Lu Fan's parents had indeed gone on a trip, and Taohua immediately assumed the role of the lady of the house. She organized everyone to do chores, then cooked and tidied the house. She also had to make time to check on the hatching eggs.
However, these tasks were nothing for Taohua. Especially feeling like she had become part of Lu Fan's family, she worked with full vigor, completing everything inside and out with neatness and efficiency.
Lu Fan's mind was in a mess. After arranging for Bai Xuemei to have a van take away the wild vegetables from Taohua Mountain, he blankly watched Wang Laowai feed the pigs and saw Second Senior Sister lead nine piglets, each weighing over a hundred jin, out for a stroll.
"Oink! Oink!" Second Senior Sister snuffled and rubbed against Lu Fan. She was indeed exceptionally close to him!
"Second Senior Sister! Wang Laowai was lazy and didn't bathe you, did he? Let me give you a bath!" Lu Fan really didn't know what else to do. Whenever he was idle, his mind would wander to Wang Yan's soft and fragrant body or Liu Ruyan's charming, affectionate face.
To stop himself from having such thoughts, Lu Fan fetched a water bucket and a brush and began to bathe Second Senior Sister. Second Senior Sister seemed to enjoy being served like this, standing obediently and snuffling contentedly. Perhaps seeing how comfortable the big pig was, the nine little piglets also crowded around Lu Fan, rubbing against him. So, Lu Fan washed the little piglets too.
"Brother Fan!" A clear voice suddenly called out. Li Jingjing, with her bright, watery eyes, appeared at the courtyard entrance.
"Jingjing? Why are you here again?" Lu Fan was startled. Why had this girl come again? He had already told her last time that he had no more peaches.
"I'm here to play with Brother Fan!" Li Jingjing walked in playfully. Behind her followed Li Mantang, looking embarrassed.
"Little Divine Doctor! Jingjing... Jingjing has been pestering to come, and I couldn't do anything about it. So I brought her over. How about letting her play here? For food and drinks... I'll... I'll pay. I'll come to pick her up later tonight, okay?!" Li Mantang said with an embarrassed expression.
Li Jingjing always wanted to run out at home, just wanting to find Lu Fan and eat peaches. Li Mantang was really worried that if he wasn't watching her, the girl would run out on her own and something might happen. So, he drove her over.
"Heh heh! My peaches are sold for fifty yuan a jin. Two large peaches are about a jin. If you really want to pay, you need to be mentally prepared! Don't say I'm overcharging you later!" Lu Fan smiled slightly. He had to make things clear beforehand, otherwise, it would be difficult to explain. Mountain folk wouldn't easily eat peaches priced at fifty yuan a jin.
"Fifty yuan a jin?" Li Mantang gulped. He had never heard of peaches costing fifty yuan a jin.
"Little Divine Doctor! It's fine... it's fine! Paying is the right thing to do!" Li Mantang hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said.
"Looking at you, you don't believe my peaches can sell for fifty yuan a jin. How about this, I'll give you one to try. I'm not intentionally overpricing them!" Lu Fan said, then stood up, washed his hands, took out two peaches, and threw one to Li Mantang and the other to Jingjing.
Jingjing, like a child, immediately started eating with big bites. Li Mantang originally didn't believe the peaches could be so delicious. He thought Lu Fan just wanted him to pay more. However, after taking a bite of the peach, the old fellow was no longer calm.
"Little Divine Doctor! Your peaches are too delicious. No wonder Jingjing thinks about coming every day. I'm addicted to them. Can you sell me ten jin!" Li Mantang said with a shocked expression.
"You've come at the wrong time. If you want to buy, you'll have to wait until tomorrow. If you're sure you want to buy, I'll save some for you," Lu Fan said.
"Good! Good! Good! I'll give you the money now. You must save ten jin for me tomorrow. The extra is for Jingjing to eat these past few days," Li Mantang said hurriedly, transferring a thousand yuan to Lu Fan via his phone as he spoke.
"Alright! Come and pick them up tomorrow! I won't be polite then," Lu Fan said, directly accepting the money.
"Jingjing! You've eaten the peaches, won't you come back with me?" Li Mantang said to Jingjing.
"No... I want to play with Brother Fan here! These piglets are so cute!" Jingjing completely ignored Li Mantang and ran over to wash the piglets with Lu Fan.
"Little Divine Doctor... this... this will only cause you trouble!" Li Mantang said helplessly.
"This..." Lu Fan couldn't help but scratch his head. He didn't want Jingjing to stay, but this girl only had the intelligence of a few years old, like a child. If she stayed, he wouldn't have time to look after her.
"Brother Fan! I don't want to go home, I want to herd pigs with you!" Li Jingjing suddenly said to Lu Fan, looking up at him.
"Uh??" Lu Fan's forehead was covered in black lines. Was he just a pig herder?
"Village Chief Li! Then let her stay for now. If she gets bored later, I'll call you, and you can come to pick her up," Lu Fan thought that after eating the peaches, the girl would want to go home soon.
"Then I'll trouble the Little Divine Doctor! Jingjing, don't run around. If you want to go home, call me," Li Mantang instructed Li Jingjing a few times, then drove away.
After Li Mantang left, Li Jingjing immediately looked happy and began washing the pigs with Lu Fan. She giggled as she washed them, as if she had never played like this before.
"Little Fan Brother! Can I come every day to wash the pigs from now on?" Li Jingjing suddenly asked Lu Fan, tilting her small face.
"Okay! As long as you like it, you can come and play every day!" Lu Fan nodded.
"Hey! Lu Fan! Are you eyeing that little loli?"
Suddenly, a voice called out. Shen Xinyi and Liu Ruyan walked into the courtyard.
Seeing Liu Ruyan, Lu Fan's heart trembled slightly, and he felt guilty, unsure of what to say.
Liu Ruyan also sighed slightly upon seeing Lu Fan, wondering how many more days she and this boy could be together, as her family might find a way to separate them.
"Ruyan! You've been quite tired lately, handling all sorts of village affairs and helping me manage so many things at home. I wanted you to sleep in a bit more today," Lu Fan said apologetically.
"It's fine! I'm willing to do it!" Liu Ruyan nodded shyly. This boy was quite considerate.
"Hey... are you two ignoring me? Hmph! Fine, I'll go find Second Senior Sister!" Shen Xinyi pouted and went directly to Second Senior Sister's side. She had found riding Second Senior Sister quite fun last time.
"Ruyan! You two wait at home. I'll go to the river to catch some fish. We'll have an extra dish for lunch!" Lu Fan stood up and said.
"Little Fan Brother! I want to go fishing with you too!" Jingjing, who was nearby, immediately shouted excitedly upon hearing about catching fish.
"Catching fish sounds good! Let's go together! I'll ride Second Senior Sister!" Shen Xinyi said, and then actually mounted Second Senior Sister, patting her to move outside. Then, all nine little piglets followed behind Second Senior Sister.
"Sister Xinyi! Was your childhood dream to herd pigs when you grew up?" Lu Fan's forehead was suddenly covered in black lines. If you like herding pigs so much, why did you become a police officer?
"Little Fan Brother! I... I want to herd pigs too..." Li Jingjing, seeing Shen Xinyi riding Second Senior Sister, immediately wanted to ride a pig too.