An 80s female translator was spoiled rotten by a rough and jealous man.

Chapter 29 Limitations

"Zhou Xiaobei, no one can save you except yourself!"

……

Throughout the day, Meng Youyou was somewhat absent-minded, her eyes frequently glancing towards the end of the only main road in the village.

Even after everyone at the free clinic corner finished work at 6 p.m., Meng Youyou still hadn't seen the person she wanted to see.

Huo Qingshan and Chu Yao packed their things and prepared to return to the camp.

Meng Youyou said listlessly, "You guys go ahead, don't wait for me. I'll go back later."

As Chu Yao passed by Meng Youyou, she paused and said in a low but firm voice, "She won't come."

Meng Youyou turned her head, her expression full of doubt, and asked uncertainly, "Why do you say that?"

Chu Yao gazed at the man's retreating figure and said calmly, "Because I understand her, or rather, I am the kind of person in this world who understands her the most."

Without waiting for Meng Youyou's response, he shifted the shoulder strap of the medical kit on his shoulder up a little and left.

……

The afterglow of the setting sun gilded the old locust tree at the village entrance, making each leaf shimmer and seem to cheer.

As the light dimmed, the outline of the locust tree became blurred, and the shadows beneath it grew heavier, as if hiding countless secrets.

The darkness was as black as ink, and the locust tree completely blended into the night, leaving only a dark shadow. All was silent, and the mottled bark let out a silent lament in the night wind.

Meng Youyou squatted on a stone at the entrance of the village, hugging her knees, gazing wistfully into the distance.

As if on cue, a light rain began to fall from the sky, raindrops hitting her shoulders, the ends of her hair, her forehead, and then sliding down her cheeks.

The world around me seemed even more desolate with the addition of rain. The stones under my feet were gradually soaked by the rain, and a chill crept up from my feet.

Suddenly, the rain overhead seemed to have... stopped?
A shadow fell, and for a moment, Meng Youyou felt a little dazed.

She subconsciously raised her head, and what came into view was that familiar handsome face. Once again, she was caught off guard and met the man's especially dark and deep eyes.

But the next second, Meng Youyou turned her head back and stubbornly refused to look at him anymore.

"Let's go back, it's raining." That was his usual flat and monotone tone.

Meng Youyou neither answered nor moved.

The man's cold voice rang out again: "I will think of another way to deal with Xiaofeng's matter. After Yang Guoqing was rescued, someone found a barefoot doctor in the village to come and see him. However, this barefoot doctor later moved away from Jinsui Village with his family."

However, after making inquiries over the past two days, I've obtained some clues about the doctor's current address, so this route might also be feasible.

Meng Youyou buried her face in her arms and said in a muffled voice, "I'm sad not just because I ran into a wall with Xiaofeng."

Meng Youyou sniffed and continued, "Have you ever seen a play called 'A Doll's House'?"

Although she was asking a question, Meng Youyou didn't expect Huo Qingshan to have seen it at all. After all, in this era, cities that could afford to watch this play certainly didn't include Fanzhou. She started talking to herself: "A Doll's House tells the story of the heroine Nora, who was once a housewife who was obedient to her husband and treated as a 'doll'."

She forged signatures to borrow money to pay for her husband's medical treatment. Years later, the truth came out, and her husband, Helmer, changed his attitude instantly, verbally abusing her and completely disregarding her years of sacrifice and the life-saving grace she had given him.

From then on, Nora saw through her husband's hypocrisy and selfishness, and realized that she was just an appendage to him in the family.

Ultimately, Nora awakens to her true nature and resolutely leaves home, rebelling against the unequal marriage and the patriarchal society of her time.

Huo Qingshan tilted the umbrella slightly and replied in a deep voice, "Then you should also know Mr. Lu Xun's speech at the Beijing Women's Higher Normal School in 1923, right?"

Upon hearing this, Meng Youyou quickly turned to look at Huo Qingshan, her surprise undisguised.

Huo Qingshan continued, "He said: After Nora left, she only had two paths—either to fall into depravity or to return."

Meng Youyou stared into Huo Qingshan's eyes. His eyes were hidden in the darkness, but she could still read his emotions at that moment. This was the first time she had been able to glean something from his eyes.

Meng Youyou looked at him and shook her head firmly, "Only 24 years."

This time, it was Huo Qingshan's turn to be completely bewildered: "..."

Meng Youyou realized that the numbers she had given were too precise, so she quickly corrected herself and continued, "In just over twenty years, the male-to-female ratio of undergraduate students in China will be equal, and in less than thirty years, the number of women obtaining postgraduate and doctoral degrees will exceed that of men. At that time, female doctors, female lawyers, and female teachers will become the mainstream of society."

Huo Qingshan's eyes flickered slightly, but he remained silent.

Meng Youyou jumped off the rock, stretched her legs which had gone numb from squatting, reached out and patted Huo Qingshan's right shoulder, and said in a deliberately lighthearted tone, "Let's go, let's go back to sleep~ We have to get up early tomorrow to pack our bags and go back to the army, you know. Don't tell me you're a little reluctant to go back after being away for so long."

……

Meng Youyou didn't sleep a wink that night.

She remembered Chu Yao's words: "Because I understand her."

He also thought of Huo Qingshan's words: either fall into depravity or go back.

For the first time ever, I called out DouDou, who had been forgotten in some corner for days: "Do you really think I'm too idealistic?"

DouDou: [Thank goodness you still remember me!]
Meng Youyou: "I've just been too busy these days, and besides, your stupid alarm hasn't gone off at all during this time."

DouDou: [...]
Meng Youyou sighed: "At first I thought I could help Xiaofeng, and later I thought I could help Xiaobei, but the reality tells me that I can't do anything. I can neither help Xiaofeng nor provide any strength to Xiaobei."

DouDou noticed that Meng Youyou was indeed in a low mood, so she stopped just joking around and started to analyze the situation seriously: "[That's how it is when you travel through different eras. Every era has its own limitations that are difficult to avoid in the present, even the 80s in modern times is no exception.]"

Material poverty is secondary; what often leaves transmigrators feeling most powerless is the backwardness of their thinking. The objective social constraints are laid bare before them, and lacking the perspective of a prophet, their differing viewpoints and incompatible values ​​mean that once they arrive, the people and events around them will fill them with struggle and helplessness.
Finally, DouDou added: "[Especially those time travelers who try to act as saviors to save all living beings...]"
Meng Youyou fell into deep thought...

I'm just asking for your votes!
If you're interested, you can check out "A Doll's House" and "After Nora's Departure," which will most likely give you some food for thought...

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(End of this chapter)