CHAPTER 49: 49

After school, as I arrived home, I saw Yanhua by the side of the yard sun-drying medicinal herbs, mumbling to herself. Lan Tian, in the Qi Cultivation Stage, heard her reciting the medicinal properties of the herbs. Grandma Sun was beneath the camphor tree, weaving the sole of a shoe.

"Grandma, I’m going out to play with Shitou," I said as I dropped my schoolbag inside the house and ran to the storage room to fill my pockets with oranges, grabbing a few extra to eat as I bolted out the door. Grandma Sun’s voice carried from the distance, "Don’t stay out too late."

"Got it." Lan Tian responded, and dashed towards the riverbank. Shitou had already arrived there, along with Tie Jun and Black Dog; Lan Tian was the last one to show up. Tie Jun and Black Dog had skipped class to be there. Since they’d already skipped, Lan Tian wasn’t going to be pretentious and make them go back.

The oranges were divided amongst the four of us, two for each person. After some discussion, we decided to have a wild cookout with grilled crabs and shrimps. Two dug a hole, and two went to catch crabs in the river, decided by drawing straws. We tore four leaves, on which we wrote either "river" for crab-catching or "hole" for digging. Whoever pulled a particular leaf would do the corresponding task.

Black Dog and I dug the hole, while Tie Jun and Shitou went into the river to catch crabs. Digging the hole was simple enough; we used stones to dig into the grassy ground by the riverbank. With sharp rocks in hand, Black Dog and I quickly dug out a hole. After digging the hole, we went to gather some dry firewood. Shitou and Tie Jun came back with big bunches of crabs, with the largest the size of their palms and the smallest the size of a thumb. We threw them into the fire, and when they turned red and released their delicious aroma, we’d pull them out to eat.

Taohua arrived at the riverbank after school, just as the group of four, full and content, was preparing to disband and head home, which left Taohua stamping her feet in frustration behind us. Somehow, Grandma Sun got wind that Lan Tian had received the teacher’s red flowers as an award. At dinner, she asked me, "Girl, where’s the red flower your teacher awarded you? Get it out and let’s show your uncle and aunt."

Coughing on her food, Lan Tian nearly choked, thumping her chest and shaking her head, refusing to admit it. She wondered who the big-mouthed gossiper could have been.

Grandma Sun looked at Zhao Li with a smile and said, "Oh, the girl’s shy about it, but that’s incredible. Let me tell you, girl, now that you’ve got red flowers, you should study even harder, no slacking off! Go on, bring it out for us all to see, we won’t take it from you."

It sounded as if Lan Tian was too fond of it to let it go. Rolling her eyes, Lan Tian wondered where on earth Grandma thought she saw her being shy. Mo Yuanle was also eagerly waiting for her to produce it. Unable to withstand the pressure, Lan Tian fished out the crumpled little red flower from her schoolbag.

"This is the big red flower given by the teacher." Lan Tian tossed it onto the table carelessly. You guys can look if you want; it doesn’t bother me. In Lan Tian’s mind, she was a pig unafraid of scalding water.

"What happened to it?" Zhao Li was taken aback upon receiving the flower.

"I’m the only one in the class who got the teacher’s flower. The classmates wanted to see it, and I felt it would be rude to refuse. The teacher said we should be united and love each other, and after everyone had a look, it ended up like this." The paper flower was a marvel to the three adults, who examined it in turn as if they could discern something floral from it.

Not wanting the flower, Lan Tian found an excuse, "Grandma, you keep it for me. I’m afraid to bring it to school tomorrow; it might turn into a ball of red paper by the time I get back. This is the first red flower I’ve ever received; it’s worth keeping as a memento."

Grandma Sun thought this idea was excellent and went inside to find a small box to store it in, while Zhao Li carefully adjusted each petal to restore its appearance.

This very red flower had Grandma Sun lighting incense to tell Grandpa about it, which made Lan Tian purse her lips in acknowledgment as she was also involved in the ritual.

For several nights in a row, Lan Tian used the time to consolidate her cultivation. Having stabilized the first level of Qi Cultivation, Lan Tian began planning her medicinal bath for wash the marrow and cut the tendons, in preparation for body training.

On Sunday, there was no school, and Lan Tian meditated for Cultivation until seven in the morning, ate breakfast, and then went back to her room to catch up on sleep.

With rain outside and no farm work to be done, Zhao Li stayed indoors knitting a sweater, while Grandma Sun ground chili and fried peanuts for dinner. The whole house was filled with aroma, saliva-inducing smells that made even Mo Yuanle, who had gone to the fields to check on the water, drool.

Used to Lan Tian’s schedule, Yanhua hadn’t seen her and casually inquired. Hearing that Lan Tian was still asleep, the corners of Yanhua’s mouth twitched as she went to the Medicinal Herb House to organize herbs.

Waking up around ten, Lan Tian walked through the hall and was enticed by the aroma. She went to Grandma Sun and tasted some of the peanut butter from the bowl; it was spicy, crunchy, and delicious, leaving a lingering flavor.

Dragging her feet to the Medicine House, Lan Tian greeted Yanhua as "Cousin" and opened some drawers to look at the herbal medicine chart. Yanhua glanced at Lan Tian a few times and, feeling her pocket, pulled out a piece of flaky, soft candy and headed towards Lan Tian.

"Lan Tian, have some, this sweet flaky candy is very sweet." This piece of candy was given to her by her mother behind her grandpa’s back last night. Yanhua had only taken one bite and couldn’t bring herself to finish it, keeping it in her pocket and nibbling a bit when she craved something sweet.

Yanhua broke off a large piece of the three-finger-wide candy to give to Lan Tian, keeping only a small bit for herself.

Lan Tian looked at Yanhua and glanced at the candy in her hand but didn’t take it. In the countryside, candies were a rare treat. One wouldn’t get to eat them often, perhaps only a few times a year, unless the family was well-off enough to afford them once a month, which would be considered luxurious living. Only one or two families in the village could indulge in such a luxury, like Taohua’s family and Yanhua’s second uncle’s family.

Yanhua was someone who wouldn’t wake up early without a profit. Lan Tian preferred not to have much to do with her. In their past lives, they weren’t close despite living in the same village. Lan Tian had heard about the things Yanhua had done; the villagers even called her an ingrate.

Yanhua got married at fifteen, and on her wedding day, she ran away from her husband’s family with their well-guarded money, and then there was no news from her. The husband’s family, unable to find her, went to the village to demand that Yanhua’s family return the bride, and when they couldn’t, they accused her family of marriage fraud and threatened to file a complaint at the town’s police station.

Eventually, the village chief intervened and negotiated with the husband’s family. Yanhua’s family agreed to return the bridal money and additionally compensated them with one hundred yuan to settle the matter.

Months later, Yanhua came back, dressed strikingly, leading a well-dressed man to her family, claiming she had found a city dweller. They had returned to visit, and she declared she’d be a city person from then on. She didn’t mention when they would get married nor hold a wedding banquet. After staying one night, she left three hundred yuan and departed.

Later, it was heard that she broke up with that man and found someone else. After that, Lan Tian didn’t know any further.