Chapter 40

Jiang Dai never expected that one day she’d be exchanging secret codes.

“Why haven’t I heard this term before?” Jiang Dai asked.

“Of course not, I came up with it myself.”

Bai Tian didn’t sense anything amiss; instead, he felt quite proud of himself. After all, he was a well-educated failure, with forward-thinking ideas and insights that surpassed most people here.

“So, Juanjuan, you can tell Third Brother right now that you don’t like his insincere compliments!”

Juanjuan looked at Bai Tian and asked, “Can I?”

Bai Tian nodded. “Of course, if an outsider flatters you to your face but stabs you in the back, you should be wary. You don’t need to point it out to them; just keep your distance. What do you think, Dai Dai?”

Jiang Dai replied, “You seem to have a point. I don’t see anything wrong with that.”

Juanjuan asked again, “Then why can I tell Third Brother directly but not others?”

Jiang Dai said, “Maybe it’s because we’re family! We’re going to be together for a long time. If you don’t like Third Brother’s ways, you can boldly tell him. If he doesn’t change, you can continue not liking him!”

Meanwhile, Bai Yunan, who had sneaked over, overheard his sister saying, “Third Brother, I don’t like how you say one thing to my face and another behind my back. You just complimented me, and then you talked badly about me.”

Bai Yunan: ???

【How does this little one know? I don’t recall saying anything bad behind her back, let alone being overheard!】

“When did I ever talk badly about you behind your back?” Bai Yunan instinctively denied it, trying to bluff his way out.

Juanjuan swallowed nervously, seemingly a bit scared, but still looked at Third Brother and said, “I forgot! But you did say it!”

Looking at the little one in front of him, so certain, Bai Yunan couldn’t help but wonder if he had, without realizing it, spoken carelessly and been overheard by her. Otherwise, how would Juanjuan know?

Bai Yunan would never have guessed that his sister could actually hear his inner thoughts. However, this accidental discovery did help him understand why his Favorability Points had been dropping instead of rising.

“Alright, I won’t do it next time, okay?”

Bai Yunan immediately acknowledged his mistake and promised to change.

Juanjuan met Third Brother’s gaze, trying to trust him. “Okay!”

Jiang Dai and Bai Tian watched the two young ones make up, nodding in satisfaction.

The next moment, Juanjuan heard Third Brother “say”: 【Anyway, no one knows. I’ll just keep saying it! I’ll say it in my heart!】

Juanjuan: …

Third Brother really is a liar, a big liar!

Yet Bai Yunan remained oblivious, still trying hard to earn favor.

“Third Brother will help you clean the chicken coop. Juanjuan, you can rest. No need to thank Third Brother!”

【Hurry up! I’ve already helped you clean the chicken coop. Favorability Points, hurry up and go up!】

Juanjuan: …

“Thank you, Third Brother.”

Juanjuan, being a smart child, chose to use the method her parents had just taught her for dealing with strangers when faced with a Third Brother who didn’t change even after being told directly.

Meanwhile, Bai Yunan, cleaning the chicken coop, eagerly watched the Favorability Points in the air. But after a long look, it was still a big fat zero.

Bai Yunan: …

What does this mean?

In a bad mood, Bai Yunan even hid the Sweet Potatoes he secretly gave to his mother in the most obscure corners.

At noon, Jiang Dai returned with the Sweet Potatoes. Bai Tian looked at the five or six Sweet Potatoes in the basket and instinctively complained, “These Sweet Potatoes are always dug up in fives or sixes, as if someone arranged it that way! Not more, not less! It’s like there’s an NPC!”

Bai Yunan, the one secretly hiding the Sweet Potatoes: …

Who else could be blamed for this!

He wanted to bring out more Sweet Potatoes, a whole sackful! But the Favorability Points were just so limited!

What else could he do!

Jiang Dai paused while taking out the Sweet Potatoes, looking incredulously at Bai Tian.

NPC!!!

If the term “internal conflict” was something Bai Tian, a native, just happened to come up with, then…

NPC! There’s no way a native could have come up with that term!

The term NPC is something that only appeared in the Modern Era of China’s five thousand years of history, and even some older people, or even some young people, don’t know it!

And now Bai Tian actually knew it, which meant that she might not be the only one who transmigrated!

Could it be a Group Transmigration?

On the surface, Jiang Dai appeared calm and composed, but inside, her mind was racing with frantic thoughts.

When Juanjuan came over, she saw her silent mother and her Third Brother, who was exuding an aura of annoyance.

“I’m going to plant a sweet potato first.”

Bai Tian immediately began digging a hole with practiced skill, subconsciously humming a tune without lyrics as he worked.

In the past, when Bai Tian dug holes, Jiang Dai didn’t watch him because he was already skilled at it. Why would she just stand by and watch?

But as she passed by, she would hear Bai Tian humming a strange, obscure song.

She didn’t pay it much mind, at most making a casual remark about it.

Now, however, Jiang Dai listened to Bai Tian’s humming with a numb expression.

She realized there was something off about this tuneless, lyricless melody.

It wasn’t some obscure, ancient song at all.

【This is clearly… digging in a little garden!】

Juanjuan tilted her head, thinking her mother’s song sounded quite nice.

But…

The child looked up slightly, glancing at her father, who was humming the tune. Her parents’ songs seemed similar, yet not quite the same.

“Daidai, what’s wrong?”

Bai Tian looked at Jiang Dai with some confusion, not understanding why his wife was giving him such a strange look.

Jiang Dai said, “The song you’re singing…”

Bai Tian clicked his tongue confidently.

“Sounds good, right? I think it’s great too. If you want to learn, I can teach you, but I can’t remember the lyrics.”

Jiang Dai’s mouth twitched.

【No, it suddenly feels like the filter from the past few days just disappeared.】

【This isn’t a good man at all, he’s just… childish and cheesy.】

Juanjuan tilted her head: Couldn’t quite understand.

“How about I write some lyrics for you?” Jiang Dai suggested with a light laugh.

“Sure!”

Jiang Dai glanced at Bai Tian, who was digging, and said, “Since you’re digging, how about writing…”

“In the little plot of land, dig and dig! Plant sweet sweet potatoes, bloom big flowers.”

Bai Tian was momentarily stunned.

He looked at Jiang Dai in disbelief.

【Wait, wait! If I’m not mistaken, the lyrics of this song seem to be exactly like that!】

Bai Tian said, “Daidai, did you just come up with that? It’s pretty good.”

He tried to guess, cautiously probing.

Jiang Dai smiled, “Yes! Of course, I just thought of it. What else?”

Bai Tian thought: 【This must be a coincidence! It should be a coincidence, a coincidence.】

Yet Bai Tian still felt something was off.

So he looked at Jiang Dai, pondered for a moment, and then spoke.

“Imperial jade liquor?”

【A hundred and eighty a cup!】

Jiang Dai’s heart skipped a beat, truly shocked.

Who would have thought she’d encounter such a moment of exchanging secret codes?

Jiang Dai didn’t respond immediately.

So Bai Tian continued, “The price of the shirt is…”

Jiang Dai remained silent, continuing in her heart: 【Nine pounds fifteen pence.】

Bai Tian: “Odd changes, even remains?”

Jiang Dai continued her silence: 【Symbols look at quadrants.】

Bai Tian: “Bright moonlight before my bed!”

Jiang Dai: 【I suspect it’s frost on the ground.】

Bai Tian: “The Heavenly King covers the tiger!”

Jiang Dai: 【You’re an idiot! No, no, it’s Pagoda suppresses river demon.】

Jiang Dai hesitated for a moment, then under Bai Tian’s expectant gaze, said, “Are you an idiot?”

Bai Tian: …

“It’s nothing, it’s nothing.”

Bai Tian laughed awkwardly, trying to cover his embarrassment.

In his heart, he thought: 【No, Jiang Dai couldn’t respond. Could she not be a fellow traveler?】

Jiang Dai: 【I laughed, I’m so clever. I didn’t reveal my identity as a Transmigrator. No, I’ll play along for a couple of days, then tell him!!!】

Juanjuan, who could hear her parents’ thoughts and had been temporarily forgotten: …

What on earth were her parents babbling about?

Why couldn’t she understand a single word?

————

The References and Codes Explained:

1. “Imperial jade liquor?” / 【A hundred and eighty a cup!】

· Reference: This is a famous line from the 1984 Chinese CCTV New Year’s Gala sketch 《吃面条》 (Eating Noodles) performed by Chen Peisi and Zhu Shimao. It’s a classic comedy routine known to almost everyone in China.

· In the Sketch: The character is tricked into acting in a movie where his only line is to shout the price of an absurdly expensive wine. “Imperial jade liquor, a hundred and eighty a cup!” became an instantly iconic punchline.

· Meaning: Bai Tian is starting a well-known cultural punchline. A true transmigrator from modern China would immediately recognize it.

2. “The price of the shirt is…” / 【Nine pounds fifteen pence.】

· Reference: This is from the 2013 English listening exam of the Chinese National College Entrance Exam (Gaokao). The listening test section often begins with a sample question, and the male voice famously says: “W: What is the man’s shirt made from? M: Sorry, what did you say? W: What is your shirt made of? …”

· The Punchline: The actual answer to the sample question is irrelevant. The phrase “nine pounds fifteen pence” became a massive internet meme. It’s used humorously to represent the shared, often traumatic, experience of millions of Chinese students taking the Gaokao.

· Meaning: This is an extremely specific reference that only someone who went through the Chinese education system around that time would get. It’s a brilliant test for a fellow modern Chinese transmigrator.

3. “Odd changes, even remains?” / 【Symbols look at quadrants.】

· Reference: This is a mnemonic rhyme for trigonometry in Chinese math.

· “奇变偶不变，符号看象限” (Odd changes, even remains; symbols look at quadrants) is a rule for simplifying trigonometric expressions like sin(90°±θ), cos(180°±θ), etc.

· Meaning: This is perhaps the most famous and universal code used in transmigration novels to identify fellow transmigrators. It’s taught to every Chinese high school student studying STEM. Reciting the first half and waiting for the second is a dead giveaway. Jiang Dai knowing this in her heart confirms she is 100% a transmigrator.

4. “Bright moonlight before my bed!” / 【I suspect it’s frost on the ground.】

· Reference: The first line of 《静夜思》 (Quiet Night Thought), one of the most famous poems by the Tang dynasty poet Li Bai. It’s one of the first poems Chinese children memorize.

· Meaning: This is a test of basic, foundational cultural knowledge. Not recognizing this would be like an English-speaking transmigrator not recognizing “To be or not to be.”

5. “The Heavenly King covers the tiger!” / 【Pagoda suppresses river demon.】 vs 【You’re an idiot!】

· Reference: This is a “secret handshake” or password from the classic Chinese revolutionary novel 《林海雪原》 (Tracks in the Snowy Forest) and its later adaptations (like the京剧 Beijing Opera version 《智取威虎山》Taking the Tiger Mountain by Strategy).

· In the Story: Bandits use this call-and-response as a password. The correct response to “天王盖地虎” is “宝塔镇河妖” (Pagoda suppresses the river demon).

· Modern Meme: It has since entered popular culture and is often used humorously, much like “The sky is blue” / “The grass is green” in English contexts.

· Jiang Dai’s Trick: She first thinks the correct response (“Pagoda suppresses river demon”) but deliberately says the modern, humorous, and incorrect response (“Are you an idiot?”) out loud to throw Bai Tian off and pretend she doesn’t get the reference.

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