The Cultivator's Reborn to 1970s
Chapter 57 (additional update)

Chapter 57: 57 (additional update)

Zhao Li looked back and forth several times but couldn’t discern what Lan Tian was trying to express.

Where were the red flowers?

"Tiantian, I’ll write it for you!"

She couldn’t understand this Heavenly Book and handed it to Mo Yuanle to see if he could understand it. Mo Yuanle glanced at it and handed it to Grandma Sun, who also didn’t see any red flowers and asked Lan Tian puzzled, "Where are the red flowers?"

Zhao Li nodded, right, she hadn’t seen them either.

Lan Tian snatched the letter paper and folded it into a stack, "Grandma, I wrote everything in the letter. Red flowers, pounding rice cakes, sweeping the house, going to town to buy New Year’s goods, it’s all drawn in there. It doesn’t matter if you can’t read it, Mo Junhua will definitely understand it."

Then he told Zhao Li, "No, aunt should write for me. What’s the big deal! Mo Junhua, such a grown man doesn’t write, you never see him getting others to write for him. I’m just in kindergarten, it’s normal that I can’t write. When I know more characters later, I’ll write then."

Grandma Sun and both failed to convince Lan Tian, so they let him be, and the next day Mo Yuanle helped her mail the letter.

Mo Yuanle sent a registered letter, pasting three stamps, hoping it could be delivered before the New Year. Since it was a military letter and a registered letter, Mo Junhua received it on the afternoon of the 30th. Seeing Lan Tian’s name written as the sender on the envelope, Mo Junhua was ecstatic all afternoon.

Back in the dormitory, he opened it to see that the envelope contained only two sheets of paper with few words, the rest were drawings.

As Lan Tian said, Mo Junhua could really understand the drawings. That new recruit peeked over again, saw the same drawings, and his mouth twitched, truly a family.

Although the letter didn’t mention him at all, Mo Junhua felt warm-hearted, as if seeing a child pouting, an expression of helplessness. He slept with the letter pressed to his chest at night, feeling the child was very close, close enough to embrace with outstretched hands.

On the 29th attach the couplets, all placable parts of the house were decorated. On the hall door, the upper half had New Year pictures of children, and right in the middle a reversed Fu (blessing) character was attached. It symbolized the blessing sent by the immortal child.

Zhao Li posted the New Year picture of a child and compared it to Lan Tian, feeling Lan Tian looked even better than the New Year’s child and took it to Grandma Sun to confirm if she was right.

On New Year’s Eve, after the New Year’s dinner, Lan Tian, Grandma Sun, Mo Yuanle, and Zhao Li stayed up together. In that era, there were no entertainments, no mobile phones, no television, no gala to watch. The three adults played card games, and the loser got a red strip stuck on their face while Lan Tian helped with sticking the notes.

The house had no alarm clock, so they estimated the approximate time. The village erupted with the first firecracker sound, like bamboo shoots after rain, ’pilipala’ everywhere with firecracker sounds. Mo Yuanle set off two strings of firecrackers and then went to sleep.

Around five or six in the early morning, firecracker sounds began intermittently in the village, and after finishing his small cycle of cultivation, Lan Tian was called by Mo Yuanle outside to have breakfast.

The first day of the New Year.

Lan Tian wore brand-new red corduroy lantern clothes and new patterned quilted cloth shoes. With her hair neatly arranged in buns and tied with a red hair rope, she rushed to the kitchen to wish Grandma Sun a happy new year.

"Grandma, happy New Year! Wishing you good health and everything goes well in the new year!"

"Good good good," Grandma Sun’s face bloomed like chrysanthemums, pulling out a big red packet wrapped in red paper for Lan Tian. Lan Tian grabbed the red packet, her eyes squinting into a smile, ’bah’ gave Grandma Sun a kiss on her face.

"Aunt, happy New Year! Wishing you good health, everything goes well, and become more beautiful in the new year!" Zhao Li’s face was alight with joy, embracing Lan Tian and kissing her twice, also giving her a big red packet. Lan Tian treated her equally and kissed her once. Then, she ran off to find Mo Yuanle.

Mo Yuanle, holding two strings of firecrackers, was waiting for her in the yard. Lan Tian hopped over, hand extended, "Uncle, happy New Year! Wishing you good health and everything goes well in the new year, now give me the red packet."

Mo Yuanle gave her a big red packet, even larger than what Grandma Sun and Zhao Li had given, and Lan Tian grinned until her teeth were all that could be seen. Once the firecracker fired, they tossed it in the yard and the family went in for breakfast.

The first day involved giving new year wishes to parents. Mo Yuanle’s parents were no longer there, and he now lived with Grandma Sun; the couple’s first thing in the morning was wishing her well.

This New Year was lively, Grandma Sun’s eyes brimmed with moisture, she now had children and grandchildren, her life was complete.

Mo Yunle and Zhao Li were also teary-eyed, with elders above and a daughter below, their lives were complete too. For Lan Tian, just having those three important people alive and well in this world was enough, nothing else was demanded.

For this day, Lan Tian specifically brought out her brewed wild wine, a cup for each person. Grandma Sun and Zhao Li tasted it, found it very nice, sweet without the sourness of wild grapes. They poured another cup to drink, praising Lan Tian for her good taste.

The second day, visiting relatives. Grandma Sun and Zhao Li kept watch at home, while Mo Yuanle took Lan Tian to visit Fourth Grandpa first, then the village chief’s house, greeting several well-linked houses in the village. Lan Tian’s pockets in her clothes and trousers were filled with sunflower seeds and candies; upon returning, she spilled them out, joining her friends Shitou, Tie Jun, and Black Dog, visiting each house to wish new year.

After the new year wishes, Shitou suggested a snowball fight, with Tie Jun and Black Dog agreeing. Normally, Lan Tian didn’t voice opinions on games, just followed along to play.

Taohua asked to join, but was rejected outright by Tie Jun—who didn’t want girls joining.

Taohua, face flushing red with anger, pointed at Lan Tian and asked, "Why can Lan Tian join? She’s also a girl?"

Lan Tian rolled her eyes as if she were troublesome.

Tie Jun was even angrier than Taohua, yelling, "Lan Tian never cries when playing with us, but you cry, go home and tattle, making my dad beat me, just go away."

So, it ended up with Lan Tian, Shitou, Tie Jun, and Black Dog heading to have a snowball fight, while Taohua and a group of girls built a snowman by the side.

After the New Year, with just a few days of play, the day to start school arrived, and the friends felt the days passed too quickly, not having been able to play enough before starting school. On the registration day, Mo Yuanle carried Lan Tian to school to register, Lan Tian wanted to walk by herself, but Mo Yuanle refused, citing the thick snow on the road which made it easy to slip.

Time swiftly passed, and in the blink of an eye, four years went by and Lan Tian was ten years old.