With Lan Sisi’s diligent harvesting and planting, the farm leveled up to level sixteen and finally unlocked pigs. Each pig weighed around three hundred jin. When they walked, their bodies jiggled, making it easy to think of braised pork, stir-fried pork, and boiled pork slices. Moreover, you could occasionally pick up pieces of pork that they randomly dropped on the ground, sometimes lean meat, sometimes ribs, entirely depending on their mood.
Even more astonishing was the pigs’ appearance. They were actually quite good-looking, with large, bright eyes. When they blinked at you, it was honestly a bit hard to bring yourself to eat them.
Besides pigs, lemons and pumpkins were also unlocked. Lemons were no different from ordinary ones in appearance, but their taste was extremely sour, as if the juice of ten lemons had been concentrated into one. A single slice could make a large cup of lemonade.
The pumpkins were sweet and soft, but enormous. Lan Sisi could not even carry one by herself.
Looking at these fruits and vegetables, Lan Sisi fell into deep thought. She had to find a way to reasonably introduce them into the outside world. Using “trial agricultural products” as an excuse all the time was not a sustainable solution.
Lan Tianzhu had been ill for several days. The village doctor came and said it was a matter of the heart. Even after taking several doses of medicine, there was no improvement. He slept in a daze for days and had many dreams. The most memorable one was seeing Lan Aimin in the dream, looking at him with disappointment, calling him father and asking why he had not taken good care of his children.
When he woke up, he realized he was drenched in sweat. His foggy mind cleared somewhat. After sitting on the bed for a while, he put on his clothes and went out.
Lan Sisi was feeding the chickens in the yard. The chickens she had taken out from the farm were all plump and strong, several times larger than ordinary chickens. They were fed with feed she bought from the farm using coins and still laid more than a dozen eggs every day. To avoid others seeing such an unbelievable scene, she had built the chicken coop in a concealed area of the house so it would not be easily noticed.
She had also begun trying to plant farm seeds outside. The vegetables grown looked similar in size to ordinary ones, their taste slightly inferior to those from the farm but still better than regular vegetables. If a few drops of spiritual spring water were added when watering, the taste became exactly the same as those grown in the farm. Moreover, they could grow normally regardless of soil quality.
So she planted all the unused wasteland with farm vegetables. After they grew, she stored them in the warehouse, accumulating quite a stock.
When delivering goods to Sun Dafa, most of what she provided were these vegetables.
Although they looked ordinary, their taste was remarkable.
After learning that Lan Sisi had used the trial agricultural products as seeds and grown them herself, Sun Dafa repeatedly gave her a thumbs-up. “Little sister, I told you, you’re really capable.”
Lan Sisi smiled awkwardly and shamelessly accepted the credit, which also served as a legitimate explanation for the origin of these vegetables.
Just as she came out of the chicken coop, she saw Lan Tianzhu hesitating at the gate.
“Grandpa Lan, do you need something?” Lan Sisi opened the door and asked. Toward the Lan family, she had to remain cautious. Although Lan Tianzhu had not directly harmed them, his silence had made him an accomplice.
Lan Tianzhu froze for a moment when he heard how she addressed him, then sighed.
He slowly walked into the yard and took out a stack of small bills from his pocket. “Here is fifty yuan that I saved myself. Take it and buy some candy for Sinian.”
“No need, Grandpa Lan. If Sinian wants anything, I will buy it for him,” Lan Sisi refused.
Hearing this, Lan Tianzhu’s slightly trembling hand slowly lowered. “In the past, I was muddle-headed. I always thought that if I turned a blind eye, life would just go on. After all, they were all my descendants. I never thought she would be so harsh. I didn’t expect her to hate the second branch to this extent, leading things to this point.”
“It’s not that you didn’t know anything, you just didn’t care,” Lan Sisi said coldly. “You only cared about the Lan family appearing harmonious on the surface, with brothers getting along. You never cared who was being treated unfairly behind the scenes. Sinian and I were bullied, beaten, and scolded more than once at the old residence by both peers and so-called elders. There was a time when we were covered in bruises. Sinian was only a few years old then. He hugged your leg and said, ‘Grandpa, it hurts.’ You only pushed him aside and said, ‘Boys shouldn’t be so delicate. How much could it hurt when children are just playing around?’”
She let out a mocking laugh. “Since you didn’t care how wronged he was back then, there’s no need to feel guilty now and try to make up for it.”
“Grandpa Lan, you and her are not that different.”
Lan Tianzhu opened his mouth but found himself unable to refute her, because everything she said was true.
When he finally left, his back was hunched, as if he had aged decades in an instant.
Before dawn, in the early hours of the morning, Lan Meili opened her eyes. Yu Shi beside her was already asleep. She quietly got up, took out a bundle she had prepared in advance from under the bed, and carefully walked out of the room. Before sleeping, she had left the door slightly ajar.
There were only half a month left before Lai Hu would come to take her as a bride. She had not shown any resistance, and had even actively dressed herself up, so Yu Shi had already lowered her guard.
After leaving the house, she began to run. She ran a long distance before stopping. When she looked back, the entire village was shrouded in thick darkness, indistinct and silent. She hesitated for a moment, then ran off resolutely.
The next day, when Yu Shi woke up and did not see Lan Meili, she thought she had gone to the latrine. But even after she finished tidying up, Lan Meili still had not returned.
Panic set in. She rushed out the door and nearly collided with Liu Guihua, who had just come out of her room.
“Why are you rushing around so early in the morning? Are you in a hurry to be reborn?” Liu Guihua scolded her harshly. Recently, she had been in a bad mood as well. Lan Tianzhu, who used to obey her, had suddenly changed and no longer treated her kindly. People also pointed fingers at her when she went out, making her temper increasingly irritable.
“Mother, Meili is gone! Her clothes are gone too!” Yu Shi said.
“Didn’t I tell you to watch her carefully?!” Liu Guihua panicked as well. “You can’t even keep an eye on one person! What use are you! Go out and find her!”
Yu Shi nodded repeatedly and hurried back to wake Lan Aijun to search together.
They searched for an entire day, from the village to the town, but found no trace of Lan Meili. Only then did they realize she had already run far away.
…
The next day, Lan Sisi went to the wasteland early in the morning to water her vegetables. The seeds she had planted yesterday had already sprouted green shoots. Farm seeds grew faster than ordinary ones, and with the addition of spiritual spring water, they would mature by the afternoon. The wasteland was remote, and almost no one came there, so she did not need to worry about explaining anything.
As she was about to reach home, a strange man blocked her path, his eyes full of admiration. “Sisi, you’ve become more beautiful.”
Lan Sisi stepped back slightly, frowning. “Who are you?”
“I’m Ge Weiming. Don’t you remember me?” the man said.
Lan Sisi’s mind turned several times before she finally matched him with the mama’s boy from her memories.
Thinking of the arrogant woman she had faced when she first transmigrated, her expression turned unpleasant, and her tone became impatient. “What are you here for?”
“I came to see you. I know I wronged you before, but my mother forced me with her life. I had no choice. She’s my mother after all, everything she does is for my good,” Ge Weiming rambled on.
Lan Sisi was about to interrupt his self-talk when he suddenly stepped forward and grabbed her hand. “Why don’t we elope? Go somewhere no one knows us.”
Lan Sisi flung his hand away. “Let me interrupt you for a second. Have you seen a doctor? There’s clearly something wrong with you. You’re a grown man still talking about eloping. You think it’s romantic, but it’s just idiotic! Did all your education go to waste? Our engagement was arranged by my father. I never had any feelings for you. The last time we met was years ago. Don’t act like we have some kind of secret relationship! Move aside! Don’t come looking for me again, or I’ll beat you every time I see you!”
She was so angered by his self-righteousness that even slang from her previous life slipped out.
Ge Weiming was shouted into retreat, his face pale. Just as he was about to say something more, a tall and handsome man stepped in front of Lan Sisi.
“What do you want?” the man asked coldly.
His gaze was sharp, his presence imposing. Ge Weiming fled in a panic.
“Why are you here?” Lan Sisi’s voice turned bright with surprise.
Lin Ruihai turned around, warmth filling his eyes. He took the farming tools from her hands. “I finished my morning classes and came to help. Who was that just now?”
“He was someone my father arranged an engagement with in the past, but it was called off after my father passed away,” Lan Sisi explained briefly.
Lin Ruihai’s smile faded slightly. After a moment, he asked, “Do you like that kind of person?”
“I don’t like him at all. No opinions, no sense of responsibility, like a giant baby who hasn’t been weaned,” Lan Sisi said quickly.
Lin Ruihai visibly relaxed. “He’s not worthy of you. You deserve someone better.”
His gaze was earnest. Lan Sisi’s face flushed as she looked away, quietly pressing a hand over her racing heart and silently scolding herself for being so flustered.
Lin Ruihai looked at her slightly pink profile, emotions surging within him, but he suppressed them. Not yet. He would wait until everything was settled before saying those words.
…
“Hehua, Junsheng is back.” At the Lan family’s old residence, Fang Shi called out at the door of Lan Hehua’s room.
There was no response from inside.
“Lan Hehua! Look at the mess you’ve made! Everyone at school is laughing at me now! How can you be so useless! If you can’t help, at least don’t cause trouble!” Lan Junsheng kicked open the door in anger. Fang Shi tried to stop him but failed.
The figure under the blanket on the bed moved.
“Junsheng, speak properly. Don’t shout. Your sister is already feeling bad,” Fang Shi said.
“She feels bad? What right does she have to feel bad! Did she think about me before doing this? The jobs that used to approach me won’t even let me in the door now!” Lan Junsheng shouted, kicking over a chair.
“Lan Junsheng, have you forgotten where your tuition came from? Who brought you food every week? And who helped you get those job opportunities?!”
Lan Hehua sat up, looking at Lan Junsheng as if he were a stranger.