Chapter Eighteen: Leisure and Ease

Tang Wei spent two pleasant days at home, using the time to explain aspects of cultivation to her family. After celebrating the Lantern Festival together, it was time for everyone to part ways. After all, each had their own family and career, and unlike Tang Jun, they could not all make the immediate decision to devote themselves wholly to cultivation.

Before they separated, Tang Wei gave each family member a gift: the storage pouch that Tang Jun had always wanted. Of course, Ziyang would never put such a low-level item in the space, but various storage rings, bracelets, earrings, and necklaces in different sizes were plentiful. To keep up appearances, Tang Wei herself wore a storage bracelet, which allowed her to retrieve items openly.

This time, she decided to give each of the men a storage ring, and each of the women a necklace. The internal space was roughly the size of a soccer field, and each piece had a unique design to prevent any mix-ups in the future. She placed some high-grade spirit stones inside, enough for everyone to use for meditation and cultivation. She reminded them to always store the spirit stones away after practicing, lest someone from the same path notice and cause unnecessary trouble.

Although Tang Wei knew that cultivators from the cultivation world wouldn’t come to Earth, she couldn’t help feeling a little apprehensive. After all, she didn’t know if there were other cultivators hidden on Earth, especially since there were many ancient families and sects in China—who could say if any of them knew the secrets of cultivation? So she insisted that everyone practice discreetly for now.

After watching her family bind their storage items with a drop of blood, Tang Wei gave them a few last reminders, then prepared to return to her room for some rest.

The morning after the Lantern Festival, Tang Wei got up early and went downstairs. She hadn’t practiced in the space that night, and now that the baby’s first month had passed and she was allowed out, she planned to ride with her eldest sister into the city for a couple of days. But when she got downstairs, she saw neither her eldest nor second sister’s families. After asking her mother, she found out they had left at dawn!

Tang Wei was exasperated, but she could only blame herself—if only she’d spoken to Tang Feng and the others the night before! With no other choice, Tang Wei decided to travel into the city on her own. She asked her mother to look after the baby for a couple of days and set off cheerfully.

Before leaving, she also reminded her mother to ask her father to quickly name the twins. Several days had passed since their one-month celebration, but everyone had been busy with cultivation and no one had found the time to choose names. Surely, they couldn’t keep calling them “the babies” forever!

On the minibus to the city, Tang Wei idly watched the scenery outside. On either side of the road were rice paddies. The weather was still cold after the New Year, so it wasn’t yet time to plant rice, and the fields looked bleak.

At one stop, an old woman and a little girl boarded. Tang Wei didn’t pay much attention at first, glancing at them before turning back to the window. But when she heard the little girl’s sweet voice, she looked over. The two were about to sit beside her.

The little girl said to the old woman, “Grandma, you sit. I’ll just stand in front of you.”

The grandmother chuckled, holding the child close. “Silly girl! Sit on Grandma’s lap.”

“No, Grandma, your legs hurt!” Tang Wei was touched to see the little girl, who couldn’t have been more than four or five, already so considerate of her grandmother. Clearly, she’d received a good upbringing.

Though the two were clean and tidy, their clothes were noticeably faded, and wearing such old clothes during the New Year suggested their life wasn’t easy. The girl was pretty, but her slender hands made Tang Wei’s heart ache.

Tang Wei reached out to the girl and asked, “Little one, if Grandma’s legs hurt, would you like to sit on my lap instead?”

The little girl looked at her grandmother, who nodded. The child turned to Tang Wei and said, “Thank you, big sister.”

Tang Wei lifted her onto her lap and was surprised at how light she was, even thinner than her own niece. With a pang of sympathy, Tang Wei took an apple from her bag—really from her space—handed it to the girl, and asked, “What’s your name, little one? How old are you? Here, have an apple.”

The girl looked at the apple hungrily but glanced at her grandmother first.

The old woman, seeing Tang Wei’s genuine fondness, smiled and said, “Take it, and thank your sister. Tell her your name and age.”

The little girl happily accepted the apple. “Thank you, big sister. My name is An’an, and I’m six years old.”

Tang Wei noticed An’an spoke clearly and politely, holding the apple with both hands but not clamoring to eat it. Tang Wei liked her even more and asked, “Why aren’t you eating, An’an?”

An’an replied earnestly, “I’ll wait until we get to my aunt’s house. I want to share it with Grandma—half each!”

Tang Wei chuckled. “You’re such a thoughtful child, An’an, wanting to share with your grandma! I hope you have fun at your aunt’s.”

At the mention of fun, An’an grew serious. “I’m not going to play. I’m going to my aunt’s to study. Grandma told me that if I work hard at school, I can earn a lot of money when I grow up. Then I can buy Grandma lots of good food, and we can live in a beautiful big house together and wear pretty dresses.”

Tang Wei chatted with An’an along the way, with the old woman chiming in now and then. By the time the hour-long journey ended, she had learned most of their story.

It turned out that An’an’s mother left soon after giving birth, and her father, unable to cope, went to seek her out, only to be beaten up. After coming home and getting caught in the rain, he fell gravely ill. His health never recovered, and he died when An’an was three. Since then, An’an had lived with her grandmother. The old woman had a son and a daughter; her husband had died years before, so she’d struggled to raise her children alone. Just as she should have been able to enjoy life, tragedy struck again. She scraped by doing odd jobs, living frugally to raise her granddaughter. Wanting a better future for An’an, she asked her daughter and son-in-law to take the girl in so she could find work washing dishes at a restaurant.

Tang Wei sympathized deeply with the pair and resolved to help them if she could. Before getting off the bus, she asked for their phone number, promising to visit An’an when she had time, and gave them her own contact information to keep in touch.

After transferring from the county to the city, Tang Wei headed straight to her new home, which she’d purchased long ago but never had a chance to live in. At last, she could fulfill her wish.

She planned to have lunch at her sisters’ house as well. Before the New Year, Tang Feng and Tang Jing’s families had already moved in together. Now, Tang Jing had become a full-time housewife, making it easier for Tang Feng to run her business, since Niuniu had someone to look after her. It was a perfect arrangement between sisters.

Tang Feng, He Jianjun, and Fu Zhongming had gone straight to their shop after leaving the village, busy with reopening for business.

In the end, Tang Wei had lunch at her second sister’s house, where only Fu’s mother, her second sister, and three children were at home. With everyone busy, Tang Wei hadn’t expected anyone to accompany her around town, so after lunch, she headed to the market on her own.

There, she bought some common vegetable seeds, planning to open a vegetable plot in the valley once it was accessible. Then, she could openly bring vegetables from her space to eat.

After buying seeds, Tang Wei wandered to the pedestrian street—a place she’d longed to visit for half a year. She hadn’t gone during her pregnancy, not daring to browse the beautiful clothes with her large belly.

Now that her figure had not only recovered but improved, with curves in all the right places, it was time to dress up and enjoy herself.

Remembering Zixuan in the space still dressed in a plain gray robe, she bought him two sets of clothes, both inside and out, deciding it was better to have them just in case.

By the time she finished shopping, her hands were full. Since she couldn’t openly put everything into her space, she decided to save the rest for tomorrow. That night, Tang Wei slept in her new home for the first time.