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

Chapter 170 Getting ready to go home
The busy day of the Lunar New Year is finally over.

On the second day of the Lunar New Year, Lu Yuan and Chen Xiaomiao spent half a day with the Huang siblings and Lü Jiaxin, and the teenagers had a great time.

On the third day of the Lunar New Year, Lu Yuan and Chen Xiaomiao returned to Qizhen Temple in Huangya Village to offer incense.

……

The Spring Festival holiday passed in the blink of an eye.

Around the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, government agencies, companies, and enterprises in the capital gradually resumed work, and the city returned to its former hustle and bustle.

That afternoon, Lu Yuan had just put his son to sleep when his phone rang.

It was Lü Lei calling.

"Boss, did I disturb you?"

On the other end of the phone, Lü Lei sounded to be in a good mood.

"No, Brother Lü, I'm free right now."

Lu Yuan walked to the balcony and closed the glass door: "What's up?"

Lu Lei said with emotion, "Thank you so much, Jiaxin, for taking care of me these past few days in the capital, and Ms. Chen..."

"Of course, Jiaxin is now Xiao Miao's apprentice, and this smart kid is likable."

"Haha, if she heard you praising her like that, she'd be strutting around like crazy."

Lu Lei chuckled a few times, then changed the subject and became serious.

"Regarding Professor Gao Jianmin... I asked a few friends in the British education sector about the matter you asked me to inquire about."

The tutor at Cambridge did indeed cancel all international student admissions for this year due to a sudden personal health issue.

Therefore, this has nothing to do with Professor Gao's grandson's abilities; it's purely bad luck.

Lu Yuan listened quietly.

"My friend Lu Ziye helped me contact another colleague in Cambridge whose research direction highly overlapped with mine."

The other party reviewed Professor Gao's grandson's information, gave him a very high evaluation, and expressed great interest. They have already agreed to give him an opportunity for an online interview.

I reckon that as long as the kid performs normally during the interview and doesn't cause any trouble, it's pretty much a done deal.

"Thank you for your hard work, Uncle Lü."

“It’s not hard work.”

Lu Lei smiled and said, "Speaking of which... although Gao Jianmin had his own selfish motives back then, it is a meritorious deed that he has taken the lead in organizing and publishing Old Chen's posthumous manuscripts."

I'm doing this as a way of thanking Mr. Chen on his behalf and fulfilling a long-held wish.

With a single sentence, he removed the favor from Lu Yuan and took it upon himself.

Lü Lei was adept at navigating social interactions and interpersonal relationships.

Lu Yuan understood and smiled, "We're all family, no need for formalities."

After hanging up the phone, Lu Yuan didn't go back inside immediately, but stood on the balcony for a long time.

Gao Jianmin's case has been resolved in a respectable way.

This deal is a good one.

The essence of interpersonal relationships is the exchange of value.

Lu Yuan was willing to help Professor Gao, on the condition that he could bring his maternal grandfather Chen Shu's academic career to a perfect end, so that his grandfather Chen Shu's name could be remembered for generations in the domestic historical academic circle.

This is value.

But another thing...

Lu Yuan turned around and went back to the study, opening the drawer of his desk.

The jade pendant that belonged to my grandmother was lying quietly on the velvet cushion, still warm and smooth.

But when Lu Yuan looked at it, he felt no warmth at all.

The so-called Dong family relative, that old man who called himself "uncle," had such a self-righteous attitude when he came to visit.

He talks about blood ties and family ties all the time, but his words are full of "you should help me".

Did he really think that the title of "uncle" who was completely unrelated to him could get him anything from Lu Yuan?
Even beggars act as if they are the masters of the house.

ridiculous.

Lu Yuan closed the drawer expressionlessly, preferring to ignore it.

Meanwhile, in the bedroom.

Chen Xiaomiao is having a video call with her apprentice, Lü Jiaxin.

On the screen, the little girl looked utterly dejected.

The background is her desk, piled high with her winter break homework.

"Master—" Lü Jiaxin wailed weakly, "My life is so miserable, I can't finish my winter vacation homework!"

Chen Xiaomiao sat cross-legged on the bed, engrossed in a parenting book, and didn't even bother to lift her eyelids when she heard the voice.

"What's so bad about your life? You have access to education, food to eat, and you don't have to suffer from hunger and cold. You're much better off than I was back then."

"That's different!"

Lü Jiaxin brought her face close to the camera, winking and saying, "Master, when are you going to teach me some real skills? Like... the kind where I can just do some quick calculations and predict whether the teacher will check my homework when school starts!"

"Unorthodox methods will not work!"

Chen Xiaomiao refused outright.

"But studying is so hard..."

Lu Jiaxin's face fell, but then her eyes lit up and she had a new idea: "Master, why don't you teach me how to draw talismans!"

I saw in a movie that someone drew a "study improvement charm" and put it under their pillow, and the next day they were a top student!

Chen Xiaomiao was amused and exasperated by the little girl's wildly imaginative ideas.

"Why don't you draw a 'Ten Thousand Taels of Gold' talisman and stuff it into your dad's pocket?"

She retorted irritably, "Go do your homework! Have you memorized the Qian and Kun hexagrams of the Book of Changes yet? Come back and talk to me about drawing talismans when you've memorized them!"

Upon hearing that her memorization would be checked, Lü Jiaxin immediately wilted.

"Master... the signal here is bad, it's lagging a bit... I'll hang up now, I'll pay my respects to you again tomorrow!"

She frantically made an excuse and quickly hung up the video call.

Chen Xiaomiao put her phone on the bedside table and couldn't help but shake her head and chuckle.

Lü Jiaxin is a clever girl, but it's hard to know if she'll be able to use her intelligence for good in the future.

Suddenly, the door clicked softly, and Lu Yuan walked in.

"Have you finished talking with Jiaxin?"

"Yeah, that girl, all she does all day is think about crooked ways, she doesn't study properly."

Chen Xiaomiao was scolding, but there was a smile in her eyes and brows.

Lu Yuan sat down on the edge of the bed and habitually pinched the space between his eyebrows.

Chen Xiaomiao moved behind the man and massaged his temples: "What's wrong? You've looked unwell ever since New Year's Day... Is it those people who are making things difficult for you again?"

"It's not that it's difficult." Lu Yuan took her hand and held it in his palm, then said in a low voice, "It's just that I feel... tired."

One word sums up the struggles and exhaustion of the past few days.

Chen Xiaomiao could understand Lu Yuan.

When fleeing famine, one's body is exhausted.

Now, living in this big house in the capital, I'm mentally exhausted.

"I feel tired too," she muttered softly. "Talking to those people is so roundabout, it's more tiring than tilling the soil in my backyard."

And the food, look at what the cook makes, so many different kinds, but none of them taste as good as the steamed buns I make myself.”

"Then let's not stay here and go back to Jiangcheng?"

Lu Yuan then made the suggestion.

"middle!"

Chen Xiaomiao's eyes lit up, and she immediately perked up: "When are we leaving? I think the seventh and eighth days of the lunar new year are auspicious days for travel!"

She counted on her fingers with great seriousness, and her eagerness to go home made Lu Yuan's smile deepen.

"I'll do as you say. After the seventh day of the lunar new year, we'll head home."

(End of this chapter)