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

Chapter 124 Chen Xiaomiao wants to go to university?
Under Lu Yuan's arrangement, the elderly couple left Jiangcheng to start their trip.

With just over a month left until graduation, Lu Yuan went back to school to pack up his belongings that he had left in his dorm room.

The dormitory was as messy as ever, and the air was filled with a complicated smell of instant noodles and sweat.

Lu Yuan didn't have much stuff: a dusty basketball, a badminton racket, and a mouse and keyboard that he hadn't touched in a long time.

Looking at these things again as graduation approaches, I can taste a bit of nostalgia.

"Hey, Brother Yuan, what a rare guest!"

A gruff voice came from outside the door, and Fatty Wang's dark face peeked in.

He was wearing a wrinkled T-shirt and slippers, and his skin was more than two shades darker than the last time I saw him, so it seemed he had really been working on the construction site for several months.

"You still remember to come back!"

Fatty Wang stepped forward and punched Lu Yuan: "I thought you'd been taken care of by a rich woman and had forgotten about us poor buddies!"

Lu Yuan laughed and pushed him away, saying, "Get lost, come back and pack some things."

Fatty Wang plopped down on his bed, the bed groaning under the weight.

He pulled a cigarette out of his pocket, lit it, and looked Lu Yuan up and down as he exhaled smoke: "Honestly, ever since you hooked up with a rich woman, you've really become less and less like us ordinary people."

"Look at that aura! I'd believe you were the CEO of some company."

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

"Hey, I'm not making this up. The student council president asked me for your WeChat account a couple of days ago, but I sensed something was off about him, so I didn't give it to him."

After inheriting the estate, although Lu Yuan didn't make a big fuss about it, there were always some rumors that couldn't be stopped.

"Want to get together tonight? Our usual spot for some skewers, my treat!" Fatty Wang patted his chest, beaming with pride. "I just got my internship salary, I have to make sure you get it!"

Lu Yuan stuffed the last few books into the box and shook his head: "No, my girlfriend is still waiting downstairs."

"Tsk tsk tsk, what a womanizer!" Fatty Wang said with a look of disdain, winking and making faces. "Alright, alright, get lost, don't keep your little rich girl waiting."

When they arrived downstairs, Chen Xiaomiao had already opened the trunk.

Lu Yuan casually tossed the box inside and sat in the passenger seat.

Chen Xiaomiao started the car and slowly drove away from the dormitory area.

Looking at the old building with its peeling paint through the rearview mirror, she asked softly, "Lu Yuan, are you not going to come here anymore?"

Lu Yuan sighed, "I still have to come back for my graduation defense. Only after all the procedures are completed can I truly graduate."

When the car arrived at the school gate, Chen Xiaomiao slowed down.

Looking at the imposing stone school gate through the rearview mirror, she had an indescribable emotion in her eyes.

"Lu Yuan, having studied here, wouldn't it be easier for you to find work after you leave?"

"maybe."

Lu Yuan explained, "A degree is at most a stepping stone, giving you a chance to get into a better place."

But once you're in there, how well you do depends on your own abilities.

College graduates are everywhere these days, you can find them everywhere. It's quite common for many to graduate only to be unemployed.

Chen Xiaomiao didn't say anything more, she just stared quietly at the school gate.

I watched as groups of two or three, full of youthful energy, walked out of the door, chatting and laughing.

They were different from the farmers Chen Xiaomiao had met, and also different from the shop assistants in the city.

She has a certain energy about her, like that rich young lady who stole the gold bars—confident and flamboyant.

"What's wrong?" Lu Yuan could tell what she was thinking. "You've taken a liking to this school and want to go there?"

Lu Yuan could tell that this girl was quite awkward at times.

They say that a woman's virtue lies in her lack of talent, but in their hearts they yearn for knowledge, or rather, the identity of a "scholar".

Especially since I've been reading a lot lately, my thoughts are definitely subtly changing.

"If you want to go to university, I'll think of a way to help you."

"I was just asking out of curiosity."

Chen Xiaomiao's thoughts were guessed, but she still stubbornly refused to admit it. She stepped on the gas and didn't say anything more.

Back home, the two went about their own business.

Lu Yuan went to the study to deal with emails, while Chen Xiaomiao curled up on the sofa with the thick book "A Brief History of the World" in her arms, devouring it. She had read the book several times already, and although she recognized all the words, she still only half understood it when they were put together.

What about the Roman Republic, the French Enlightenment, and that short emperor Napoleon...?

The nouns swirled in her mind like a revolving lantern; they were lively, but she couldn't connect them.

When Lu Yuan came out after finishing his work, he saw Chen Xiaomiao frowning, looking like she had a deep grudge against books.

"Can't understand it again?"

"Lu Yuan."

Chen Xiaomiao immediately put down her book, as if she had found a savior: "You mean this guy named Caesar, isn't he similar to Qin Shi Huang from our country? They both wanted their empire to last for ten thousand generations."

"Somewhat similar, but not quite the same."

Lu Yuan took the book, turned to that page, and patiently explained: "Qin Shi Huang was the emperor, and his word was law. At that time, the whole world belonged to him."

In Caesar's time, Rome was a republic, nominally a system where decisions were made collectively. He was powerful, but the Senate always kept him in check, preventing him from doing whatever he pleased.

"Then why was he stabbed to death later?"

"Because he was too powerful and his achievements were too great, his subordinates were afraid that if he really became emperor, he would cut off the path for others, so they conspired to kill him."

Chen Xiaomiao nodded thoughtfully, picked up the book, and turned a few more pages.

"And look at this place, why did they have to divide it into two countries?"

Lu Yuan peered over and saw a map of the Roman Empire after its division.

"That's normal. We also believe that what is divided for a long time must unite, and what is united for a long time must divide. The division of the Roman Empire was not a matter of a day or two, but an inevitable result of the empire's excessive expansion, ineffective governance, economic collapse, frequent civil wars, and external pressures..."

Lu Yuan rattled off a whole bunch of technical terms, but Chen Xiaomiao had a hard time understanding, so he had to resort to analogies.

"It's like a wealthy old man who had two sons. After the old man died, the family's harvest became increasingly poor."

The two sons disagreed, so they decided to each live separately, and over time, they became two separate families.

"So that's how it is..."

Chen Xiaomiao suddenly realized, and then asked curiously, "Didn't Lu Yuanren study civil engineering in college? How come he knows everything?"

Lu Yuan was both amused and exasperated: "Because I received modern basic education from a young age, I have the knowledge reserves of a normal college student."

"Modern basic education?"

"Simply put, we start by teaching you a little bit of everything from a young age... and then when you're sixteen or seventeen, we see what suits you best and teach you accordingly."

"Oh... I'm already this old, and my brain isn't sharp anymore, so it seems I can't learn it."

"Who said you're stupid?"

Lu Yuan raised his hand and lightly flicked her smooth forehead: "Your brain is extraordinary. You can come up with any random idea that would be enough for a professor to write several papers."

Chen Xiaomiao's mind was filled with the local customs and traditions of North China during the Republic of China era, as well as those Taoist classics, enough to keep some professors busy for several years.

"You're not stupid, you just didn't have the opportunity to receive a modern education in the past."

Lu Yuan softened his tone: "If you really want to learn, we don't need to go straight to university, that's too difficult."

You can start with something simple. Find a teacher, then take the adult college entrance examination to get a proper diploma. Take it one step at a time; there's no rush.

Chen Xiaomiao didn't agree immediately, and hesitated, saying, "I...I'll think about it some more."

"What are you thinking? This is not the past. Don't think of scholars as something too lofty."

"If I really go to school, won't I embarrass you?"

"How could that be? My wife is studious and ambitious; I'm only proud of her."

"But I..."

"Think about it, when I found you, you were completely clueless, but now you're living a good life."
Studying is much simpler than daily life; at least it's not like the famine you experienced back then.

Chen Xiaomiao fell silent.

Compared to not having enough to eat and the constant threat of death, studying is indeed not a difficult thing.

Finally, she spoke solemnly.

"Then I'll listen to you and go to school!"

(End of this chapter)