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

Chapter 14: Does the grandson have a girlfriend?
At six o'clock in the morning, Chen Xiaomiao opened her eyes groggily, staring blankly at the ceiling, and it took her a long time to realize where she was.

She groped for the smooth, cold "iron brick" and picked it up. The screen was still showing her conversation with Lu Yuan from last night.

Looking at the round, chubby cartoon kitten, Chen Xiaomiao pinched herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming.

Immediately after breakfast, Lu Yuan called Chen Xiaomiao to the sofa again and began the "Second Lesson of Modern Science and Technology Enlightenment".

Today's topic is "Mobile Payment".

Lu Yuan opened his WeChat Wallet and tried to explain in plain language: "Look, this is people's 'money bag' nowadays. I'll transfer money to your 'money bag' first."

He operated his phone and transferred 300 yuan to Chen Xiaomiao's WeChat account.

"Then you go to buy things, you don't need to take out real money or get change. Just use this 'scan' or have the shopkeeper scan your 'payment code' and the money will be deducted from your 'wallet'."

Chen Xiaomiao held her phone, feeling nothing, but one thing was clear: Lu Yuangang had given her money.

"This...you've given me the money already? Where are the real cash bills?"

"This is 'real money,' only it's been turned into numbers."

Lu Yuan emphasized: "Remember, don't spend it recklessly, and don't tell anyone your 'money bag' password. This 300 is for you to buy groceries in case of emergency."

"Okay! I promise I won't spend it recklessly, and I'll explain everything to you before I buy anything."

Chen Xiaomiao nodded vigorously, feeling the "iron brick" in her hand suddenly become incredibly heavy.

To let Chen Xiaomiao experience it firsthand, Lu Yuan took her to a nearby vegetable market.

During the morning rush hour, the market was bustling with people. As Chen Xiaomiao looked around, she casually asked, "Lu Yuan, what would you like to eat for lunch?"

"Don't worry about me, I won't be home for lunch."

Where are you going?

"Go to my grandparents' house for a bit, and be back this afternoon." Lu Yuan instructed, "Don't wander around at home. If there's an emergency, call me using the method I taught you yesterday."

"middle!"

The two arrived at the pork stall, where Chen Xiaomiao picked out a nice piece of tenderloin and asked the owner to cut it into pieces.

"Miss, that'll be twenty-eight yuan and fifty cents in total."

Chen Xiaomiao took a deep breath, followed Lu Yuan's instructions to turn on the camera, and pointed it at the black and white cube in front of her.

"Beep—WX received 28.5 yuan."

Accompanied by a crisp electronic sound, Chen Xiaomiao completed her first mobile payment.

She carried the meat, both surprised and dazed, as if she had accomplished something extraordinary.

After buying groceries and returning home, Lu Yuan picked up the gifts and prepared to leave. However, as he approached the door, he was still worried, fearing that the girl might cause trouble at home.

"Xiao Miao, do you like watching plays?" Lu Yuan asked.

"Watching a play? There's a theatrical troupe nearby?" Chen Xiaomiao's eyes lit up.

Lu Yuan didn't answer, but went straight to the living room and opened the huge black "mirror" in front of Chen Xiaomiao.

As Lu Yuan pressed the "magical artifact" in his hand, images and sounds quickly appeared in the mirror.

"I refuse to believe in that nonsense! I, Li Yunlong, am going to fight the elite! Pass on my order: all men, fix bayonets and prepare to attack..."

The stirring lines and the roar of cannons instantly filled the entire living room.

"Be good..."

Chen Xiaomiao was so startled by this "moving photographic painting" that she took a half step back.

"You can sit here and watch."

Lu Yuan handed her the remote control, taught her how to pause and play, then turned and left.

"Drive carefully!"

Chen Xiaomiao's attention was completely drawn to the screen. She sat obediently on the sofa, her eyes fixed on the cursing Commander Li on TV.

Lu Yuan left the residential area and got into a taxi, but still felt uneasy, so he took out his phone and opened the home surveillance app.

On the screen, Chen Xiaomiao was staring intently at the television when she suddenly sat up abruptly and let out a loud cheer.

I reckon it was the Sakata Regiment's command post that was bombed...

"Driver, go to Qingshan Residential Area."

Qingshan Community is an old community in Jiangcheng, where buildings are generally only six or seven stories high.

Before buying that river-view penthouse, Lu Yuan's parents and grandparents lived in their grandparents' old house. Their few forms of entertainment each day consisted of playing in the mud with Zhao Qiang and his childhood friends, often with their bare bottoms exposed.

My mother insisted on taking out a loan to buy a house, which my grandparents strongly opposed.

The elderly couple were conservative in their thinking, feeling as if the sky was falling when they were burdened with millions in debt.

But the father was easily swayed, and the mother had a high income and her words carried weight in the family, so the matter was eventually settled.

After the house was bought, the elderly couple, still angry, refused to move in together.

After their parents passed away, the elderly couple, fearing that seeing familiar objects would remind them of their loss, became even more reluctant to go...

Lu Yuan, familiar with the way, went up to the third floor and knocked on the security door.

An elderly woman with gray hair and reading glasses, but still standing upright, appeared behind the door. Her eyes were gentle yet bright, revealing the calmness and competence of an old-fashioned intellectual.

"Xiao Yuan!? You child, why didn't you tell me you were coming back!"

"Isn't this a surprise for you two?"

Inside, a thin old man was sitting on the sofa in the living room, watching TV with a straight face. He didn't even lift his eyelids when he heard Lu Yuan enter.

"Grandma, I brought you some things: wild ginseng and top-quality bird's nest from Tongrentang in the capital. You can make soup with them to replenish your energy."

"Oh dear, you're wasting money again!"

Grandma complained, but her face lit up with a smile. She turned and walked towards the kitchen, saying, "Have a seat, Grandma will cut you a watermelon!"

Lu Yuan walked over to the sofa and sat down, crossing his legs: "Hey, whose old man is this? He's got quite the airs, ignoring his own grandson when he comes back?"

Grandpa snorted coldly, exhaling two puffs of air from his nose, and retorted, "It's a wonder you still remember having a grandpa like me. Why don't you stay in the capital and enjoy the good life with your maternal grandfather?"

Lu Yuan continued with a grin: "My grandfather's seven-day mourning period hasn't even passed yet, why are you arguing with a dead man?"

"Who's going to argue with him!"

"Alright, alright, quiet down, all of you." Grandma came over with a plate of sliced ​​watermelon and gently patted Lu Yuan on the back of the head: "You little rascal, you never know how to behave properly!"

After saying that, she glared at her old man.

"You too, old but petty, your in-laws are all alone, surely someone will be there to see them off when they pass away?"

"Is he all alone?"

Grandpa laughed angrily: "Chen Shu makes so much money, there are plenty of people vying to be his dutiful sons and grandsons, why does he have to make my grandson do it!"

In-laws? Remember how arrogant he was at Xiao Yuan's parents' wedding?

"So what if I made a few dirty bucks? That's only true now. Back in the day..."

Lu Yuan was both amused and exasperated.

"Alright, alright!"

Grandma slammed the fruit plate down on the coffee table, interrupting, "When someone dies, everything is over. Why are you, a grown man, acting like a gossipy old woman, harping on about old times?"

Grandpa's momentum immediately weakened after being intimidated by his wife. He muttered a few words but dared not say anything more.

Grandma then turned to Lu Yuan and asked gently, "Xiao Yuan, have your maternal grandfather's funeral arrangements been made?"

Lu Yuan nodded: "Everything is taken care of."

Did he say anything to you before he left?

“When I arrived, he was already quite disoriented. Occasionally he would be a little better, but his words would be incoherent.”

Grandma sighed, "She's a pitiful woman, only having one daughter in her old age..."

"What's there to pity!"

Grandpa suddenly interrupted, his eyes gleaming: "Hey Xiaoyuan, how much money did that old man leave you?"

Lu Yuan picked up a slice of watermelon and said in a deliberately serious tone, "Putting aside the amount of money, if I inherit the estate, I'll have to change my surname to Chen. Grandpa, are you happy about that?"

"fart!"

Grandpa slapped his thigh, puffed out his beard and glared, "You're the only son in my Lu family. We're counting on you to carry on the family line. Change your surname? No way!"

After shouting, the old man calmed down and asked tentatively in a low voice, "Does he really want you to change your surname? Then... how much did he keep?"

"Lu Jianguo!"

Grandma was so angry that she reached out and twisted the old man's ear.

"Ouch! That hurts! I was just asking, just asking!"

Lu Yuan ate watermelon while watching the elderly couple arguing in front of him.

After the laughter subsided, Grandma suddenly brought something up: "Xiaoyuan, I'm going back to work at the hospital next week."

My grandmother used to be the head of the hematology department at a German hospital, but she retired four years ago.

Lu Yuan asked curiously, "Didn't you retire? Why did you go back?"

"I'll be rehired by the institute to go back and mentor students. It's better than staying at home and getting bored."

Grandma glanced at Lu Yuan and sighed, "If you could bring me a granddaughter-in-law sooner so I can hold my great-grandchild, I promise I'd stay home every day."

Lu Yuan silently ate his watermelon, not daring to say another word.

His family's genes are somewhat strange, to be honest.

My grandfather was a bus driver. He met my grandmother while helping her save someone on the bus. Over time, my grandfather managed to persuade a promising medical student to come home with him.

His father was a taxi driver who, by chance, picked up a finance major who had returned from overseas. In the end, the returned student, despite strong opposition from his family, chose to marry the taxi driver.

Lu Yuan sometimes wondered if he hadn't repeated a year of high school and instead followed Zhao Qiang's example by driving for a ride-hailing service for a few years, he might already be living off a woman by now.

"Just take care of yourself and don't overwork yourself."

Lu Yuan didn't try to dissuade his grandmother from her decision, knowing he couldn't change it.

After lunch, Lu Yuan prepared to leave.

"Wait for Xiaoyuan."

Grandma called Lu Yuan over, took a bank card out of her pocket, and stuffed it into her grandson's hand without saying a word.

"Here you go! The password is your birthday."

"Grandma, what are you doing...?"

Lu Yuan felt like he'd been burned and quickly refused, saying, "My monthly income is enough to cover the mortgage payments. You and Grandpa can keep your retirement savings for yourselves."

"Enough?! Listen to me!"

Grandma slapped the card into Lu Yuan's palm, her attitude firm: "Your mother's quick-money-making methods won't last a lifetime. The market isn't good right now, and we're always worried about the worst-case scenario."

Old Wang's son lost everything in the stock market and almost jumped off a building.

Lu Yuan still refused to accept it. Taking advantage of the old man's momentary lapse in attention, he threw the bank card onto the shoe cabinet by the door, turned around, and quickly went downstairs.

"Really, no need! I'm leaving now... Hey Zhao Qiang, you just got back?"

"Just finished driving, came back to grab a bite to eat..."

The two exchanged a brief greeting and passed each other.

"Hello, Grandma Sun." Zhao Qiang greeted the elderly woman as he came upstairs, his attitude very polite: "Where's Yuanzi? Didn't he have dinner with you two?"

"She said she had something urgent to attend to and left in a hurry," Grandma sighed.

Zhao Qiang grinned: "What urgent matter could he have? He's just in a hurry to go back and be with his girlfriend."

Grandma's eyes lit up, her face full of surprise: "What? Xiao Yuan has a girlfriend!"

"Absolutely!" Zhao Qiang said confidently, "I've met him, and I went back to Jiangcheng with him!"

"Oh, oh, oh... Zhao Qiang, I've booked an appointment with an orthopedic specialist for your mother's lumbar spine issue. It'll be the day after tomorrow morning. Remember to go with her then."

"Oh, Grandma Sun, thank you for your trouble."

After seeing Zhao Qiang off and closing the door, the old man had a playful look on his face and turned back to shout into the house.

"Old man, wake up! Your grandson has a girlfriend!"

(End of this chapter)