The Cultivator's Reborn to 1970s
Chapter 82 - 70

Chapter 82: 70

As Lan Tian let her mind wander, the three-wheeled vehicle had already arrived.

People waiting by the roadside swarmed over in a rush, fearing that they would be too late to squeeze on. All sorts of chicken and duck cages were thrown in, while Mo Junhua held back with Lan Tian, waiting for everyone to get on first. Then, Mo Junhua lifted Lan Tian aboard before climbing up himself.

Lan Tian clung to the edge of the door, not moving further inside, where the air was too murky. Facing outside the vehicle, she felt less breathless. The people by the door, seeing that she was a child and pale and cute, consciously squeezed further in to make space for her. The villagers were very simple and honest, so Lan Tian turned around and smiled to show her gratitude.

Standing by the door, Lan Tian faced outward, with someone else grabbing the handrail beside her. Being small and not tall enough, she couldn’t reach the handrail above her head, leaving her hands with nowhere to grasp. Therefore, when the vehicle started, she was easily jerked forward.

Mo Junhua, thick-skinned as he was, squeezed over to be by Lan Tian’s side, his back turned to the people inside. Originally he had boarded from the other side, but seeing Lan Tian standing so precariously, he made his way over. Once Mo Junhua arrived, he passed his hand across Lan Tian’s chest to hold her, while grabbing the handrail above with his other hand, securing her from falling off.

Suddenly, a hand reached over and touched her, and Lan Tian tensed up, ready to jab the hand with Spiritual Energy, when Mo Junhua’s voice sounded from above, "Don’t move around carelessly, be careful not to fall off."

Lan Tian certainly wasn’t a real ten-year-old child; in her past life, she had experienced men. Her current small frame was still not developed, her chest flat as a plain, but after all, she was a ten-year-old young lady. What was the deal with a strange man’s hand across her chest? Wasn’t this blatant harassment? Although she didn’t feel much shame, Lan Tian didn’t want to give him the advantage.

Turning around, she wrapped her arms around his waist. Suddenly thinking of something, Lan Tian let out a mischievous smirk, a glint of mischief in her eyes. She buried her head in Mo Junhua’s chest and gently caressed his waist, feeling that for a moment, he tensed up. Lan Tian laughed quietly to herself. Lifting a rock only to drop it on your own foot must hurt, right?

Bad woman!

From the corner of his eye, Mo Junhua saw the person—no, the naughty child—in his arms doing something mischievous and thought to himself. Knowing what Lan Tian was up to, Mo Junhua’s tense body slowly relaxed. Feeling Mo Junhua calming down, Lan Tian also lost the interest to tease him and obediently held still.

The village mud road was full of potholes, and the driver was a God behind the wheel, tossing the car around so much, it swayed even more than a drunken man walking. Nonetheless, no accidents occurred, and Lan Tian felt nervous the whole way, while the villagers seemed used to it, chatting carelessly as if nothing was wrong.

Upon reaching the county town, Lan Tian couldn’t wait to jump off the vehicle, and Mo Junhua followed suit. Now in the county town, Lan Tian finally had a smile on her face. She waved goodbye to Mo Junhua, now there were no excuses, right? Time to scram! The farther, the better.

Feeling elated, Lan Tian strode forward, only to suddenly feel her hand being grasped. Looking down, she saw a large hand holding her wrist. Lan Tian furrowed her brows slightly and turned around calmly to look at Mo Junhua, "We’ve reached the county town, thank you, uncle. You should hurry along now, don’t miss your train because of me, I’m leaving first."

"No rush, the train is in the evening, and we can take a car in the afternoon to make it on time. I haven’t been to the county town for a long time either, so it’s a good opportunity for a wander around. It’s your first time here, and you’re not familiar with many places. Looking door to door, who knows when you’ll find what you need. Whatever you want to buy, I’ll take you there to see if anything’s changed." Mo Junhua led Lan Tian in another direction, "But before that, come with me somewhere first."

What? Lan Tian was stunned, if there was no hurry, why leave so early?

Lan Tian had thought about ditching Mo Junhua, but considering what he’d just said, it seemed quite sensible. Indeed, Lan Tian had never been to the county town, not even in her past life, and had at most been to the town before marrying Mo Junhua. Later, she followed him to the army, and never returned thereafter. Across two lifetimes, this was her first visit to the county town.

"Where to?" Lan Tian followed Mo Junhua reluctantly, looking around curiously.

Indeed, the county town was incomparable to the small towns of the countryside, so much more bustling than the town, with people coming and going on the streets, vendors shouting next to their stands, and the occasional car zooming past, drawing various envious glances from the onlookers.

The county town was divided into new and old streets, with new street to the east and old street to the west. Lan Tian and Mo Junhua were right at the intersection of both, to the left was the new street, to the right the old street. The biggest difference between the two streets was that new street was almost entirely made up of newly popular red-brick houses, each building four or five stories high. On the old street, there were mostly blue-brick houses, some even wooden buildings, mostly around two stories tall. The outside walls had slogans brushed on them, blurred and illegible from the wind and rain.

Lan Tian thought the things she wanted to buy would be on the old street, yet she saw Mo Junhua pulling her towards the new street.

On the new street stood a cinema playing movies, war movies mainly, along with some imported foreign films. The actors’ dress and behavior seemed to sweep through the entire county town like a typhoon. Street fashion trends began to emerge slowly; one could see fashionable young women with curled hair, wearing bright-colored dresses stepping out, girls in sandals carrying small purses.

Young men with thick hair gel, despite the blazing heat, wore jackets, bell-bottoms, and sunglasses, leaning against walls thinking themselves quite dashing. When they spotted a fashionable lady, they would whistle excitedly, provoking her angry retorts. She cursed with gusto as the young man’s whistling grew fierce. Nearby youths egged on, twisting their bodies serpent-like, scaring the passing villagers, who kept their distance as though avoiding the plague.

Lan Tian looked over and thought, this is what youth in the eighties was like! A sight of youth never before seen, what an eye-opener!

The youths, upon seeing Mo Junhua in military uniform and taking a glance at Lan Tian, had astonishment flash in their eyes. Before they could whistle, a chill wind blew in their faces, making them shiver. They promptly straightened their attire, and somewhat properly saluted him, shouting, "Hard work, Uncle People’s Liberation Army!"

Lan Tian chuckled and followed suit, calling out to Mo Junhua, "Hard work, Uncle People’s Liberation Army!"

Mo Junhua glanced at the gleefully laughing Lan Tian, then coldly eyed the youths, his gaze sharp as ice daggers, whooshing over them. The youths, about to salute him, collectively shivered, slowly lowering their hands, cautiously gauging Mo Junhua’s expression, and when they saw he wasn’t paying attention, slipped away along the wall.

Once the youths were out of sight, Mo Junhua continued walking with Lan Tian. Passersby paid no attention; the hooligan-like youths at the corner were gone, and the scene had become like that of a street vegetable seller. Here today, perhaps gone tomorrow—such events happened daily, too common to note. If not here, then they’d be somewhere else.