The Cultivator's Reborn to 1970s
Chapter 115 - 97 (second update)

Chapter 115: 97 (second update)

After saying that, he picked up the bucket and went to the yard to scrub. Lan Tian watched his retreating figure thoughtfully. Mo Junhua’s expression remained calm, but Lan Tian heard anger in his voice—was it because she might get hurt?

The direction in which things in the world were developing was becoming increasingly weird. Lan Tian couldn’t figure it out, and was too lazy to think about it. Anyway, she was the one who benefited.

Always receiving Mo Junhua’s kindness made Lan Tian feel uneasy, which was not conducive to her spiritual cultivation. She contemplated whether she should be a bit nicer to him. By "a bit nicer," she meant just the tiniest tad. After pondering, Lan Tian decided to let it be for now and reconsider it later.

After Mo Junhua finished scrubbing the bucket, he brought it back into the room, poured water for Lan Tian, mixed in hot water to test the temperature, and finding it neither too hot nor too cold—just right, he said, "Go ahead and bathe, I’ll take the clothes out."

He got up and took his change of clothes from the wardrobe out to the yard. Lan Tian watched his movements silently without saying a word. After he went out, she undressed to bathe. After soaking for about half an hour, Lan Tian got up, toweled off, and got dressed.

It was indeed inconvenient to be married—she had to watch the time even for a bath. She opened the door and looked out into the yard.

Only Mo Junhua was there, fresh from his bath, his hair still damp. His clothes from the day had been changed—now wearing a white singlet and long pants, he sat in the yard. The elderly couple Mr. Mo and Wang Guiyu, who were usually enjoying the cool air in the yard, were not present, and the lights were off in the house; Chunlai, his brothers, their wives, and their children were also not around, it was unclear whether they had gone out or gone to bed, as there were no sounds coming from the house.

Light was on in Chunhua’s room, from where the murmuring of recitation could be heard, presumably she was reciting something.

Mo Junhua heard the noise of the door opening behind him and looked over. Seeing that Lan Tian had finished bathing, he picked up a stool and walked towards her.

"Where are dad and mom?" Lan Tian asked him.

"They’ve gone to the village to enjoy the cool, they told us not to wait for them and to sleep first if we’re tired." Mo Junhua walked towards the house, glancing at the tub, and asked Lan Tian, "Finished washing?"

"Yep, all done," Lan Tian replied as she came in from behind and closed the door.

Mo Junhua went to dump the water in the tub, but Lan Tian called out to stop him, "Don’t pour it out yet, leave it, I need it to soak the clothes. Where are your changed clothes?"

"I washed them, they are hanging outside to dry."

Lan Tian’s lips twitched; his speed was remarkable! She turned to see him still holding the tub and moving to leave, about to call him back when she saw the clothes hanging around his neck—those were not the ones she had taken off.

"Why are you taking my clothes? Put them down, I need to wash them." Lan Tian felt communication was failing with him and went after him to take the clothes off his neck. Mo Junhua, still holding the tub, took two big steps forward to dodge Lan Tian’s reaching hand.

"I’m going to pour the water out and wash them in passing." How casually he said that, Lan Tian pressed her forehead, finding Mo Junhua increasingly unpredictable. Seeing his determined look, she guessed she probably wouldn’t get her clothes back.

Having been married only a few days, Lan Tian realized she had received many "firsts" from Mo Junhua: the first time he held her hand, the first time she ate the food he cooked, the first time he hugged her, the first time he did her laundry... All things she would not have dared to imagine in her past life. Should she make a gesture of being flattered and overwhelmed?

Wait a second, Mo Junhua was doing her laundry!

Lan Tian suddenly covered her face and wailed, "My underwear!"

The clothes Lan Tian had changed out of consisted of just three pieces: a dress, an undergarment, and a pair of underwear. After washing the dress, there were two small pieces of underwear left in the wooden basin. Thinking that these were Lan Tian’s intimates, even the usually indifferent Mo Junhua had a burning hot face; his fingertips felt like they were scalding, barely daring to touch them.

With a guilty conscience, Mo Junhua looked around. Good, no one who had gone out for a walk had returned, and Chunhua from the room wouldn’t be coming out anytime soon. With no one watching, he picked up the clothing which looked like two bundled up bags but didn’t seem like clothing, and inspected them.

Women are truly a mysterious creature; even their clothing is so mysterious. Mo Junhua examined and even held them up against his chest a few times but couldn’t figure out how they were supposed to be worn. Suddenly hearing a commotion from inside the house, he quickly threw the clothes into the basin and anxiously glanced at the house to see that Lan Tian had not come out, which relieved him. Hastily rubbing them together a few times, he washed them and hung them out to dry.

Lan Tian was still agonizing over her underwear. Hearing footsteps heading towards the house, she quickly lay down in bed and covered herself entirely with the blanket. Mo Junhua entered the room, saw the lump under the blanket on the bed, and couldn’t help but find it funny. His previous guilt disappeared, and he chuckled, turned off the light, and went to bed.

Upon waking in the morning, Lan Tian found herself again in Mo Junhua’s arms. Compared to the first day’s astonishment, she casually said good morning to Mo Junhua. Without blushing, she drew back the leg resting on his, and casually removed the hand that was around her waist, nudged with her head, indicating for him to stop pretending to be asleep and to get up without blocking the way.

Mo Junhua was amenable, opened his eyes, and got out of bed, wearing nothing on the upper body. He went to put on his clothes. He wasn’t sure when he had taken off last night’s singlet, which was thrown over the back of a chair. Mo Junhua picked up the singlet and put it on, glancing back towards the bed.

Every morning, this little show of a beautiful man dressing had made Lan Tian’s once lifeless heart start ’thumping’ again. She murmured "demon" and got out of bed too.

Lan Tian picked at her breakfast and ate only a few bites; today was her third day of marriage and the day of her homecoming. She couldn’t wait to return to her family. Seeing the food Lan Tian left, Wang Guiyu frowned, but before she could say anything, Mo Junhua began eating Lan Tian’s leftovers.

Such incidents had happened a lot in the past two days, and Lan Tian had become accustomed and indifferent. Her indifference unsettled the whole family, who stared open-mouthed as he finished eating. Once Mo Junhua’s cold gaze swept over, everyone went back to eating or looking at the sky.

After breakfast, Lan Tian told Wang Guiyu and Mr. Mo that she was heading home, and Mo Junhua, carrying the prepared gifts for the homecoming, followed her from behind.

"Grandma, Auntie, Uncle, I’m back!" Lan Tian called from outside the yard, pushing the gate open to see Grandma Sun and Zhao Li cleaning small fish and shrimp.

Lan Tian crouched down, "Eh? Did uncle go fishing? He caught a lot."

The bucket held about seven or eight pounds of small fish and shrimp mixed with weeds, moss, and river sand—a messy mix that would take a while to sort out.

"He went before dawn. Knowing you like them, he caught them especially for you, convenient for you to take back to Shanghai for your studies," said Zhao Li without looking up.

Grandma Sun looked out of the courtyard, "Why are you here alone? Where’s Sanwa?"

Now that they were all family, Grandma Sun followed Wang Guiyu in calling Mo Junhua ’Sanwa’ to show intimacy, and Zhao Li followed suit.

"I ran back; he’s coming up from behind," Lan Tian said indifferently and nonchalantly as she fiddled with the fish in the wooden basin. This made Grandma Sun so exasperated she almost bonked her on the head. Who ever heard of a bride coming home and leaving her husband behind? Lucky for Lan Tian, Sanwa had the patience for her.

"Go, go, get out of here," Grandma Sun shooed Lan Tian away and got up to wait for Mo Junhua at the courtyard gate. Lan Tian’s mouth twisted; indeed, a married daughter was like poured-out water. Just three days into the marriage, she had already fallen out of favor.

Seeing Lan Tian’s pouting face, Zhao Li couldn’t help but chuckle, "Grandma made porridge for you. It’s warming in the kitchen, go eat."

At that, Lan Tian’s face broke into a smile, and she ran skipping to the kitchen. Alright, Lan Tian admitted, she was being childish.

When Mo Junhua arrived and saw Grandma Sun at the gate, he hastily greeted her, and she smiled, welcoming him in. Mo Junhua entered the courtyard, called out to Zhao Li as Auntie, and she answered with a laugh, telling him to go inside.

Mo Yuanle went fishing at three or four in the morning and had just come back, catching up on sleep. Homecoming was a big day, and Zhao Li wanted to wake him to accompany Mo Junhua, but Lan Tian told her not to disturb him.

"Auntie, let my uncle sleep. He went fishing in the middle of the night; his body won’t be able to handle it. We’ve known each other, growing up in the same village, and Sanwa won’t run off; he’ll still be here for the noon meal," Lan Tian stopped her.

Zhao Li glared at Lan Tian, chiding her for being too blunt. Now a married woman, she still spoke her mind without any sign of maturing—just like when she lived at home.

Come to think of it, it was Mo Yuanle who had spoiled Lan Tian. Zhao Li seemed to forget how she indulged Lan Tian herself; if anyone in the village said a word against Lan Tian, Zhao Li was ready to chase them down with a broom.

"Sanwa, don’t mind her; that’s just how the girl is, blunt and straightforward, risking offense. Nor does she realize when she has. She’s always been close to her uncle, and she’s protective of him. Last night, around three or four, she insisted on going fishing for Lan Tian, stubborn as a mule. I’ll have to scold him later; no need to fish on a homecoming day when it can wait a few more days."

Mo Junhua replied with a smile, "It’s because uncle is fond of Lan Tian."

"Indeed," Zhao Li chuckled, "They are as close as one person. If I say something bad about the girl, he gets unhappy, sulks, and won’t talk to anyone for days."

Mo Junhua kept his smile but said nothing; he knew that whenever Zhao Li criticized Lan Tian, Mo Yuanle would give her an earful. Despite Zhao Li’s complaints about her, she was Lan Tian’s parent; parents can disapprove of their child, but heavens forbid anyone else does—their face would be met with immediate disdain.

Of course, in his eyes, Lan Tian was perfect no matter how you looked at her.

Just then, Grandma Sun came out with a bowl of porridge for Mo Junhua and asked him to drink, "Sanwa, have some porridge first, and then take the girl for a walk around. If you’re sleepy, go inside and rest."

Mo Junhua was quite tempted by the latter suggestion; he had longed to share a bed with Lan Tian but hadn’t had the chance. Now, opportunity knocked, and he was more than willing to seize it. It would indeed seem improper to go back to sleep in the morning; that would have to wait until noon.

As the new son-in-law, he naturally had to show diligence—helping Grandma Sun and Zhao Li with household chores, picking vegetables, washing them, chopping wood, sweeping floors, feeding pigs, drying herbs, even accompanying Zhao Li to the cornfield, and returning with some ears of corn, then helping Grandma Sun cook, bustling about non-stop.

Lan Tian sat with crossed legs, eating grapes Zhao Li had washed for her, commanding Mo Junhua to fetch water and sweep grape peels. Grandma Sun warned her from afar, but Lan Tian pretended not to see and carried on her way.