CHAPTER 288: CHAPTER 246

"Grandma, you’re still not well, how come you’re out again with Granny? Grandpa has been looking everywhere for you. It’s perfect timing, you two can go back together and take your medicine."

"You’re the grandma, your whole family is grandmas, I’m not sick."

Lan Tian chimed in, "Sick people never admit they’re sick."

The onlookers nodded in agreement; that’s the way it is.

"No, who are you? I don’t know you?" The young girl stamped her foot in anger, then realizing Lan Tian was insulting her, retorted, "You’re the one who’s sick."

Pointing at Mo Yuanle and then at Lan Tian, as if suddenly understanding, she accused, "You’re in cahoots!"

"What if we are?" Lan Tian looked them up and down, "Just now you were calling yourself ’grandma.’ Since you so want to be someone’s grandma, I’ll grant you that. I always respect the elderly and cherish the young. Granny, Grandma, Grandma, Granny, go home and take medicine if you’re sick, and take it anyway to prevent sickness if you’re not."

A pretty young girl calling two younger girls "Granny" and "Grandma" was a situation ripe for laughter, but Lan Tian said it with such a calm face, claiming she ’respects the elderly and cherishes the young,’ that the surrounding people’s gaze turned serious, filled with censure towards the two young girls.

In this era, people have higher moral awareness, and the folk customs are still very simple; the noble virtue of ’respecting the elderly and cherishing the young’ has been passed down.

The man driving the ox cart didn’t do it on purpose, even came forward to inquire, but these two girls just cursed at him, behaving worse than a shrewish woman in the countryside. Judging from their attire, they looked educated; how could they be so lacking in quality, calling themselves ’grandma’ in every other word—it’s no wonder people call them grannies.

The crowd was abuzz with discussions.

"How come nowadays girls are like this, nothing like our generation."

"Exactly, the other day on the bus, I offered my seat to an elderly person, and some girl just sat down in it..."

"Ah, when all is said and done, it’s because their parents didn’t teach them well."

"You’re right, brother. It’s just a few bad apples; most young people are still good. I saw a young man on the train to Shanghai who was so reluctant to eat his own food, he’d rather go hungry, and bought something for an old lady next to him instead. I thought she was his grandma until she got off partway through the journey. Only after asking did I find out they didn’t know each other at all."

......

No one knew how the conversation had drifted off-topic.

"Girl, let it go," Mo Yuanle shook his hand, signaling to Lan Tian to drop it, "it’s just a small matter not worth fussing over. Let’s all disperse."

The two girls had already slunk away, and the onlookers, seeing that the troublemakers had left and there was no spectacle to watch, dispersed as well.

Mo Yuanle led the ox cart over, and Lan Tian glanced at the two retreating girls, locked onto them with Divine Sense, waved her hand, and a blade of wind slashed across their buttocks, leaving a long cut. The girls walked with a wiggle, imitating the snake dance made popular on TV recently, revealing a patch of white flesh. Those behind wanted to remind them, but they feared being accused of harassment, so they said nothing, judging the decline of social morality.

Lan Tian was satisfied. Some people need to suffer a loss to learn how to respect others.

An elderly lady couldn’t stand it anymore, stepped forward to stop the two girls, and told them that there was a long tear at the back of their pants and urged them to hurry home and change clothes.

The elderly lady spoke very loudly, and the passersby nearby all heard her and instinctively looked towards the girls’ buttocks. Terrified, the girls covered their bottoms with their hands, and one of them, disbelieving, reached back to check and indeed felt a tear, then screamed and ran away.

Lan Tian had been keeping Divine Sense on those two girls, and seeing them scream and lose control, running away, she indifferently withdrew her Divine Sense,

"Uncle, are you okay?"

"I’m fine, let’s go, your grandma must be getting anxious."

When Mo Junhua and Lin Guofu arrived, there was a crowd gathered around and they couldn’t push through, but Lan Tian’s voice could be heard from inside. Lin Guofu nudged Mo Junhua’s arm, "You had it rough."

Mo Junhua was baffled by Lin Guofu’s sympathetic look.

Such a fierce girl, only Mo Junhua could handle her. Lin Guofu truly thought Mo Junhua had an issue with his eyes; if Lan Tian wasn’t family, Lin Guofu would have suggested that he find another girl.

The crowd dispersed, and then the two men made their way over. Mo Junhua went over to lead the ox cart, asking with concern, "Uncle, are you alright?"

"I’m fine, where is your grandma?"

"She’s with Granny Lin," Lan Tian pointed in the direction ahead, "Uncle, don’t go over there, it’s too crowded ahead, it would be troublesome to go in and then come out."

"It’s not a bother." Mo Yuanle curved his lips into a smile. He enjoyed accompanying his daughter to school, the feeling of parents accompanying their children was wonderful, though it was a pity that the girl had grown up and couldn’t hang on his arm like when she was little.

Upon arriving where Granny Lin and the others were, Lan Tian stepped forward and called out politely, "Granny Lin, what brings you here?"

"Miss Lan Tian is heading off on a long journey, so I came to see her off. Who knows when she’ll be back? In my opinion, going to college in Shanghai is good enough. Why go so far away? It’s cold in winter and hot in summer, and the food is different from ours." Granny Lin had stayed in Beijing before and knew the situation there. "Sister Sun, you’re really okay with letting Miss Lan Tian go so far? And we don’t even know if she’ll be able to adjust. I remember a girl from the south who couldn’t adapt to Beijing’s winter and cried all the way home, saying it was too cold and she couldn’t stand it. She never went back to Beijing after that."

Granny Sun felt a chill in her heart and thought about persuading the girl not to go. But then Zhao Li said, "Aunt Lin, don’t scare Tiantian. She didn’t want to go in the first place and was worried about not having an excuse. With what you’re saying, she’s even less inclined now."

Zhao Li’s words alleviated Granny Sun’s concerns. A child has to grow up and see the world, so that they can walk further in life.

Lan Tian pursed her lips, pulled on Mo Junhua’s sleeve, and signalled him to quickly speak up. Mo Junhua shook his head, also signalling Lan Tian not to say anything. It wasn’t appropriate for the younger generation to speak while the elders were talking.

"I’ve prepared some things for Miss Lan Tian to take to Beijing," Granny Lin said as she pulled out a bunch of items from the cart, ranging from food to daily necessities, even including two quilts.

Lan Tian glanced over and saw that Granny Lin had prepared even more than Grandma Sun and Zhao Li.

"Granny Lin, you can’t bring so many things on the train," Lan Tian repeated the excuse she had used on Grandma Sun before. The items were more plentiful than the people and took up space; the people on the train would mind, for sure.

"You don’t need to carry all that. Just take some snacks on the train, and the rest can be shipped by rail," Granny Lin said confidently, experienced in shipping things every few months. "See if there’s anything else you’re missing; we can send more later."

"It’s enough; grandma and my aunt have also prepared some stuff. With what Granny Lin has prepared, I practically have double of everything." Despite saying so, it had no effect. Granny Lin did as she pleased, and Lan Tian couldn’t be bothered to argue anymore.