Her Cultivation Diary
Chapter 1031 - 1011. Eager to return home

Chapter 1031: 1011. Eager to return home

They said there’d be no traffic jams, but in reality, when Master Li drove from Wanhe Garden to the outskirts of the Sixth Ring Road, they ran right into the evening rush hour.

By the time they returned to the taxi company for handover, it was already seven o’clock. The snow along the roadside remained unmelted, reflecting patchy white under the streetlights—cold and unfeeling.

Song Tan sighed with lingering fear: "Thank goodness I don’t live here, otherwise just stepping out the door would drive me mad..."

Qiaoqiao stretched his legs and, for the first time, complained, "Riding in the car is so exhausting..."

How could it not be exhausting? They still had nine hours of driving ahead of them!

Song Tan glanced at the backseat: "The noodles are bagged and stored in the trunk. You can move to the backseat and sleep for a bit. By the time you wake up, we’ll be nearly home."

Qiaoqiao had only slept for a few hours the previous night and had been running around all day. Now he was truly tired. Obediently, he waited for Song Tan to park and moved to the backseat. Even then, he was still concerned as he looked at her:

"Sister, aren’t you tired? Why don’t we stop the car and take a nap?"

Song Tan laughed: "Just go to sleep."

Stop the car to nap... Why would she bother doing that? There were hotels outside the Sixth Ring Road, after all. There was a whole hog-feast to prepare for and plenty of things to do back home!

More importantly, she no longer had much fondness for bustling city life.

In the backseat, Qiaoqiao curled up on his side and lay down. His breathing gradually steadied, while Song Tan kept her eyes fixed on the road ahead. Feeling the stagnation of her spiritual energy that had made no progress in recent days, she let out a deep sigh.

There was no spiritual energy in the city, and even the spiritual energy in the mountains and forests seemed scarce. Otherwise, after two lifetimes of cultivation, she wouldn’t have started out so quickly only to slow to a crawl at this point...

Perhaps this was the balance or limitation of this world.

But it didn’t matter. Song Tan wasn’t bothered. As long as the family could live happily together, she was already very content. Though spiritual energy was scarce, a trickle over a long time would eventually build up.

Besides, at the very least, taking care of her family would never be a problem.

And if that were the case, what was there to feel uneasy about?

The car gradually merged onto the highway. Her foot lightly pressed the accelerator, her heart set on getting home.

...

Meanwhile, back at Lao Song’s home, everyone was sitting around the stove for warmth, all the while worrying about Song Tan and Qiaoqiao.

"They said they’d get back tomorrow morning. Why rush so much? Driving at night isn’t safe."

Wu Lan muttered under her breath.

Song Sancheng also sighed: "Exactly. And why take Qiaoqiao along? She’d have been better off bringing me. If she gets tired driving, I could at least switch with her."

But Zhang Yanping was more at ease: "With Tantan’s skills—remember how terrible the roads in our village used to be? She could navigate those flawlessly. Now she’s driving on highways and national roads; it’ll be smooth sailing. Don’t worry about it."

Lady Tang, however, knew Wu Lan was simply concerned about the child, so she interjected, "Aren’t they saying it’s the end of the year? More villagers are supposed to be returning, aren’t they? Why does it feel like no one’s come back?"

Hearing this, Wu Lan had plenty to say: "Teacher Tang, you don’t know. These days, when our villagers go out to work, the older folks aren’t wanted by many factories. The ones that do hire them are usually those desperate for workers."

"But at those places, the workload is heavy, and they don’t let people leave easily. Normally, they won’t let you go until the end of the year. Probably only submitted their resignation letters at the end of last month—it requires a month’s notice."

"If you insist on leaving, it’s a hassle to get withheld wages and all that."

"Exactly!" Song Sancheng sighed again. "It’s so hard for us farmers to make a living now—we don’t even have pensions. And when we go out to work, people are afraid to hire us, worrying they can’t afford it if something happens."

"A lot of folks in the village try their luck at construction sites, but there’s always medical checkups first. If someone’s got high blood pressure or something, they’re immediately not allowed to work."

"Yet they’re reluctant to leave and end up just hanging around."

Lady Tang furrowed her brow thoughtfully. She had researched these issues before, but hearing about them firsthand was far more striking.

Looking at the troubled expressions of the couple, then the silent Professor Song sitting beside her, she thought to herself that this old man had spent his entire life working the land. Now it seemed he could still help many people.

She spoke again to reassure the couple, "Don’t worry. Next year, when your family’s business grows, you’ll definitely need to hire villagers to help. You’ll create plenty of jobs."

"Besides, aren’t we trying to cultivate those strawberries in Tian Tian’s greenhouse? If it works out, with the roads now fixed, we could sell some good seedlings to anyone daring enough to grow strawberries. That’ll bring in some income too."

Her voice was gentle and deliberate, imbued with a calm and reassuring power that seemed to resonate deep within.

"No need to rush. Things are changing for the better day by day. These tasks take time, one step at a time."

Wu Lan agreed wholeheartedly.

Even Seventh Uncle, who rarely stayed late, was sitting quietly with Seventh Grandma, listening intently. He suddenly spoke up: "My son might be coming back."

"Huh?" Everyone was stunned.

Seventh Uncle’s son... Wasn’t he practically a myth? After so many years away, why the sudden decision to return?

Seeing Wu Lan’s surprised expression, Seventh Uncle quickly explained: "Don’t worry. It was agreed long ago that the house will go to Tantan in the future. I won’t change my mind."

Wu Lan, who initially seemed concerned about the house, suddenly burst out laughing.

"Seventh Uncle, what are you even talking about? Our family doesn’t lack for that house now. I don’t think Tantan even wants to live in the city—it was just a joke we made back then."

"Besides, hasn’t the house not even met the required conditions?"

"If your son’s coming back, surely he shouldn’t have to rent a place to live. That’d be inappropriate."

She looked earnestly at Seventh Uncle. "You’ve taught Qiaoqiao so well—we’re already more than satisfied."

After all, Qiaoqiao’s personality was so well nurtured. This was thanks in part to Teacher Xin Jun, but also to Seventh Uncle’s care and affection.

Everything that needed teaching had been taught, yet he couldn’t even bear to scold Qiaoqiao on a regular day. How many others would have that kind of patience and care?

But now, Song Sancheng started worrying: How would they explain this to Hongmei later?

Aunt Song Hongmei had initially eyed that house for Tantan, hadn’t she? Now, out of nowhere, with the son returning, how could Hongmei possibly not kick up a fuss?

Seventh Uncle simply waved his hand dismissively.

"This was all discussed before. Don’t overthink or try to deflect. I’ve saved enough over the years—buying another house like that wouldn’t be an issue..."

Not to mention his current income—he made several thousand a month with nowhere to spend it. Did they think he cared about that house?

Besides...

Seventh Uncle smirked to himself. He wasn’t like Old Man Li from the village.

Folks often said only biological children were truly reliable. But looking at Old Man Li, even though his kids hadn’t come back, Seventh Uncle reckoned the days Old Man Li spent living with his son in the urban area likely weren’t as good as living in the countryside!

Deep down, Old Man Li probably knew it too. Otherwise, why would he have reluctantly given Dahuang to Song Tan?

That was his companion of half a lifetime. If things were truly reliable, would he have given him up? No, it was just that the old man wanted to grow close to his kids in his later years. It was all self-deception.