stove at the apartment building.”
Qin Yan thought that was a good idea. Besides, a new batch of “garbage” had come in a couple of days ago, including plenty of old books—exactly what Bai Lan needed.
—
The recycling station was just as it always was. And since it was the weekend, there weren’t many people around. Bai Lan followed Qin Yan easily into the warehouse where all sorts of discarded items were stored.
“This pile hasn’t been sorted yet. It came in yesterday morning. Who knows which family met with misfortune…”
Qin Yan led Bai Lan directly to a pile of junk.
She called it junk because it contained not only broken wood, shattered glass, and tattered books, but also worn-out clothes and torn shoes. Seeing this, Bai Lan felt a bit reluctant to get close.
But she knew that Qin Yan had brought her here for a reason—there was surely something good to share.
Sure enough, Qin Yan glanced around furtively and lowered her voice mysteriously. “When we unloaded this junk yesterday, the few of us temporary workers were called in to sort through it. I found a silver dollar from the Yuan Shikai era in there.”
This was practically a classic recycling station scenario, but Bai Lan wasn’t surprised.
Because she had already noticed that the broken furniture in this pile was made of huanghuali—a type of wood that would become famous and skyrocket in value in the future. That meant these items came from a wealthy family. Finding a silver dollar in there wasn’t strange at all.
Unfortunately, the furniture in front of her had all been smashed to pieces. All she could see were scattered table legs and chair panels. Trying to reassemble a complete piece of furniture would be nearly impossible.
Seeing Bai Lan staring blankly at the junk without speaking, Qin Yan thought she didn’t believe her and was about to explain further. But Bai Lan stopped her.
“Don’t worry. I believe you. This junk probably really does have treasures.”
As she spoke, Bai Lan pointed to an unrecognizable piece of scrap metal.
Qin Yan looked puzzled. Wasn’t that just scrap iron?
Bai Lan smiled and asked, “It’s just the two of us in this warehouse, right? No one else?”
Qin Yan shook her head. “There’s one person on duty at the entrance, and one in the accounting office. Just dig out whatever you want. Then go to the accounting office to have it weighed and pay for it.”
Having confirmed this information, Bai Lan walked straight toward that piece of scrap metal.
Naturally curious, Qin Yan followed right behind her.
—
“Isn’t this just a lump of scrap metal?”
The lump of metal was buried at the very bottom of the junk pile. Using shovels to clear a path, the two of them expended tremendous effort to dig the thing out. After examining it, Qin Yan was disappointed.
Bai Lan smiled and shook her head. This thing looked like a lump of metal, but it could actually be pried apart.
With that in mind, Bai Lan moved quickly. Using both hands, she pulled it apart. The lump of metal unfolded into a metal rod with something like a base at the bottom.
“Wow…” Qin Yan suddenly felt that this thing looked somewhat familiar.
Bai Lan said, “It’s a lamp!”
Although its shape didn’t quite resemble the lamps that were popular nowadays, it was indeed an adjustable lamp. Lamps with such functionality were quite rare. Most of the lamps sold outside didn’t have such a wide range of adjustability.
However, this one was also broken—it was missing the lampshade. That’s why Qin Yan hadn’t recognized it at first. But that wasn’t a major flaw. Even without the lampshade, the socket for the light bulb was still there. She could just buy a light bulb, screw it in, and see if the lamp still worked.
By now, Qin Yan had also figured out the lamp’s structure. She exclaimed in surprise, “Lanlan, you really have a good eye. The few of us spent hours sorting through this pile yesterday, and none of us realized this thing was a lamp.”
They had spent hours yesterday sorting only a small portion of this junk pile. The rest was left for today—they had planned to continue tomorrow.
Bai Lan also thought she had a sharp eye. She wished she could find some gold, gemstones, or antique calligraphy and paintings. But she knew that was unlikely. Things that ended up at the recycling station had passed through many hands. This lamp stand she had dug out was probably just too broken for anyone to want.
But Bai Lan liked its minimalist design.
Pleased to have found something, Qin Yan happily picked up a pair of pliers and started rummaging through other items.
For a while, the warehouse was filled with the sounds of the two of them sorting through the junk.
But this harmonious atmosphere didn’t last long. Just as Bai Lan found a few tattered ancient books, a familiar voice sounded at the entrance.
—
“Bai Lan, what are you doing here?”
Bai Lan looked over and curled her lip. “That’s none of your business, is it?”
Bai Ping glared. “I’m asking you—did you take my notebook?”
Several months had passed, and Bai Ping had come to ask her again. But Bai Lan wasn’t surprised. Back then, Bai Ping had left in a hurry, and her later search for the notebook had been sloppy. Bai Lan figured that now that Bai Ping had settled down in the Song family, she’d had time to think things over, realized something was off, and come looking.
Hadn’t Qin Yan mentioned just recently that she’d been seeing Bai Ping hanging around the recycling station? She was probably either looking for those jadeite rough stones or waiting to catch Bai Lan.
But Bai Lan wasn’t about to admit to taking her notebook.
“What notebook?” Bai Lan played dumb.
Bai Ping gritted her teeth. “The notebook you left at home when I moved out.”
Bai Lan put on a look of sudden realization. “That notebook? Didn’t I tell you? It was thrown out with the trash along with everything else. You haven’t found it?”
Seeing Bai Lan like this, Bai Ping knew she wouldn’t get anything out of her. Back when she couldn’t find the notebook, she had hidden at home afterward, racking her brains to remember its contents. She had managed to recall part of it. But then she’d had conflicts with the Song family and hadn’t had time to look for those jadeite rough stones. Only recently, with the steel plant spy case and the Song family suffering collateral damage, had their control over her loosened enough for her to come out and search for the stones.
In her dreams, those stones were ultimately discovered by the recycling station’s manager.
Using those stones, he had later bought a three-courtyard compound house. Twenty years later, it would be worth nearly one billion yuan.
Bai Ping didn’t know exactly how much one billion yuan was. But she knew she absolutely could not miss out on those stones. They were her ticket to a better life in the future. The Song family were all no good. Ever since she married into that family, she hadn’t benefited one bit.
Bai Lan had no idea about the complex thoughts running through Bai Ping’s mind. Seeing that she had successfully brushed her off, she continued to drag Qin Yan along to rummage through the junk. Not that there were any treasures to be found here. She just wanted to find some old books. She wasn’t afraid even with Bai Ping watching.
Seeing that Bai Ping had been hanging around the recycling station for so many days, Bai Lan guessed that she was definitely looking for those jadeite rough stones. Speaking of which, she had left them under the bed in that half-room at the compound and hadn’t touched them in a long time.
Bai Lan thought about leaving them there for now and finding a master stone cutter to open them up later. It wasn’t like she was short on money at the moment.
Seeing that Bai Lan was treating her as if she were transparent, Bai Ping continued to interrogate her. But Bai Lan had already decided to completely ignore her. She busied herself digging out more old books.
This infuriated Bai Ping. But there was nothing she could do to Bai Lan. She stormed off toward the entrance, then suddenly stopped. Turning around, she shouted at the person on duty at the gate, “There’s someone in the warehouse who found something good. You’d better get in there and claim a piece of the action!”
The gatekeeper was none other than Hu Aihua, Widow Hu’s daughter. Hearing Bai Ping’s words, she curled her lip. She wasn’t stupid. She knew that Bai Ping and Bai Lan didn’t get along. Qin Yan had just taken Bai Lan inside to look for old books. Then Bai Ping had run in after her. Now she was coming out like this—wasn’t she just trying to fool her?
Hu Aihua didn’t believe her for a moment.
But Gao Qingqing, who had just walked over to fetch her back to the compound, did believe her. She immediately grabbed Hu Aihua’s arm and shouted, “Aihua, didn’t you hear that? Just now—there’s something good inside!”
Bai Ping then noticed that the person on duty at the gate was actually Widow Hu’s daughter, Hu Aihua. She immediately realized that the other woman didn’t believe her lie. But Bai Ping just wanted to cause trouble for Bai Lan. So she shouted at the wide-eyed Gao Qingqing, “It’s true! I saw Bai Lan getting all excited. There’s definitely something good there.”
Having said that, Bai Ping turned and ran off.
Gao Qingqing, seeing that Hu Aihua couldn’t be bothered to respond, gritted her teeth and ran straight to the warehouse.
And then, Bai Lan saw Gao Qingqing, her eyes gleaming with greed.
“What are you doing?” Qin Yan blocked Gao Qingqing’s way unceremoniously.
Gao Qingqing’s excitement faltered for a moment when she saw Qin Yan. Then she reached up and smoothed her messy hair, saying sweetly, “Oh, it’s Qin Tang’s little sister!”
As soon as she heard this, Qin Yan felt nauseous. She had no idea why this woman, who had been married to Hu Aimin for several months now, still acted like this every time she saw her. It was the reason her brother was still afraid to come back to the compound.
Her mother said that maybe things would get better after Gao Qingqing had a baby. But Qin Yan doubted it. This woman had a screw loose.
“What do you want?”
When Qin Yan questioned her again, Gao Qingqing finally answered. “I heard Bai Ping say you found something good.”
Qin Yan gave a cold laugh. Even if they had found something valuable—which they hadn’t—there was no way she would tell Gao Qingqing.
Bai Lan felt that even sorting through trash wasn’t peaceful today. She tossed aside the iron pliers she was holding and called to Qin Yan, “I’ll take these. Let’s go settle up at the accounting office.”
The two of them completely ignored Gao Qingqing. She tried to ask again about the good find, but no one paid her any attention.
To avoid any future trouble, Bai Lan deliberately complained to the person at the accounting office about Gao Qingqing’s crazy behavior.
“You have no idea. Gao Qingqing was acting insane, screaming ‘good stuff’ at this pile of scrap paper I found. It was ridiculous.”
The person at the counter laughed along. Those of them who worked at the recycling station knew the ins and outs of this business all too well. If there really were good finds, they would never make it to the people buying scrap. If picking up bargains were that easy, the recycling station employees would already be rich.
After buying the scrap paper and the broken lamp, Bai Lan carried a sack and walked straight out. The moment she stepped out the gate, she heard Gao Qingqing arguing with Hu Aihua.
Seeing the two of them come out, Hu Aihua immediately apologized to them.
“My sister-in-law isn’t right in the head. Please don’t hold it against her.”
Bai Lan waved her hand. “Next time, tell her not to throw around baseless accusations. I had the people in the accounting office check everything I bought. If it had really been something good, they would have snatched it up themselves.”
Seeing that Hu Aihua wasn’t on her side, Gao Qingqing stomped her foot in frustration and shouted, “Mom told me to come get you. There’s a matchmaker at the compound. You’d better come and let her take a look at you so she can find you a husband.”
This outburst startled the people on the street.
Bai Lan suddenly felt a bit sorry for Hu Aihua. Having such a unhinged sister-in-law was really something.
In fact, Hu Aihua was so angry her face turned red. She turned her back on Gao Qingqing and continued with her work.
Seeing this, Qin Yan tugged on Bai Lan’s sleeve. “That matchmaker hasn’t left yet?”
Bai Lan smiled. “What’s there to be afraid of? If she’s still there, we’ll drop off our things and go out again.” It had been a long time since Bai Lan had been in this area, so she wanted to look around. She and Xu Jianbei would be living at the screw factory for another week, finishing up some work before moving back to the compound.
Having lived here for the better part of a year, Bai Lan really wanted to get out and explore. Take Xu Jianxi, for example—he was about to return to that island in the south. Bai Lan would have loved to go. Unfortunately, movement was restricted these days, and transportation was inconvenient. She could only dream.
Lost in thought, Bai Lan had almost reached the compound when she heard Gao Qingqing’s rapid footsteps behind her.
Neither of them turned around. But Gao Qingqing soon ran past them and headed into the compound.
Qin Yan grumbled again, “I wonder when she’ll finally stop being crazy.”
Bai Lan said, “Didn’t your mother find a matchmaker? Maybe once your big brother gets successfully set up, things will improve a bit.”
Bai Lan wasn’t very confident in this statement either. She had never met anyone as unhinged as Gao Qingqing.
The two soon returned to the compound. Sure enough, the back courtyard was packed with aunties and older women. Even Da Tou’s mother, Aunt Ning, was squeezed into the crowd. Her usual calm demeanor had been replaced by an eager enthusiasm.
Bai Lan even saw her mother-in-law, Miao Daju, being pulled into the throng.
She couldn’t help but sigh. People really were eager for matchmakers these days.
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