Free Web NovelChapter 1982: Chapter 1979: Bought
Even though using a pledge of allegiance here isn’t quite appropriate since she’s not a bandit, nor is Lin Tian trying to join her. However, the fact that she thought of having Lin Tian prove himself shows she’s no simple-minded girl.
From Lin Tian’s perspective, she’s at least smarter than her sister. Keep in mind, she’s only sixteen.
"Are you scared now? Ma Mingcai is notorious, and it seems you’re afraid to mess with him too." The little girl saw Lin Tian didn’t respond immediately, so she pouted, looking very disdainful.
"What’s there to be afraid of? I’ll just go beat him up right now, so he won’t dare to bother your sister again." Lin Tian said with a nonchalant smile.
"No, Ma Mingcai has many cronies. You can’t take them on." The elder sister spoke up, her tone still caring for Lin Tian and others, while also not believing Lin Tian could teach the Ma family’s young master a lesson.
However, from their conversation, it could also be seen that the elder sister was much more timid than her younger sibling. Or rather, as an elder sister, she had more to worry about, such as her family.
After hearing the two sisters’ words, Xiao Manxuan and Zhang Lingyu exchanged a smile. For Lin Tian, who feared nothing, what else in this world could intimidate him?
Lin Tian didn’t bother explaining. He took a coin from his pocket and pointed at a peach grove not far away: "Look at the fruits on the tree, I won’t climb the tree, nor use a stick, but I’ll get a fruit down for you from here."
The little girl pouted, obviously not believing Lin Tian. Lin Tian casually tossed the coin, which flashed a soft silver light in the morning sun, accurately striking the stem of a peach, causing it to fall to the roadside.
Lin Tian was over thirty meters from the nearest fruit tree—not too far, but not close either—yet hitting the fruit stem with precision was something ordinary people couldn’t achieve. The little girl had never seen such a formidable "projectile weapon" and her eyes widened in surprise.
It took her a while to come back to her senses. She trotted over, picked up the fallen peach, and as she returned, she saw the coin embedded in another tree trunk, completely lodged in the tree, which shocked her even more.
Returning to Lin Tian, her eyes now held a hint of admiration, though she hid it well, clearly not entirely convinced of Lin Tian yet.
"Well, do you believe in my skills now?" Lin Tian asked with a slight smile.
The little girl didn’t immediately reply. Instead, she curiously asked, "How can you throw so accurately?"
"Because I know martial arts, but don’t tell anyone else." Lin Tian deliberately put on a mysterious expression and said quietly, adding a measure more of admiration in the girl’s eyes.
"Alright, suppose you can fight, but what if Ma Mingcai retaliates against my sister later? You can’t stay at Xianlin Villa forever." The little girl, very clever, immediately started thinking about the future.
Lin Tian nodded and nonchalantly replied, "You’re right. How about this—I buy Xianlin Villa, and then Ma Mingcai won’t be the young master of the villa. Your sister can work there in peace."
"Ha..." As soon as Lin Tian finished speaking, the little girl burst into laughter and looked at Lin Tian with amusement. "Your serious expression is hilarious, buying the villa, you’re blowing that cow up to the skies."
The elder sister also smiled gently. Their laughter had no malice, but they both thought Lin Tian was bragging.
Lin Tian wasn’t in a rush. After they finished laughing, he said, "I’m not lying to you. We have a reason for helping you—it’s to find a jade piece, which happens to be with you."
He didn’t prove how wealthy he was but candidly stated his purpose, very sincerely.
The little girl was stunned for a moment, then looked at Lin Tian closely for a good while and said, "Now I believe you’re good people. Words can lie, but eyes can’t."
Hearing her say this, Xiao Manxuan and Zhang Lingyu both smiled, finally seeing the girl’s guard lowered.
"However, buying the villa isn’t that easy." The little girl stroked the peach in her hand, her eyes carrying an indescribable emotion.
"You...seem to have a special fondness for peaches?" Lin Tian cautiously asked.
The little girl turned and walked toward the peach grove, standing by the road, gazing at the grove with maturity beyond her years.
"Because this peach grove originally belonged to our family." The little girl confidently, yet somewhat angrily, stated.
Lin Tian and Xiao Manxuan exchanged glances, sensing there might be more stories behind this.
"This hillside, the entire villa, used to be all peach groves, planted painstakingly by my father." The little girl said softly.
"A farmer’s peach groves turning into a rich person’s villa, I think I have some understanding of what’s going on." Lin Tian squinted slightly, his expression not looking good.
The little girl didn’t respond to Lin Tian’s words. Instead, she continued, "Long ago, this was all wasteland. Moreover, the elders said it used to be an ancient battlefield. Each time after heavy rain, bones would surface from the ground. It’s said that ancient wars left too many dead, leaving many bones behind."
"It sounds quite scary, but what’s even scarier is during thunderstorms. The elders said that when thunderstorms were particularly intense, people heard the sounds of horses, shouts of killing, and some even saw ghost soldiers passing through."
As she said this, the girl’s eyes trembled slightly, revealing that these ghost stories likely left quite an impression on her young mind back then.
Many people heard ghost stories in their childhood. These stories left shadows for a long time within that innocent childhood heart. Even when grown up, thinking back still brought fear, especially for girls.
"Because of all the spooky legends, no one wanted to plant anything here. However, my dad was young and brave back then, not afraid of ghost gods, saying only those with guilty consciences feared ghost gods." The girl’s eyes showed firm determination.
"My dad bought a hillside and planted peach trees. Back then, village technology was backward, and the peaches weren’t as big or as sweet. It was through my dad’s learning of planting techniques that we have the big sweet peaches we do now."
"As the peaches were so good, many people came to buy them, and gradually, my dad and our orchard became famous."
"Back then, the peach grove was particularly beautiful, much prettier than the villa, with mountains and water, and peach trees. It was like an ethereal peach paradise. My sister and I had many happy times there. But one day, some strangers came to the peach grove looking for Dad, saying they wanted to buy the grove to build a villa and make a lot of money." The little girl smiled sweetly at first but became furious as she finished.
"How much did they offer?" Lin Tian frowned and asked.
"Five hundred thousand." The elder sister answered in his place.
"Damn, such a large peach grove, only five hundred thousand. Even a million wouldn’t suffice!" Lin Tian couldn’t help but curse. This wasn’t merely a matter of dishonest business practices; it was outright swindling. Xiao Manxuan and Zhang Lingyu also frowned deeply.
"Of course, my dad refused. It wasn’t just about the money; the peach grove carried so much of our blood and sweat." The little girl stopped speaking here.
