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Bai Tang brought everyone to stay at the best inn in Yangzhou, the Mingchun Inn. This inn is a well-established establishment with a history of over a hundred years, offering the best accommodations and dining. Bai Tang requested a courtyard, which was serene and elegantly decorated. Bai Dad held a uniquely shaped Yixing Zisha incense burner that would surely fetch millions before the apocalypse.
The two children rolled around on the intricately carved bed covered with brocade for a while, then frowned in dissatisfaction at how hard the bed was, saying it was not as soft as a Simmons mattress. Bai Tang stared at the two of them for a moment in disbelief, then took out two Simmons mattresses from the gang's base to lay on the bed boards; otherwise, the two spoiled children wouldn't be able to sleep at night.
By evening, the two children were sleeping soundly, while the adults were wide awake. Bai Tang walked into the courtyard and saw Bai Dad and Bai Ma sitting opposite each other on stone benches, seemingly deep in conversation.
“Dad, Mom, the stone benches are too cold; let’s sit on cushions instead!” she said, handing them two fabric cushions.
The parents appreciated their daughter's thoughtfulness and accepted the cushions; sitting on cold stone benches was indeed uncomfortable. Just as they settled down, Wu Xuemei also walked out from her room with her son.
“Godfather, Godmother, Tang Tang, can’t you sleep either?”
Bai Tang smiled and replied, “Aren't you also awake?”
Wu Xuemei sat down on the bench opposite Bai Tang and sighed, “Ever since the apocalypse began, I haven’t been able to sleep well at night. But tonight it’s not fear keeping me awake; I’m just too excited. I’m still not used to such a peaceful night!”
“You’ll get used to it!” Bai Tang said gently. It wasn’t just Wu Xuemei; Bai Dad and Bai Ma, as well as Bai Tang herself, felt quite complex emotions that night. The first night in the world of Dream of the Red Chamber would be an insomniac night.
“Since we can’t sleep anyway, let’s play mahjong!” A set of mahjong tiles appeared in Bai Tang's hands out of nowhere.
The next day, the Bai family woke up late—four adults played mahjong until three in the morning before they finally returned to their rooms to sleep. After breakfast, Bai Tang took Bai Dad and the others to explore Yangzhou City. They spent ten hours touring the entire city. Next, they headed to Hangzhou and Suzhou, enjoying all of Jiangnan. A month later, Bai Tang and her group left Jiangnan in a specially made carriage heading towards ancient S Province.
Traveling through mountains and rivers, the Bai family took five months to enter S Province. In ancient times, S Province was considered a remote and underdeveloped area; however, City D back then was merely a town named Luozhen located in the only flatland area of S Province with favorable geographical conditions. The people there lived better than those in mountainous regions. After settling her family at an inn, Bai Tang immediately went to find the largest dental shop in town to purchase property. Three days later, the Bai family moved into a villa on the outskirts of Luozhen Town along with her newly acquired steward's family, several maids, and lower-ranking servants. The villa encompassed two hundred acres of land, and Bai Tang also bought an additional seven hundred acres nearby at a high price to make it a full plot.
Bai Tang used gold and silver to pave the way, bribing officials and easily registered in Luozhen. Next came a host of miscellaneous tasks; the house in the courtyard was already quite old, so Bai Tang decided to build a new house on a newly acquired plot of land. The new house was inspired by some modern ancient-style villas, combining modern features with ancient charm, making it both practical and beautiful. Bai Ma and Bai Dad, now older, thoroughly enjoyed their farming life. However, Wu Xuemei was used to being busy and found it hard to adapt to the leisurely rural lifestyle. Bai Tang suggested that she open a food stall to continue selling Rice Noodles and also offer Bobo Chicken. Both Rice Noodles and Bobo Chicken were easy to prepare, delicious dishes that had never existed in ancient times, and they were inexpensive. Once launched, they gained immense popularity among the locals, resulting in booming business. Although there were envious individuals who wanted to target the shop, Wu Xuemei's formidable Combat Power and Bai Tang's financial support made those with ill intentions retreat in defeat. However, Wu Xuemei was not an ambitious career woman; she only wanted to manage the shop without expanding the business to other towns. Thus, through official documents, she sold the recipes for Rice Noodles and Bobo Chicken to a large restaurant in Prefecture City, completely resolving any recipe-related troubles!
The most troubling issue for Bai Tang was the education of her two children. Xing Xiaokang and Ai Wanxi had received modern education, and ancient academies were not suitable for them. However, they couldn't avoid reading and writing; the differences between traditional and simplified Chinese characters meant that Bai Tang did not want her children to be illiterate. Ultimately, Bai Dad helped her solve this problem. He asked Bai Tang to find a set of modern teaching materials (including language, physics, mathematics, chemistry, and English textbooks from elementary to high school) as well as ancient teaching materials (ranging from simple Hundred Family Surnames and Three Character Classic to advanced Four Books and Five Classics). As a university teacher himself, Bai Dad was capable of teaching the two children; he only aimed for them to be able to read and write without expecting them to become top scholars.
After settling everything at home, Bai Tang took her child Baozi on a trip to the capital city. They first went to the Royal Tomb to pay respects to Yongming Emperor. This emperor truly deserved his title as the most frugal emperor; the Royal Tomb looked more modest than his ancestors' mausoleums. Baozi cried earnestly in front of Yongming Emperor's tomb; after wiping away his tears, he began recounting his life over the past two years in modern times in great detail—many trivial matters that Bai Tang had overlooked were vividly remembered by this child. Bai Tang nodded secretly; this child was indeed grateful.
"Father Emperor, Grandpa, Grandma, Aunt Mei Mei, and Brother Kang Ge are all very good to me; don't worry!" The child bowed deeply nine times. "Father Emperor, I'm leaving! When I learn my skills well, I'll come back to see you!"
After the apocalypse began, Bai Tang thought her children's combat abilities were too weak and decided to take Xing Xiaokang as her apprentice. Once the system rebooted, she used the master-apprentice system to teach them skills. However, due to their beginner status, their abilities were still weak and they could not easily evade the soldiers guarding the Royal Tomb.
Bai Tang ruffled her child's hair: "It's getting bright; let's go!"
The two left without tidying up the incense candles or burnt paper ashes at the tombstone, leaving behind a ghostly rumor about the Royal Tomb.
After resting for a while, Bai Tang took her child back for another visit to familiar places and spent a night exploring the palace. Bai Tang saw Bao Jiezi, who had now become Empress Dowager; at this time, she no longer possessed the grace of her youth but instead exuded an aura that combined authority with kindness—she resembled another Madam Shi.
The palace had not changed much overall, but people had changed; her child felt dejected after wandering around Yangxin Hall for a while and wanted to leave. Bai Tang comforted him for a bit before sneaking into the imperial kitchen and stealing some delicious food before leaving contentedly with her child.
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