Chapter 472: Lu Ran’s Decision
Lu Sheng mumbled. When she saw Leya looking at her blankly, she felt like a swindler…
Leya received it in a daze.
After a while, she looked at her and asked, “Then… You said earlier that if we had moved earlier, my mother wouldn’t have… Why?”
Lu Sheng sighed softly and asked Leya, “Aunt Hua’s body should have started to weaken after giving birth to Letong, right?”
“Yes!”
Upon the mention of her mother, Leya’s eyes reddened.
“She didn’t have a difficult labor back then, right?”
Leya nodded slightly. “It went smoothly when my mother gave birth to Letong. Father and I stood guard outside the door. The midwife came out not long after entering.”
Moreover, her father paid close attention to her mother’s meals during the month. He even invited a doctor to treat her personally.
However, within three months after giving birth, her mother would often feel weak. She would invite a doctor to take a look, but he would say that she was fine.
After that, it became more serious. When her father invited a doctor again, he said that cold air had entered her body. After taking the medicine, she was almost healed.
In the end, it relapsed again and she passed away when Letong was one year old.
“Nothing happened to Aunt Hua during her confinement, right?”
Leya shook her head slightly. “My father asked the doctor to treat her personally.”
Lu Sheng revealed an ‘as expected’ expression. “Sister Leya, think about it carefully. Why would a person who had a smooth delivery and is usually in good health fall ill for no reason?”
“So, Mother was also… plagued by those things?”
Lu Sheng nodded. “If I’m not wrong, Aunt Hua’s bedroom should be the bedroom of the deceased.”
Leya was stunned and suddenly understood. “I remember now! When the owner of that house left, he did not have a wife by his side. He only had two concubines and three children.”
Lu Sheng frowned. “If Aunt Hua lives in the master bedroom, then the ghost that haunted Aunt Hua and Letong should be the owner’s wife.”
Leya was dumbfounded.
If that was the case, then her mother had died in a wrongful manner.
Leya covered her eyes as tears flowed uncontrollably.
Lu Sheng sighed softly. “Sister Leya, my condolences!”
She did not mean to mention it. She just wanted Leya to know that the house they stayed in previously was actually a haunted house. She wanted them not to go back anymore.
This must be the reason why the owner sold it to them at a low price.
“No wonder my mother kept asking Father to move back to Liu Yue Village before she died. She must have seen something.”
After some time, Leya calmed down and spoke sorrowfully.
Lu Sheng was not good at consoling others. Moreover, in front of such matters, any words of comfort would be meaningless.
Hence, she did not say anything and just sat at the side quietly to listen.
“Lu Sheng, I’m a little dizzy. I’ll go back and rest first. Letong…”
She looked in Letong’s direction and saw him squatting at the side. He was smiling at the cute little dog lying on the ground.
Lu Sheng said softly, “I’ll send Letong back later.”
“Thank you!”
Leya wiped her tears and stood up to look at Letong for a while before saying goodbye to Lu Sheng.
Lu Sheng sent her out of the vegetable field and watched her leave before returning.
She walked to a row of bamboo houses and opened a chest. She realized that the watermelons had already sprouted. They looked good. Every seedling was plump and had wide leaves.
Lu Sheng covered it back. When she went out again, the sun, which was covered by white clouds, happened to break through the clouds.
She pouted and mumbled, “I haven’t seen Lord for a long time!”
Master and Uncle Demon King should be back tomorrow.
She did not know if Uncle King of Hades was back. Since he did not send the items over, he should not be back yet.
She sighed heavily, picked up her hat, and put it on. Then, she picked up the rake and went to help everyone farm the ground.
The tomatoes’ fruits were already starting to turn red. There were even more fruits than when she planted them in the courtyard.
In a few days, the Lu family’s restaurant should be able to release new dishes.
The tabasco peppers turned red again. Lu Sheng threw the rake aside. After washing her hands, she picked up a basket and returned to her room, peeling some garlic.
She took out a jar and washed it. Then, she placed the chili and garlic inside, and added vinegar, soy sauce, and a bit of salt before sealing the jar.
“Second Sister, we’re thirsty.”
Lu Sheng had just finished her work when Lu Jiang and Lu Xin walked in with Letong.
“Thirsty?”
Lu Sheng smiled. “Come in and take a seat. I’ll pour some water for you.”
“Where’s Sister?”
Letong scanned his surroundings and realized that Leya was not around.
“Your sister has something on and went back first. You can stay here to play first. Sister Xiao Sheng will send you back later.”
When Letong heard that, he nodded obediently.
Lu Sheng had just poured water for the three of them when she suddenly heard the sound of horse hooves outside the door.
She let the three of them drink first while she went out to take a look.
The carriage stopped outside the fence. After a while, Lu Ran, Yu Yang, and Mu Yan alighted.
Lu Sheng’s eyes lit up. “Brother!”
“What’s wrong?”
Lu Ran was shocked by her agitated expression and looked at her suspiciously.
“Nothing!”
Lu Sheng chuckled and hurried to greet Yu Yang and Mu Yan.
“Why are you so happy today, Sister Lu?” Mu Yan asked with a smile.
They often followed Lu Ran here. Lu Sheng was already used to seeing them normally.
However, she seemed exceptionally excited today.
“You must be thirsty. Come in and have some tea.”
The three of them had just entered the vegetable field. Other than Lu Ran who was still relatively calm, Yu Yang and Mu Yan were mesmerized by the vegetable field in front of them.
“Wow, what are these?”
They only went to the Lu family previously. It was their first time at the vegetable field.
When they saw the tomatoes and tabasco peppers, they quickly asked Lu Sheng.
Lu Sheng introduced them one by one. “These are tomatoes, and those are chili peppers. These are the potatoes you’ve eaten before. There are sweet potatoes and purple sweet potatoes over there.”
“Are these the seedlings planted in the courtyard previously?” Yu Yang asked.
Lu Sheng nodded. “Yes.”
Mu Yan pointed at the tomatoes and asked, “There are so many fruits. Are these vegetables too?”
Lu Sheng smiled and said, “They are vegetables and fruits.”
Mu Yan was stunned. “What do you mean?”
“You can eat them raw or use them to cook dishes or make them into sauce. The ketchup you ate previously with fries was this tomato sauce.”
There were potaotes, fries, ketchup, and tomato sauce. Mu Yan’s mind was in a mess.
“Why did the fried potatoes become fries instead of potato strips? Why did the tomato sauce become ketchup?”
Not to mention Mu Yan, even Lu Ran and Yu Yang were dumbfounded.
“Perhaps it’s because both potatoes and tomatoes have another name each.”
“I see!”
The three of them nodded silently.
“Brother.”
Lu Jiang and the rest finished drinking water. When they heard their voices, they hurried out.
Lu Ran nodded. “Yes, have you been practicing calligraphy recently?”
“Yes… Yes,” Lu Jiang replied guiltily.
Lu Sheng pursed her lips and smiled secretly, but she did not expose his lie.
Lu Ran’s gaze landed on Letong and his expression froze.
Letong and Leya looked similar. At first glance, Lu Ran could almost see the girl who always followed him around when he was young.
“This child is…”
Lu Sheng saw Lu Ran’s reaction.
A sly glint flashed across her eyes as she smiled faintly. “Oh, a friend’s brother.”
Lu Ran’s heart trembled. “What… friend?”
“Just a friend.”
Lu Sheng smiled and said, “She’s not feeling well. She went back to rest first and let her brother play here for a while.”
She looked at Letong and smiled. “Brother, do you find this child familiar?”
Lu Ran glanced at her and did not speak.
He was not just familiar. If it were not for the fact that it had been eight years and this child was a boy, he would have suspected that Leya had returned.
Seeing that he did not reply, Lu Sheng said, “I think he’s familiar too. I think I’ve seen him somewhere before.”
Lu Ran’s eyes darkened and he quickly changed the topic. “I’m a little thirsty from the journey here. I’ll prepare some tea.”
Seeing so many novel items, Yu Yang and Mu Yan could not be bothered about their thirst anymore and went to walk around the vegetable field.
“Hey, I’ll go. Brother, you accompany the guest.”
Lu Sheng smiled at him before returning to the kitchen to prepare some tea.
Lu Ran stared at her back suspiciously and his gaze landed on Letong.
At this moment, Letong, Lu Jiang, and Lu Xin went to tease Three Colors again and did not notice his gaze at all.
Lu Sheng stuck her head out of the kitchen and saw this scene. She could not help but smile in relief.
It seemed like Leya did not have a one-sided love for him. This was definitely a double arrowhead!
If Lu Ran could marry Leya, she would feel more at ease even if she had to travel far in the future.
Seeing Lu Ran’s sudden gaze, Lu Sheng hurriedly retracted her head.
This girl seemed a little unusual today.
Lu Ran strode in and asked her, “Ah Sheng, do you have something to say to me?”
“No.”
Lu Sheng blinked innocently. “I just feel that Brother hasn’t been back for a long time, so I wanted to see if you were doing well.”
Lu Ran said calmly, “I eat and drink well. Apart from studying, I’m focused on nothing else. There’s nothing bad about it.”
In the past, in order to save money, besides studying, he had been thinking about how to spend a copper coin in two halves.
Now, his life at home was getting better. He no longer had other thoughts and only focused on studying.
He was not interested in his career now. He just wanted to study more and walk the business path.
Yu Yang and Mu Yan thought so too.
He looked at Lu Sheng and hesitated.
“Brother, do you have something to say?”
Lu Sheng had always been good at observing people’s expressions. She could tell that he was troubled the moment she saw his expression.
“Ah Sheng, I came back today to tell you something.”
Lu Sheng nodded. “Brother, go ahead.”
“It’s…”
He hesitated for a moment, took a deep breath, and said apologetically, “I know that this decision is a bit unfair to you and Mother, but I’m not interested in the career path.”
He thought that Lu Sheng would be disappointed when she heard that. Unexpectedly, she smiled and said,
“If you’re not interested, so be it. Studying is to enrich your knowledge and ability. Being an official is not the only path after studying.”
Lu Ran was stunned. This was the first time he realized how farsighted his sister was.
In the past, when their mother was still around, even she had instructed him to study hard and become an official in the future to bring honor to the Lu family.
However, his sister said that being an official was not the only path after studying.
Lu Sheng patted his shoulder and smiled. “Brother, I’ll support you in whatever you want to do. Life is short. You have to have fun in time. You have to do what you want to do to have the motivation.”
Lu Ran was touched but also emotional. “No wonder the Third Prince accepted you as his disciple. You’re much better than me.”
“Of course!”
Lu Sheng raised her head proudly.
Lu Ran was speechless.
Indeed, one could not praise her. If they did, she would fly to the sky…
“Speaking of which, Brother, you said that you’re not interested in the career path. What are you interested in?”
Without waiting for Lu Ran’s reply, she continued, “Why don’t you come back and farm? If you manage these mus of land well, you will earn a lot in the future.”
“It’s not impossible.”
Lu Ran raised his eyebrows slightly. “For example, raising your crayfish and planting the strange fruits you obtained. Who knows, we might really get rich.”
“Right?”
Lu Sheng chuckled and suggested, “There’s no need to sell them to others. Our family can own a chain store. We’ll open a Lu family’s restaurant in the North, South, East, and West cities of Huang Yang Town. If that’s not enough, we can open one in the prefecture city. What do you think?”
Although it was Lu Ran’s first time hearing the term ‘chain store,’ he could roughly understand what Lu Sheng meant.
“You have a point.”
Lu Ran nodded. “Then, from tomorrow onwards, I won’t return to the private school. I’ll stay at home and learn how to farm.”
“Farm? Brother Lu, are you going to stay at home and farm?”
Mu Yan and Yu Yang had just entered when they heard Lu Ran’s words.
“Yes.”
Lu Ran nodded. “Anyway, I’m not interested in the career path. I might as well come back and manage the vegetable fields for Ah Sheng.”
Mu Yan frowned. “Although that’s a good idea, you can’t farm for the rest of your lives, right?”
“What’s wrong with farming for the rest of your life?”
Lu Sheng raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t everyone farming? As long as they can earn money.”
“Sister Lu, do you care about money?”
Mu Yan smiled. “Your brother once said that he wanted to go to the capital with us to do business.”
“The capital?”
Lu Sheng scratched her hair and asked Lu Ran, “Brother, you want to do business in the capital?”
Lu Ran smiled awkwardly. “I’ve never been to the capital before. I just wanted to take a look. Doing business is just a casual remark.”
Lu Sheng pondered and said, “There are indeed a lot of nobles in the capital, but they are very competitive. Moreover, one needs connections to do business there.”
“Of course.” Lu Sheng smiled and continued, “If you really want to develop there, you don’t have to worry about connections.”
Her master alone was enough, let alone others.
If not, she could ask the State Minister for help.
When Yu Yang heard that, he smiled and said, “I think there’s nothing bad about staying in Huang Yang Town.”
Mu Yan was stunned. “Brother Yu, you want to stay too?”
Yu Yang nodded. “If Sister marries far away, I’ll be the only one left at home. I can’t be too far away from home.”
“Forget it.”
Mu Yan compromised. “Since you’ve decided to stay, I’ll stay too.”