The Cultivator's Reborn to 1970s
Chapter 85 - 72_2

Chapter 85: 72_2

Lan Tian’s eyes grinned, not sure if she heard Zhao Li, but she didn’t respond anyway.

There were two red head ropes on the ground, which Lan Tian was thinking of throwing away, but after some thought, she didn’t and stored them in her Sleeve Universe. She got up to check on Mo Yuanle’s injuries, saw that there were no issues, picked up several woven covers from the ground, and hopped and skipped to the backyard to look at her Gathering Spirit Grass, gave a bit of Spiritual Energy to the Gathering Spirit Grass, and then went to the window to check on her tea trees. Seeing the tea trees were growing well, Lan Tian was reassured and clapped her hands before returning to the room.

She couldn’t find suitable vermillion, so Lan Tian didn’t think about drawing talismans for now. She picked lots and lots of peach leaves to practice engraving arrays. After practicing for a week, Lan Tian finally successfully engraved an array onto a peach leaf.

There were no shortcuts to this; practice makes perfect. As long as you can control the flow of Spiritual Energy precisely, all you need to do is practice more.

Now, Lan Tian’s success rate had reached 80 percent; eight out of ten peach leaves would be successful, which indicated she had a lot of talent. You must know that Lan Tian had only been practicing for a little over a week; if the Cultivators in the Cultivation World knew how high her success rate was, those array masters would definitely come knocking on her door to take her as a disciple. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the Cultivation World and Lan Tian did not have knowledge in this area; the only one who knew was still in a deep sleep.

After practicing with peach leaves for a few more days and reaching a 90 percent success rate, Lan Tian decided to try engraving arrays on peach beads. She took a peach branch from her Sleeve Universe, cut it up into finger-length small segments, totalling about a hundred, and polished them into beads.

Peach beads were very different from peach leaves; the beads were round, which made engraving arrays onto them much harder than on the flat peach leaves. Fortunately, Lan Tian started with peach leaves, so she had a foundation. After wasting dozens of beads, Lan Tian occasionally managed one successful bead.

Time flew, and in the blink of an eye, it was the end of the month, and tomorrow would be September 1st, the day Lan Tian started school. During these days of hard practice, she ruined countless peach beads, but Lan Tian’s success rate greatly improved. Out of fifty beads, only ten were wasted; the other forty had arrays successfully engraved on them.

There was a kind of Iron Wire Grass in the valley that, after mutation, was as fine as a needle and as tough as iron. Ordinary people couldn’t tear it apart. After Lan Tian refined it with Spiritual Fire, it became even more flexible yet tough, indestructible by ordinary swords. It’s perfect for stringing peach beads. She made four bracelets and had four beads left over, which she strung to wear as an anklet.

The four bracelets, after sacrificial refining, had their Spiritual Energy concealed, looking no different from ordinary wooden products. She gave one each to Grandma Sun, Zhao Li, and Mo Yuanle, asking them to wear them well, but Lan Tian said nothing more.

They didn’t need Lan Tian’s instructions; anything she gave was treasured by their families as if it were gold. Grandma Sun and Zhao Li didn’t think much of it, assuming Lan Tian bought it in the town; however, Mo Yuanle took a few extra glances at the peach bead bracelet on his wrist.

In the morning, the family got busy. Lan Tian was decked out in new attire from head to toe, with new clothes, new shoes, and a brand new backpack with a new hair tie. She carried the school fees that Zhao Li gave her and went to meet Shitou at the entrance of the village with Grandma Sun.

A couple of days earlier, Zhao Li went to Shitou’s house to make arrangements for taking Lan Tian to the school with them. The two kids played together since they were little and could be considered childhood sweethearts. Shitou occasionally ate at Lan Tian’s house when they were busy. Shitou’s mother always felt indebted, and naturally agreed with excitement to help this time.

Shitou’s father was sending Shitou to register today and could take Lan Tian along. On such an important day, Mo Yuanle usually took part; he ought to be the one taking Lan Tian to school, but unfortunately, his foot was still not healed and he couldn’t go. For the last couple of days, he had started complaining about his leg and secretly practiced walking behind his family’s back. When Lan Tian found out, she seriously criticized and educated him.

Hui Li and Taohua were in the same grade and read the fifth grade, while Lan Tian and Shitou were in the fourth grade. Grandma Sun said that Hui Li went to her grandmother’s house a few days before, living and eating there, which was right next to the school, only a few steps away. She would come back home on Sundays when her father picked her up.

Taohua’s grandmother’s house was also nearby, in the neighboring village, not as close as Hui Li’s grandmother’s, about a fifteen-minute walk. Lan Tian heard from Taohua’s classmate Cha Hua, who told Shitou that Taohua didn’t like her grandmother’s place and apparently fought with her cousins there. They didn’t know exactly why, but it was quite intense, and afterward, she refused to stay at her grandmother’s place.

Later, the village chief bought a bicycle, and Taohua’s brother would ride her to and from school every morning and evening. The day the bicycle was bought, the entire village was abuzz, adults and children gathered around in awe, touching the bike’s frame and feeling various degrees of envy and jealousy. Shitou, Tie Jun, and others dragged Lan Tian to have a look. The whole spectacle irritated Black Dog and Hei Gouzi, who, by the river outside the village, vowed to grow up and buy a tractor to bring back to the village, much more impressive than the village chief’s bicycle, and drive it around the village every day to make others envious.

Lan Tian listened and rolled her eyes.

Lan Tian and Grandma Sun arrived at the village entrance, where Shitou was squatting on the ground doing something. Dazhuang crouched by the village entrance, looking back into the village, and stood up to greet them when he saw them approaching. Taohua was nowhere to be seen, likely her brother had already taken her to school on his bicycle.

It was getting late, and everything that needed to be said at home had been said. Grandma Sun gave a few instructions to Lan Tian, spoke with Dazhuang for a bit, and Lan Tian called out "Hello Uncle Dazhuang" and went to play with Shitou. Shitou was thrilled to see her and took Lan Tian aside to whisper. After Grandma Sun finished speaking with Dazhuang, the three walked out of the village.

Lan Tian didn’t often see Shitou’s dad; Grandma Sun said he was a bricklayer who often worked outside building houses for people, and when he was free, he would come back to the village to do work as his family was doing alright. Being well-traveled and worldly, he valued education, and naturally, he wanted Shitou to go to school, plus Shitou’s grades were not bad.

Shitou was talkative, chatting non-stop along the way, chirpy and lively, which wasn’t boring at all. He asked Lan Tian why she hadn’t been seen for so long. Was it because she was picking herbs in the mountains? Or was it true, as some people in the village said, she was learning medicine from her uncle? Then he offered to carry Lan Tian’s backpack, but she refused, shaking her head; his own backpack was still being carried by his dad.

Dazhuang remained silent all the way, listening to the two kids talk, principally his son Shitou, with Grandma Sun’s girl occasionally chiming in.