Time Travel: Female Cannon Fodder of the Republic of China

More than ten years after Ai Shutong and Shen Jiaxing moved to the UK, Oxford University was on Christmas holiday, so they took their son to London to attend the first birthday party of Allen's youngest son Carl.

Allen's wife Mia is 13 years younger than him. She has already given birth to a son and a daughter for him. Today's first birthday party is for his third child.

When they arrived, Zheng Qiuying and her British husband Mosley were already there.

When Zheng Qiuying was in her thirties, she married a British businessman introduced by Mary.

After marriage, Zheng Qiuying was not idle. She moved Neon Fashion directly to London, taught herself design, and often went to Paris and Milan to watch fashion shows, which made Ai Shutong very envious.

Ai Shutong became a bookseller in the UK. She not only opened a publishing house, but also opened a bookstore next to Oxford University.

Shen Jiaxing was a professor at Oxford University. During their rest time, the two of them closed the bookstore and traveled around.

Shen Xingzhou and his mother complained about the two's irresponsibility while working hard to run several supermarkets.

In their words, both parents are unreliable, and their grandchildren's future assets will have to be saved by them.

At this time, the eldest grandson, whom the old couple loved as his life, was looking at the largest banquet hall in the London Hotel with curiosity.

"Dear Ai! You're here? Come and meet my lovely little nephew!" Mary came over holding a beautiful blond and blue-eyed child.

Ai Shutong let go of Zheng Qiuying's hand, walked forward and said, "This little boy is so handsome!"

Mary responded without any modesty, "Of course! Look whose nephew he is!"

Mary claimed to be an expert on China, and in the presence of many guests, she prepared a one-year-old ceremony for little Carl.

After the banquet, Ai Shutong sent Shen Jiaxing and Ai Lin away, and went to a cafe opposite the London Hotel with Zheng Qiuying.

Ai Shutong had a latte as usual, while Zheng Qiuying ordered a mocha. Although the two of them wrote to each other frequently, they seldom met in person, so seeing each other at this time, they both felt more or less emotional.

Zheng Qiuying pointed at the crow's feet at the corners of her eyes and said, "Look, I have new wrinkles."

Ai Shutong sighed: "Time flies, years pass by like a shuttle. Before it left, it was reluctant to leave you and wanted to leave some traces on you to prove that it had been here."

Zheng Qiuying glanced at her and said angrily, "I'm not as artistic as you..."

Ai Shutong smiled.

Suddenly Zheng Qiuying lowered her voice and said, "Do you know? Luo Cisui is dead."

Ai Shutong was stunned for a moment, then asked blankly, "She was only in her forties, how could she die?"

Zheng Qiuying: "Last month I received a letter from Zheng Yueru from Taiwan, saying that Yu Guotai converted to Christianity and could only have one wife, so he divorced Luo Cisui, who had no children, and kept the concubine he brought from the mainland."

"Luo Cisui's family all stayed in the mainland. She had no relatives or friends in Taiwan. After being kicked out of the Yu family, she lived in poverty and died within two years."

"She is a college student after all, how can she have such poor adaptability?"

Ai Shutong was in a daze and did not answer Zheng Qiuying's words.

Zheng Qiuying seemed to be speaking casually. Ai Shutong didn't respond, so she didn't force it and started talking about other things.

"I wrote back to Zheng Yueru, inviting her to visit the UK. Actually, I wanted her to settle down in the UK. Her opium-smoking husband has been dead for several years. She is still so young. She can't stay a widow forever, right?!"

"People in China are traditional, and she cares about what people around her think. Only if she leaves China will she want to marry someone else."

The two of them kept chatting until the lights came on and the Christmas tree in the cafe started flickering, and then they left.

Looking at the father and son who had been waiting in the hotel lobby for a long time, Ai Shutong walked over with a smile, "Have you eaten?"

Shen Jiaxing stood up and said with a gentle smile, "We're waiting for Boss Ai to treat us to a Christmas dinner!"

Ai Shutong smiled and nodded, "Okay!"

The three of them came to a restaurant with a strong Christmas atmosphere.

As soon as I entered the door, the waiter came up to me and asked, "Ma'am, how many people are there?"

Ai Shutong: “Three!”

The waiter opened his hand and made a gesture of invitation, "Please follow me."

After the three of them sat down, Ai Shutong said generously: "Just order whatever you want to eat, no need to save money for me."

Shen Jiaxing smiled and asked the waiter: "Today is Christmas, do you have any special recommendations?"

The waiter nodded and said politely, "We have launched a Christmas set menu today, which is enough for four people. Do you need it?"

Shen Jiaxing turned his head to look at Ai Shutong and Ai Lin, "How about it? One serving?"

Ai Shutong and Ai Lin looked at each other and nodded, "Okay."

The set meal should be prepared in advance, so it comes out quickly.

The appetizer was smoked salmon, and the side dishes were cucumber and cheese, which tasted quite good.

Since it is called a Christmas set meal, turkey is definitely indispensable, so the staple food is roast turkey.

Pork was added to the turkey's belly, so the roasted meat was not as tough as before. With the addition of cranberries to relieve the greasiness, the three of them ate quite a lot.

Next is a vegetable dish, an indispensable dish for Westerners during every festival - Brussels sprouts, which is fragrant and delicious and makes people unable to stop eating.

Then a plate of filling beef and fruit pizza was served. The sweet and salty taste exploded in Ailin's mouth when he took a bite, and Ailin liked it very much.

The last dessert, Christmas Patch, is made mainly from fruits and spices, and is both large and filling.

After spending a wonderful Christmas in London, the three drove back to Oxford, along the Thames.

On the eve of New Year's Day, Ai Shutong was still immersed in the joy of meeting her friends on Christmas, but suddenly she found a letter from Taiwan in the mailbox outside the villa.

The letter was signed by Lin Manru.

Unable to wait to return to the study, Ai Shutong tore open the envelope and started reading.

The content of the letter surprised Ai Shutong deeply. It turned out that Lin Manru and Wu Shixiong were divorced, and her son had married and had children, and he didn't care about her at all.

The first half of the letter expressed a lot of dissatisfaction with life, and the second half mentioned that he was short of money and wanted to borrow some money from Ai Shutong to pay for living expenses.

The specific amount was not mentioned, only that Ai Shutong should spend according to her ability.

But Ai Shutong knew Lin Manru too well. Her biggest hobby was spending. Not only did she want good food and clothes, but she also wanted some unnecessary entertainment, which were very expensive.

Ai Shutong was willing to cover her living expenses, but she didn't want to provide her with money for gambling and smoking opium.

After more than half a year of investigation and consultation, Ai Shutong commissioned the Trust Department of the Bank of Taiwan to pay Lin Manru NT$400 in living expenses every month until her death.