Chapter 26
Qiao Wei felt she understood why there was no such thing as “menstrual leave” in the future.
It was because of technological progress!
Because of the appearance of sanitary pads, it made things much more convenient for women, allowing them to work and study normally even during their periods.
But now, if anyone told her that one could work normally while using this kind of pink paper, she would smear her menstrual blood all over their face.
Aside from taking Yan Xiang to the Residential Compound Cafeteria twice, once in the morning and once at noon, she didn’t go anywhere or do anything else that day.
This was the second day, when the flow was heaviest.
She didn’t dare lie on the bed; never mind staining the bedding, even staining the small mattress specifically used during her period would be a hassle.
She had checked; that small mattress was sewn shut.
Which meant that if it got dirty and needed washing, she would have to unstitch it to wash it, and then sew it back up after it dried.
In both her lifetimes, the number of times Qiao Wei had touched a needle didn’t exceed the number of fingers on one hand.
It was basically only when she accidentally got a splinter in her hand and needed to pick it out.
She couldn’t even thread a needle.
There was no such thing as a sofa in the house either.
She believed they must exist in big cities, but the problem was that this was just a small town.
If a piece of furniture as stylish as a sofa wasn’t even in a military family’s home, it probably couldn’t be found anywhere in the entire town.
The main room was furnished with an Eight Immortals table and a long side table.
A portrait of the Great Man hung on the front wall.
There was nowhere in the house where one could lounge around.
Yan Lei had promised her yesterday that he would get her a large bamboo chair.
She hoped he could get it soon.
Otherwise, there really wasn’t any place in this house that could be called particularly comfortable.
Even the bed she slept on was hard because it was a kang.
The original owner had been dissatisfied with so many things in life, yet she had never complained about the hard kang.
Qiao Wei pondered it for a moment before it dawned on her; because even the original owner had never slept on a Simmons mattress, this level of hardness was normal to her.
Only a transmigrator like Qiao Wei would find it hard.
She hadn’t felt it the day she first arrived because, before transmigrating, she had been sleeping on a narrow and uncomfortable hospital bed.
But it only took her three days to adapt to her new environment, and she immediately began to miss the soft beds of the future.
Thus, people’s hierarchy of needs is always escalating, endless and boundless.
Right now, for Qiao Wei, what was the most comfortable thing in the whole house?
Surprisingly, it wasn’t the kang, but the small bamboo chair.
After breakfast, since Yan Lei had said they would eat at the Cafeteria all day, Qiao Wei didn’t go to the Farmers Market to buy groceries and went straight home with Yan Xiang.
She carried the small bamboo chair into the shade of the tree in the courtyard and placed a small stool in front of it.
She sat on the small bamboo chair with her feet resting on the small stool.
Then, waving a cattail leaf fan, it was the most comfortable state she could achieve at the moment.
What was annoying was the “blood flooding the golden mountains”; that paper had such limited water absorption and retention capabilities that Qiao Wei had to change it frequently.
Thinking about it, it was fortunate that she had transmigrated into a period novel; if she had transmigrated into ancient times and had to use wood ash, how would she have survived?
Qiao Wei rested her feet in the shade, enjoying the cool air.
She squinted her eyes, looking at the house and the courtyard, planning how to renovate them once her period was over and she was more familiar with the local conditions.
Yan Xiang came over with a book held up over his head with both hands: “Mom, Mom! Tell me a story.”
Qiao Wei took it and looked; it was still that book, “The Adventures of Little Cloth Head.”
She had been reading this book to Yan Xiang every night since the first day she transmigrated, and she had already finished it once.
Although she had heard from friends who had children that kids could listen to the same story many, many times, Qiao Wei didn’t want to read it a second time.
Besides, in her memories, Yan Xiang should have already heard this story many times.
How could he not get tired of it?
Qiao Wei said: “How about we change to a different one?”
But Yan Xiang said: “There aren’t any others. They are all Mom’s books.”
Partly because it was an early era, and partly because it was a small place, it was no wonder the original owner was always resentful. It was a time when supplies were tight, and living in a small town was even more inconvenient.
When The Technician brought back a few books from The Capital, the original owner treated them like treasures.
It was truly because such things were rare.
Qiao Wei asked Yan Xiang: “Have you heard of Hans Christian Andersen’s Fairy Tales?”
Yan Xiang shook his head.
Qiao Wei took him into her arms: “Come, Mom will tell you the story of The Emperor’s New Clothes…”
Qiao Wei’s first thought was actually to tell the child the story of the old grandfather and the seven gourds, but then she thought, although this was a world within a novel, it was ultimately built upon the foundation of the real world.
Even if some things were slightly different, the overall development was the same.
In the future, the Calabash Brothers would likely appear, so she restrained herself and changed it to Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tales just before she started speaking.
The few children’s books in the house were almost worn out from reading.
Hearing a completely new story with a totally different style for the first time, Yan Xiang listened with rapt attention.
After listening, he clapped his hands and said: “They are so stupid! The Emperor didn’t have any new clothes at all; they were just afraid of being considered stupid, so they didn’t dare to tell the truth. Only the little boy told the truth!”
Qiao Wei patted his head and praised him: “Our Xiangxiang is so smart, you understood everything.”
Before she could finish, someone suddenly spoke from behind: “What is this story about?”
Qiao Wei turned her head to look. She had casually pulled the courtyard gate shut after returning from breakfast but hadn’t latched it, and now Lin Xixi was standing at the entrance holding Wu Nier.
Half of her body was already inside.
“Oh,” Qiao Wei set Yan Xiang down on the ground, “Why are you here, Little Lin?”
Yan Xiang was super polite and knew how to greet people: “Sister Lin.”
Lin Xixi entered without being invited, walking straight into the courtyard: “I was watching Wu Nier and thought that since Aunt Qiao was at home looking after Xiangxiang, I wanted to come over and hang out with you.”
Qiao Wei reached out to take Wu Nier and said generously: “You’re welcome. Since we live so close, just tell your sister-in-law to come over and visit whenever she’s free.”
Ordinary young people usually hated it when older people came to visit.
But Qiao Wei was the complete opposite; she had spent the final stage of her life in a hospital, without family or lovers, and her friends had gradually drifted away.
The care and help she received during that last period, apart from the medical staff, almost entirely came from the aunties and older sisters in the ward.
Having experienced the warmth and coldness of the world, and having gone through sickness and death, her tolerance was much higher than that of an ordinary person, and she was much more laid-back.
In fact, as long as Lin Xixi didn’t take the initiative to attack, she really hoped that this original female lead could carve out another good life for herself.
But Lin Xixi asked tentatively: “Is that ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’ you’re telling?”
Although there was a seemingly casual smile on her face, Qiao Wei, knowing her status as the original female lead, could easily detect the suspicious tone.
“Yes. I didn’t expect you to know it too, Little Lin,” she asked back with a smile,
“Isn’t Little Lin from the countryside? How do you know about it?”
Lin Xixi was choked up.
She had originally thought that “The Emperor’s New Clothes” should be something from the future.
Because she carefully recalled that when she went to school as a child, the textbooks were filled with texts like “How the Chairman Studied as a Child,” “National Day,” “Let the Grain Return to the Granary,” “The Good Aunt,” “Passing Huangni Slope Three Times,” and “The Strength of the Collective,” which were very different from the language textbooks of the future.
She had already suspected that Qiao Wei was someone who had died and been reborn.
But she couldn’t figure out exactly from what point in time Qiao Wei had returned.
If it was like her, dying and then being reborn, then Qiao Wei should have just resurrected on the spot.
This already sounded strange, and then suddenly discovering that the fairy tale Qiao Wei was telling might be something that didn’t exist yet, her mind became even more confused.
She wanted to probe and see if she could find out exactly when Qiao Wei had returned from, but who knew that Qiao Wei would immediately choke her with a counter-question.
Yes, if “The Emperor’s New Clothes” was something that only appeared in the future, how did she, Lin Xixi, know it?
Lin Xixi broke into a light sweat on her forehead, and in a flash of inspiration, she said: “It was the educated youth; the educated youth in our village told it. It just sounded similar to what you were telling.”
“Exactly, I was wondering how you knew it too,” Qiao Wei said with a smile, “There are no Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tales here; those are only found in big cities.”
Qiao Wei was completely making it up; she actually had no idea when Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tales were introduced to China.
But it didn’t matter; she had read the original text and knew what kind of person Lin Xixi was.
This auntie who had been reborn only had an elementary school education.
Although she had followed her educated youth husband to settle in a city, it was only a second or third-tier small city.
Moreover, she had been a housewife her whole life; her knowledge and perspective from the early nineties might be more than the people of this era, but she couldn’t compare to Qiao Wei, who was from the future.
Qiao Wei would bet that Lin Xixi also had no idea when Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tales were introduced to China.
Sure enough, one must have confidence.
With Qiao Wei appearing so confident, Lin Xixi immediately lost her self-assurance.
“Is that so? Only in big cities? I didn’t even know that,” she said vaguely.
“That’s why I was surprised. I came from the city, so it’s not strange that I know. But Little Lin, you came from the countryside, yet you actually know it too, so I was amazed.” Qiao Wei said nonchalantly while pinching Wu Nier’s lotus-root-like little arm.
Lin Xixi’s heart was pounding.
But although this middle-aged auntie didn’t have much education or knowledge, she was an expert at arguing and had a glib tongue. She forced herself to remain calm and said: “It’s not strange. We had so many educated youths in our production team, all from different places. Each one taught me a little bit, and I ended up knowing everything.”
“Oh~ that makes sense,” Qiao Wei acted as if she had suddenly realized it.
Lin Xixi felt she had successfully smoothed it over. Her courage returned, and she said with a smile: “I know quite a few things; some of them even you, Aunt Qiao, might not know. It’s just a pity I haven’t been to the provincial capital. Aunt Qiao, didn’t you just go to the provincial capital a few days ago? Tell me about it, what is the provincial capital like?”
Her eyes were bright, and she looked at Qiao Wei with anticipation.
People in this era could talk for three days and three nights after just one trip to the city; if they went to Beijing or Shanghai, they could brag about it for a lifetime.
With her saying this, Qiao Wei would surely be unable to resist opening up and showing off.
Who knew that Qiao Wei would say regretfully: “I went to visit relatives, but who knew I would fall ill directly, running a high fever. If Uncle Yan hadn’t driven to pick me up and taken me to the hospital in time, I might have died in the provincial capital. I didn’t even get a good look at the provincial capital.”
Lin Xixi paused.
She really had gotten sick in the provincial capital. But, wasn’t she supposed to have died there? How could she have returned alive?
As if she had heard her inner thoughts, Qiao Wei bounced Wu Nier up a little and said with deep meaning in her eyes: “Speaking of which, I have to thank you for this.”
“If it hadn’t been for you suddenly arriving in town, with sister-in-law looking after several children all by herself, how could Yan Lei have felt at ease leaving Xiangxiang here while he went to the provincial capital to pick me up?”
“It was all because you came, and you were so diligent in helping to look after Xiangxiang. When your Uncle Yan saw it was going well, he was able to free himself up to go to the provincial capital.”
“He went to the provincial capital and took me to the hospital in time, and that’s why I’m fine.”
“So, if you calculate it that way, it’s all because you came, Little Lin, that you saved my life.”
Qiao Wei was also quite mischievous; she had read many rebirth novels that discussed the butterfly effect after rebirth.
Lin Xixi was clearly suspicious about why “Qiao Weiwei” was still alive, but Qiao Wei wouldn’t waste effort trying to prove her innocence; she directly constructed a false butterfly effect and got Lin Xixi tangled up in it.
Lin Xixi was bewildered listening to this.
What was going on? Wasn’t rebirth a chance given by heaven for her to have another go?
Letting her have the chance to seize this good marriage with Yan Lei and live a wealthy and good life in the future.
How did it become that because she was reborn, Qiao Weiwei didn’t die?
What kind of cause-and-effect relationship was this?
In the early nineties, there was no internet, let alone any web novels about rebirth or transmigration.
Lin Xixi had never even encountered the concept of the butterfly effect.
Her brain couldn’t process it.
Qiao Wei had completely fried her CPU!
