The two sisters reached the village entrance, where Bai Nansheng had already borrowed an ox cart. Bai Zhengqian, the two pregnant women, Hongdou, Huangdou, Bai Taotao, and Tang Liren got on the cart, while the others walked alongside, escorting it to town.

Sitting on the cart, Bai Taotao thought to herself: What’s so great about the city? Why does silly Xingxing always dream of going there?

In her previous life, when Bai Taotao was still a celestial consort, she wasn’t completely ignorant of worldly affairs.

She had once accompanied her master and fellow practitioners to the mortal realm and learned that rural people mostly lived off farming, while urban dwellers tended to engage in commerce. Of course, life in the city was more affluent and comfortable.

Until—

A tractor chugged loudly toward them, passed their ox cart, and sped off in a cloud of dust.

Bai Taotao’s eyes widened in an instant.

This, this…

“Dad! What is that? How does it move?” Bai Taotao quickly asked her father.

Bai Zhengqian, who was still frustrated about his son being cuckolded, smiled at his precious daughter’s question and replied, “That’s a tractor. It runs on fuel!”

Bai Taotao’s peach blossom eyes rounded even more. What does that mean?

Bai Zhengqian, noticing her curiosity but lacking the energy to explain, said, “Xiao Song studies this stuff. Ask him when we get back!”

Song Zhi studies this?

Bai Taotao thought for a moment and asked, “Did he learn this at university?”

Is this alchemy?

Bai Zhengqian nodded and sighed. “What a waste! I just can’t understand it. Someone so knowledgeable, studying such an advanced and brilliant subject, with such excellent grades… whose idea was it to send someone like him to the countryside to farm?”

Tang Liren clenched her fists, waved them in front of her husband, and glanced at Chen Lanfen before scolding Bai Zhengqian in a low voice, “Watch your mouth! You’re even chattier than us women!”

Bai Zhengqian chuckled, then waved off the topic with his hand, signaling that the conversation was over.

Bai Taotao didn’t understand why such a topic couldn’t be discussed.

What interested her more, however, was—university.

Curiosity bubbled up inside her. She thought that if she got the chance, she must go to a university. Would universities in this world be like the sects of the cultivation world in her past life?

The ox cart swayed and bumped along for about two hours before they finally reached the town.

Tang Liren directed the production team’s ox-cart driver to take the family to her cousin’s house in town. She then sent Bai Lili to buy five meat buns for the driver as thanks and dismissed him. Afterward, she handed over ten yuan to Bai Dongsheng, instructing him to buy four to five jin of pork and twenty jin of rice from the black market…

The whole Bai family carried pork and rice in grand procession to Aunt Guihua’s house, who was Tang Liren’s cousin.

Aunt Guihua was startled to see the Bai family arrive in full force. Before she could exchange a few words, Tang Liren pulled her aside and whispered with her for quite a while.

Aunt Guihua immediately instructed her daughter-in-law, “Chun, take the pork your aunt bought and hurry to prepare a meal. They’ll need to eat before leaving!”

She then instructed her son, “Qiangzi, take your uncle’s introduction letter and quickly head to the bus station to buy tickets. They need to catch the 3 o’clock bus into the city!”

The Bai family ate a meal of steamed rice and bean sauce pork at Aunt Guihua’s house. Afterward, they took the tickets her son bought and boarded the long-distance bus.

When Bai Taotao saw the massive bus that could fit over a hundred people, she was stunned!

—In her past life, she had been able to fly with a sword, but that was a skill reserved for cultivators. How could ordinary mortals do such a thing? Yet this spacious iron contraption could hold so many people, move incredibly fast, start and stop whenever it pleased, and travel as fast or as slow as desired, stopping wherever it wanted???

Unable to resist, she asked Bai Zhengqian once more. She learned that Song Zhi had studied “engines” at university and that every iron machine with wheels had one of these “engines” inside.

This wasn’t alchemy at all!

Bai Taotao clenched her delicate fists and even waved them forcefully!

—University, huh? Fine. This immortal must visit a university and find out what’s going on!

= =

By the time the Bai family finally arrived at the county hospital, it was already seven or eight in the evening.

Tang Liren had thought things through on the way and told her children, “This was unexpected. Our whole family has come to the county without a place to stay. Tonight, we’ll split into two groups. Dongsheng, do you remember? Your aunt has a distant cousin who works at the guesthouse near the train station…”

“We don’t have an introduction letter to stay there, so tonight, we—both the old and the young—have no place to go. Take these twenty yuan. If you can buy something, buy it. If not, just give the money to Aunt Caixia and ask her for help. We can’t spend the night on the streets. Tomorrow, we’ll figure something out ourselves…”

Bai Dongsheng nodded.

Tang Liren continued, “Nansheng and I will take Chen Lanfen to the hospital. We won’t be with you tonight. Tomorrow, after you settle the housing issue, come find me at the hospital.”

Bai Dongsheng agreed and led the family to seek refuge with Aunt Caixia.

Meanwhile, Tang Liren, Bai Nansheng, and Chen Lanfen headed to the county hospital. Tang Liren went ahead to handle Chen Lanfen’s admission procedures.

Bai Nansheng and Chen Lanfen walked slowly behind.

Chen Lanfen, being full-term and heavily pregnant, had spent the entire day on the road. Her legs were badly swollen, and she was utterly exhausted. After taking just a few steps, one of her worn-out cloth shoes slipped off…

It was dark, and her belly was large. She stepped back two paces, widened her eyes to look carefully, and finally spotted her shoe. She tried to stretch out her leg to hook it back, but her swollen feet wouldn’t fit inside.

Bai Nansheng stood behind her, watching as she leaned against a tree, repeatedly trying to squeeze her foot into the shoe. Instead, she kept pushing it farther away…

He crouched down, picked up her old shoe, loosened the laces to widen the opening, then grabbed her swollen, rough foot—ugly and puffy like a steamed bun—and helped her put it on.

Chen Lanfen felt uneasy.

Bai Nansheng stood up, expressionless. “Let’s go!”

Chen Lanfen gazed at him, her eyes brimming with tears.

Seeing her remain still, he started walking ahead.

“Nansheng!” Chen Lanfen called out.

Bai Nansheng stopped.

Chen Lanfen sniffled and cried, “I know my request… might be unreasonable. But can’t you give me… even a sliver of hope? I didn’t want to be abandoned by my parents at birth, I didn’t want to be picked up and raised by them, and I didn’t want this pregnancy… None of this is what I wanted!”

She sobbed, clenching her fists and pounding her belly.

Bai Nansheng grabbed her hands and snapped, “Are you crazy? The baby’s about to be born!”

Chen Lanfen wailed, “His birthday will be his mother’s death anniversary. Who has ever truly looked forward to his birth?”

Bai Nansheng flung her hands away and turned his head aside.

Chen Lanfen pleaded softly, “Nansheng, I know I wronged you… I just want to ask you one thing—do you… do you really feel nothing for me at all?”

Bai Nansheng stared at her for a long time and said, “My grandmother was a widow. She had children with her first husband, but she remarried my grandfather and lived quite well. You can raise the child properly, and later, find someone new to settle down with. It’s not impossible.”

Chen Lanfen understood.

He truly had no feelings for her.

“So you were only willing to marry me… out of responsibility, right?” Chen Lanfen asked.

Bai Nansheng gave a curt “Mm.”

Tears streamed down Chen Lanfen’s face.

After a long while, she managed to suppress her grief and asked softly, “Then… do you like someone else now?”

“No.”

Chen Lanfen bit her lip and pleaded gently, “Nansheng, I beg you… don’t divorce me, okay? After the baby is born, help me file the military paperwork to join you and take me away from here… I promise I won’t burden you! I’ll raise the baby myself without asking for anything from you! If you find someone you love in the future, I’ll step aside immediately and make room for her!”

“Nansheng, I beg you. If you divorce me at such a critical time, I… I won’t survive!”
“Nansheng, I love you. I don’t want to leave you, so I didn’t lie to you. I’ve shown you my real, flawed self. Can’t you understand me, forgive me, and give me another chance?”
“Nansheng, we were once happy together. Don’t lie to me—I know… deep down, you still have feelings for me, right?”
“Nansheng, remember when we first got married? You were so happy, always clinging to me, buying me pretty clothes and good food… Nansheng, you do like me, don’t you?”
“Nansheng, life in the army is tough. Let me go with you. I’ll take care of your meals and clothes…”
“Nansheng…”

Chen Lanfen cried bitterly, her words dripping with desperation.

Bai Nansheng’s heart was a tangled mess.

T/N: Don’t listen to her!!!!! I can understand that Chen Lanfen was in a desperate situation so she definitely deserves some grace, but Bai Nansheng still deserves better than someone who would do this. Especially since, despite the fact that he has no feelings towards her, when he found out she was pregnant, he immediately stepped up.