CHAPTER 241: 204

Master earns enough money by treating patients to make ends meet, but certainly not enough spare cash to buy land or orchards. However, that money does not belong to her Third Brother. Chunhua had been in the army and knew the salaries there well. Her Third Brother, with his position, could at most earn a couple hundred yuan a month, and he even needed to send money back to his parents. He didn’t have much spare money, so how could he afford such a large piece of land?

Chunhua looked at her coldly, "With that little money Third Brother has, he couldn’t even afford a toilet. How did you know Grandma Sun’s address? I’ve never told you." Chunhua was curious about how Chun Mei knew Grandma Sun’s address.

Speaking of which, Chun Mei was quite smug, "You think you’re the only one who knows, and others don’t? If you don’t tell me, naturally someone else will."

"Who told you?"

"I don’t know, someone wrote to me," Chun Mei was impatient with these trivialities, her main concern was money, "Anyway, it’s someone from Shanghai, and the letter was posted from Shanghai."

Unable to get any more information, Chunhua stopped asking and instead inquired about Chun Mei’s purpose for coming to Shanghai, "What brings you to Shanghai?"

Chunhua knew her sister Chun Mei too well, she never did anything unless there was something in it for her. Chun Mei would not bother unless there was some benefit for her. Chunhua could never feel close to this sister, who even wanted to meddle in her marriage. The last time she went back, she even wanted to introduce a pig butcher to her, a man known to have a bad temperament and was prone to hitting people. To think that her own sister would suggest such a person, Chunhua felt chilled even now thinking about it.

Mo Junhua came back, and Chun Mei dare not entertain those earlier thoughts, her gaze fixated on Chunhua, the extinguished plotting coming alive again. She reckoned, she and Chunhua were blood sisters, better to keep the benefits within the family, having more people made it better than her alone.

Chunhua had a good relationship with Lan Tian, and Third Brother would also treat Chunhua well because of it. Maybe if Chunhua spoke to Lan Tian it could work, if not, even better if Chunhua and Lan Tian had a falling out, at most Third Brother would scold Chunhua a few times.

After planning, Chun Mei smiled radiantly, "Chunhua, if we weren’t real sisters, I wouldn’t even talk to you about this."

Chunhua remained unimpressed.

"Look, the two of us and Third Brother are true siblings, but look how he’s put all his money into Lan Tian’s family. Look at this house and the land. Our dad and mom struggled back at home and received nothing."

Chunhua stared at Chun Mei strangely as if guessing her motive, yet finding it hard to believe.

"We shouldn’t ask for much, half will do, take it back for Dad and Mom to get some nice treats, it’s only fair and sensible. You are close with Lan Tian, you should talk to Lan Tian about this."

"Sister, has your brain been caught in a door!" Chunhua regarded Chun Mei as if looking at a lunatic, "How do you know Uncle can’t afford a house and land? Lan Tian’s Grandpa’s family is wealthy. Listen, Third Brother’s situation with Lan Tian isn’t easy. If you try to meddle or stir up trouble, just wait for Third Brother to handle you. Sister, you better rush back home. Your husband is alone managing the shop, and it’s uncertain whether that shop will still be yours when you return."

The two sisters thought they were hidden in a corner speaking in secrecy, unaware that every word was overheard by Little Tao and relayed to Lan Tian.

After hearing Little Tao’s words, Lan Tian raised an eyebrow, not expecting Chun Mei to harbor such great ambitions for their family property and land, even ridiculously wanting half of it. Unfortunately for her, even if Lan Tian agreed, Mo Junhua certainly would not let Chun Mei succeed.

Lan Tian kept this matter in mind, pondering how to drive Chun Mei away, and slowly strolled forward. Although her pace seemed slow, each step actually covered several meters. This was a result of Lan Tian’s newly learned Shrinking Ground Technique. With her Qi Cultivation Stage Cultivation, she could only stride six or seven meters at a time. After reaching the Foundation Establishment, it could be dozens of meters, and the higher the cultivation, the greater the distance covered. A Nascent Soul cultivator using the Shrinking Ground Technique could travel thousands of miles in a single step.

Soon she arrived at the edge of the orchard, which Mo Yuanle had been managing for several years, pouring a lot of effort into. The orchard was thriving beautifully, with lush peach leaves and heavy branches of red and green peaches bending downward. Lan Tian leisurely walked inside.

Lan Tian made a round but didn’t see Mo Yuanle. She turned a corner and headed towards the Pear Garden in the east. Next to it was a separately cultivated Medicinal Garden. Over the years, various medicinal herbs had been planted intermittently, especially those rare ones. Not far after turning the corner, she saw a busy figure in the Medicinal Garden.

"Uncle,"

Lan Tian called out from a distance. Mo Yuanle, busy in the field, looked up and saw her, slightly surprised, "Back already."

Originally, the girl had told him that after joining the military, she wouldn’t return home and would go directly into seclusion with her Master to enhance her cultivation, only returning once it had improved. Since she had come back, there must be a reason she couldn’t avoid.

Approaching, Lan Tian saw a large patch of Heart-opening Grass planted there. The tips of the lush Heart-opening Grass were adorned with bean-sized white buds, about to bloom. Lan Tian looked closely—within a week, all these buds would be flowering.

"Why are you back? No more seclusion?" Mo Yuanle put down his hoe, walked out of the medicinal field, and threw the weeds in his hand to one side, looking at the remaining less than one-third of the area, planning to clean it up after lunch.

"It was coincidental. In the military, I ran into Mo Junhua returning from a mission. Grandma has always talked about him, wanting a family reunion. I figured a few days wouldn’t matter for my seclusion. After discussing it with my Master, he agreed to let me stay at home for a few days. Afterwards, I’ll have to return to continue my cultivation, so I came back with him."

"Have you been in the military all these days?" Mo Junhua looked at Lan Tian with a hint of skepticism. The girl was least patient with staying in the military. This time it was almost nearly ten days, which was strange indeed.

That’s why being too well-understood by family isn’t always good —even lying becomes difficult.

Lan Tian chuckled awkwardly, "After he returned from the mission, he was constantly busy with wrapping things up. I was thinking of coming back first, but I was worried about Grandma and the others always asking, so I decided to stay in the military until he finished his work and come back together."

"Uncle, when is Chun Mei going back? She won’t stay in our house forever, right? Look, she has been here for almost a month without mentioning going back. I believe her intentions for coming here are not simple. She’s been asking around the village about who bought our house and land, and where the money came from. What do you think she’s trying to do by asking these questions?"

Once, Chun Mei had inquired about such things from the villagers, which Lan Tian had overheard. At that time, Lan Tian didn’t care, but after listening to their conversation today, Lan Tian finally understood her purpose.

Lan Tian shared this with Mo Yuanle to give him a heads-up, considering Grandma Sun is too easygoing. Just a few complaints from Chun Mei might indeed persuade her to hand over some money. Zhao Li has a fiery temper, and Chun Mei didn’t have the courage to speak with her; she’d have to discuss it with Zhao Li afterwards.

"Has anything happened in the military recently?"

Lan Tian’s heart skipped a beat. Could it be that Mo Junhua’s matter was exposed? She glanced casually at Mo Yuanle, who was lingering his gaze on the Heart-opening Grass, relieving her heart. It seemed like her uncle was unaware of Mo Junhua’s case, but she couldn’t decipher the meaning behind Mo Yuanle’s question.

"I don’t know," Lan Tian responded with a genuinely puzzled expression. "I’ve been staying indoors all day and didn’t go out, so I don’t know if anything happened in the military. Uncle, from what you’re implying, has something major happened in the military?"