After time travel, share a space with your modern family.

Chapter 154 Gift Exchange

"Miss, Miss, midnight snack is here!" Xiaochun and Xiaxia's voices came from outside the courtyard.

After the sound faded, two figures walked in.

Both of them were carrying trays with quite a few items on them.

"What delicious food have you made?" When Ruan Mumu saw the food, she quickly put down the paper and pen in her hand and looked happily at what Xiaochun and Xiaxia were carrying.

Xia happily reported to Ruan Mumu, "Girl, it's rare for you to come back. Xiaochun made your favorite peanut and sesame glutinous rice balls, as well as white fungus and lotus seed soup."

Upon hearing that there was something delicious to eat, Ruan Mumu's eyes lit up.

"Quickly, quickly, give me a bowl of glutinous rice balls first. I've been craving this for days while staying on the mountain," Ruan Mumu urged eagerly.

Xiaochun quickly served a bowl of glutinous rice balls to Ruan Mumu, and then served a bowl each to Qiao Tinghao and Liu Ziyun. They also served themselves a bowl and took it outside to eat.

Liu Ziyun looked at the glutinous rice balls, which were round and plump, and realized that he had never eaten them before.

Seeing that Ruan Mumu and Qiao Tinghao were eating with great relish, he also tried to scoop one up with a spoon and put it in his mouth.

A sweet aroma suddenly wafted over, bringing an indescribable sense of comfort. I couldn't help but shout, "This is so delicious! There's good food and fun things to do here. Life here is so interesting; I don't want to go back to the capital!"

Ruan Mumu looked at this person and saw that he seemed carefree and thoughtless, not at all like a child raised in royalty.

"Young Master Liu, you looked heartbroken just a moment ago, how come you can be eating so happily now?" Ruan Mumu finally let her curiosity get the better of her and asked what was on her mind.

Upon hearing the girl's words, Liu Ziyun immediately became angry: "What are you talking about? Who isn't happy when there's good food? Does my happiness make you unhappy?"

Seeing Liu Ziyun's angry expression, which seemed to have returned to its previous state, Ruan Mumu and Qiao Tinghao finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Qiao Tinghao patted him on the shoulder and said, "Brother, this is good. Don't take what the little girl said to heart."

At this moment, Liu Ziyun was truly at a loss for words, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

So, in their eyes, I'm someone who gets angry easily? Do they think I'm just a little kid their age?

The group chatted and laughed, playfully munching away as they finished their late-night snack.

This late-night snack was the most enjoyable one everyone had ever had.

After finishing her meal, Ruan Mumu went back to her inner room to prepare two packages, one for the general's wife and the other for Liu Ziyun to give to his mother.

Then he handed them a large backpack so they could put their things in it, making it easier for Zuo Er to carry them to Beijing later.

The next morning, Ruan Mumu was woken up early by Qiao Tinghao.

Because he was going up the mountain, he made a special trip to find Ruan Mumu before leaving, and gave her two letters, because he was afraid that his parents would be sad if they didn't receive his reply in time.

"Oh dear, I completely forgot to prepare a gift for Mom and Dad. Why didn't you remind me yesterday?" Ruan Mumu said reproachfully to Qiao Tinghao.

Looking at Ruan Mumu's coquettish expression, Qiao Tinghao affectionately patted her head and said, "It's my fault, I forgot to remind you."

Today, take your maid to the county town to buy or visit Lin Wanfeng to see if she has any collectibles. Then, you can exchange them for something she likes.

Ruan Mumu's eyes lit up when she heard what Qiao Tinghao said.

I think I should go and see Lin Wanfeng. Maybe she really has some special treasures that she might be willing to exchange for.

“Brother, I forgot to mention that we should leave a cell phone for Magistrate Lin. How about we just leave a spare? What do you think?” Ruan Mumu suddenly remembered this and asked.

Magistrate Lin is their local official, so having his contact number will make it easier to get in touch if anything happens.

“If we encounter any difficult situations, having him respond to the call will be much faster, won’t it?” Ruan Mumu said with a laugh.

"Little girl, what does 'responding to an emergency' mean?" Liu Ziyun asked curiously.

Ruan Mumu deliberately kept everyone in suspense: "Want to know?"

Liu Ziyun nodded, looking like a curious child.

"Hehe, I won't tell you then, I'll let you be curious, haha..." Ruan Mumu said mischievously.

Qiao Tinghao smiled helplessly at Ruan Mumu and said, "You naughty girl, you're being naughty again. Whether or not to give the phone to Magistrate Lin is your decision!"

After saying that, Qiao Tinghao casually ruffled Ruan Mumu's hair.

Ruan Mumu slapped his hand away and muttered angrily, "You've messed up my hairstyle. They say you can cut off my head and let my blood flow, but you can't mess up my hairstyle."

Liu Ziyun was amused by Ruan Mumu's words and wanted to pat her hair: "You little girl, you're talking so eloquently today, it's quite interesting."

How could Qiao Tinghao let him have his way? In this ancient era, the separation of men and women was strictly enforced, and he certainly wouldn't let such a young man have his way.

So Qiao Tinghao grabbed Liu Ziyun's arm and said, "Alright, it's time to go up the mountain, or we'll be late."

After saying that, he picked up the big backpack.

Not long after Qiao Tinghao went up the mountain, Ruan Mumu also took Xia Xia with her and drove her beloved SUV to the county town.

When Ruan Mumu's SUV suddenly appeared on the streets of the county town, it became the talk of the town, because they had never seen such a peculiar thing before, which could run faster than a horse.

However, they only dared to talk about it during their leisure time, since the car was parked at the county government office.

Ruan Mumu's arrival quickly attracted the attention of the county government officials, and someone went directly to report to Magistrate Lin.

Upon hearing the report from the messenger, Magistrate Lin knew that it was Ruan Mumu who had come to see him.

He excitedly greeted them from the living room to the front door.

"Mumu, you've arrived! It's rare that you've come today; I've been wanting to talk to you about something!" Magistrate Lin said with a smile as he looked at the young woman who walked into the county government office.

“Lord Lin, let’s go to the backyard to talk. I’d also like to look for Sister Wan; it’s been a while since I’ve seen her,” Ruan Mumu said with a smile when she saw Magistrate Lin.

Xia followed behind, carrying a cardboard box, but no one knew what was inside.

Magistrate Lin figured it was probably some strange or unusual item, since Ruan Mumu always brought his daughter some unusual things whenever they met.

When the two entered the backyard, they saw Lin Wanfeng and her mother taking a walk in the yard.

"Sister Wan, I'm here!" Ruan Mumu said with a smile to Lin Wanfeng.

Lin Wanfeng quickly let go of her mother's hand, stepped forward and took Ruan Mumu's arm, pouting as she said, "Mumu, I haven't seen you for so many days. You don't know how many times I've wanted to go see you, but my parents wouldn't let me."

Looking at her charming and adorable appearance, Ruan Mumu barely managed to resist the urge to pinch her cheek. Then she coughed and said, "Things aren't safe right now, so it's best if Sister Wan doesn't wander around."

Lin's mother said from the side, "See, we've told you not to run around, but you wouldn't listen. Now that your little sister Ruan is here, will you listen now?"

Lin Wanfeng spat and said, "I have to listen to what my sister says."

Magistrate Lin and his wife smiled helplessly. Their daughter was still so childish. They were worried that if she found a husband, who would be able to tolerate her?

"Xia, quickly bring the things over here." Ruan Mumu instructed Xia to put the cardboard box on the stone table.

Lin Wanfeng leaned closer to see what this good thing was.

"Lord Lin, Madam Lin, Sister Wan, I've received news that the Western Rong will attack our Beisheng on the second day of the eleventh month. I'm quite worried about you, so I've sent you a few things that could save your lives in a critical moment." As Ruan Mumu spoke, she took out bulletproof vests from the box and handed one to each of them.

Magistrate Lin, holding up the clothes, asked, "Mumu, are these clothes?"

Ruan Mumu replied, "Yes, this is called a bulletproof vest. It's lighter than those armors, but it's definitely enough to protect against knives and guns."

The weather is quite cold now, so you must wear warm clothes at all times to guard against unexpected attacks.

Mrs. Lin looked at the thin garment. Although she wasn't entirely sure if it could be more powerful than armor, Ruan Mumu wouldn't lie to them, so she just listened.

"Lord Lin, this is called a cell phone. You can use this phone to contact us in case of an emergency." Ruan Mumu took out the cell phone and handed it to Magistrate Lin.

Magistrate Lin took the phone and looked at it, but he couldn't understand how such a small box could be used for communication.

When Madam Lin and Lin Wanfeng heard that this thing could be used for communication, they also went forward to take a look out of curiosity.

Ruan Mumu held up her phone and pointed to the button on the right, saying, "See this? This is called the power button. Press this button to turn on the screen, and you can turn on the phone by swiping up."

However, just in case someone steals your information, we need to set a password for this phone.

The three magistrates, Lin and his companions, didn't understand what "password setting" meant, and looked at Ruan Mumu curiously, asking, "What is password setting?"

Ruan Mumu explained further: "Uh... let's put it this way, you guys usually like to put a lock on your boxes, but this phone is locked like this."

After explaining, I demonstrated how to set a password. Then, after turning off the screen and reopening the phone, I tried swiping up, but the phone wouldn't unlock. After entering the password I had just set, the phone was usable again.

"Wow! Little sister, is that character you just typed the key to unlock the lock?" Lin Wanfeng asked excitedly, as if she had just understood something.

Ruan Mumu nodded and said, "Yes, this character is the password. We can call this character a number. It is read the same way as our numbers, only the writing is different."

Then he pointed to the numbers and taught them to read them three times.

Since the numbers were sequential, everyone quickly became familiar with them.

"Lord Lin, you should also set a password for your phone now, just in case it gets lost and someone else can't open it," Ruan Mumu said to Magistrate Lin.

"Dad, let me try it. I'll set the password," Lin Wanfeng said, snatching the phone.

Ruan Mumu taught Lin Wanfeng to first open the phone settings, and then said, "For this password, you can choose one that you are familiar with, such as Sister Wan's birthday, or Lord Lin's birthday, or Madam Lin's birthday."

That way, either of you can turn on the phone whenever you want to use it.

Upon hearing Ruan Mumu's words, Madam Lin said, "Then let's use Feng'er's birthday!"

Magistrate Lin had no objections, so he used Lin Wanfeng's birth date, added 01 to the end, and set it as the phone's lock screen password.

"Now I'll teach you how to use your phones to contact us," Ruan Mumu said, picking up her phone and tapping the call function.

Ruan Mumu had Lin Wanfeng take the phone, enter her phone number, and then press the dial button.

"You are the most beautiful cloud in my sky, let me keep you in my heart..." Ruan Mumu's phone rang.

"This is the signal that you've contacted me," Ruan Mumu explained, then demonstrated how to answer the phone.

"Hello, this is Ruan Mumu." As Ruan Mumu spoke into her phone, Magistrate Lin's phone also picked up the message.

When Magistrate Lin and the others heard Ruan Mumu's voice coming from the phone, they were all very excited. Lin Wanfeng said into the phone, "Sister, is that you?"

Ruan Mumu replied, "Yes."

The surprise this phone brought them was incredibly exciting.

After hanging up the phone, Ruan Mumu taught Magistrate Lin how to save phone numbers and also saved other people's numbers into his phone.

"Mumu, may I call Doctor Liu?" Magistrate Lin asked.

“Sure, you can call him now. Just find his name in your contacts and tap to call him,” Ruan Mumu replied.

Magistrate Lin found Doctor Liu's name in his contacts and pressed the call button.

Soon, the phone rang: "This is Dr. Liu."

"Brother-in-law... Brother-in-law, it's me!" Magistrate Lin exclaimed excitedly.

The two chatted for a bit before hanging up and agreeing to contact each other again later.

"Mumu, you've brought such an expensive phone. Is there anything you want in return? Consider it an exchange," Magistrate Lin said with a smile to Ruan Mumu.

Upon hearing Magistrate Lin offer to send something, Ruan Mumu beamed and said, "Lord Lin, I am also collecting some valuable items. I wonder if you would be willing to part with them?"

When Magistrate Lin heard that she was collecting valuable items, he took out two treasured paintings and calligraphy and said, "These are paintings and calligraphy from my collection. They are rare and genuine works by Wang Bai from the previous dynasty. I will give them to you now."

Upon hearing about the treasured calligraphy and paintings, Ruan Mumu immediately perked up.

When she saw the two extraordinary paintings and calligraphy works displayed in front of her, she was captivated by their charm.

"Lord Lin, are you really sure you want to give me such a precious painting and calligraphy?" Ruan Mumu asked incredulously.

"You silly child, you've already given me such a precious cell phone, so I'm still willing to part with these two paintings," Magistrate Lin said with a hearty laugh.

Finally, Ruan Mumu traded her phone for two treasured paintings and calligraphy works with Magistrate Lin. Magistrate Lin also gave her one hundred taels of gold and a box of raw stones.

Looking at these raw stones, even someone like her who knows nothing about them felt that they must be very valuable.