My Wife Came From A Thousand Years Ago

Chapter 40: Two People with a Clean Mind

"In the fourth year of Kaiyuan, a locust plague struck the Lu region. Thankfully, Master Yao worked tirelessly to eradicate the locusts and combat the disaster, preventing a tragedy where corpses would litter the fields and human flesh would be cheaper than a dog’s. But… a disaster is a disaster. It was during this time that Second Boss fled from Lu, wandering until she ended up in Gusu."

Jiang He slowly chewed her cake, occasionally licking the cream from the corners of her mouth as she recounted the past to Xu Qing.

"She often said this was a prosperous era, and Master Yao was a saint. Oh, and in her room, she even enshrined a longevity plaque for him. Ever since she set it up, she’s never had a full meal, no matter if the village was struggling or thriving. She’d always eat half as much as others."

"The gang leader often scolded her for being foolish, but she’d just smile and say she could only enjoy half of the blessings. The other half had to be shared with Benefactor Yao so this prosperous era could last longer."

"You guys are supposed to be from the martial world, right? Why would you worship a court official’s longevity plaque?" Xu Qing found it strange. This martial world didn’t match the novels he’d read. Weren’t martial artists supposed to be at odds with the government? Plus, this Second Boss seemed awfully superstitious.

"What’s wrong with that?" Jiang He glanced at Xu Qing and shook her head. "Without him, Second Boss wouldn’t have made it out of Lu. Who knows how many more would’ve died? She says every day she’s alive is a gift. She also says I don’t understand because I haven’t been through it."

Xu Qing clicked his tongue. "Are you seriously from the Kaiyuan era? If that’s prosperity, then what must chaos look like?"

What would chaos look like? History books didn’t convey it vividly enough.

"Sometimes, when the village harvest was poor, and we couldn’t get enough to eat, those working at home would ration their portions to give more to those working in the fields," Jiang He said, looking up thoughtfully, her gaze tinged with nostalgia. "Without wars, corvée labor, or oppressive taxes—without man-made disasters—that’s already prosperity. With saints like Master Yao fighting locust plagues and droughts, resisting natural disasters, that’s great prosperity. That’s what Second Boss always told me. We live in great prosperity and shouldn’t ask for too much."

She paused, looking down at the cake in her hand, her expression complicated.

If that was great prosperity, then what was this?

"The sixteenth year of Kaiyuan… famine in the Yan region." Xu Qing put down his phone and sighed. This girl wasn’t exaggerating. That era of prosperity was indeed different from what he’d imagined. "The year you came was both a prosperous time and not."

An inexplicable pride rose in him, only to vanish just as quickly—he was just lucky to be born in this era of abundance, unlike Jiang He.

"Eat up. The past is in the past," Xu Qing leaned back against the couch, watching Jiang He, a girl from over a thousand years ago, and felt a surreal sense of time dislocation.

"Thank you, Xu Qing."

Jiang He took a big bite of the cake, licking the cream off her fingers. Her gaze fell on the remaining half of the cake, where the words "Happy Birthday Jiang He" were carefully left intact in the center.

"I want to save the rest for tomorrow. Is that okay?"

"It won’t taste as good by then."

"It’ll still be delicious."

"…Fine."

Xu Qing didn’t insist. He picked up the discarded box, reassembled it, tied it with string, and pushed it toward Jiang He. "It’s all yours."

"That’s so nice…" Jiang He licked her lips, glancing around the room. Her gaze finally landed on the bright lights overhead.

Food could be casually wasted; slender waists and long legs strutted freely in the streets; even intimate gestures between couples were displayed openly.

Second Boss was wrong. This was the true prosperous era. Too bad she couldn’t see it.

Xu Qing shook the can of cola in his hand and passed it to Jiang He. "It is nice. Here’s to the present era."

"To prosperity," Jiang He smiled.

She wanted to see everything this world a thousand years later had to offer.

In the following days, Jiang He was diligent. During the day, she played games earnestly, and at “quitting time,” she secretly searched Baidu on her phone.

To her, it was a miracle. No matter the question—farming, business, or daily living—there was nothing without an answer. Occasionally, when the answers differed wildly from her questions, she chalked it up to her limited knowledge.

"Why is your face red?" Xu Qing noticed when she came out of the bathroom, looking puzzled.

"Nothing!" Jiang He darted into her room like a startled rabbit. Xu Qing scratched his head and went back to watching stock market charts.

There were typically three kinds of stock traders: those with less than 100,000 yuan, who spent their days cursing; those with 100,000 to 500,000, who rarely spoke and focused on analyzing the market; and those with 500,000 to a million, who were cultured and enjoyed sharing strategies.

Xu Qing had started in the third category, but as time passed, he drifted into the second. Now, though, he was tempted to join the first—but alas, with just over 20,000 yuan in his account, his qualifications fell short.

"Um…"

Just as he was silently praising the eternal godliness of baijiu stocks, Jiang He appeared again, holding an empty bag of "Seventh Space" sanitary pads. Her gaze wavered.

"Oh, you should’ve said earlier," Xu Qing realized. "I’ll order a box online for you…"

Mid-sentence, he paused, rethinking his approach. "Actually, I’ll transfer a few hundred yuan. You can buy them yourself. Later, I’ll show you how to shop at a supermarket."

The first step to modern living: learning to shop.

Online shopping might be convenient, but Jiang He should familiarize herself with the basics of modern society. She’d need to learn eventually.

"Also, about that wh—" Xu Qing gestured, "white strip thing, you threw it out, right? It’s bad for your health, too tight…"

Jiang He glared at him, making him trail off. He muttered, "I’m just concerned… In this era, the priority is comfort. Everything is designed for people’s well-being."

"…Alright," Jiang He whispered after a moment, looking away.

What? Xu Qing was confused. Did she mean she agreed to throw it away?

However, he hadn’t noticed her washing anything other than her outerwear, so she must have quietly cleaned her other clothes at night and brought them back to the bathroom to dry.

"That outfit makes my back hurt," Jiang He said quietly, gathering her courage.

"…"

That was beyond Xu Qing’s expertise.

"Let me check online," he said, scratching his head, unwilling to dismiss her concern.

Finally, this girl had shared a genuine issue with him. If he failed to resolve it, she might not bring up her troubles again.

"You could try something else in the meantime. I bought several options; maybe the size is wrong."

"Okay!"

Jiang He turned back to her room, hesitating at the door. She glanced at Xu Qing and asked, "We’re… normal, right?"

"…Yes, perfectly normal." Xu Qing paused before catching on to her meaning and nodded solemnly. "There’s nothing improper between us."

"True, we’re perfectly proper."

Reassured, Jiang He closed the door with a serious expression.

Yes, they were perfectly proper. They had nothing to hide. Everything was just normal.

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