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

Chapter 76: Fear of being close to home

As dawn broke, the two men and their car quietly drove out of Jiangcheng.

On a winter morning, the highway stretched out like an endless gray ribbon, with the monotonous fields and forests on either side rushing past.

The car was well-heated. Chen Xiaomiao took off her heavy down jacket, leaving her in only a beige sweater, and curiously looked around the car.

This car was taller than Lu Yuan's old A8, offering a wide field of vision, and the various buttons and screens made her dizzy.

"Lu Yuan, why are there so many different designs on this metal casing?"

"It's more than ten years older than that old car, so naturally it has more functions."

Lu Yuan looked straight ahead: "Want to hear some opera? I'll play you a segment."

"middle!"

"Little X, Little X, play the Henan opera 'Hua Mulan'..."

As Lu Yuan gave the command, classic arias from the Henan Opera "Hua Mulan" flowed from the speakers, clear and melodious, full of charm.

Chen Xiaomiao listened intently, her little feet tapping lightly on the footpad in rhythm.

After listening for a while, she took a banana from the snack bag at her feet, peeled it carefully, and handed it to Lu Yuan's mouth.

"Here, eat it."

"You can eat, I'm not hungry."

"You must be exhausted from rushing to catch the train and haven't had breakfast yet. You need to eat something to tide you over."

Chen Xiaomiao persisted, pushing her hand forward again until the banana flesh touched Lu Yuan's lips.

Lu Yuan couldn't persuade her otherwise, so he opened his mouth and took a big bite, chewing indistinctly as he replied, "Alright, alright, I can do it myself."

"You don't have enough hands," Chen Xiaomiao said, pushing the banana forward a little further.

He fed her bite by bite, and the banana was quickly finished.

Chen Xiaomiao threw the banana peel into the trash bag, then opened the water bottle, inserted a straw, and handed it over.

Lu Yuan was left speechless, both amused and exasperated by her smooth and efficient "service".

"Alright, stop acting like you're serving a master."

He said it, but his body language betrayed him as he took a sip of warm water through the straw.

"It's not good enough that someone is serving you, but you're complaining about it."

Chen Xiaomiao muttered to herself, tightened the screws on the kettle, and carefully placed it in the storage compartment at her feet.

"Do you want to be waited on?"

"Um……"

Chen Xiaomiao hadn't really thought about this question before, and after pondering for a long time, she shook her head.

"I'm afraid I'm not destined for that, and I don't want to be waited on."

Whether in the past or present, Chen Xiaomiao has always been habitually content with the status quo and afraid of change.

Now, she is very satisfied with living by Lu Yuan's side, taking care of his daily needs.

After a while, Chen Xiaomiao's eyelids began to feel heavy. She yawned, lowered the back of her chair slightly, and curled up in a comfortable position.

Lu Yuan glanced at it and turned the air conditioner up two degrees.

"You take a nap first, I'll wake you up when we get there."

"middle."

Chen Xiaomiao responded vaguely, her breathing gradually becoming steady and long...

Lu Yuan turned off the Henan opera, slowed down, and drove more steadily.

More than three hours later, the vehicle slowly drove into the service area.

Lu Yuan stopped the car and turned to look at the passenger seat.

Chen Xiaomiao was sleeping soundly, her little face rosy, her mouth slightly open, and a strand of hair hanging down her cheek, trembling gently with her breathing.

She curled up into a small ball, looking adorable and harmless.

Lu Yuan didn't rush to wake her, but watched her quietly for a while.

Thinking back to the first time I saw her a few months ago, she was as thin as a stick, covered in dirt, and her eyes were full of fear and wariness.

Months have passed, and at least I've gained some weight, and my complexion is getting better and better...

Lu Yuan reached out, wanting to brush the strands of hair from her cheek. Just as his fingertips were about to touch her, Chen Xiaomiao's eyelashes trembled, and she slowly woke up.

"Huh...we're here?" Chen Xiaomiao rubbed her eyes and yawned lazily.

"We've only gone halfway, let's stop at the service area to charge the car."

Lu Yuan casually withdrew his hand, unbuckled his seatbelt, and got out of the car to charge it.

Chen Xiaomiao opened the snack bag and rummaged through it, pulling out a colorful plastic bag.

The bag was transparent, and you could see that it contained strips of food soaked in red oil and coated with sesame seeds and chili peppers. "Lu Yuan, what kind of food are these red sticks you bought?"

Chen Xiaomiao held the bag, brought it to her nose and smelled it. A spicy and domineering aroma hit her head, making her nose itch.

"Spicy strips, junk food, I got them as a free gift at the supermarket the day before yesterday, but I forgot to take them out."

After plugging in the charging station, Lu Yuan got back into the car and reminded him, "Eating too much isn't good."

junk food?
Chen Xiaomiao blinked, not understanding.

In her view, anything that can fill your stomach is good; there's no such thing as garbage.

She tore open the small opening in the packaging, carefully pinched out one, and first tentatively licked it with the tip of her tongue. The spicy flavor mixed with a strange sweetness instantly exploded on her taste buds.

"hiss……"

She gasped, her face scrunching up.

But after that stimulation, my mouth inexplicably started to water again.

After hesitating for a moment, she steeled herself and took a big bite.

"Cough...cough cough!"

"Take it easy, I'm not going to fight you for it."

Lu Yuan had anticipated this and smiled as he handed over the water beside him.

Chen Xiaomiao gulped down two mouthfuls of water before she could suppress the pungent spiciness.

His cheeks were flushed red, fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, and his lips were bright red, as if he had applied the finest rouge.

But after smacking her lips, she found it incredibly delicious.

"Would you...would you like to try some?"

She held up the spicy snack and looked at Lu Yuan longingly.

"I don't eat that stuff."

"Try it, it tastes pretty strange."

Chen Xiaomiao persisted, holding the spicy strip to Lu Yuan's mouth, as if to say, "I won't let go until you eat it."

Lu Yuan had no choice but to symbolically bite off a tiny bit of the tip.

"How's it going?"

"good."

After receiving an affirmative answer, Chen Xiaomiao withdrew her hand with satisfaction and began to savor the food, taking small bites one at a time.

After forcing herself to finish a bag of spicy strips, Chen Xiaomiao leaned against the car window, panting heavily with her tongue lolling out like a complete idiot.

Outside the service area stretches an endless plain.

The fields are bare in winter, with neat rows of harvested wheat stubble standing in the ground, stretching all the way to the horizon.

"Lu Yuan."

"Ok?"

"Why can't I see a single person in this field?"

In Chen Xiaomiao's memory, except when it was raining or snowing, there were always people in the fields during the day.

Women picking up wheat ears, children digging for wild vegetables, farmers composting fertilizer... This was the first time she had ever seen a field so empty that not a soul could be found.

"Now, we use big tools for planting, harvesting, and fertilizing."

Lu Yuan explained, "With one big machine, we can finish working on several hundred acres of land in half a day, so we don't have to work every day."

Chen Xiaomiao gave a vague "Oh" and then asked a question.

"So how much grain can one acre of land produce now?"

"It's probably around 700-800 jin per mu..."

"Good heavens!"

Chen Xiaomiao clicked her tongue in surprise, her expression thoughtful.

If the land could have grown this much grain more than 80 years ago, so many people in my hometown wouldn't have starved to death.

Lu Yuan reached out and ruffled her hair: "What are your plans when we get back to our hometown?"

"Hmm... I'd like to have a bowl of spicy soup. I wonder if it will taste the same as before."

Chen Xiaomiao's eyes regained their sparkle.

The sun rose higher and higher outside the car window, and my hometown drew ever closer...

　Due to certain pressures, there is an important change to the setting of this book (the relationship between Chen Xiaomiao and Lu Yuan's maternal grandfather). You can turn to Chapter 2 for details.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)