My Taoist nun girlfriend is from the Republic of China era, 1942.

Chapter 108 Chen Xiaomiao Prepares to Understand the World
After finishing her meal and cleaning up the dishes, Chen Xiaomiao went to the underground warehouse by herself and lit three incense sticks in front of her master's memorial tablet.

As wisps of smoke rose, she knelt on the prayer mat, staring at the three characters "Chen Qingfeng" on the memorial tablet.

"Master, oh Master, you're really good at keeping secrets..."

She muttered to herself, it was hard to tell whether it was a complaint or a sigh.

"But don't worry, I don't blame you. If your descendants come, I will definitely treat them properly and not let them down."

……

The matter was settled.

Lu Yuan instructed Lü Lei to make the arrangements, repeatedly emphasizing that everything must be done meticulously and that no mistakes should be made.

Lü Lei's efficiency is frighteningly high.

In just a few days, every detail, from visas and airfares to domestic accommodations and transportation, was arranged perfectly.

Three days later, at Beijing Capital International Airport.

Chen Xiaomiao was so nervous that her palms were sweating. She gripped Lu Yuan's clothes tightly, and her eyes, like searchlights, scanned the crowd coming and going at the exit.

Seeing this, Lu Yuan comforted him, "Don't you like to be so particular about seniority? If you think about it carefully, you're six generations older than them. Show some respect!"

A short while later, a striking young couple emerged from the crowd. The man looked to be about twenty-four or twenty-five, while the woman appeared to be only seventeen or eighteen.

"You're here." Lu Yuan waved to them.

Upon seeing Lu Yuan, the brother and sister immediately dragged their suitcases and hurried over.

“Hello, Mr. Lu!” The man extended his hand and spoke fluent Chinese, though with a slight accent: “I am Alain Robert.”

"Hello." Lu Yuan shook hands with him.

The girl next to her nodded with a smile: "My name is Chloe Robert, it's nice to meet you."

Like a frightened cat, Chen Xiaomiao hid behind Lu Yuan, peeking out half her head to peek.

This is Master's...great-great-great-grandchild?

Goodness, those eyes are so deep you could raise fish in them, that nose is so high you could hang an oil bottle on it, and the hair on those arms is thicker than a strand of hair... It's kind of scary.

Looking left and right, there's not a single thing about him that resembles my master.

Chloe noticed her immediately, her blue eyes filled with curiosity. She tilted her head and asked something in French.

The accompanying translator quickly stepped forward: "Mr. Lu, Miss Roberts is asking who this gentleman is?"

Lu Yuan turned to the side and pulled Chen Xiaomiao out from behind him: "This is my wife, Chen Xiaomiao. She is also the current abbess of Qizhen Taoist Temple."

"Master Chen, hello."

The older brother, Alan, immediately bowed slightly and clasped his hands together, mimicking the gesture in the movie; his attitude was quite humble.

“We also have Chinese names. My name is Chen Nianzu, and this is my sister, Chen Siyuan.”

"Hello...hello everyone."

Looking at the other person's posture of worshipping Buddha like a monk, Chen Xiaomiao didn't know whether she should correct him or not, so she could only blush and whisper a reply.

As for these two names...

Remembering one's ancestors and appreciating one's roots... there's quite a lot to it.

The younger sister, Chen Siyuan, was clearly much more lively than her brother. She blinked her bright green eyes and leaned closer to examine Chen Xiaomiao as if she were looking at a rare object.

One moment he'd utter a broken Chinese phrase, the next he'd mix in some foreign language that Chen Xiaomiao couldn't understand, and Chen Xiaomiao could only respond in Yuzhou dialect.

For a time, they were talking at cross purposes, creating quite a commotion.

Finally, she probably ran out of words, turned her head and quickly whispered a few words in French to her brother. The translator whispered to Lu Yuan that the gist of it was: "She's so small and cute!"

The group walked out of the airport in a grand procession, where the business bus arranged by Lü Lei was already waiting by the roadside.

The journey from the capital to Huangya Village in Yuzhou is long and takes most of the day.

The carriage was spacious and comfortable. Chen Xiaomiao sat next to Lu Yuan by the window, while Chen Siyuan and Chen Nianzu sat opposite them.

At first, the atmosphere was a bit awkward. Chen Xiaomiao was so nervous that she sat up straight, not knowing where to put her hands.

It was Chen Siyuan who took the initiative to start the conversation.

"Master Miao, I've heard that all Taoist priests can tell fortunes, like with tarot cards?"

"What cards? I don't use cards for fortune telling."

"Hmm...can you help me calculate when my true love will appear?"

The other person's boisterous personality eased Chen Xiaomiao's tense nerves a little. She thought for a moment and asked Chen Siyuan, "Can you write Chinese characters?" "A little bit."

"Then write a Chinese character, and I'll break it down for you to see."

Chen Siyuan immediately became interested, dipped his finger in some tea, and wrote his own character "Si" crookedly on the table.

Chen Xiaomiao stared at the word, pondered for a moment, and immediately adopted the demeanor of a wandering charlatan.

"The character '思' (sī, meaning 'to think') is composed of '田' (tián, meaning 'field') above and '心' (xīn, meaning 'heart') below. '田' represents the earth element, which represents mountains and water, and is the foundation; '心' is like the fire of fire, constantly pulsating, and represents emotions... This character means that you have a piece of land in your heart. What you want to plant in that land depends on yourself..."

Chen Xiaomiao rambled on and on, leaving Chen Siyuan completely bewildered. Although he didn't understand much, he still found it impressive.

She then asked excitedly, "Master Miao, do all Taoist priests... know kung fu?"

"No way," Chen Xiaomiao shook her head honestly.

"Then...can it fly? You mean...fly on a sword?"

"What the hell?"

Chen Xiaomiao was both amused and exasperated by her wildly imaginative ideas: "That's all made up in books. We're just ordinary people, and we have to walk on our own."

“Oh…” A slight disappointment flashed across Chen Siyuan’s face, but he quickly found a new topic.

"So what do you usually do in the temple? Chant scriptures? Like this...blablabla..."

She actually imitated the way monks chant sutras in movies, closing her eyes, shaking her head, and muttering incantations, which made everyone around her laugh.

Chen Xiaomiao was also infected by her lively personality, and her tense nerves completely relaxed. She began to chat with her about the daily life in the temple, such as cleaning, planting vegetables, and doing morning and evening prayers.

The atmosphere gradually warmed up, and even Chen Nianzu, who was not very talkative, would occasionally chime in with a few questions about Chen Qingfeng's past.

It wasn't until the afternoon that the bus slowly drove into Huangya Village.

The group got off the car and walked up the stone steps into Qizhen Temple.

Upon arriving at the main hall, Chen Nianzu and Chen Siyuan exchanged a glance, stepped forward, and, following the etiquette practiced in China, respectfully lit incense and kowtowed three times to Chen Qingfeng's memorial tablet.

Regardless of what they really think, at least for now, they've done a good job of putting on a show.

The next day, the group returned to the capital.

After accompanying the brother and sister on their tour of the Forbidden City, Lu Yuan and Chen Xiaomiao said goodbye to them in front of Tiananmen Square.

The vast square was open and solemn, and the red-walled, yellow-tiled city gate towers looked particularly majestic and magnificent in the afterglow of the setting sun.

The two stood side by side in the square, watching the crowds come and go.

"So?" Lu Yuan turned his head and asked her, "Any thoughts?"

Chen Xiaomiao glanced at a few foreign tourists with blond hair and blue eyes not far away, thought for a moment, and said very seriously, "Foreigners... don't seem to be as bad as I thought."

At least, Chen Nianzu and Chen Siyuan, the brother and sister, are very polite and interesting.

"Many things cannot be condemned outright."

Lu Yuan pointed to the huge portrait hanging on the city wall: "Just like he said, we should take an analytical approach to any problem or any matter, and not deny this or that at the drop of a hat..."

Xiao Miao, I'm not a teacher, and I can't spout any grand theories. I just want you to know that this world is vast, and people are complex.

He looked at Chen Xiaomiao and continued, "You came from a very difficult era, so it's normal to carry the imprint of that era in your heart."

Back then, foreigners opened our country's doors with guns and cannons, burning, killing, looting, and committing all sorts of atrocities. Everyone hated them.

But times have changed.

Lu Yuan brought up this universal saying again, but this time, he explained it in more depth.

"Now we can talk to them, do business with them, and make friends on equal footing. We also need to learn to accept new things, new ideas, and new people."

I know it's difficult, like asking someone who's eaten noodles their whole life to suddenly switch to eating bread.

But we have to try, right?

He paused, looking into Chen Xiaomiao's clear yet slightly bewildered eyes.

"Throughout history, the world has never been a good place. There has been war, famine, and intrigue everywhere, but that doesn't stop us from pursuing those beautiful things."

Chen Xiaomiao listened quietly, her gaze following the direction Lu Yuan was pointing, looking at the two huge and eye-catching slogans on the city wall.

Facing the evening breeze, looking at the solemn city gate and the red flag fluttering high, Chen Xiaomiao murmured the words aloud, one by one.

"Long live the People's Republic of China..."

"Long live the great unity of the people of the world..."

(End of this chapter)