Lin Lan smiled. "Dad and his generation believe in karma. I also believe that what goes around comes around; it’s just a matter of when. When we have the ability, I think it’s right to do what we can."

She felt that perhaps the reason she could be reborn into this body and live her current life was that she hadn’t done anything wicked in her past life.

Li Xiangyang thought she was absolutely right and nodded in agreement. "My old man says the same thing!"

Lin Lan looked at the pile of sacks and thought of the grain and cotton. "Xiangyang, with all this stuff, how are they going to get it back home?"

"I’ll go find Uncle Da in a bit and borrow his Dongfeng truck. I’ll help them get the supplies to Shilian, and they can move it back home from there bit by bit."

"That would be perfect. Did you get the iron woks? When did Uncle Da say he’s leaving for Yangcheng City?"

"Got them. Uncle Da said we’re leaving on Monday. Today is Thursday, so I have just enough time to make the trip to Shilian and back."

Lin Lan nodded, opened a package, and took out two sets of work clothes. She and Li Xiangyang then rode their bikes to Liu Da’s house. They explained the situation to Liu Da, and he readily agreed.

Liu Da then said to the two of them, "I’ll give you some money. Please buy a thousand jin of rice, a thousand jin of sorghum, and a thousand jin of flour for me, and give it to them on my behalf."

Li Xiangyang said gratefully, "Thank you, Uncle Da. On behalf of the people of Shishanling, I bow to you." And with that, he truly did bow to him.

Liu Da chuckled as he stopped him. "You rascal! This is a good deed, a chance to build good karma. What are you bowing for?"

Li Xiangyang also smiled as he straightened up. Looking at him, he added, "Uncle Da, I heard Shishanling isn’t the only place that was hit. In another area, a few families were buried. If it’s possible, could you talk to your wealthy friends and see if they’d also donate some grain to them?"

Liu Da agreed without hesitation. "Okay, I’ll go out and make my rounds tomorrow and tell them what’s happened."

"Thank you, Uncle Da."

After leaving Liu Da’s house, Lin Lan and Li Xiangyang went to the East City Restaurant, where Tong Xinglan and Qiaohui were.

Lin Changyou told her that Li Wu had delivered the grain but hadn’t accepted any money from them, saying she had already paid.

Lin Lan nodded. "I already paid. As for the money owed to Hou Bing, I’ll be the one to settle it with him."

"Alright," Lin Changyou agreed.

Lin Lan handed the work clothes to Wu Shufang. "Auntie, here are the clothes I bought for everyone. Try to think about the families who were affected—how many are tall and how many are short, so I can put aside the right sizes."

Wu Shufang took them in her hands, thought for a moment, and said, "They’re not very tall. The tallest few are only about an inch or so taller than your cousin. You can set aside five large-sized sets. For the others, just go by your cousin’s build. If they’re too big, they can alter them."

After she spoke, she looked closely at the clothes in her hand and said, a little embarrassed, "Little Lan, these outfits probably cost ten yuan a set. Everyone might not be willing to buy such nice clothes to wear!"

Zhou Shitou took a set to look at it and agreed, "Yeah, Cousin, how could everyone afford these? Homespun cloth would be fine."

Zhou Dashu held a set in his hands, not knowing what to say. He felt that people from the city were extravagant with their money. ’Most people wouldn’t even bear to buy this kind of fabric for New Year’s,’ he thought, ’let alone now, when we’re homeless and penniless.’

"Cousin," Lin Lan interrupted him with a smile, "I got these from a clothing factory’s clearance sale. I bought them for three yuan a set. My plan is to give each of you two sets and sell the rest. The money I make will be used to buy clothes for you all."

In total, over one hundred and twenty people were affected by the disaster, more than eighty of whom were adults. After setting aside over one hundred and seventy outfits, there were still nearly three hundred left. The money earned from selling them would be enough to buy clothes for everyone, with some left over for other things.

Wu Shufang and the others stared at her in astonishment, unable to believe their ears.

Li Xiaofeng held up an outfit and asked in amazement, "Little Lan, were these really only three yuan a set?"

Zhou Dashu’s face instantly flushed red with embarrassment over his earlier thoughts.

Lin Lan pointed to a discolored spot on the chest of an outfit where it had been soaked. "These were already part of their overstocked inventory, and on top of that, they got wet in the rain a few days ago. When Director Su heard you were all affected by the disaster, he sold them to me at a loss and even threw in a lot of fabric scraps and packing bags for free."

Wu Shufen sighed. "There really are a lot of good people in this world!"

Wu Shufang wiped away tears of joy. "Thank you. Thank you all so much."

"And there’s more good news!" Lin Lan said, beaming at them. "Dad said you don’t have to pay for the iron woks. Also, Uncle Da is donating three... and Xiangyang and I are also donating three thousand jin. Uncle Da also promised to lend us his truck..."

"Thank you, thank you!" Zhou Shitou and Zhou Dashu stood up excitedly and bowed deeply to the couple. "Thank you, Cousin, thank you, Cousin-in-law..."

Li Xiangyang and Lin Lan quickly moved to avoid the bow. "You should be thanking Director Su and Uncle Da. They’re complete strangers to you, yet they immediately extended a helping hand when they heard what happened."

Zhou Dashu said, "Next time, we’ll have Grandpa come to thank everyone for their help on behalf of all the people from Shishanling who were affected."

Lin Changyou and his wife watched them with pride, giving them a thumbs-up. "Well done."

Qiaohui and Tong Xinglan gazed at her with expressions of pure admiration.

After looking over the clothes, Zhao Xiaohui asked, "Little Lan, how much are you planning to sell a set for?"

Lin Lan looked at her. "I was thinking five or six yuan a set. What do you all think would be a fair price?"

"The water stains will probably be less noticeable after a wash. You can’t even buy the fabric for six yuan, and these are already made into clothes. They’ll sell easily at six yuan. Let me have two sets, to begin with. They’ll be just right for my brother to wear."

Li Xiaofeng and Zhang Xiuqing also chimed in, "Little Lan, we’ll take two sets as well. If you have any in women’s sizes, we’ll take another two."

Lin Lan smiled and nodded. "Alright. I’ll set yours aside first thing when I go to the shop tomorrow."

Qiaohui quickly said, "Cousin, I’ll go over tomorrow and sort out the clothes."

Lin Lan nodded and said to Lin Changyou, "Xiangyang and I still need to make a trip to Hou Bing’s place. We won’t be coming back here after that; Dad and Little Douzi are waiting for us to get home for dinner!"

Tong Xinglan and Qiaohui stood up as well. "Cousin, we’ll leave with you."

Everyone saw them off, watching the four of them ride their bikes into the distance before returning to the restaurant to pack up and head back to Lexing.

Wu Shufang and Zhou Shitou’s family went to Zhou Shisong’s house to tell him and his wife that they planned to stay in East Market to make a living.

After listening, Zhou Shisong said, "I told my big brother last time that it’s better to move out and rent a place. Even doing manual labor is better than just scraping by in the mountains."

Zhou Shitou’s voice was somber. "I was thinking of helping my cousin collect goods. The margin she gave us would have added up to several hundred yuan a year. I never thought something like this would happen."

Li Xiaofeng hesitated for a moment, then looked at everyone and said, "Mom, Sister-in-law, Big Brother, I think what Second Brother said is right. Out here, as long as you’re diligent and willing to work hard, it’s better than living in the mountains no matter what."

Hearing this, Xu Hongju breathed a sigh of relief and looked gratefully at Zhou Shisong and his wife. "Thank you, Second Brother. Thank you, Sister-in-law!"