Technology changes lives.

This was a completely new term for Cheng Baidong.

He pondered the meaning of the word carefully, and the more he thought about it, the better he felt it was.

He couldn't help but ask Fang Qiao more about the future, his eyes shining brighter as he listened.

Wow, it turns out that in the future, not only will mobile phones be more convenient than communication talismans, but advanced weapons may also be more powerful than the great masters of the cultivation world.

After all, no matter how strong a cultivator's cultivation is, they are still made of flesh and blood. In continuous battles, they will get injured and exhausted, and their spiritual energy will eventually run out.

Weapons, given sufficient ammunition, will last longer than cultivators.

If one shot doesn't work, ten shots will do; if ten shots don't work, a hundred shots will do; if a hundred shots don't work, a thousand shots will do... until the cultivator's spiritual energy is exhausted.

From this perspective, the world that has unlocked the technology tree may not necessarily play a subordinate role in this global integration.

Global integration carries risks, but it also presents opportunities.

After thinking about it for a few days, Cheng Baidong made a decision.

With each heavy snowfall, letters and packages are sent home, and the New Year draws ever closer.

However, because of the presence of the red armbands, production needs to be focused on even more during the Spring Festival, so the festive atmosphere in the city is not as strong as that in the countryside.

Heshan Pharmaceutical Factory is a little better off because it is located in the suburbs. They were given a three-day holiday for the Spring Festival, starting on the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month and returning to work on the second day of the first lunar month.

The state-run restaurant and textile factory where Fang Hai and Fang Lu worked did not have such good treatment. Not only did they have to work until the morning of the 30th of the twelfth lunar month, but the food in the canteen was also bitter food, which was cornbread mixed with wheat bran and rice husks. It tasted bland and was irritating to the throat when swallowed.

Of course, none of this has anything to do with Fang Qiao.

She was already eight months pregnant and had made up her mind not to go back to her parents' home for the Chinese New Year, but her mother took the initiative to come and visit her.

The festive atmosphere quickly turned back to the trivial matters at home after just a few words.

Either her father was drunk again, or her older brother had forgotten his mother after getting married, or Fang Lu was unwilling to work and was a worry. But the person who talked the most was her sister-in-law, saying that she was shrewish, stingy, and always looking for trouble. She didn't hand over the money for pasting paper boxes and was always making a fuss about dividing the family property.

Fang Qiao was impatient to listen to these things, so she always let them go in one ear and out the other, then gave a few perfunctory "uh-huhs" and finally had Xiao Jing pick up a few eggs from the henhouse and send her mother away, essentially trading eggs for peace and quiet.

Fang Qiao sat in front of the stove, peeling roasted peanuts and feeding them to Tian Tian while waiting for Xiao Jing to return.

After quite a while, Xiaojing finally returned.

She went out empty-handed, but came back carrying a large woven bag on her back, and she didn't come back alone; she had someone with her.

With a smile on her face, Xiao Jing excitedly shouted into the house as soon as she entered the yard, "Sister-in-law, look who's here!"

Who is it?

Fang Qiao clapped her hands to clean the peanut skins from her palms, then stood up, holding onto the armrest of the chair. Her belly was already quite large, so her movements were slow.

"Auntie, get up slowly, I'll go take a look first." Sweetie volunteered and ran to the door, peering out through the crack in the main room door. Her expression instantly turned to astonishment.

At first glance, she thought she was seeing things and instinctively rubbed her eyes.

Before he could even finish rubbing his eyes, the person outside had already reached the doorway of the main room.

Wang Yunteng reached out and gently rubbed Tian Tian's little head; the child's hair felt as good as ever.

A smile spread across her face as she teased, "Sweetie, why aren't you saying anything when you see me? Don't you recognize Aunt Yun?"

"Aunt Yun!"

Sweetie finally came to her senses and happily rushed into Wang Yun's arms, hugging her leg and shouting excitedly, "Auntie Yun, Auntie Yun, it really is you! I thought I was seeing things!"

"It's me, Sweetie. You're not mistaken." Wang Yun reached out and pinched Sweetie's little cheek, her icy fingers like ice cubes.

Sweetie shivered from the cold and instinctively moved away, saying, "Oh dear, Aunt Yun, your hands are so cold."

"Because it's too cold outside. Sweetie, don't stand in the doorway blocking your Aunt Yun anymore. Your Aunt Yun's fingers are going to freeze off. Let me in."

"Okay, okay."

When Wang Yun said that, Tian Tian realized that she was blocking the way into the house, so she quickly moved aside and made way for the doorway.

Fang Qiao had already heard the sound and knew that Wang Yun had arrived. She smiled and stood at the door of the main room to greet him, saying to Wang Yun who had just entered the room, "Xiao Yun, come in quickly. There is a stove in the room. Sit down in front of the stove and warm yourself up."

"I came by bus, I'm not cold at all, I don't need to warm myself by the fire. I was just playing with Tian Tian." Wang Yun waved his hand and put the things he was holding on the open ground next to him.

Seeing this, Fang Qiao quickly said, "It's not easy for you to come back, why did you bring so much stuff? I don't need anything here."

“I know you have everything you need, but who visits a house without bringing a gift? If I don’t bring a gift, I’ll feel awkward having lunch at your house.” Wang Yun laughed and said jokingly, “And it has to be a good meal with meat, otherwise I won’t accept it.”

Fang Qiao laughed too: "Don't worry, you'll get plenty of meat at lunchtime."

The two smiled at each other and almost simultaneously reached out to shake each other's hands.

True friends are those who, even if you haven't seen each other for a year, can laugh and joke around without any awkwardness when you meet again.

"Wow, that's fast." Wang Yun reached out and touched Fang Qiao's belly, asking, "I saw in your letter that you were having twins this time, no wonder your belly is much bigger than when you were pregnant with An'an. You should be giving birth soon, right?"

Fang Qiao smiled kindly: "It'll be soon, the due date is at the end of January."

"It's almost time." Wang Yun's hand had been resting on Fang Qiao's stomach when she suddenly felt a movement beneath her hand. Through her cotton-padded coat, she looked at Fang Qiao in disbelief: "Did they move?"