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

Chapter 142 Who is Kong Yiji?
Song Jia's bright, piercing eyes made Chen Xiaomiao's back tingle with unease.

She pointed to her own nose and asked uncertainly, "Sister Song Jia, do you mean I should be your customer?"

"Correct!"

Song Jia slapped her thigh and leaned forward, saying enthusiastically, "Xiao Miao, tell me, aren't we close?"

"It's...it's alright," Chen Xiaomiao mumbled in response.

"It has to be iron!"

Song Jia said firmly, continuing on her own, "What do I do? I'm a lawyer! I specialize in helping people solve their problems."

You have a gentle and kind personality, and you don't know how to argue with people. What if you encounter something in the future, such as... a contract dispute? A conflict with your neighbors? Being bullied?
Tell your sister, and I guarantee I'll handle it perfectly for you!

She was enthusiastically promoting herself, as if Chen Xiaomiao were going to be in court tomorrow.

Chen Xiaomiao was stunned for a moment, then shook her head and said honestly, "But I don't usually argue with people, and I'm always polite to everyone I meet, so there shouldn't be any need to go to court."

In her simple understanding, "going to court" is an extremely serious matter; it's the final step to tear off all ties and never speak to each other again.

She was someone who had fled from a time of war and only wanted to live a peaceful life; why would she want to cause such trouble?

Song Jia's enthusiasm froze instantly, as if she had been doused with a bucket of cold water.

She wasn't giving up, and her eyes darted around.

"Then you can't do it. What about Lu Yuan? His family is big and powerful. He must encounter many setbacks in business. There must be times when he needs legal aid, right?"
"It's good to keep the profits within the family, right? You should talk to Lu Yuan and ask him to share one or two of their company's smaller cases with them..."

She stopped talking halfway through her sentence.

She laughed self-deprecatingly, then slumped back into the old chair.

The legal team surrounding Lu Yuan now carries immense weight; he wouldn't even be asked to carry their shoes...

In the huge office, only the creaking sound of the old fan could be heard for a moment.

"Never mind, never mind, forget I said anything."

Song Jia stared at the yellowed mold spots on the ceiling and said weakly, "This lousy firm, including that unreliable internet celebrity case just now, hasn't had a proper opening for almost two months."

I had to beg and plead with my college senior to get that case referred to me, and I didn't even get a consultation fee in the end.

Seeing Song Jia's appearance, Chen Xiaomiao also felt uneasy.

"Sister Song Jia, why do you insist on lingering here?"
You almost passed the civil service exam before, why don't you take it again?
"Or I could go to a law firm in a big city and start from scratch."

In Chen Xiaomiao's opinion, Song Jia is truly capable and intelligent, but she seems a bit too impatient and unwilling to take things one step at a time.

"Xiao Miao, I have my own difficulties."

"What's wrong? Can I help you?"

"Hmm... let's forget about it."

Song Jia sighed and shook her head, then suddenly said, "If you want to help me, can I borrow your car for a couple of days? My old car broke down a couple of days ago and I haven't gotten it back yet."

"middle!"

Chen Xiaomiao agreed without hesitation, took the keys out of her pocket and tossed them to Song Jia.

Song Jia held the car keys, looked into Chen Xiaomiao's clear and honest eyes, her heart filled with mixed feelings. She opened her mouth, but could only squeeze out a dry sentence.

"Thanks, Xiao Miao."

"You're welcome."

Chen Xiaomiao picked up her phone, dialed Lu Yuan's number, and asked the man to come pick her up.

A short while later, Lu Yuan arrived, greeted Song Jia briefly, and then picked up Chen Xiaomiao and left.

As the car drove away from the old residential area, Lu Yuan glanced at the rearview mirror and asked, "Why is Song Jia opening a law firm in this place?"

Lu Yuan received the address from Chen Xiaomiao and checked it out of curiosity on his way there.

This law firm was funded by Song Jia herself; she probably poured all the money she earned as an "informant" into it.

That old lawyer, Zhou Qiyi, was purely used to meet one of the requirements for opening a law firm—more than five years of professional experience.

"I want to know too."

Chen Xiaomiao recounted what she had seen and heard at the tailor shop and law firm that day, and added at the end, "Sister Song Jia even tried to recruit me as a client and ask me to represent her in court."

Upon hearing this, Lu Yuan chuckled and said, "She seems to have it tough. If you ever run into any legal trouble, you can practice with her. It's good to keep the benefits within the family."

"Whom am I suing?"

For the time being, Chen Xiaomiao couldn't think of anyone she could take to court.

After arriving home, Chen Xiaomiao immediately threw herself into her studies.

Without a teacher, Lu Yuan temporarily took on the task of tutoring Chen Xiaomiao.

On the living room carpet, Lu Yuan sat cross-legged, with a junior high school geography textbook spread out in front of him and a pen in his hand, drawing latitude and longitude on the draft.

"You see, warm currents near the equator flow towards higher latitudes, which increases temperature and humidity. For example, the North Atlantic Current makes winters in Western Europe less cold."

Conversely, cold air masses from the poles bring cooler temperatures and reduce humidity.

Where warm and cold currents meet, the seawater is stirred up, bringing nutrients from the seabed to the surface, resulting in abundant fish and the formation of fishing grounds, such as the Hokkaido fishing grounds and the Newfoundland fishing grounds…

Lu Yuan was a little smug after he finished speaking.

As a senior in college, it's already quite remarkable that he can remember high school knowledge, let alone do so in such a clear and logical manner.

Chen Xiaomiao held a pen in her hand, her brows furrowed, her face clearly saying "I don't understand."

"So you mean, the water in the sea, like the river, can flow on its own?"

"It doesn't run on its own; it's the wind that blows it, and the force of the Earth's rotation..."

"So when the wind doesn't blow, it stops running?"

Lu Yuan almost choked on his breath.

"Just pretend it's always running."

"Then why are there so many fish in the Japanese's areas?" Chen Xiaomiao pointed to the Hokkaido fishing grounds on the map and said angrily, "God is blind!"

"It has nothing to do with the Japanese! It's just because of the difference in seawater density caused by the intersection of warm and cold currents. The denser cold water sinks, and the less dense warm water rises."

This causes the seawater to be vertically agitated, bringing organic matter deposited on the seabed to the surface and providing abundant food for fish.

Lu Yuan's temples throbbed. He took a deep breath and told himself that this was his own wife, and he needed to be patient and not lose his temper.

"I saw a bunch of fish suddenly appear in the river behind our village without the water even swirling around?"

Lu Yuan was completely exasperated. He slammed the pen down on the coffee table, leaned back, and sprawled out on the carpet, looking utterly hopeless.

"I'm not teaching anymore! I'm not teaching anymore! Do whatever you want! Let whoever wants to teach, teach!"

When Chen Xiaomiao saw that Lu Yuan was giving up, she just pouted and didn't say anything.

She quietly tidied up the textbooks on the coffee table, pulled out an English vocabulary book from the pile of books, sat down in the corner of the sofa, and started memorizing words by herself.

Seeing her "If you can't teach me, then don't teach me, I'll learn by myself" attitude, Lu Yuan was amused and exasperated.

"I scored over 600 points on the college entrance exam, so I'm considered a top student... If I can't teach you well, I definitely have a problem, but it's definitely not entirely my fault."

Chen Xiaomiao, holding her vocabulary book, looked up at the question and asked curiously, "Is a score of over 600 on the college entrance exam very high?"

"It's alright, I guess."

"So, how many points do you think I can get?"

"According to Bai Jing's estimation, with your foundation, even if you work hard for a whole year, it would be a miracle if you still managed to get over 400 points."

"Only three hundred?"

Chen Xiaomiao was a little discouraged, and her little mouth pursed again: "With a score of just over 300, what kind of university can I get into?"

Lu Yuan was stumped by the question.

He mentally reviewed the rankings of domestic universities, from Tsinghua, Peking, Fudan, and Shanghai Jiao Tong to 985 and 211 universities, and then to ordinary first-tier and second-tier universities... As for schools with a score of 300 or above, he hadn't really paid much attention to them.

He took out his phone and checked for a long time before giving a vague explanation.

"Universities in China are also divided into different tiers. The best ones are called 'Double First-Class' universities, formerly known as 985 and 211, which are top-tier."

Then there are the regular first-tier and second-tier universities... With your score, you can probably... probably get into a private undergraduate university, or a decent junior college.

Lu Yuan tried to phrase it tactfully.

Chen Xiaomiao pressed further, "If I go to that kind of university, would I be considered a university student?"

"Yes, it definitely counts." Lu Yuan nodded: "You'll all get a diploma after graduation, and it can be verified on the China Higher Education Student Information System (CHESICC). There's no difference."

"If you're a college student, you're eligible."

Chen Xiaomiao's face regained its radiance, and she felt relieved.

She had no concept of what 985 or 211 universities were.

In her simple understanding, the difference between a good university and a bad university is probably like the difference between a fancy restaurant and a street stall.

Anyway, you can get enough to eat, it's just that the taste and appearance are different.

She didn't have such grand ambitions; she just wanted to rely on her own abilities to cross that threshold and obtain "university student" status.

Lu Yuan was both amused and exasperated: "You're quite open-minded."

Chen Xiaomiao put down her vocabulary book, moved closer to Lu Yuan, and gently rested her head on his shoulder, remaining silent for a long time.

"Lu Yuan, am I being too willful?"

"Ok?"

"You insist on taking this exam and going to a university that, in your opinion, is probably completely useless... You've spent so much money and wasted so much time."

"What's so capricious about that?"

Lu Yuan spoke softly, his voice filled with emotion.

"People are all like Kong Yiji; they will always have obsessions throughout their lives."

For example, my grandma has been retired for many years, but if anything happens at the hospital, she'll be there faster than anyone else with just one phone call.

When her grandfather was young, he often argued with her, saying that she spent all her time in the hospital and had no home in her heart... But that was her obsession, and she couldn't let go of it.

Take Song Jia, for example. Why did she insist on opening her own run-down law firm? Ultimately, it's because she had a deep-seated conviction and was determined to prove herself to her family.

Lu Yuan paused, then looked down at the girl in his arms.

“Your master taught you from a young age that ‘only studying is noble,’ so it’s normal for you to aspire to be a ‘scholar’ or a ‘university student.’”

Originally, this longing was only buried in Chen Xiaomiao's heart, but as she came into contact with more and more knowledge, she naturally could not suppress it.

Scoring around 300 points on a test allows you to get into a university that others look down on, and then call yourself a college student.

This story sounds a bit like Kong Yiji's self-comforting notion that "stealing books doesn't count as stealing."

But Lu Yuan could understand and accept it.

That's how a married couple lives, isn't it?

I understand your thoughts, and you are considerate of my difficulties. We can support each other and live comfortably for a long time.

Lu Yuan rambled on and on, while Chen Xiaomiao in his arms remained motionless for a long time.

Just as Lu Yuan was wondering if she was asleep, she suddenly raised her head and asked with a puzzled look, "Lu Yuan, who is Kong Yiji?"

Lu Yuan took out the Chinese textbook from the pile of books, turned to the page about Kong Yiji, and handed it to Chen Xiaomiao.

"Here, take a look for yourself."

Chen Xiaomiao took the book and began to read it word by word.

"The layout of the hotels in Luzhen is different from other places: they all have a large L-shaped counter facing the street, with hot water prepared inside so that the wine can be warmed at any time..."

After reading it once, Chen Xiaomiao didn't say anything, and then silently read it again from beginning to end.

Her delicate face showed a variety of expressions, sometimes confused, sometimes sympathetic, and sometimes somewhat bewildered.

Lu Yuan didn't disturb them, but simply watched quietly.

He didn't know what Chen Xiaomiao could glean from this story, or whether she could glean anything at all.

Finally, Chen Xiaomiao closed the book, her conflicted and bewildered expression turning into a calm one.

She didn't ask Lu Yuan any more questions, picked up her English book again, and sat back down in the corner of the sofa.

"Hang in there...keep going..."

(End of this chapter)