Yanhua mostly picked vegetables, occasionally taking a piece or two of rabbit at to nibble on, as if savoring so delicacies from the mountains and seas, cautiously and at tis looking up to give a shy smile.
Seeing this, Grandma Sun felt a pang of sadness and heaped a big bowl full for her, "Yanhua, there’s no need to be polite here at Second Grandmother’s place, you can’t finish all that, eat up now, hm."
Lan Tian glanced at Yanhua, quietly eating her al. Everyone feasted until their mouths glistened with grease, and Lan Tian’s little belly ballooned round and rolling.
When Yanhua was about to leave, Grandma Sun gave her so wild grapes that Lan Tian had picked to take ho. The wild grapes tasted a bit numbingly sweet, not to Lan Tian’s liking, so she washed them clean, mixed them with sugar in a jar, sealed it, and buried it in the ground to see if grape wine could be made.
That evening, Grandma Sun discussed with Mo Yuanle about inviting people over for a al.
"Lao Wu, take a look at when we should invite the village folks for a al. They were a big help with the girl’s matter last ti." When there was nothing else to do, Lan Tian loved sitting next to Grandma Sun, doing nothing but listening to her prattle about the trivial matters at ho.
Mo Yuanle calculated the busy days of farming, which would be in about two days, and said, "These next two days, there’s still so work in the fields. Let’s set the date for two days from now, by then the fieldwork would mostly be wrapped up."
"Alright, that day it is. Tomorrow, you give them a heads up ahead of ti, so they don’t make other plans and can be free."
Mo Yuanle responded with an affirmative grunt.
Grandma Sun touched Lan Tian’s face, spoke earnestly, "Girl, you must rember this kindness, and help out when you have the chance in the future. This is the most basic thing about being a person, understand?"
"Grandma, don’t worry, it’s all in my heart. Do I look like soone who would be ungrateful and turn my back on kindness?"
This remark made Zhao Li giggle, "Aunt, Tiantian is quick with words, you, ah, can’t argue with her."
Lan Tian rolled her eyes, "Like beam above bent, the beam below crooked; I learned this from Aunt." After saying this she ran off.
Zhao Li spoke to Grandma Sun from behind, "Aunt, you see, with that temperant, how will she get married in the future?"
Nowadays, Grandma Sun couldn’t bother with their aunt and niece’s affairs, going to the kitchen to boil water. Zhao Li was wiping the table when she suddenly turned to ask Mo Yuanle, "That’s not right, isn’t it supposed to be ’blue outshines indigo’ instead of a warped beam leading to a bent one below? This wretched girl is framing , and she really took off fast. Wait till she cos back, see how I deal with her."
Mo Yuanle glanced at her, insincerely spoke of dealing with Lan Tian, but happily took his bowl to the kitchen to wash.
Lan Tian visited her Gathering Spirit Grass in the backyard three tis daily, infusing it with Spiritual Energy. Grandma Sun, upon seeing this, joked with Zhao Li, "You see, a single plant has captured the girl’s heart. It’s more important to her than you all."
Early in the morning, Mo Yuanle went to town to buy groceries, and along the way bought several pounds of candy, fruit, and at, and a fish, then headed to Gaoshiling to thank the village chief of Qin Family Village for helping. The village chief was hospitable upon hearing of Mo Yuanle’s arrival and steadfastly treated him. After Mo Yuanle explained his purpose, he left.
The village chief insisted Mo Yuanle stay for a al, but he declined, having guests at ho that required his attention. With visitors at ho, the village chief did not press further and arranged a bullock cart to send him back to the town.
In the evening, Grandma Sun’s house welcod five or six people for dinner, all of whom were villagers who had helped out before. They even called the village chief to accompany them. A table full of lavish dishes, everyone glowing with contentnt.
Later on, Lan Tian ventured into the mountains several tis, finding the herbs she needed, and prepared three sessions of the initial ’wash the marrow and cut the tendons’ dicinal soup. Lan Tian cleaned, sun-dried the herbs herself, and stored them separately in her room.
With everything prepared, she started boiling the first batch of dicinal soup. Grandma Sun kindled the fire, Mo Yuanle assisted in adding the herbs to the pot while Lan Tian supervised the entire process. The timing and precise quantity of herbs were critical, no room for carelessness.
Soaking in the dicinal bath, the effects were less than Lan Tian had anticipated, only a slight stinging sensation, akin to being pricked by needles. Given the limited conditions of her environnt, she was already satisfied with this result.
In the blink of an eye, it was December. In previous years, light snow would start mid-November, but this year December had co without a sign of snowfall, only a few heavy fogs. Frost had ford on the grass leaves and lted away by morning.
Superstitious elderly villagers gathered under the village ginkgo tree, discussing legends and tales. Lan Tian listened casually to the village gossip.
"This year we’ve reached this month without any snow, and the weather is a bit unusual. According to the old folks, it could be due to evil spirits bringing calamity, foretelling great disaster."
Lan Tian dismissed this with disdain. A good snowfall was an on for a bountiful year; the older generation knew this well.
The person who said this, Lan Tian also knew him. A man usually idling away, engaging in petty thefts and the like.
With each household having grown n, he didn’t dare to cause trouble in the village but went out to other villages to collaborate with others, leaving all the work at ho and land to be shouldered by his wife alone.
Any slight misfortune, he blad not on God but on his lazy wife, always finding reasons to shirk responsibility.
"If there really were fairies, capturing one to feast on big fish and at every day and to warm the bed at night would be a blessing indeed," teased a villager.
The other villagers burst into laughter.
"Two consecutive years without heavy snow, and if it doesn’t snow heavily today, I’m afraid tomorrow’s harvest won’t be good."
"Indeed," villagers nodded worriedly.
Those who tail farm for a living, relying on the land to support the family, lived day to day on the whims of the weather. These past two years, harvests were disappointing, with families and children tightening their belts, and at night, the hungry cries of children could be heard throughout the village.
There was nothing Lan Tian could do about the weather.
Mid-December finally brought a heavy snowfall.
Lan Tian, ditating and cultivating late into the night, saw snowflakes drifting outside the window—scattered at first, but by morning, the snowfall was like downy feathers, a heavy flurry, an expansive snowy expanse, with a gray blanket enveloping the sky.
Upon waking, Lan Tian saw everything around was a vast white blur—woods, fields, mountains—all adorned with a silvery layer, transforming the world into an ice kingdom. Icicles, nearly a foot long, hung from the eaves.
In the yard, the bare peach tree was cloaked in a layer of gleaming ice, with its graceful, smooth lines, resembling a masterpiece carved by an ice sculptor—flawlessly perfect, crystal clear. It made one have a desire to destroy its beauty.
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